African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1740 Governor Stafren's Decision

The Dutch East Indies army numbered approximately 100,000, but only about 30,000 of them were professional soldiers. Most of these troops were recruited locally, with only the officers being Dutch. These troops were also scattered throughout the East Indies.

The Dutch governor's office in Batavia was simply too slow to organize any limited resistance. It was clearly impossible to mobilize troops from other places to Batavia to assist in the defense, and the local Javanese were neither expected nor likely to be used by the Dutch.

To the locals, there was no difference between the Dutch and the Japanese; neither affected them, and the Japanese might even be better off than the Dutch.

Inside the Governor's Mansion.

By this time, the Dutch were in complete chaos, and Governor Stafren was frantic, cursing, "These damned Japanese dwarfs have no sportsmanship!"

Governor Stafren genuinely believed that Japan lacked martial virtue, and that if Japan had issued a declaration of war before the war began, he wouldn't have been in such a passive position.

At least with the declaration of war, he could at least have some idea of ​​what to do beforehand, whether he chose to defend or flee. Now, his rhythm has been completely disrupted.

Hertas listened to Governor Stafren's incompetent rage from the sidelines, and after Stafren calmed down a bit, he quickly tried to persuade him.

"Your Excellency, there's no point in getting angry with the Japanese now. What we need to consider is what to do next: whether to continue resisting in Batavia, to evacuate to safety as soon as possible, or to surrender to the Japanese..."

The Dutch were faced with only three choices: to remain in Batavia. However, the governor of Stafren and other high-ranking officials of the Dutch colonial government clearly did not have this awareness.

Governor Stafron said angrily, "Staying in Batavia to fight the Japanese will only lead to our death. This time the Japanese are coming in strong. They are one of the world's most powerful nations. Even if we gather all the troops from the colonies in Batavia, we are probably no match for them."

To the Dutch, Japan, though poorer, was still a world power, especially in terms of military strength, which the Netherlands could not match.

Even the Netherlands itself was no match for Japan, let alone its colonies.

Governor Stafren knew better than anyone else that the Dutch East Indies Army was utterly incompetent and unfit for command.

From its inception, the colonial army had only one function: to suppress unarmed colonial "troublemakers."

After all, the Dutch East Indies colony consisted of a series of islands and was almost entirely isolated from other countries, so the Dutch East Indies army was inherently devoid of any sense of crisis.

The Dutch colonial rule over the region, especially the pressure of defending against external forces, was largely borne by the navy.

As for why it is "almost", it is because the Dutch East Indies were not entirely without external enemies, and this "external enemy" was the East Africans whom the former Governor of Stafren had been guarding against.

Take Papua New Guinea, for example. This island was divided among the Netherlands, Britain, and three East African countries. The relationship between Britain and the Netherlands was relatively friendly and stable, but the situation in the East African colony of Papua New Guinea was not necessarily the same.

On the island of Sumatra, East Africa has also seized the port of Banda Lampung and built a military base there.

To this end, the Dutch East India Army has established a dedicated military outpost in southern Sumatra to guard against and monitor all movements of the East African troops stationed in Banda Lampung, preventing them from invading and infiltrating north of Sumatra.

This situation is not due to the Dutch being overly suspicious, but rather because they learned a lesson from this in the past.

The East Africans' seizure of Dutch colonies and spheres of influence on Kalimantan was a gradual process. They first planted people in Lanfang under the guise of commerce and trade, and then seized Lanfang in one fell swoop, providing a stable forward base for the subsequent East African invasion of East Kalimantan.

Given this, the East African troops stationed in Banda Lampung Port are fully capable of replicating this successful experience.

Therefore, there is no doubt that East Africa was Japan's biggest "external threat" before the war against the Dutch East Indies, and the East African garrison at Banda Lampung Port was also the most direct potential external enemy of the Dutch East Indies army.

That's true, but the Dutch government's military will not strengthen the armies of the Dutch East Indies colony's army, increase the number of troops and the quality of weapons and equipment, or allocate more military funds simply because of the threat from East Africa.

The reason is simple: no matter how much the Netherlands built up its colonial army, it would be of no use if East Africa really wanted to take action against the local population.

Even setting aside East Africa itself, its paper strength in Southeast Asia alone is sufficient to handle any situation that might occur in the Dutch East Indies.

Therefore, while the Dutch East Indies colonial government was extremely uneasy about East Africa, it adopted a "laissez-faire" attitude in military affairs. In addition, the Dutch were also worried about local resistance, so the Dutch East Indies army was not only small in number and poorly equipped, but also had pitifully low combat effectiveness.

The situation for the navy is relatively better, but still very limited. The Dutch East Indies Navy is also primarily defensive, focusing more on self-preservation capabilities.

Japan has now attacked Batavia. Governor Stafren is unaware of the situation in other navies, and Batavia is completely finished.

“Japan has already attacked Batavia, and they must have attacked our other naval bases at the same time, including the naval headquarters in Surabaya. We may be in danger there as well,” Governor Stafren said.

Surabaya is located further south, so even if it were attacked, it would inevitably be slightly later than Batavia, even if Japan launched attacks on both places simultaneously on the same day.

"Our navy is most likely doomed!"

Governor Stafren spoke weakly, almost in despair.

Although the Dutch East Indies Navy was quite strong, it was clearly no match for Japan, especially since the Japanese navy launched a surprise attack on the Dutch East Indies colonies, catching the Dutch completely off guard.

As for why the Dutch didn't detect or warn of such a large-scale military mobilization by Japan, that's a complicated matter.

One key reason was that the forces in the Southeast Asian region were a mixed bag. Even though they were aware that the Japanese navy was approaching the Dutch East Indies, the Dutch did not dare to guarantee that Japan was targeting them before Japan actually launched an attack.

It could also be countries like Britain, France, or even Thailand. The United States and East Africa are not within their considerations. Logically speaking, most people in the world probably wouldn't think Japan would dare to challenge the United States and East Africa.

Given the global landscape in 1939, even Germany had to admit that East Africa and the United States were firmly ranked as the top two countries in terms of comprehensive national strength. Only by conquering Europe and eliminating its geographical disadvantages and resource constraints could Germany have the confidence to truly stand on equal footing with these two countries.

Without a navy, and with only a bunch of incompetent colony troops, Governor Stafren couldn't find a way to contend with Japan, no matter how hard he racked his brains. Hertas asked uncertainly, "Then, Your Excellency, shall we evacuate or surrender...?"

Hertas felt no guilt about surrendering to Japan, after all, the Netherlands was just a small country, not to mention that its enemy was a great power like Japan.

At the same time, Hertas believed that if they surrendered, the Japanese would not make things difficult for them. Of course, Hertas's idea was entirely based on the logic of European countries.

Governor Stafren did not intend to surrender directly. He said, "Surrender is impossible, even though the Japanese military occupation of the East Indies is now almost a foregone conclusion."

"But we haven't reached the end of our rope yet, and besides, surrendering directly would be a stain on our record."

Hertas asked, "Does the governor mean to evacuate?"

Governor Stafren nodded and said, "This is our best solution at the moment. Before Japan arrives, let's leave Batavia, this place of trouble, as soon as possible. We can still escape."

Governor Stafren made the decision, and Hertas naturally followed suit, asking, "Your Excellency, shall we retreat to Bandung first?"

Bandung is the city where the famous Bandung Conference was held in the previous life. Hertas thought of evacuating from Bandung as soon as possible because Bandung is the closest "major city" in the Dutch East Indies to Batavia, and its location is closer to the inland than Batavia, so it is relatively safe for the time being.

It's only a little over 100 kilometers from Batavia to Bandung, and the environment and infrastructure there are quite good.

By the 17th century, Bandung had already become a famous summer resort in the Dutch East Indies, where the Dutch built a large number of villas and the city was well-planned.

Moreover, Bandung is one of the East Indies’ famous economic and educational centers, as well as an important transportation hub, connecting Java’s major towns by rail and road. If they fled to Bandung, it would also be beneficial for Governor Staffordron to reorganize the colonial government and mobilize Java’s resources to fight against Japan.

However, Stafren himself clearly had no such intention. He shook his head and said, "We won't go to Bandung. Bandung is just as dangerous. It's only a little over 100 kilometers from Batavia. After Japan conquers Batavia, taking Bandung won't be difficult at all!"

Here, Governor Stafren made a completely different choice than in his previous life. In his previous life, when the Japanese occupied Batavia, Governor Stafren fled to Bandung and insisted on opposing Japan.

The reason he hasn't done so now is because the situation in the Dutch East Indies is completely different from that in his previous life.

Japan's invasion of the Dutch East Indies occurred at the end of 1941, while it is only 1939 now, nearly three years earlier.

Of course, more importantly, the Axis powers in the previous era were actually greatly weakened when they attacked the Dutch East Indies. Both Japan and Germany were stuck in the bottleneck of the war and were far from being as sharp and unstoppable as they were at the beginning of the war.

On the contrary, the Allied powers were gaining an advantage step by step. Therefore, in his previous life, Stafren dared to make that decision based on the international situation at the time. Although it was risky, the benefits were also great.

But now that Governor Stafren is going against Japan, his first concern is his own security, since the Axis powers have only just begun to exert their strength and the future is unpredictable.

The situation in Southeast Asia is similar; it will take at least three to five years for anyone to know what changes will occur there.

In his previous life, Stafren was confident that the Allies would achieve final victory, but now the Axis powers had no rivals, especially the attitudes of East Africa and the United States, which were very ambiguous. Who could guarantee that the two countries would definitely become enemies of the Axis powers?

Moreover, there is great uncertainty as to whether East Africa and the United States will join forces. What if East Africa eventually joins the Axis powers?

It's not surprising that Governor Stafren thought this way. Although East Africa didn't participate in World War I, it did provide considerable assistance to Germany. In the post-war mediation, it even favored Germany, helping Germany achieve a favorable armistice outcome.

Of course, Stafren did not anticipate the current relationship between East Africa and Japan.

East Africa's relationship with Germany was complex, but its relationship with Japan was extremely poor. This is clear to anyone who knows about East Africa's aid and support to the Far Eastern Empire on the Far Eastern battlefield.

In Southeast Asia, East Africa, and Japan, they are direct potential competitors, both of which are filled with greed and ambition for Southeast Asia.

This alone is enough to conclude that East Africa could not possibly join the Axis powers or become their accomplice, because East Africa's interests differed from those of some of the Axis powers.

The relationship between East Africa and the Axis powers can be described as follows: Spain and Italy had a relatively friendly relationship with East Africa, and even had a lot of direct cooperation, while East Africa's relationship with Germany was relatively cold, but not to the point of being completely hostile.

In particular, Germany had many collaborators in East Africa, including the once-declining German nobility and former Austro-Hungarian forces in southern Germany.

Adolf's extreme racist views are very unfriendly to East Africa, but this does not mean that all Germans believe in them. For example, the people in Hungary have a very strained relationship with Germany.

Of course, the main theme between Germany and East Africa right now is competition, since both countries are among the world's most important industrial nations and their markets overlap significantly, just like Europe and South America.

The arrival of Adolf in power further strained diplomatic relations between the two countries, bringing them to a near standstill, although there was still a significant amount of economic exchange between them.

Besides Germany, the Ottoman Empire also had a complex relationship with East Africa. As the leading Arab power, the Ottoman Empire had become more secular, but this did not mean that it would give up its influence in Arab countries. On the contrary, the Ottoman Empire would want to become the unified hegemon of Arab countries whenever possible.

Therefore, the Ottoman Empire had a natural conflict with East Africa in terms of religion, culture, and geography. Arab religion was a target of East Africa's attacks, and East Africa was obviously full of ambition for the Middle East, after all, the Middle East is located on the coast of the Indian Ocean, and East Africa is the hegemon of the Indian Ocean.

However, East Africa also had considerable cooperation with the Ottoman Empire in reality, similar to Germany. The Ottoman Empire had a significant amount of investment in East Africa, which was also an important market for East Africa in the Middle East.

The relationship between the other Axis powers and East Africa was relatively average. Poland, for example, respected East Africa's strength and hoped that East African capital would invest in Poland, but it was also dissatisfied with East Africa's "too close" relationship with the Soviet Union.

Western Ukraine's relationship with East Africa was worse than Poland's. After all, Poland at least had some sense of independence, while Western Ukraine's economy was completely dependent on Germany, and its relationship with the Soviet Union was even worse than Poland's with the Soviet Union.

Finally, there is Japan. Japan's relationship with East Africa is the most irreversible among the Axis powers, with both sides harboring complete malice towards each other and leaving no room for compromise.

Governor Stafren said, "I think the destination for the evacuation from Batavia should be north, preferably to be able to escape to the sphere of influence in East Africa at any time."

(End of this chapter)