African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 762 - 66 Heading South
This is understandable, after all, the focus of maritime and land power countries differs, and East Africa currently places much more emphasis on the army than the navy. ๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐.๐ฐ๐ ๐ฆ
Although East Africa's standing army is not as large as those of the European land power nations, it is still not comparable to the British reserves recruited temporarily from the homeland.
The British regular army numbers only a little more than 100,000, with the majority stationed in the homeland and India, making it impossible to deploy a large portion to the South African front, as vigilance over European affairs and the security of various colonies must be maintained at all times.
Therefore, the British forces under Count Roberts cannot be considered elite, as most are reserves or individuals temporarily conscripted from the homeland.
While East Africa also temporarily added about 100,000 reserves into the army service, many East African reserves have military experience, although they haven't fought major battles, they still have considerable experience, and even some new recruits have undergone extensive military training, which is specifically reflected in East Africa's compulsory education system.
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Zambezi River defense line.
East Africa did not spend much effort breaking through the Zambezi River because the number of Allied forces on the opposite bank was very small, insufficient to support a confrontation with the East African army.
"Currently, our army has a total of four divisions heading south, including the newly formed 221st Division, which is part of the Northern Military District. The other three divisions belong to the Eastern Military District, including the 111th Division stationed in the Malawi Lake industrial area, the 112th Division from the original Zambezi River defense line, and the 122nd Cavalry Division from Dodoma," said Rosenwell, the commander of the 112th Division.
The 112th Division was originally established by East Africa as the main force for the Lufuma River defense line. Later, after the first East-Portuguese War, the border between East Africa and Portuguese Mozambique moved south to the Zambezi River line, so the 112th Division's base was also relocated southward.
Therefore, this military operation against Mozambique is mainly led by the 112th Division, a longtime adversary of the Portuguese.
Douglas, the commander of the 111th Division, said: "In fact, cavalry is not suitable for operations in southern Mozambique, as it is currently the rainy season. Although Mozambique has vast plains, they are divided by rivers and forests, making infantry more flexible than cavalry."
"Now is not the time to pick and choose. Other regions do not have the conditions to support cavalry. Initially, the 221st and 122nd Divisions, both cavalry divisions, were prepared to support the central front. However, since the central front is currently in a stalemate, the general staff decided to dispatch the two cavalry divisions to the north.
Moreover, you should not assume Mozambique's road conditions are similar to East Africa's. If you were stationed on the East Africa-Mozambique border for a long time, you would know Mozambique's roads are practically like 'crap.' Such road conditions are unfavorable for cavalry, and no better for infantry. Water transport is actually very suitable," said Rosenwell.
"The Zambezi River has many tributaries downstream, but our naval capacity is limited. Even after breaking through the Zambezi River defense line, it is still difficult to maneuver within the area. These Portuguese are plain lazy; after hundreds of years, they haven't bothered to build more roads, not even simple dirt roads, which wouldn't pose any trouble for us."
The biggest obstacle to the southward movement of the East African army is Mozambique's road conditions. Initially, before large-scale infrastructure development in East Africa, the road conditions were not much better.
But East Africa is primarily composed of grasslands, while Mozambique, despite having a savanna climate, has much stronger rainfall and vegetation compared to the East African highlands, resulting in more rivers.
Thus, after the East African Defense Army entered Mozambique, they experienced the difficulty reminiscent of the German army entering Soviet territory in the past, and this adverse transportation environment somewhat alleviated the pressure on Count Roberts.
Of course, this cannot be a reason for the East African Defense Army to stall, as the Germans in the past also faced poor road conditions, yet their initial advance was not slow.
"Our army should reach the Pongui River line in Mozambique within a week. Currently, Mozambique's main Allied forces are held up in the west, providing a good opportunity for us to advance south," Rosenwell said.
Douglas: "If we want to completely destroy the Mozambique army that previously blocked us, we should push the timeline forward by one or two days. I think marching 40 kilometers per day would be a suitable pace, as the distance from the Zambezi River to the Pongui River is over 200 kilometers. Covering just over 30 kilometers per day would be too slow; by then, the enemy might have already retreated to Antonio!"
Rosenwell moved the timeline forward again: "The Mozambique forces are more familiar with the terrain than us, so we might waste more time on the road. Therefore, to avoid compromising combat capability, we should ideally control the Pongui River line in four days. Holding the north bank of the Pongui River allows us to cut off the Portuguese communication with north of the Pongui River, trapping them, while we can regroup on the north bank."
"This is almost the marching limit for ordinary troops, but for the infantry this approach is feasible. The key focus is still on the roles of our two cavalry divisions. The cavalry should perform more importantly."
"Thus, the 122nd Cavalry Division should play a role. Their rapid mobility may intercept the enemy ahead and remove risks in advance."
The decision to choose the 122nd Division as the vanguard was not made lightly by Rosenwell. The 122nd Division is an experienced East African cavalry unit with participation in many battles.
Since this war is taking place on enemy soil, the East African Defense Army lacks knowledge about Mozambique, and honestly, even the Portuguese may not be too familiar with their colony in Mozambique.
In such circumstances, the experiences of a seasoned unit like the 122nd Division are invaluable, allowing them to calmly handle any dangers in Mozambique. Meanwhile, the 221st Division from the Northern Military District lacks such experience.
In reality, the 221st Division's task in Mozambique is to support the Eastern Military District, not to bear the brunt of major combat tasks. As the division was established recently, it needs time to integrate on the battlefield. For example, the recently formed 222nd Division is still in the Northern Military District undergoing training, without any battlefield experience yet.
After the battle plan was formulated, the East African army demonstrated East Africa's large-scale strategic marching speed to the enemy for the first time, quickly advancing the four divisions to the rear lines in Mozambique.
The 122nd Division, acting as the vanguard, caught up with the Portuguese blocking forces withdrawing from the south bank of the Zambezi River on the second day, inflicting heavy casualties on them. Eventually, the 2nd Brigade of the 112th Division joined the fray, annihilating the main force of this Portuguese army, with only a few Portuguese troops escaping.
But no matter how fast they fled, they couldn't outrun horses. The 122nd Division completed their mission in just two days, reaching the Pongui River line and blocking along the river.
Subsequently, other East African troops began a game of cat and mouse with the Portuguese remnants north of the Pongui River. These shattered Portuguese forces, even if they wanted to resist East Africa, lacked the capability. Many more Portuguese troops voluntarily surrendered to East Africa.
By late June 1888, the original 20,000 Portuguese troops (including Black people) north of the Pongui River were completely annihilated by East Africa. Of course, there were many "missing persons" among the Portuguese, especially Black deserters.
These missing persons are mostly impossible to recover, mostly Black people who seized the opportunity to break free from Portuguese rule. Given the vast and sparsely populated landscape of Mozambique, East Africa cannot thoroughly search every area, so only after the war, when Mozambique is developed in the future, will these hidden populations be uncovered.
