Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 305 Battle Plan
In order to occupy West Africa before the Germans, after Jyoti and a group of officers arrived safely in the Congo territory, they immediately began planning a war against the local indigenous people.

Although the Congo Territory has not yet expanded its military, it is after all Spain's largest colony and naturally has the largest number of colonial troops stationed there.

After arriving in the Congo territory, Jyoti discovered that in addition to one colonial division that he could mobilize, he could also draw on three colonial garrison regiments to cooperate in combat.

The total number of these troops exceeds 2.5. Not to mention attacking one of the indigenous forces, it is very likely that they can even wipe out several indigenous countries in the western part of the Congo territory.

Jyoti knew the importance of occupying West Africa as soon as possible for Spain. He did not hesitate at all and issued his orders the day after arriving in the Congo territory.

The Colonial Division quickly assembled in Guinea as the main force. The target of this operation was the Kingdom of Bam in northern Guinea, an indigenous country with a long history that was established nearly 500 years ago.

Of course, no matter how long its history is, such an indigenous country is still vulnerable to the Spanish colonial army.

Although the colonial army was also composed of indigenous people, they were qualified troops that had undergone certain training. The soldiers also used rifles uniformly provided by Spain, and their overall combat effectiveness was several levels higher than that of these poorly trained indigenous troops.

The Kingdom of Bam is part of the Cameroon region, which is rich in natural resources and has a large indigenous population.

Unlike in history, Spain increased its investment in the Guinea colony due to the expansion of its territory in Congo.

This also led to Germany's infiltration into the Cameroon region later than in history, and they failed to take over Cameroon in 1884.

Because this land happened to be included in the colonial annexation plan formulated by Carlo, Carlo would never allow Cameroon to be taken by the Germans.

The reason why Jyoti was so anxious to launch the war was to formally establish Spain's dominance over the Cameroon region before the Germans.

In fact, it can be seen from the map that Spain has occupied most of Cameroon. Currently, the only area outside of Spanish control is the Kingdom of Bam.

Unlike the indigenous people in the areas already occupied by Spain, the level of civilization in the Kingdom of Bam was higher than that in the eastern regions.

As early as the 15th century, Portuguese missionaries arrived in this area, and thus launched a vigorous slave trade.

Although slavery has been abolished in many countries around the world, the Kingdom of Bam has not lost its connection with European countries. Many missionaries chose to come to this land to spread Christianity and bring advanced firearms and cannons to the natives.

Of course, these missionaries and explorers did not suffer any loss. They brought back gold and silver, as well as a large amount of ivory, palm oil and timber.

Long-term trade with European missionaries and explorers gave the Kingdom of Bam a certain military strength. The entire kingdom has a population of about 200 million and has an army of more than 3 people.

This army consisted of more than 5000 people equipped with a variety of muskets and dozens of cannons of different calibers.

Although there were various styles of muskets and cannons, it was undeniable that such an indigenous army equipped with advanced weapons posed a greater threat than other indigenous armies without firearms, and could even cause heavy casualties to the Spanish colonial army.

Because Spain had more war plans later, this war against the Kingdom of Bam could not afford too many casualties.

Jyoti wrote and drew on the map, and finally finalized a relatively detailed attack plan against the Kingdom of Bam.

The Kingdom of Bam has no coastline, and most of the country is mountainous. To the west of the Kingdom of Bam is the Aro Confederation, a federation of many indigenous states.

The Arrow Confederation was similar to the Kingdom of Bam, both earning a certain amount of income through the slave trade and the export of palm oil and ivory, and purchasing a batch of weapons and equipment from missionaries and explorers.

To the north of the Kingdom of Bam is the Sokoto Caliphate, the largest and most powerful indigenous force in the vicinity.

The Sokoto Caliphate was also a loose federation of many indigenous chiefdoms, with the Caliph of Sokoto as the supreme leader of the country.

As the most powerful indigenous state in West Africa, the Sokoto Caliphate had a population of tens of millions of indigenous people and millions of non-Muslim slaves.

In theory, the Kingdom of Bam, the Aro Confederation and the Sokoto Caliphate all had a common enemy: the European colonists who wanted to conquer the region.

However, these three countries have different ethnicities and religious beliefs, and the relations between them are not that good.

Jyoti's attack plan was actually to take advantage of the conflicts among the natives and make other natives remain neutral when Spain attacked the Kingdom of Bam, so that Spain would have the opportunity to conquer the Kingdom of Bam calmly.

In theory, it is possible to keep the Aro Alliance and the Sokoto Caliphate neutral.

As long as Spain does not wage war against them, it will be difficult for these federations formed by multiple indigenous tribes to work together. After all, the indigenous peoples are not harmonious neighbors.

Before launching the war against the Kingdom of Bam, Jyoti contacted the Governor of the Congo Territory and requested him to contact the Sokoto Caliphate and the Aro Alliance in the name of the Congo Territory Government, in order to make them remain neutral in this war through material transactions.

These indigenous countries have no industrial base, and European industrial products are still very popular in Africa. Spain can also ask these countries to remain neutral by giving them guns. After receiving the guns, these countries think they are not afraid of Spanish invasion, and naturally there is no need to support countries that are hostile to them.

Of course, the firearms presented to these indigenous peoples are definitely not the most advanced rifles in Spain. As a country that does not ban guns, Spain still has a lot of hunting rifles and pistols, which can be sold to these indigenous countries.

Currently, hunting rifles are basically muzzle-loading rifles, which not only have extremely slow loading speeds, but also have limited bullet range and power.

Not to mention pistols, their range and power are even weaker than shotguns, and their effective range is only 50 meters.

Such firearms had little impact on the war, and even if they were given to the natives, it would have no effect on Spain.

Of course, the more muskets these natives were equipped with, the more likely they would inflict greater casualties on the Spanish army.

But the problem is that Spain's indigenous army is made up of indigenous peoples, and the number of indigenous peoples in Spain's colonies is not to say countless, but it is definitely enough for Spain to squander.

The population of Morocco, the Philippines, and Lan Fang alone is enough to arm an army of hundreds of thousands of people, not to mention the blacks everywhere in the Congolese territory, who can easily arm an army of millions. After hearing Jyoti's request, the governor of the territory did not hesitate at all and immediately sent diplomatic representatives to the two indigenous countries.

Because both indigenous countries had trade relations with European colonists, the lives of the diplomatic representatives sent by Spain would not be in danger unless war broke out between the two countries.

Although the African natives did not have the tradition of not killing envoys when two countries were at war, they also understood that if the lives of Spanish diplomatic representatives were in danger, they would have to face the Spanish military.

The first to receive the news was the Arrow Alliance, which was closer to the Kingdom of Bam. Because they were closer to the Kingdom of Bam, the relationship between the Arrow Alliance and the Kingdom of Bam had always been bad.

Although they are not mortal enemies, there is competition between them. Both countries rely on palm oil trade for income, so it would be strange if their relationship was good.

After learning that Spain was willing to use industrial products and firearms in exchange for the neutrality of the Arrow Alliance, the Arrow Alliance expressed its willingness to make this deal without any hesitation.

Of course, they are not stupid. Spain's attack on the Kingdom of Bam has exposed its ambitions, and the Arrow Alliance hopes to buy more guns from Spain to ensure the security of its territory.

In order to get the Spaniards to agree to sell more guns, the Arrow Alliance vowed that their purpose of purchasing guns was to fight against the Kingdom of Niger in the west.

Compared with the Kingdom of Bam and the Aro Alliance, the Kingdom of Niger is a relatively special existence.

The founder of the kingdom was Eri, about whom there is not much record. There is a local legend that Eri is a "sky-like being" who descended to the earth and founded the Kingdom of Niger.

Such legends are somewhat mythical, but are deeply trusted by local residents.

The Kingdom of Niger was also a relatively chaotic country, attracting a large number of people who were excluded by their own country to seek refuge there, which also created the ethnic diversity of the Kingdom of Niger.

Many indigenous people whose lands were taken away by Western colonists chose to come to the Kingdom of Niger, which also expanded the population of the Kingdom of Niger.

As the Kingdom of Niger grows stronger, it will naturally affect the living space of neighboring countries. The Aro Alliance's so-called war against the Kingdom of Niger is half true and half false. After obtaining enough firearms, such an offensive plan may not be untrue.

After negotiations, Spain agreed to sell 1500 hunting rifles and 2 rounds of ammunition in exchange for the neutrality of the Arrow Alliance.

However, due to the time required for transportation, these guns and bullets will take more than a month to be transported to the Arrow Alliance.

In order to reassure the Arrow Alliance, after the two sides reached a verbal agreement, the Congo Territory collected more than 200 hunting rifles and 500 rounds of bullets and sent them to the Arrow Alliance, expressing Spain's sincerity in promoting cooperation.

The Arrow Alliance was very happy to receive the guns, and they also stated that they would never interfere in Spain's war against the Kingdom of Bam.

After confirming that the Arrow Alliance would not interfere in the war, Jyoti did not hesitate at all and immediately ordered the army to advance towards the Bam Kingdom.

Although there was no news about the Sokoto Caliphate, it was no longer important to Spain.

Tiberias, the capital of the Sokoto Caliphate, is nearly a thousand kilometers away from Fuban, the capital of the Kingdom of Bam. Even if the Sokoto Caliphate is willing to support the Kingdom of Bam, the distance of thousands of kilometers is enough to discourage them.

The distance of thousands of kilometers is a difficult gap for African countries to cross. There are neither trains nor roads along this route. If these natives want to come to the Kingdom of Bam, they need to cross several native tribes and mountains.

By the time they reached the border of Bam, the war launched by Spain would have ended long ago. By then, not only would they be unable to support Bam, but they would also damage relations with Spain.

In order to defeat the Kingdom of Bam more quickly, Jyoti chose to split his troops into two groups.

The Colonial Division set out from Guinea and headed north to attack the border of the Kingdom of Bam. The 20,000 troops were enough to deal with the 30,000 troops of the Kingdom of Bam, and the border between Guinea and the Kingdom of Bam would become the front battlefield of this war.

This is not the end. The remaining three colonial garrison regiments will temporarily merge and launch an attack on the Kingdom of Bam from the direction of the Baka tribe.

The Baka tribe was an indigenous tribe that the Spanish had conquered, located just east of the Kingdom of Bam.

The Kingdom of Bam was shaped like a rectangle, with its capital located in the east middle of the rectangle.

The distance from the Guinea colony to Fuban, the capital of the Kingdom of Bam, is 200 kilometers. In addition, due to the numerous mountainous areas, it was difficult for the Spanish army to quickly capture Fuban.

But the attack from the Baka tribe was different. Fuban, the capital of the Kingdom of Bam, was only 30 kilometers away from the eastern border. If the Spanish army's offensive went smoothly, they might even be able to surround Fuban the next day.

Even if the colonial division's frontal attack to the north from the Guinea colony is not successful, it can still hold back most of the Bam Kingdom's troops.

This was the best opportunity for the three colonial garrisons to launch a surprise attack. If the Kingdom of Bam placed most of its troops on the southern border, their eastern border would become unusually empty.

If they also deployed part of the army to defend the eastern border, it would only be a matter of time before the colonial division in the south defeated the Kingdom of Bam as long as they were not at a disadvantage in numbers.

Such a layout can be said to be very reasonable, and the Kingdom of Bam has little room for resistance.

Their military strength was not enough to deal with attacks from the south and the east at the same time, and it was completely too late to temporarily recruit troops.

By the time they learned that Spanish troops were attacking both the southern and eastern borders, it was too late for them to resist.

By then, the Spanish army will be able to catch the enemy in the trap and completely surround the army of the Kingdom of Bam. As long as the offensive on any battlefield on the southern or eastern fronts gains an advantage, the army of the Kingdom of Bam will have no choice but to retreat.

After all, the land area of ​​the Kingdom of Bam is limited. Where can they retreat to?
To the south and east were the Spanish armies, to the west were the unfriendly Aro Confederation, and to the north was the Sokoto Caliphate.

Although they could also retreat to the Arrow Union or the Sokoto Caliphate, as the Kingdom of Om was occupied by Spain, escaping to the Arrow Union or the Sokoto Caliphate would not receive preferential treatment from the other side, and they might even be arrested by the other side and then respectfully handed over to the Spanish army.

(End of this chapter)