Chapter 665: There Must Be a War in Dongying

When the Berlin Conference was held, the resistance movement in the Orange Free State was completely quelled and was declared over as the last batch of northern Orange Freedom Resistance Army fled to East Africa.

"The Orange Freedom Resistance Army was doomed to fail from the very beginning. Their strength was limited, and their territory was too small to fight against the Transvaal people and the British. They want to win, unless we take over the Orange battlefield, but this is obviously impossible. The East African government has done its best to provide the Orange people with considerable assistance." Felix said.

In fact, East African officials unanimously agreed that it was not easy for the Orange Freedom Resistance Army to hold out for such a long time. The main reason was that the depth of the Orange Free State was too narrow.

The British and the Transvaal people would quickly achieve results as long as they imposed a blockade on the Orange people, but the Orange people could not guarantee production and fight against the British and the Transvaal at the same time.

The aid from East Africa is even more of a drop in the bucket. After all, East Africa is not a charity, and the Orangemen need to use supplies in exchange for East Africa's aid.

"Then how do we deal with these Orangemen who have fled to East Africa? There are still more than 2,000 of them. There is no possibility of reconciliation between these people and Britain, but whether they are willing to be controlled by us is probably an unknown!" asked Merk, commander of the Southern Military Region.

The Orange Freedom Resistance Army is indeed a trouble because the Orange people have their own ideas and do not want to merge with East Africa. This point must be made clear, but East Africa has its own ambitions for the entire Orange Free State.

If the same consequences as the US and the Soviet Union's entry into Afghanistan in the previous life were to occur, it would be counterproductive. Therefore, it is not easy for East Africa to deal with these Orangemen who fled across the river to East Africa.

"The Orangemen are destined not to be mine. The best way is to disperse them, integrate them into East Africa, and erase their nationality. Or give them free aid and let them continue to cause destruction in the Orange Free State. Finally, let them return to the Netherlands."

Ernst said: "If you are willing to become a citizen of East Africa, you must obey the arrangements of the East African government. I don't think all Orange people want to keep fighting. A stable life is what the general public pursues. As for those Orange people who want to continue to fight against the British and have strong nationalist tendencies, we will send them back to the Orange Free State. Let the British worry about this trouble! As for the last option, we will not block it. After all, the Netherlands was once the suzerain of the Orange (Boers), and it is understandable for them to return to the Netherlands to develop again."

"Your Highness, after the Orangemen are dealt with, I'm afraid the British will focus their energy on us. After such a long war, the Transvaal Restoration Army has expanded to more than 60,000 people. The British also have more than 20,000 troops on the Cape Town border, while the total number of our troops in the Southern Military Region in East Africa is only more than 60,000. After integrating the Orange Free State, will the Transvaal people and the British take further action against East Africa?" said Felix.

After a long war, the Transvaal Restoration Army grew larger and larger. With the demise of the Orange Freedom Resistance Army, a large number of Orange soldiers were incorporated, which made the strength of the Transvaal Restoration Army no longer to be underestimated.

Moreover, the Transvaal people have Britain behind them, plus Portugal's two colonies, which make them two agents. And judging from the apparent data, the Transvaal people plus the Portuguese in Africa are not much weaker than the forces in East Africa, and they can fully act as Britain's agents.

Of course, this "not weak" refers to the number of active troops. Just like a small country like North Korea in the previous life had an army of over one million, the number of troops of Portugal and Transvaal was obviously also excessive, with the two sides totaling about 300,000.

Although there are many troops in East Africa, the defense pressure in East Africa is also greater, especially on the eastern coast. There is military pressure in the north, and it is impossible for all of them to be on guard against the Transvaal and the Portuguese in the south.

East Africa's advantages lie in its sound national defense industrial system, developed railway transportation (in Africa), and a strong navy. This was East Africa's most important achievement throughout the 1970s, and it was also an important reason why Britain was always hostile to East Africa's rise in Africa.

The population of East Africa is over 30 million (excluding blacks), but if you look closely at the population structure, there are only over 10 million people over adulthood (the adult age in East Africa is 17 years old), and nearly half of them are female immigrants, so the adult male population is just over 5 million.

Moreover, many adult men may be over 40 years old, because East Africa has only been established for 20 years, and many of the earliest immigrants are already quite old.

However, people of this era generally mature early. If East Africa lowers the conscription age, it can still realize its terrifying war potential. Moreover, as the war progresses, a new group of adults will be added to East Africa every year.

"We in East Africa are the strongest in Africa, but we cannot sit back and relax. What East Africa lacks most is time, so we must be cautious when facing any danger. This is also the fundamental reason for the previous national military mobilization. Moreover, East Africa lacks a war to establish its country. We have never really fought against a world power that has gone all out." Ernst said.

As for Portugal, it is not considered a powerful country in the eyes of East Africa, and Portugal's strength is mainly reflected in its homeland. The victory over Portugal's two colonies does not mean the strength of East Africa's military forces.

Judging from the course of the last Portuguese-Eastern War, the situation of the Portuguese army was not much different from that of the indigenous countries with strong resistance consciousness.

This can be compared with the Abyssinian Empire, which is a long-established "powerful country" in Africa and is currently in a stalemate with Italy.

Italy's military strength in Africa is stronger than that of the Portuguese. Even though Italy is in a weak position, it is also an industrial country. The industry of the former Kingdom of Sardinia, its core country, is much stronger than that of Portugal.

Therefore, the original strength of the Portuguese in Africa may not be able to fight against indigenous countries like the Abyssinian Empire. Not to mention the Abyssinian Empire, even the former Sultanate of Zanzibar could compete with Portugal. As for the current strength of the Portuguese colonial army in East Africa, it is really difficult to be sure. This mainly depends on the support of Britain for Portugal.

"Knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles, but wars are often uncertain. Facing competition, we must never take it lightly. Moreover, there will be a war between East Africa and Britain. Even if it does not happen in the 1980s, it will break out in the 1990s. Because if Britain does not contain East Africa at this time, they will completely lose this opportunity. After the 20th century, East Africa will inevitably become a world power and change the geopolitical pattern of the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean."

As the maritime hegemon, Britain was bound to suppress East Africa, and at the same time had illusions about central and southern East Africa, while East Africa also coveted Cape Town's geographical location and land.

The contradiction between the two sides is irreconcilable. In other words, even if Britain does not take action, once East Africa is fully developed, it will inevitably take action against Britain's South African colonies.

This is the same as when the United States attacked Canada, except that the United States lost, so it can only choose to continue to lie dormant under the international system established by Britain.

(End of this chapter)