African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 1327 Agree to send troops

Only by having enough overseas military bases can the East African government allocate more warships and funds to the Third Fleet. This is a very simple logic. After all, there are not even enough military bases, so no matter how many warships are allocated, there will be no place. Stop and feed.

From this perspective, both the Indian Ocean Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet should envy the Pacific Fleet. In addition to the lack of warships, the Pacific Fleet also lacks land for the construction of overseas military bases.

Of course, the reality is that because the Pacific Fleet is far away from the East African mainland, its status in East Africa's maritime strategy is far inferior to that of the Indian Ocean Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet. This has resulted in the dilemma of "there are islands but no ships" in the Pacific.

Commander Lomach said: "Using Qatar as a springboard, we can ask the central government to expand the size of the Third Fleet. If we have Qatar and the Gwadar Port, then our Third Fleet can expand on the original basis. Double."

"More importantly, by acquiring the deep-water ports of Qatar and Gwadar, we will be able to take on several battleships and get rid of the reality that the fleet strength is at the bottom of the Indian Ocean."

Vice Admiral Prato was also very fascinated by the scene described by Lomach, mainly because the current situation of the Third Fleet was so bad.

The main ships of the Third Fleet only have cruisers, but not a single battleship, that is, neither a battlecruiser nor a pre-dreadnought. You must know that the Seventh Fleet in charge of the Pacific has its own battleships, and the Third Fleet is the only one. An East African naval fleet without battleships.

According to the number, the configuration of the Third Fleet is obviously inconsistent with its number. Generally speaking in East Africa, the fleet with the higher number should receive more attention.

Before the Third Fleet, this is the case with the First and Second Fleets. The First Fleet is the core of the Indian Ocean Fleet. It is also the most powerful fleet in East Africa and has the most diverse types of warships. It is responsible for the defense of the east coast of East Africa.

The only active aircraft carrier formation in East Africa is commanded by the First Fleet. At the same time, most of the submarines in East Africa are also in the First Fleet.

In addition to guarding the security of territorial waters in eastern East Africa, the First Fleet is also the navy's general reserve force and can be deployed at any time to support naval operations in other regions.

The Second Fleet is the core of the East African Atlantic Fleet. Its strength is second only to the First Fleet. Its home port is Alexandria on the west coast of East Africa. It is responsible for homeland defense west of Cabinda and maritime missions in the South Atlantic.

Although the Third Fleet has a higher number, it is not outstanding among the East African navies in terms of area of ​​responsibility or strength. This naturally makes the officers and soldiers of the Third Fleet feel a sense of disparity.

And this is not the worst thing. The area where the Third Fleet is located makes the living environment of the Third Fleet one of the worst among the East African Navy. After all, the area under its jurisdiction is basically a desert, and there are very few people.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Prato said: "This is our last chance. Whether we can improve the status and treatment of the Third Fleet in the future depends on this. Otherwise, according to the situation here in the Persian Gulf, we will never get ahead. "

No wonder Lieutenant General Prato thinks so. Today’s Persian Gulf is very different from the previous 21st century. The impression left on people is “desert”, “drought”, “backwardness”, “poverty”, “dispute”, “ War" and other negative things.

The only meaningful estimate is the strategic value of the Persian Gulf. If there is no basic strategic value, Lomach and other officers and soldiers of the Third Fleet may really doubt the value of the existence of the Third Fleet.

Only Ernst himself knows that the importance of the Persian Gulf region to East Africa is not only strategic, but also the lifeline of future energy security in East Africa and even the energy of the entire world.

But at this time, it is impossible for Ernst to say clearly that there are massive amounts of oil and natural gas in the Persian Gulf.

Ernst named the fleet stationed in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea the Third Fleet, which originally showed the importance he attached to the local area, which many East African senior officials did not understand.

…

After Lomach and Prato decided on the plan to annex Qatar, they quickly compiled a series of combat and construction plans and sent them to the mainland. This report quickly arrived on Ernst's desk.

Rhine city.

After carefully reading the report, Ernst said to Crown Prince Friedrich: "The idea of ​​the Third Fleet is relatively practical. Currently, Qatar is a third-party territory, and it is right next to our Beibu Gulf territory."

"Although it is a protectorate of the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom should not have the time to meddle in its own affairs, so the ideas of myself and the officers of the Third Fleet coincide with each other."

"Taking advantage of this period, capturing Qatar can greatly enhance our territory in the Persian Gulf, especially the sea area we control, and at the same time further enhance the influence of the Third Fleet."

Friedrich also agreed and said: "Not only that, Qatar's military strength is weak and its population is not large. We should be able to successfully control Qatar with only a small number of troops."

"It just so happens that the troops in the Beibu Gulf Territory cannot withdraw now. It is better to let them organize this military operation to capture Qatar in one fell swoop, and at the same time organize manpower to plan and build Qatar on the spot."

The East African troops in the Gulf of Tonkin territory cannot easily return home now, so it is most appropriate for them to organize an attack on Qatar.

Of course, in this way, the role of the navy will be relatively small, but as long as Qatar can be captured, it is best to enter Qatar with the army as the main force.

After all, the East African Navy is not familiar with the situation in the waters surrounding Qatar. At the same time, the Third Fleet also has to undertake maritime **** work in the Persian Gulf. There should not be large-scale operations at this time, which may easily cause regional conflicts.

This regional conflict is of course not aimed at the countries along the Persian Gulf, but only against the British. Now the British are fighting a war with the Ottoman Empire along the Persian Gulf. If the East African navy is mobilized on a large scale, it will easily provoke the fragile nerves of the British.

Even if East Africa explains that East Africa has no intention of intervening in the war between the two camps, the British will most likely not believe it. Of course, the most important thing is that the British cannot bear this risk.

After all, from the British perspective, what if the East African navy uses the pretext of attacking Qatar to block the Strait of Hormuz, the lifeline of the British war?

This is just like the Americans deploying anti-missile systems on the peninsula in previous generations. It is impossible for the United States to just give a reason, and we, a big country in the East, will allow such a risk that threatens its strategic security to exist.

In the same way, a series of promises in East Africa are almost the same as farts in British ears. If you say that your navy is headed for Qatar, I believe it. If countries really abide by the rules in international exchanges, then Britain cannot achieve the position of world hegemon.

Therefore, with the army as the main force, entering Qatar is the best choice for East Africa today. Moreover, Qatar has a population of only 20,000. East Africa can easily occupy it by sending just one brigade of troops.

Qatar is not like the Beibu Gulf Territory. It not only has a small population, but also has no strategic depth. The Arab tribes in the Beibu Gulf Territory can disperse into the nearly 100,000 square kilometers of desert and deal with East Africa. If they cannot be defeated, they can still flee to neighboring countries.

Qatar does not have so many options. As long as East Africa blocks the land connecting Qatar and the Arabian Peninsula, the Qataris will be unable to fly, and they will not be able to find an area to launch guerrilla warfare against the East African army.

Qatar was not a threat at all in the eyes of the East African government, so after a brief thought, Ernst formally agreed to the Third Fleet's plan.

Ernst also agreed with the idea of ​​​​expanding the Third Fleet and agreed with its idea of ​​building the East African Navy's military presence in the Persian Gulf around Qatar as the core. After all, Ernst originally set up the Third Fleet to target the oil and gas fields of the Persian Gulf. Yes, although Qatar is only a small place, it was an out-and-out oil powerhouse in its previous life. For this reason alone, Ernst could not refuse the temptation to occupy Qatar.

(End of chapter)