Chapter 480: Anglo-French Collusion
As the largest customer of East African slaves, the Ottoman Empire had a strong demand. It was not a matter of likes or dislikes, but the price of East African slaves was too low. No one could resist the temptation of such low prices. Even some civilians in the Ottoman Empire could afford them. Therefore, in the eyes of the Ottomans, slaves were cheaper than livestock and required less food than livestock, making them very suitable for large-scale popularization.
However, the number of blacks in the Ottoman Empire was so excessive that they could be used as consumables in the war against Tsarist Russia. This was also a headache for the Russians. Fortunately, the combat effectiveness of blacks was not high.
The advantage of East African black slaves is that they are very suitable for large-scale organization and use, which is the norm of slave life in East Africa. Therefore, after the Ottomans took over, they were able to easily organize the black slaves. Even if they were a mob, gathering together could greatly reduce the pressure on the Ottoman Empire's regular army.
…
Colony of Mozambique.
"Your Excellency Governor Lefford! Is this the army you were talking about?" The French instructor said with some disbelief, looking at the armed forces of Mozambique.
The total number of Mozambique's troops at present is only a mere 1,400 people, and it seems that they are not much more advanced than the medieval army. French instructor Drais said that some islands in the Indian Ocean might be stronger than Mozambique's regular army.
However, if Delis had seen the state of the Portuguese mainland army, he would probably understand why the Mozambique army was in such a terrible state.
Like Britain, Portugal also focuses on naval development. Now the Portuguese navy is in serious decline, and the army is even more insignificant.
The good news is that the situation in Spain, next door to Portugal, is not good either, so the pressure on national defense is not that great. The two former powers of the Iberian Peninsula continue to maintain a stable balance.
Lyford said somewhat embarrassedly: "Most colonial armies are like this, just like some of your French colonies, their strength may not be stronger than ours."
"This is not a question of strength. I heard that the East African army has at least tens of thousands of people, and can fight against white forces like the Boers. This means that the enemies Mozambique faces are about the same strength as some weak European countries. However, the military strength of weak European countries cannot be ignored in Africa. Your regular army is so small, poorly trained, and poorly equipped. How can you compete with East Africa under such circumstances? No wonder East Africa can suppress you and expand wantonly. It is obvious that you have invested too little in the military of your colonies."
Lyford: "This is all the fault of the previous governors. They did not invest much in the military, but this is also related to the fact that the mainland does not attach importance to the development of the colonies. The funds we can obtain are not much, so the army can only make do with what it has."
De Les: "Okay, now Portugal needs to find a way to expand the number of troops. To be honest, this kind of army has neither quantity nor quality. No wonder the Germans, as latecomers, can gain such a big advantage in Africa."
Although he said this, Drais actually thought in his heart, the Portuguese are no good? The Germans are really lucky. If they knew the situation of the Portuguese colonies, they would have been better off letting France occupy East Africa.
Of course, Dreiser was somewhat presumptuous. Portugal's colonial power should be viewed separately. The regular army was small in number and had poor combat effectiveness, but the power structure of the colony was actually scattered among various forces, including colonial companies, merchants, plantation owners and mine owners. The private armed forces of these forces were also an important part of the Mozambique colony, but they did not accept the jurisdiction of the kingdom.
Lyford: "But where can we find so many soldiers? If we had the ability, Germany wouldn't be so arrogant in East Africa!"
Delais: "What Africa lacks the least is black people, so we can use black people to form an army that can fight against East Africa."
"No way!" Lyford objected. "If we use black people to form an army, what's the difference between that and the wolf giving teeth to sheep? What if they learn to use firearms and turn against us?"
What Leford said is a very realistic issue. The reason why Mozambique can control such a large area of land and manage so many black people is because of its advantage in weapons. Apart from that, it is hard to say how much more advanced Portugal is than the blacks. As a monarchy, Portugal may not be much stronger than some indigenous kingdoms in Africa.
Drais: "Governor, do you have any other options now? If you don't use blacks, where can you find so many soldiers? Moreover, the threat of blacks is in the future. Right now, your biggest threat is the Germans in East Africa. As long as you solve the biggest enemy, the Germans, everything else will be a small problem."
Leford: "But even if Mozambique is not short of blacks, we are short of weapons and equipment. As far as I know, the German army is equipped with Dreiser rifles and Mauser rifles, which are the active equipment of the German Army. The gap between us is too big."
"Well, this is indeed a problem!" Drais said, "But you don't have to worry too much. We can help you solve the weapons problem. Besides, black people don't need very advanced weapons and equipment. We and the UK can provide you with rifles and ammunition for 50,000 people, mainly Enfield and Minié rifles."
"Will it cost money?" Lyford asked a key question.
"No, this batch of weapons is jointly provided by us and Britain." Drais said, "But you have to solve the food problem by yourselves."
In fact, the British have already paid for the purchase of weapons, and Britain is quite concerned about dealing with East Africa.
The British were quite aware of Portugal's strength. If Portugal relied on itself alone, it would probably be defeated by the Germans, so it was necessary to improve the Portuguese's combat effectiveness.
Although the help provided by the British was not too great, Britain believed that Mozambique did not need too good weapons. It could just fight a war with East Africa to test out East Africa's true strength. As long as East Africa showed a little weakness, Cape Town could ignore the Portuguese and take action.
"Even so, the gap between us and the Germans is still too big. Not only are our weapons inferior, but there is also the question of whether black people can fight!"
"Governor, you are too conservative. Although the combat effectiveness of the blacks is not good, the army of the East African Kingdom is not entirely composed of Germans. They also use a large number of people from the Far East, so you are only calculating the same." Drais said based on his own experience.
It is not Drais's fault that he underestimated the enemy. Although France lost to Germany, France believed that its last defeat to Germany was a complete accident. After all, France had not even completed its mobilization last time, and the overall quality shown by France in the last war was stronger than that of Germany. These were the conclusions drawn by France when summarizing the reasons for its failure.
In addition, there are a large number of Far Easterners in the East African Army, and the Far Eastern Empire's record in recent years is really disastrous, so Drais can't help but be a little arrogant about the East African Army which is mixed with Far Eastern immigrants.
De Les said: "We will personally train your troops this time to ensure that the troops' combat effectiveness is improved in a relatively short period of time. With the advanced experience of the French Army, Mozambique will definitely be able to compete with East Africa."
France's active participation in Britain's plan against the East African Kingdom was inevitably due to considerations of interests. In fact, East Africa as a German colony was enough to make France unhappy. The French's hatred for the Germans had been filled up by Prussia, but Germany could not afford to offend it, so it was not a bad idea to vent their anger on East Africa.
Moreover, if the Germans could suffer a major setback in East Africa, France might have the opportunity to infiltrate East Africa in the future, making France's colonial territory more complete.
(End of this chapter)
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