Chapter 732: Lose-lose
After the naval battle of Lamu Bay, Archduke Ferdinand's heart was cold. After more than ten years of hard work, it only took a few hours to be destroyed. The naval battle was indeed the most unexpected.
But it's not his turn to be sad now. He still has to clean up the mess, including the half-dead ironclad ship on the sea, and a lot of people who need to be rescued.
Although East Africa suffered huge losses in this naval battle, the overall result was acceptable. The entire army was not wiped out, and the British expeditionary fleet also suffered heavy losses.
East Africa should be grateful to the Indian Ocean. The lack of islands here has, to a certain extent, prevented the British from being able to rest and continue their offensive. The British naval base closest to the core waters of East Africa is in the Seychelles. The escape direction of the British expeditionary fleet should be there, but the Seychelles Seychelles does not have the ability to provide maintenance for the British Expeditionary Fleet, so Seychelles can only serve as a transit point.
“I would like to report to Your Majesty the Grand Duke that so far we have rescued more than 500 Chinese sailors. In addition, we have captured more than 700 British soldiers and two British ironclads.”
Finally got a piece of good news, which made Archduke Ferdinand feel a little more psychologically comfortable. The two British ironclads were regarded as supplements to the East African Navy. Although they were bombarded to varying degrees and were left lying on the sea, as long as they did not sink, It can be towed back to East Africa for repairs.
Even if it cannot be repaired, it does not matter. As the world's most powerful navy, the United Kingdom is second to none in shipbuilding technology. These two British warships can fill many gaps in the East African military shipbuilding industry.
Of course, this is all in the future. Two of the East African Navy's ironclads sank into the sea, and the remaining ships are not in very good condition. They may not be able to participate in the battlefield in the short term. In this way, the East African Navy's losses are still greater.
Because this is a time of war, no one can guarantee whether the British Royal Navy will make a comeback. The number of warships available in East Africa has dropped sharply, and the United Kingdom is not even injured.
Taking the UK's shipbuilding plan specifically this year, the UK has formulated a plan to invest more than 20 million pounds in the next five years to build 10 battleships, 42 cruisers and 18 torpedo boats.
Therefore, although East Africa has one of the top ten naval forces in the world, it is indeed not enough for East Africa itself. This is the same as the East African Railway. The total mileage of the East African railway can also be ranked among the top ten in the world, but the East African Railway is obviously also cannot meet domestic demand.
The British shipbuilding capabilities can be imagined, so it only takes one year for the British to make up for the losses in the Lamu naval battle.
Furthermore, the location of East African waters, mainly the Indian Ocean, is not very good, but it is closer to the center of the world than the "remote" continent like the United States.
Defense pressure is not great, and the East African coastline in the east alone is close to more than 4,000 kilometers and faces the Indian Ocean. There is a lack of large islands or island chains nearby as cover, which means that the enemy can attack the East African coast from multiple directions.
Here we have to mention the differences caused by the national conditions of East Africa, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the German Navy. Although the East African Navy is an emerging naval force that can rival the two countries.
East Africa also occupies a certain share of the main trade routes in Eurasia, which also means that the East African navy faces greater challenges. The good news is that Asian countries currently have relatively weak naval capabilities and cannot pose a challenge to East Africa.
But the responsibilities of the navies are completely different. Although the German and Austrian navies are very aggrieved. One is blocked in the Baltic Sea and the other is blocked in the Adriatic Sea. However, they only need a small navy to blockade their own countries. nearby sea areas.
So whether it is in the European or Asian direction, the biggest threat to the East African navy is the British.
Like the British mainland navy, which can directly go south to threaten the South Atlantic, East Africa has not invested too much maritime military power. Wherever the main force of the navy is placed, it can be declared scrapped in less than half a year. In the Indian Ocean, the East African Navy still has the ability to resist, especially the three major naval bases in East Africa. The core triangle formation formed by Bagamoyo, Pemba Island, and Zanzibar Island can effectively ensure the security of the East African Navy.
This is also an important reason why Archduke Ferdinand left half of his naval force before the Battle of Lamu. Before the location of the British expeditionary fleet was determined, the East African Navy could not be deployed in full force. If it was stolen, the East African Navy might fall into total turmoil. The situation of military annihilation.
However, the overall combat effectiveness of the East African Navy this time was good. After all, the East African Navy is a weak side, and its opponent is the world's number one. Therefore, for the Lamu Bay naval battle, the strength of the fledgling East African Navy is more in line with the paper strength of the East African Navy.
"The prisoners were all taken to Bagamoyo, and our crew members were given priority to rescue them. As for the British, they waited until our people were treated before treating them. However, the treatment process must be strict to avoid emotional problems." Ferdinand The Grand Duke said.
The main reason is that they are afraid that the East African ship's doctor will take the opportunity to retaliate against the British sailors. After all, the war between the two countries has officially ended, and this war is fought again. The East African navy is relatively young and can easily act on impulse.
"The soldiers and ships participating in the war are currently unable to work. Let them recuperate in the rear. The maritime patrol matters are assigned to other ships. After the Battle of Lamu Bay, the number of our naval ships has dropped sharply. It must be reasonable. Use the remaining naval ships, and the main force will still stay in Bagamoyo. If the British navy comes back again, don't start a war immediately, try to find the nearest port, rely on the coastal defense artillery system, and deal with the enemy."
…
In fact, Britain has no intention of making a comeback at all. Although the British Empire has a strong financial foundation, it cannot be wasted like this.
The reason why the shipbuilding plan for the next five years was proposed in 1888 was essentially to cope with the rapid increase in global naval power.
East Africa’s naval defense is under great pressure, and the British Royal Navy is even more so. After all, the world’s oceans are the areas where the Royal Navy operates.
The British Royal Navy expeditionary force in the Battle of Lamu Bay was drawn from the Mediterranean Fleet. As the second naval force after the local navy, the Mediterranean Fleet was originally somewhat dissatisfied with the deployment of military forces southward.
After all, there are so many countries in the Mediterranean, including France, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and Spain, which one is not more important than East Africa? Moreover, the naval forces of these countries are not weak.
And this does not include the Tsarist Russian navy that was blocked in the Black Sea, and the navies of some small countries along the Mediterranean, such as Italy, Greece, the Kingdom of Naples, etc.
It would be easy to say that the Battle of Lamu Bay was won. Now the two sides are equal to a tie. This is the record, but for the Mediterranean fleet, this is a "disastrous defeat."
This is also a very interesting aspect of the Battle of Lamu Bay. Both the East African and British navies believed that they had suffered greater losses.
And now the military power mobilized by the Mediterranean Fleet is enough to subvert a country's main naval force in Europe. Using such naval power to deal with an "uncivilized" African country will simply lose everything, and nearly half of the expeditionary fleet's combat effectiveness will be lost. How? make up?
If an emergency occurs in the Mediterranean region, how will the Mediterranean Fleet respond? Therefore, the Mediterranean Fleet is opposed to continuing to directly confront the East African Navy. The Royal Navy should be allowed to do so in the Royal Indian Navy in Bombay or the Home Fleet.
(End of this chapter)