African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1550 Tough Guy

In 1933, Italy's national strength was indeed at a somewhat ambiguous point, but apart from the recognized great powers, as well as major powers such as the Far Eastern Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Brazil, and Argentina, Italy's military strength was undoubtedly much stronger than that of most countries and regions.

However, Italy's location in Europe is not very good. It is bordered by France to the west, Austria-Hungary to the east, and Britain's maritime dominance in the Mediterranean to the south.

Looking at Italy's only two colonies, they were the result of compromises between Britain, France, and East Africa. For example, the Red Sea colony was adjacent to Djibouti, which belonged to France, and Somaliland and Egypt, which belonged to Britain, followed by East Africa and its dependent state of Abyssinia.

The same applies to Italian Libya, which is bordered by British Egypt to the east, French Libya to the west, and Darfur, an East African colony, to the south.

To put it simply, Italy's colonies were essentially "buffer zones" for Britain, France, and East Africa—gifts from these three great powers.

Abyad and others did not have a clear understanding of the strength of East Africa and Italy. Although East Africa was recognized as a world power, the Libyans had only come into contact with East Africa in recent years.

Zagut said, “Chief, how should we deal with this suspected East African military outpost? I’m worried they have ties to the Italians and might betray us to them.”

Abyad said, "I share this concern. Whether it's East Africa or Italy, they are essentially Europeans, like the British and French. We must be careful when dealing with them."

East Africa is clearly not a "European" country, but Abyad still categorizes it as part of Europe.

This is similar to how many people in the Far Eastern Empire perceived Western countries; they were all "white" and part of the same group.

However, Libyans are also white, so they naturally do not have the political concept of "white people" in Europe. It is more appropriate to describe them as "infidels," and in general, infidels are "Europeans."

Abyad and Zagut's concerns were not unfounded. They were indeed quite unfamiliar with East African countries and had little contact with them. However, in Italian Libya, the "Libyan Railway Project," a collaboration between Italians and East Africans, was very well-known.

Zagut said, "The fact that Italians and East Africa have a railway project they are cooperating on shows that the two countries have a good relationship."

"The Italians are our enemies, and East Africa, considering its relationship with Italy, may also categorize us as a dangerous group."

“Even if there is no conflict with us, they may still tip off the Italians. If that happens, it will be difficult for us to turn back to Cyrenaica.”

Although Abyad and Zagut were not very knowledgeable, they did know that Europeans had a means of communication called "radio." Therefore, even if they did not have a conflict with East Africa, it was possible that East Africa would sell their intelligence to Italy.

Abyad's expression was grave. He said, "You mean we should take over this East African military outpost?"

Zagut nodded: "I do tend to agree with this idea. After all, this East African stronghold is not like the heavily guarded town of Jallu by the Italians. It wouldn't be difficult for us to take it over."

Abyad interrupted, "Alright, Zagut, we've already offended Italy, are we going to make new enemies now?"

“Internationally, East Africa is much stronger than Italy. Although I have never been to this country, their reputation is well-known all over the world, even stronger than that of the Italians.”

The fact that Abyad could compare East Africa with Italy is enough to prove that he knew East Africa existed, but he didn't really know much about the true situation there.

This is mainly related to Abyad's previous living environment. If he were a resident of an Italian Libyan city, he would never have said such a thing. However, Abyad was merely a tribal chief in a rural area of ​​Italian Libya, and much of what he heard from the outside world was just hearsay.

Abyad said, "If we offend East Africa, then we will face two enemies at the same time: Italy and East Africa. The problem is that we can't even handle Italy right now."

Zagut, however, disagreed: "Offending East Africa is certainly not a wise move, but given our current situation, we don't need to think about that much."

"By taking this military outpost, we can replenish our weapons, ammunition, water, and supplies. There are also more than a dozen East African soldiers living here, and they must have stockpiled a lot of food."

"After all, judging from the map, there are no villages or other outposts around this outpost. In addition, the surrounding area is desert and transportation is inconvenient. Therefore, if you want to station troops here, you will have to stockpile a large amount of food at once."

"Although there are only a dozen or so soldiers here, if we resupply them with supplies once a month, it will be enough for our hundred or so men to have a full meal. Not to mention that they can't possibly resupply them with supplies every month."

"If they only resupply once every six months or even once a year, then the local reserves can solve our short-term shortage."

Zaigut still lacked insight. To him, the Kalanshu outpost was remote and inconvenient to access, but this might not be the case for an industrial powerhouse like East Africa.

The Kalanshu outpost in East Africa is rotated every six months, and supplies are replenished at the same time. These supplies, which are replenished every six months, mainly consist of staple foods, canned goods, and other foods that can be stored for a long time.

However, East Africa also airdrops supplies to the Kalanshu outpost every two weeks, mainly fresh vegetables and meat, as well as other perishable foods. The Kalanshu outpost is also equipped with generators, fuel, radios, lighting equipment, and more.

In short, the Karanshu outpost, a small but complete military outpost in East Africa, is quite expensive. However, East Africa is wealthy and powerful, and there aren't many military outposts in the former Libyan territory controlled by East Africa.

Not to mention places like the Kalanshu outpost, which are even more remote from human habitation and located at the crossroads of different factions.

To put it bluntly, if the soldiers at the Kalanshu outpost weren't provided with good living conditions, the East African soldiers would probably have deserted long ago. The nearest human settlement is more than 100 kilometers away, namely the Italian-controlled town of Jalu. The nearest stronghold in East Africa is more than 200 kilometers away, and the town of Jawf is more than 400 kilometers away.

Therefore, the East African government regularly airlifts supplies to Kalanshu, something Zagut could never have imagined. He had never even seen an airplane in his life, let alone an airdrop.

He continued, "Moreover, after we capture this military outpost, we can take a short rest and then return to New Zealand. By then, the East Africans won't be able to find us at all."

"Let alone finding our trail, if we handle this cleanly, East Africa probably won't even know who did it."

After Zagut's analysis, Abyad was also moved: "That's right. Since East Africa is the Italians' friend, then it is our enemy. Whether we offend them or not, the result will be the same. As long as we obtain the resources here and get supplies, we can run north and the Italians will not be able to catch us easily, let alone the more distant East Africa."

Having formed an idea, Abyad immediately made arrangements. He ordered his subordinates who had returned with the news to go back to the outskirts of the Kalanshu outpost so that his soldiers could prepare for support. At the same time, the main force began to advance rapidly towards the Kalanshu outpost.

...At this moment, inside the Kalanshu outpost.

An East African soldier was warning Tlani, the squad leader at the Kalanshu outpost, "Squad leader, there's something wrong with this so-called Arab caravan!"

Trinley quickly asked, "What did you find?"

The soldier said, "I just saw one of them quietly leave here. I suspect he went to tip off others. Of course, the main thing is that the so-called caravan at our outpost camp is different from the Arab caravans we've encountered before."

“Previously, the Arab caravans that our outpost passed through were basically loaded with goods, and they were mostly camel caravans. But these people in front of us are all riding horses, and they don’t have any bundles or water bags on their horses.”

"Imagine, they didn't even have large water bags, how could they possibly traverse the desert and survive all the way to Jiaofu, let alone have any goods?"

Trinley immediately became alert and said, "Could these people be bandits?"

Robbers are not uncommon in North Africa. Some Arab tribes engage in side jobs, as living conditions are not good in most parts of North Africa, and fertile areas like the Nile River are extremely rare.

The soldier said, "Very likely. After all, we rarely see caravans in this godforsaken place. If they're not even caravans, they're probably bandits from North Africa. But what kind of bandits would come here?"

This is also Trinity's biggest question. The area within a hundred kilometers of the Kalanshu outpost is a vast sea of ​​sand, making it an unsuitable place for raiding. Although caravans do pass through this area, it is extremely rare.

He said somewhat uncertainly, "Could it be that they got lost and ended up here?"

The soldier said, "Squad leader, no matter what they're here for, we need to be on guard. What if they're really after our little outpost? Our outpost may not be big, but our generator, radio, and other equipment are quite valuable."

The supplies at the Kalanshu outpost might not be that important in East Africa, but this is North Africa! It's poor and underdeveloped, so the supplies at the Kalanshu outpost are completely different.

Trinity's expression also turned serious. He quickly ordered, "Tell our men to prepare and guard the outposts, and warn the Arabs outside to leave immediately."

"Set up the machine gun. If they really have something to hide, we'll knock their teeth out too."

Although it only has one squad of soldiers, the Kalanshu outpost is equipped with two heavy machine guns and one light machine gun, in order to prevent the enemy from outnumbering the Kalanshu outpost.

Because the Kalanshu outpost relies entirely on a single well for its existence, and given the harsh environment, it cannot accommodate many people. With fewer people, it is necessary to make some preparations in terms of firepower to better cope with emergencies.

Therefore, although the Kalanshu outpost only has a dozen or so soldiers, with the help of its fortifications and firepower, it can easily deal with an attack from a hundred or so people, provided that the enemy does not have heavy firepower.

At this moment, outside the outpost, East African soldiers, after receiving orders, began to return to the bunker, then sealed the door and shouted to Abyad's men, telling them to leave immediately.

The dozen or so men Abyad sent out looked at each other in bewilderment. There were East African soldiers at the outpost who spoke Arabic, so communication between the two sides was not a problem.

“Officers in East Africa, we just want to stay overnight in your esteemed land. You don’t have to be so heartless!” shouted one of Abyad’s underlings, a Borma.

Trani remained unmoved. He spoke to the small window of the fortress, "Our outpost is small and cannot withstand any risks, so you'd better leave, or don't blame us for being impolite."

Helpless, Borma could only leave with his men in a sorry state. He did not believe that Trinity, this "high-ranking official" in East Africa, was just talking big.

The armies of these great powers were quite unruly in this era, especially when dealing with people from weak countries and backward regions. They would not reason with even innocent ordinary people, let alone people like Borma who already had something to hide.

Borma led a dozen or so men back to the area where Abyad had been. On the way, they encountered the messenger from before and received Abyad's latest orders.

Borma grumbled, "If you had come a little earlier, it would have been better. Now if we go back, the East Africans definitely won't let us get close to their bunker again."

His subordinate asked, "What do we do now?"

"We can only make plans after the leader's main force arrives," Borma said.

A short while later, Abyad led his main force to where Borma was. He said, "What are you doing here! Weren't you supposed to be our inside men?"

Borma said aggrievedly, "Chief, we don't know what the East Africans discovered. They drove us away before you could send anyone to deliver the order."

Abyad angrily cracked his whip and said, "In that case, we have no choice but to launch a full-scale attack. However, a small military outpost should not be too difficult for us. Everyone, full speed ahead, and try to take this East African military outpost within half an hour."

Abyad's men were all cavalry, and with so many of them heading towards the outpost, they made quite a commotion.

This made Trinity realize that the newcomers were hostile. He ordered, "Machine gunners, get ready! Everyone, prepare for battle! It looks like things won't end well today. Once the enemy is within range, give them a good beating!"

"The communications officer sent a telegram to Jiaofu Town, telling them that we had been attacked and asking them to come to our aid as soon as possible."

That being said, Trinley knew very well that the chances of getting reinforcements were almost zero. The nearest friendly forces were two hundred kilometers away, so they had to rely on themselves for this battle.

Soon, the two sides exchanged fire. Under the suppression of machine guns, Abyad's troops, despite their large numbers, found it difficult to maneuver. Once they got close, they would be targeted by East African machine guns.

However, it was difficult for them to shoot at the East African soldiers, since the East African soldiers were hiding in bunkers and fighting them only through firing ports. After fighting for a long time, neither side could do anything to the other.

Although Kalanshu only had a dozen or so soldiers, they were even more troublesome than the Italians in Jalu Town.

(End of this chapter)