African Entrepreneurship Record

Schwar’s luck could only be described as average, because the actions of the East African Navy were still discovered by the Portuguese. As a seasoned military man, Count Roberts could not possibly relax his vigilance towards enemies on the sea.

For a period of time, the East African Navy’s bombardment of Mozambique’s ports further solidified the ideas of Count Roberts and other Allied commanders.

So the East African Navy and the Allied scouts bumped into each other directly, and the navy reported this situation to Schwar.

”Lieutenant Schwar, our observers spotted an Allied detachment while on lookout. They must have discovered our presence. Are you planning to abandon this mission?”

The New Hamburg Port’s naval vessels, although not large, were still quite identifiable in the coastal waters, and at this time, very few merchant ships sailed via the East African route. Fleet as large as this one were rare, and commercial fleets with this kind of capacity generally wouldn’t mind the toll charged by the Suez Canal and wouldn’t take the risk to reroute through the East African path.

Of course, the number of ships actually taking the East African route wasn’t small either. Apart from British ships, East Africa also focused on inspecting for any ”contraband”, letting most other countries’ vessels pass through undisturbed most of the time.

The countries currently navigating the East African route the most were France and Austria-Hungary. Frances’ presence was due to Madagascar Island. Meanwhile, Britain might have also placed orders with France to transport ”goods” that were inconvenient for them to send to Mozambique. East Africa was well aware of this but could not afford to offend Britain and then the French.

As for the Austrian-Hungarian merchant ships, many of them were actually East African in disguise, with operations by the Heixinggen Ocean Trade Company, some merchant ships donned new identities. Besides, there were quite a few Arab merchant ships, mainly for trading purposes.

East Africa was truly a land of ”great abundance and wealth,” where resources were plenty, and because of East African development, the productivity of the original region had greatly improved. Therefore, this ”piece of fat meat” was hard to give up or rather impossible to abandon, especially for Omani merchants.

Now that ”Zanzibar” had completely become East African territory, the Arabian people of Zanzibar chose to ”return to their roots,” returning to the embrace of the Omani Sultanate.

However, the trade relations established between East Africa and them became increasingly stable, which also inadvertently boosted the current Omani economy.

Returnees with Omani nationality from Zanzibar were either nobles, merchants, or artisans. Since they belonged to the ruling class in Zanzibar, they not only brought talent to Oman but also substantial wealth, with commercial channels being the most crucial part.

Currently, Oman became East Africa’s economic trans-shipment base, with Omani merchants actively promoting East African goods in all Arab countries.

East Africa could adjust its domestic production status according to the Omani import needs, such as the camel breeding industry, which reemerged in the northern East African pastures. Mombasa became the central hub for East African camel exports.

Meanwhile, spices like cloves were well-received in Europe and the Arabian region, and the East African coast along with Zanzibar Island was always the best production area for quality cloves, traditionally an Arabian growth area for such spices.

This behavior by East Africa of ”building their nests on the magpie’s tree” did not receive much resistance, as East Africa’s ”tolerance” classified it as a cooperative relationship between both parties.

Of course, for Schwar now, the most important thing was not to think about trade issues but whether to proceed with the landing plan.

However, after a brief thought, Schwar steadfastly said, ”Major General Bruce, I still decide to let my troops land here.”

Bruce kindly reminded, ”This was originally a different system, but I still want to persuade you. Currently, we’re very likely discovered by the Allied forces, and the distance from here to the coast is several hundred meters. Even if you all carry light equipment, it might take at least three trips to get all your troops ashore.

The duration is long enough for Allied reinforcements to arrive, and facing them might lead to a complete defeat. Given the high risk of this mission from the start, there is no need to risk lives executing it; we can fully abandon this mission.”

For Major General Bruce’s statement, Schwar was well aware that he would avoid this risk if better options were available.

He asked, ”Major General Bruce, how far is it from here to the coast of the Allied garrison at Bangkokchi?”

Bangkokchi served as the line of defense set up south of Maputo to prevent East African invasion by the Allied forces. From New Hamburg Port City to Maputo, there were no significant geographical obstructions.

Bangkokchi’s surroundings featured large water bodies, similar to the role of lakes on the Crimean Peninsula. There were expansive lakes and rivers around Bangkokchi, allowing it to effectively block East African advances.

To Schwar’s query, Major General Bruce responded very clearly, ”It’s about thirty-five kilometers or so to Maputo, it’s over seventy kilometers.”

The East African Navy was naturally very clear about Mozambique’s coastline, making it easy for Major General Bruce to provide approximate distances.

Moreover, this landing site was one that the navy and army had long decided upon, with water conditions most suitable for landing operations around Maputo. Schwar’s following reasoning naturally explained why.

”That’s just right. The journey from here to Bangkokchi isn’t long. Yet even if Portuguese and British troops were as well-trained as our forces, they’d cover at most forty kilometers in a day. Thus, it would take their reinforcements at least most of the day from Bangkokchi to here – plenty of time for us to land.”

”Of course, this isn’t the most critical point. The most crucial factor is the map showing a forest just a hundred meters inland from this coastal area. We can see the lush greenery opposite us now, which is perfect for my small-scale unit to hide.”

Schwar’s confidence came from the vast original forests near the coast. Ample rainfall on the eastern side of the Drakensberg Mountain Range supported an abundance of forest resources.

In this environment, as long as Schwar acted quickly, they could take advantage of this loophole and penetrate the enemy’s rear areas.

”Of course, assuming the Allies have no hidden troops, although I think that’s unlikely, since the Allies can’t possibly obtain intel about our landing operations,” Schwar said.

Given that dense forests were ideal for Allied ambushes and uncertainty remained visible from the ships, discovering Allies’ scouts was owed to the coastal beach setting.

Hearing Schwar articulate this, Major General Bruce also acknowledged the high feasibility of the plan, saying, ”If that’s your belief, then let’s begin! The Allied scouts spotted earlier likely already reported back, so it’s best to pray there aren’t any stationed Allied troops nearby.”

”No problem,” Schwar said. This was another gamble, but Schwar believed the chances of success were very high this time.

Quickly, with the navy’s cooperation, Schwar’s regiment began landing. The navy deployed lifeboats and small boats into the sea, and the army boarded first with personnel, then equipment.

After an hour of effort, Schwar’s unit was entirely ashore, and they were in luck, having yet to discover any traces of the enemy, indicating a lack of Allied troops nearby.

Of course, the footsteps of the Allied scouts remained along the coast. Through Schwar’s observation, they typically patrolled the coastal beaches, yet today a trail led from the forest. This indicated that before Schwar’s unit landed, these scouts chose to escape through the forest – without cover on the coast, they dared not wager against the East Africans’ stamina and marksmanship.