Chapter 778: Cross-Sea Operation
On the sea, five warships of the New Hamburgo Port Navy, along with two merchant ships, were heading towards Maputo in a mighty manner.
Although it was only a short distance, the large group of East African Army soldiers on board did not react much. Only a few could not stand the bumpy sea ride and felt dizzy, which is a symptom of seasickness.
However, this performance also made Captain Schwall, who led the team, feel a little dissatisfied. Of course, this was based on his own experience. Although he was not seasick, he also felt a little uproarious inside his body. The slight discomfort gave him some new understanding of the sea.
"It seems that the Wehrmacht should organize a force specifically for landing operations, between the navy and the army. Not everyone can withstand the turbulence on the sea. They must receive relevant training, or the army should receive more training in this special environment. Maybe they will encounter such special combat situations in the future." Schwall said.
In fact, compared with most countries, the performance of the East African Army is very good, because East African immigrants all arrived in East Africa by crossing the ocean, so they have a certain ability to withstand the wind and waves and bumps on the sea. However, after arriving in East Africa, East African immigrants rarely go to the sea again.
This is mainly because the marine fisheries in East Africa are not well developed, although the marine fishery resources in East Africa are very rich, with the Somali Current in the east and the Benguela Current in the west forming fishing grounds.
However, East Africa is not a country that relies on the sea for its survival. On the contrary, for the sake of national development, it has been more actively exploring inland areas. This policy is definitely correct. Without inland development, East Africa would definitely have been in trouble in this South African War.
Without the support of the three central provinces and the laying of the central railway and telegraph network, East Africa's material supplies and manpower could only be transported over long distances by animal and manpower. East Africa's combat situation would not be much better than that of Britain and Portugal, which needed cross-sea support. Intelligence work alone would be enough to cause East Africa to collapse.
Of course, with the inclination towards inland resources, the development of coastal areas has not stagnated. There is still marine fishing in densely populated coastal cities such as Mogadishu, Mombasa, and Dar es Salaam.
However, another factor that has led to the lack of enthusiasm for the development of marine fisheries in East Africa is the inconvenience in preservation and transportation.
The East African coastline is straight and lacks good seaports. As a result, the coastal population of East Africa is bound to be not too large relative to the population of East Africa. On the other hand, looking at Europe, the continent is fragmented, there are many coastal residents, and there are many countries that rely on fishing for survival. For example, Greece, the cradle of European civilization, is a typical maritime civilization. Moreover, East Africa lacks a canal network as developed as that in Europe.
The fishery in East Africa can be compared with that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had less coastline than East Africa, but its area was also smaller than that of East Africa. Moreover, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was located deep in the heart of Europe, so the locals were accustomed to eating more freshwater fish.
The eating habits of East African immigrants are actually in line with the habits of mainland countries. The main body of East African immigrants can be divided into three parts. One is the Far East immigrants. The Far East has experienced a long-term "closed-door" policy. Even many seaports and fishing villages have only developed in recent years. This is also the reason for the unfavorable development of the Far East Empire Navy.
Then there is the South German group centered on the Swabian region, which can be said to be the core component of East African culture. Many pure Germans, including the Hechingen royal family, come from the South German region. Naturally, like the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the South German region lives inland far away from the ocean, so it is also a traditional farming group.
The last are the immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but the immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire are diverse, just like the ethnic composition of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Generally speaking, there are a lot of Slavs.
So in terms of national composition, East Africa is a real traditional agricultural civilization rather than a maritime civilization. Various factors have led to the underdeveloped marine fisheries in East Africa.
In contrast, East Africa's maritime trade is increasing every year. An important reason for the increase in maritime trade is that inland development has greatly enriched the types of goods and commodities that East Africa can use for international trade.
Therefore, the two are positively correlated. The stronger the inland development, the stronger the maritime trade.
Of course, there are exceptions, such as the current state of war, East Africa's ocean trade has suffered a great setback, but this is only a special case during wartime.
And this is not entirely a bad thing for East Africa. After East Africa's overseas trade was restricted, many imported parts for industrial production in East Africa were affected to a certain extent. This forced East African industrial sectors and factories to be more attentive on the road to "self-sufficiency", which to a certain extent catalyzed the deepening of localization.
In this regard, East Africa actually already has the conditions to achieve independent research and development and production of some core equipment, but due to the influence of the "it is better to buy than to make" environment, there is no room for development.
After trade was restricted, many equipment were sanctioned by the United Kingdom, which in turn stimulated "creative" thinking across East Africa.
Of course, this is based on the achievements of East Africa's preliminary industrial system and compulsory education construction. A good cook cannot cook without rice. Only a certain industrial foundation and talents can provide East Africa with confidence.
Current technology has not yet developed to the point where it can be easily monopolized, which is also an important reason why East Africa can develop rapidly.
Just like the technological revolution in the 21st century, such as new energy, artificial intelligence, big data and the like, countries like the Far East Empire and the United States have actually further widened the gap in the world's technological levels.
Take Africa for example. Many countries cannot even master the technology of the first industrial revolution, let alone the third scientific and technological revolution. Without a solid foundation, the lessons they need to make up will only increase.
…
Schwall's idea is actually the Marine Corps. As a 21st century man, Ernst naturally has the same idea, but there is no need to develop a similar military branch in East Africa.
First of all, other countries have not yet entered this field, so Ernst is not in a hurry. Secondly, East Africa is still centered on the African continent for development, rather than the ocean, so there is no such demand.
Now East Africa is just sipping on the leftovers of colonialism, and its colonies around the world are just scraps that other countries don’t value.
Of course, scraps may not be ignored, just like the South Ryukyu Islands. For a country like Japan with scarce land resources, scraps are also very attractive. It’s just that Japan does not have the ability to turn the table now, especially after being suppressed to a certain extent by East Africa, and its national strength during the same period is not as good as in the previous life.
In short, the Marine Corps and other branches of the military will definitely be there, but not at this time. Just like Ernst is also coveting the Air Force and mechanized forces, but there are no conditions to realize them for the time being.
Having said that, Schwall's surprise attack on Maputo's southern defense line actually started from the port city of New Hamburgo, which was less than 300 kilometers away from its destination.
This can only be considered a short-range cross-sea operation, but Schwall's ability to find the problem also shows that he is good at thinking.
However, the regiment led by Schwall had only more than 2,000 people in total, and they were deep behind enemy lines, so they were likely to face attacks from both sides, so it was very dangerous.
Of course, the most dangerous thing is that there is no direct harbor between the port of New Hamburgo and Maputo, which means that Schwall's troops can only land via small naval boats.
If we were discovered by the Portuguese, we would most likely be trapped at sea, and this would depend on luck, that is, on whether the Portuguese attached great importance to patrolling the coastline.
(End of this chapter)
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