Chapter 1327 Agreeing to send troops

Only with enough overseas military bases can the East African government allocate more warships and funds to the Third Fleet. This is a very simple logic. After all, if there are not enough military bases, no matter how many warships are allocated, there will be no place to dock and support them.

From this perspective, the Indian Ocean Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet should envy the Pacific Fleet. In addition to the lack of warships, the Pacific Fleet lacks the land for building overseas military bases the least.

Of course, the reality is that the Pacific Fleet is far away from the East African mainland, and its position in the East African maritime strategy is far inferior to that of the Indian Ocean Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet, which has caused the dilemma of "islands without ships" in the Pacific.

Commander Lomachi said: "Using Qatar as a springboard, we can strive to expand the scale of the Third Fleet. If we have Qatar and Gwadar Port, our Third Fleet can double its original size."

"More importantly, with the deep-water ports of Qatar and Gwadar, we will be able to undertake several battleships and get rid of the reality that the fleet's strength is at the bottom of the Indian Ocean."

Vice Admiral Prato was also very fascinated by the scene described by Lomachi, mainly because the current situation of the Third Fleet is too bad.

The Third Fleet's main battleships are only cruisers, and there is no battleship, that is, no battlecruisers or pre-dreadnoughts. You should know that even the Seventh Fleet in charge of the Pacific has its own battleships, and the Third Fleet is the only East African naval fleet without battleships.

According to the numbering, the configuration of the Third Fleet is obviously inconsistent with its numbering. Generally speaking, in East Africa, the fleet with the higher number should be more valued.

Before the Third Fleet, the First and Second Fleets were like this. The First Fleet is the core of the Indian Ocean Fleet, and it is also the most powerful fleet in East Africa with the most diverse warships. It is responsible for the defense of the east coast of East Africa.

The only active aircraft carrier formation in East Africa is commanded by the First Fleet, and most of East Africa's submarines are also in the First Fleet.

In addition to guarding the security of the eastern territorial waters of East Africa, the First Fleet is also the Navy's general reserve, and can allocate forces at any time to support naval operations in other regions.

The Second Fleet is the core of the East African Atlantic Fleet, second only to the First Fleet in strength. Its home port is Alexandria on the west coast of East Africa, responsible for the national defense west of Cabinda and maritime missions in the South Atlantic.

Although the Third Fleet is numbered first, it is not outstanding in the East African Navy in terms of its responsible area or strength, which naturally makes the officers and soldiers of the Third Fleet feel a sense of gap.

And this is not the worst. The area where the Third Fleet is located makes the living environment of the Third Fleet the worst in the East African Navy. After all, the area under its jurisdiction is basically desert, and there are few people.

Therefore, Vice Admiral Prato said: "This is our last chance. Whether the status and treatment of the Third Fleet can be improved in the future depends on this one move. Otherwise, according to the situation here in the Persian Gulf, we will never get ahead."

It is no wonder that Vice Admiral Prato thinks so. The Persian Gulf today is very different from the previous 21st century. The impression left on people is "desert", "drought", "backwardness", "poverty", "disputes", "war" and other negative things.

The only meaningful estimate is the strategic value of the Persian Gulf. If there is no basic strategic value, I am afraid that the officers and soldiers of the Third Fleet, such as Lomachi, will really doubt the value of the existence of the Third Fleet.

Only Ernst himself knew that the Persian Gulf region was of great significance to East Africa, not only strategically, but also the lifeline of East Africa's energy security and even the world's energy in the future.

But at this time, Ernst could not openly say that there were huge amounts of oil and natural gas in the Persian Gulf.

Ernst named the fleet stationed in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea as the Third Fleet, which showed his attention to the local area, which many East African senior officials did not understand.

…

After deciding on the plan to annex Qatar, Lomage and Plato quickly compiled a series of combat and construction plans and sent them to their homeland.

This report soon arrived on Ernst's desk.

Rhine City.

After reading the report carefully, Ernst said to Crown Prince Friedrich: "The idea of ​​the Third Fleet is more feasible. Qatar is currently a no-man's land, and it is right next to our Beibu Gulf territory."

"Although it is a British protectorate, Britain should not have the leisure to meddle in other people's business, so my ideas coincide with those of the officers of the Third Fleet."

"Taking Qatar during this period of time can greatly increase our territory in the Persian Gulf, especially the area of ​​sea controlled, and further enhance the influence of the Third Fleet."

Friedrich also agreed and said: "Not only that, Qatar's military strength is weak and the population is not large. We should be able to control Qatar smoothly by sending only a small number of troops."

"It just so happens that the troops in the Beibu Gulf territory cannot be withdrawn now. It is better to let them organize this military operation to take Qatar in one fell swoop, and at the same time organize personnel to plan and build Qatar on the spot."

The troops in the Beibu Gulf territory of East Africa cannot return home easily now, so it is more appropriate for them to organize an attack on Qatar.

Of course, in this way, the role of the navy will be relatively small, but as long as Qatar can be taken, it is best to use the army as the main force to enter Qatar.

After all, the East African Navy is not familiar with the situation in the waters around Qatar, and the Third Fleet also has to undertake maritime escort work in the Persian Gulf. There should not be large-scale operations at this time, which is easy to cause regional conflicts.

This regional conflict is certainly not aimed at the countries along the Persian Gulf, but only the British. Now the British are fighting the Ottoman Empire along the Persian Gulf. If the East African Navy mobilizes on a large scale, it is easy to provoke the fragile nerves of the British.

Reading the error-free version! 6=9+Shu_bar first releases this novel.

Even if East Africa explains that it has no intention of intervening in the war between the two major camps, the British will probably not believe it. Of course, the most important thing is that Britain cannot bear this risk.

After all, from the British perspective, what if the East African Navy uses the excuse of attacking Qatar to block the Strait of Hormuz, the lifeline of the British war?

This is just like the Americans deploying anti-missile systems on the peninsula in the previous life. It is impossible for you, the United States, to make up a reason and allow the existence of such a risk that threatens the strategic security of our country.

Similarly, East Africa's series of promises are almost the same as farts in the ears of the British. If you say that your navy is heading for Qatar, I believe it. If countries really abide by the rules in international exchanges, Britain will not be able to become the world hegemon.

Therefore, it is the best choice for East Africa today to attack Qatar with the army as the main force. Moreover, Qatar has a population of only 20,000, and East Africa can occupy it with a brigade of troops.

Qatar is not like the Beibu Gulf Territory at the beginning. It not only has a small population, but also has no strategic depth. The Arab tribes in the Beibu Gulf Territory can be scattered in the desert of nearly 100,000 square kilometers to deal with East Africa. If they can't win, they can flee to neighboring countries.

Qatar does not have so many options. As long as East Africa blocks the land connecting Qatar and the Arabian Peninsula, the Qataris will have no chance to fly, and they cannot find an area to launch guerrilla warfare against the East African army.

Qatar is not a threat at all in the eyes of the East African government, so Ernst formally agreed to the plan of the Third Fleet after a brief thought.

Ernst also agreed with the idea of ​​expanding the Third Fleet, and agreed with the idea of ​​building the East African Navy's military presence in the Persian Gulf around Qatar. After all, Ernst originally set up the Third Fleet for the oil and gas fields in the Persian Gulf. Although Qatar is only a small country, it was an absolute oil resource power in its previous life. For this reason alone, Ernst could not resist the temptation to occupy Qatar.