CHAPTER 256: CHAPTER 245: THE FIRST SHOT OF THE 1870 GERMAN WAR

According to later historical records, starting from July 1870, three major German states successively launched wars. These three great powers essentially dragged all German states into the conflict, hence people collectively refer to these three 1870 wars as the 1870 German Wars.

Among them, the largest in scale (in terms of personnel and weaponry involved), the most intense, and the most influential was the Prussian-French War. Following that was the Second Austro-Italian War, and finally, the Third War of East African Conquest.

July 10, 1870.

On the suspension bridge between the banks of the Luapula River and the Zambezi River, a throng of people bustled. The newly expanded East African Army began to set out in three directions.

The East African Kingdom, which has yet to fully absorb Zambia, is about to harness its final potential to firmly establish the basic framework of the East African Kingdom.

West bank of the Luapula River.

Mwesili, with his sons and the army of the Mwesili regime, had been eagerly awaiting for a long time.

"Mr. Merk! Your nation’s strength is truly terrifying!" Mwesili exclaimed in awe, deeply impressed by the thirty-thousand well-equipped and well-trained East African Kingdom’s army, which left this African chief utterly stunned.

"Of course, Mr. Mwesili, any tribe in front of the East African Kingdom is as weak as chickens and dogs, unable to withstand a single blow. A slight exertion from us, and you couldn’t stop us. You’re a smart man for choosing to cooperate and becoming a friend of East Africa. We will not let you suffer."

Mwesili had already been molded by the East African Kingdom into a staunch "non-traitor," and at the same time, the East African Kingdom promised not to abandon him once his usefulness was gone.

Before this war, the East African Kingdom presented Mwesili with two options. After the East African Kingdom swept through the entire Central South African plateau, Mwesili could either become a guest in the Zanzibar Sultanate or pass through Central Africa to develop in West Africa. Mwesili chose the latter.

Looking at the East African army before him, vast and numerous, Mwesili felt somewhat relieved about his decision. Had he chosen the wrong side, he would likely now be the target of an expedition. Mwesili didn’t believe that the hundreds of guns he had could be a match for the East African Army.

"Mr. Merk, rest assured, this time our Yake Kingdom will fully assist your fight. I can’t speak for other regions, but the Luba Kingdom has been my old rival, so let my people lead the way for you."

"Excellent!" Merk affirmed.

...

"Bang..." The first shot of the East Africa’s Third Conquest War (The first was the Great Lakes Region’s annihilation of the Northwest Eight Nations War, the second was the Zambia and Gledi Sultanate War, collectively known as the East Africa Conquest Wars) was fired. The Kasongo region, located between the Luapula River and the Sankuru River, where the Luapula River is an upstream section of the Congo River, and the Sankuru River a southern tributary. The northward advancing East African Army encountered the Luba Kingdom’s army in this area.

...

First Town, Qivite Royal Palace.

Felix stood before the sand table, introducing, "In this conquest war, our East African army will split into four groups—Northern Army, Western Route Army, Southern Road Army, and Southwest Army. The targets are the Azande Plateau and the southern Sultanate region; the Longda Plateau and the Kongou Plateau; the Matebel Plateau; and the northern area of the Kalahari Basin."

"Once the objectives are achieved, East Africa will border Egypt in the north, the Portuguese Angola colony and the Congo Kingdom to the west, the Boer forces to the south, while forming an encirclement around the Portuguese Mozambique colony.

"In other words, after this expansion, East Africa’s neighbors will shift from natives to various world powers, including England, France, Egypt, the Abyssinian Empire, the Ottoman (along the Red Sea coast), Portugal, the Boers, various Somali clans...

Therefore, East Africa will not engage in such large-scale actions for a long time to come."

This is an extremely bold move, with the intended area equivalent in size to India. Once completed, East Africa’s territory will reach over seven million square kilometers.

This is also East Africa’s limit. What’s left is beyond consumption, as usual, the highland areas are the foundation of the East African Kingdom, and this expansion is mainly directed at the highland regions, as only the highlands and mountains in the tropics are most suitable for human habitation.

With limited capabilities, East Africa naturally prioritizes occupying the good places in its view, so rainforests and deserts are not in this plan.

Although the western and southern parts of the Kalahari Basin are pretty much like uninhabited areas, the desert climate combined with long supply lines makes it basically unfeasible to complete, even if conquered contact can’t be maintained.

And in the Congo rainforest, large-scale marching, unless disregarding casualties, is fundamentally impossible to carry out, even the aboriginals who have lived in the rainforest for generations wouldn’t dare to claim they could traverse it.

In fact, following the river, it’s still possible to occupy some riverbank strongholds, but it’s entirely unnecessary, as effective governance cannot be established. There may be some possibilities for colonization, but there are hardly any people in the Congo rainforests, mostly small tribes, with no colonial value, and the valuable lands in the Congo area are all part of this East African expansion action.

Here it must be emphasized, the Congo region in the past life and the Congo rainforest are completely different concepts. Mentioning the Congo, it seems to imply its natural resources are abundant, with vast arable lands, but the Congo’s minerals, population, and arable lands are entirely concentrated in the highlands and mountainous regions of the southeast, southwest, and north.

For instance, the past life’s Congo (Gold), its urban population was entirely distributed around the Congo rainforest, and in this encirclement, the Mitumba Mountains in the east are already part of the East African territory, the Katanga Plateau in the south is also in East African hands, and with East African expansion, the Azande Plateau in the north and the Longda and Kongou Plateaus in the south are gone, leaving only west of Kinsasa in the east hospitable for inhabitants.

Coincidentally, there is already a power presence there, the Portuguese. Actually, before Belgium, the Portuguese always claimed the Congo region as their sphere of influence, but the British didn’t view it that way, and other countries didn’t acknowledge it either. Now the western Congo area is divided between the Portuguese and the British, with the French Gabon colony nearby.

"Our troops, marching along the highland terrain, basically won’t experience physical discomfort. The most challenging area here is still the Kalahari Basin, where water sources are a major problem. Although the Okavango River forms a huge inland delta here, it’s this very reason nearly all animals congregate here. Those mapping the area reported that herds of hippos discharge their waste into the rivers and wetlands, making clean water difficult to find, thus limiting the army’s size.

"Logistics is also a big issue. The highland area’s natives grow some crops, if food becomes scarce, it can be temporarily resolved on-site. The Kalahari Basin has no agriculture whatsoever, all grain must be transported from the east, making it untenable to support a large-scale military presence, so the Southwest Army comprises only slightly over a thousand men."

"The highland regions are essentially contiguous, only the rivers impede our marching speed. Subsequent control over these areas requires constructing roads and bridges."