African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 362: Chapter 41: Past

Samuel: ”In an unfamiliar environment, one must be more cautious, especially in the environment of Eritrea. During the day, we can overpower the natives, but what if it’s nighttime? Then we face the risk of having our supply lines cut off and being ambushed.”

Sapetto thought he understood why the Kingdom of Italy failed in the Italo-Abyssinian War. Even the ”military genius” of the kingdom was so timid; how could they possibly oppose the powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire!

Thus, Sapetto said disdainfully: ”Hahaha, General! You overestimate the Abyssinians too much. Can they possibly use spears to withstand the fully armed Italian army?”

Seeing Sapetto’s blindness, Samuel shook his head and said, ”Mr. Sapetto, if you think like that, you are gravely mistaken!”

Sapetto: ”What is the General’s insight?”

Samuel: ”Do you know how I rose to prominence in the war?”

Sapetto shook his head.

Samuel recalled: ”When I first enlisted, the kingdom was threatened by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so conscription was very hasty. The company I was in was essentially composed of a bunch of farmers who had just put down their hoes; they couldn’t even distinguish left from right and were completely clueless about military commands. I myself was just a fledgling young man with almost no military knowledge. Do you think such a force would have hope against the well-trained Austro-Hungarian Empire?”

Sapetto shook his head, confidently saying, ”No, it wouldn’t.”

He himself had served in the military and understood this fairly well; otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken up colonization in Eritrea after retiring.

Samuel continued: ”That wasn’t the worst of it. Even the dullest person on the battlefield knows to advance and retreat. When farmers have weapons in their hands, even if they can’t aim, they can still pressure the enemy. But you know what? In my company, only half of the men were given guns, some even relics from the Napoleonic era. But even those relics were a luxury for some people. During training, everyone rotated to get a turn. It wasn’t until we had to head to the front lines that a batch of rifles was withdrawn from the front, full of issues and some outright unusable. For a young and inexperienced person like me, it was a complete disaster.”

Sapetto found it hard to believe and said, ”Surely the kingdom could at least provide enough rifles?”

Samuel: ”I thought so too, but this actually happened to me. When I reported the problem to my superior, that fat-headed captain told me the kingdom was unprepared for the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s surprise attack, even though our mobilization had been underway before the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war. At that time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire hadn’t even attacked.”

Sapetto cursed angrily: ”Those damned corrupt officials! Decades have passed and they still haven’t improved! When I was in the army, it was the same, but back then at least we had guns—they were embezzling soldiers’ funds. I dare to bet that your rifles never left the factory; the accounts were just smoothed over!”

Samuel: ”Haha, I dare to bet that most soldiers didn’t receive the military funding for the Italo-Abyssinian War. Other than the fallen, post-war financial strains meant it was constantly in arrears, and this was even when the Austro-Hungarian Empire hadn’t demanded reparations from Italy.”

After hearing this, Sapetto changed his opinion of Samuel and respectfully asked, ”General, in that case, how did you defeat the Austro-Hungarian troops?”

”Simple, surprise attacks!”

”Surprise attacks!”

Samuel: ”Yes, it’s not very honorable, but it was my secret to victory. After all, in the critical moment of survival for the Kingdom of Italy, tactical choices didn’t need too much consideration.”

During this era, European countries went to war with a pretense of chivalry, aiming to defeat the enemy in a straightforward manner. Yet, in actual warfare, there were always those who broke the rules. The most typical were those who favored ”surprise” and ”guerrilla” warfare, like the students from Heixinggen Military Academy. This was largely due to their curriculum, which included many Eastern military treatises to broaden their perspectives. However, battles mainly still occurred on traditional battlefields facing each other head-on.

Samuel: ”The enemies I faced in my region were mainly the allied forces of Austria and Hungary. I knew Austro-Hungarian soldiers were well-trained, but many of their troops were organized by ethnicity. This means that command for Austria would inevitably have flaws, and they would frequently make mistakes. The performance of the Austro-Hungarian army confirmed my thoughts.”

”Austro-Hungarian forces often took actions that defied logic, allowing me to seize opportunities. Early on, due to equipment disadvantages, the troops I led often attacked the Austro-Hungarian forces at night. Using the cover of night, we would approach their encampment and engage in close combat. The Austrians’ Volend guns were very advanced, not only faster to load and fire but also more accurate than what we had. Never mind the Volend guns, even the Hungarian Lorenz rifles were more advanced than the junk we carried, and they had artillery support of various calibers, so I knew close combat was the only way we could compete with the Austro-Hungarian army.”

Sapetto: ”Indeed, that was the only way, otherwise...”

Samuel: ”Otherwise, we would suffer enormous casualties and not inflict the same on the enemy. Only by using myriad superior forces and a greater number of lives could we potentially achieve an insignificant victory. But the Austria-Hungary Empire is inherently larger than us, and continuing this way becomes increasingly disadvantageous for the Kingdom of Italy. This was the lesson I learned the first time I fought against the Austria-Hungary Empire.”

”General, you have failed before!”

”It was not a failure per se; it was merely my first experience on the battlefield where I lacked experience, causing some losses. After realizing the futility of the situation, I promptly adjusted my strategy. In fact, we didn’t have any significant actions; the artillery of the Austria-Hungary Empire never gave us the opportunity for large-scale offense.”

”So how did you deal with the enemy’s artillery fire?”

”By utilizing the terrain and retreating in an orderly fashion, avoiding direct confrontations with the Austria-Hungary Empire during the day and regaining ground at night,.”

”And how do you respond to orders from higher up! If they don’t allow you to retreat and instruct you to hold your ground?”

Samuel laughed aloud upon hearing Sapetto’s words: ”Hahaha, you count on orders from above! In reality, the Italian army was already in retreat. The command system had long been dysfunctional; everyone was just trying to save their skins. My earliest battalion commander disappeared at the outbreak of the war. However, they didn’t know that the faster one fled, the easier they were to be annihilated by the Austria-Hungary forces. When they saw Italy hesitant even before the fight, the Austria-Hungary forces’ morale soared. Thus, when I commanded my troops, I never synchronized with allied units. Even if retreating, we could not let the Austria-Hungary forces seize any openings, putting the pursuers in a dilemma.”

”If the command system fails, how did you obtain ammunition and other supplies?”

Samuel: ”To put it bluntly, the kingdom’s supply to cannon-fodder troops was akin to zero. Hence, my forces primarily relied on capturing Austria-Hungary’s weapons for the fight. The Volend guns from Austria-Hungary were much more reliable than those produced by us... This is also why I do not underestimate the Abyssinian Empire. When I faced the mighty Austria-Hungary army, I also employed a lot of cold weapons. In meat-grinding melees, machetes were much more dependable than the kingdom’s antique rifles. If I could deal with the Austria-Hungary army this way, why couldn’t the natives use the same tactic against me!”

Samuel was familiar with this set. He didn’t believe that a thousand-year-old empire like the Abyssinian Empire, with millions of citizens, would lack personnel similar to himself.

After hearing Samuel’s experiences, Sapetto regarded the young general with deep respect: ”General Samuel, you are a true soldier!”

Samuel sighed: ”I merely did what a soldier should do, nothing of a military genius as they say.”

Samuel remained modest, making Sapetto even more admiring of the young man: ”Your Excellency, I was also once a soldier of the kingdom. Upon retirement, I achieved minor success in Eritrea and am quite familiar with the local area. From now on, I will fully cooperate with all your orders.”

Samuel: ”Thank you for your support, Mr. Sapetto. I truly need someone like you with experience in Eritrea.”

Hence, Samuel began consulting Sapetto about various aspects of the Abyssinian Empire and the regional powers surrounding it.

Sapetto: ”Speaking of the surrounding areas of the Abyssinian Empire, the opening of the Suez Canal indeed brought many new forces nearby. Besides us Italians, there are the British and French, as well as Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, there’s the East African kingdom to the south, which should fall under the German sphere.”

Samuel: ”The East African kingdom? The one with connections to Austria!”

Samuel recalled that when the East African kingdom was established last year, the first supporter was indeed the Austria-Hungary Empire, and within it, Austria was German.

”There are certain connections, but they’re not significant. As long as we don’t provoke them, there’s no issue. The ruler of this East African kingdom is Prince Constantine of the Hohenzollern family. So I suppose they might have a stronger relationship with Germany. And since Prussia has a good relationship with our Kingdom of Italy, if we manage communications well, they might even assist us.”

Samuel: ”That’s good. I just worry that if they collude with the Austria-Hungary Empire, it would impede our operations.”

In reality, East Africa wasn’t concerned about the Kingdom of Italy; even if Italy were to create upheaval in the Abyssinian Empire, it was immaterial. The Boers, however, were East Africa’s paramount concern.

Later, Samuel gathered more intelligence from Sapetto about various aspects of the Abyssinian Empire. But Sapetto, who couldn’t even manage Asab Port, didn’t understand much about Abyssinia.

Samuel: ”We still know too little about the Abyssinian Empire. Therefore, we’ll start with intelligence gathering, and after thoroughly understanding the Abyssinian Empire, we will devise a reliable plan. The kingdom’s future doesn’t permit failure.”