Chapter 129: Northwest General War
In the next few days, Werner Jori and others moved north along the shore of the Great Lake (Lake Victoria) and surveyed several places.
From south to north, at first all you could see were ruined villages, and some fishing villages built by the lake were also deserted.
After Entebbe, the shore of the Great Lake (Lake Victoria) begins to turn eastward, and gradually the population increases until Kampala, the capital of the Buganda Kingdom, becomes relatively prosperous. It is obvious that this place was not significantly affected by the war because it is located deep in the center of the Buganda Kingdom.
After passing Kampala, Werner Yori and his team continued to head east and drove for about 200 kilometers. Along the way, they saw that the eastern part of the Buganda Kingdom and some basic tribes were not affected.
Finally, Werner Yori and others arrived in Kisumu, the capital of Western Kenya, replenished supplies, and then went south back to Mwanza to report on the situation.
…
In April, Werner Jori's intelligence was sent to the Central District. After the East African colonial government sorted and analyzed the intelligence, it sent it to Ernst in Europe via telegram.
In the telegram, the East African government believes that the conditions for annexing the Northwest region are now ripe, especially since the countries in the south of the Northwest region have obviously suffered heavy losses, and even countries such as Buganda in the north have been deeply affected.
If we launch a large-scale battle and recruit more people, it will be no problem to take over this place.
After carefully reading the report from the East African government, Ernst issued an instruction to take over the south first, and not to touch the Buganda Kingdom and several countries in the north that had not suffered serious losses.
After the construction of Kisumu and Western Kenya is completed, we can concentrate our forces and launch attacks on the Buganda Kingdom from the east and south.
This can effectively avoid casualties in the East African colonies and at the same time conform to the principle of doing the easy things first and then the difficult ones.
In the telegram, Ernst emphasized that once a place was occupied, it should be cleared and no indigenous population should be left there. As for Arab merchants and foreign explorers, their evacuation could be arranged.
This certainly does not mean to massacre the indigenous people, but to drive them to the north and let them flee to the places of their former allies.
To the west is the Congo jungle. If you rashly enter without adequate preparation, you will basically be in danger of death, so it doesn't matter if the natives want to escape to the west.
According to Ernst's own thinking, the ruling classes of those southern countries would definitely choose to flee northwards. After all, they had fought against the invasion of the Eastern Bantu tribes together with their allies last time.
As for resisting the East African colonies, these southern countries have not yet recovered after being hit hard by the East Bantu people and the plague, and it is even a question whether they can organize an army of considerable size.
In fact, after planning the last "purge" campaign, after several months of testing, it now seems to be very effective. The East African colonies solved the problem of the whereabouts of the indigenous people without having to do it themselves, and at the same time weakened the power of the indigenous people in other regions.
After receiving Ernst's order, the East African colonial government and military began to formulate a combat plan for the smooth progress of the battle.
April 5, 1868.
East African Colonial Central Government Meeting Hall.
"This action is an act of war. Our government is mainly cooperating with the military. So, Mr. Armand, please introduce the battle plan so that our government departments can make corresponding arrangements." Councillor von der Leyen set the tone and expressed the government's attitude.
"Well, I will talk about the general plan on behalf of the military." Alman stood up from his chair, walked to the map, held up his baton, pointed at the Kingdom of Karavi and said, "This time, according to the instructions of His Royal Highness Prince Ernst, in the first phase, we will mainly attack from the south. The military is preparing to replicate the last "purge" campaign, with the main targets being the Kingdom of Rwanda, the Kingdom of Igala, the Kingdom of Karavi and the Kingdom of Burundi.
The combat area is approximately 60,000 to 70,000 square kilometers. According to the request of His Royal Highness Prince Ernst, it is necessary to ensure that the indigenous people in the area are eliminated.
Therefore, we are also responsible for driving all the remaining indigenous forces in the area to the north, so as to continue to attack the remaining four northern countries and prepare for the second phase of the battle. However, the second phase of the battle still depends on the plans of His Royal Highness Prince Ernst. "Yalman said.
"How many people do you plan to send out for the first phase of the operation?" Director Anderson asked.
“At present, at the border between the Solon Lake Region and the Great Lakes Region and Burundi and the Kingdom of Karawi, we have deployed a defense line of more than 3,000 people, including more than 300 regular armed forces, in order to prevent the East Bantu people from returning to the East African colonies.
My guess is that on this basis, we will need to mobilize at least another 6,000 militiamen and 1,000 regular armed forces from the rear."
Yarman went on to say: "The scale of this battle is not expected to be too intense. After all, several local kingdoms had been severely damaged by the East Bantu before. Although the local nobles suppressed the East Bantu, it was basically a case of injuring one thousand enemies and eight hundred of their own.
In addition, the land abandonment, plague, famine and disease caused by the war greatly weakened the local population.
Therefore, we only need to focus on the large military fortresses and cities of these kingdoms, and basically we will not encounter large-scale battles.
But if you want to carefully comb such a large area and complete the evacuation of the locals, you need at least 10,000 people to do it. This battle is different from the past. It is a typical extraterritorial battle. Only Mwanza and Kigoma have the ability to support the battle in a short time, so the number of people cannot be small. "
The top leaders in East Africa agreed with Alman's explanation, because this battle was indeed different from previous ones. The northwestern countries were deep in the interior of East Africa, and the focus of the East African colonies was currently in the east. The Lake Solon region, as the westernmost region in East Africa, was more difficult to supply than other regions, so there was indeed a lot of pressure to ensure the supply of materials to the front line.
"In addition to the number requirements, the government also needs to follow up on the migration of immigrants. In the next few months, the priority for immigrants should be given to the northwest region. At the same time, considering the second phase of the battle, the immigration efforts in Western Kenya should also be strengthened. Immigrants should be supplied to these two regions first." said Siwei Te of the Chief of Staff.
"So how should the recent immigration distribution ratio be divided?" someone asked von der Leyen.
"Six, three, one. In the next period of time, 60% of the new immigrants will go to the newly occupied areas in the northwest, 30% will be allocated to the western Kenya region, especially the area bordering Buganda, and the remaining 10% will be allocated to Omorate. It happens that Omorate is not far from western Kenya and can support the actions of the western Kenya region." said von der Leyen.
"I agree. This will also enrich the entire western population," Anderson said.
"Everyone is welcome to put forward any good suggestions," von der Leyen said to government officials.
"We should arrange new immigrants as close to the front line as possible. We would rather have a vacuum in the rear than let the natives go back." Someone suggested.
"Agreed, next one."
“Also, the recently formed Neihu troops can be used, and it is more convenient to transport food and other supplies by water from Mwanza.”
"adoption."
…
After a while, after the government discussion, von der Leyen turned her attention back to the military.
"Do you, the military, have any other demands? You can raise them and our government will try its best to meet them," asked von der Leyen.
Several military generals discussed it carefully, and then Alman said, "We must ensure the smooth transportation of materials. New immigrants and materials can be delivered to the front line at the same time. This will not only ensure the safety of food and grass, but also arrange for immigrants to follow up and take root in the northwest region. In this way, in the second phase, we can also recruit more militia from the local area."
"Therefore, the new immigrants to the northwest should receive military training as soon as possible, otherwise they will not be able to catch up with the second phase of combat missions! You military can draw more instructors from the rear."
"Our General Staff will do the relevant work." Siwei Te said that the training of militia must be done by the General Staff.
The staff, most of whom are students of the Hechingen Military Academy, are bilingual and can better deal with the training issues of immigrants in the German region, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Far East. It is also an important force for Ernst to monitor the East African regions and the army.
"Any more questions?" von der Leyen said.
"No more." Everyone answered.
"In that case, let's go back and prepare well! The meeting is adjourned," said von der Leyen.
The war machine in East Africa was set in motion, and for the first time the entire colony was involved.
In the last Zanzibar War, only the forces in the coastal area were actually mobilized, but this time the whole of East Africa was mobilized.
Even areas that were not directly involved in the war were affected. For example, immigrants and materials were given priority to supply the front lines, and all developed areas temporarily entered a uniform development stage.
The Western Kenya region, Lake Solon (Lake Tanganyika) region and the Great Lakes (Lake Victoria) region were the most affected.
The army and militia began to gather towards the Lake Solon and Great Lakes regions, and the immigration speed in Western Kenya was also accelerated in advance.
The Neihu troops led by Werner Jori also began to actively operate on the west shore of the Great Lake (Lake Victoria), drawing maps of the lake shore and looking for suitable locations for landing supplies and personnel, in preparation for follow-up and connection with the front line.
The battle was advanced steadily. Because the local population had to be driven out, the front line was basically a straight line, advancing steadily from south to north.
The replenishment of the troops' supplies was partly carried out by land transportation from the rear and partly by the Neihu troops.
After the first phase of the battle is completed, the new immigrants should be settled as close to the northern border as possible to isolate the indigenous people, and then return to the colonial-occupied areas in East Africa.
In the second phase, new immigrants can also provide militia and labor for the East African colony to conquer the four northern countries. The closer they are to the temporary border, the more convenient it will be for subsequent battles.
(End of this chapter)
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