Chapter 1627 Melilla
The arms trade is a highly profitable industry. Achieving a monopoly can yield substantial profits, and East African industrial powers naturally desire fewer competitors. However, among these industrial powers, the Soviet Union stands out. The Soviet arms trade is characterized by low prices and a penchant for giving away arms for free.
Compared with economic benefits, the Soviet Union valued political benefits more, thus disrupting normal market prices. This was vividly reflected in the arms trade market in the Far East Empire and Central Asia.
The Soviet Union's "low price" or even "free" strategy was more prominent during the Cold War. In order to compete globally with the West, the Soviet Union often made some loss-making deals, resulting in a complete loss of all its money. This brought a huge economic burden to the Soviet Union and laid the groundwork for its later economic difficulties.
Moreover, this model is very unpopular. Even countries that have received military assistance from the Soviet Union may not necessarily remember the Soviet Union's kindness. This was the case in some African countries in the past.
The Soviet Union made many ineffective investments in Africa, and its allies often defected once aid was cut off.
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Melilla is a small city located on the Mediterranean coast, across the sea from the Spanish mainland. In 1497, Queen Isabella I of Spain sent Duke Pedro to occupy Melilla, and since then it has been under Spanish rule for a long time.
At the end of the 19th century, Spain's influence in the area expanded, and Melilla became the only official trading center between Tetouan on the Rif coastline and the Algerian border, so Melilla's business was relatively prosperous.
Melilla is also one of the core bases of the Spanish African Legion. In addition, there is also a Spanish regular force stationed in Melilla.
The latter were still nominally under the control of the Republican government, their funding, supplies and supreme command coming from the Republican People's Army in Madrid.
Colonel Valdés is now the highest military commander in Melilla, serving as the commander of the Melilla garrison, and his deputy, Lieutenant Colonel Lara, reports to him.
"Colonel, our troops have now been fully equipped, and we have also completed the recruitment of the Melilla First Infantry Regiment. The vast majority of officers and soldiers are now ours."
"If war breaks out, we can immediately control most of Melilla's military forces."
Colonel Valdez nodded and said, "Luis, you've done a great job. The government is really becoming more and more unreasonable. Otherwise, we wouldn't be forced into this desperate situation."
"The army is the cornerstone of the country and an important guarantee of Spain's interests, and our African Legion is the indispensable bottom line of Spain's interests in Morocco."
"However, they have turned a blind eye to the contributions of us who have fought bravely for our country in North Africa and even attempted to suppress us."
"The bottom line is that the government is completely corrupt and has been infiltrated by the Soviets. We absolutely cannot allow them to continue sitting in high positions and eroding the future of the Spanish nation!"
Lieutenant Colonel Lara also hates the current Republican government. He said: "The Republican government is completely reckless. Whether it is economic reform or the destruction of religious traditions, it is undermining the interests of the Spanish people."
"This evil trend inherited from the Soviet Union must be corrected."
Whether it is Colonel Valdés or Lieutenant Colonel Lara, they and the families behind them are all members of Spain's traditional interest groups. Therefore, they have long been dissatisfied with the Spanish Republican government.
Colonel Valdez was very satisfied with his subordinates' performance. He said, "This incident is a right given to us by God. Although the government's power is now controlled and infiltrated by evil people, God will bless us."
"After all, we are God's faithful believers. Moreover, the Republican government has been doing perverse things, and there is already widespread resentment against them in Spain."
"We have the support of righteous nations like Germany and Italy, so our chances of victory are very high. As long as we receive the order from His Excellency Mora and his men, we can overthrow the current Republican government and restore Spain's fine traditions."
There is no single leader in the conservative group in Spain now. There are many factions within the group. The most influential ones are Mora, Sanjurjo, Llano and Franco.
Mora is one of the most experienced among them and is also one of the main planners of the coup. Therefore, Mora is now the number one spokesperson for the conservative group.
As for why Mora failed to compete with Franco in his previous life, one of the important reasons was Franco's outstanding performance in the war and the support of Germany and Italy.
One of the important reasons why Germany and Italy supported Franco was that Mola seemed too conservative, or extremely conservative.
Although Germany and Italy appear to be extreme, it is undeniable that these two countries themselves are progressive and can promote national development at this stage, even if it is unsustainable.
If Mora becomes the ruler of Spain, Spain will most likely be like neighboring Portugal, with no new changes and instead some regression.
Colonel Valdes, Lieutenant Colonel Lara and others cannot see the situation clearly now, so they can only find the most representative figure to speak, and Franco is not too prominent in the camp now.
However, when it comes to the African Legion, Franco's influence is very great. There are many of Franco's confidants in the African Legion, such as Lieutenant Colonel Buluga of the Foreign Legion under the African Legion in Melilla, who is Franco's die-hard subordinate.
The Foreign Legion was also Franco's direct force and would become the absolute main force of the rebellion in the future.
The relationship between the African Legion and the Foreign Legion is very special. The former is a temporary combat unit composed of multiple military forces, including the Foreign Legion.
And don't be fooled by the word "foreign" in the name of the Foreign Legion. In fact, 90% of it is composed of Spaniards. In comparison, the Moroccan regular army under the West African Legion is more in line with the definition of "foreign". This force is actually composed of locally hired Moroccan soldiers, and only the officers are Spanish.
In addition to the two troops mentioned above, there is also the First Detachment directly under the African Legion of Melilla, which should be regarded as the direct military force of the African Legion. Therefore, the African Legion itself is also a team with a very complicated situation.
However, the African Legion is undoubtedly a professional, battle-hardened mercenary force, known for its extremely strong combat effectiveness and cruelty. They are also the most elite force in the current Spanish army.
Even the subordinate Moroccan regular troops, composed of native Moroccans, are equally brave and capable.
Colonel Valdés had great confidence in the African Legion. He told Lieutenant Colonel Lara, "Our troops are far more combat-capable than those conscripts on the mainland. After we improve our logistics and equipment, we will have a huge advantage on the mainland."
The African Corps is mainly organized in the form of employment, so it is more professional. For this type of force, combat effectiveness is directly linked to funding.
The African Corps is not stationed in the mainland, so it has a relatively independent financial system and enjoys great autonomy in the use and management of funds.
The senior commanders of the African Corps, through the allocation of funds and deployment of materials, were able to establish a local military system centered on themselves and loyal to them within their jurisdiction, becoming a veritable "independent kingdom."
As they discussed logistics, Colonel Valdez suddenly had an idea. He turned to Lara and asked, "Have the Italian supplies arrived this week?"
Lieutenant Colonel Lara replied, "Not yet. Conventionally, ships usually arrive in Melilla on Tuesdays to replenish our supplies, but recently, it seems the Italians have made some adjustments."
"What changes have they made?" Valdez asked.
Lieutenant Colonel Lara said, "I heard it's a change in shipping routes. At least Italy used to ship goods from its own ports to Melilla, but a month ago, they changed the shipping point to Benghazi."
Valdez was familiar with the name Benghazi Port. He asked, "Isn't this Benghazi Port the Italian colony in North Africa?"
Lara answered truthfully: "Benghazi is the capital of Italian Libya. It's actually not too far from Melilla. Of course, it's definitely not as close as mainland Italy."
"From Italian Libya to us, there are French Libya, Tunisia and Algeria in between."
Taking the sea area between the Apennine Peninsula and Tunisia as the dividing line, the location of Benghazi Port belongs to the Eastern Mediterranean, while Melilla belongs to the Western Mediterranean, which is naturally farther away.
Colonel Valdez frowned and asked, "I've also had some knowledge of Italy's Libyan colonies. They're not exactly a good place. Even agricultural development is very difficult. Can Italy still provide us with material support from Benghazi?"
In response to Colonel Valdés's question, Lieutenant Colonel Lara explained, "Colonel, you probably haven't paid attention to a piece of important news this year: the North African railway, which has been a hot topic internationally, officially opened at the beginning of this year."
"That means the railway has been in operation for three or four months now. I think this may be the main reason why Italy made the adjustment."
The North African Railway is actually quite well-known in Europe. After all, it is the world's first railway across the Sahara Desert. It is also a major land transportation artery for trade between East Africa and Europe. No matter which one it is, it is quite shocking to Europeans.
In terms of engineering difficulty, the construction of the North African Railway is undoubtedly one of the greatest projects of this era. It symbolizes mankind's "conquest" of the Sahara Desert. As the world's largest desert and the desert closest to Europe, the Sahara Desert itself is a very hot topic.
Then from an economic perspective, the opening of the North African railway also contains huge business opportunities. After all, the current economic scale of East Africa cannot be ignored by the whole of Europe.
To be frank, the East African country alone is equivalent to half of Europe. Europe has a population of only 500 million, while East Africa has a population of 200 million. Moreover, East Africa is slightly larger in area than Europe. At the same time, East Africa's economic and industrial scale can fully reach the "continental level".
Colonel Valdés realized the importance of this railway and said, "This will completely change the importance of Benghazi to Italy. Italian Libya used to be a place no one cared about. Now that the trade route has been opened up through the North African Railway, Benghazi has instantly become a hot spot."
"Of course, even so, Benghazi's development should be in commerce, not industry and agriculture. Now Italy is actually allocating supplies from Benghazi to us. That can only mean that Italy is getting the goods from East Africa and then sending them to us!"
Lieutenant Colonel Lara also agreed with his assessment. He said, "In recent times, the aid supplies that Italy has provided us mainly include food, medicine, ammunition, etc."
"It's actually more convenient to buy these things from East Africa. After all, East Africa can produce everything. There's also a key issue with ammunition. Italy and our weapons systems are not compatible, but East Africa can. Although we are equipped with German weapons, East Africa itself belongs to Germany, and many standards are actually shared with Germany."
"Of course, the fact that Italy can exchange its supplies for East African goods only means that the prices of East African goods are lower, which makes Italy profitable."
"Besides other things, Italy itself is an importer of food, and they also need to import food from East Africa. Therefore, it would be better for them to simply transfer the aid supplies from Benghazi to us and cut out some middlemen."
The Port of Benghazi has become one of the important distribution centers for goods from East Africa and Europe, and Italy can make a lot of money from the price difference.
Not all the supplies transported through the North African railway and finally from the port of Benghazi will arrive in Italy. They may also be sold by Italian ships to other countries in Europe or the Mediterranean coast. Therefore, it is not surprising that some aid supplies are sent to Melilla.
Colonel Valdez was somewhat envious of the opening of the North African railway. He said, "The opening of this railway may not be a good thing for us."
“Before the North African railway was built, there were only two ways for East African goods to be shipped to the Mediterranean: either through the Suez Canal or through the Strait of Gibraltar.”
"Most East African merchant ships passing through the Strait of Gibraltar use Spain as a transit point. Now, East Africa can do this through the North African Railway. This is equivalent to Italy taking away some of our country's business."
Lieutenant Colonel Lara disagreed. He said, "The North African Railway is indeed a new channel, but land transportation is ultimately inferior to sea transportation. Especially for cities on the west coast of East Africa, it is more cost-effective to go through the Strait of Gibraltar."
"Therefore, the market share that the North African Railway can capture is very limited. Moreover, the North African Railway is closer to the Suez Canal. Therefore, even if there is a threat from this line, it is the British who should be more nervous."
Lieutenant Colonel Lara's judgment was correct. After all, the main source of goods for the North African Railway is the Great Lakes region of East Africa, and the Great Lakes region actually belongs to the eastern part of East Africa. Before the North African Railway was built, most of the goods sold to Europe from the Great Lakes region passed through the Northern Railway, went out to sea from Mombasa, and then reached the Mediterranean via the Red Sea route.
Therefore, the business that the North African Railway actually snatches away comes more from the direction of the Suez Canal rather than the direction of the Strait of Gibraltar.
(End of this chapter)
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