African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1526 Entire Army Surprise Inspection

Currently, the size of the East Asian unarmed forces is maintained at around 700,000, second only to the Far Eastern Empire and the Soviet Union. The Far Eastern Empire has more than one million troops, and the Soviet Union may be close to one million.

It is difficult to accurately assess the exact number of troops in the Far Eastern Empire; it may even exceed two million.

However, although the Far Eastern Empire's standing army was the largest in number on paper, it was largely a misrepresentation.

On the one hand, there were many warlords and military factions, making it difficult to compile statistics. No one could guarantee that these military leaders would overreport or underreport the number of troops.

On the other hand, the Far Eastern Empire's army was of poor quality. In terms of weapons, food, logistics, training, and so on, it was probably inferior to the reserves of other countries. The Far Eastern Empire's reserves were basically just for show.

For the warlords of the Far Eastern Empire, anyone who could pick up a gun was considered a "qualified" soldier. No training or reserves were needed; they could simply conscript men directly from the civilian population. These hastily recruited men were nothing more than cannon fodder on the battlefield.

Let alone these "conscripts," the actual combat strength of most of the Far Eastern Empire's main forces and other countries' reserves is questionable.

Like Germany and France, many of their reservists had participated in the war, but were demobilized after World War I. They still had opportunities to be organized and trained in peacetime to maintain their combat effectiveness.

Therefore, such a military superpower can quickly mobilize a massive army of over a million people at the outbreak of war, and possess considerable combat power. Japan, while lacking in combat experience, also places great emphasis on its army, and can mobilize an army of two million within six months.

As for East Africa, it can directly conscript more than five million troops during wartime, and many of them have military experience.

However, unless there is a world war, East Africa's existing military strength is sufficient to deal with any regional conflict and war. Even without the colonial army, the East African unarmed army still maintains a strength of 500,000, while the United States has only a few hundred thousand.

In theory, East Africa and the United States only need to maintain a small number of army units to ensure land defense security, but it is clear that the East African government is not satisfied with this.

The East African Army has always benchmarked itself against the German Army, because the German Army is recognized as the world's number one army.

In contrast, the United States not only values ​​its army, but historically, even this year, U.S. World War I veterans organized large-scale protests in Washington to demand wages and benefits, which were suppressed by the U.S. government and military.

……

The current state of development of the East African Army is not on Ernst's itinerary for the time being; his main focus this time is the Navy.

Ernst had his own criteria for judging whether the army was lax. In addition to routine inspections, he personally inspected the barracks in Pemba Harbor at his request, checking the troops' housekeeping, hygiene, food, and weapons maintenance.

Rembrandt and the others could not stop the emperor's request, so under Ernst's temporary arrangement, they entered the barracks area first.

"It looks fairly tidy!" Ernst commented in a typical six-person dormitory room.

The internal affairs of the East African army continue the style of the Far Eastern Empire's army from the previous generation, especially the fine tradition of folding blankets, which has been passed down from the Hesingen Military Academy in the last century to the entire imperial army system today.

From top to bottom, all the soldiers in East Africa can fold their blankets neatly, placing them like blocks of tofu at the head of the bed, with a straw mat underneath.

Pemba Port is located on the coast, so the climate is relatively hot. Therefore, the bedding provided to the troops in East Africa is generally not thick. In addition, there is a dark green ceiling fan hanging on the ceiling of the dormitory.

The fan, painted with military-style paint, gleamed and was free of dust and cobwebs, indicating that it was regularly wiped down.

The floors and walls were spotless, and the windows were crystal clear, offering a direct view of Pemba Bay – it could be considered a "sea view room."

Ernst said, "It seems you are quite diligent in managing the military's internal affairs. The military's internal affairs may seem like a small matter, but it is something that the military must pay attention to and maintain, especially for a tropical country like the Empire, where hygiene is directly related to the health of soldiers."

Ernst was not exaggerating when he said this. As a tropical region, East Africa has always attached great importance to sanitation and environmental issues, which is also an important detail for the East African army to maintain its combat effectiveness.

Although the living environment has greatly improved and various epidemics and diseases have been greatly reduced due to the economic and social development of East Africa, this is the result of decades of hard work and struggle by the people of East Africa.

"In the last century, Africa was portrayed by European and American countries as a region ravaged by plagues and malaria, which even delayed the colonization of the African continent by European and American countries."

"However, we must admit that the actual situation on the African continent back then was consistent with their original understanding, and the older generation of the empire was able to become pioneers on the African continent and gain a foothold, and one of the important magic weapons was their emphasis on hygiene."

The older generation of East Africans who colonized the African continent faced little better conditions, even without the geographical challenges. Many East African soldiers and immigrants lost their lives to the harsh environment and diseases.

No one refuted Ernst's words, after all, His Majesty the Emperor was also a "veteran" figure who had lived through that era and was the supreme ruler.

As Ernst spoke, he checked other details. He sniffed the room and found no unusual smells, such as the smell of cigarettes or alcohol, or the smell of fermenting clothes and bedding. There were also no cigarette butt marks on the floor.

This shows that the soldiers in this dormitory usually maintain good living habits. He walked to the head of the bed, looked at the bedding, and saw obvious signs of washing, some wear and fading, but overall it was very clean.

Of course, these details did not completely reassure Ernst, so he randomly checked several other dormitories and even the trash cans behind the barracks.

However, even with such a thorough inspection, no major problems were found, which made him very satisfied.

"General Rembrandt, it seems that the internal affairs of the Pemba Port base are quite strict under your management. That's good. I hope you will continue to maintain and promote this."

After hearing His Majesty the Emperor's words, Rembrandt and the other officers finally breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, they had already begun to reorganize the army's internal affairs before Ernst's arrival, but the time was short, and they weren't sure if problems would arise. Of course, they hadn't expected that Ernst, the supreme ruler of the empire, would be so meticulous about details, including checking by smell, signs of daily life, and even the army's everyday garbage.

Ernst knew, of course, that the Pemba port base would prepare for his inspection in advance, so he had to be strict with every detail to prevent himself from being fooled.

Fortunately, the final result was good. Now Ernst is certain that even under normal circumstances, the barracks, hygiene, and living conditions of the officers and soldiers in Pemba Port are not too bad, at least above the acceptable level; otherwise, there would definitely be clues.

Of course, the inspection of the army's internal affairs was only one piece of evidence. Next, Ernst personally went to the training grounds to investigate the soldiers' training.

Rembrandt and his colleagues were quite confident about this. The training ground was not far from the barracks, and it was around nine o'clock in the morning.

The training ground was bustling with activity, but Ernst didn't actually pay much attention to the soldiers' training. His focus was on the physique, skin color, and mental state of the rank-and-file soldiers, something Rembrandt and other high-ranking military officers were completely unaware of.

The rank-and-file soldiers at the Pemba Port base are all quite strong and muscular, which suggests that there is no issue of food rationing and that they maintain a high level of training intensity. Otherwise, they would be overweight rather than muscular.

Then there's the skin color. Apart from a few high-ranking officers, most soldiers have a beautiful bronze complexion, with neat buzz cuts, and their skin has a clear boundary. The parts covered by clothing are noticeably white, while the face, arms, etc., are rough and dull due to wind, sun, and training.

The soldiers' morale met Ernst's expectations; their eyes were bright and piercing, and although they lacked a murderous aura, they displayed high morale and boundless energy.

The lack of ferocity is understandable, given that East African armies have few opportunities for real combat. If it were colonial armies, this might be more apparent, as the latter had more opportunities for real combat and had truly experienced the baptism of gunfire.

Seeing Ernst's satisfied expression, Rembrandt said, "Your Majesty, the soldiers at our Pemba Port base undergo rigorous training, including many new recruits this year. However, we treat them all equally, adhering strictly to the training manual. Except for a few who may have health issues, all of them meet the standards, or even exceed the requirements."

"In the field of physical training, the Imperial Army ranks second, and I estimate that no country would dare to rank first. At the same time, the quality of Imperial soldiers is also at the world's leading level. The general education level of Imperial soldiers is at least high school, and even our port of Pemba has many university students."

Under East Africa's ten-year compulsory education system, the minimum education level in the East African army is now high school graduation, which is unique in the world. For example, in the German Armed Forces, the basic education level of soldiers is mainly primary school, not to mention other countries.

There is a consensus in East Africa today that if you haven't even finished high school, you have absolutely no competitiveness in society, unless you go abroad.

For example, a high school student from East Africa might be considered ordinary in his own country, but in a country like the Far Eastern Empire with a relatively low level of education, he would most likely be considered a talent.

Ernst said, "It's not surprising that the soldiers in the Imperial army are more well-trained than those in other countries under the compulsory education system. You should also make good use of this advantage and focus on the application of new things and new tactics in your training."

"Since the First Industrial Revolution, the development of the world's armed forces has undergone tremendous changes. Today, rank-and-file soldiers should also acquire more skills to enhance the combat effectiveness of the army..."

After inspecting the training of the rank-and-file soldiers.

Ernst and his group arrived at an unexpected location—the toilet, which was clearly an important area for hygiene inspection.

The toilets in Pemba Port were very clean. Nowadays, the East African army has fully adopted automatic flushing toilets in terms of toilet construction. After all, the automatic flushing device is not complicated, and the group did not stay here for long.

Next, Ernst inspected the warehouse, armory, garage, and other areas, focusing on the maintenance of the equipment. During a random check, he found no rust on the firearms, and all areas that needed oiling were oiled, and items that needed to be sealed were properly stored. No trash, bottles, cigarette butts, or other such items were found in these areas.

This is not Ernst making a mountain out of a molehill. Smoking in an armory may seem absurd, but it's impossible to dismiss such a situation outright.

Ernst inspected many places at the Pemba port base, and before he knew it, it was noon. At this time, Rembrandt and others suggested that Ernst go to the canteen for lunch, which Ernst gladly accepted and did not ask for special treatment.

The food rations of East African troops have always been good, with ample supplies and balanced nutrition. In addition, East African chefs are skilled, a fact that is also recognized by many countries around the world.

In the mess hall, Ernst, Rembrandt, and others lined up obediently. Today's lunch consisted of three main dishes: rice, steamed buns, and bread. Soldiers could choose according to their preferences. Other fare included fruits, vegetables, meat, and milk. Due to its location, the Pemba Port base mess hall also offered seafood. Today's seafood was garlic prawns and fried sardines.

Ernst, carrying his tray, randomly found a table to sit down and asked an East African soldier about their usual three meals a day. The answer he received was pretty much the same.

At least the food at Pemba harbor is definitely good, as the navy's budget for this aspect is higher than that of the army.

Of course, the East African Army's food treatment is slightly inferior, but that doesn't mean the food is bad, unless they really encounter a daring corrupt official. Once such a scourge is discovered, East Africa has never been lenient with them.

Although Ernst was satisfied with the performance of the Pemba Port base, it did not mean that he was at ease with the entire East African army. After all, the Pemba Port base was an important core base of the army, and it was not surprising that there were no problems in various aspects.

If problems arise even here, it can only mean one thing: the entire East African military system is in trouble. After all, the troops stationed at the Pemba port base are among the elite in the East African Navy.

If elite troops have problems, the situation will only be more serious for ordinary troops. The standards for the two are also different. Therefore, Ernst's attitude towards the Pemba Port base is basically zero tolerance. Fortunately, he was generally very satisfied with the results of this inspection.

This was just the first stop on Ernst's inspection tour. Next, Ernst would take a special train to another important military base in East Africa, namely the port of Nacala. The port of Nacala is no less important than the port of Pemba. If the port of Pemba focuses on submarine forces, then the port of Nacala focuses more on aircraft carrier groups and battleships.

Currently, there is one aircraft carrier and two battleships docked in Nacala, East Africa.

This time, Ernst had plenty of time because he had largely delegated most of the affairs to Crown Prince Frederick, which gave Ernst the opportunity to conduct a surprise inspection of the entire East African Defence Force.

Apart from knowing about His Majesty the Emperor's arrival in advance at the first stop, Pemba Port, Ernst's next destination depends entirely on his personal mood and thoughts. Today Ernst may still be on the East Coast, but two days later he may appear on the West Coast or in the North to inspect the border troops. This is a surprise inspection of the entire army, not targeting a particular unit, military base, or branch of service.

(End of this chapter)