Chapter 778 Cross-sea combat
On the sea, five warships of the New Hamburg City Navy and two merchant ships came "mightily" towards Maputo.
Although it was only a short distance, there was not much reaction for the large group of East African Army soldiers who boarded the ship. Only a few people could not stand the bumps on the sea and felt dizzy, which was a symptom of seasickness.
However, this performance also made Captain Schwal, who led the team this time, feel a little dissatisfied. Of course, this was based on his own experience. Although he did not get seasick, he still felt a little overwhelmed in his body. The slight discomfort made him feel uncomfortable. There is some new understanding of the sea.
"It seems that the National Defense Forces should organize a force specifically for landing operations, between the navy and the army. Not everyone can bear the bumps on the sea. They must receive relevant training, or the army must be more accepting of this special environment. training, maybe we will encounter this kind of special combat situation in the future." Schwal said.
In fact, compared with most countries, the performance of the East African Army is very good. Because the East African immigrants arrived in East Africa across the ocean, they have a certain ability to withstand the wind, waves and bumps on the sea. However, after the East African immigrants arrived in East Africa, It’s rare to be out on the water again.
This is mainly because the marine fisheries in East Africa are not developed. Although the marine fishery resources in East Africa are very rich, the Somali Current in the east and the Benguela Cold Current in the west can form fishing grounds.
However, East Africa is not a country that relies on the sea. Instead, it is more actively developing inland for the sake of national development. This policy is definitely correct. Without inland development, East Africa will definitely be in trouble during the South African War.
Without the support of the three central provinces, as well as the laying of the central railway and telegraph network, East Africa's material supplies and troops can only travel long distances through animal power and manpower. In that case, the combat situation in East Africa will not be better than that of Britain and Portugal, which need cross-sea support. How much, just one intelligence operation is enough to collapse East Africa.
Of course, in favor of inland resources, the development of coastal areas has not stagnated. Marine fisheries still exist in coastal cities with large populations such as Mogadishu, Mombasa, and Dar es Salaam.
However, another factor that prevents the development of marine fisheries in East Africa from being active is the inconvenience of preservation and transportation.
Hence, in terms of national composition, East Africa is a traditional agricultural civilization country, not a maritime civilization country. Various factors have made East Africa's marine fisheries underdeveloped.
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 immigrants from the Far East. The Far East has experienced a long-term "closed door" policy, and even many seaports and fishing villages have developed in recent years. This is also the reason why the development of the Far Eastern Empire's navy is unfavorable.
Finally, there are the immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but the immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire are mixed, just like the ethnic composition of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Generally speaking, there are a lot of Slavs.
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. The South German region is naturally related to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They all live inland far away from the ocean, so they are also traditional farming groups.
The coastline of East Africa is straight and lacks good seaports. Therefore, the coastal population of East Africa is bound to not be too large compared to the population of East Africa. On the other hand, looking at Europe, the continent is fragmented and there are many coastal residents. There are no longer a few countries that rely on fisheries to survive. For example, Europe Greece, the cradle of civilization, is a typical maritime civilization, and East Africa lacks a canal network as developed as Europe.
East Africa's fishery can refer to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The coastline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is smaller than that of East Africa, but the area of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is also smaller than that of East Africa. Moreover, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is deep in the hinterland of Europe, so the local people have the habit of eating more freshwater fish.
ˆ On the contrary, there is ocean trade. East Africa’s ocean trade is increasing every year. The important reason for the increase in ocean trade is that inland development has greatly enriched the types of goods and commodities that can be used for international trade in East Africa.
So the two are positively correlated. The stronger the inland development, the stronger the maritime trade.
Of course, there are exceptions. For example, under the current state of war, the ocean trade in East Africa has suffered a huge setback, but this is only a special situation during the war.
And this is not entirely a bad thing for East Africa. Just like after East Africa’s overseas trade was restricted, many industrial production imported parts and components in East Africa were affected to a certain extent. This forced East Africa’s industrial sectors and factories to adopt the path of “self-sufficiency”. More attention has been paid to this, which has catalyzed the deepening of localization to a certain extent. In this regard, East Africa actually has the conditions to realize independent research and development and production of some core equipment. However, due to the environmental impact of "making is worse than buying", there is no room for development.
After trade was restricted, a lot of equipment was sanctioned by the United Kingdom, which in turn inspired "creative" thinking across East Africa.
Of course, this is based on the achievements of East Africa’s preliminary industrial system and compulsory education construction. It is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. East Africa’s confidence lies in having a certain industrial foundation and talents.
The current technology has not yet developed to the point where it is easy to be completely monopolized. This is also an important reason why East Africa can develop rapidly.
Just like the scientific and technological revolution in the 21st century, such as new energy, artificial intelligence, big data, etc., countries such as the Far Eastern Empire and the United States have actually further widened the gap in the world's technological level.
For example, in Africa, many countries cannot even master the technology of the first industrial revolution, let alone the third scientific and technological revolution. If the foundation is not laid, there will only be more and more lessons to be made up for.
…
Schwal’s idea is actually the Marine Corps. As a 21st century Ernst, naturally he also thinks about it, but there is no need to develop a similar military service in East Africa.
First of all, other countries have not set foot in this field, so Ernst is not in a hurry. Secondly, East Africa still focuses on the African continent as the core of development, rather than the ocean, so there is no such demand.
At present, East Africa is just a sip of the leftovers of colonialism, and the colonies around the world are just leftovers that other countries do not pay attention to.
Of course, scraps may not be ignored by anyone, just like the Southern Ryukyu Islands. For a country like Japan that lacks land resources, scraps are also very fragrant, but now Japan does not have the ability to lift the table, especially in East Africa. After a certain degree of suppression, the national strength in the same period was not as good as the level in the previous life.
In short, there will definitely be arms such as the Marine Corps, but not at this time. Just like the air force and mechanized forces, Ernst is also coveted, but there are no conditions to realize it for the time being.
Having said that, this time Schwal’s sneak attack on Maputo’s southern defense line actually departed from the port city of New Hamburg and was less than 300 kilometers away from its destination.
This can only be considered a short-range cross-sea battle, but Schwal's ability to find problems also shows that he is good at thinking.
However, the total number of the regiment led by Schwal was only more than 2,000, and as it was deep behind enemy lines, it was very likely that it would be attacked from both sides by the enemy, so it was very dangerous.
Of course, the most dangerous part is that there is no direct docking port from New Hamburg to Maputo, which means that Schwal's troops can only land through small naval boats.
If discovered by the Portuguese, it is very likely that you will be trapped at sea. This depends on luck, that is, whether the Portuguese pay attention to patrolling the coastline.
(End of this chapter)