Chapter 235: The Battle for Goa
After a brief period of adaptive training, the five airships currently held by the aviation laboratory were sent to Portuguese Timor and Portuguese India, becoming the key assets for defending these regions.
Due to the need for secrecy around airplanes, they could not be used in the upcoming battles. However, airships were able to perform similar functions, excelling in reconnaissance, bombing, and even transporting supplies.
If there were no active combat, these five airships would serve as transport vehicles, each capable of carrying over ten tons of supplies, much faster than transport ships.
Fortunately, the three occupied colonies had a large indigenous population, so there was no shortage of labor in constructing the defense positions. The speed of constructing these positions was also very fast.
After ensuring the availability of cement and steel bars from Australasia's domestic production, defense positions were quickly established in the three colonies, with the defenses in Portuguese India and Portuguese East Timor being particularly well-organized.
As September began, all three regions entered a state of readiness, and even the mainland of Australasia sent additional fleets to patrol.
However, what surprised Arthur was that by the end of September, there was still no sign of the Portuguese.
If it weren't for the captured Portuguese soldiers still working in Australasia's mines, Arthur would have almost thought that Australasia had reached a peaceful agreement with Portugal.
Finally, by the end of September, a small fleet patrolling near the Indian Ocean finally discovered the presence of the Portuguese fleet.
After several reports, this news reached the three colonies and Arthur.
Rather than being tense about the approaching war, the soldiers of Australasia were merely looking forward to the accolades they would soon receive.
Although Arthur did not personally visit Portuguese India, his speech in Portuguese Timor was heard by the soldiers of the Second Division through various channels.
With all concerns resolved, the soldiers naturally looked forward to the glory of victory, as who wouldn't want to become a noble?
Even the commander of the Second Division, Fritz Lainer, was eagerly waiting for the arrival of the Portuguese, ready for action.
Of course, while anticipation was high, preparations and countermeasures were still necessary. The wise Fritz abandoned the defense along the coast and instead established two highly fortified defense positions outside the city.
The reason for this was simple: if the battle was fought along the coast, Portugal's fleet could cause significant casualties to the soldiers of Australasia, something that Fritz did not want to see.
Knowing Arthur's character, even if Fritz successfully repelled all Portuguese attacks, if there were massive casualties among his troops, the glory of victory would be overshadowed. The cost would outweigh the benefit, and Arthur would certainly be displeased.
Thus, Fritz's defensive plan was straightforward: abandon the outer coast, and if necessary, even the city itself, but the focus was on weakening Portugal's combat strength.
If he could eliminate Portugal's reinforcements, then the war would be won by Australasia.
Using the relatively small Portuguese India to exhaust Portugal's reinforcements would be a sure bet for Fritz.
To prevent the Portuguese fleet from using their ship guns to support their troops, Fritz made sure that the defense positions were close to the city, and some Portuguese people would be used as labor during the war.
If the Portuguese dared to bombard with their fleet guns, Australasia would immediately release photographs of the scene and the devastation caused by the bombardment.
The idea of a country's own artillery bombing its people would cause an uproar in Portugal, and imagining that spectacle was quite spectacular.
On September 28, 1907, off the coast of Portuguese India,
After nearly two months of preparation, the Portuguese fleet finally sent the first batch of troops to the vicinity of Portuguese India.
This was a reinforcements force consisting of 11,000 Portuguese soldiers and 9,000 indigenous soldiers, urgently mobilized from both Portugal's mainland and African colonies.
Of course, this was only Portugal's first batch of reinforcements. King Carlos I had ordered the formation of an army of 80,000 men, consisting of 40,000 soldiers from the original plan and an additional 40,000 soldiers drawn from the colonies to reclaim the three occupied colonies and teach Australasia a lesson.
However, transporting such a large army was a problem, requiring at least three to four trips.
After much discussion within the Portuguese military, the first target to attack was Portuguese India.
This was easy to understand—Portuguese Timor was too close to Australasia, and reinforcements could quickly reach the mainland. Moreover, the threat from reinforcements in Portuguese India to the Portuguese military was too high.
The East Asian colonies were similarly not worth the effort, as their small land areas and populations would not easily win back the hearts and minds of the people.
In contrast, Portuguese India was Portugal's largest and most populated Asian colony, and the Indians there were more obedient than the indigenous people of the other colonies.
Recapturing Portuguese India would not only give Portugal a strategic advantage, but it could also serve as a springboard to reclaim the other two colonies.
Arthur and the Australasia military had long anticipated this, providing Portuguese India with the most resources and even drawing 3,000 troops from Portuguese Timor.
Currently, Portuguese India had nearly 10,000 soldiers, along with three airships and a large amount of artillery and weaponry.
In the afternoon of September 28, the Portuguese fleet officially approached the coast of Portuguese India and launched what they called a beachhead landing operation.
The 9,000 indigenous soldiers, leading the charge, unexpectedly found no Australasia soldiers on the coast, nor any defensive positions or facilities.
The Portuguese, still cautious, had the indigenous soldiers continue advancing a kilometer further, and after finding no signs of Australasia's presence, the Portuguese soldiers finally felt at ease and began to land. The commander of the reinforcements laughed loudly, saying, "Knowing that our reinforcements have arrived, the Australasians have already lost their nerve! Once we recapture Goa, you will all be heroes!"
With no resistance from Australasia, not even a single figure in sight, the Portuguese completely relaxed.
After all, Australasia had taken three of Portugal's colonies in just a few days, which had caused widespread panic within Portugal's government and populace.
Now, seeing no Australasians in sight, they thought perhaps their previous victories had simply drained them and now they were regretting their actions.
Under the command of the Portuguese general, 9,000 indigenous soldiers led the way, followed by over 10,000 Portuguese soldiers, advancing slowly towards Goa.
Along the way, no Australasians were found, and the troops quickened their pace. Many Portuguese soldiers were even cheerfully discussing where to go for a drink after entering Goa.
When they reached the outskirts of Goa, the leading indigenous soldiers finally discovered Australasia's positions.
At the same time, General Fritz Lainer also spotted the Portuguese army.
The indigenous soldiers in the lead were poorly disciplined, their expressions relaxed, clearly unaware of their role as cannon fodder.
The Portuguese soldiers in the rear were equally at ease, and those unaware of the situation might have even thought they were there for leisure.
Seeing this, Fritz immediately ordered his messengers to quietly inform the rear reserve forces to circle around to the back of the Portuguese army.
Fritz divided his 10,000-strong army into three parts: 4,000 soldiers for the first line, 1,500 for the second, and 4,500 reserves ready to support the first and second lines.
After seeing how relaxed the Portuguese troops were, Fritz was confident that with two lines of defense and over 5,000 soldiers, he could hold the line and have the reserves encircle the enemy, ultimately wiping out all Portuguese soldiers.
The reserve troops were positioned about a kilometer behind the defenses in Goa, hidden by the surrounding vegetation and buildings. The Portuguese army failed to notice that there was a missing unit and did not realize that a new force had quietly vanished outside their position.
After several rounds of reports, the Portuguese general became aware of Australasia's positions.
However, the Portuguese military had prepared for this. The 9,000 indigenous soldiers were seen as expendable cannon fodder, and the large amount of artillery mobilized from Portugal was the Portuguese army's confidence in facing this kind of positional warfare.
After ordering the artillery to set up and aim at the Australasia positions, the Portuguese general smiled slightly and commanded, "Charge!"
With that order, 9,000 indigenous soldiers rushed forward towards the positions. Not because they were brave, but because the Portuguese soldiers' guns were pointed at them, and if they did not charge, they would be shot by their own troops.
The level of cruelty European colonizers had for these indigenous people cannot be overstated; for the vast majority of Europeans, these colonial populations were seen as nothing more than livestock, to be exploited as needed and discarded when no longer useful.
To prevent the Portuguese army from fleeing in panic before the reserves could form an encirclement, Fritz had wisely ordered the soldiers to engage in small-scale defenses and keep the enemy stalled in front of the positions.
(End of Chapter)
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