Chapter 1678 Foreign Legion

Alaska has a long history of peace and a relatively high quality of life, so it's normal that locals are not very willing to join the military. In other East African colonies, the situation might be completely different.

This has caused a major headache for Tucker, the head of the Anchorage conscription office.

"To date, only a little over two hundred people have filled out the application. It's still too difficult to do business in Alaska. Even in the mainland, we don't encounter this kind of problem."

Tred was also in the office at that moment. He said to Tucker, "Director, Alaska doesn't have a large population to begin with, and there's the option of the defense force, so this is normal."

Tucker said, "How can that defense force compare to our national defense force? Others may not know, but don't we in the national defense force know what the defense force is like?"

"To put it bluntly, the so-called defense forces probably can't even beat the Empire's armed police force, which means they have a lot of authority in choosing equipment."

The Alaskan Defence Force, as a military force belonging to East Africa, has a level of weaponry and equipment that is considered above average in the world.

Moreover, although it is not large in scale, the Alaskan Defense Force is a complete force with its own land, sea and air armed forces.

Of course, if these military forces in Alaska were placed in regions like South America or Southeast Asia, they could bully others with their advanced weaponry. However, compared to major powers, they are not comparable.

Tred said, "The director is right. We know that the Defense Forces are inherently weak in combat, but they are still quite intimidating to the average Alaskan citizen."

"As for issues such as lax training and poor management, I believe that if they were to encounter a real war, they might be able to grow up quickly."

In response, Director Tucker said dismissively, "That requires an opportunity. Look at the countries surrounding Alaska. The weakest is the Far Eastern Empire, which is not something the Alaska Defense Force can easily provoke."

“If other countries were to clash with the Alaskan Defense Force, it is estimated that the first wave of attacks would be enough to wipe them all out once the war breaks out.”

"To hone the troops, you need a worthy opponent, and obviously the Alaskan Defense Force does not have that."

The Alaskan Defense Forces are only capable of self-defense, which is why Ernst initially permitted Alaska to establish an independent military force.

At that time, East Africa was just a colony in the eastern part of Africa, not a superpower like it is today. Therefore, Ernst could only grant this overseas territory a high degree of autonomy.

Of course, what was more important to Ernst at the time was preventing Alaska from falling into the hands of other countries, especially the United States and Canada.

If the United States and Canada had taken a hard line against Alaska at that time, East Africa would have been powerless to do anything about it.

After all, the United States was already one of the world's leading powers at that time, and Canada also had the support of the British.

Even by the late 19th century, when East Africa's national strength had significantly improved and it had even defeated Britain and Portugal, Alaska's security was still not secure.

At that time, East Africa was at most dominant on the African continent, and its military influence over other parts of the world was extremely weak.

Apart from the southern part of the African continent, at most, one can see a regional navy of considerable strength wielding power in the western Indian Ocean.

It wasn't until after World War I that East Africa gradually gained widespread international recognition as a world power capable of intimidating the entire globe.

At that time, East Africa essentially dominated the entire African continent, and the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic Ocean became East Africa's backyard. The trade of most countries in the world was inseparable from East Africa.

If East Africa's overseas interests were harmed, East Africa had sufficient means of countermeasures, which meant that after the 1920s, no one dared to covet East Africa's many overseas colonies.

Director Tucker stated, "The current stability in Alaska is entirely based on the powerful global military deterrent of the Imperial Defense Forces."

"If you ask me, the Empire has no need to continue to maintain the Alaska Defense Force, a local army that was established under special circumstances. It would be better to integrate it into the national defense force system, just like other colonies."

While other colonies in East Africa also had similar colonial armed forces, they were generally under the direct control of the East African General Staff and the Ministry of Defense, meaning that their resources were not as high as those of the homeland's defense forces.

Treyder said, "The Alaskan Defense Force is indeed unique in the composition of the Imperial military force, but in a broader sense, this defense force can be mobilized."

Tucker nodded and said, "That's natural. If war breaks out suddenly, the Alaska Defense Force will definitely be taken over by the General Staff."

"However, our current recruitment efforts in Alaska seem somewhat superfluous."

“If the defense forces are directly incorporated into the national defense force system, our recruitment office will not need to be set up separately at all.”

Tread: "The Alaska Defense Force is basically only responsible for the defense of Alaska. The soldiers we recruit are sent back to the mainland for reorganization and training. There is a big difference between the two."

"I just don't know why the Empire is recruiting soldiers from Alaska. We shouldn't be lacking in manpower, especially since the colony's population is already small."

East Africa alone has a population of 200 million. If East Africa still lacks manpower under such circumstances, then the other major powers in the world should give up. The Soviet Union's population was only about 150 million.

Compared to the vast population of the homelands, the colonies in East Africa had a very small population. Even the two most populous colonies, Alaska and East Kalimantan, had a total population of less than ten million.

In 1929, the combined population of the two colonies exceeded five million, and in the following years, the population growth rate of the two colonies was relatively fast.

In addition to a high natural growth rate, immigration to both colonies continued to increase, especially as the Far Eastern Empire suffered from war, which further boosted immigration to Alaska and East Kalimantan.

After the threshold for immigration from East Africa was raised, many of the East African colonies remained the preferred destination for immigrants from the Far Eastern empires.

So the combined population of Alaska and East Kalimantan, even if it's not ten million, is probably six or seven million, or even more.

At the same time, East African colonies in Southeast Asia had another characteristic: they were able to attract immigrants from surrounding areas. Of course, the main targets of this attraction were groups that had once migrated to Southeast Asia from the Far Eastern empires.

This group was not small in number; apart from the East African colonies, the number of immigrants from the Far Eastern empires in Southeast Asia was at least five million.

If we include the East African colonies in Southeast Asia, the number may exceed ten million. Of course, in the East African colonies, the vast majority of immigrants identified themselves as "Germans".

Besides immigrants from the Far Eastern Empire, other Southeast Asian countries, after excluding certain religious groups, would also be absorbed to a certain extent by the East African colonies.

In recent years, East Africa has not conducted detailed statistics on the population of Southeast Asia, so the specific growth rate is not very clear.

However, it is conceivable that these East African colonies in Southeast Asia, even if separated from East Africa, can still operate effectively and stably, as their population base has reached a level where they can survive stably in the region.

Of course, even if all the colonies in East Africa are included, their total population is still far less than that of the East African mainland.

Director Tucker said, "Perhaps it's from the perspective of the quality of recruits. After all, the resilience of soldiers is an important reference standard in the construction of the army."

"Just like the Gurkha mercenaries employed by Britain and the French Foreign Legion, the living standards of the Empire have now greatly improved, so the native soldiers are actually slightly lacking in willpower and are not as able to endure hardship as the soldiers recruited from the colonies."

Terrence disagreed with this: "Director, your statement is biased. Local young people are also quite good. For example, although I only have a high school education, I should be considered a top student by the standards of the world!"

"Moreover, we didn't miss out on any of the military training when we enlisted."

Director Takl said with a smile, "What you said is not entirely wrong, but it is still a bit worse than when we first joined the army. Apart from education, the older generation of the Empire has no shortcomings."

The development of the military in East Africa has a history of several decades, and today it is making steady progress in all aspects. This is why Director Takker believes that the conditions of the new generation are not as bad as those of their generation.

Treyder said, "What you said is true in society, but the Imperial Army is a well-known melting pot; even slag can be turned into steel."

"Over the past few decades, the infrastructure, mechanization, and various welfare benefits of the Imperial Army have improved, but the intensity of training has never decreased."

"It's simply that military training has become more scientific, but compared to many countries, it's already a very stringent standard."

Director Takler did not refute his point. He said, "After all, what the Empire needs is an army that can withstand the test of war, not pampered soldiers."

"Therefore, the Imperial Army cannot slack off in training. On the contrary, due to the increase in mechanization, they need to learn more professional military knowledge."

...

East Africa, Rhine City.

Ernst had anticipated the Alaska Recruiting Office's lack of understanding of their mission, given that this unusual behavior was orchestrated by Ernst himself.

Ernst said to Crown Prince Friedrich, "Instead of recruiting soldiers from the colonies this time, we should directly form an imperial version of the Foreign Legion and organize them together as much as possible according to the region."

Crown Prince Frederick asked, "Father, why are you going through all this trouble?"

Ernst said in a low voice, "As you know, according to our original plan, if we wanted to lure Japan south, then the entire imperial colony in the Pacific region would essentially become a discarded pawn."

"Based on the performance of the Japanese army in the Far East Empire, what do you think they would do if they occupied our colonies?"

When the Japanese army was mentioned, Crown Prince Frederick's face turned grim. He said, "Given the performance of the Japanese army in the Far Eastern Empire, calling them a bunch of beasts would be too kind."

"Compared to them, even the imperial army thirty years ago could be considered a benevolent army. After all, we didn't commit as many sins as they did."

The East African Army has a long history of crimes, after all, it was originally developed from colonial armies.

However, it must be admitted that even during the colonial era, the performance of the East African army was slightly better than that of the current Japanese army.

Although East Africa suffered greatly during the colonial expansion, causing many indigenous Africans to lose their homes and lives, this was not an unusual situation at the time, in the late 19th century. Colonial powers such as Britain and France did not fare much better than East Africa.

Moreover, the East African army will not exterminate the population unless absolutely necessary. Not all the indigenous peoples of East Africa were wiped out; a large portion of them were relocated to the Americas and West Africa.

As for the mistreatment and suffering they endured after being sent to those regions, that has no direct connection to East Africa.

Of course, the reason why Crown Prince Frederick called Japan an army of beasts was mainly because the Japanese army was too inhumane in the wars fought by the Far Eastern Empire.

Crown Prince Frederick said, "The Empire has indeed invaded many regions, but we have never been as perverse as the Japanese army, especially considering the various crimes they committed in Nanjing last year."

"Their army is still stuck in the era of slavery in terms of humanity. After all, since the advent of the industrial age, civilized society has rarely heard of such extremely bloody terms as massacres of entire cities."

"If Japan were to conquer our colonies in the Pacific in the future, it would be hard to imagine what kind of suffering the local residents would endure."

Ernst stated directly, "There is absolutely no doubt that when that day comes, those colonies that we have temporarily abandoned will inevitably face extremely difficult times."

"Therefore, at this time, my recruitment of soldiers from our various colonies in the Pacific was itself a way to preserve the seeds of revenge for them."

"When the Empire launches its counterattack, they will become the sharpest sword in the Empire's hands, and at that time, they will be able to avenge the blood debt that Japan owes them."

For a politician like Ernst, he is clearly ruthless in achieving his goals, just like now he is preparing to form an East African version of the Foreign Legion, simply to completely suppress Japan in hell in the future.

Of course, East Africa also gained a new order in Southeast Asia, driving Britain out of the region.

The price was the safety of nearly ten million East African colonists in the Pacific region, who were betrayed by the East African government and made pawns in Ernst's hands.

Ernst said, "I know how much damage this will do to our colonies in the Pacific, but it is worth it for the benefit of the future empire."

"Previously, we would also use various means to minimize the losses of those colonies in the Pacific in the future, and transfer military forces from the Pacific region to them, that's what we did."

"Moreover, when we launch a counterattack in the Pacific in the future, as long as we can act quickly enough, we can minimize the persecution of our colony residents by the inhumane Japanese army."

(End of this chapter)