Chapter 304: Kismayo 3

The Juba River Basin in southern Somalia is approaching the rainy season. After a rain, fresh green grass grows on both sides of the river bank. A group of hundreds of antelopes poked their heads out of the narrow arbor and watched the movement of the river bank vigilantly.
Part of the boundary of Somalia, south of the Haude region, the Goris Plateau gradually slopes from west to east and extends to the southeast Indian Ocean coast. Some low-lying plains and river valleys divide the plateau in this area. Compared to the mountainous north, the plains and valleys here occupy a larger area. The Juba and Shabelle rivers on both sides of the river provide valuable water for this area. The two rivers are intertwined with lush grass and The dense woods are a very rare sight in Somalia.
The sound of the clapping steam gunboat came from a rapids turn. Hippos with eight or nine heads lying in the waterweed were shocked by the sound, and the huge horse head sneaked under the water.
To the south of the Shabelle River, the Juba River flows directly from the Ethiopian Plateau to the sea near Kismayo. At this time, a mile from the estuary to the area above Valdera forms a
Rapid turn turbulence, where the water depth is wide at the sharp turn turbulence, the river bank is about 120 yards (about 100 meters wide) at its widest point, and the river near the shore can pass inland river vessels. Prone to overturning accidents. German explorer in 1865
The "Wilf" ship taken by von Deecken and his party was because they were not familiar with the local water environment, which caused the ship to capsize and sink in the rapids.
"Captain, in front of the turbulent waters of Valdera, where the German expedition sank."
On a 500-ton gunboat, his officers reminded him.
"All gunboats and ships are extra careful, avoiding the turbulent central waters and driving on the right bank river."
Captain Zhao carefully observed the situation around the river bank and issued an order.
"Attention ships, keep to the right!" ...
The red, yellow and blue three-color signal flags were waving. After receiving a semaphore command, gunboats and armed steam ships separated by hundreds of meters from each ship immediately lowered their speed and slowly approached the shore. ...
Over the turbulent waters, the fleet steadily traveled on a peaceful river. The water plants on both sides of the river bank were still fresh and lush, but only a little further away from the bank. Several lonely Arabian oak trees are dotted with bushes and overgrown grass.
The fleet continued to drive forward. On the way, they encountered dozens of black Somali indigenous people with long Mao and camels. The indigenous black people had just seen the fleet advancing in the river. More than twenty black people gathered around, whispered a word, and then more than ten spears were thrown towards the ship.
"Uncivilized brutal beasts, order the fleet to ignore them and move forward at full speed!"
The officer Zhao surnamed did not take the actions of the black people in his heart and ordered coldly.
"Yes, Captain!"
The officer responded, and just about to turn around to pass the command, a popping gun stopped his footsteps.
"No order, whoever dares to shoot without permission!"
"Sir, gunfire did not come from the fleet."
"Not a gun fired by ours."
Captain Zhao recalled the position where the gunfire had just sounded. He took the monoscope handed over by the guard and looked towards the black place.
The scattered blacks gathered on the bank of the river. Three or five blacks held old breech muskets, and one or two feet were in the water. The black people covered in black were holding the muskets with a faint white smoke. They were excited. Waving his arms.
"Immediately order, the fleet is heading north at full speed, and the Italians should be ahead of us!"
Captain Zhao put down his binoculars, and after a moment of reflection, made a decisive decision.
"Sir, if it encounters the Italian National Forces ahead, the fleet may be severely defeated. For the sake of insurance, it is better to send two gunboats for investigation first, and after determining the specific situation of the Italians ahead, it is not too late to make a decision. "
"The Italian colonial army was mainly concentrated in the coastal areas of Marca and Mogadishu. It has been less than a week since we set off. Even if the Italian colonial army adjusts its deployment, it will not be possible to deploy its troops to Juba within a few days. Inland areas of the river. "
According to the intelligence gathered, Captain Zhao judged that "the three countries in Somalia interacted with each other: the English, French, and Italian powers. The Italian state also acquired the sovereignty of central and southern Somalia from the English state only because of the outbreak of war in Argentina. Italy The focus of human operations in the Juba and Shabelle river basins is agricultural cultivation and livestock farming. Our enemies here will only be the third-class armed forces of Italian plantations and missionary organizations, and it is unlikely to fight the Italian colonial army directly. "
After the Suez Canal was opened, the strategic position of Egypt, Somalia and other places along the Red Sea coastline increased significantly, which led to the expansion of colonial forces in Britain, France, Italy, and Germany. However, purely in terms of economic benefits, Somalia is covered by yellow sand, except for Juba in the south. The natural environment of the river and the Shabelle river is slightly better. It can produce agricultural crops and has little natural economic benefits. Therefore, except for the Italian missionary Amor, who went deep into the Juba River Basin in 1873 and sold the backward guns to The opportunity of the local indigenous tribes circled a few plots of land. The British and French colonists had no intention of expanding colonial power in the inland areas of Somalia, and the United Kingdom was initially involved in the situation in Somalia, only to ensure the meat supply of Aden ’s British troops (Aden Lack of meat and food resources), although British officials in the Aden region and British explorers along the coast of Somalia advocated occupying the Somali coast, the London government turned a deaf ear to their suggestions. In the eyes of senior London government officials, as long as it guarantees that Somalia does not fall into France , Germany and other competitors Yes, as for military occupation, it is completely unnecessary.
The armed forces organized by Italian missionaries and private companies to deal with the small indigenous countries of Africa and Southeast Asia may be very powerful ~ EbookFREE.me ~ But in the face of the colonial forces organized by the Central Government of Han Dynasty, there is still a large gap.
In the second half of the 19th century, the second industrial revolution developed rapidly. At the same time, the weapons and equipment of mainstream countries were also being upgraded very quickly. For example, a standard rifle, research and development, and large-scale troops may take several years. In the two decades after the rifle was eliminated, there was a new rifle interview in less than four years.
Many rifle rifles are outdated because they cannot keep up with the upgrading of weapons and equipment.
Of course, the high renewal rate of weapons and equipment mainly occurs in European powers such as Britain, France and Germany. Areas such as Africa, Southeast Asia, and the mainland are lagging behind in technology. Even a fire gun invented in the 16th century is a rare thermal weapon.
In 1879, the technology of the single-shot rifle became mature, and the Han National Defense Forces were gradually equipped with imitation M1871 rifles, while the second-line garrison and colonial forces were mainly equipped with old-style Dresser rifles. More difficult will also be equipped with some captured rifles.
The conditions at Kismayo's base are considered average among several bases. The quality of its weapons and equipment is inferior to that of the Congo, and it is better than that of the Mtwara base in Tanzania.
In the unit under the command of Captain Zhao, 70% of the soldiers were equipped with imitation Dracai rifles, 10% were equipped with machine guns, small artillery and other weapons, and the remaining 20% ​​of auxiliary personnel used eliminated rifle guns as weapons.
In my mind, I took a look at the strength of the weapons and equipment of his troops. Captain Zhao felt a little regret. The British, French, and American forces had begun to install breech ball rifles as army equipment. However, the Han country only realized the M1871 rifle The imitation production is far from the production of Lianzhu rifles independently, but I don't know how long it will take.