African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 938 Blood Exchange
Manila, March 1898, 3.

A fleet of merchant ships urgently docked in Manila Bay, and the Spanish colonial army in the Philippines then received its own supplies here.

"Is today an important holiday? I can't imagine that the mainland would remember our second-rate troops and provide us with new weapons, equipment and supplies!" said Gracelin in surprise as he was transporting military supplies at the Manila Bay Terminal.

He held the 100% new rifle in his hand and exclaimed: "This gun is 100% new, there is no sign of use at all, but I don't know if it is as useful as my old Mauser rifle."

"Don't look at it. A gun is just a weapon that kills people. After using it for a few months, you will probably get tired of it." Comrade Gorkas said.

"Gorkas, don't disturb my interest. Changing clothes is always a good thing. After all, we still rely on weapons to travel in the Philippines. The more advanced the weapons, the more life-saving they can be. This is our most trusted partner." Gracelin said.

"You know what, this rifle seems to be different from ours. Is its barrel shorter?" Gorkas suddenly asked.

Gracelin examined it carefully and said, "Indeed, this is probably the latest model of Mauser rifle. So, we really got lucky this time!"

At this time, the chief of Gleslin and Gorkas, Velika, came over and said, "The rifles shipped here this time are M1895C Mauser rifles produced in East Africa. They are specially used for tropical jungle warfare and are more suitable for the environmental characteristics of the Philippines. So you must get started as soon as possible. I heard that the East Africans will send instructors in two days to help you master the use of the rifle and the corresponding tactics as soon as possible."

Gracelin: "Captain, are the weapons in East Africa reliable? The previous Mauser rifles were developed by Germany after all. East Africa..."

It was normal for Gracelin to have doubts. After all, East Africa was not even close to Europe in every aspect.

"So we didn't purchase in large quantities, and unfortunately our troops were selected to be equipped with this new rifle." Velika did not make any excuses.

He also believes that it is inappropriate to replace weapons and equipment now. First, there are doubts about East Africa's military manufacturing industry. Second, any weapon requires a familiarization process.

"However, the fact that the government has gone to great lengths to help us replace our equipment shows that this new weapon has its own merits. We cannot look at East Africa with old eyes. The United States was a barren land before. Who would have thought that it would become such a world power today? East Africa's performance in the South African War further shows that its military manufacturing industry has a good foundation."

Every time the South African War is mentioned, Britain is always dragged out and whipped. Especially for the Spaniards, a country that can fight Britain head-on has a more convincing record. After all, the loss of Spain's hegemony began with the destruction of the Invincible Armada by British pirates.

Of course, that is a distant memory, but every Spaniard certainly misses the time when Spain dominated the four oceans.

……

Meanwhile, East African military personnel had already entered Manila Bay in advance.

"General Anthony, when I arrived, I had already carefully observed the situation in Manila Bay. If you prepare for war with this mentality, it will probably create an indelible shadow." General Anthony was somewhat dissatisfied with the East Africans' meddling. After all, who do you think you have to point fingers at us?

However, he still said in a friendly manner: "General Bruce, you might as well make your words clearer. If it makes sense, our Manila base will definitely make corresponding arrangements."

Bruce said, "General Anthony, as a junior, I certainly cannot compare to you seniors in terms of combat experience. However, I also participated in the South African Naval War and was the commander of the New Hamburg Port Naval Base at that time. At that time, the New Hamburg Port Navy was completely in name only. Our southern part was adjacent to the British Port of Durban, so we were at a disadvantage in the early stages of the war. Therefore, when facing the powerful British Navy, the New Hamburg Port Navy could only rely on the terrain of the New Hamburg Port to deal with the British Army and persisted until the war situation changed."

Anthony nodded. He had done some research on this naval battle and was aware of the competition between the Port of New Hamburg and the Port of Durban. However, he did not expect that the head of the East African Navy of the Port of New Hamburg at that time was General Bruce.

"Manila Bay is one of the few large bays in the world, far from being comparable to the Port City of New Hamburgo. Only Maputo Bay in the north can be compared with it. When the East African Navy attacked Portugal, Maputo Bay was a key attack direction, and it was used as a breakthrough point to eventually achieve the encirclement of the Portuguese army in Mozambique." Bruce said.

"So in my opinion, if Manila Bay is used as a naval base of a powerful country, it is naturally a Feng Shui treasure land. However, the potential enemy you are facing, the US Navy is now far stronger than you. The power of the Spanish colonial navy alone cannot stop it, so you must combine land strike forces and make good use of the bay terrain to be invincible."

Anthony: "That's a bit alarmist! How could the United States launch an attack on the Philippines?"

Bruce: "Haha, the US Navy's Pacific Fleet has already entered the Hong Kong area last year, and Hong Kong is now a British colony. Why did the British allow US warships to enter this area? Could it be that the United States has ideas about the Far East Empire? As far as I know, the United States has been actively training since last summer, and now at this juncture in Cuba..."

Bruce did not say much. The Americans entered the British colonies for training in advance, which meant they must have come prepared. As for who they were targeting, it obviously could not be the East Asian countries. After all, the coastal areas of the Far East Empire, from north to south, have been regarded as their sphere of influence by various countries, and each force is not one that the United States can easily provoke.

If the purpose is to cooperate with Britain to deal with Tsarist Russia, then they should go to Yingkou in the north for training, not Hong Kong. As for other waters in the north, the interests of East Africa, Germany and Austria-Hungary are intertwined. Obviously, no one can do such a stupid thing as offending three world powers at once. As for the southeastern waters, it is dominated by Britain, France and Germany.

Bruce: "The U.S. Navy's long-distance ocean training is obviously aimed at a certain region in Asia. Judging from the current relations between the United States and other countries, the possibility that it is the Philippines is at least 60%."

There is also a 40% possibility that the United States just wants to show off its military power in the waters of the Far East Empire and then force the Far East Empire government to give up greater interests. Of course, both can be done at the same time, that is, putting pressure on the Far East Empire government and preparing for the invasion of the Philippines.

Bruce then added fuel to the fire, "Cuba is right under the nose of the United States. If they lose, they will have plenty of excuses. As for the Philippines, that's not necessarily the case. After all, you have the advantage of time and place. The Philippine colonial navy is not weak. After all, the US Navy is not going all out. They are also responsible for the Caribbean region. Once the negligence of the generals leads to serious consequences, I don't think Spain will not find a scapegoat..."

At this time, Anthony had nothing to say. What Vice Admiral Bruce said was all true, especially what he mentioned about the US Pacific Fleet being stationed in Hong Kong. It was obvious that they were well prepared. If he did not take action at this time, he would definitely be involved in the post-war settlement.

After all, the Philippines is different from Cuba. Cuba is under the nose of the United States. Even if the Cuban garrison is defeated, it is not a crime of war. Spain has been operating in the Philippines for hundreds of years. If it is defeated by outsiders who have only been trained for more than a year, it will be difficult to defend itself.

In fact, as the local military commander, Anthony also knew clearly that the Manila garrison had been in a state of "wasting time". The main reason was that the local area had been peaceful for too long and had forgotten about war and gunpowder. If the United States raided Manila at this time, the result would definitely not be good.

(End of this chapter)