African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 504 - 182: Attack Failed

The East African army at the Songgo military base watched as the Portuguese busied themselves outside the city, while the Mozambique army was constrained by the Black Corps, possibly because the French had taught them how to make siege equipment during training!

Africans wouldn’t be incapable of making ladders, but this craftsmanship depends on the region. For example, the indigenous people in the tropical rainforest regions build nests in trees, so wooden ladders are essential tools. Some more developed indigenous kingdoms also have similar needs and can make simple wooden ladders.

Moreover, these ladders are generally made by carving concave surfaces from a single log or binding them with grass ropes. Mortise and tenon structures or ladders fixed with nails are almost non-existent, so ladders made by Africans are not suitable for sieging. Using such ladders for aggressive siege actions might lead to them falling head over heels, and the East African army would probably laugh their heads off.

The aborigines in the East African region are even less capable, mostly living in savanna areas, building their dwellings with plant fibers, weaving strips, or mud. These are often round huts or square mud houses less than two meters high, so there isn’t a need for climbing tools like ladders.

Kerry could only grumble as he personally led people to instruct on making them, consuming a lot of effort for nothing and taking half a day to make just over twenty ladders.

Seeing the dimming sky, Luo De suggested, "Lieutenant Kerry, why don’t we make a fuss tomorrow? We might have to spend the night here today."

Kerry was quite dissatisfied, saying, "No matter what, we must get the ladders ready tonight and launch an attack early tomorrow!"

The East African army was completely watching the spectacle without any intention to disturb the Portuguese. Due to intelligence, the Songgo military base already knew this place might become a frontline.

After reconnaissance cavalry obtained intelligence outside the city of Tete, they delivered it to the Songgo base in just two days. Don’t be fooled by Songgo base’s small size; it had a telegraph installed, and the message was immediately sent to the provincial capital Harare of the Matebel Province.

The defense of the Matebel Province was mainly under the jurisdiction of the 512th Division. On the same day, the headquarters of the 512th Division immediately ordered reinforcements of a company to the Songgo base. Just the day before the Portuguese finally arrived at Songgo, the first batch of reinforcement troops arrived at Songgo.

So the current number of troops within the Songgo base actually reached over five hundred people, not compared to

512th Division Commander: "Hold the enemy back, open fire with weapons and ammunition, and the main force will arrive in three days. Don’t attack actively, preferably keep the Portuguese stalled where they are."

The order given to the Songgo garrison by the 512th Division was to delay the Portuguese even though the East African army fully had the capacity to destroy the Portuguese vanguard outside the city. However, East Africa remained inactive.

As for the so-called large force, it was mobilizing via the Central Railway, moving from South Salzburg Province towards the Zambezi railway bridge, expected to reach the Songgo base in three to four days. This was an opponent East Africa carefully selected for the Portuguese army.

The Black Corps organized by East Africa could finally come in handy. However, not knowing Mozambique’s direction of attack earlier, the Black Corps had been stationed in South Salzburg Province. If war suddenly broke out, East Africa could also leverage the Central Railway to quickly deploy to various segments.

Thus, more than thirty thousand Black soldiers, like pigs, were crammed by the East African army into the train carriages supporting the inland areas, sent to the Zambezi River Central Railway Bridge, then marched along the Zambezi River towards the downstream Songgo region.

The remaining Black troops were waiting by the shores of Lake Malawi for the Mozambique soldiers to walk into their trap.

The Songgo garrison mocked the busy Portuguese, saying, "It’s getting dark, and the Portuguese still haven’t attacked?"

"Is the reputed Portuguese Kingdom army always like this? They plan to nibble on the Songgo base without preparing anything, relying on willpower?"

The Mozambique vanguard was just too shabby, lacking heavy weaponry and not even preparing siege equipment, having to start making them only upon reaching Songgo, which made the Songgo garrison, who had prepared for several days, feel very different. Did they really come here to go camping?

"Captain, why don’t we open the gates and charge out now? The Portuguese Black soldiers seem inexperienced; what combat power does such an army have? Plus, they are too few."

"I would love to quickly eliminate these Portuguese people in front of us, but the upper command gave the order that we are only allowed to defend, not attack."

"So we’ll just wait for the Portuguese to attack, that’s too passive."

"Passive? Right now, we have cover and fortifications. As long as we hold Songgo fort, the initiative in the war is with us. Are you afraid a small Portuguese army can stir up a storm?"

"Captain, our four machine guns can give the Portuguese a head-on blow, making them realize the times have changed," said the gunner. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Songgo base originally had two machine guns, and with a company from the 512th Division stationed, there were two more machine guns.

"Put away the machine guns; don’t let the Portuguese see them! What if we scare the Portuguese? Absolutely don’t use them unless it’s absolutely necessary."

The East African machine guns were distributed to lower-level units ahead of heavy artillery, so the company of the 512th Division had machine guns. If these four machine guns were fired together, the Mozambique vanguard could not withstand the consumption.

To prevent the Portuguese from being scared off from placing more bets, the Songgo base had already taken the machine guns off the city walls before the Portuguese arrived.

"This stage is set for the Blacks behind them. If the Portuguese are scared away, there will be no battle to fight."

Machine guns used to deal with infantry, especially those without countermeasures, are almost no different from mowing grass. So, the Portuguese must be given the illusion that the East African weaponry is similar to theirs.

In reality, there is still a significant gap between the two. East Africa mainly uses defensive counterattack tactics, providing a geographical advantage. The East African army equipped with Mauser and Dreyse rifles has a dimensional reduction strike on the Mozambique colonial forces, even if East Africa doesn’t use heavy weapons.

After waiting an entire night, the Portuguese finally started attacking the Songgo base, just as the garrison had anticipated. The Portuguese army’s weaponry was relatively backward, so they could barely have a fight with the Dreyse rifles, completely suppressed by the Mauser rifles.

Using Songgo base’s fort, taking the high ground and range advantage, the Songgo garrison fully suppressed the Portuguese troops attempting to charge.

Kerry: "Combat formation, continue to charge, advance towards the Songgo base."

But due to previous losses, the Black soldiers, urged forward, lay motionless on the ground just after setting out. Plus, with nonstop East African gunfire, Kerry thought they were dead. However, with a slight decrease in East African gunfire, these soldiers lying on the ground suddenly jumped up again, making considerable progress forward.

To the extent that the East African commander ordered, "Don’t hesitate when you see enemies just lying down; give them two or three more shots."

This playing dead tactic only works once. Subsequent bodies lying on the ground might all get additional shots, prompting the Black troops of the Portuguese army to try to retreat.

Kerry supervised the battle from behind, holding a rifle saying, "Don’t stop, charge forward, retreat, and you die!"

Then he shot at a Black soldier trying to sneak away. At a stronghold like Songgo, success can only be ensured with one determined effort, preventing fear from spreading among the troops.

However, the Black soldiers did not give Kerry any face; the disrupted rhythm made them timid, causing several probing attacks to fail, with a near loss of a hundred men.

Kerry had to order a stop to the attack, telling Luo De, "We need heavy firepower or the East Africans to come out and fight voluntarily. Otherwise, there is no chance to break through Songgo; even if we manage to break through by luck, our forces might be wiped out."