African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1287: Unmoving as a mountain
This difference in appearance has always been difficult to be accepted by German countries in Europe. After all, in addition to German countries in Europe and East Africa, the South German Kingdom in Africa also considers itself German.

……

The East African government had no time to explore the inner thoughts of the German and Austrian diplomats. Britain and France had already directly released the bait, which caused some waves in the East African government.

Loggans: "Britain and France are now in a difficult situation. They have reached the point where they have to exchange interests in order to gain support."

"This fully illustrates the pessimistic attitude of Britain and France towards the direction of the war, under which even territory became a bargaining chip."

"France has told us that they can give us several islands in the Indian Ocean and the colonial outposts in India, and after the war is won, they can give Madagascar to East Africa."

"As for the British, their diplomats revealed that if we support the Allies, they can also give some of their overseas colonies to East Africa after the war."

SWAT: "Compared to the French, it was clear that the British had no sincerity at all. They were just making big promises, and it was certain that these promises would not be fulfilled after the war."

"If we join the Allies, the gains will be completely different. We will gain the British, French and German colonial heritage across the Indian Ocean and even other regions."

“So, I think East Africa can gain greater benefits by joining the Allied camp, which is something the Allies cannot give us.”

Loggans countered: "Although the temptation to join the Allies is great, we also have to take considerable risks, especially before the United States makes a bet."

"Before the United States makes a final decision, I do not recommend that the government lean towards any side. If the Americans do not join the war, we will be in a passive situation."

"The United States can easily bring us into the quagmire of war by replenishing the blood of the Allies."

"Moreover, even if we remove the U.S. factor, it will be difficult for us to successfully break through the Suez Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar and go north to support the Allies."

"The Allies have a great advantage right now, but the United States and Russia both have an influence on the war situation that is no less than ours in East Africa."

At present, there are three kinds of business within the East African government. The first is to join the Allied camp and eventually realize that the three German countries will share the world.

The second option is to join the Allied camp, but at this stage, when the Central Powers have the upper hand, this option can basically be ignored.

Finally, there is the neutral faction. Logans is one of the representatives of the neutral faction. He does not support the Empire joining either of the two major camps.

Siewert is one of the hawkish representatives. According to him, the Allied camp has a great advantage. After East Africa joins the Allies, it is fully capable of monopolizing the Indian Ocean cake. India alone is enough to make East Africa eat its fill. Faced with such temptation, few people would not be tempted.

Loggans said: "If we join the war, we must ensure that we can quickly defeat the British and French in the Indian Ocean and help the Allies maintain their advantage on the European battlefield."

"The first point is not difficult to do, but how to deal with the counterattack of the British and French navies is a big problem. The combined strength of the British and French navies is nearly four times that of ours. If the United States intervenes, their total naval tonnage will exceed five million tons."

"Moreover, if the United States joins the Allies, the situation on the European battlefield will inevitably change greatly. The United States is a strong country and is fully capable of continuing to support the Allies with all the resources they need for their war efforts."

"As for the Allies without our material support, the situation is certainly not optimistic. It is hard to say whether they can hold out until the Empire opens the Suez Canal."

"The British have made a lot of preparations in their colonies in the Indian Ocean over the years, especially at key points such as the Suez Canal and the Strait of Malacca. Even when the war in Europe was at its most intense, these places not only did not reduce their military forces, but instead showed a trend of strengthening them. It was obvious that they were on guard against East Africa."

From the beginning to the end, the Suez Canal was one of the keys to the development of the European war. Without this narrow waterway, it would be difficult for East Africa to support the Allies, as the capacity of the Baghdad Railway was really limited. The British obviously attached great importance to the Suez Canal. In addition to heavily guarding it, it is estimated that Britain had already prepared to destroy the Suez Canal at any time.

As long as the Suez Canal is not open, the situation on the European battlefield will not be clear for the Allied camp.

The real breakthrough of the Suez Canal was due to the Allied Navy's absolute advantage in the Mediterranean. Currently, the strongest navies in the Mediterranean are Britain and France.

Ernst said at this time: "Whether we join the war or not depends on the direction of the European battlefield, although East Africa is naturally pro-Allied camp."

"But everything must be based on national interests, and the United States is the target of the war. Before the United States clearly joins the war, we must not clearly stand on any side."

"The current war situation is still unclear. Neither the Allies nor the Entente can claim victory."

"It is still hard to say whether the Central Powers can defeat Britain and France on land, and the Allied naval power is in an absolute advantage."

"So, I think the Allies still have a better chance of winning. Between Britain and France, Britain has not yet demonstrated its true strength."

It is certain that Britain had been holding back during the war. After all, Britain was a large country with a large economy, and unlike Germany and Austria-Hungary, it did not deplete its treasury in advance due to the blockade.

Logans asked, "Your Majesty, what if the United States really joins the war?"

Ernst went on to say: "That would be easier to judge. If the United States joins the war, we will continue to watch until the war situation becomes clear. If the Allies can gain an advantage on the European continent, we will join the Allies and go to war against the overseas colonies of Britain and France, and incorporate India, Australia, and the Persian Gulf into the empire's territory."

"If the Allies gain a clear advantage, then we will continue with our current strategy of overseas expansion. In short, there is no need for us to take risks."

Ernst certainly hoped that the Allies would achieve ultimate victory, so that East Africa could unscrupulously capture cities and territories in the Indian Ocean, West Africa and other places.

However, if the Allies fail, East Africa will not suffer, provided that East Africa continues to maintain its status as a neutral country.

In fact, the bottom line is that the East African Navy does not have the confidence to capture the strategic locations controlled by Britain in a short period of time.

Once a stalemate occurs, the Allies will be able to organize a stronger navy to launch a counterattack, and they can offer conditions to draw the United States and Japan into the war.

Although the German Navy was not small in size, Britain only needed a small number of troops to block the German Navy in the Baltic Sea.

As for the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman navies, they can also be ignored, and the East African Navy obviously does not have the ability to challenge the four naval powers of Britain, France, the United States and Japan at the same time.

Perhaps, Britain and France can also win over the navies of other countries, such as Spain, Portugal, etc.

Therefore, the risk of joining the Allies is still relatively high. Although Ernst believes that East Africa will not fall into the dilemma of national destruction by relying on the East African mainland, it is not worth taking this risk for the Allies.

With Ernst's final decision, the East African government naturally chose to continue to wait and see, and remain calm in the face of the baits thrown by the Central Powers or the Entente.

(End of this chapter)