Chapter 271 Site selection for the new naval base
As the saying goes, the Italian army has accumulated 250,000 troops on the eastern front, but Archduke Albrecht only has 80,000 troops, so it is normal that Venice cannot be pushed back.
However, once the war opened up a breakthrough, full bloom was what Archduke Albrecht wanted. On the eastern front, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had already won a victory with a small number of people against the Kingdom of Italy. Next, it still depends on whether the Austro-Hungarian Navy can open up a new situation and open up a new battlefield.
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Adriatic Sea.
A huge fleet was sailing at high speed on the sea, led by the Austro-Hungarian Navy fleet from Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia).
"It's our turn to fight back this time! It has always been a regret in my heart that we did not take advantage of the victory to fight back against the Italian Navy last time. This time we must make the Italian Navy realize the progress of the Imperial Navy again!" William von Tergert Hof stood on the deck and said confidently to his subordinates.
"We will definitely continue to win this time!"
"The empire will be victorious!..."
This is the confidence blessing that the name Wilhelm von Tegerthof brought to the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
After the victory at the Battle of Lisa, Wilhelm von Tegerthof became a hero in Austria, and Franz urged him to go south to the Dalmatian coast to ensure the development of naval bases in the region.
Unlike in history, this time Wilhelm von Tegerthof carried out a comprehensive and systematic upgrade of the military base on the Dalmatian coast, because in 1867 in the original history, he carried out a sad mission to transport weapons to Mexico. The body of his benefactor, Emperor Maximiliano, who had been shot by Juarez Benito, returned to his hometown.
Now that Maximilian I is alive and well, and has become the Commander-in-Chief of the East African Navy, he has not delayed Wilhelm von Tegerthof's time to build a military base on the Dalmatian coast, and the two have also discussed the future. There were some exchanges on naval development.
In 1868, he became the Minister of the Navy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a member of the Military Council and the House of Lords, and was granted the title of baronet. He vigorously promoted the comprehensive reform of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's navy.
After two years of development, the Austro-Hungarian Navy has rapidly narrowed the gap in ships with the Italian Navy, and is much stronger than in history.
Among them, East Africa acquired two old ships from the Austro-Hungarian Navy, so the Austro-Hungarian Navy took the opportunity to add two new warships, and Franz agreed. After all, he was wiping the butt of his brother Archduke Ferdinand. , although Ernst paid some token money, it was basically a free gift.
But it is a pity that the two new warships of the Austro-Hungarian Empire are still lying in the Trieste shipyard. The decks have just been laid and they cannot participate in this battle yet.
"Report, Italian warship sighted northwest."
"Let the Lisa come closer!"
Austria-Hungary began construction of the ironclad Lissa in 1867. The Lisa adopted the newly-invented central gun room design with a displacement of 7,000 tons, which was in line with the first-class ironclad standards of the year. Lissa was the ancestor of the Austro-Hungarian battleships and was now the command ship of Wilhelm von Tegerthoff.
Compared with the proud Austro-Hungarian Navy, the life of the Italian Navy on the opposite side is relatively miserable. Although Italy obtained Venice as a new naval base in the last war, the significant reduction in funding caused the Italian Navy to live in a tight situation during this period. .
Beginning in 1869, the Kingdom of Italy, which was gradually emerging from the shadow of the Battle of Lisa, finally planned to start a naval expansion plan.
Because the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 restored the Mediterranean's strategic significance. Italy also needed a powerful fleet to safeguard its interests and protect its trade routes in the region. But before the plan could be formulated, Austria-Hungary declared war on Italy.
This is another huge blow to the Italian Navy. It would be great if the war between the two countries could be postponed for a few years until the upgrade is completed!
"Report to the general, the Austro-Hungarian naval fleet has appeared in the direction of 24 degrees southeast, and they are heading towards us at a very fast speed!"
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East Africa, Indian Ocean waters.
Just when the Austro-Hungarian Navy was about to collide with the Italian Navy, the Navy of the Kingdom of East Africa was organizing a cross-sea training. The training was completed in the offshore East Africa between Bagamoyo and Pemba Island.
"This is Jishui City (today's Chakchak City, Tanzania)! But the name is a bit strange. Is it a name given by the indigenous people?" Ferdinand, the commander of the East African Navy, asked as he looked at the small town in front of him.
"This place used to be called Chak Chak, a small town in the Sultanate of Zanzibar, but the name Jishui City was given by His Highness Ernst himself, and we don't know the specific meaning." Jishui City Mayor Leander said.
Of course, the transliterated name sounds strange. Jishui, a river that once existed, is Ernst’s trace of his hometown in his previous life.
"Not to mention anything else, the port conditions here are pretty good. It would be good if they could be renovated." Archduke Ferdinand said.
"Jishui City is the capital of Pemba Island, but there are currently more than 2,000 immigrants, and the entire island only has more than 10,000 people, so it is not easy to transform this place." Leander replied.
"Uh, isn't it allocated to you slaves?"
“Because this place was taken from the Zanzibar people, in order to maintain stability, a comprehensive cleanup of the entire Pemba Island was carried out, and all the Zanzibaris on Pemba Island were packed and returned to the Zanzibar Sultanate. Not to mention renovating the port, no one is harvesting the ripe cloves on the island."
Pemba Island is a place rich in cloves. In the previous life, clove production here accounted for 40% of the world's production, and Zanzibar Island accounted for more than 70%.
"I see! However, Pemba Island has such good conditions and is very suitable as a naval base. It would be a pity not to use the port on Pemba Island." Archduke Ferdinand said.
Ferdinand has already studied the topography of Pemba Island. The entire island is dominated by hills and plains, with a tortuous coastline. There are many harbors with the conditions to become ports, mainly concentrated on the west coast. The west coast of the island faces away from the Indian Ocean, so the harbors are calm and calm. Facing the East African mainland and Mombasa at the same time, the two ports of Tanga are at the corners of each other, so it is very suitable to build a naval base here.
"If it is a naval base, I can recommend a location for you to use directly. The infrastructure there is complete, but there are not many people." Leander said after hearing what Ferdinand said.
"Oh, where is it?"
“Mkani in the south of Pemba Island is basically an empty city now, but it used to be a port used by the Sultanate of Zanzibar to connect the island and Pemba. Later, after we took over Pemba Island, Mkani also became a ghost town. It is no longer used to communicate with Zanzibar Island, and the residents there have also been repatriated to Zanzibar Island, but the port has always been empty and has not been maintained for more than two years. I am afraid it is somewhat abandoned."
"Mkani! The conditions there are really good." Hearing this name, Ferdinand had some impressions. Mkani is in the southwest of Pemba Island. Ferdinand passed there when he was on the boat, but it was like Leander said it was basically a ghost town, with thousands of houses, but only about 200 families of East African immigrants living there.
"It would be really good if it was used as a naval base, and the existing facilities there could be used, and the problem of buildings would be solved directly." Ferdinand thought.
So why are you hesitating? It has been decided that Mkani will be the second naval base in East Africa.