African Entrepreneurship Records

 Chapter 705 The Transvaal’s Calculation

Pretorius the Younger: "If the situation is really as you said, it would be best, but the war is the most unexpected, just like we did not consider the ambitions of the East Africans against us back then, so we cannot take it lightly."

"Moreover, we cannot give up our original intention because of the South Fetter River defense line. The ultimate goal is to regain the country. If nothing can be gained from the war, but we shrink into fortifications and increase casualties, it will be detrimental to domestic unity and ourselves. Huge blow.”

In the opinion of Pretorius the Younger, failure to get trophies on the battlefield would be the biggest disaster for the Boers.

 First of all, the population of the Boers is already small. If a war breaks out, the population will likely suffer negative growth. Therefore, the war is inherently harmful to the Boer nation.

Secondly, if there is no expansion of territory, the accumulated ethnic conflicts in the country will also break out. Now the Orange people are only temporarily compromising. If they cannot see the results, they will definitely rebel in the future.

The last issue, that is, the debt issue, is not worth mentioning for little Pretorius. He owes the British enough debt now. Even if he sells him, he cannot afford to pay it back, so it is already never mind.

Of course, the British have actually got what they want. Now the only use value of the Boers is to consume East Africa, and the British focus is actually the same as Valspig thought, that is, the Mozambique colony.

The colony of Mozambique is the place that really poses the greatest threat to East Africa. This area is based on the two major industrial areas in East Africa and also poses a huge threat to all important cities and capitals on the eastern coast of East Africa.

Although the British are not aware of East Africa's industrial investment in Matabele Province, breaking in by mistake is enough to cause pain to East Africa.

Furthermore, Mozambique directly confronts the three military defense belts in East Africa, threatening the three main military districts in East Africa.

If the new Hamburg garrison cannot withstand the pressure of this two-sided attack, the starting point of the southern section of the central railway will inevitably fall into the hands of the enemy, directly threatening the province of Hechingen. Through the province of Hechingen, it can attack Orange from behind. If the East African troops along the river line pose a threat, they can also choose to go directly north via the railway and enter central East Africa.

 The most typical one is the Southern Military District, which echoes the Cape Colony and the Boer Republic. The Southern Frontier Province in East Africa is just a long and narrow province, sandwiched between the British Colony of Natal and Maputo in Mozambique.

 In this way, the entire south of East Africa from Mbeya is in danger of falling. After all, the Portuguese still have a colony of Angola in the northwest.

Previously, the Central Railway of East Africa and the East were connected through Mbeya, an important node. After the opening of the Hesse Railway, it could be bypassed from the Northern Railway. Although it took a little more time, it greatly improved traffic safety during the war.

This is also an important reason why Ernst chose to prepare for war with the three countries after the Hessian railway was opened, because even if the southern line of the central railway was lost, East Africa could quickly support the southern battlefield from the north through the Hessian railway.

"Don't worry, President. The Feit River defense line is not that easy to break through. The attacking side has suffered the greatest losses since ancient times. Moreover, our defense line is a group of fortresses. Losing one or two nodes will not affect the overall situation. Still We can use these bunkers as strongholds to engage in guerrilla tactics with East Africa, so that the East African troops will be exhausted after entering the Transvaal Republic."

“And we still have a large number of military facilities left over from the last civil war that can be put into use. However, our troops are limited and we can only form militias as much as possible to harass the East African army.”

During the Orange Free State Civil War, the Transvaal and the Orange built a large number of military facilities in what is now the Boer Republic. Especially the military facilities left by the Orangemen, many of them are relatively hidden and very suitable for guerrilla operations. This is related to the weakness of the Orangemen in the early stage.

Moreover, apart from Bloemfontein, the civil war took place almost in the entire Boer Republic. The same is true for these military facilities. Therefore, if they can be used well, they can definitely cause heavy damage to the East African army. This was the last time the Orangemen inflicted heavy damage on the Translaterians. The valuable experience left by the Restoration Army, so this civil war was not in vain, and the Transvaal armed forces have grown.

"Taking it one step at a time, I am not worried about our fighting will and preparation in the Transvaal. I am mainly worried that the British and Portuguese are unreliable. If they compromise with East Africa, they are likely to trap us." Young Pretorius expressed his true concerns.

Valspeigel: "President, there is no turning back now. Even if we don't take action, the British will force us to fight in East Africa. After all, so much support is not given for free, but is forged with blood! "

From the very beginning, this pirate ship was not launched by the Boers at their own will, and the Boers were probably one of the builders of this pirate ship. Instead, the British came from behind and incorporated the Boers' plan into their own grand strategy. among.

"So, this is exactly what we want. The Transvaal Republic is our obsession. Even if there is only one chance in ten thousand, we will try. Even if there are no British, we will not surrender to the East Africans. !" Little Pretorius said firmly.

Walspeiger raised one of his concerns: "Your Excellency, the problem now is that if we want to go to war with East Africa, what excuse will we use, when, and how to make East Africa willing to take the initiative to go to war with our three parties at the same time? Maybe we bleed and sweat in front while the English and Portuguese watch from behind, and then, after our blood dries, pick the peaches.”

This is the problem that the Transvaal people are facing now. It has been plaguing the top Transvaal people since the British restored the independence of the Orange Free State.

 The three parties have ulterior motives. Naturally, it is best for allies to put in more effort, so it is best for us to do our part, so we must find a way to pull them into the water.

 In fact, the Transvaal people had this intention before, but the British had long seen through this and did not give them this opportunity.

"The final direction of the war still depends on the attitude of the British, so we must put pressure on the British and let them take the initiative to take responsibility, instead of thinking about cheating their allies. As long as the British are solved, the Portuguese will naturally have no choice but to follow. After all, the Portuguese in Europe are also followers of the British. Now it is related to their real interests, so they have to be more careful. However, someone must supervise them, otherwise they may really negotiate a secret peace with East Africa." Pretorius the Younger said.

Little Pretorius was overly worried about this. What East Africa wanted to eat most was the Portuguese colony, so East Africa would not give the Portuguese this opportunity at all, and would even put the knife into the Portuguese's hands.

East Africa does not dare to take these non-indigenous forces lightly, and must also pay attention to some international morality. After all, it is really difficult to be isolated by the international community or lose international credibility. The typical example is Tsarist Russia.

 So East Africa hopes that the Portuguese will take the initiative to send the excuse for war to East Africa, otherwise East Africa will have no choice but to shamelessly frame it.

 (End of this chapter)