Chapter 780 Tracking
This time, Schwal's luck finally worked. Less than an hour and a half after Schwal led his men into the jungle, a Portuguese unit arrived at the scene of the incident.
Portuguese commander Howell frowned as he looked at the coast that had been "ruined" by the East Africans. Various footprints were all over the narrow beach.
"How many people did you see coming ashore?" he asked, turning his head behind him.
"Report to Lieutenant, we didn't dare to get close to observe them, so we don't know the number of people who landed in East Africa. However, the enemy has several warships anchored offshore, so there must be a lot of East Africans." Captain Modres, who discovered the traces of East Africa A somewhat nervous answer.
Howell asked impatiently: "Didn't you hide and watch carefully? The dense forest next to here should be a good hiding spot!"
After swallowing, Modres said nervously: "We just want to convey this news to you as soon as possible. After all, this is a matter of racing against time. If we come quickly enough, maybe we can get the East Africans Stopping it on the coast, it’s a pity that it’s still a step too late.”
Of course, Modrais would not say that he was extremely scared at the time, so running away was his first choice. It would not be good if East Africa captured him.
Seeing his subordinates' trembling looks, Howell cursed: "Trash!"
Mordres accepts the criticism "seriously", but for him, his own life must be the first priority.
As for sacrificing one's life for the country, one must first have this concept of the Kingdom of Portugal. The Portuguese army, which is in arrears with daily wages, can hardly give Modres a sense of belonging.
Finally, Mozambique is essentially a Portuguese colony, and the main residents living here are indigenous people, which is very different from mainland Portugal.
In the eyes of lower-level soldiers like Modres, what everyone came to Mozambique to protect was the "interests of the nobility, large planters, capitalists and mine owners."
Secondly, Portugal and Britain were the first to start the war, which made Portuguese soldiers think of themselves as the "invaders" from the beginning. This psychological disadvantage continues to this day.
The ordinary army collapsed at the first touch, and even the elite could not withstand the superior firepower and artillery strikes of East Africa. The disadvantages of equipment were extremely prominent in the Portuguese army.
And the same thing as East Africa is that this time the Portuguese also have the characteristic of "defending their homeland". At the beginning of the war, Portugal was the aggressor, but now that the war has reached Portugal, it has actually become the invaded party.
Furthermore, the Portuguese army is more like mercenaries. It takes money to do things. Without money, it is difficult to stimulate combat effectiveness. In fact, the Portuguese army's combat effectiveness is not weak now, but it lacks "a little" start-up capital.
Most of the Portuguese grassroots officers have their top beams crooked and their bottom beams crooked. This makes the Portuguese soldiers despise their military commanders and identify themselves as "cannon fodder". Therefore, they are more inclined to save their lives on the battlefield to avoid being fattened. The big-headed and incompetent commander tricked him into death.
However, the "invasion" in East Africa did not inspire the patriotism of the Portuguese soldiers. First of all, the money was not available. Of course, the salary was not the main issue. As a result, his superior officer, the "Wine Pool Meat Forest", didn't take the lead. Why?
In fact, grassroots officers have the greatest influence on soldiers. They are the main group of people who directly affect soldiers, but they are also the group most susceptible to broken filters.
At home, everyone has family members, and the style of most European armies is basically that of banditry rather than soldiers. Therefore, in order to avoid being invaded, everyone still has a certain enthusiasm for fighting. However, the colony of Mozambique cannot inspire the soldiers' consciousness.
Of course, it would be great to bully the "weak", but the Portuguese happened to encounter a tough situation like East Africa. East Africa did not even count Portugal as part of the coalition's combat effectiveness, because the Portuguese army was very passive from top to bottom. .
Including inadequate training, three days of fishing and two days of drying nets. They often defaulted on basic wages, physically punished soldiers, ate, drank, whored, gambled and took drugs, etc.
So the Portuguese should be most grateful to the Spaniards. If the Spaniards were not equally "waste", I am afraid Portugal would have perished long ago. Howell looked at Modres, who had no access to oil and salt, and became very angry, and the fat on his body was shaking a little.
However, now is not the time to hold people responsible. It is still most important to solve the major problem in East Africa first. However, looking at the vast virgin forests in the west, Howell was in trouble.
“How big is this forest?” Howell asked.
“It is about seven or eight kilometers long from north to south and about two kilometers wide from east to west.” the adjutant said.
After hearing the adjutant's answer, Howell thought for a while and said: "In this way, if it is not too big, it should still be possible to pursue the enemy based on the traces in the forest."
Schwal's troops did not conceal their whereabouts, so they cut a "road" directly in the forest. Of course, this road was just composed of crushed branches and fallen leaves, but it was completely different from the surrounding environment, so Very easy to distinguish.
However, the adjutant still cautiously suggested to Howell: "The forest is a very dangerous terrain. There are a lot of shelters here, which is very suitable for ambush, so you must be careful."
The adjutant's words reminded Howell that it was not impossible to be ambushed by the enemy. Although this forest was not big, it was entirely possible to use it as a battlefield. Even a division of troops could hide in it.
This made Howell shudder and he said: "Then what should we do now?"
The adjutant said helplessly to his useless immediate superior: "Send someone to search first. If any abnormality is found, immediately fire a warning shot. At the same time, report the situation to the brigade headquarters. This is not the time to be afraid of being held responsible. If the enemy causes If there is a bigger loss, then we will all be miserable.”
Hearing this, Howell became depressed. In any case, the enemy landed from his defense area this time, and he couldn't get rid of this fault now.
“Is there no remedy?” he asked his adjutant for help.
“Of course.”
Howell seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw and hurriedly asked: "What can I do?"
“Then destroy this non-human army.”
Howell: "Is this what you said?"
The adjutant nodded and said: "Otherwise! Now the East Africans have entered our rear. Their troops should not be large, so they can land in such a short time. Moreover, I have observed the situation on the coastline before, and there are no large ruts." , indicating that the enemy did not carry heavy weapons and livestock dung. This unit should be mainly infantry. There are not many traces of boats left on the beach along the coast. The enemy cannot be too numerous. I estimate that they should be in one regiment. about."
After listening to the analysis by professionals, Howell thought it was very reasonable. If this was the case, then this East African force would be the same as his own. If this was the case, what would he be afraid of?
“Very good, now that we know the strength of the East African troops clearly, the scouts will open the way first, and we will pursue them in the rear to look for traces of the East Africans.”
Since both sides probably only have one regiment of troops, Howell is not afraid. Anyway, he is not the one charging forward, and this may also be an opportunity for him to turn defeat into victory and be promoted.
After all, fighting on the mainland should always have some advantages. Even if you really can't resist the East Africans, other Portuguese or British "big brother" troops can also quickly support them.
(End of this chapter)