Chapter 759: Vicious Means
Coles agreed with Castells’s view: “During the three months we were trapped in Kinshasa, there were only 600 military forces in the entire Kinshasa, while the enemy had as many as 4,000 to 5,000 people. However, we with only 600 people managed to hold off the Portuguese attack for three months.”
"Although this Portuguese army is just a ragtag force with a large number of black slaves, their firepower is a level higher than the weapons of the Portuguese army during the First East-Portuguese War."
Coles was a veteran who had participated in the First Portuguese-Eastern War, so he was very familiar with the situation of the Portuguese army last time.
"And this is just the improvement of Portugal's miscellaneous troops. Portugal has two brigades stationed in Angola. These should be Angola's top military forces. It is not yet clear where these two brigades are located, but their weapons and equipment should be able to catch up with the European average."
"As the rear area, Angola's lifeline and colonial capital, it is not easy to know the exact number of troops in Luanda, but in terms of fortifications and artillery, it is definitely the place with the most in Angola at present."
"So when dealing with Luanda, we should ensure a certain number of artillery to suppress the enemy, so artillery is necessary in war."
In Coles' opinion, even if the Portuguese were the one who took the initiative to launch the attack in the early stage, it would be impossible for them to deploy all their main forces to the front line.
After all, the security of the capital must be the top priority of the colony, just like Maputo in Mozambique. To be honest, Maputo’s location is geographically unsuitable as a war command center.
However, hundreds of years of development by the Portuguese have made Maputo's conditions far superior to other inland areas, so its status has been continuously strengthened based on historical continuity.
In fact, the same is true in East Africa. It is located too far to the east, but the most elite Guards Division is stationed in the first town.
This is the privilege of the political center. Luanda is the political center of the Angolan colony, so the Portuguese "noble lords" will definitely give priority to deploying troops in the Luanda area. Even if the number is not too large, they are definitely the elite of Portugal.
Custer: "Well, no matter what the Portuguese do, we should be bolder. Just now, I had an idea. If it works, it can greatly save our time cost."
Hans Griffin asked, "What idea?"
Custer: "That is, can we divide our troops into two groups to achieve our strategic goals? Our previous idea was to attack the north first and then the south, but why don't we carry out military operations at the mouth of the Congo River and Luanda at the same time!"
"Cabinda is certainly not as important to Portugal as Luanda, so we only need to send fewer troops to complete the control of the Congo River estuary."
"As for Luanda, we need to add more personnel and equipment and launch attacks at the same time, so that we can achieve our strategic goals faster."
Hans Griffin asked, "How do we allocate our forces then?"
Custer: "More than 4,000 at the mouth of the Congo River should be enough. As for the rest of the troops, attack in the direction of Luanda."
Hans Griffin: “Isn’t this a risk?”
Custer: "There are certainly risks, but our chances of success are greater. After all, this counterattack on the Western Front is not just us. The Western Military Region is the real main force, and they are the focus of the Portuguese."
"So most of Portugal's troops will probably be held back in the southeast by our brother troops. This is also a great opportunity for us to march into Luanda."
"And even if the Portuguese want to come back to help, it may not be that easy. You know, the Western Military District will definitely bite their tail tightly."
"Moreover, our army's threat to Luanda is more likely to disrupt the morale of the Portuguese troops in the front, making them even more unable to resist our offensive."
Of course, in the final analysis, Custer’s confidence came from the fact that there were no serious opponents in the Angolan colony. If the Portuguese could not concentrate more than three times their strength, Custer was confident that he could win.
After all, as one of the elite troops in East Africa, the 331st Division has very high combat effectiveness. If it cannot even deal with the Portuguese ragtag army, there is no need to fight the South African War.
…
August 7, 1888.
The 331st East African Division began to split into two parts and headed towards the mouth of the Congo River and Luanda at the same time.
The route of the British Army of the 331st Division was mainly within the territory of the former Kingdom of Kongo. The Portuguese and East Africa were the main reasons for the demise of the Kingdom of Kongo.
Of course, the direct cause was Portugal's annexation of the Kingdom of Kongo in the 1970s to replenish the land passively taken from the south.
Moreover, East Africa blocked the Congo Kingdom's escape route to the east at that time, so it could only be slaughtered. If you can't win in Africa, you can escape. At that time, many indigenous kingdoms fled from East Africa to West Africa.
Unfortunately, the Kingdom of Kongo had a bad fate and was stuck in a dead end. To the north were the most brutal Belgians, and to the east were the "notorious" East Africans. In comparison, the Portuguese were the most friendly force to the Kingdom of Kongo.
Although the Portuguese annexed the Kingdom of Kongo, Angola itself has many black and white mixed-race descendants who cooperate with the Portuguese rule.
These mixed-race people also became the biggest threat to the 331st Division's southward advance, seriously delaying the march through East Africa, which made General Custer very angry.
"The harassment from these black servant troops has posed a serious threat to us. In order to make an example of them, I think we should wipe them out." Custer said gritting his teeth.
Hans Griffin: "I'm afraid this will delay our military operations."
Custer: "Now it seems that these blacks are determined to live and die with the Portuguese. So if we don't eliminate them, I'm afraid they will become more aggressive and eventually cause disaster."
"Are you going to massacre the local natives?" Hans Griffin asked fearfully.
Although East Africa has nothing to do with Africa, there are almost no massacres against black people. The Kingdom of Congo in the original region is obviously an area with a relatively dense black population. Only the Belgians in the north are ruthless. Now the number of black people in Belgium has been greatly reduced.
Custer: "If I can do that, I will definitely do it. After all, for those who are stubborn, it is more satisfying to destroy them physically."
Hans Griffin quickly advised: "It is better not to do something that can easily get your hands dirty. We really can't do anything to these black people now, but after the war is over, we will have plenty of ways to deal with them."
Hans Griffin went on to say: "Our primary goal now is to deal with the Portuguese. As for those black people who dare to challenge us, we will send them all to the Belgian territory in the future to let them see what cruelty is."
Custer and Hans Griffin were quite impressed with Belgium. After all, Bangui was not far from the Belgian colony in Congo, so many people in the 331st Division were well aware of Belgium's colonial rule methods.
It is no exaggeration to say that Belgians are born executioners. Under the reactionary rule of Leopold II, Belgian Congo successfully achieved negative population growth. At the same time, the disability rate was very likely the highest in the world. Therefore, Hans Griffin's crooked trick laid the groundwork for the tragic fate of the Angolan blacks who opposed East Africa in the future. This plan was extremely vicious.
(End of this chapter)
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