Chapter 493 Naval Confrontation
At the same time as East Africa and Mozambique were initially fighting, the waters of the Western Indian Ocean were not calm either. Although the four countries had a tacit understanding to limit the outbreak of naval battles, warships from various countries still gathered here.
The main reason is that Britain and France want to suppress the Portuguese. If a sea war really breaks out, the Portuguese will definitely be blasted by the East African navy.
As for the two sides’ promise not to engage in a naval war, it’s hard to tell if they are really anxious. Britain and France must monitor the East African navy, so Britain and France sent five ironclad ships to cruise in the Western Indian Ocean.
Among them, the United Kingdom dispatched four ships at once, and France also sent one. Of course, this number is not large for Britain and France, but it does have a certain deterrent effect on East Africa. Sometimes big countries only need to express their attitude. .
"Portugal has not acquired new ships in the past few years, and its only ironclad ship has just been commissioned. I am afraid that there is not enough time for training. The fleets in remote colonies like Mozambique use backward sailing warships. Although they are more numerous than in East Africa, their combat effectiveness is It’s much worse than East Africa, the quality is not good,” said French Navy Commodore Veron.
British Rear Admiral Frank: "That's what I say, but the overall quality of Portuguese sailors should be better than that of East Africa. Many of them are veteran sailors who have been at sea all year round. The East African Navy has only been established for a few years, and it is definitely not as good as traditional maritime powers in this regard. "
This is the conclusion drawn by Britain and France after observing the Portuguese and East African surface fleets. Although the Portuguese navy is poorly equipped, it is indeed proficient in operating ships and must have enough experience in dealing with crises. However, this kind of gap between ironclads and sailing battleships The gap is far beyond what can be filled by personnel experience, so no one would think that the Portuguese Navy is a rival to the young East African Navy.
Since the 1930s, ironclads were often used as breakers when they first appeared, but their initial and primary purpose of building them was still to fight against ships of the same type. This situation continued until the end of the arms race to build ironclads, and many countries used ironclads. To protect large merchant fleets, or to control colonies far away from home, or maybe both.
But currently, only the British and French navies can reach this level. The other countries are barely adequate. Tsarist Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire lack power for development due to restricted sea conditions, and Germany has not yet embarked on the road of crazy shipbuilding. , the United States and the Far East Navy are evenly matched.
The U.S. Navy is so incompetent now. The U.S. will not really pay attention to naval development until after 1881. The current strength of the U.S. Navy is not even comparable to that of the Far Eastern Empire. Two small countries like Denmark and Chile are also above the U.S. Navy.
In fact, the U.S. Navy had a short-term outbreak during the Civil War. The North built large-scale ships to block the sea lanes of the South, and the South engaged in armed smuggling in order to break the sea blockade. By the end of the war, the U.S. Navy had more than 700 sail warships of various types. The number of ironclad ships has also reached the top asset of 5 ships.
However, this huge fleet disappeared with the end of the war. The Americans sold most of their more than 700 warships to merchants, who converted them into merchant ships. Although some ironclads and fast battleships were retained during this disarmament, due to the long-term lack of maintenance and upkeep, these battleships could only be allowed to gradually corrode as the years passed.
This cannot be circumvented by the geographical advantage of the United States. There is no national defense pressure, so the United States has no motivation to develop its navy. Compared with the navy, the U.S. Army is even more pitiful, with only tens of thousands of troops.
So it is understandable that the U.S. Navy and Army in previous lives always used different laws to ask for funds from Congress. Peacetime was too tight.
For example, when it comes to expanding its territory, the United States mainly relies on militia to exterminate Indians. In East Africa, the army is the main force to capture black people, supplemented by militia. Especially after the size of the East African Army reaches the scale, the more so, the reliance on militia can basically be ignored. .
Including industries in East Africa, the development of military industry is also a priority. The navy and army have achieved self-sufficiency in equipment to a certain extent, and the defense industry does not rely on manpower. In recent years, the East African Navy has been special, because the shipbuilding industry in East Africa cannot meet the needs of the local navy, and it mainly purchases from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, as the technology of the Bagamoyo Shipyard becomes increasingly mature, it will not be long before the East African Navy will also transition to independent development. state.
Of course, the most important reason is that the current scale of the navy is completely sufficient. This is the real reason. If we continue to develop it vigorously, the British will have to jump.
Moreover, the speed of warship technology replacement is not slow. In this special period, East Africa purchases warships on a large scale. At some point in the future, the East African Navy will decommission these warships at the same time. After all, the lifespan of ironclad ships is not too long. Maybe by the end of this century These main naval warships will be replaced, so the current East African navy can develop step by step.
Anyway, East Africa is currently focusing on homeland defense, and there is not much need for sea power. Defending the doorstep is victory. Even so, East Africa is considered to be extremely talented, and its navy is developing rapidly, but it is not too much for East Africa's maritime territory.
Facing the joint military exercises of the three navies of Britain, France and Portugal, East Africa could not pretend to be deaf and dumb. It also held a trilateral joint maritime exercise with Austria-Hungary and Germany.
After all, in the Four-Nation Conference, Austria-Hungary and Germany favored East Africa, so as the eldest and second brothers, the navies of the two countries also had to support East Africa. East Africa dispatched five ironclads, two from Austria-Hungary and one from Germany. Currently, the three countries There is actually not much difference in naval strength, with Austria-Hungary ranking first, East Africa second, and Germany third.
Therefore, the Prussian naval general who came to East Africa for the exercise this time was quite embarrassed. According to the national strength of the three countries, it is obvious that Germany should be ranked first, but it does not matter if the Austro-Hungarian Empire is strong. After all, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has the first-mover advantage. As a result, the East African naval strength It is also stronger than the German navy, which makes no sense.
In fact, whether the German navy can be vigorously developed is entirely a matter of whether the current German government wants to invest in it. It is obvious that Germany's demand in this regard is still not high.
Spee said with some envy to his colleagues in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and East Africa: "The empire still attaches too little importance to the navy, so much so that even East Africa has surpassed Germany. The status of the imperial navy obviously does not match Germany's status."
Lieutenant General Claire of the Austro-Hungarian Navy comforted: "Actually, the Austro-Hungarian Navy is the most pitiful among the three. You have developed rapidly in the past few years. New warships are launched almost every year. The number of new ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy is obvious. Not as good as you."
The words of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the German Navy made Archduke Ferdinand a little proud, but he also expressed modestly: "The geographical location of East Africa is very bad. Although the importance of the Western Indian Ocean route has declined due to the opening of the Suez Canal, But it is still an area that all navies need to pay attention to, and you have a terrain advantage. The ocean is to the east of us, so the pressure to face maritime threats is also great."
Archduke Ferdinand’s words are truly Versailles. The poor geographical location of East Africa makes people very uncomfortable. Is it difficult to have Germany and Austria sandwiched in the middle of the European continent? Moreover, facing the ocean directly is an advantage for the development of the navy.
But not all the land in East Africa faces the ocean! For example, Pemba Island, Zanzibar Island, Mafia Island, the Comoros Islands and a bunch of small islands and reefs can play a role in defending the country. These are much stronger than Germany and Austria.
(End of this chapter)