Chapter 689 Mental imbalance
While Brenzino was talking to his comrades, the East African Defense Force's Border Patrol was also patrolling the "wilderness" here on a daily basis.
"Squad leader Hans, are those Portuguese soldiers over there?" As a newly recruited soldier, Peter asked. This was his first time seeing Portuguese people.
"Yes, you see there are many black people in their team, and the uniforms they wear are even uglier than the simplified military uniforms we had more than ten years ago. They are all drab gray and look wrinkled. They are only the uniforms of three officers. It looks good, but it’s also quite old.” Hans commented to the Portuguese patrol across the border.
The uniforms of the Portuguese colonial army in Angola can be described as extremely ugly, and their high EQ can also be described as "crude". They look a bit like the warlords' armed forces in the Far Eastern Empire during the Republic of China era.
In fact, the Portuguese army uniforms can barely be looked at. They follow the European "gorgeous" trend, with a wide variety of patterns, and they look a bit elegant, but the colonies cannot be compared with the mainland.
This is also related to Portugal's financial difficulties. In fact, after the last blow in East Africa, Portugal's national fortunes declined a lot.
"I heard that Portugal used to be a big country with a large number of colonies all over the world. Now it is really in decline. It can be seen that it is very difficult financially. It really feels like the sea has changed." Peter said with emotion.
Peter has received compulsory education in East Africa, so he has a little understanding of history and Portugal's position in Europe, but he doesn't know much about Portugal. After all, there are so many countries in the world, and it is impossible for East Africa to capture Portugal and describe it in detail in textbooks.
Of course, if it is the history of the Age of Discovery, Portugal is quite glorious, but Portugal's glorious history was also three to four hundred years ago.
"Portugal has a strong family background. From the empire on which the sun never sets, to their decline to the present day, they can still occupy a place in the world, all thanks to the pioneering efforts of their ancestors. If they even lose their overseas colonies, they will be the same as those weak and weak people in Eastern Europe. Poor countries make no difference," Hans said.
Hans and his men spoke in German. Of course the Portuguese on the other side of the border couldn't understand it, but they probably knew that they didn't have anything nice to say, because Peter and others all had vague "smiles" on their faces. , obviously revealing some hostility and contempt.
As a young man, Peter naturally felt a sense of pride after comparing the Portuguese soldiers on the opposite side, mainly because the gap between the two sides was clear at a glance.
East Africa's new military uniforms have long since gotten rid of the dilemma of "cutting corners" in order to save costs. Now they are completely developed towards: practicality, beauty, atmosphere, comfort and other aspects.
The contrast with the clothing of the Portuguese soldiers opposite is obvious. Clothing has always been one of the faces of the army. Good-looking military uniforms can significantly boost the morale of the army.
"These German guys, you can tell at a glance that they usually eat a lot of oil, and the materials of their clothes look very particular, but they are somewhat different from European aesthetics. They are really a waste of money. Their military boots are made of cowhide, and they are... The same goes for belts. Only these 'African natives' can do this kind of face-saving project." Brunzino said contemptuously to the East African army.
In Brenzino's opinion, the East African soldiers are not war material at first glance. They are so well-dressed, do they think they are European aristocrats?
And because the East African army's food conditions are among the best in the world, ordinary East African soldiers are also stronger than the Portuguese, which makes Brenzino even more psychologically unbalanced.
Recruits such as Peter, who had just joined the army, did not suffer from malnutrition due to compulsory education and living standards in East Africa. Instead, they had a military elegance.
It makes the Portuguese feel that the opposite side is the army, and their side is more like those "bumpkins" in Asia, Africa and Latin America. This is in sharp contrast to the glorious history of the Portuguese colonial empire. The contrast is very strong.
In fact, when Portugal was financially wealthy in the past, the army was also well-funded. Especially hundreds of years ago, the Portuguese army wearing expensive plate armor left its footprints all over the world and defeated many natives in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Therefore, Nowadays, the psychological imbalance is understandable.
Hans is not as obvious as Peter. As a veteran, he has rich experience in East Africa and has fought against the Portuguese before.
The 411th Division to which he belonged was the main force that crossed hundreds of miles to attack the Angolan colony. Therefore, he was arrogant enough towards the Portuguese army and did not even bother to care about the existence of such defeated generals.
In his opinion, the combat effectiveness of the Portuguese army on the opposite side was not even as good as some indigenous tribes that were difficult to fight. This was his personal experience.
So he said to Peter and other recruits: "If we look at colonies alone, Portugal is certainly one of the best in the world. After all, there are only a few countries with a colony area of one million, but the area and number of colonies are not. It cannot represent the combat effectiveness of the Portuguese, especially this miscellaneous unit wearing regular Portuguese military uniforms and mixed with black people."
"Squad leader, why is this? Shouldn't the regular army be more effective?" Peter asked. In his opinion, this is the case with the East African army. The army is much stronger than the militia, whether in terms of professional quality, psychological quality, or... In terms of weapons and equipment.
Hans was a good teacher and said: "The Portuguese colonies were taken by them when they were pirates. However, after the Portuguese army was regularized, they did not do much. After all, pirates pay more attention to the more work they do, and they are not afraid of death and dare to fight hard.
This was especially obvious when our company commander led us to encounter private armed forces in those plantations in Angola, and the regular army was basically defeated in one attack. After all, the Portuguese army was treated much worse than us.
I had seen their food before. To put it bluntly, it was just a little better than the pig food in East Africa. When combined with their equipment, it was still at the level of ten years ago. There had been no improvement in so many years, so I knew it at a glance. The level of military management is lagging behind. "
What Hans said about "pig food" made Peter and others laugh. The pigs in East Africa do eat "people" well. Of course, this comparison depends on those countries, such as Japan, North Korea and other countries.
The laughter of the East African defense soldiers was so harsh in the ears of Brunzino and other Portuguese people. Although they did not know what the Germans were talking about, they still aroused the glares of the Portuguese.
Obviously, the East African Defense Force also noticed this. Peter whistled and glared back with some provocation.
"Captain!" Laird, the deputy captain of the Portuguese patrol, gestured to Brenzino with gritted teeth.
Obviously, his emotions were aroused by the Germans, so he was a little impulsive.
Brunzino looked at Laird and knew what he meant, but he looked around him again and found that except for the Portuguese, the other black soldiers were obviously distracted and had an attitude that it had nothing to do with them.
I sighed in my heart, how can this kind of army compare with others! Although the Germans across the street are also mixed with yellow and white, they are as close as one.
And the black soldiers on my side are as lifeless as "dead corpses". How to fight in this situation! Moreover, as the captain, I cannot take the initiative to provoke out of anger. If it leads to a military conflict, I, a turnip, cannot afford it.
We can't blame the "ghost" appearance of the black soldiers. After all, blacks were inferior people in the colonies and had no dignity at all, let alone serve as pawns for the Portuguese.