African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 763: Threat to Benguela

Although the Angolan colonial government has various complaints, if the colony is lost, everyone will definitely share the blame, including Portugal, which may also trigger a new round of political turmoil.

 The 331st Division and the 421st Division, regardless of the current mood of the Angolan government, have begun to march towards Luanda.

As for the military reinforcements mentioned by General Madrid, it may also be very difficult, because the current East African army and the Portuguese army have become a mess on the front line.

At this time, everyone was already mixed together, and some East African troops were even advancing faster than the Portuguese army could escape.

The newly formed 416th Division in East Africa encountered this situation. The 416th Division was formed in less than two months, but it performed very well on the Angola battlefield.

  They defeated one or two Portuguese brigades when they first entered the battlefield, and then the 416th Division fell into a race against time with the Portuguese army to pursue and escape.

  Major General Capucci, commander of the 416th Division, was originally the brigade commander under the 112th Division of the Eastern Military Region of East Africa. During this expansion, he was promoted to the commander of the new 416th Division.

Capucci asked his staff officer Hans: "What is the movement of our army now?"

"The second brigade advanced too fast. According to the news they sent back yesterday, the leading troops of the second brigade have now arrived in the Mutonbo area, and the first brigade is still exchanging fire with the enemy on the east bank of the Kwanza River. This enemy is part of the Portuguese army. A force of black servants was besieged on the east bank of the Kwanza River by our army because they failed to cross the river in time."

The Kwanza River is a north-south river. Most of the rivers in Africa are natural and undeveloped primitive river channels, so they are very tortuous and surrounded by lakes and forests.

As Hans said, the first brigade had wiped out the Portuguese army more than an hour ago, but the news had not yet been sent back to the division headquarters, mainly because the facilities in Angola were too backward.

So even the natives of Angola, this Portuguese army was in a panic and went astray. Originally, according to their intention, they should evacuate to the northwest, but they wandered to the southwest, and then collided with the 416th Division brigade that was coming towards them. Together, the subsequent brigade seized the opportunity and prepared to annihilate this enemy force.

There was neither a telegraph nor a few decent roads. In addition, the jungle near the Kwanza River was dense. Just cleaning the battlefield took a lot of time for the brigade.

Like this unlucky Portuguese force encountered by the First Brigade, the only choice they faced was to be annihilated or surrender to East Africa.

 So much so that it slowed down the march of the 416th Division. Of course, this kind of unexpected situation was inevitable, and most of the Portuguese troops still managed to escape.

In addition to the regular army, many militias were also organized in East Africa this time, which were the people who had previously evacuated from the Danube Province.

And this is not the most troublesome thing. The total number of enemies captured by one brigade exceeds more than 1,700 people. The custody of these prisoners is also a big problem. This kind of matter can only be solved by the follow-up troops.

If nothing else happens, these prisoners will most likely be handed over to them, and the militia will also take care of the supply and transportation of the East African army.

Angola is too backward, so the main modes of transportation are manpower and animal power. Fortunately, there are enough livestock in East Africa, but they also need to be dispatched.

"Let the first brigade speed up. If the time is too slow, I'm afraid we won't even be able to drink soup." Capucci said.

Hans: "I think the first brigade should have almost annihilated this Portuguese army. After all, the battle report was seven hours ago."

 The supplies in the west are mainly responsible for the Hohenzollern Province and Swabia, while the supplies for the eastern battlefield are mainly responsible for the Matabele Province.

Of course, materials from the east and north are also transported to the three central provinces through railway lines, mainly food and equipment.

August 24, 1888.

“Benguela is ahead. It seems that the Portuguese are currently very short of troops. We have basically encountered no troops along the way.” said the brigade commander of the second brigade of the 421st Division.

As a cavalry unit, the 421st Division marched very fast and reached the outskirts of Benguela in only a few days.

The 421st Division did not encounter the Portuguese army along the way, only a small and sparse force. The reason for this result was that the Portuguese had already withdrawn all their troops to the city of Benguela.

The Portuguese troops in southern Angola were originally small, and the 421st Division was unable to crack the hard nut, or it was very difficult to crack. In addition, there was Southwest Africa of little value to the south.

 Hence, the focus of the Portuguese army was not placed in the south. Although Benguela was located in an important location and was an important city after Luanda, it did not allocate too many troops.

After learning the news from Luanda, the military commander of Benguela decisively abandoned southern Angola and withdrew his troops back to Benguela.

The small group of troops encountered by the Second Brigade of the 421st Division along the way were actually the Portuguese troops that did not come and retreated to Benguela.

At present, the 421st Division, like the 331st Division, is divided into two groups. The destination of the second brigade of the 421st Division is Benguela, while the other troops are heading towards Luanda under the leadership of division commander Helmond.

  In other words, the second brigade will be entirely responsible for the subsequent war against Benguela. This is indeed bad news. After all, the total strength of the second brigade is less than 4,000 people.

Of course, as cavalry, the number is relatively small, so it is very difficult for the Second Brigade to solve Benguela City by its own strength.

 At present, the garrison of Benguela reaches more than 14,000 people, which is almost 70% of the troops in southern Angola before the war began.

“Brigadier Commander, we have inspected the city defense of Benguela. The defenders of Benguela City are very well prepared and there are basically no loopholes. I am afraid this battle will not be easy to fight.”

The commander of the second brigade said: "There is no rush. We can slowly use up Benguela. There will always be a time when they will show their flaws. Now the division headquarters has passed to the north. This means that we have only one main force in the entire south of Angola. We There is relatively sufficient time to spend with the defenders of Benguela City."

Of course, that being said, he was actually still thinking about how to break this Portuguese fortified city.

 The Second Brigade is also equipped with a lot of artillery, but the caliber is not large. Benguela's artillery is first-rate in the entire Angola. After all, it has been operated by Portugal for hundreds of years.

It’s just that the Portuguese’s artillery was mainly used to deal with threats at sea. They probably never thought that one day hostile forces would threaten Benguela from land.

While the Second Brigade was thinking about how to attack Benguela, the Portuguese defenders of Benguela were extremely frightened. The arrival of the Second Brigade meant to Benguela that East Africa had invaded the hinterland of Angola!

Of course, this was an illusion caused to them by the location of Benguela. Benguela was on the westernmost side of Angola, but the Second Brigade was actually coming from the southeast.

 Most of Angola is actually still controlled by Portugal, such as the 331st Division and the 421st Division, which are actually advancing alone.

If the Portuguese can seize the opportunity well, they may be able to inflict heavy damage on these two East African troops. It is a pity that the Portuguese are too lagging behind.

It lacks a military liaison system that keeps up with the times, so the Luanda government cannot fully grasp the intelligence of East Africa, or even its own military information. Now many Portuguese troops on the front line are actually fighting independently. If they cannot solve the 331st Division and the 421st Division in time, , then Luanda and the frontline troops may also completely lose contact.

 (End of this chapter)