Chapter 658 Policy
"The Danube Province has always been in an awkward position, neither up nor down. In fact, the climate conditions in the Danube Province are among the best in all the East African provinces."
"There is the main channel of the Congo River, as well as large tributaries of the Congo River such as the Kwango River. The terrain is flat, and there are abundant water, grass and forests. The ancient Kingdom of Kongo has always been active in this area."
"In fact, the Portuguese also knew this, but they acted too late, so the entire basin east of the Kwango River was occupied by us."
"The biggest problem for the Danube Province right now is that it is in the west and it is also a border area, so very few immigrants are allocated to it. It is only slightly better than Southwest Africa, but our level of development in the Danube Province is not high."
Ernst said a lot in succession, emphasizing the importance of the Danube Province. However, the importance of the Danube Province also hides high risks. If the risks are not eliminated, the development of the Danube Province in East Africa is naturally out of the question.
"The Portuguese in the Angolan colony must have been busy these past few years. So the next time our army enters the Angolan colony, it will not be easy. The same is probably true for Mozambique. After all, with the British supervising, the Portuguese in Mozambique dare not be perfunctory."
Siweitt said, "Your Highness, the situation in Mozambique is exactly as you said. The British have actually used our objective threat to force the Portuguese colony of Mozambique to join their chariot. According to the information sent back by the intelligence personnel, the British have basically obtained the military command of the Portuguese colony of Mozambique."
"Moreover, most of the weapons of the Mozambique armed forces are now provided by the United Kingdom. The Portuguese are not as good as us in East Africa in terms of weaponry."
"As for Angola, it is different from Mozambique. Angola is more independent than Mozambique and is basically not controlled by the British. The local civilian forces and the Portuguese native army jointly built Angola's military defense system."
"However, our analysis shows that these Angolan civil organizations may be more difficult to deal with than the Portuguese regular army."
"First of all, it's about weapons and equipment. These big plantation owners and mine owners are richer than each other. They are not stingy in investing in weapons and equipment. Their weapons and equipment are even better than those of the Portuguese mainland troops."
"Secondly, these local forces that have taken root in Angola are even more hostile to East Africa than Portugal itself. Because of our last action in southern Angola, our next attempt to win over these civilian forces has come to naught."
Every time East Africa expanded outward, it meant that the original local forces were crushed into pieces. The most important thing was that the land ownership was deprived by East Africa, and the original local forces were wiped out.
Therefore, the attitude of the large plantation owners and mine owners in southern Angola towards East Africa can be said to be that they wanted to eat its flesh alive, and the Portuguese in the north were also frightened by East Africa's policies.
I'm afraid that all countries and forces would resist East Africa to the end. If East Africa does not confiscate their land and respects "private property", they might even betray Portugal and throw themselves into the arms of East Africa without East Africa urging them.
Of course, Ernst dare not use such people who come to him for surrender. Those who come here for surrender are not good businessmen. These guys choose to surrender temporarily for the sake of interests, and they may rebel at any time for the sake of interests in the future.
Moreover, according to the common characteristics of regions with obvious ethnic differences, they are naturally hostile to the central government's policies. Even if the policies are beneficial to them, they probably will not appreciate them and will even make up conspiracy theories.
This is most obvious in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although Hungary has always accused Austria of exploiting it, in fact, Hungary has been a relatively fast-growing region in Europe over the years. The development of its railways and industry is no slower than other regions, and it can also enjoy the treatment of a great power abroad. However, Hungary does not appreciate it, and Austria can only swallow its bitterness in silence.
From this perspective, the Habsburgs were truly a model of a benevolent monarch, and Ernst was clearly not suited to this path, so his goal was to force those foreigners who wanted to stay in the "East African territory" to rebel.
Moreover, these people in Angola are not without a way out. They are determined to fight East Africa to the end. The last time they took over southern Angola proved this.
In colonies like these with a sovereign power, they are different from Africans. Africans have no way out, but these Portuguese in Angola can return to mainland Portugal.
"Finally, there is the Portuguese local army. Its combat effectiveness is very questionable. The political situation in Portugal is chaotic. There are various contradictions between capitalists and nobles, local forces and the central government, the people and the government, etc. This has also put the Portuguese economy on the brink of collapse. Therefore, it is impossible for the Portuguese local army to form combat effectiveness."
The last point that Siweitt made was actually that Portugal's military expenditure was too low. After all, as a former great power, it could not even produce a single ironclad ship and had to purchase them from Britain. This was in stark contrast to the Portuguese navy a hundred years ago. The navy was so shabby, not to mention the army.
Military spending is already low and management is poor, so you can imagine the current situation of the Portuguese army.
Of course, Ernst did not doubt the fighting ability of the Portuguese. If their fighting ability was not good enough, Spain would have swallowed up Portugal long ago.
This brings us to the Portuguese aristocracy. According to European aristocratic tradition, their private armed forces were likely the backbone of Portugal's military power.
Ernst said: "So the next time a war breaks out, we must provide sufficient firepower to the troops. These local forces don't care about other things, but they will definitely build strong fortifications for their own sphere of influence. Therefore, the army may encounter a large number of private fortifications, as well as passes built by the Portuguese local army in dangerous places."
"Also, we must try not to let this group of people engage in direct combat with the army. Even if they are like turtles hiding their heads and relying on bunkers and cities for defense, we are not afraid. The only thing that is most troublesome is guerrilla tactics. Therefore, the troops should advance steadily and uproot the local forces to avoid future troubles."
The enemy is holding its ground and refusing to come out, which is indeed a headache for East Africa. However, East Africa has the time and energy to consume the enemy, and with the heavy firepower support of artillery, the enemy can be consumed little by little, and the arrogance of the enemies behind will also be worn down.
What Ernst was most worried about was that the war would be fought quickly, but these local forces would not submit. After all, the war was fought too quickly, and the East African government would not have time to send officials to take over the grassroots, control and manage the local areas, which might cause turmoil in the rear.
The most important thing is to prevent the enemies in these areas from having the idea of ​​guerrilla warfare. If they adopt guerrilla tactics, the armies of countries around the world will have a headache. Slow work produces fine work, and the initiative has always been in East Africa, so East Africa has always been sitting on the Diaoyutai.
(End of this chapter)
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