African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1732 Diplomatic Clash
East Africa, Togoland colony.

While the Habsburg monarchy was busy conquering Dahomey, a French warship was anchored in the port of Lomé, the capital of Togoland. This warship came from Cotonou, the port of Dahomey.

The atmosphere inside the Governor's Palace of the Togolan Colony in East Africa was not harmonious.

"Governor Václav, you must give us an explanation for this invasion of Dahomey by the Habsburg Monarchy!" asked Captain Taprier, the French naval captain of the Dahomey Colony Detachment.

Taprier was the highest-ranking officer in the French navy in the French colony of Dahomey.

On the eve of the Habsburg invasion of Dahomey and the impending capture of Portonovo, this naval captain received the final order from the Portonovo Governor's Office: to hold the Togolan colony in East Africa accountable.

Unlike the French Dahomey colonial army, the French Dahomey naval detachment was based in Cotonou.

However, the main force of the French colony of Dahomey was the colonial army, and the so-called detachment fleet was much weaker in comparison.

Therefore, the Dahomey Colony Governor's Office had no intention of turning the tide through the navy. It would have been better to let them flee the country and cause trouble in East Africa. Perhaps through diplomatic pressure, France could preserve its colonial rule over Dahomey.

The French governor of Dahomey was well aware that the so-called Habsburg monarchy was backed by East Africans, so as long as the East Africans could be persuaded to change their minds, the Habsburg monarchy's schemes would not succeed.

As for why he sent Taprier to Togoland to "complain" instead of to his homeland in East Africa, it was simply because Dahomey is too close to Togoland.

The distance from Cotonou to Lomé, the capital of the Togoland colony, is only a little over 100 kilometers along the coastline.

If we change the destination to East Africa, let alone the East African capital Rhine, even to the relatively nearby Cabinda, the straight-line distance is more than 1,700 kilometers.

Moreover, in the eyes of the French colonial government in Dahomey, the only ones who could make up their minds about this Habsburg invasion were probably the East African Central Government and the Governor-General's Office of Togoland, which was next to Dahomey.

Contacting other local governments in East Africa would be completely useless. For example, Cameroon Province in East Africa is not far from Dahomey, but they probably don't even know that the Habsburg Monarchy invaded Dahomey.

Togoland's uniqueness lies in the fact that, as a colony, it possesses a certain degree of autonomy and diplomatic rights. On some less important issues, it can act expediently and take action first without consulting the East African government.

The French colonial government in Dahomey viewed it this way. They analyzed that the Habsburg invasion might have had two causes: either the East African central government was directly directing the operation, or the Togolan colonial government acted alone and orchestrated the Habsburg invasion.

Therefore, it is definitely the right thing to do to hold the Togolan colonial government in East Africa "accountable".

This led to the scene unfolding before our eyes: Colonel Taprier questioning Vager, the governor of the Togolan colony in East Africa.

"Colonel Taprier, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. You can't blame the Rhine Empire for the Habsburg Monarchy's military action."

Governor Vajer refuted Colonel Taprier's "unfounded" accusations without hesitation.

Colonel Taprier naturally didn't believe him. He gritted his teeth and said, "Governor Vagel, do you even believe what you're saying?"

"Who doesn't know the relationship between the Habsburg Monarchy and you? The establishment of this country was entirely due to the support of East Africa. Now that they have launched a war against Dahomey, East Africa cannot escape the blame."

"As far as I know, the Habsburg monarchy even used the flag of your Togoland colony before."

Colonel Taprier was clearly not entirely ignorant of the situation in the Habsburg Monarchy.

But Governor Wajer obviously wouldn't admit that, explaining, "Colonel Taprier, you've misunderstood. Before 1939, the Habsburg Monarchy and the Kingdom of New Austria were indeed under the protection of the Empire."

"However, since 1939, we have completely severed our protectorate relationship with the Habsburg Monarchy and the Kingdom of New Austria. At the beginning of this year, these two countries have become two completely independent countries."

"If you had visited the Habsburg Monarchy earlier this year, you would have found that we no longer allow them to fly flags related to the empire."

"Your information is somewhat outdated, which is why you made the wrong judgment."

Governor Vajer's words almost made Colonel Taprier laugh in exasperation! The timing of early 1939 was itself very peculiar, considering it was only April of 1939.

In other words, in the days leading up to the Habsburgs' war against the Dahomey colony, East Africa was eager to sever ties with the Habsburgs.

This was blatantly telling Colonel Taprier that East Africa had anticipated the Habsburg monarchy's actions, and that they had even secretly supported and instigated the Habsburgs to do so.

East Africa is the so-called mastermind!

However, Colonel Taprier could not say it directly, but asked sarcastically, "What a coincidence! Governor Vagel, just a few months ago, you completely lost contact with the Habsburg Monarchy."

"So, according to you, this invasion by the Habsburg Monarchy was entirely their own idea?"

Governor Vajer chuckled and shamelessly replied, "That's exactly what you think. The Habsburg Monarchy's actions were entirely unilateral and have nothing to do with the Empire."

"After all, the Habsburg Monarchy is also an independent country. They don't need to consult us about the decisions they make. So we can only express our condolences for the plight of your colony."

Colonel Taprier pressed on with a grim expression, "Then how do you explain the weaponry of the Habsburg Monarchy? They're all equipped with standard East African weapons."

“Even their uniforms are different from yours, with only a few details on the labels. If we don’t look closely, we would suspect that this is an East African army.”

Governor Vajer explained, "Colonel Taprier, this proves nothing."

"The Habsburg Monarchy did indeed equip itself with the Empire's weapons and its uniforms imitated the Empire's style, but this was perfectly normal behavior."

"There are quite a few countries in the world that have completely learned from the empire, just like the Habsburg monarchy. For example, Paraguay and Venezuela's armies are very similar to ours. You can't say that the armies of these two countries are part of the empire!" "Not to mention empires, the armed forces of many countries and regions under your French colonies and sphere of influence have also completely learned from the French military's various cultures and traditions!"

“Similar examples include the Axis powers in Eastern Europe, who also actively learned from the German army, so your discovery cannot be verified.”

Governor-General Vadjer insisted that the Habsburg Monarchy had no connection with East Africa, and Colonel Taprier was completely unable to persuade him.

The fact is that the Togolan colonies were indeed deeply involved in the military operations of the Habsburg Monarchy and the Kingdom of New Austria, especially in terms of material and intelligence support.

The military supplies for the Habsburg Monarchy and the Kingdom of New Austria were entirely supplied by East Africa, and a large portion of civilian supplies were also imported from East Africa, transiting through Togoland.

As for intelligence, the Togolan colonial government also played a significant role. Before World War I, East Africa had been colonizing Togolan for more than twenty years since it purchased it from Germany.

Therefore, how could the Togolan colonial government in East Africa not have obtained various intelligence data on other neighboring colonial powers over such a long period of time?

Not to mention the surrounding area of ​​Togoland, but also the entire West Africa and North Africa, and extending to the whole African continent, East Africa has built a rather large and sophisticated intelligence network.

As the strongest nation in Africa, East Africa is the foundation of the African continent, and it is no exaggeration to attach great importance to it. Apart from its own territory, East Africa's intelligence capabilities in places like Egypt, Libya, and West Africa are absolutely unmatched.

Intelligence support from East Africa played a crucial role in the expansion of the Habsburg Monarchy and the Kingdom of New Austria.

Without intelligence support, the Habsburg army could not have captured Dahomey so easily; it would have been fortunate if they hadn't gotten lost.

Even if the Dahomey colony is small, it is still close to 100,000 square kilometers of land, only slightly smaller than a county in the Far Eastern Empire.

The three thousand "armies" of the Habsburg Monarchy were insignificant on such a vast territory. Just imagine how difficult it would be to swallow up a province with the population of a county! Moreover, the entire population of the Habsburg Monarchy was probably less than that of a single county in the Far Eastern Empire.

The fact that such a small force could accurately locate the numerous French colonial outposts in Dahomey demonstrates the importance of intelligence in East Africa.

The advantage of intelligence can be seen in the proxy wars waged by the United States in the past. Why were the United States' allies and puppets able to achieve amazing results, such as the Ukraine-Russia conflict? American intelligence played a huge role in this.

In the previous 21st century, the United States possessed a more powerful and sophisticated intelligence network than East Africa does now, simply due to technological reasons. In addition to conventional intelligence, it also had precise positioning methods such as satellites and networks, and could even launch propaganda offensives and attack enemy communication systems.

But this is neither the 21st century nor the past. East Africa's intelligence system represents the highest level in the world in this era.

Thanks to this, the war between the Habsburg Monarchy and French Dahomey was unequal from the very beginning, and the Habsburg Monarchy could be said to have an all-round advantage.

However, this only applies to French Dahomey, not the entire French West Africa. But even against the entire French West Africa, without the support of mainland France, the chances of victory for either side are hard to say.

Colonel Taprier and Governor-General Vajer both knew that East Africa was indeed deeply involved in the war, but East Africa refused to admit it, leaving Colonel Taprier with no choice but to suffer in silence.

The reason is simple: he knew that the ideas of the French mainland and the colonial government were not the same. At this critical moment in the war between France and Germany, the French government might not be willing to break with East Africa because of colonial issues.

Having offended East Africa, France simply surrendered; it was simply impossible for them to offend the East Africans while fighting tooth and nail with Germany.

Even now, though France is at a disadvantage, in order to deal with Germany, it can only grit its teeth and swallow its pride, putting on a forced smile to win over East Africa.

Based on this consideration, Colonel Taprier said reluctantly, "Very well, I hope that, as Governor Vajer said, East Africa has no connection with the Habsburg Monarchy."

"So, if we successfully pacify the Habsburg Monarchy, will you have nothing to say?"

Since East Africa did not acknowledge it, it didn't matter. Colonel Taprier then turned the tables on them, arguing that if France later destroyed the Habsburg monarchy, East Africa would have no reason to blame France.

Governor Václav understood the implication in his words and nodded, saying, "Theoretically, that's true. However, Colonel Taprier, I believe it's better to resolve conflicts than to perpetuate them. The Habsburg Monarchy's actions have indeed gone too far, but it's not like your two families can't talk!"

"The Habsburg Monarchy is now a minor issue for France, especially when you are facing pressure from Germany in Europe."

“We in East Africa are happy to cooperate with France and have absolutely no ill intentions towards France. Our two countries have a deep traditional friendship, so we are willing to step forward to reprimand the Habsburg Monarchy and act as a bridge for communication and exchange between your two countries.”

Governor-General Václav still took the initiative to give Colonel Taprier a way out, acknowledging that the Habsburg Monarchy was wrong. After all, the purpose of East Africa was never to strain relations with the current French government.

Although still dissatisfied with the attitude toward East Africa, Colonel Taprier was in a slightly better mood, he said to Governor-General Vajer.

“Governor Václav, in that case, we will not stay in Togolando any longer. I will go to Senegal to report on the situation.”

Senegal was the political center of French West Africa. Colonel Taprier, as a naval commander in West Africa, was under the administration of the French West Africa Governor's Office in Senegal. In Dahomey, he usually only cooperated with the Governor of Dahomey to maintain the security of the Dahomey colony's coastline.

Now that Dahomey has fallen into the hands of the Habsburg monarchy, he naturally will not return to Cotonou, but will go directly to Dakar in Senegal.

The French Governor-General's Office in Senegal can be understood as the head office, while Dahomey is the branch office. Now the branch office is gone, but the head office is still there.

As for the navy, it was a bit special, since the navy and the colonial government were two separate systems, but the headquarters of the French South Atlantic Fleet happened to be in Dakar.

Colonel Taprier's idea was to report the situation in Dahomey in detail after arriving in Dakar. In his view, it was difficult for someone of his rank to have an equal dialogue with East Africa, but the French West African government was different.

In fact, French West Africa should have been capable of eliminating the Habsburg monarchy, given that its overall advantages still existed.

Governor-General Václav Wajer didn't seem too concerned about his departure: "Colonel Taprier, in that case, I wish you a pleasant journey ahead. However, I believe that French West Africa and the French government will ultimately make the right decision, and we also welcome cooperation between France and East Africa on West African regional issues."

(End of this chapter)