Chapter 1550: Tough Guy
In 1933, Italy's national strength was indeed at a rather vague level, but apart from the recognized great powers, there were also big powers such as the Far East Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Brazil, and Argentina. Italy's military strength was undoubtedly much stronger than that of most countries and regions.
However, Italy's position in Europe is not very good. There is France to the west, the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the east, and Britain's maritime hegemony in the Mediterranean to the south.
Looking at Italy's only two colonies, they were also the result of mutual compromise between Britain, France and East Africa. For example, the Red Sea colony was next to France's Djibouti, Britain's Somaliland and Egypt, and then East Africa and its tributary state Abyssinia.
The same was true for Italian Libya, which was bordered by British Egypt to the east, French Libya to the west, and the East African colony of Darfur to the south.
To put it intuitively, Italy's colonies were actually "buffer zones" for Britain, France and East Africa, and were given as alms by the three great powers.
Abyad and others did not have a clear concept of the strength of East Africa and Italy. Although East Africa was recognized as a world power, the Libyans had only come into contact with this East African country in recent years.
Zagut said, "Chief, how should we deal with this suspected East African military base? I'm worried they have connections with the Italians and will sell us out to them."
Abyad said: "I also have this concern. Whether it is East Africa or Italy, they are actually Europeans, just like Britain and France. We must be careful when dealing with them."
East Africa is obviously not a "European" country, but Abyad still classifies East Africa as part of Europe.
This is similar to how many people in the Far East Empire perceive Western countries: they are all "white" and are in the same group.
But Libyans are also white, so they naturally do not have the political concept of "white people" in Europe. It is more appropriate to describe them as "pagans", and general pagans are "Europeans".
Abyad and Zaghout's concerns are not groundless. They are indeed very unfamiliar with this East African country and have had little contact with it. However, in Italian Libya, the "Libyan Railway Project" jointly developed by Italians and East Africans is now well-known.
"The Italians and East Africa have a joint railway project, which shows that the relationship between the two countries is very good," said Zagut.
"And the Italians are our enemies. East Africa may also classify us as dangerous because of its relationship with Italy."
“Even if there’s no conflict with us, there’s a chance that they’ll tip off the Italians. If that happens, it’ll be difficult for us to return to Cyrenaica.”
Although Abyad and Zagut did not have much knowledge, they knew that Europeans had a means of communication called "radio". Therefore, even if they did not conflict with East Africa, it was possible that East Africa would sell their intelligence to Italy.
Abyad's face was serious. He said, "You mean we should take over this East African military stronghold?"
Zagut nodded. "I do lean towards this idea. After all, this East African stronghold is not the heavily guarded Italian town of Jalu. It won't be difficult for us to take it over."
Abyad interrupted, "Okay, Zagut, we've already offended Italy. Do we need to create new enemies now?"
"Internationally, East Africa is much more powerful than Italy. Although I have never been to this country, their name is well-known around the world, even more powerful than the Italians."
The fact that East Africa and Italy can be compared together fully proves that Abyad knows the existence of East Africa, but he does not know much about the real situation in East Africa.
This is mainly related to Abyad's previous living environment. If he was a resident of an Italian Libyan city, he would never say such a thing. However, Abyad is only a tribal leader in the Italian Libyan countryside, and many news from the outside world are just hearsay.
Abyad said: "If we offend East Africa, we will face two enemies at the same time, Italy and East Africa. The problem is that we can't even deal with Italy now."
Zagut disagreed: "It is indeed unwise to offend East Africa, but given our current situation, we don't need to think too much."
"After capturing this military stronghold, we can replenish weapons, ammunition, water, and supplies. There are also more than a dozen East African soldiers in this stronghold, and they must have stockpiled a lot of rations since they live here."
"After all, judging from the map, there are no villages or other strongholds around this stronghold. Furthermore, it's surrounded by desert, making transportation inconvenient. Therefore, if we want to station troops here, we have to stockpile a large amount of food at once."
"Even though there are only a dozen soldiers here, if we resupply them once a month, it would be enough for a full meal for a hundred of us. Not to mention that it's impossible for them to resupply every month."
"If they only resupply supplies once every six months or even a year, then the local reserves can fill our short-term gap."
Zagut still lacked insight. To him, the Kalanshu outpost was located in a remote area with inconvenient transportation, but this might not be the case for an industrial powerhouse like East Africa.
The Kalanshu outpost in East Africa is rotated every six months, or half a year, and supplies are replenished at the same time. This six-month supply mainly consists of staple foods, canned foods and other storable foods.
However, East Africa also airdrops cargo to the Kalanshu outpost every two weeks, mainly fresh vegetables and meat, and other foods that are difficult to store. At the same time, the Kalanshu outpost is also equipped with generators, fuel, radios, lighting equipment, etc.
In short, the East African military stronghold like the Kalanshu outpost is small but fully equipped, but it costs a bit too much. However, East Africa is rich, and after all, there are not many military strongholds in the entire Libya area controlled by East Africa in the past.
Not to mention, the Kalanshu outpost is even more remote from human habitation and is located at the intersection of different forces.
To put it bluntly, if the soldiers at the Kalanchoe outpost were not provided with favorable living conditions, the East African soldiers would have fled long ago. The nearest human settlement here is more than 100 kilometers away, the Italian-controlled town of Jalu. The nearest stronghold in East Africa to the Kalanchoe outpost is even more than 200 kilometers away, and the town of Al-Jawf is more than 400 kilometers away.
Therefore, the East African government regularly airlifted supplies to Kalanshu, which was something Zagut could not imagine. Not to mention airdrops, Zagut had never even seen an airplane in his life.
He continued, "Furthermore, after we capture this military stronghold, we will take a short break and then return to Cyrenaica. By then, the East Africans will not be able to find any trace of us."
"Forget about finding us. Even if we clean up the mess, I'm afraid even East Africa won't know who did it."
After Zagut's analysis, Abyad was also moved. "That's right. Since East Africa is the Italians' friend, it is our enemy. Whether we offend them or not, the result will be the same. We just need to obtain the supplies here and get resupplied. Then we can escape to the north. The Italians won't be able to catch us easily, let alone further away in East Africa."
With an idea in mind, Abyad immediately made his deployment. He sent his subordinate, who had returned with the news, back to the outskirts of Kalanshu Post and instructed his soldiers to prepare for the deployment. Meanwhile, the main force began to advance rapidly towards Kalanshu Post.
…
At this time, inside the Kalanshu outpost.
An East African soldier was warning the squad leader, Teleni, at the Kalanshu outpost: "Squad leader, there's something fishy about this so-called Arab caravan!"
Treni hurriedly asked, "What did you find?"
The soldier said, "I just saw one of them quietly leave here. I suspect he was going to tip off the enemy. Of course, the most important thing is that the so-called caravan in the camp near our outpost is different from the Arab caravans we encountered before."
"Before, the Arab caravans that passed by our outpost were mostly loaded with goods, and they were mostly camel caravans. But these people in front of us are all riding horses, and there are no bags or water bags on the horses."
"Just imagine, how could they possibly make it to Al-Jawf without even a big water bag, let alone any cargo?"
Trani also became alert at this moment. He said, "Could it be that these people are bandits?"
Robbers are not uncommon in North Africa. Some Arab tribes have side jobs. After all, living conditions in most parts of North Africa are not very good, and rich areas like the Nile River are even rarer.
The soldier said, "It's very likely. After all, in this hellhole of ours, even caravans are rare. If they're not even caravans, then they're probably bandits from North Africa. But what kind of bandits would come here?"
This is also the biggest question for Treni. There is a vast sea of sand within a hundred kilometers of the Kalanshu outpost. Even for looting, it is not a good opportunity. Although there are caravans passing through here, they are extremely rare.
He said uncertainly, "Could it be that they got lost and ran to us?"
The soldier said, "Sergeant, no matter what they are here for, we must be vigilant. What if they really come for our small outpost? Although our outpost is small, the generators, radios, etc. are still very valuable."
The things at the Kalanshu outpost might not be that important in East Africa, but this is North Africa! It's poor and backward, so the supplies at the Kalanshu outpost are completely different.
Treni's expression also grew serious. He quickly ordered, "Tell our men to be ready and guard the outposts. At the same time, warn the Arabs outside and tell them to leave immediately."
"Set up the machine guns. If they really have any ill intentions, we'll knock their teeth out."
Although there is only one squad of troops, the Kalanshu outpost has two heavy machine guns and one light machine gun to prevent the enemy from outnumbering the Kalanshu outpost.
Because the Kalanshu outpost is completely dependent on a well and the environment is harsh, not many people can be stationed here. With so few people, some preparations must be made in terms of firepower to better deal with emergencies.
Therefore, even though there are only a dozen soldiers at the Kalanshu outpost, with the outpost's defensive fortifications and firepower, as long as they don't go out easily, it will not be a problem to deal with the attack of a hundred or so people. Of course, the premise is that the enemy does not have heavy firepower.
At this time, outside the outpost, East African soldiers began to return to the bunker one after another after receiving orders, then sealed the door and shouted to Abyad's people, asking them to leave immediately.
The dozen or so people sent by Abyad looked at each other. There were East African soldiers who could speak Arabic in the outpost, so communication between the two sides was not a problem.
"Commanders from East Africa, we just want to stay in your precious place for one night. You don't have to be so ruthless!" shouted Borma, a small leader under Abyad.
Treani remained unmoved. He spoke through the small window of the fortress, "Our outpost is small and cannot withstand any risks. So it's best for you to leave, or don't blame us for being rude."
Borma had no choice but to leave in disgrace with his men. He didn't think that Teleni, the "big official" in East Africa, was just talking.
The armies of these great powers were relatively rampant in this era, especially when dealing with people from weak countries and backward regions. Even if they were innocent ordinary people, they would not listen to reason, not to mention that people like Borma had something to hide.
Borma led a dozen people back to the area where Abyad had been before. On the way, he met the previous messenger and received Abyad's latest order.
Borma cursed and said, "If you had come earlier, it would have been better. If we go back now, the East Africans will definitely not let us get close to their bunkers again."
His subordinate asked, "What do we do now?"
Borma said, "We can only make plans after the chief's main force arrives."
A short while later, Abyad led a large force to where Borma was. He said, "Why are you staying here? Didn't I tell you to be the insider?"
Borma said aggrievedly: "Chief, we don't know what the East Africans have discovered. Before you sent someone to convey the order, the East Africans drove us away."
Abyad cracked his whip in anger and said, "In that case, we have no choice but to storm. However, a small military stronghold should not be a problem for us. Everyone, advance at full speed and try to capture this East African military stronghold within half an hour."
Abyad's men were all cavalrymen. With so many of them heading towards the outpost, the movement was quite loud.
This also made Treni fully aware that the enemy was not friendly. He ordered: "Machine gunners, prepare, everyone, prepare for battle. It seems that today will not end peacefully. As long as the enemy enters the range, hit them hard."
"The messenger sent a telegram to the town of Jawf, saying we were under attack and asking them to rush to our aid as soon as possible."
Although that was what they said, Treni knew very well that the possibility of waiting for reinforcements was almost zero. The nearest friendly forces were two hundred kilometers away, so they could only rely on themselves to fight this battle.
Soon, the two sides exchanged fire. Under the suppression of machine guns, although Abyad's troops were numerous and powerful, they found it difficult to deploy. Once they got close, they would be targeted by the East African machine guns.
However, it was difficult for them to use guns to shoot the Central African soldiers. After all, the East African officers and soldiers were hiding in the bunkers and they could only fight with them through the firing holes. After fighting for a long time, neither side could do anything to the other.
Although Kalanshu had only a dozen soldiers, they were more difficult to deal with than the Italians in Jalu Town.
(End of this chapter)
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