African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 775 - 79: Dividing the Blame Meeting

As the various units in East Africa converged around Luanda, the "news of frequent victories" from Angola a month ago was completely exposed.

"You bunch of bastards, why is it that in less than a month, you can't stand up to the East Africans? Were all those military reports from the past few months just lies?"

Governor Owen of Angola was furious, and it seemed as if the temperature in the meeting hall dropped by a dozen degrees, leaving everyone silent in fear. The pride Owen felt a month ago was now matched by his anger.

The Portuguese troops at the front were fighting disgracefully. If the Portuguese troops had been dreadful from the start, Owen wouldn't have anything to say. But when the war began, everyone under him was claiming credit as if it wouldn't take long to march into First Town and capture the Heixinggen royal family alive.

Yet, with just a slight exertion from the East Africans, the Portuguese troops were exposed. For the past two weeks, every front has been either retreating or utterly defeated. Is the outcome of the last East-Portuguese War going to be repeated by me?

In the last East-Portuguese War, weak Angola couldn't stop East Africa's advance, which was understandable since Angola didn't receive support from home at that time.

And being a colony, its military strength was inherently weak, with barely any regular forces, so being crushed by East Africa was reasonable.

But this time, Portugal had been "sharpening its sword for ten years," well-prepared for a comeback, yet the war turned into this mess. Naturally, Owen bore an undeniable responsibility.

"Governor, now is not the time to be angry. Criticism won't change the disarray on the front lines. We never thought that the troops the kingdom equipped with such effort would be so incompetent, even the home troops lacking combat prowess."

Owen's assistant, with a heavy tone, emphasized the "strength" of the home troops. After all, if the kingdom's home troops couldn't defeat the East Africans, the colonial forces in Angola were naturally even less useful.

This at least provided some comfort to the colony's higher-ups. It's impossible that they caused the home troops' incompetence. If Angola is lost this time, it's an issue with the kingdom's entire military system, so the blame can be placed on the home forces.

But as the highest political and military official in Angola, Owen's responsibility was still unavoidable. While the kingdom's troops indeed had issues, the colonial troops were organized by Owen; if everyone was equally incompetent, Portugal was doomed.

Owen said coldly: "No one can shirk responsibility in this war. Of course, I have made some personal miscalculations, severely underestimating the East African kingdom's military strength and war preparations, but did the British not make any mistakes?"

"The British were the primary proponents of this war, but they completely failed to uphold their promises before the war. Although we don't know the current situation in Mozambique, the fact that East Africa can mobilize so many troops to advance into Angola speaks volumes."

"Either the allies in Mozambique didn't put in any effort, or they're in the same predicament as us."

"But one thing is clear: the British failed to achieve their pre-war strategic goals. Otherwise, the East Africans couldn't possibly reinforce the western front!"

Owen's analysis was acknowledged by everyone. The higher-ups in Angola might be somewhat "incompetent," but compared to the British performance, it was more tolerable.

Before the war, the British had confidently assured Portugal that as long as they joined forces, the East Africans would crumble.

Now, both sides remain separated by East Africa's central territory, without achieving the strategic objective of meeting there for three months.

It was embarrassing enough for the Portuguese, having lost face multiple times in Brazil and Europe. However, the British were in dire straits — potentially their most humiliating experience since the Afghan uprising.

"The governor is right, and the biggest misstep in this war isn't our fault, nor the British's, but actually those parasites back home!"

"Since the war began, our supplies in Angola never met the standard line. The front lacks firearms, ammunition, artillery, and other weapons. This falls on the logistics department. If it's not due to their corruption, then it's a severe efficiency issue. Therefore, the Portuguese logistics department should be held accountable for this war's failure. Without various supplies, what do the frontline soldiers have to fight the East Africans?"

Owen gave an approving look to his subordinate; it indeed provided an excellent excuse for the war's failure since the inadequate supply of war materials to Angola was a fact.

Though the Angolan government wasn't entirely clean, with everyone skimming a little, the supplies sent from home were definitely insufficient.

In any case, the Angolan government could attribute all "normal" losses to East Africa. The bureaucrats back home wouldn't find a place to pass the blame. Given the current state of the Portuguese kingdom, they probably wouldn't discover much — at most, they'd execute a few scapegoats after the war to pacify public outrage.

Of course, such actions aligned well with Governor Owen's understanding of the Portuguese government. But right now, discussing this wasn't very useful; the main focus remained on how to extricate himself from the Angolan quagmire.

Owen asked the military personnel: "General Madrid, what is the real situation at the front?"

Here, Owen specifically emphasized the real situation, given the previous serious falsifications in military reports, causing him to lose trust in them.

General Madrid felt somewhat embarrassed. Although Owen was the highest military officer nominally, as the general dispatched from home, he was responsible for specific military affairs. Hence, with the current front-line failures, he was likely the primary one to blame.

Somewhat stiffly, he said: "Our main forces are being held by the East Africans in the east and cannot retreat. However, according to our intelligence, two main East African forces are advancing toward our rear, especially the northern force, which is likely targeting Luanda."

"What's your plan? Can you stop this East African force?" Owen asked somewhat urgently.

Others felt the same way, as East Africans coming directly for Luanda would severely threaten everyone's safety.

Madrid stated, "We are currently striving to have the frontline troops return to Luanda while organizing personnel to hinder the southward movement of the East African force. We've already seen some results, especially with the commendable performance of many Black tribes."

Owen asked, "Can you eradicate this East African force?"

Madrid shook his head: "I'm afraid not. The East African force is extremely powerful, and even with the tribal warriors disrupting their military actions on the road, it's just a drop in the bucket. It can only temporarily delay their arrival at Luanda."

Owen: "Do we just have to sit and watch the East Africans lay siege to the city?"

General Madrid said: "That's very likely, but I'm already organizing personnel for military deployments in Luanda. If the frontline troops can return in time, our predicament should be swiftly resolved."

Although Madrid said this, everyone now realized the severity of the problem: Angola might truly be doomed.

Unless a miracle occurs, the enemy is about to reach Angola, and even the homeland probably can only watch helplessly as Angola falls.