African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1088 The Strategic Significance of the Red Sea Route

Of course, this is hard to say. After all, a country has to consider many issues, especially a country like Britain that holds world hegemony. If cooperation is possible, East Africa will naturally be willing to accept this result. If the goal cannot be achieved, East Africa will not care too much. After all, East Africa has become accustomed to it over the past decade.

Ernst went on to say, "The last item, which is also one of the key points of this negotiation with the UK, is to obtain an overseas base in the Indian Ocean region from the UK as much as possible. This is an important part of the Empire's grand strategy regarding India. If this goal can be achieved through this round of negotiations, even if a higher price is paid, it is acceptable."

Merk frowned and asked, "Your Highness, the British will not agree to this, right? Even if they agree, they will not give us a good place from their own hands."

Ernst nodded and said, "I have considered this, but there is nothing we can do about it. Along the Indian Ocean coast, apart from us and France, other areas are almost all directly ruled or indirectly influenced by Britain."

"So as a country with the Indian Ocean as its core interest, if we want to expand our influence in the Indian Ocean, the best way is to achieve this through consultation with the UK."

"As for whether the UK is willing, we have the initiative. If they want us to compromise on the navy, the UK will naturally have to show sincerity. As for whether it is a bad place, that depends on the subsequent bargaining with the UK."

East African officials also agreed with what Ernst said. There is nothing that cannot be discussed. If it cannot be discussed, it means that East Africa has not developed enough.

Siweitt said: "Britain's influence along the Indian Ocean coast can be roughly divided into four parts, first the Red Sea coast, then the Persian Gulf coast, then India, and finally the South China Sea region. Of course, Australia is also among them."

"India and Australia are core colonies of Britain, so we definitely cannot target these two places. As for the other directions, only the coast of the Persian Gulf may have some possibilities."

As for the South Sea region, the British will certainly not let go of the world-class sea route, the Strait of Malacca. As for the Red Sea coast, the British do not even dare to let East Africa in.

For a long time, the main trade route between East Africa and Europe has been through the Red Sea. Although the economy of the west coast of East Africa has developed in recent years, East Africa’s most important Central and Eastern European market cannot be avoided geographically through two nodes in the Mediterranean, namely the Strait of Gibraltar controlled by the United Kingdom and the Red Sea route.

Although the forces surrounding the Red Sea route are complex, the key Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait are under British control.

Assuming that East Africa controls a stable channel in and out of the Mediterranean, it would be an absolute disaster for Britain's strategic layout, so the British will definitely not let go.

As for the reason, it is very clear if you think about it simply. If East Africa controls a stable channel in and out of the Mediterranean, then East Africa will be able to maintain independence in trade and exchanges with European countries, and bypass Britain.

Looking at the world today, in addition to East Africa, there is Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These three countries all have German attributes. Germany is a genuine German country, and Austria has a high voice in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As for East Africa, although it is not pure enough due to its national structure, it is also an indisputable German country.

If East Africa controls the Red Sea route and can freely enter and exit the Mediterranean region, then the German countries in the world can be connected from Northern Europe to the Mediterranean and then to the African continent.

As the world situation becomes increasingly tense, other countries certainly do not want the emergence of a "monster". If this "monster" is born, it may split the entire world into two.

Moreover, if East Africa or Germany and Austria-Hungary controlled the Red Sea route, it would mean that the situation in Europe would be out of control. East Africa is already huge and controls a large amount of strategic materials in the world, such as food, cotton, rubber, and various minerals. If the German countries joined forces, after receiving continuous material support from East Africa, the war potential of Germany and Austria-Hungary would directly rise to a higher level. Almost all major war materials would not be lacking. Coupled with Germany's abundant military virtues, I am afraid that the European situation would be changed.

Naturally, the East African government had also "fantasized" about this scenario. If it could control the Red Sea route, East Africa would not mind giving Germany and Austria-Hungary some more confidence in the war.

On the other hand, the British must also know the importance of the Red Sea route, and the British government must also be able to see the harm that would be caused to Britain if the Red Sea route fell into the hands of German countries.

Only by firmly controlling the Red Sea route can the German countries avoid joining forces and a "monster" spanning the European and African continents will not be released by the British. This is not only the idea of ​​the British, but also the same for France, Tsarist Russia and so on.

At least in recent years, Britain and France have significantly increased their spending on the Red Sea coast, and it is obvious who the two countries are guarding against: East Africa.

Of course, the characteristics of the Red Sea route also made the British and French blockade of East Africa relatively successful. The Red Sea has two vital points, the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. No matter which one is controlled, East Africa will not be able to rush into the Mediterranean.

If the most critical moment comes, the British and French governments are fully capable of directly blowing up the Suez Canal, paralyzing this major world trade route.

The double insurance of the Red Sea route has greatly enhanced Britain's control over the Red Sea route. The navy can hardly play a big role in the narrow space of the Red Sea, and it is also very difficult for East Africa to seize control of the Red Sea route from land. The main reason is that land transportation on both sides of the Red Sea is really difficult. Not only is the terrain complex, but it is also full of deserts, which is not suitable for large-scale troop activities. Britain and France can effectively support Egypt and other Red Sea coastal countries through the convenient conditions of the Mediterranean.

In fact, as long as Egypt is not allowed to fall into the hands of East Africa, Britain and France have plenty of ways to deal with East Africa. Of course, the premise of the above assumption is that East Africa stands in the German camp.

In fact, if East Africa really joins the European war, it is hard to say where the war will go, but East Africa obviously does not want to start a war easily, especially in East Africa’s current stage of rapid economic development.

Moreover, East Africa cannot afford the risk of participating in the war. If it wins, it will be fine, but if it loses, it will be painful for East Africa.

In fact, this is also a pessimistic attitude towards the war within the East African government. East Africa’s current geographical location and national strength are naturally not suitable for participating in the European war.

The main sea routes are controlled by the British, and it is very difficult for East Africa to seize these sea routes from the British. Assuming that East Africa fails to seize the sea routes within the scheduled time and Germany and Austro-Hungary are defeated, East Africa may face the risk of being surrounded and attacked.

Although Germany in its previous life showed the momentum of fighting one against five in World War I, who dares to say that Germany in this time and space still has such luck? Luck is equally important in war. What if Germany fails early because of a mistake in a major battle!
This is not impossible. The previous world war ended in a stalemate. Germany and France stabilized the situation on the front line, turning Germany and France into a meat grinder. This stalemate shows that Germany does not actually have an overwhelming military advantage over France.

Of course, in addition to these factors, the most important thing for East Africa is to consider the possibility that the United States and Russia may reap the benefits behind the scenes.

There is no need to say much about the United States. Its ideas are almost the same as those of the current East African government. The general idea is to wait and see first. In Ernst's view, Russia's performance in the past was also an unstable factor. Although Russia withdrew from the war due to an internal coup, this does not mean that Russia is incapable of rejoining. After all, if Britain and France are driven crazy, they can promise benefits that the new Russian regime cannot easily refuse.

(End of this chapter)