African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1739 War Breaks Out in Southeast Asia

Throughout May, Eurasia was in complete chaos, with wars raging everywhere. While most of the world's attention was focused on Britain and France, East Africa was keeping a close eye on Japan's next move.

Southern Ryukyu Islands.

Since East Africa seized the Ryukyu Islands from Japan, it has built numerous military facilities in the Ryukyu Islands, which have become East Africa's most forward-looking base for monitoring Japanese military movements.

However, in recent years, as East Africa has deliberately neglected the Pacific direction, the military bases in the southern Ryukyu Islands have also fallen into disrepair.

However, it must be said that the economy and infrastructure of the Southern Ryukyu Islands have undergone tremendous changes in recent years.

In 1939, the total population of the Southern Ryukyu Islands was over 60,000, more than half of whom were immigrants from mainland China, such as Fujian. There were also descendants of laborers recruited from the Far East in East Africa. Of course, the original Ryukyuans of the Southern Ryukyu Islands still existed, but over the years, they had been diluted by the large influx of immigrants.

Meanwhile, East Africa's policies of building schools on the islands and promoting German language and East African culture have also created a unique culture and social atmosphere in the southern Ryukyu Islands that is very different from East Asia.

The archipelago is dotted with East African-style buildings, with well-planned roads and orderly houses, resembling a paradise.

On the white beach, fishing boats of all sizes are moored, as fishing is an important basic industry in the area.

The port is mostly filled with large ships, including warships, ferries, and merchant ships.

As a relatively remote archipelago, the Southern Ryukyu Islands established fixed ferry and cargo routes with the Fujian region of the Far Eastern Empire for obtaining supplies and personnel exchanges.

Trade with the Far Eastern Empire was one of the island's important sources of revenue, and due to immigration, the residents of the Southern Ryukyu Islands had a relatively frequent need for interaction with the mainland. For example, many residents along the Fujian coast also had relatives and friends on the mainland who needed to travel between them.

The East African government does not prohibit such behavior. The Ryukyu Islands are very special to East Africa. They are not a colony of East Africa, but a "lease," which is different from a lease in the traditional sense.

After all, the Ryukyu Kingdom, a traditional vassal state of the Far Eastern Empire, had long since perished. However, the Ryukyu Kingdom was still a vassal state of the Far Eastern Empire and, theoretically, belonged to the Far Eastern Empire's sphere of influence.

Therefore, during the process of occupying the Ryukyu Islands in East Africa, an agreement was reached with the Far Eastern Empire government at the time, tacitly acknowledging the special status of the Ryukyu Islands.

This has led to ambiguity regarding the sovereignty of the Southern Ryukyu Islands.

However, East Africa has put a lot of effort into the development here, and it has all the necessary facilities, including cinemas, schools, hospitals, police stations, broadcasting stations, and so on.

The greatest role of the Southern Ryukyu Islands in East Africa was probably serving merchant ships and warships traveling between East Africa and Alaska and Northern Hawaii.

As for the military value of the Southern Ryukyu Islands, it is difficult to exert any influence because the islands are small and far from the range of East African military forces.

It's impossible to expect that the southern Ryukyu Islands will become a front line for containing Japan.

With a slight exertion of the Japanese navy, the southern Ryukyu Islands would become "isolated islands," cut off from East Africa. The reason the southern Ryukyu Islands exist is that Japan does not yet have the confidence to turn against East Africa.

At the port of Miyako Island in the Southern Ryukyu Islands, several local fishermen are providing intelligence to East African officials on the island from a three-story white building.

They were received by Miyakojima Police Chief Kragman.

"Director Kragman, this morning our fishing boat encountered a large Japanese fleet to the east, which was heading south at full speed."

"Are they coming in our direction?" Kragman asked.

The fisherman shook his head: "No, we saw them continue south, they should just be passing through the waters near the Ryukyu Islands."

Director Kragman frowned and asked, "What's so surprising about this? In recent years, Japan has been involved in wars with the Far Eastern Empire, and more recently with the Soviet Union. Large-scale naval mobilizations are not unusual. Moreover, Japan often sends warships to patrol near our southern Ryukyu Islands."

The fisherman said, "Chief Kragman, we certainly wouldn't come to the police station to report a situation to you over some trivial matter. The reason we believe something serious has happened is because the Japanese fleet this time is enormous!"

“We saw dozens of Japanese warships on the sea, and there were probably others we didn’t see.”

"Director Kragman, do you think it's important that a large fleet of dozens of ships is deployed at once?"

His words certainly startled Clagman.

"Are you sure the Japanese fleet has dozens of ships?" Kragman pressed.

Several fishermen nodded and said seriously, "We can't be mistaken. They are all large warships, flying the Japanese flag, with steel hulls, trailing thick black smoke, and with particularly thick cannons. They are sailing south one after another."

"There are also large warships with particularly strange appearances. They don't have cannons, but they have flat tops, like a cover, with pillars underneath, and it looks like there are airplanes inside."

After hearing his description, Kragman knew that the strangely shaped ship was probably a Japanese aircraft carrier.

These fishermen probably didn't know this, since they weren't very knowledgeable. Although education was widespread in the Ryukyu Islands in East Africa, it mainly targeted young people, while these fishermen were middle-aged and belonged to the first generation of immigrants to the Ryukyu Islands.

"According to them, this should be Japan's main fleet, and judging from their posture, Japan is probably going to fight a major naval battle. In addition, they are heading south, so their destination should be the South China Sea!" Kragman quickly analyzed this intelligence in his mind.

The reason why Klagman concluded that the destination of this Japanese naval fleet was the South Seas was quite simple: Japan's two belligerent powers were the Soviet Union and the Far Eastern Empire. To deal with the Soviet Union, the Japanese navy did not need to go south, but should go north and head straight for Sakhalin Island and Vladivostok.

The Far Eastern Empire, to put it bluntly, was not worth the Japanese Navy's extensive involvement.

Therefore, the target of this Japanese navy should be countries that are currently not at war with Japan.

The country that would prompt Japan to deploy such a large-scale naval force must be a major power, not East Africa, since if Japan were to attack East Africa, the Ryukyu Islands would be irrevocably attacked.

The United States is unlikely to do so either, given its location in the eastern Pacific. Of course, the possibility of Japan attacking the US colony in the Philippines cannot be ruled out, but Director Cragman clearly does not believe that Japan has the courage to wage war against the United States.

Given this, the final possibility is other imperialist countries in Southeast Asia, especially Britain and France.

Kragman reasoned, "Japan is a member of the Axis powers, and the Axis powers in Europe are currently at war with Britain and France. It makes perfect sense for Japan, as their ally, to cooperate with their European allies in the Pacific..."

"Furthermore, Japan is currently facing a severe shortage of energy, minerals, and strategic resources such as rubber and sugar due to the war, and Southeast Asia happens to be the source of these resources." "If this Japanese fleet is heading towards British and French colonies in Southeast Asia, then it makes perfect sense!"

Director Kragman did not think of the Netherlands because the Netherlands had a very weak presence, and traditionally the Netherlands and Japan had no major conflicts.

"It seems the world is about to change in Southeast Asia!" Director Clagman couldn't help but exclaim.

Upon hearing Director Kragman's sigh, the resident who provided the intelligence asked nervously, "Director Kragman, will our discovery be of any help to the Empire?"

Director Kragman said to them, "It's very helpful. The intelligence you provided this time is of great reference value to the Empire. It is important evidence for the Empire's next assessment of the situation in the Pacific."

"Wait a moment, I will deliver this intelligence to the local naval department and also give you a cash reward for providing the intelligence."

Hearing that there would be a cash reward, the group was overjoyed. They had gone to the police station to report the Japanese navy's major activities without any ulterior motives, but the unexpected reward was a pleasant surprise.

The islanders of the Southern Ryukyu Islands have a strong sense of belonging to the East African government, after all, it is the existence of East Africa that has allowed them to find a place to "live and work in peace".

Although their current income and standard of living are nothing compared to those in East Africa, they are far better than before their arrival in East Africa.

As for Japan, neither the mainland immigrants nor the original residents of Ryukyu have any goodwill towards it.

For immigrants, their motherland has been an irreconcilable enemy of Japan since ancient times. For example, immigrants from Fujian, whose ancestors suffered from the invasion, burning, killing and looting of Japanese pirates in ancient times.

Now, most of the Far Eastern Empire's territory has fallen into the hands of Japanese pirates.

For the Ryukyu people on the island, Japan was the culprit who destroyed their country, a point that can be seen in the present-day northern Ryukyu Islands.

In contrast, while East Africa also faced suppression and constraints when it first arrived, these were mainly directed at the upper echelons of the Ryukyu Islands. Ordinary people not only did not suffer much hardship, but actually lived a good life.

Over the years, with East Africa as their backing, they have not only been able to live peacefully, far from war, but their living standards have also improved considerably.

As for the promotion of East African culture and the popularization of German language education on the island, they see it as a good thing. Although learning German is troublesome, East Africa has truly brought knowledge here. As a Confucian cultural sphere, both immigrants and natives of the Ryukyu Islands are clearly eager for education. At the very least, they hope that their descendants will receive formal modern education.

Not to mention that education is free in East Africa.

Therefore, the promotion of German language education in East Africa is seen by local residents as a good deed, and they even feel a sense of pleasure in "getting free" benefits.

In short, the local residents' goodwill towards East Africa and their aversion or even hatred towards Japan were the reasons why they actively reported the movements of the Japanese navy to the local East African government.

They are also afraid that Japan will disrupt their current peaceful and stable life.

After offering a few more words of encouragement, Director Kragman hurriedly left to report the intelligence to the government and the Navy.

……

The discovery by the inhabitants of the Southern Ryukyu Islands was quickly reported up the chain of command to the Pacific Fleet Headquarters, which was the naval base on Belitung Island.

In response to Japan's major moves, the Pacific Fleet issued orders, especially to closely monitor and guard against the actions of the Japanese Navy at East African naval bases and outposts, such as Kalimantan.

Besides East Africa, the various colonies of the United States, Britain, and France in Southeast Asia also observed this in the following days.

Britain and France were particularly nervous, fearing that the Japanese fleet was coming for them, since Japan was also an Axis power and a potential enemy.

Of course, the Axis powers did not necessarily become enemies of Britain and France. For example, Spain maintained a neutral position during the war and did not get involved. Similarly, the Ottoman Empire remained in a wait-and-see state.

As an Axis power, Japan's tacit understanding with Germany and Italy was largely focused on the consensus of countering the Soviet Union. In contrast, other countries would have had more flexibility in their approach.

However, the British and French colonies in Southeast Asia clearly dared not gamble on whether Japan would take action against them.

Thus, under the watchful eyes of four world powers—East Africa, the United States, Britain, and France—the Japanese naval fleet traversed the South China Sea unimpeded and drew ever closer to the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, the Dutch East Indies colonies were unaware of the impending disaster and were still on high alert regarding East Africa.

1939 5 Month 29 Day.

The Japanese fleet split into two groups and officially began the war against the Netherlands. On the same day, the Dutch submarine base at Sabang in northern Sumatra and the naval base at Padang on the west coast were the first to be attacked by Japan.

That afternoon, Surabaya and Batavia, the two main naval bases of the Dutch East Indies, also fell to Japanese bombing.

Surabaya was the second largest city in Indonesia in its past life, and it is now the most important naval base of the Dutch Navy in the East Indies. The Asian headquarters of the Royal Netherlands Navy is located in Surabaya, which is also the main base of the Dutch East Indies Navy.

Batavia, needless to say, is the administrative center of the entire Dutch East Indies and also an important naval port.

Faced with Japan's surprise attack, the Dutch Navy was completely unprepared, and due to its weak strength and dispersed deployment, it had no ability to resist the Japanese naval fleet.

After all, the main force of the Dutch East India Navy consisted of only a few light cruisers, while the Japanese Navy deployed a number of large warships, including battleships and aircraft carriers, making it far superior to the Dutch East India Navy in terms of combat power.

The two sides were not evenly matched in strength. As a result, the Dutch East Indies Navy was completely annihilated in less than a day. And at the end of the war, the Dutch government, which was struggling to resist Germany, had just received Japan's declaration of war.

However, it was too late. Sumatra and Java were essentially laid bare before Japan. After the Japanese army landed, Japan was basically able to secure its occupation and rule over the two core islands of the East Indies.

At this time, although the Dutch Navy still had some remaining forces distributed in the eastern part of the East Indies, these remaining naval forces were completely ineffective.

Japan wasn't too concerned about the east either; once the Dutch governor's office in Batavia announced its surrender, the rest of the country could be pacified with a simple proclamation.

(End of this chapter)