Chapter 530: Juba Integrated Training Base
Juba City, capital of the Nile Province.
Recently, Juba had seen major developments: the arrival of large numbers of workers and Black slaves. But what stood out the most was the military presence—East Africa's 311st Division had moved in.
To outsiders, it might've looked like preparations for war, but this was clearly a standard redeployment. After all, Juba was located in the rear. If East Africa were planning a war, it would be on the northern or eastern fronts—against Egypt or the Abyssinian Empire. Even then, there'd be no need to station troops in Juba.
The so-called Nile Province included what was formerly South Sudan and parts of Sudan. Over the years, it hadn't developed particularly impressively.
The first issue was geography. Located in a basin surrounded by East Africa's highlands, Nile Province was not an ideal place to live.
Being in the tropics, habitable zones in such regions tended to be reversed from temperate zones—mountains and highlands were actually more suitable for human settlement due to their cooler climate.
A classic example in Ernst's previous world was Rio de Janeiro. Though East Africa's rise in this timeline had challenged Brazil's uniqueness, the Brazilian highlands remained an excellent environment.
So East Africa, with its mostly highland terrain, was a rare tropical gem. In fact, most major tropical nations—Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico—were highland countries.
Indonesia was a bit special, but its population still clustered in highland and mountainous areas. Just look at the population disparity between Java and Borneo.
Nile Province, by contrast, was tropical and a basin—hot and humid. The steamy, "boiling pot" atmosphere made it even less livable than the desert to the north.
Deserts were hot but dry. Southern Nile Province felt like a massive steaming room. Occasional sauna visits might be relaxing, but living in one permanently? No thanks.
Ernst believed that, in the future, northern Nile Province might be more promising. First, because of oil; second, because of the Gezira Plain, part of which East Africa had "acquired" from Sudan. This land was as fertile as Egypt's Nile Valley—small in area, but easy to develop and manage. In fact, most of the population in Nile Province currently lived in its northernmost region.
Most of the Gezira Plain still lay within Sudan (under Egypt), but East Africa hadn't pushed to annex all of Sudan. After all, it already controlled the oil fields. As long as Egypt didn't get any funny ideas, things would stay peaceful. And given how weak Egypt currently was, it didn't dare provoke East Africa.
Historically, Egypt had once been a powerful force, especially under Muhammad Ali, nearly replacing the Ottoman Empire as the leader of the Arab world. Had it not been for British and French interference, Egypt might have achieved that status.
Such a fertile region as the Gezira Plain was naturally designated for agriculture. Ernst planned two major crops there: wheat and Egyptian long-staple cotton.
Wheat was native to the Arab region. Though the plain now belonged to East Africa, its climate was virtually the same as the broader Arab world.
Long-staple cotton, the so-called "soft gold," was incredibly profitable. Germany didn't produce cotton of East African quality, and East African long-staple cotton was in constant demand—most of it exported to the German states.
That's why Bulawayo, in Matabele Province, had taken such a keen interest in textile manufacturing. The industry had great potential, and both East Africa and Germany lacked strong domestic production.
Germany's cotton industry was limited by raw materials, so it focused on heavy industry and railways. East Africa also prioritized heavy and military industries—both due to national needs and Ernst's personal preference.
He favored manufacturing and heavy industry—both essential to military strength—so central government policy naturally leaned in that direction.
Local governments, meanwhile, had more room to promote light industry. If Bulawayo could seize the opportunity, Ernst would happily support it.
This also aligned with Ernst's industrial strategy. Since Bulawayo was deep inland, its success would help balance development across the country.
And it was no coincidence that Bulawayo had excelled in textiles in Ernst's previous world. Its cotton quality—though not the best—was still excellent. It was especially suitable for denim, and Zimbabwean cotton jeans had once been hot sellers. Much of Zimbabwe's cotton was exported to Europe and America, giving it serious market value.
Back to Nile Province—its northern and southern climates were vastly different, and the crops reflected that.
As mentioned, Nile Province was a basin surrounded by the Azande Plateau, East African Highlands, and the Ethiopian Plateau—all high-rainfall areas. Numerous rivers flowed down into the basin, but only the Nile drained outward, resulting in poor drainage and vast wetlands.
Thus, rice became the dominant crop, along with various plantations—though land was more limited than in the highlands.
The abundance of rivers and wetlands made large-scale development difficult. But East Africa didn't need to fight the terrain. It had plenty of land and no reason to wrestle with swamps.
After the 311st Division's arrival, Juba was transformed. Military infrastructure popped up everywhere. The locals noticed a surge in restricted zones.
Many places now had signs marked in bold paint: "MILITARY ZONE – NO TRESPASSING."
There were even illustrations of red crossed-out circles—something East Africans were very familiar with.
What was all this for? The answer: a massive training base, centered on Juba.
Military training centers were nothing new. In Ernst's previous world, there had been Fort Irwin in the U.S., Russia's 42nd Air Defense Training Center, and Zhurihe in the Far East Empire.
Juba's Integrated Operations Training Base was no different in essence—but its conditions were far more varied.
Here, you had everything: highlands, mountains, plains (basins), rivers, lakes, swamps, deserts, jungles, grasslands… a full training spectrum.
And because Nile Province was sparsely populated and had low development potential before oil exploitation, it was perfect for large-scale military exercises.
East Africa placed enormous emphasis on tropical warfare training. The region around Juba offered an extremely rare concentration of tropical climate types. Few other places in the world could match its diversity and scale.
The base's primary training objectives included: jungle warfare, amphibious coordination, and mountain combat.
These were the three most common modes of combat in tropical regions. And East Africa was clearly eyeing the South Seas.
It had already established a stronghold in the Lanfang Overseas Province. Ernst considered the South Seas a critical part of East Africa's future global strategy.
And fighting in the tropics was no joke. America's failures in the jungles of Vietnam were a lesson Ernst would not forget. East Africa had to master this type of warfare in advance.
Besides, East Africa itself was a tropical nation, with vast territory, diverse climates, and complex terrain. Its defense requirements were equally varied—another reason why Ernst pushed for the Juba Integrated Training Base.
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