African Nationhood

February 1911, 2, Atlantic Ocean, Madeira Islands.

This archipelago is located in the Atlantic Ocean southwest of the Portuguese mainland, about 520 kilometers from the African continent and about 1000 kilometers from the Portuguese mainland.

After the Portuguese discovered this place in 1418, although the control of the islands changed hands several times, it finally fell into the control of the Portuguese.

After setting off from Walvis Bay Port, the Nanhua mercenaries arrived here after nearly 20 days of sailing, and sent a vanguard to attack and capture the place.

The scenery here is spectacular, the climate is mild and pleasant all year round, and it is rich in flowering plants and special birds.

Since the 18s, it has been a tourist and holiday destination for Europeans, especially the British.

Because of the war, this place has become a state of military control.

The Republican government in Lisbon has also learned the reason for the South China mercenary attack. While they issued a statement condemning the South China Dominion, they contacted the British Cabinet in an attempt to get British Prime Minister Asquith to speak out.

The British Cabinet Government responded directly: This is your internal affairs and it is inconvenient for our country to interfere.

In addition, the mercenary behavior of the South China Dominion is an independent act of the South China Dominion, and the British Cabinet has no right to stop it.

After learning that the major powers had acquiesced to the actions of the South China Autonomous Territory, the Lisbon Republican Government had no choice but to mobilize its soldiers.

The new president Teofilo Braga issued a mobilization order to all citizens, encouraging the people to unite to protect the republic and resist the king's counterattack.

Although the Republican government knew that it would be difficult for them to withstand the attack of the South China Army, they still issued the call just to strengthen their own confidence.

Secretly, these bourgeois republicans who participated in the uprising are secretly planning their retreat. Once the South China mercenaries attack the outskirts of Lisbon, they will start to think of ways to escape.

……

Ou Haiwa and other military officers held a pre-war meeting in the conference room of the Funchal District Government.

Minister Cuseiro became the staff officer of the Nanhua mercenary army. He pointed at the ship model on the table with a wooden stick and said: "The Portuguese navy currently includes a 1-ton battleship and a 12000-ton armored cruiser.

Two 2-ton fast cruisers and two 2850-ton protected cruisers.

12艘铁肋木壳风帆蒸汽护卫舰、23艘45吨的蚊炮舰、3艘训练舰和4艘支援舰。”

Hearing what Minister Kusero said, Ou Haiwa frowned, "Compared with 1890, your navy has added one 4-ton battleship and four cruisers in so many years?"

Kusero nodded bitterly, "Yes, our naval construction is too backward, and many local troops in the army are still using single-shot rifles."

After hearing Kusero's self-exposure, Ou Haiwa and others said nothing more.

"My thought is that your navy may not come out to fight us in a decisive battle because of the huge disparity in combat power.

If they can't come out of the harbor, we have no choice but to attack them by force.

How about the coastal defense artillery system in Sibon there? "

Kusero thought about it and rummaged around for a while, then took a list and put it on the table, "Lisbon's coastal defense artillery system was updated five years ago, using Krupp's new 5mm caliber coastal defense system. Cannons, 305 in total.”

Upon hearing that there were so many coastal defense guns in Lisbon, Ou Haiyu immediately decided to avoid their attack and attack from a side route.

He stared at the map for a while and placed his finger on Faro, the port at the southern tip of Portugal. "Where are the coastal defense guns here?"

"The coastal defense guns here are still old guns from more than ten years ago, and most of them are abandoned."

"How far is it from Lisbon? I looked at the map and it's not too far."

"It's about 220 kilometers, and there's a railway to Lisbon."

When Ou Haiwa heard that there was a train coming, she immediately decided to choose this place as the landing point.

"Our fleet is divided into two parts. Two battleships and submarines serve as deception targets and continue to approach Lisbon.

Our cruiser took advantage of the laxity of the defenders to land in Faro Port in a sneak attack, and then received the troop-carrying cruise ship to dock.

Once we capture this port, we immediately turn it into our fortress, and then we march toward Lisbon by land and water. "

After Ou Haiwa finished speaking, the officers present immediately responded in unison: "Yes."

"Everyone go back and be prepared to attack on time at 3 o'clock on March 4."

"Yes!"

……

At 3 o'clock on March 4, the two battleships "King of Shu" and "King of Wei" were stationed at the entrance of Setubal Bay.

As expected, the Portuguese navy did not dare to come out to fight, and the Nanhua mercenaries did not attack, thus deterring the Portuguese navy.

Two submarines cruised around the two battleships on guard.

Ou Haiwa ordered to her deputy, Wang Qiang, the captain of the "King of Shu": "Launch the seaplane."

Wang Qiang nodded and gave orders to his soldiers.

Not long after, the oilcloth on the battleship was lifted, and a white biplane was revealed. The aircraft is 8.28 meters long and 2.27 meters high. It is equipped with a 100-horsepower engine, a semi-aluminum alloy fuselage, and two pontoons made of plywood below.

Because plywood is not water-resistant, this hydroplane has a short lifespan.

The float must be replaced after flying a few times, so it is not allowed to be used except in emergencies.

In addition, compared with ordinary aircraft, this kind of seaplane uses ailerons to control the lateral side of the aircraft, while ordinary aircraft generate lateral control moments through the control method of wing tip curling.

Lilienthal and the others also experimented for nearly a year before finally producing this kind of aircraft. This time, the "King of Shu" brought the first finished aircraft.

Today, in order to confuse the enemy, Ou Haiwa felt that she could be extravagant and at the same time announce to the outside world that Nanhua had a new aircraft.

……

It took the navy soldiers nearly half an hour to use the ship's crane to carefully lower the aircraft to the sea. As the sea surface shook, the aircraft slowly drifted away from the battleship.

Then the auxiliary seaman helped the pilot start the plane, and the propeller rotated violently. The auxiliary seaman leaned on the small boat on the side and watched the seaplane drive farther and farther with the power of the propeller.

After the seaplane was more than 300 meters away from the two battleships, the pilot began to prepare for takeoff.

As the sprint distance increases, the lift of the propellers and wings increases, and the seaplane quickly takes to the sky.

When the plane rose to an altitude of several hundred meters and dived towards Lisbon, the naval soldiers on the two battleships were all excited.

This seaplane also caused a strong sense of insecurity among the Lisbon defenders.

The constantly circling planes panicked the Lisbon defenders and citizens. They had also heard rumors that the South China Air Force used planes to drop bombs.

People everywhere in Lisbon are panicked, but in Port Faro in the east, it is quiet and peaceful.

The fishermen went out to fish as usual, merchants traded their catch with the fishermen, and there were even children playing in the port.

The two submarines that secretly sneaked into Cape Saint-Marie observed through their periscopes that there were not many alert troops in the port.

If you want to seize the port, you have to rely on unexpected surprise attacks.

Therefore, the two captains of the "Sea Patrol Shrimp Soldier" and the "Sea Patrol Crab General" ordered almost simultaneously, "Emergency dive!"

The diesel engines of the two submarines were turned to maximum power to inject high-pressure air into all main ballast tanks to quickly blow out seawater.

When a strange situation suddenly occurs on the calm sea, everyone has to be stunned for a while to observe what is happening on the sea.

Immediately afterwards, many harbor residents saw a scene they would never forget. Two dark boats rushed out of the water with all their strength under the combined effect of buoyancy and lift.

It caused the sea surface to churn, and the water splashed in all directions.

Because the people here had never seen a submarine, they were still confused when the hatch of the submarine opened, revealing soldiers from Nanhua, holding submachine guns and taking the lead in shooting into the sky.

"Papa~~"

The harbor residents who were awakened by the gunshots immediately panicked and ran out of the harbor screaming.

The submarine soldiers will not chase the fleeing Portuguese, they will really deal with the port guards.

The naval soldiers in the two submarines quickly docked with guns in hand. Their goal was to contain the port guards and create opportunities for subsequent troops to land.

The two submarines were two platoons of soldiers, so after they docked, they immediately dispersed according to the usual training "three-three system" to cover each other and move forward.

Soon they spotted uniformed guardsmen, and the soldiers pulled the trigger without being polite.

"Papa~~"

The Portuguese guards who came to support continued to die, and the Portuguese harbor guards who came to support could not break through the dense rain of bullets from the submachine gun troops.

As time passed, submariners took control of the harbor entrance.

The following cruisers received the radio notification and immediately headed for Cape Saint-Marie.

The steel-armored cruiser "Zhang Fei" took the lead in sailing into Cape Saint-Marie, and Captain Sha Wenzai immediately issued an attack order to his soldiers.

The 203mm naval gun fired the first shell at the coastal defense artillery position in the port.

"Boom~~"

The cannonball exploded, and the cannonballs sprayed with gravel and steel like raindrops.

There was chaos in the Faro Port, and many fishing boats anchored in Cape Sainte-Marie also suffered from pond fish and were seriously damaged.

After the three cruisers docked at the berths of Faro Port, groups of Marines quickly and swiftly occupied various favorable positions in Faro Port.

With the completion of their beachhead arrangement, Faro Port was completely controlled by the South China mercenaries, and subsequent troop transports would continuously send 5000 Marine soldiers over.

Once the landings were complete, it was only a matter of time before Lisbon was captured. (End of chapter)