Chapter 481 Cooperation with the Performance
In order to strengthen Mozambique's military power, Britain and France planned to let the Mozambique colony use local blacks to form a military force. Although the Portuguese were reluctant, they could accept it with such a highly expansionist regime in East Africa by their side.
The image of East Africa in southern Africa is almost the same as the image of Tsarist Russia in Europe. However, Tsarist Russia is a little more advanced, and the same is true in Asia. Therefore, Tsarist Russia's international image is well known all over the world. East Africa has some presence in southern Africa at most, but it is not so effective in West Africa and North Africa. For example, Egypt has a good impression of the East African government. Except for those fallen regimes driven to North Africa by East Africa, other countries generally do not know the existence of East Africa.
Mozambique's use of black people to form an army is actually in line with its national conditions. This has to do with the Portuguese colonial methods. The Portuguese colonization is different from that of the British. The Portuguese cannot control their own crotches, and they cannot be as ruthless as the Anglo-Saxons. Therefore, the Mozambique colony, like Brazil, has a large number of mixed-race descendants with Portuguese paternal lines and African indigenous maternal lines.
These mixed-race descendants are an effective means for Portugal to maintain control over its colonies even after its national strength has declined. After all, to be honest, Portugal's current national strength is probably not much different from that of some small countries in East Asia. Ernst even doubts that Portugal is no match for the Kingdom of Italy.
After being weakened by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Italy is now nestled in the northwest of the Apennine Peninsula, with several Italian islands attached, but its population and industry still exceed those of Portugal.
Therefore, if Mozambique selects soldiers from black people, it will definitely select from mixed-race descendants. The number of mixed-race descendants is more than that of pure Portuguese, and everyone has a common interest in combating pure blacks. These mixed-race descendants related to the Portuguese were originally part of the ruling class of the Mozambique colony, but the top level is controlled by the Portuguese whites. If the mixed-race people have an army, then this pattern may change. This is also what Lefford is worried about.
March 1878.
South Salzburg Province.
While Britain, France and Mozambique were colluding with each other, the East African kingdom was tacitly preparing countermeasures. The two sides secretly engaged in a military competition. Mozambique formed a black army, and East Africa also formed a black army.
You heard it right, East Africa also plans to organize a military force composed of black people, but the purpose of East Africa in forming a black army is obviously different from that of Portugal.
While livestock were replacing slaves in eastern East Africa, a portion of the replaced blacks were transported by rail to the South Salzburg Province, east of Lake Malawi, for organization and training.
When these blacks saw the Germans really firing muskets at them, they felt a little unbelievable, because they knew that the Germans were able to bully them and act tyrannically because of this "magic weapon".
However, even with the artifact in hand, the blacks still did not dare to resist the Germans. Under the day-to-day exploitation in East Africa, the fear built in the hearts of these blacks could not be broken in a short time.
Of course, what they thought was correct. Even if they had the weapons provided by East Africa, they could not turn the tables. A gun without bullets was no different from a firewood stick.
However, when they really went to the battlefield later and saw blood, their mentality might be different. This was the case with black people in previous lives, especially in German East Africa. Under the leadership of the Germans, the black soldiers in German East Africa overcame their fear of white people and made the British, Portuguese and Belgian coalition forces at the time lose face.
This is also the problem that Mozambicans are worried about when forming a black army. If modern weapons are used by blacks, it is very likely to break the impression in the minds of blacks that whites are invincible.
However, East Africa is not worried about this at all. The black armed forces in East Africa are disposable items this time. After they are used up, East Africa will immediately arrange tickets for them to America. If they become a scourge in the future, East Africa will not be blamed.
Looking at the army of more than 5,000 black soldiers in front of me, it was really a dark mass. They really looked like the soldiers of African countries in my previous life, except for the beret.
Ernst said with satisfaction: "If our army deliberately plays a trick with the Portuguese, it will seem unreal. So in order to give the Portuguese the illusion that they have met a worthy opponent, I think we should make it more realistic. Therefore, the Black Legion is necessary to exist."
The commander of the 111th Division, John Sebastian, stood aside and asked worriedly, "Your Highness, is this really okay? I personally doubt the combat effectiveness of the blacks. What if they become a flaw on the battlefield and drag our regular troops down with them?"
Ernst: "What are you worried about? The Portuguese will definitely use black people to form an army. They don't have that many white people in their colonies to fight. Even if they really spend a lot of money to transfer troops from their homeland, they will definitely need black vassal troops. So are you afraid that you won't have an advantage if you use black people against black people?"
There is really no advantage, because the equipment of the East African Black Legion is worse than the equipment prepared by Portugal for the blacks. In order to form the Black Legion, East Africa confiscated a large number of flintlock rifles used by the militia, which are much worse than the Minié rifles and Enfield rifles used by Portugal.
This was not something Ernst could know, because at that time France and Britain were just shipping these unsaleable arms in the warehouse to Mozambique and Angola to equip the black soldiers. It was impossible for East African intelligence personnel to know about it immediately and pass the news back to East Africa.
And even if they knew, East Africa would still choose to equip the Black Legion with outdated flintlock rifles. Ernst just wanted the East African army to fight in a more ugly way, and this certainly could not be done by the regular army. If the acting became real, there would be no place to cry, so it would be better to let the Black Legion complete this task.
Ernst: "Our army has been tempered by countless wars. Although the opponents are not very strong, the army's courage and quality have been cultivated. It is no problem to deal with some European armies. So if we want the army to defend against Portugal, I am afraid that the Portuguese will feel desperate. This is not what I want to see. Therefore, using the black legion to fight Portugal can play this scene well."
John Sebastian: "If you put it that way, it's true! I feel like the 111th Division alone can fight its way through Mozambique. Occupation may be a little difficult, after all, there are not enough people, but as for destruction, it won't be a problem to plow Mozambique a few times."
John Sebastian was aware of the strength of the Mozambique army in the past. To be honest, the combat effectiveness of the Mozambique army was probably at the same level as the militia forces in East Africa. However, there were too many militias in East Africa, and even using the militias to fight against the Portuguese would be a bit of a bully to the Portuguese.
Ernst: "So this time when we fight against the Portuguese, you are not the main force. Let the second-line troops and the black army be at the forefront. You are only responsible for following behind to stabilize the situation and avoid accidents."
East Africa's idea is to put the black army at the forefront, the second-line troops are responsible for supervising the battle, and the elite troops are at the back to prevent rollover. This way, there is double insurance. Unless the Portuguese can also summon the fireball, it is impossible for East Africa to lose with this configuration.
Ernst: "There will be more black people gathering later. This time we will organize 60,000 black troops and see how the Portuguese deal with them."
There are 60,000 black troops, but only 40,000 of them can use muskets, and these are antiques found after rummaging through boxes and cabinets in East Africa. The remaining blacks can only use cold weapons. It is impossible for East Africa to really give the blacks any good equipment, not even the outdated Dreiser rifle.
(End of this chapter)
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