African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1070: Chapter 79: Arms Trade First

In Ernst’s view, German diplomacy shouldn’t be in such a state. Although Germany was the most powerful nation on the European continent at the time, it had no absolute advantage over France and Russia, at least according to the general perception among European countries.

Take France, for instance. Although its industry and population were far behind Germany’s, its military strength had been rapidly growing over the years. The French army was practically tailor-made for Germany, and in both quantity and quality, it was in no way inferior to Germany.

Before the outbreak of World War I, France claimed to have the strongest land army in Europe, and after the war broke out, the performance of the French land army was indeed impressive.

So, even by itself, France was not an easy bone for Germany to chew. If the United Kingdom and Russia were added to the mix, Germany would eventually be besieged by the Allies.

Of course, the poor quality of Germany’s allies was also a major contributing factor. Austria-Hungary was a mess internally, and its military actions did not match its status as a traditional European power. Italy, on the other hand, switched directly to the Allies’ camp before the war began.

Overall, the current world situation has completely deviated from Ernst’s judgment. Without Italy’s betrayal, whether Germany could even start World War I was questionable.

Naturally, for its own development needs, East Africa hoped that European countries would engage in large-scale conflicts. Regardless of which side won, East Africa could gain significant benefits, and the United States probably had similar thoughts.

The key to the outbreak of World War I was Germany. To ignite this war, it was necessary to strengthen Germany, allowing it to expand and eventually spark the entire continent.

Therefore, helping Germany control the Ottoman Empire was a convenient action for East Africa. In order not to disrupt Germany’s plans, East Africa had to act primarily in line with Germany in the Ottoman Empire.

In January 1908, the East African diplomatic mission officially communicated with the German diplomats in the Ottoman Empire. Germany responded actively to the ”grand gift” sent by East Africa.

After all, the main aim of East Africa’s actions was to stir up trouble for the United Kingdom and Russia, and in terms of supporting the Ottoman Empire, the two countries had a consensus.

With Germany serving as the communication bridge, East Africa easily reached cooperation with the Ottoman Empire. The prerequisites for these collaborations basically revolved around Germany’s approval, as Germany’s significant influence over the Ottoman Empire was contingent upon supporting pro-German forces within its military.

For example, Germany helped train the Ottoman Empire’s army. If East Africa did anything without consulting Germany, it could easily lead to misunderstandings.

The German ambassador to the Ottoman Empire emphasized: ”Currently, the military training of the Ottoman Empire should be led by our instructors. East Africa should not interfere too much. Even if it does, it should align with Germany, preferably not acting under the East African identity but as Germans.”

Influencing a country’s military through military instructors and advisors is common practice, as seen with Germany and Japan in the past, or the United States sending military personnel or advisors within the Republic of China Army of the Far East Empire.

Therefore, Germany did not want East Africa to establish independent relations with the Ottoman Empire’s army. Given Germany’s significant resource investment, if East Africa acted independently, people might suspect that East Africa intended to ”pick peaches.”

East Africa readily accepted Germany’s demands, having no intention of exerting significant influence over the Ottoman Empire. As long as the Ottoman Empire could act as a counterbalance to the United Kingdom and Russia, East Africa’s objectives were achieved.

With East Africa’s cooperation, Germany was naturally pleased, and the Ottoman Empire’s attitude towards East Africa was also very friendly. Through communication between East Africa and Germany, the Ottoman Empire mistakenly thought East Africa was aligned with Germany. This beautiful misunderstanding benefited East Africa.

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Compared to the smooth diplomatic activities in the Ottoman Empire, East Africa’s diplomatic efforts in Persia were more complex.

Primarily because Persia’s national strength was far inferior to the Ottoman Empire, and when faced with Britain and Russia, Persia didn’t even have the thought of resisting.

”We communicated with the Persian government, but given its long history of dealing poorly with Russia and the United Kingdom, it lacked the enterprising spirit present in the Ottoman Empire, making it difficult to achieve success.”

The currently ruling Young Turks in the Ottoman Empire were quite ambitious, viewing themselves as the Empire’s ”Westernization faction,” not content to bow forever before Western countries.

Perrsia was completely different. Whether facing the United Kingdom or Russia, its government appeared too ”weak-kneed” to East African diplomats.

”The upper echelons of the Persian government have no enterprising spirit, and although there are forces within Persia that resent the United Kingdom and Russia, they are not substantial enough to make a difference, thus exploiting Persia is rather challenging for us.”

”The Persian government’s attitude towards us is more one of vigilance and utility, used as a balance against Russia and the United Kingdom.”

Ernst found this mindset of the Persian government unsurprising, stating: ”Persia is an important country in the Persian Gulf. We can’t sidestep Persia if we wish to intervene in the region. Since Persia lacks the courage to confront the United Kingdom and Russia, we’ll provide that courage to them. As long as we can incite concern from the United Kingdom and Russia, even just a little, our mission is accomplished, as supporting Persia was never our real objective.”

East Africa only intended to stir up the Middle Eastern and Central Asian regions rather than genuinely contributing to local development, rendering Persia’s attitude insignificant.

”First, expand the local arms trade market. Once weapons flow into the Persian Gulf, it will be the United Kingdom and Russia experiencing headaches, not us. At that point, they will inevitably have to negotiate with us.”

In reality, the Middle East and Central Asia had long been arms markets for East Africa, with trades starting in the seventies. The Afghan war served as a prime example, where East Africa exported numerous weapons to local armed forces, troubling the British for quite a while.

With the current expansion in arms trade, it’s not just Afghanistan but all potential clients in the region. The influx of weapons will inevitably disrupt the governance established by the United Kingdom and Russia.

Of course, aside from stirring local unrest, Ernst aimed to bolster East Africa’s military industrial capacity.

Due to the scale of its army, East Africa’s military industry was not particularly large, especially concerning rifles, machine guns, and artillery. The total East African Defense Army didn’t exceed forty thousand, incomparable even to Germany and France.

Ernst found the military industry notably profitable in the short term. Waiting until World War I broke out to suddenly expand military production might result in chaos.

The current expansion aims not only to strengthen East Africa’s military capabilities but also to profit significantly when World War I erupts. Military products would be in high demand, and to cater to diverse needs, East Africa planned to produce weapons that met both domestic and international standards.

Even if unable to penetrate the European arms market, other regions worldwide would temporarily lose access to military supplies due to the war. Ernst predicted a temporary gap in the arms market, presenting East Africa with an excellent opportunity to profit significantly from the war.

At that time, East Africa’s main competitor would be the United States. The United States differed from East Africa, having greater potential in weapon production, owing to its liberal gun laws, fostering a thriving gun manufacturing industry. In the early 20th century, weapon variety wasn’t as developed as in later years, and many nations heavily relied on rifles. Only major powers could afford extensive artillery duels.