Chapter 1325 - 334: Horn of Africa

Chapter 1325: Chapter 334: Horn of Africa

Next, the East African Government and the British engaged in deep discussions regarding the Indian Ocean issue, which was the purpose of Tom Thomson’s visit here.

Thomson said, "In recent years, under the leadership of Hassan, bandits have stirred up a bloody storm in the Horn of Africa, seriously threatening the safety of merchant ships from various countries in the Aden Bay area."

"Therefore, the two countries can fully cooperate to combat the pirate forces led by Hassan in the Aden Bay area. We are also willing to delegate the responsibility of maintaining local stability in the Horn of Africa region east of Beyla to East Africa."

Who exactly is Hassan, to be singled out as a target by Thomson?

This leads us to the establishment of the British Somaliland colony. In the past century, East Africa controlled most of the southern Somali region. At the same time, the British were not inactive, vigorously expanding eastward to prevent the Horn of Africa from falling into the hands of East Africans, nearly occupying the entire Aden Bay coastal area of Somalia from a previous era.

However, from the start, the British colonial presence in Somaliland was not solid, since, as invaders, the locals necessarily engaged in fierce resistance.

Hassan emerged as the leader of the Arabian religious resistance forces in British Somaliland at the end of the 1890s. Although the disparity in power between him and the British was great, Hassan, alongside his followers, ventured deep into the British Somaliland inland to engage in maneuvers against them.

The British, unlike East Africa, could not use a dual approach of military conquest and strategic replacement. This allowed Hassan to fully utilize the local support base in British Somaliland and engage in guerrilla warfare against the British.

East Africa can act freely on the African Continent, relying still on an extensive "public base." Without local support, they resort to large-scale immigration from the Far East. Even if it’s a place as problematic as Somalia, once captured, it’s a vast improvement for immigrants from the Far East compared to their original living conditions.

The strength of farming warriors should never be underestimated, of course, the premise is that you can "give them an incentive," or resolve their worries, and the success of Ernst’s colonial model lies precisely in the essence of "seizing."

By plundering the resources of Africa’s indigenous people, Ernst acquired their land, water sources, minerals, and all resources that could create economic value and provide a living environment.

Yet the British cannot replicate this model. Although the British had the same conditions to do so, considering the living conditions of Indian workers at this Era were no better than those of immigrants from the Far East Empire.

Ernst dared to implement Dehua integration, treating Far East immigrants as his own people, promoting intermarriage and integration, while the British clearly refused to recognize Indian people as their own.

This is the fundamental difference between them. Of course, since the British disdain the Indians, they could always migrate their citizens and strategize replacement, but the bottom tier British have evolved significantly since the early industrialization.

Even today, the living quality of the lowest strata of British citizens wouldn’t suffer much, besides, if they couldn’t survive in their homeland, they had plenty of options, such as migrating to the United States, Canada, Australia, etc., so naturally, no one is willing to endure hardships in Somaliland.

Thus, the British government could only conquer Somaliland militarily but could not establish stable rule there.

And this was influenced by Namibia’s relatively high degree of civilization; Namibia is a region of traditional Arabian Sect forces, so the Arabian forces in Somaliland undoubtedly had the courage to resist such aggressors as the British.

A high level of civilization indicates a wide range of knowledge and a high degree of organization; during the feudal era, the Arabian civilization, despite everything, was a well-matched opponent to Europe. Now, Europe is only one step ahead, but it’s not enough to make them surrender directly.

So though British Somaliland is nominally part of Britain’s sphere of influence, their actual sway only reaches the coastal areas.

Even now, the British not only have no way of dealing with Hassan and other resistant forces but also must endure the harassment of their controlled areas, given how deeply mired Britain is in World War I. Thus, it was wiser to relinquish this burden to East Africa.

Of course, the British have no intention of giving up Somaliland completely, intending to retain control of the western area led by Beyla.

Why Beyla? The reason is simple: Beyla is the only place suitable for establishing a deep-water port military base in the area.

However, east of Beyla, the coastline is straight, and there are no natural harbors unless artificially modified on a large scale, which evidently would be much too costly.

"Hassan!"

The East African Government is quite familiar with this active "gang leader" in British Somaliland, the reason being that since he is a "hero" of the Arabian Sect in the Somali area, he naturally opposes the British, while also opposing East Africa.

East Africa is likewise one of the great powers invading the Somali region, albeit previously without any engagement with Hassan’s forces in areas invaded.

In the 19th century, the Somali region too was littered with numerous countries that East Africa destroyed, which certainly had no connection to Hassan.

But when East Africa expanded to the junction with British Somaliland, of course, the situation changed, especially with the establishment of the city of Dedradawa, although at the time Dedradawa was merely a military town.

For any bordering countries or regions, territorial disputes are always very common issues, plus during East Africa’s northern expedition to the Somali region, many Somali people fled north into Somaliland, many of whom joined Hassan’s forces.

After all, during East Africa’s initial rule over the Somali area, you could say it was a region fraught with decapitations; some were dragged to the south to serve as slaves, so Somalis with even a slight sense of crisis fled early on.

Thus, Hassan’s forces consist of two types of members—those driven inland from the coast by the British, including Hassan himself, and Somali refugees fleeing East Africa who rallied to Hassan.

Moreover, Hassan’s operation zone happens to be located between the British and East Africa, leading to inevitable conflicts with both major powers.

Of course, Hassan’s forces have primarily focused on struggling against the British as the mainstream, but that does not mean they have no conflicts with East Africa.

Once it was clear Hassan was an enemy of East Africa, Ernst had no restraint in saying, "Of course, in fighting against Hassan’s gang and maintaining the safety of the Aden Bay area, East Africa’s commitment is unwavering."

East Africa certainly couldn’t overlook Hassan, apart from the fact that his existence posed a threat to East African national defense security, specifically in border areas.

Striking out against Hassan’s group allows a legitimate opportunity to take over nearly 150,000 square kilometers of territory between Africa, officially extending East Africa’s land to touch the Aden Bay area—where else can you find such a good opportunity.

Although the environment in the Horn of Africa is harsh, lacking rivers or other water sources aside from the desert, East Africa values the strategic significance of the Horn of Africa even more.

Considering the lack of a naturally advantageous harbor like Beyla is irrelevant here, as significant naval deployment isn’t necessary. Instead, the East African Navy can establish intelligence and early warning mechanisms in this area, preventing British Royal Navy from repeating their journey from the Mediterranean, through the Red Sea, and southwards all the way to Mogadishu as happened during the South African War.

Moreover, with the emergence of air forces nowadays, there is complete feasibility in setting up airfields based on coastal land, thereby using military aircraft to exert partial blockade over Aden Bay.

The advent of aircraft has hugely shifted the selectiveness of world nations regarding colonies. Previously, some islands, irrelevant to the navy, can be slightly adjusted to become unsinkable sea fortresses with broader operational ranges.

Of course, presently only East Africa pays particular attention to such regions, like islands in the Sunda Strait. Given aircraft’s recent extensive application in European battlefields, many are yet to recognize its importance.

Also, the area of the Horn of Africa that Britain relinquishes is not merely about a few islands, but an entire area close to 150,000 square kilometers.

Plus, with a triangular shape that plunges into the Indian Ocean, acquiring this region adds over a thousand kilometers to East Africa’s mainland coastline.

Hassan naturally became a victim of the political maneuvering between East Africa and Britain; East Africa will not be as easy to handle as Britain.