African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 738 - 42: Pre-War Calculations

March 7, 1888.

After all preparations were made, the Three Nations Alliance was officially ready to take action.

Before the war started, Count Roberts made the final deployment: "Once the war begins, two brigades from southern Portugal will cooperate with the British forces in the Natal colony to advance towards New Hamburg Port City."

"The rest of the troops are mainly divided in two directions. With our two divisions as the main force, one will attack Central East Africa, and the other's forces, together with the Portuguese army, will engage in the north along the Zambezi River against East Africa."

"The remaining two divisions will serve as reserves, ready to support all battlefields at any time."

"As for the Boers..."

Davidson, representing the Transvaal people, finally had the chance to speak.

"Commander-in-Chief, our Boer Republic is an independent battlefield, so regarding the main battlefield we can only perform coordination, but we will try to attract East Africa's southern forces to the west, preventing them from supporting the eastern battlefield."

Even if the Transvaal people want to support the eastern coastal areas, they can't, being surrounded on three sides like Mozambique, and the Drakensberg Mountains in the east cut off the alliance's contact.

This means the Boer Republic can only function as an independent battlefield and coordinate with the eastern main battleground, just like the Angola colony.

The Angola colony is even more special than other regions; its location makes it impossible for the alliance's headquarters to include it in their command system.

So Angola and the eastern battlefield are considered to be on equal footing, with the commander being a Portuguese national, and the corresponding forces mainly composed of Portuguese paired with Black people.

However, the British will provide naval support to Angola because East Africa's naval forces in the South Atlantic region are extremely weak, so a few small warships suffice to suppress East Africa's Atlantic fleet.

East Africa doesn't mind this; the so-called Atlantic fleet is merely a coastal patrol squad based in Southwest Africa, hardly effective, and the desolate terrain of Southwest Africa isn't worried about enemy attacks.

The desert is a natural barrier; East Africans find it challenging to move from Southwest Africa to East Africa's inland, and being unfamiliar with the area, they could even get lost in the desert, facing problems like supplies and lack of water, leading to collapse without East Africa lifting a finger.

Of course, all of this presupposes that East Africa can stabilize the western battlefield against Angola. East Africa's western defense line is quite relaxed, making its western strategy more flexible than in the east.

Conversely, it must not rely on a strategic defense line like in the southeast but rather on offense instead of defense.

Count Roberts said to Davidson: "Of course, but you absolutely cannot stand by and watch. You also know how vast the gap with East Africa is. Even if the Three Kingdoms join forces, we might not have much advantage over East Africa. If everyone doesn't make an effort and gets defeated one by one, the consequences will be very serious." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Davidson calmly responded: "Of course, speaking of feeling the military strength of East Africa most profoundly, it must be us Boers. East Africa's formidable military strength is almost unparalleled on the African continent."

Having experienced their country being destroyed once, the Transvaal people always regard East Africa's strength with utmost importance, unlike the Portuguese, who haven't fully grasped the situation.

Despite the first East-Portuguese War, the Portuguese believe it was due to lack of preparation for war, and now with British support, if not overthrowing the East African Kingdom, at least severely damaging it, especially as the current odds seem to favor the alliance.

Count Roberts doesn't doubt the Boers' determination to resist East Africa; he remarked: "The outcome of this war also depends on individual contributions. If the Boers want more rewards, they must make more effort on the battlefield. Not only restoring their nation, but you can also obtain more land, including what was once the Zulu Kingdom, now New Hamburg Port City; I believe the outlet to the sea is very enticing for the Boers."

Anyway, as the war hasn't started yet, making generous promises beforehand doesn't pressure Count Roberts. If it wasn't to avoid exaggeration, he could verbally promise the entire East Africa to the Transvaal people.

The ultimate division of war gains is led by the British, and whatever they say goes; the final interpretation rests with them.

Count Roberts' words didn't hold much sway over Davidson, as the Transvaal people are forced by East Africa with no other choice, so territorial expansion would be ideal.

But Bugival was somewhat tempted. Currently, Portugal's goals are divided into three layers. The top layer aims to restore the original size of two colonies while also seizing part of East Africa's central lands, expanding Portugal's colonial area.

The middle layer seeks to regain the lands previously seized by East Africa and obtain a larger share of war reparations; a large country's war indemnities can be considerable.

The bottom layer ensures the current colony's safety, preventing further encroachment by East Africa.

Among these three goals, the first is unrealistic because Portugal will most likely fail to obtain East Africa's central areas, preventing Portugal's colonies from connecting since it conflicts with British interests.

The British are not here for charity; they are likely to turn prosperous East African regions into their colonies after the war, and East Africa's central area is prime real estate.

As for East Africa's eastern region, it's not within the alliance's concern; it's the Land of Dragon's Ascension, and unless East Africa is destroyed, it will not be ceded.

After all, eradicating a large country like East Africa would be unprecedented since the Age of Exploration.

Of course, East Africa's size refers to its area; its population is sizable too, but the population data is hard to obtain.

According to Britain's current thinking, it would be best to replicate the Paraguay War in South America, weakening all forces in South Africa except for Britain.

In the eyes of the world, East Africa should be similar to Brazil, but unlike Brazil, whose chaos is visible globally, East Africa's inner workings are unseen, thus relying heavily on speculation for data.

However, it's certain that East Africa's government is much cleaner than Brazil's, signified by the displayed military power, which is not just slightly superior.

Although Brazil achieved independence, it only surpasses typical colonies, forming an economic colony under various powers, whereas East Africa truly possesses independent sovereignty.

In this respect, even Japan is much stronger than Brazil. Despite suffering humiliation akin to Brazil, Japan has actively revoked unequal treaties from the Shogunate era.

Brazil, however, has been on an irreversible path of economic colonization, and the crucial problem is Brazil's domestic factions are diverse, unable to guide the country's direction or form unity, preventing development, which is not justified given Brazil's foundational conditions.