Chapter 791 The Dagger Revealed
"Hello, Lord Roberts!"
Commander-in-chief of the Western Military Region, Ledeen, shook hands with the British veteran who had made great military achievements with a beaming smile on his face.
If it were not for this situation, Earl Roberts would definitely admire this East African general who was a dozen years younger than him. However, the tragic shadow of defeat lingered in Earl Roberts' heart and was difficult to eliminate.
His facial muscles were stiff, and he said helplessly: "Congratulations, you win this time."
Although it is hard to accept the outcome of the war, East Africa has won, and there is no need to say more about the winners and losers.
Moreover, this time the East Africans defeated the coalition forces fairly and without any tricks, so Earl Roberts had only two words to describe this opponent: "formidable".
"Mr. Earl, don't be discouraged. Although the war failed, the blame is definitely not on you. The British army performed very well in this war. The only pity is that they were not well prepared and the follow-up support was not in place. Therefore, this defeat is not the fault of the war. You have fulfilled the responsibility entrusted to you by history."
Ryderne comforted him by saying that the British Army's performance in the South African War was still respectable, but the subsequent support from Britain and Portugal was unfavorable, and the coalition forces were full of mixed elements. The fact that Earl Roberts was able to lead this team to fight in East Africa for a whole year was, in Ryderne's opinion, completely worthy of Earl Roberts' previous reputation.
After all, the battle in East Africa was fought on home soil, and the army's statistics were no worse than those of the British army, but its numbers were three times that of the British army, so Earl Roberts was not considered a failure.
As for the Portuguese and Indian armies, as well as the hastily formed black vassal army, in Ledeen's opinion, they did not provide much help in the South African War. Instead, they held back Earl Roberts and the British army at some critical moments. There were pros and cons, and the merits and demerits offset each other.
Of course, Reden's comfort did not have much effect on Earl Roberts. Earl Roberts knew clearly that the outcome of this war was caused by several mistakes in his command in the early stages of the war.
In the past, the British army could have completely reversed the war with its weapons, equipment and logistical advantages, but on the South African battlefield, the situation faced by Earl Roberts was completely different from before.
The uniforms of these East African army troops are not gorgeous, but their combat effectiveness is extraordinary. Wearing gray helmets and dressed in military uniforms, the East African soldiers demonstrated the strength of the world's top army.
There were basically no major errors in the military dispatch, which shows that the East African command system is complete, the soldiers are in high spirits, the army is built very hard, and various tactics are applied freely. Especially in the later stages of the war, the East African army improved faster and responded to the battlefield situation more smoothly, making up for the final shortcomings.
All signs indicate that the East African National Defense Force has already become a world-class military, or is one of the most powerful armies in the world.
What impressed Earl Roberts most was the East African Army's application of various new weapons and its complete logistics supply system, which was also an important factor in East Africa's victory. Otherwise, it was their own shortcomings.
Although East Africa has the home advantage, this type of away combat is also the British Army's strong point. On the European plains, Constantinople, the Crimean Peninsula, the Abyssinian Empire, India, Afghanistan, Persia, the Far East Empire... the British Army has achieved outstanding results.
Only in the marginal area of South Africa did they fail at the hands of the East African Defense Force, so Earl Roberts' impression of this country in East Africa changed drastically. This was a powerful empire that had completely risen on the African continent!
Earl Roberts said to Ledeen: "General Ledeen, I am impressed by your performance in the war. I even feel that I am not fighting in Africa, but fighting in Europe against the world's top powers such as Germany and France."
Ledden: "Your Excellency is too modest. The strength of Britain is unquestionable. This time you have only exerted a little effort. If you engage in a full-scale war with us, we will definitely not be able to withstand it. As for the countries on the European continent, they are some monsters. We in East Africa cannot challenge them at present. They have the potential to mobilize tens of millions of people at any time. We in East Africa are far behind them."
Up to now, a total of more than 400,000 troops have been mobilized in East Africa, with 360,000 troops in the South African battlefield alone.
If an extreme mobilization is carried out, it would not be too difficult for East Africa to mobilize more than one million troops, but it is not easy to mobilize so many troops, maintain basic production order and provide sufficient weapons and equipment. This is the gap between East Africa and several other top powers.
Just like Britain, if Britain mobilized a million troops (including colonies), it would be easy and would not have much impact on the domestic economy. During World War II, Germany almost fought against the whole world on its own, but Germany was able to persist for six years, which is almost unimaginable for people today.
In the 19th century, it would have been a fantasy to say that Germany could go to war with several other powers on its own, even if the Austro-Hungarian Empire was included.
The country most similar to East Africa should be Tsarist Russia, but its population was almost two to three times larger, its area was more than twice that of East Africa, and it had a profound cultural heritage. Even so, it was very difficult for Tsarist Russia to mobilize a million troops, just like many Tsarist Russian soldiers in World War I could not even get a decent weapon.
The East African Defense Force is certainly not as "poor" as Tsarist Russia, but the premise is that the East African Defense Force does not have many troops. Just like now, the number of East African Defense Forces did not exceed 500,000 during the war, and before that it only maintained a level of 200,000 to 300,000.
Therefore, with the same military expenditure, if there are fewer people to share the burden, each soldier can naturally get more in terms of weapons, equipment, and logistical supplies.
The only reason East Africa does this is because it faces relatively few external enemies. It is no exaggeration to say that in the north of Africa, except for the Ottoman Empire and Egypt, there is no rival.
The British in the south can bring considerable pressure to East Africa, but not much. None of the countries bordering Tsarist Russia are simple. Germany and Austria are not to be mentioned. Northern Europe has clashed with Tsarist Russia many times in history, and even completely suppressed Tsarist Russia during Sweden's heyday. The Ottoman Empire and Tsarist Russia in the south are sworn enemies, and Iran and Afghanistan further south are not easy to deal with either.
There is the Far Eastern Empire in the East. Although it has been suppressed temporarily, Tsarist Russia is not having an easy time either. The Far Eastern Empire was the winner of the last war in the Western Regions.
Therefore, looking at the surrounding areas of Tsarist Russia, the only target that could be "bullied" was the small island country of Japan. However, Japan's strength had not yet been demonstrated. When the Russo-Japanese War broke out, Tsarist Russia should have understood that the capabilities of this island country could not be offset by a Siberian Railway.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Laiden finally got to the point: "Earl Roberts, in fact, your main force in the west has not yet failed. They are still resisting stubbornly near the area centered on São Jorge, so we hope that you can take the initiative to help us persuade them to surrender. Of course, the order from the Governor's Office of Mozambique is equally important."
The Mozambique War has not yet ended completely. There are still more than 50,000 main forces of the Allied Forces in the west, and most of them are British troops. This force has been fighting with the Western Military Region since the beginning of the war. If they are to be wiped out completely, East Africa will probably have to pay a heavy price. Therefore, with the help of Earl Roberts and the Governor's Office of Mozambique, it would be the best result to let them surrender voluntarily.
(End of this chapter)
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