African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1164 Controversy
Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire's military performed poorly due to various restrictions, the same was true for Russia. It can be said that the problems existing in the Austro-Hungarian Empire also existed in Russia. The Eastern Front was different from the Western Front. On the Eastern Front, Russia faced both Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the same time.

Russia was pinned down by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the German army was performing extremely well on the Eastern Front, which meant that the Allies had an advantage on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. The Ottoman Empire, Russia's arch-enemy, also made its choice at this time.

"Basra Railway?" Crown Prince Frederick started to think in his mind after knowing the intention of the three countries.

The Basra Railway is the unfinished part of the 2B Railway and has great strategic significance. Once its construction is completed, the Allies' ability to obtain supplies will be greatly enhanced, which will inevitably further magnify the Allies' advantages.

After all, the Allies are now in an overall advantage on the battlefield. With the support of the Basra Railway, their chances of winning will be further increased.

The extraordinary nature of the Basra Railway is not only of great significance to Germany, but also to the entire Allied camp.

It can radiate to the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and "Balkan Prussia" Bulgaria, and can string the four members of the Allied Powers into a line.

Of course, railways are not sea transportation after all. Even if the Basra Railway is fully connected, its added value to the four countries will be relatively limited. Moreover, building a railway line that is hundreds of kilometers long and completing it in a short period of time requires relatively high standards.

"We still need to discuss this matter within the East African government. Of course, I will report your opinions directly to my father. Whether it can be reached in the end depends on the results of the discussion within the government." Friedrich said.

Soon, Friedrich submitted the proposal of the three-nation delegation to the Rhine Palace, and the East African senior officials also had a heated discussion on whether to build the Basra Railway.

Minister of Railways Kaso said: "The Basra Railway can definitely be built. The geological conditions from Basra to Baghdad are not complicated. Although it also passes through arid desert areas, it is far less difficult than the construction of railways in our country's deserts and other terrains. The Mesopotamian Plain has a good industrial and agricultural foundation and a relatively rich population. It is one of the few excellent lands in the Middle East."

The Mesopotamian Plain has always been an important grain-producing area in the Middle East. It has developed agriculture, convenient irrigation, crisscrossing rivers and canals, and fertile land.

This can all be blamed on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, which are the real Two Rivers Basin. After all, the Shabelle River and Juba River in the northeast of East Africa are also called the Two Rivers Basin by East Africans, which is a rip-off.

"If we build a railway line dominated by East Africa, it will allow our East African influence to penetrate deeper into the Mesopotamian Basin and further expand our advantages along the Persian Gulf coast."

"At present, our domestic railway standards have never been exported on a large scale. This is a good opportunity."

Railway construction in East Africa is basically concentrated domestically, and even colonial construction is relatively rare. Of course, this is related to the poor conditions in the East African colonies. The East African colonies are mainly islands and have a relatively sparse population, so railway construction is a bit of a waste.

However, with the connection between East Kalimantan and the overseas province of Lan Fang, the feasibility of building railways on the island of Kalimantan in the future will be greatly improved. After all, the two areas together cover nearly 500,000 square kilometers, which is comparable to the area of ​​some major European countries. But this is a matter for the future.

Domestic railways in East Africa have already reached saturation. If Gabon and other regions were not incorporated, the era of large-scale expansion of East African railways might have come to an end.

Therefore, the railway department is still very interested in the Basra Railway. With East Africa's infrastructure capabilities, it is quite easy to build a railway of only a few hundred kilometers. In the past few decades, the annual railway growth in East Africa has been close to 10,000 kilometers.

Merkel expressed the opposite opinion: "The construction of the Basra Railway must not only consider economic factors, but also the international situation. After all, this railway involves two major camps, and Britain and Russia have a relatively extensive influence and military presence in the Persian Gulf region. Therefore, without dealing with Britain and Russia, it will be difficult to complete this railway smoothly." Merkel only said that it could be completed smoothly. After all, if East Africa really wants to build this railway, it will definitely be completed.

Siwei Te: "Since Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire have all agreed to build this railway, we should not have to worry too much about the attitudes of countries like Britain. After all, the 2B railway mainly passes through the Allied region, which is part of normal economic cooperation. As long as we reach an agreement with the Ottoman government, there will be basically no problem."

"Of course, as a compromise, we will definitely not build the Basra Railway according to the German plan. In this case, the railway will still need to transit in Baghdad. After all, for us, we are not too expecting the 2B railway to be fully connected."

In addition to strategic needs, economic factors are equally important for Germany to build the 2B railway. Germany's economic core is mainly the countries bordering Germany, such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, etc., and in the years before World War I, it expanded rapidly to the Balkans and the Middle East.

The Middle East is also one of the overseas markets that East Africa values ​​more. In the past, trade between East Africa and the Middle East was mainly based on sea transportation, which consisted of complex routes such as the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea.

Therefore, if the 2B railway is fully connected, it will not be very attractive to East Africa, because East Africa's trade with Middle Eastern countries does not rely on railways.

However, if the Basra Railway is built according to the East African Railway standards, the situation will be different. Although it connects Baghdad and Basra, it is well known that the East African Railway is unique in the world, and the railway gauge is different from that of other countries. In this way, even if the Basra Railway is built, the 2B Railway will not be fully connected, and the goods will need to be circulated again in Baghdad.

In general, most East African officials supported the construction of the Basra Railway. After all, East Africans were also Germans. Most East Africans had a favorable impression of the Allies and hoped that the Allies could achieve ultimate victory in the war.

Emperor Ernst left the final decision to Crown Prince Friedrich.

He asked the Crown Prince: "Friedrich, what do you think?"

Friedrich said, "Father, I think we can build this railway, and as Duke Siewert said, this railway must be constructed according to our country's standards. Although this will make the three countries feel dissatisfied, they have no choice at this stage, right?"

"Moreover, our trade with the Allies has been influenced by Britain and France, so the construction of the Basra Railway is completely morally justifiable. Now there is no other force in the Indian Ocean region that can interfere with the Empire's decision."

With the outbreak of the European war, Britain and France withdrew their main forces back to the European battlefield. As a result, although the East African Navy transferred its naval power to the Atlantic, its strength in the Indian Ocean was significantly enhanced.

Moreover, the Central Powers were far more important to East Africa than the Allies. Although the Allies also bought off East Africa, there was competition from Americans in the Allied market, while most of the Central Powers' business was monopolized by East Africa. This was a completely different concept.

The wealth of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was no less than that of the Allied Powers, not to mention that East Africa also did business with Russia. In fact, when it came down to it, the place where East Africa made its fortune in World War I was the most important market in East Africa before the war, the entire Central and Eastern European region.

Russia is also a major customer of East Africa, and is in no way inferior to any of the Allied countries. After all, if Russia wants to obtain external material support, it can basically only go through East Africa and the United States. However, trade between Russia and the United States is mainly realized through the Siberian Railway.

However, ships from East Africa could reach the Black Sea directly and trade with Russia. After the war with Germany and Austria-Hungary, Russia basically lost its trade channels with Europe, especially Western Europe.

(End of this chapter)