Chapter 943 Battle of Manila Bay
The first town.
After Spain declared war on the United States, Ernst quickly received the news. The war between the two countries naturally attracted the attention of the East African navy and army.
The East African Navy has a short history, few achievements, and little experience, so it is very concerned about the upcoming maritime war. The United States and Spain are both maritime powers, so no matter who loses in this war, it can provide better data for the development of the East African Navy. support.
The U.S. Navy is a key focus of East Africa. After all, the expansion of the U.S. Navy has only occurred in recent years, and the application of a large number of new technologies far exceeds that of Spain.
The East African Army did not pay much attention to the Spanish-American War, because the war between the two armies was a competition between novices. However, after all, Spain applied some East African standard equipment in the Philippines, so it still has a certain testing effect on rifles, artillery, machine guns and other weapons. of.
"The war between Spain and the United States is probably the last war in the entire 1990s. Together with the South African War and the Far East War, three large-scale wars broke out in just ten years. This also indicates that the world is in a state of crisis. A fierce collision period, the battle between the old and new forces is far from over," Ernst said with emotion.
East Africa versus the United Kingdom, Japan versus the Far Eastern Empire, and the United States versus Spain are all provocations by new forces against the old forces in the international order.
Of course, the South African War was more complicated and involved Portugal. As for Britain and East Africa, it could only be considered a tie. However, when Britain intervened in the South African War, other countries could easily ignore Portugal, which was also the main force, and the Boer Republic was even more No more attention.
Of course, these three wars are actually appetizers. In Ernst’s mind, Germany’s challenge to British hegemony is the final outcome. Among the old countries, Britain and France are the most representative, and among the emerging countries, Germany is naturally the most representative.
Although there are rising stars such as East Africa, the United States, and Japan, these countries are not in Europe. The center of world civilization is now in Europe, so the gold content is different.
The main battlefield of World War I was Europe, while World War II spread to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Of course, the main battlefield of World War II in Africa was North Africa.
Archduke Ferdinand said: "The current international situation is like this. Many countries have achieved their own breakthroughs with the help of the industrial revolution. However, the international community is like a cake that has been divided up long ago. The rising stars can only get a share of the pie by challenging the established players. National Challenge."
Constantine: "The United States should not be considered a rising star. In fact, the United States has always been very powerful, but it is hidden deeply and is often easily ignored. Therefore, the Spanish-American War was also an opportunity for the United States to demonstrate its military strength, so as to regain its strength. Gain more political influence.”
"What my father-in-law and father said are correct, but because of this, we in East Africa cannot stop the pace of development. For East Africa, we are relatively passive in the current international situation." Ernst said: "On the one hand , The United States and other countries have strong accumulation, and on the other hand, East Africa’s domestic economy is just starting to gain momentum, so it will take at least twenty or thirty years for us to dominate the division of the international cake.”
The East African economy has actually just established the overall framework, and the country's industrialization will require at least ten years or even more of efforts.
According to the current economic development rate of East Africa, if the urbanization rate in East Africa could exceed 30% before 1910, then the performance of the East African government would be very excellent.
After all, in 1910, the urbanization level of the previous Austro-Hungarian Empire was only over 20%, and that of Tsarist Russia was only more than 10%, which was much worse than that of East Africa today.
Of course, Ernst is not too worried about improving East Africa's industrial strength. After all, East Africa has completed the layout of emerging industries such as electricity and internal combustion engines, which means that East Africa's technology will not be too bad as time goes by.
Hence, the economic work of the East African government is mainly to continue to improve the country's economic system and stimulate the vitality of economic development. Currently, state ownership dominates, which can be more conducive to East Africa's catching up with other countries. The reform of the state-owned economy in East Africa has never been discontinued. Even the Far Eastern Empire in the previous life continued to promote state-owned enterprises, and the state-owned economic framework in East Africa will only become more rudimentary. Now the East African government is constantly checking and filling in the gaps on this basis.
Of course, Ernst will not let go of the shackles of the private economy at this stage. After all, the state-owned economy in East Africa is still on the rise, and it is conducive for the East African government to concentrate national resources to compete with other countries.
When the state-owned economy in East Africa is relatively mature and can dominate the country's economic development, Ernst's next step of reform will begin.
…
Because of the provocation from East Africa, Spain delayed its declaration of war, which gave the Spanish garrison in the Philippines more time to prepare.
After the two countries declared war, the U.S. Asiatic Fleet stationed in Xiangjiang officially headed towards the Philippines. By the time the U.S. Navy reached the coast of the Philippines, it was already June.
The Spanish Navy in the Philippines adopted a previous strategy, preparing to rely on the topographical advantages of Manila Bay to deal with the powerful U.S. Navy.
At noon on June 3, the U.S. Navy finally arrived in Manila Bay and started a confrontation with the Spanish Navy. With the addition of the Zaragoza and the Sagunto, the number of Spanish Philippine Navy warships increased to eleven, including nine cruisers and two gunboat.
Among them, only the Zaragoza, Sagunto, and Cristina are steel armored, so the Spanish Navy is still at a clear disadvantage.
The two sides only met each other, and the Spanish navy was beaten to disgrace. The Cristina, which was at the forefront, was directly blown out of a large hole. Sea water quickly poured into the cabin. Other warships were also sunk or damaged. Fortunately, the Spanish navy was beaten to a pulp. The Lagosa and Sagunto were unharmed.
This prevented the Spanish and Philippine Navy from losing all confidence. However, after the first round of head-to-head competition, the Spanish Navy did not dare to fight again. At this time, the Spanish Navy had already lost four warships, so the Spanish Navy commander decisively ordered the entire army to attack Manila. Flee the bay to avoid being annihilated by the US military.
During the escape, as expected, another warship was sunk, and the Sagunto was also shot due to its lack of reaction. Only the Zaragoza could organize a limited counterattack.
After seeing the Philippine Navy fleeing, Dewey decisively ordered the U.S. Navy to pursue the enemy. However, facing the Spanish army fighting at home, the U.S. Navy was not so lucky this time.
First of all, Spain has laid mines in Manila Bay this time, and its coastal defense artillery has also been upgraded. Therefore, when pursuing the entrance of Manila Bay, in order to avoid the attack of Spanish coastal defense artillery, a US warship sailed north and plunged into Minefield in Manila Bay.
With a loud noise, this American warship unfortunately became the first warship lost by the U.S. Navy in the Spanish-American War.
This is already a surprise for Spain. Of course, the Spanish government certainly doesn’t think so. After all, they don’t know that in the previous Battle of Manila, the United States easily wiped out Spain’s Asian fleet without losing even a single warship. .
Although Spain's Asian fleet has lost nearly half this time, it still has the strength to fight, and it has sunk a US warship, which will not make the war too ugly. As for the outcome of the subsequent Manila Bay naval battle, it still depends on the outcome of the two countries. One step operation.
(End of this chapter)