Chapter 1023 The Russian Navy arrives at the shore
"In this case, let's first provide the South German Kingdom with two thousand rifles and bullets. This is enough for them to sweep across the entire Komadugu Yobe River Basin!" Ernst said.
So far, the South German Kingdom has formed a force of 5,000 people, which is relatively easy for a country with a population of one million.
And it is precisely with this army that is very weak in East Africa that the Kingdom of South Germany has basically formed a huge advantage over the surrounding indigenous forces. After all, the Kingdom of South Germany is located in Libya to the north and Sudan in Egypt to the east. Its core territory is basically separated by the Sahara Desert. open.
Even if Egypt seems much more powerful than the Kingdom of South Germany, it is impossible to launch an attack on the Kingdom of South Germany across the Sahara Desert, not to mention that the Kingdom of South Germany has the giant East Africa behind it.
In other words, except for East Africa in the south, the South German Kingdom is either desert or some extremely backward nomadic people in other directions. The west is special, with British and German colonies, but it is still bordered by indigenous forces.
…
October 4, 1904.
Luanda.
Due to the continuous victories of Japan's military power in the Far East, Russia, which extremely despised Japan before the war, had a tendency to overexaggerate Japan's strength.
The Second Pacific Fleet, which was reorganized from the Baltic Fleet and had been prepared since the beginning of the year, finally arrived in East Africa.
Under the **** of East African warships, Russian Navy warships sailed into the port of Luanda in East Africa in an orderly manner, enjoying a rare rest.
"God, we finally arrived in Luanda! The idiots in the government don't know what they are thinking. They should negotiate with the East African government and set the port of call to Cabinda, so that we can suffer less." Russian General Kurov Sky complained.
“When I saw Cabinda, I even thought we had arrived at our destination, and I was so happy in vain. Fortunately, Luanda looked as prosperous as Cabinda, and I could finally have a good rest.”
Kurovsky is not dissatisfied with the environment in Luanda, or thinks Luanda is worse than Cabinda, but because if he waits to land in Cabinda early, for the Russian navy who have already suffered at sea, Even if it is a few hours in advance, the soul can get greater comfort.
For the Russian sailors, these days' journey was simply a disaster. In addition to being more comfortable in German waters, the following journey caused indelible damage to everyone's mind or body.
Starting from crossing the English Channel, basically many countries, including France, most countries or colonial ports refused entry to Russian warships.
Furthermore, British warships monitored the Russian Navy for a long time and watched the Russian Navy arrive in the waters near Morocco.
In addition, British warships often provoked the Russian army. Under this influence, the psychological destruction of the Russian navy was even worse.
Therefore, the Russian Navy carries a large amount of coal to ensure that long-distance voyages will not be replenished due to exhaustion of fuel. Although the East African government and Russia have reached an agreement to replenish it at East African ports, the Russian government is also worried that the East African government will change its mind temporarily. So it is necessary to bring enough fuel.
In fact, without the help of William II, there would not even be a fleet willing to help Russia transport coal. Behind the Russian navy were German coal ships, but even with William II's intercession, these German shipping companies only promised to **** them to the Strait of Malacca because they were also worried that Japan would not uphold military ethics and take action against the Russian Navy in advance. If it weren't for the pressure from William II, these German shipping company ships might not even want to go to the Indian Ocean.
In fact, the Russian navy is divided into two routes. One part takes the Mediterranean route, and the other part chooses the west coast of Africa. Finally, it converges in Mombasa, and then heads to the Strait of Malacca. After resting for the last time at Pontianak Port, it will go directly to the East Asian waters.
And the fleet that Kurovsky is in is taking the west coast of Africa. Compared with the second fleet that is still being monitored by the British in the Mediterranean, the Russian army that chose the west coast route is undoubtedly much luckier.
The Mediterranean Sea must always be wary of the Japanese Navy and the British Navy, but the west coast of Africa, starting from the Cameroon section, does not have to worry about being plotted, not to mention that after arriving at the Port of Luanda, the Russian Navy will be fully rested and supplied with supplies.
Many Russian sailors landed in Luanda. After transporting supplies, the commander deliberately gave the exhausted sailors a half-day holiday, and the officers of the fleet also began to look for places to spend money.
Kurovsky and several colleagues came to a relatively luxurious state-owned hotel in Luanda. Compared with the lower-level sailors with lower income levels, Russian officers like Kurovsky undoubtedly have higher spending power.
Russian sailors can only go to some cheap taverns that specialize in serving sailors, and the Kurovskys naturally eat and drink in hotels with elegant environments and excellent services.
Stuffing steak imported from Argentina into his mouth, while drinking high-end red wine made in East Africa, to the sound of elegant music.
Kurovsky said: "This is the life that people should enjoy. I feel like my whole body is growing hairy on the sea. If it had come a little later, we might just be able to eat inferior food like ordinary soldiers. Brown bread."
Ankarev said: "There is no way. It is basically difficult to obtain supplies on the sea. All supplies must be carefully budgeted. If we did not reach an agreement with the East African government, I am afraid that we will still suffer in the next two to three thousand miles of navigation."
“If there were no East Africa, we would have to choose the French overseas territory of Madagascar as our foothold, but I believe the conditions on Madagascar may not be as good as those colonial ports we passed in West Africa.”
Kurovsky: "Yeah, the conditions in those ports are so bad. Compared with the East African coast, they are like two different worlds. I really want to know why the gap is so big in the same Africa. The colonies of other countries on the West African coast are simply It’s an undeveloped and wild land, and Cabinda and Luanda on the East African coast are probably not bad in Europe.”
Ankarev: "Who knows! Maybe it's a racial difference? Anyway, I've almost never seen black people in Luanda. This is the most fundamental difference between the colonies in East Africa and West Africa. Maybe it's because the black people's level of civilization is too low. Even if you come into contact with the civilized world, it is difficult to be civilized.”
Kurovsky said: "It's possible! The closer you get to East Africa along the way, the more prosperous it becomes. Although it is not up to the level of the coastal areas of Western Europe, it is definitely better than many areas in Russia. The advantages of East Africans are too great. They Facing the ocean, this is what we in Russia dream of, and those colonies in West Africa simply wasted this great resource. "
For the Russian Navy, East Africa is a very unfamiliar country. In the past, it could only be seen as a rough outline on the map. Only by truly coming into contact with this country, especially in the strong contrast with backward areas like West Africa, could the Russian Navy understand This country in East Africa is unique.
In fact, this feeling becomes more profound after entering the South Atlantic. Not only are there more towns, farmland, and plantations near the East African coastline, but the infrastructure conditions are also better. Not to mention the large scale of the cities, the buildings are obviously better than other areas. The rural areas The region has better water conservancy facilities and more livestock than in West Africa.
In particular, the facilities at the ports of Cabinda and Luanda are obviously more modern, with more large-scale equipment, and there are obviously many more ships in the ports than in West Africa. This is a reflection of the relatively prosperous trade. Many ships fly the East African flag, and there are also rare ones. fishing boats, these can be reflected more intuitively.
(End of this chapter)