Chapter 749 Going South
These are all understandable. After all, maritime powers and land powers have different focuses, and East Africa currently attaches much more importance to the army than the navy.
Although the number of East Asian standby troops is not as large as those of the European land powers, it is not comparable to the reserve forces temporarily recruited by the United Kingdom from the country.
The British regular army has only a few hundred thousand soldiers, and most of them are stationed in the mainland and India. The regular army certainly cannot be deployed in large numbers to the South African battlefield. After all, it is necessary to be vigilant to changes in the European situation or to ensure the security of various colonies at all times.
Therefore, the British troops under Earl Roberts were not elite at all. Most of them were reserves or temporarily recruited from the country.
Although East Africa has temporarily added about 100,000 reservists to serve in the army, many of them have military experience. Although they have not fought in any major battles, they have a lot of experience. Even some new recruits have undergone long-term military training. This is specifically reflected in East Africa's compulsory education system.
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Zambezi Line.
It did not take much effort for East Africa to break through the Zambezi River, because the number of coalition forces on the other side of the Zambezi River was very small and was not enough to support the confrontation with the East African Army.
"At present, our army has a total of four divisions moving south, including the newly formed 221st Division, which belongs to the Northern Military Region. The other three divisions belong to the Eastern Military Region, including the 111th Division stationed in the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone, the 112th Division on the original Zambezi River Defense Line, and the 122nd Cavalry Division in Dodoma." said Rosenwell, commander of the 112th Division.
The 112th Division was originally the main force established in East Africa for the defense of the Rovuma River. Later, after the First East-Portuguese War, the border between East Africa and the Portuguese colony of Mozambique advanced southward to the Zambezi River, so the 112th Division's station also moved south.
Therefore, this military operation against Mozambique was mainly led by the 112th Division, the old rival of the Portuguese.
Douglas, commander of the 111th Division, said: "In fact, cavalry is not suitable for fighting in southern Mozambique. It is the rainy season in Mozambique at this time. Although there are a lot of plains in Mozambique, they are divided by rivers and forests. Therefore, cavalry is not as flexible as infantry."
"Now is not the time to be picky. Other areas do not have the conditions for cavalry support. Originally, the 221st and 122nd cavalry divisions were prepared to support the central battlefield, but the central battlefield is now in a stalemate, so the General Staff sent the two cavalry divisions to the north.
And don’t use East Africa’s road conditions to speculate on Mozambique’s road conditions. If you have been stationed on the border between East Africa and Mozambique for a long time, you will know that Mozambique’s road conditions are simply a pile of “shit”. Although this kind of road condition is not good for cavalry, it is not easy for infantry either. On the contrary, ships are very suitable as a means of transportation. ” Rosenwell said.
"The Zambezi River also has many tributaries in the lower reaches, but we don't have enough ships, so even if we break through the Zambezi River defense line, it is difficult to march in the area. These Portuguese are simply lazy. They have not built more roads for hundreds of years. Even if they build a few more simple mud roads, it will not cause us any trouble."
The biggest obstacle to the East African Army's southward advance was the road conditions in Mozambique. In fact, when East Africa did not have major infrastructure, the road conditions were not necessarily very good.
However, East Africa is mainly composed of grasslands. Although Mozambique also has a savanna climate, the rainfall and vegetation are much stronger than those in the East African plateau, and there are more rivers.
Therefore, after the East African Defense Force entered Mozambique, they clearly felt the pain that the German army experienced when entering the Soviet Union in the previous life. This harsh traffic environment alleviated the pressure on Earl Roberts to a certain extent.
Of course, this cannot be a reason for the East African Defense Force to stagnate. In fact, the German army also faced the problem of poor road conditions in the past, but their early advancement speed was not slow at all.
"Our army should reach the Pongwe River line in Mozambique within a week. Currently, the main force of the Mozambique coalition forces is mainly tied down in the west. This is a good time for us to move south." Rosenwell said.
Douglas: "If we want to completely wipe out the Mozambique army that blocked us before, we should push this time forward by one or two days. I think marching 40 kilometers a day should be a more appropriate progress. The Zambezi River is about 200 kilometers away from the Pongwe River, so more than 30 kilometers a day is too slow. I'm afraid that by then the enemy will have run back to Antonio!"
Rosenwell moved up the time again and said, "The Mozambique army is more familiar with the terrain than us, so we may waste more time on the road. Therefore, without affecting our combat effectiveness, it is best for us to control the Pongwe River line within four days. After we control the north bank of the Pongwe River, we can cut off the connection between the Portuguese and the people north of the Pongwe River, and catch them in a trap. At the same time, we can rest and recuperate on the north bank of the Pongwe River."
"This is basically the limit of the marching of ordinary troops, but it is indeed possible to consider this only for infantry. What is more important is the whereabouts of our two cavalry divisions. The cavalry divisions should play a greater role."
"So the 122nd Cavalry Division should play a role this time. Their rapid mobility may be able to intercept the enemy in advance and eliminate risks in advance."
Rosenwell chose the 122nd Division as the vanguard after careful consideration. The 122nd Division is a veteran cavalry unit in East Africa that has participated in many battles and has rich combat experience.
This war was fought in enemy territory, and the East African Defense Force lacked understanding of Mozambique. In fact, let alone East Africa, I'm afraid the Portuguese were not very familiar with the Mozambique colony.
In this case, old troops like the 122nd Division are more experienced and can deal with danger more calmly even if they encounter danger in Mozambique, while the 221st Division of the Northern Military Region lacks the relevant foundation.
In fact, the mission of the 221st Division in Mozambique this time is to support the Eastern Military Region, rather than to undertake the main combat mission. After all, the 221st Division was established too recently and must first be run-in on the battlefield for a period of time. The 222nd Division, which was formed later, is still training in the Northern Military Region and has not even had the opportunity to contact the battlefield.
After formulating the combat plan, the East African Army demonstrated to the enemy for the first time the speed of East Africa's large-scale strategic march, with four divisions of troops rapidly advancing to the rear of Mozambique.
As the vanguard, the 122nd Division caught up with the Portuguese blocking forces that had evacuated from the south bank of the Zambezi River the next day and inflicted severe damage on them. Subsequently, the 2nd Brigade of the 112th Division joined the battle and wiped out the main force of the Portuguese army. Only a small number of Portuguese troops escaped.
However, no matter how fast they ran, they could not outrun four-legged horses. After completing their combat mission, the 122nd Division reached the Pongwe River line in just two days and set up a blockade along the Pongwe River.
Subsequently, other East African troops began to play a game of hide-and-seek with the defeated Portuguese troops north of the Pongwe River. Even if these Portuguese remnants wanted to fight against East Africa, they were powerless, and more Portuguese troops voluntarily surrendered to East Africa.
By late June 1888, the 20,000 Portuguese troops (including blacks) originally on the north bank of the Ponque River were completely wiped out by East Africans. Of course, there were also many "missing persons" in the Portuguese army, especially black deserters.
These missing persons are basically difficult to find, as most of them are black people who took the opportunity to escape from Portugal. Mozambique is vast and sparsely populated, and it is impossible to conduct a thorough search in every part of East Africa. We can only wait until the war is over and when Mozambique is developed in the future to find these hidden populations.
(End of this chapter)
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