Chapter 776： The third phase

Chapter 776 The third stage

December 12, 1888.

The banks of the Sawei River.

While the British-Portuguese allied forces were building a new headquarters and government office in Shaokui, the various East African troops that had been resting for nearly half a month were finally ready.

Under the cover of darkness, the 221st East African Division began to cross the river at Masanggena Ferry. The total length of the Savi River is more than 680 kilometers, so it is impossible for the coalition to deploy too many troops in each area of ​​the Savi River defense line.

The crossing point chosen by the 221st Division is the western part of the Savui River. Due to climate and other reasons, this is the most primitive area in Mozambique. The Portuguese have basically not developed this area. If it were not for the war with East Africa, I am afraid that a small coalition company would have The troops were not willing to be sent over.

In the southwest region, which is also the area with the least precipitation in Mozambique, there are few rivers and sparse vegetation. Therefore, even in previous lives, this area was only a wildlife sanctuary in Mozambique. It is conceivable that such a place would only become more desolate in the 19th century.

Mars, the commander of the 221st Division, is naturally very clear about this.

"The British and Portuguese troops are mainly in the eastern section of the Savui River, while the western section is sparsely populated. Although this gives us an opportunity, it also means that we will be affected by material supply and water source problems in the future. Logistics support It will also become more difficult."

“So after crossing the river, our army immediately marched eastward along the Sawei River to cooperate with other troops in fighting, instead of going directly south. This is an order from the General Staff, and it is also a more reasonable arrangement in my opinion.”

River-crossing operations are naturally carried out from multiple locations. The Eastern Military Region and the 221st Division have carried out in-depth cooperation, and the East African National Defense Force has crossed many rivers like the Sawee River.

The rivers in Mozambique mostly run from east to west, so the East African Defense Force will encounter a river every distance along the way. However, the Portuguese's development of Mozambique is appallingly low.

…

In this environment, all units of the East African National Defense Force naturally have to learn the art of building bridges and roads, and it is a necessary means, just like the several pontoon bridges currently built by the 221st Division.

Hence, the East African Defense Forces can only provide food and clothing by themselves, but most East African armies have this skill at their disposal.

During East Africa’s decades-long conquest of Africa, Africa’s harsh natural conditions have never been an obstacle to the advancement of the East African National Defense Forces. Even in East Africa itself, most areas have not been effectively utilized and developed.

Stepping onto the land on the south bank of the Sawe River, Major General Mars seemed to see Maputo right in front of him. Of course, now is not the time to stay here. The 221st Division has successfully crossed the river. It should also help the brother troops go south in accordance with the plan of the General Staff. .

Although it looked very crude due to insufficient materials and time constraints, it still successfully completed the 221st Division's need to cross the river.

Most of the rivers remain in their pristine state, with only a handful of bridges and certainly heavily guarded by the Portuguese.

The first town.

Minister of General Staff Sweet and other military and political personnel have arrived. The South African war has now entered the countdown stage. After the troops have been fully rested, the target in East Africa is now Mozambique.

Ernst: “Are all the troops ready now?”

Sweet: "At present, the combat troops of the three major military regions have been prepared. In addition to some troops from the Northern Military Region and the Nile Military Region participating in this operation, the newly formed 221st Division and 222nd Division of the Eastern Military Region and Northern Military Region will take action first."      "Western Military Region It has the strongest strength and the largest number of people. At the same time, some troops from the Nile Military Region will also cooperate with the Western Military Region to carry out military operations in the east. The main battlefield of this war may be on the eastern defense line."

"Finally, there is the Southern Military District. The main force of the Southern Military District is currently distributed around the New Hamburg Port City. The target is Maputo, but Maputo should be difficult to fight, so we still use the west and north directions to compress the British and Portuguese troops to survive. Space play.”

“After the Anglo-Portuguese allied forces are forced into the narrow area in the southeast, the difficulties they face will become increasingly greater. If the military operations go smoothly, we can win early.”

Archduke Ferdinand: "The Navy has cooperated with the Guards Division. We will assist the Guards Division to land northeast of Maputo. Although there are no ship docking conditions there, we can only use small boats to send soldiers ashore."

Southern Mozambique lacks good ports and the coastline is almost as straight as Somalia. This may be an important reason why Maputo Bay became the center of the Portuguese notification of Mozambique.

Of course, Mozambique’s continuous expansion to the north later made Maputo’s position in Mozambique very unusual. However, this is also in line with the topographic characteristics of Africa. The Portuguese almost completed their expansion needs along the Mozambique plains.

Of course, the main driving force for Portuguese expansion in the later period was the severe pressure East Africa put on Mozambique. Just like Tsarist Russia, it lacked its own sense of security, so it was extremely eager for land to achieve a buffer.

However, this approach of the Portuguese proved to be effective. The previously occupied land effectively slowed down the marching speed of East Africa. If Mozambique had maintained the previous territorial shape of East Africa, I am afraid that East Africa would have already arrived at Maputo.

After all, East Africa is expanding its territory too fast. Even the Zulu Kingdom in southern Mozambique was wiped out by East Africa. Originally, the Zulu Kingdom was a buffer zone between Portugal and Britain. Before the British and Portuguese could react, it was stolen by East Africa. At that time, the time-controlled territory of East Africa actually only reached the Limpopo River line.

From the map, the various strengths in South Africa were relatively balanced at that time, especially when the Ndebele people still existed before that.

However, East Africa broke the balance between regions and also directly threatened the security of Britain and Portugal.

The most miserable ones were the Republic of Transvaal, which was directly destroyed by East Africa, and the Kingdom of Swaziland and the Kingdom of Zulu, which were conveniently taken over by East Africa.

If East Africa had not eliminated the Kingdom of Zulu and the Kingdom of Swaziland, then Maputo's position could be said to be quite good. After all, facing the indigenous forces, the other parties have enough confidence and advantages.

Even if the Boers gained an advantage in the area at that time, it would not matter. After all, the Boers themselves were very backward. Even if they occupied the entire South Africa, they would not dare to provoke the Kingdom of Portugal.

However, all this has changed due to the disruption in East Africa. East Africa has directly become a common thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh of the other four forces.

"The mission of the Guards Division is to cooperate with the Southern Military District to capture Maputo and cut off the communication between Maputo and the Portuguese army in other places. This time the navy will also participate in the subsequent hunt for Maputo and attack Maputo from four directions. If we launch an offensive, I don’t believe Maputo can withstand our pressure this time,” said Guards Division Commander-in-Chief Felegin.

The Guards Division only sent one brigade to participate in the battle this time, but one brigade of the Guards Division was equivalent to the strength of a main division in other military districts in East Africa.

The participation of the Guards Division in the war was also East Africa's first experiment in ocean warfare. Just like when the British Expeditionary Force crossed the Indian Ocean and attacked the Abyssinian Empire, it was the first time that the East African army deployed a large number of troops from land and sea to an enemy country.

The participation of the Guards Division in the war means that basically all the troops in East Africa participated in the encirclement and suppression of Mozambique. It was also the final battle in East Africa against the British-Portuguese coalition. If all goes well, Mozambique will also follow in the footsteps of Angola.

(End of this chapter)