African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1549 Defeated Soldiers
Previously, Italy's attempt to carry out such a large-scale genocide in North Africa would have inevitably been condemned by the international community. North Africa is too close to the so-called "civilized world," and any disturbance there would be easily detected.

However, Italy's position in the international community is now very delicate. With its initial unification, Italy is the sixth largest power in Europe, and its value in winning over the world has greatly increased, especially for Britain and France, who are the least willing to see Italy join the camp of its former allies.

In North Africa, the only countries that could stop Italy were Britain, France, and East Africa. France's colonies were concentrated in Northwest Africa, such as Morocco, Alberia, and West Libya (Tripoli), while Britain's were mainly in Northeast Africa, including Egypt (including Sudan) and British Somaliland. Italy's colonies were sandwiched between the British and French colonies.

Finally, there is East Africa. East Africa not only does not condemn Italy's actions, but also supports them, because East Africa does not want to be neighbors with the Arab world.

The expansion of Italy's Red Sea colonies was due to the tacit approval of East Africa. If Christianity had not been the state religion of the Abyssinian Empire, East Africa might have allowed Italy to annex it.

……

Kalanshu Outpost.

This is the closest area in East Africa to the Italian colony of Libya, only a little over 100 kilometers from the Italian-controlled town of Jallou, and is also the area that the future Libyan railway will pass through.

The establishment of this outpost was entirely based on the availability of water. The Kalanshu outpost is located in the Kalanshu gravel desert, which is extremely arid and has no surface water source, so it can only be replenished by groundwater.

In 1931, a deep well was drilled at the location of the Karanshu outpost in East Africa, which officially upgraded the site to a military outpost.

The Kalanshu outpost is garrisoned year-round by fifteen personnel, who are rotated regularly.

Meanwhile, in the desert between Jialu Town and Kalanshu Outpost, a troop of cavalry was moving swiftly. They were wearing headscarves and their formation was loose, numbering about a hundred men.

"Leader, we should have shaken off the Italians. We haven't seen them for half a day," a militant shouted as he rode up to the leader.

Their leader was Abyad, a former chieftain of a Berber tribe. After the Italians arrived in Libya, Abyad formed a resistance army and waged guerrilla warfare against them.

However, the Italians were too militarily powerful, so Abyad's troops were constantly pursued by the Italians from the northern coastal mountains to the south.

A few days ago, they arrived in the town of Jallu, intending to occupy it as a new base. However, they failed due to the fierce resistance of the local Italian garrison. Subsequently, Italian reinforcements from Ogira arrived in Jallu to provide assistance.

Abyad's troops could only leave behind a little over a hundred corpses and fled in disarray.

"Those damned Italian wolves! Next time we'll tear them to pieces! We lost nearly half our brothers this time. We will never forget this new blood debt!" Abyad cursed.

"Zaigut, let the brothers rest for a bit. They've been chased by the Italians for so long, they need to replenish their strength first."

Following Abyad's order, his subordinate Zagut ordered everyone to dismount and stop to rest.

The scorching sun beat down on the earth, distorting the air in the desert. The defeated soldiers could only hide in the shade behind their horses, stealing a half-day of peace.

Zagut and Abyad, however, were not idle; they still needed to discuss their next move.

“Chief, it’s not a problem for us to keep running. The brothers are exhausted, we’re running out of rations, we need to replenish our drinking water, and our warhorses are almost at their limit.”

"If this drags on any longer, our very survival will be in question, let alone fighting the Italians and driving them out."

Abyad took a small sip from the water bag, which was now quite shriveled. This was his last drinking water, and the others were in no better condition.

He frowned and asked, "Zaigut, where are we now?"

Zaigut said, "It should be at least 60 or 70 kilometers away from Jialu Town. There are no landmarks here, so it's hard to judge the distance."

Having been chased by the Italians for so long, it's difficult for Abyad's group to determine how far they've traveled since yesterday; they only know that they've been fleeing south.

The entire journey was mostly through vast deserts, where even vegetation was extremely rare, and all you could see were sand and gravel.

Abyad said, "Bring me the map!"

Zaigut pulled a crumpled paper map from his person, spread it on the ground, and weighed down the four corners with stones.

Abyad pointed to the location of Jalu Town and said, "This is Jalu Town. We left yesterday evening and traveled all night, stopping and starting, for about seventy or eighty kilometers. So we should be in this area."

His finger pressed on a blank area dotted with countless dots, which actually represented the desert area, and on it was marked with a string of Arabic letters in small print: Kalanshu Gravel Desert.

Abyad sighed and said, "Now we're in a bit of trouble. South of Jalu town is almost no man's land, and we've traveled so far. Turning back won't be easy."

"It's all the fault of those Italians. If they hadn't deliberately blocked us, we wouldn't have been able to run south at all. Instead, we would have followed our original plan, bypassing the town of Jalu from the west, heading to Muhammad Spring Village, and then to the area controlled by the French."

In recent years, after suffering major defeats, many members of the resistance organizations in the Italian-controlled areas have gone to French Libya to regroup, because the environment in French Libya is much more relaxed than in Italian Libya.

After all, the French and Italians are fundamentally different. When the French colonized Libya, they were truly engaged in colonial activities, while the Italians wanted to completely devour the colony and make room for the local immigrants to live.

In contrast, French Libya was in a semi-autonomous state, with the French controlling only major cities like Tripoli, while in most other areas, local tribes continued to maintain their rule.

Those tribal-controlled areas were also Abyad's alternative destinations. The reason they were alternatives was that he had not expected to fail at Jalu, the southernmost stronghold of Italian Libya.

Italy's colonization of Libya proceeded from north to south, meaning its control weakened the further south it went. Abyad had initially planned this, and thus chose Jalu as his target. However, events unfolded beyond Abyad's expectations. While Italy's control over southern Libya was weak, it was not a force Abyad's forces could easily exploit. In Jalu, the Italian garrison numbered over fifty men, and with their superior fortifications and weaponry, they held out until reinforcements arrived.

Although Abyad's forces numbered nearly three hundred, almost six times that of the Italians, the Italians, not to mention their strong defenses, had enough machine guns alone to suppress Abyad's troops.

Zagut said, "The Italians in Libya are like mad dogs, while the French next door are not. They don't extend their influence into the countryside at all. We underestimated the Italians' ambitions in Libya."

Abyad said, "It's too late to discuss this now. We can only take it one step at a time. What do you think about turning back now?"

Zaigut shook his head and said, "Chief, I do not recommend doing this. First of all, our rations and drinking water are unlikely to support our return. If we want to turn back, we will probably have to kill a few warhorses to replenish our food and water, but this will reduce our combat effectiveness and mobility."

"Moreover, even if we turn back, the Italians will definitely be on guard. By then, our men will be exhausted, and the Italians will be able to wait in comfort and deal with us better. In addition, we used up a lot of ammunition yesterday without receiving a proper replenishment. At this point, we can't expect to fight the Italians with scimitars."

In short, Abyad's forces were in a very bad situation, caught between a rock and a hard place. They couldn't win a fight, and they didn't know where to run.

After all, they are currently in the desert, where even replenishing drinking water is extremely difficult, and it can be said that they cannot find a water source at all.

Abyad stared at the map, trying to find a breakthrough. Finally, his gaze fell on a small red circle forming a hollow dot in the south. He said, "What is this place? Is it a village?"

Zagut looked at the place Abyad was pointing to and said, "I don't know, because we actually got this map from a caravan. They were living maps of the desert, so some information on this map doesn't need to be marked."

The caravan maps were relatively simple, since the caravan members themselves were familiar with the local terrain and conditions due to their business dealings, such as where to find water sources and where villages were located. Maps were merely supplementary tools.

Abyad's group, however, could not do so. They actually came from the north and were completely unfamiliar with the local conditions, relying entirely on maps and compasses to find their way and outposts.

Abyad said, "This is our only hope now. Call everyone over. Next, everyone remember the location, divide into groups and search for this place. Then, we will meet here before dark."

Abyad had no choice but to disperse his men, since there were no roads or trees in the desert for them to use as a reference. To find the small dots on the map, he had to split into several groups and search southwards.

However, even so, finding the small dots on the map was not easy, but they had no other choice. There were no locals in Abyad's group, and even if there were, they might not be familiar with the desert. Only some caravans might know some routes.

So Abyad could only wait there for his soldiers to bring back the message. He didn't know how long it had been, but when the sun was directly south, a scout team finally brought back the message.

"Chief, we've come across the tracks of a caravan. It should be a camel caravan; there's camel dung and hoofprints on the ground. It should be a trade route heading south. Perhaps we can find the place on the map."

Abyad was overjoyed and said to everyone, “Let’s wait a while longer, until everyone else returns, and then head south along the trade route to find a place to stay.”

Around 2 p.m., almost all of Abyad's dispatches had returned, and Abyad immediately had the person who brought back the message lead the way.

Afterwards, they walked about ten kilometers to the southeast at five o'clock and finally arrived at a place that seemed to be where a caravan had passed. There were indeed some camel footprints and droppings there.

After confirming the message, Abyad ordered the team to proceed south, following the direction of the footprints.

Along the way, the camel footprints were intermittent, but fortunately they were not completely buried by the yellow sand. In a place with a northerly wind, Abyad was pleasantly surprised to find traces of a fire that had been lit, and some coffee grounds on the ground.

Zaigut said, "Chief, it seems we are on the right track. There must be a stronghold nearby that we don't know about. It could be a village, a water source, or even a supply depot for this caravan."

"I estimate it won't be long before we find the place marked on the map."

Abyad also said, "Judging from the map, this place is no more than 200 kilometers away from Jalu. We deviated quite a bit from our route before, otherwise we might have been able to reach this place by noon today. Now, everyone, full speed ahead."

After walking another thirty kilometers, a fortified structure finally came into view. Abyad suppressed his joy and asked with some worry, "That should be the place marked on the map, but it looks like a bunker. Could it be the Italians?"

It's no wonder Abyad is so worried. After all, the Italians don't report their colonial activities in Libya to them, and who knows if the place ahead is a military outpost built by the Italians?

Zagut said calmly, "Now, who cares if that's an Italian military outpost? We've gone to so much trouble, we have no other choice. If it's the Italians, we can just fight another war."

Abyad said, "In that case, let's send someone to investigate first. Besides, since caravans have been passing through here, it might be a safe place."

Soon, Abyad sent a dozen men disguised as a caravan to gather information.

After a short while, one of his men returned and reported, "Chief, we have scouted the area. There is an East African outpost ahead. Beyond this outpost, the territory behind belongs to East Africa."

“This outpost only has a dozen or so East African soldiers. They also have a well, so we might be able to replenish our drinking water locally.”

The military outpost that Abyad encountered was actually the Kalanshu outpost in East Africa. As for the people Abyad sent out disguised as a caravan, the East African soldiers did not recognize them and simply assumed they were a caravan. After all, there was indeed a trade route passing through here to trade goods in Jawf.

Although Abyad was just a Libyan sheikh who had never seen the world, he was not unfamiliar with the East African country, especially since the "Libyan Railway" had been very popular in Italian Libya recently.

Abyad said, “Oh! So it’s East Africa. I’ve heard of that country. They’re one of the great powers. They worked with Italy to build that Libyan railway.”

Italy may not be considered a major power in the international community, but to Libyan natives like Abyad, Italy is clearly a major power. This is similar to how the East Indies regard the small European country of the Netherlands as a major power. Therefore, Abyad would say such a thing.

(End of this chapter)