Chapter 489: War is War, Trade is Trade
If the Portuguese were truly able to occupy the land corridor between Lake Solon (Lake Tanganyika) and Lake Malawi, it would indeed impact East Africa, as that route was the only way the East African Central Railway could reach the interior.
However, capturing this area would be extremely difficult. It housed the East African heavy industrial city of Mbeya, three large military factories, and the base of the 111th Division. Lake Malawi was also one of the three major bases for East Africa's river and lake forces, and the East African Black Legion was undergoing training on the lake's eastern shore.
East Africa held complete control over land and water transport routes, and logistics were very convenient. If the Portuguese could break through East Africa's land forces around Lake Malawi and its surrounding areas, then East Africa might as well cease to exist.
...
Clément was considering launching a surprise attack on the Songho outpost, but reality made it impossible to implement his plan right away.
"Why hasn't your Portuguese supply shipment arrived at the front line yet? Isn't the Zambezi River navigable from its mouth to Tete?"
Embarrassed in front of international friends, Portuguese commander Cavendac was also feeling ashamed. He tried to reassure Clément: "We've never fought a war on this scale before, so Mozambique's logistics system has no experience in large-scale material transport. We're currently requisitioning ships from all over Mozambique, and we believe that within half a month, supplies should reach Tete on time."
The Mozambique colony had long been at peace. A conflict involving just a thousand troops would already be considered a major war. The last one of that scale was during the annexation of southern Malawi, which was really just a case of firearms bullying primitive tribal forces with crude cold weapons.
For most of the time, the Portuguese faced threats from the sea, so naval warfare had been more common than land warfare, and they had more experience in that field.
This war against East Africa had clearly exceeded the Mozambique government's expectations. They lacked experience in mobilizing tens of thousands of troops, and with very little preparation time, their logistics inevitably failed to keep up.
Had Cavendac not tried to comfort him, Clément might have stayed calm. But now, his anger flared: "Half a month? The supplies we brought with us are only enough for a week, not including ammunition reserves. Are you planning to have our soldiers attack East Africa on empty stomachs?"
Cavendac: "Well... not necessarily. We could start advancing inland now. Supplies should arrive soon after."
Clément: "What about those transport ships we came on? Can't they deliver the supplies?"
Cavendac, sweating: "Those ships were temporarily rented from passing merchants. Once we paid them, they left. Reassembling them would take time and money our Mozambique colony simply cannot afford."
To transport thirty thousand troops to Tete in one go, the Mozambique colony had temporarily rented merchant vessels to move them from southern to central Mozambique.
These ships weren't cheap and had to be begged for. Only empty vessels were willing to help, and most of these were Arab ships that had just unloaded cargo in Mozambique. Most were owned by Arabs from Zanzibar Province, whose main business was transporting East African consumer goods to Mozambique for profit.
Mozambique had no manufacturing industry and relied entirely on imports. East Africa's cheap products were the top choice for local Portuguese and tribal chiefs. In addition to Arab merchants actively selling, Portuguese residents in Mozambique would go directly to ports or Dar es Salaam to purchase goods.
Cavendac added: "Hiring ships now costs three times more than usual and still might not attract interest. So we've had to requisition local boats to cut costs. But these local boats are scattered across Mozambique's rivers, and organizing them takes time. We also need them to transport grain from the interior."
Of course, Cavendac left out one detail: Mozambique was still importing grain from East Africa. Portuguese white soldiers needed flour for bread and flatbreads, and East Africa was the closest source of flour.
The Mozambique colony focused on plantations and did not prioritize food crop cultivation. The best-suited crop for the region was rice, which clearly didn't suit Portuguese tastes—and they had no experience growing it.
Fortunately, the majority of Mozambique's population was Black Africans, who weren't picky eaters—cassava, bananas, and the like were all acceptable. But for white people, those weren't suitable staples.
Eating them occasionally was fine, but for daily staples, imports were a must. And since East African grain was so cheap, Mozambican merchants and plantation owners had even less incentive to grow their own.
Clément: "Enough. Your local government is completely incompetent. Since you can't even gather enough ships, use the Black population to deliver the grain and ammunition to the front. I want to see a full shipment within a week."
Cavendac: "General Clément, rest assured, I'll report this to Maputo."
Clément said sternly: "General Cavendac, this is not a request. It's a demand—and one that must be met. It's not just about 'reporting' to Maputo. I don't care how Maputo does it—I want military supplies, and I want them delivered to Tete within a week."
Clément had seen enough. The Mozambique colonial government was unreliable and inefficient. No wonder they kept getting trounced by East Africa. Clément also suspected that if pressure wasn't applied, they might even engage in corruption.
Even the highly efficient French military couldn't avoid corruption. Mozambique's bureaucrats were likely even worse. So Clément added: "When you write to Maputo, include a direct order under my name. If the supplies I asked for are even one gram short, I won't accept them."
Cavendac quickly nodded: "No problem!"
He also understood the nature of the rear bureaucrats. Anyway, this time it was the Frenchman Clément making the demands, so it had nothing to do with him. He wasn't worried about offending anyone.
Clément finished speaking, leaned back in his chair, and calmly lit a cigar, smoking it leisurely.
Cavendac then asked: "General Clément, are we really going to wait until the supplies arrive before attacking East Africa?"
Clément: "What's the rush? Here's the plan—we'll first send a small unit to capture the Songho outpost. The main force will wait behind. Once the supplies arrive in Tete, we'll launch a full-scale offensive."
Before an army moves, its supplies must arrive first. Without sufficient military materials, Clément would not launch the attack. After all, his side was unfamiliar with East Africa's interior and relied on crude Portuguese maps. Getting lost was entirely possible—what if they fell into an ambush?
Plus, Clément didn't even trust his own Black soldiers. Desertions happened regularly, although only a few deserted each day. Still, with an army in such a state, Clément couldn't afford to demand too much. Stability was the priority.
Cavendac: "How many men should we send to take Songho?"
Clément: "Let's send a thousand. The Songho outpost only has two to three hundred men. With three to four times their numbers, we should be able to take it."
In Clément's view, East Africa's border troops—especially those at a small outpost like Songho—shouldn't be very capable fighters.
Even if the Black troops under his command were questionable in combat, they had received French military training. Compared to East Africa's colonial army, they should at least be evenly matched.
Besides, they had the advantage of numbers—more than triple. There was no way they could fail to take a minor border outpost.
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