Chapter 757: The Army is Defeat
In addition to the textile industry, foreign trade in coastal areas has basically been impacted to varying degrees.
Fortunately, the British did not go too far, otherwise East Africa would definitely be in big trouble. Of course, the reason for this situation is naturally a reflection of East Africa's own strength.
East Africa was worried that its trade would be affected, and Britain had similar anxieties, as Egypt and Somaliland were also threatened by East Africa, and the East African navy found it difficult to guard against invasions from the east and north by the British navy.
Similarly, Britain's Indian colonies also had such anxieties, especially when the East African naval power still existed.
Britain can strangle East Africa's foreign trade routes, and East Africa also has the ability to cut off communication between Britain and India, which makes both sides cautious.
Therefore, the South African War was generally within the control of the two countries, and it was also a test. As for the outbreak of larger conflicts and wars, neither was the best option.
…
Mongu City.
As the terminus of the western section of the Central Railway, it is an important hub for East Africa's counterattack against Angola. Originally, the population of Mongu City was only 3,000, but now a large number of troops gather here every day and then march to the western battlefield.
The army for the Angolan counter-offensive was mainly composed of reservists, with the framework consisting of retired soldiers and combat soldiers.
Such an army naturally has no war experience, and this is also an important reason why East Africa chose Angola as the location for the major counterattack.
Compared with the British army, the Portuguese army is a soft persimmon in the eyes of East Africa, and can effectively achieve the purpose of training troops.
"Don't be afraid when you meet the Portuguese. To be honest, the Portuguese's fighting awareness is not as good as that of some natives. Moreover, their army has a low cultural level, weak coordination ability, and poor weapons and equipment. When you see the Portuguese, give full play to our army's firepower advantage."
Hlad, an East African veteran who retired and was re-enlisted, imparted his combat experience to these children.
"Mr. Helaid, are the Portuguese really less capable than the natives?"
"Of course I won't lie to you. This is all my personal experience. Although Portugal is a well-known country in the world and was quite powerful in the past, it has long since lost the blood and energy of its ancestors."
"Let's not talk about the distant past. In the last East-Portuguese War, we only used two divisions of troops to defeat the Portuguese. They didn't even have the ability to resist. Even if there has been some progress in recent years, it's probably not much."
"Why?" someone asked Helide curiously.
"Because of the lack of money, the Portuguese economy has completely collapsed, so their soldiers are a poorly paid profession. The last time we fought the Portuguese, they were still using weapons that had long been eliminated, and some were even antique guns from the 15th and 16th centuries."
"A country that cannot even meet its needs for weapons and equipment cannot compete with other countries, which can also be seen from the uniforms of the Portuguese army."
"At the beginning of the Age of Exploration, the Portuguese army was well-equipped. Now the uniforms of the Portuguese army, especially the colonial army, are even simpler than our old East African uniforms."
"I believe you have seen the old East African military uniforms. They are a simplified version of the German military uniforms. The Portuguese cannot even standardize this simplified version of the military uniforms, and the organization of the troops is also very chaotic."
"Based on my previous experience, the Portuguese would collapse as long as we charged. I wonder if they have made any progress in recent years."
Hlad said that in fact, the most important factor affecting the combat effectiveness of an army is how the army is treated. The Portuguese army had long been rotten to the core.
Take the current Angolan army for example. Although conditions have improved, it is still a drop in the bucket and as the war progresses.
The Portuguese soldiers became more and more war-weary, and some even began to desert.
In the early stages of the war, Portugal could barely afford the military expenses of its soldiers, but the number of Portuguese troops was too large.
The population of Portugal is only a few hundred thousand, while the armies of Angola and Mozambique have reached more than 100,000, not counting the black vassal armies. For Portugal, military expenditures are a heavy burden.
By the middle of the war, Portugal had already begun to experience delays in the payment of military funds, but at this time the Portuguese soldiers could still bear it.
By now, the Portuguese government had begun to give in and could only give the soldiers empty promises, the most important of which was to go to East Africa to "kill, burn and loot".
However, there was at least a slim chance that the blank check could be fulfilled, but the goal of going to East Africa to support the war and make war profits was not achieved.
Because East Africa took the initiative to implement the "fortune-building and clearing of the fields" policy, the Portuguese soldiers were unable to generate additional income, and could not even solve the basic problem of food and clothing.
Under such circumstances, the mentality of the Portuguese grassroots soldiers naturally "exploded", so that in the middle period, the Angolan colonial army began to play badly, which was also an important reason for Portugal's slow progress.
Now the Portuguese soldiers are completely being exploited for free by the Portuguese government, and this result is a complete surprise for East Africa.
Early August 1888.
The East African army, ready to go, officially launched a full-scale counterattack against Angola. East Africa attacked Angola from three directions at the same time: the north, the middle and the south.
Almost as expected in East Africa, the Portuguese army was indeed at the lower limit of the coalition forces' combat effectiveness, and the black vassal army was in disarray before the battle even started.
The subsequent "free" bombardment of East Africa caused the black vassal army to suffer a mental breakdown, and the Portuguese did not perform much better.
Many Portuguese soldiers resisted passively and simply fired blank shots into the air. Some troops even surrendered directly to East Africa as a whole.
This was totally unexpected for East Africa, and the reason why the Portuguese troops surrendered was also laughable, that is, the food was too bad.
East Africa achieved tremendous results on all three fronts, advancing the front by more than 50 kilometers within a week.
What really blocked the progress of the East African army was not the Portuguese army, but the aftermath of East Africa's "fortification and clearing of the countryside" policy.
The East African policy of clearing the countryside was effective in striking the enemy, but it has now become a stumbling block in delaying East Africa's annexation of Angola.
The scorching heat in East Africa included the destruction of infrastructure such as roads, bridges and settlements, and now the offensive and defensive positions have changed.
The East African Defense Force had to remove the mines it had buried itself, which greatly delayed its march.
However, compared with the troubles encountered in East Africa, Portugal was really surrounded by enemies, especially on the northern front of East Africa. The troops of the East African Nile Military Region directly reached the Kinshasa front along the Ubangi River.
Kinshasa is the closest military town to Portugal in East Africa. It is only more than 300 miles away from here to the core area of Portugal's Angola colony.
Moreover, the main force of the Angolan colony is mainly distributed in the central and southern parts, and there are not many troops in the north to resist the southward advance of the Nile Military Region troops.
This is also the sequelae of the last war. During the First Portuguese-Eastern War, East Africa directly invaded the heartland of Angola from the central and southern parts, and directly threatened the security of Benguela and Luanda.
So this time Portugal deployed heavy troops in the east and west, thus ignoring the water transportation conditions of the Congo River.
Of course, this cannot be blamed on the Portuguese. After all, most of the Congo River is in the hands of East Africa, and the Portuguese have no channels to understand it.
(End of this chapter)
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