Soft Persimmon

East Africa's actions in the west were a rebound from hitting bottom, but Count Roberts, far away in Mozambique, had yet to receive this news.

East Africa had divided the allied command structure into three parts. When the Boer Republic was defeated, it could still promptly send news of the outcome to Mozambique through the communication line passing through Cape Town.

Angola, however, had no such opportunity. Without East Africa's consent, it was simply impossible to build a land telegraph line. The coastal route had to pass through Southwest Africa's Skeleton Coast, and laying such a telegraph line was destined to lose money, so no capital was willing to invest there.

Mozambique was special solely because of the British Army's prewar needs. Only the tiny New Hamburg City lay between Natal Colony and Mozambique, and the distance was short.

Thus, the discontinuity of intelligence further strengthened East Africa's advantage in the war.

First Town.

The intelligence returning from every front put Ernst in a much better mood. At present, apart from within the Boer Republic, where the Boers were still putting up a desperate resistance, the counteroffensives in the other two key areas had proceeded extremely smoothly.

By comparison, the Portuguese had performed the "worst," which fit Ernst's impression of the Portuguese Army perfectly. Portugal's combat strength, like its national fortunes, had remained in constant decline, so one could never know where the Portuguese bottom line lay.

At this time, Von der Leyen suggested to the Crown Prince, "The current situation shows that things are developing in a favorable direction. We should therefore take a more active part and resolve the war's negative effects on East Africa as soon as possible."

The war had indeed caused East Africa some trouble. On balance, it brought both gains and losses. On