Chapter 732

Chapter 732 Lost

After the Battle of Lamu Bay, Grand Duke Ferdinand's heart was cold. It only took a few hours to be destroyed after more than ten years of hard work. The surprise of the naval battle was indeed the greatest.

But it's not his turn to be sad now. He still has to clean up the mess, including the iron-clad ship that is half dead on the sea, and a large number of personnel needing rescue.

Although East Africa suffered huge losses in this naval battle, the results of the battle were still OK overall. It was not wiped out, and the British Expeditionary Fleet was also severely damaged.

East Africa should be thanked by the Indian Ocean. The lack of islands here has made the British unable to rest and continue to attack to a certain extent. The British naval base closest to the core waters of East Africa is in Seychelles. The direction of the British Expeditionary Fleet's escape should be there. However, Seychelles does not provide maintenance for the British Expeditionary Fleet, so Seychelles can only serve as a transit station.

"Report to your Excellency, as of now, we have rescued more than 500 sailors from our country. In addition, we have captured more than 700 British troops, and two British ironclad ships."

Finally got good news, which made the Grand Duke Ferdinand feel more comfortable. The two British ironclad ships were considered as supplements to the East African Navy. Although they were bombarded to varying degrees, they caused them to lie on the sea, as long as they did not sink, they could be dragged back to East Africa for repair.

Even if it cannot be repaired, it doesn't matter. As the world's largest naval power, Britain is the best in shipbuilding technology. These two British warships can fill many gaps in the East African military shipbuilding industry.

Of course, this is all for the future. The East African Navy itself has two ironclad ships sinking to the sea, and the other ships are not in good condition. In the short term, they may not be able to participate in the battlefield. In this way, the East African Navy will still suffer a greater loss.

Because it is a war period, no one can guarantee whether the British Royal Navy will make a comeback. The number of warships that East Africa can use has dropped sharply, and Britain cannot even be considered a wound.

Specifically, in terms of the UK's shipbuilding plan this year, the UK has formulated a plan to invest more than 20 million pounds to build 10 battleships, 42 cruisers and 18 torpedo boats in the next five years.

The British's shipbuilding ability can be imagined, so it only takes one year for the UK to make up for the losses of this Battle of Lamu.

Here we have to mention the differences caused by the national conditions of East Africa, Austro-Hungarian Empire and the German Navy. Although the East African Navy is comparable to the emerging naval forces of the two countries.

But the responsibilities assumed by the navy are completely different. Although the navies of Germany and Austria are very frustrated, one is blocked in the Baltic Sea and the other is blocked in the Adriatic Sea, but in the same way, they only need a small number of navies to block the waters near their own country.

The defense pressure is not great, and the east coastline of East Africa is nearly 4,000 kilometers in the east, and it faces the Indian Ocean. There are no large islands or island chains nearby as cover, which means that the enemy can strike the coast of East Africa from multiple directions.

Therefore, although East Africa has the top ten naval forces in the world, it is indeed not enough for East Africa itself. This is just like the East African Railways. The total mileage of East Africa railways can also rank among the top ten in the world, but East Africa railways obviously cannot meet domestic needs.

Moreover, the location of the East African waters is mainly the Indian Ocean waters. Although the location is not very good, it is closer to the center of the world than the "remote" continent like the United States.

East Africa also has a certain share of the main trade routes of Eurasia, which also means that the East African navy faces greater challenges. The good news is that the naval strength of Asian countries is currently relatively weak and cannot pose a challenge to East Africa.

But the UK has its largest stronghold in the South Asian subcontinent, India, and Australia, an exile land.

So whether it is in Europe or Asia, the biggest threat to the East African Navy is the British.

For example, if the British local navy can go south directly to the South Atlantic, East Africa has not invested too much maritime military force. Wherever the main navy is placed, it can be declared scrapped in less than half a year. In the Indian Ocean, the East African Navy still has the ability to resist, especially the three major naval bases in East Africa, the core triangular formation formed by Bagamoyo, Pemba Island and Zanzibar Island, which can effectively ensure the security of the East African Navy.

This is also an important reason why Grand Duke Ferdinand left half of the naval power before the outbreak of the Battle of Lamu. Before the position of the British Expeditionary Fleet was determined, the East African Navy could not be fully deployed. If the family was stolen, the East African Navy might be in annihilated.

However, the overall combat effectiveness of the East African Navy this time was good. After all, the East African Navy is the weaker side and its opponent is the world's number one. Therefore, for the Battle of Lamu Bay, the strength of the fledgling East African Navy is more in line with the paper strength of the East African Navy.

"The captives were taken to Bagamoyo and priority was given to rescue our crew members. As for the British, they would treat them after the treatment of our people was completed, the treatment process should be stricter to avoid emotional problems." said Grand Duke Ferdinand.

The main reason is that the East African ship doctors took the opportunity to retaliate against the British sailors. After all, the war between the two countries was officially broken up, and this battle was fought again. The East African navy was relatively young and it was easy to act irresistibly.

"The soldiers and ships who participated in the war this time are unable to work at present. Let them go to the rear to rest. The maritime cruise matters are allocated to other ships. After the Battle of Lamu Bay, the number of our naval ships has dropped sharply. We must use the remaining naval ships reasonably, and the main force remains in Bagamoyo. If the British Navy makes a comeback, don't start the war as soon as possible. Try to find the nearest port, rely on the shore defense artillery system, and deal with the enemy."

 …

In fact, Britain has no idea of ​​making a comeback. Although the British Empire has a strong family background, it cannot be ruined like this.

The reason why the shipbuilding plan for the next five years was proposed in 1888 was essentially to cope with the rapid rise in global naval power.

The East African navy has great defense pressure, and the British Royal Navy is actually even more so. After all, the oceans around the world are areas where the British Royal Navy is active.

The Royal Navy Expeditionary Force of this Battle of Lamu Bay was drawn from the Mediterranean Fleet. As the second naval force behind the local navy, the Mediterranean Fleet was a little dissatisfied with the transfer of military forces southward.

After all, there are so many countries in the Mediterranean, France, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire, and Spain, which one is not more important than East Africa? Moreover, the naval power of these countries is not weak.

And this is not yet considered the Tsarist Russian navy blocked in the Black Sea, as well as some small naval states along the Mediterranean, such as Italy, Greece, the Kingdom of Naples, etc.

If the Battle of Lamu Bay was won, it would be fine. Now the two sides are tied, and the record is like this, but for the Mediterranean Fleet, this is a "debtat defeat".

This is also a very interesting part of the Battle of Lamu Bay. Both East Africa and the British Navy believe that they have suffered greater losses.

Now the military force drawn by the Mediterranean Fleet is enough to subvert a country's main naval force in Europe. Using such naval power to deal with an "uncivilized" African country is simply losing all its money, and how can we make up for the loss of nearly half of the combat effectiveness of the expeditionary fleet?

If an emergency occurs in the Mediterranean region, how will the Mediterranean Fleet respond? Therefore, the Mediterranean Fleet is opposed to continuing to confront the East African Navy directly, and the Royal Navy should be allowed to do it in the Royal Indian Navy or the local fleet of Mumbai.

(This chapter ends)