African Entrepreneurship Records

  Chapter 202 Gathering up military power

   June 14, 1869.

  Prince Constantine presided over the first military council in the East African colonies.

  The officers and staff led by Yarman and Stewart sat on both sides of the conference table. As Yarman was older, his physical energy was getting worse.

Although Yarman was only in his fifties, he suffered a lot in the European battlefield before, and Constantine also served in the Prussian army, but the treatment of the two was very different. One was on the front line and the other was in the rear. Alman, who is in his teens, is a bit older than Constantine, who is nearly seventy years old.

  However, the more Yarman is like this, the more Ernst attaches importance to Yarman, and the more assured he will hand over the East African army to him.

  The worse the health, the smaller the ambition, and this is true for Yarman. He doesn't even know that he has a few years to live, and it is not bad to use his seniority and official position in the East African army to mix up his pension.

  So the previous expansion plan for the Yeke Kingdom was carried out by Sitte, and this time the military work report was also completed by the young and strong Sitte.

   "As of March this year, the East African Royal Territory has a total of 98,000 standing troops. In addition to field troops, there are also garrisons in various cities, as well as river and lake troops. They are temporarily divided into eight military regions according to their directions.

   Among them, the three military regions in the east have a total of 23,000 people. The five coastal ports and two islands are the focus of defense. They also include coastal defense forces equipped with various artillery, so their strength is the strongest in East Africa.

  The Eastern Military Region includes four important cities: Dar es Salaam, Bagamoyo, Tanga, and the First Town. Especially the First Town is the current political center of East Africa, so the headquarters of the military region is also established in the First Town.

  The Northeast Military Region is mainly responsible for the military security of the area that borders Mombasa and northern Somalia, and the defense center is mainly Mombasa.

  The southeast military region and the southern military region correspond to the two administrative regions of the lower coastal area and the east Malawi lake area, mainly to prevent the Portuguese forces from going north.

However, there is the Luvuma River between the two colonies, so the defense pressure is not too great. The main thing to be wary of is the plain area on the east bank of Lake Malawi, where there is a flat river, so we built a lot of bunkers along the border, where to arrange them five thousand people.

  The northern military region currently has a total of 10,000 troops stationed. Except for the Omo River Basin, there is no need for expansion, and the current overall is on the defensive.

  The western and northwest military regions have Lake Tanganyika and the Mitumba Mountains as natural barriers, and there are no strong enemies in the west, so there are more than 5,000 people in total.

  The military region with the largest number of people is the Southwest Military Region. The Southwest is now the main direction of expansion. Recently, we have basically mastered the Yeke Kingdom. The expansion in the southwest direction will definitely continue in the next few years, so more than 25,000 people have been deployed.

  In addition to these, the rest are the urban garrisons in East Africa, and the river and lake troops..." Sitte introduced the number and distribution of the East African reserve troops to Constantine in detail.

  As of April this year, the population of East Africa has officially exceeded 2 million, and the population of East Africa, including the indigenous people, is about 3.5 million.

  Eastern Africa's armed forces are basically supported by the population of more than 3.5 million people, and there are also a large number of militia forces.

  However, the East African government has not counted how many militias there are, because the fluctuation is too large, but according to the storage of guns and ammunition in East Africa, the East African government can pull up a militia team of 300,000 people at any time.

   "Well, the East African army is quite impressive in number, but due to political reasons and the complicated situation in Africa, the East African army is relatively chaotic.

  For example, there are eight military regions. In my opinion, there are too many, but the area is bloated, and the jurisdiction is not reasonable. You are all elites in the East African army. How do you view this issue. asked Constantine.

   "Reporting to His Majesty the Prince, I think the military regions in East Africa should be re-divided according to their functions and importance.

  For example, the few corner military regions can be merged into other military regions. For example, the northern part of the Northeast Military Region should be included in the Northern Military Region, and Mombasa and the south should be included in the Eastern Theater Command.

  The south is facing the Portuguese. It should be organized as a military region to facilitate the management and transfer of troops.

  There is also the Western Military Region. Now the troops don’t know what to do. Since they crossed Lake Tanganyika and the Mitumba Mountains, the west is full of tropical rainforest and almost no human habitation. "Sitter was the first to speak.

   At this time, Yarman also suggested: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the military strength in the central region should also be strengthened.

  The first town is still too close to the coast, only one or two days away from the two seaports of Bagamoyo and Dar es Salaam, which is very dangerous for the safety of East Africa.

  So we should focus on the important position and location of the first town and strengthen the military defense of the first town.

Although we have a relatively mature defense system in Bagamoyo and Dar es Salaam, we are not afraid of 10,000, just in case. We should build a new fortification in the first town and strengthen the first town Military power, building a defense force directly under the central government. "

   "Very good! Anyone who has any suggestions can make suggestions." Prince Constantine said.

  Felix, who was promoted to the deputy military chief of East Africa, said: "Your Majesty, East Africa should also carry out reforms within the army, divide and clarify the duties and responsibilities of various departments, and introduce relevant regulations of the Prussian army, as well as the rank and designation of the army.

  We all know that Prussia has undergone reforms over the years, and its military has made great achievements. It already has the power of a powerful European army, and most of us are from Germany, so we should learn from the Prussian Army..."

Everyone talked about summarizing and summarizing the various ills of the East African army. At the same time, they called for strengthening the management of the army and bringing the scattered military power to the central government. The arrival of Prince Constantine, who will preside over military affairs, naturally has no problem.

   Ernst not only mixed sand into the army, but also other government departments. Now Prince Constantine is sorting out East African affairs and strengthening the central power is the general trend.

  The royal family of Hexingen is only Prince Constantine and Ernst, with a thin population, so there is no need to worry about any court dramas of power struggles.

  …

   "Your Excellency, this is the first telephone line in East Africa. It runs directly from Europe to East Africa. With the telephone, you will be able to talk directly to His Royal Highness Ernst in the future." The European technician introduced to Constantine.

  The "three-line" plan is not only the construction of telegraph lines, but also the invention of the telephone of the Berlin Electric Power Company.

  At the same time, the original telegraph line was upgraded and upgraded. When Prince Constantine arrived in the first town, it was just completed. In the future, Constantine can directly discuss with Ernst about anything.

   "Get me through Hohenzollernburg." Konstantin said.

soon.

   "This is Hohenzollernburg, who can I call?" Tom answered the phone.

   "Tom! This is Constantine, is that boy Ernst there?"

   "My lord, the prince is in Trieste now, just wait a moment, I'll have someone transfer the call over there!"

   After a while.

   "Hello, Father, I'm Ernst. How have you been in Africa lately?"

   "It's not bad here, I've gotten used to it, why are you in Trieste?"

   "I'm inspecting the construction of a food factory here."

   "Well, I see, by the way, I have held a military conference in East Africa today, and I want to discuss with you about reforming the army..."

   "That's it! What they said is indeed reasonable, but eggs can't be put in one basket. I don't think we can ignore Austria besides Prussia. Austria has always been a military power, and many experiences are also valuable..."

   "By the way, I sent you a telegram yesterday about your father-in-law's navy proposal. What do you think?"

"You should already know that there is a river and lake force in East Africa! This is the initial prototype of the East African Navy, but it is not a navy in the true sense. My opinion is that the Navy can do it, but let's experiment first, and don't come up and make it hard. First, select a group of good water quality from the river and lake troops, and form a team...

  In terms of equipment, I am relatively tight on money in Europe now, but I can try to build a few small boats next year. Let’s use the old boats left by Zanzibar for military training first! ..."

  (end of this chapter)