Chapter Summaries

Potiorek directed Austro-Hungarian forces advancing through Serbia while teaching Wang Lade and the East African Military Observation Group about battlefield command. He invited the trainees to participate in the campaign as the war continued to go smoothly.

• Potiorek ordered the 104th Infantry Brigade to capture Moka Village before ten o'clock and advance toward Zladipol.
• Potiorek assured Crown Prince Rudolf that the Austro-Hungarian Army was advancing unimpeded and would reach Belgrade within three days.
• Potiorek described the demands of battlefield command to Wang Lade, who said observing the war had taught him what classroom study could not.
• Potiorek invited the East African Military Observation Group to participate in the war and offered to advise them based on their performance.

As the Austro-Hungarian Empire struggled against Serbia, Mostar’s parliament addressed the strain that incoming troops were placing on the city and planned to keep soldiers separate from civilians. Meanwhile, East Africa prepared the wider Neretva region for possible setbacks on the front.

• After the Second Army Group was transferred away, Potiorek’s forces suffered reversals against Serbia, and the East African Military Observation Group withdrew with his headquarters.
• Li Yue proposed wartime regulations and law-enforcement units to control soldiers and protect public order in Mostar.
• Klaidovic supported Li Yue’s proposal and recommended building a barracks area north of Mostar Station.
• The Mostar parliament approved plans for a military zone, temporary facilities, and a local body to negotiate with the military and handle disputes.
• The city government began preparations the next day, while East Africa mobilized elsewhere in the Neretva region against the possibility of Austro-Hungarian defeat.

As war reached Belgium, Belgian Congo became a refuge for Belgians fleeing the fighting, with Black Point City serving as a major destination. Hermann Dekro reunited with his younger brother Hughes at the docks, where Hughes welcomed his family and described their new home.

• Belgian Congo's economy and population grew after Belgium invested in the colony and relocated nearly 130,000 Belgians there between 1908 and 1913.
• After the war began, Belgian families arrived in Black Point City seeking refuge.
• Hughes Dekro found his brother Hermann at the docks and greeted Hermann's wife and three children.
• Hermann was surprised by Hughes's muscular appearance and East African-style clothing.
• Hughes told Hermann that Belgian Congo offered opportunities and might become as developed as Cabinda.

Hughes welcomed Hermann’s family to Black Point and explained how East Africa’s growth had enriched the Belgian Congo and created opportunities for them. Hermann remained wary that East Africa might exploit Belgium’s wartime weakness, and the chapter left that concern unresolved.

• Hughes took Hermann’s family by taxi to his residence, where Hermann was surprised by Black Point’s many automobiles.
• Hughes explained that East Africa’s development and nearby cities like Cabinda and Kinshasa had benefited the Belgian Congo and made Black Point a prosperous place to work.
• Hermann asked how closely East Africa was tied to the Belgian Congo, and Hughes described East African investment and a planned regional transport project that the war had halted.
• Hermann told Hughes that Germany had occupied Brussels and threatened Antwerp, prompting his family to seek refuge in Black Point.
• Hermann voiced his fear that East Africa might take advantage of Belgium’s weakness and seize influence in the Belgian Congo.

Hughes reassured Hermann that Belgian Congo was safer than war-torn Belgium and explained how East African trade and investment were creating opportunities for the colony. With the Belgian Central Government unable to govern the Congo, the colony gained autonomy and pursued closer economic ties with East Africa, including a proposed railway.

• Hughes told Hermann that Belgian Congo could not resist East Africa but would likely surrender quickly, and that the colony was safer than the Belgian homeland.
• Hughes gave candy to Hermann's three sons and explained that goods and living costs in Belgian Congo differed from those in Europe.
• Hughes described how East African trade and investment supported Belgian Congo's development.
• After Brussels fell, Belgian Congo lost contact with the Belgian Central Government and its colonial government gained substantial autonomy.
• East Africa discussed a railway route linking Cabinda City through Belgian Congo to Libreville, while refugees from Belgium brought potential capital and talent to the colony.

Philip planned to expand Carson Department Store from Cabinda into Belgian Congo while war disrupted European supplies and created new markets. He proposed a low-cost chain of sales outlets, focusing on towns and mining districts and making only limited investments in Black Point.

• Philip argued that Belgium’s wartime trade disruptions made Belgian Congo an opportunity for Carson Department Store.
• Leven warned that Belgian Congo’s sparse, scattered population made expansion risky, and Philip pointed to population growth and mining districts as promising markets.
• Philip said Belgian Congo had few competitors and that local shoppers would welcome stores closer to home instead of traveling to Cabinda or Kinshasa.
• Philip proposed shifting funds from domestic expansion, borrowing from a bank, and building a chain of small outlets rather than large supermarkets.
• Philip planned two large supermarkets in Black Point but acknowledged that East African state-owned businesses already had a strong foothold there.

East Africa’s booming wartime trade strained its transport network as its merchant fleet and container system moved vast quantities of goods to Europe and other markets. John Liar reported that East Africa had become Germany’s leading supplier and had gained an early advantage over American businesses, while shipping and steel output continued to expand.

• Companies from East Africa and nearby cities competed to enter the Belgian Congo market, which East Africa regarded as a minor opportunity.
• John Liar reported that East Africa had more than five million tons of registered merchant shipping and that roughly thirteen million tons of global shipping supported its trade.
• East African ships carried much of the trade between East Africa and the German territories, including wheat imports that helped cover Germany’s wartime food shortfall.
• John Liar described pressure on East African ports and explained how standardized containers supported transport from ports toward German front lines.
• East African military suppliers gained early business over unprepared American companies by providing abundant, reliable goods such as medical supplies.
• East African steel production exceeded thirty million tons, placing it ahead of the United States and far above Germany.

John Liar explained how East Africa’s shipping network enabled its growing arms trade with the Central Powers, especially the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. East Africa expected Bulgaria to enter the war and viewed its army as a showcase for East African weapons.

• John Liar described East Africa’s large share of global merchant shipping and how its varied sea routes helped it evade British and French restrictions on arms exports.
• John Liar explained that East Africa shipped weapons to the Central Powers through Ottoman ports in Iraq and the Baghdad Railway.
• John Liar said the Austro-Hungarian Empire had ordered rifles, ammunition, and artillery because its military production could not keep up with its expanded army and mounting threats.
• John Liar identified Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire as stable arms customers and said Bulgaria had become East Africa’s third-largest weapons importer after Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
• East Africa expected Bulgaria to join the war against Serbia and hoped its army would demonstrate the strength of East African weapons on the European battlefield.

John Liar argued that East Africa should exploit Europe’s war to expand its arms trade in markets beyond Europe. In October 1914, the East African Navy began a sweeping South American tour to assert East African influence against the United States, ending with Bolivia beyond its reach.

• John Liar identified Asia, Africa, and Latin America as key arms markets while European powers were occupied, with the United States as East Africa’s main competitor.
• East Africa’s exports benefited from its prior debts to Europe and America, which let trading partners pay with goods and grow dependent on East African products.
• On October 1, 1914, the East African Navy launched a South American tour with five battleships, one battlecruiser, and ten cruisers.
• East Africa deployed much of its Atlantic Fleet to protect trade and challenge the United States’ efforts to take over British and French influence in South America.
• The fleet’s planned route covered coastal nations from Mexico to Argentina and included Paraguay via the Paraguay River, but Bolivia could not be visited because it was landlocked.

Rhodes and his secretary Paul discussed Rhodes Company’s growing profits from wartime exports and Argentina’s limits as a trading power. Rhodes focused on securing orders and profits, leaving Argentina’s future uncertain.

• Rhodes reviewed the company’s accounts and celebrated an eight percent increase in monthly profits.
• Paul warned Rhodes that rising ranch prices and shipping costs were squeezing profits despite soaring European demand.
• Rhodes lamented that Argentina could not trade freely with the Central Powers as the United States and East Africa could.
• Paul argued that Argentina’s small population prevented it from becoming a world power, and Rhodes agreed that the company should prioritize earning money.

Rhodes and Paul watched the East African Navy conduct a live-fire exercise in the Río de la Plata, and Rhodes initially feared East Africa had come to attack Argentina. Paul explained that the fleet was visiting the Americas, while the exercise displayed East Africa’s strength to Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay amid Europe’s war.

• Cannon fire from the Río de la Plata interrupted Rhodes and Paul as they discussed business, and Paul identified the fleet offshore as East African.
• Rhodes feared East Africa might be exploiting the European war to invade Argentina until Paul reminded him that the navy was visiting countries across the Americas.
• Rhodes watched the East African Navy carry out live-fire exercises near Buenos Aires, and Paul said the display aimed to increase East Africa’s influence in South America.
• East Africa’s choice of the Río de la Plata projected its power toward Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, with the navy expected to visit Paraguay next.
• Paraguay remained closely aligned with East Africa as it faced stronger neighbors and territorial disputes with Bolivia.

East African Oil Company manager Dehr asked Consul Will for help after the La Dani Gang disrupted construction of East Africa’s first Venezuelan refinery near Lake Maracaibo. Will reported the trouble to East African officials while gang leader Carmen gathered with his associates, setting up a confrontation.

• Dehr told Will that the La Dani Gang had repeatedly obstructed the refinery project despite an earlier protection-money agreement, while Maracaibo officials refused to intervene.
• Will assured Dehr that East Africa would handle the gang and instructed him to avoid further clashes while awaiting word from the consulate.
• After Dehr left, Will contacted senior Foreign Ministry officials through the consulate’s communications room.
• Carmen, leader of the powerful La Dani Gang, held a gathering in southwestern Maracaibo City as the gang sought to challenge East African business interests.

The La Dani Gang under Carmen obstructed the East African Oil Company’s construction site and seized its supplies, dismissing East Africa as too distant to retaliate. After a mysterious man arrived to investigate the gang, a brief gun battle and fire destroyed its stronghold, leaving the La Dani Gang wiped out.

• Rod warned Carmen that provoking East Africa was dangerous, but Carmen refused to take the threat seriously.
• Carmen ordered the La Dani Gang to disrupt construction and steal supplies until the East African Oil Company paid more.
• The gang kept the construction site idle for half a month until a man carrying a letter from Consul Will arrived and questioned Dehr about the gang.
• Two days after the man left, gunfire erupted in Maracaibo City and a fire consumed the gang’s stronghold.
• At dawn, a resident found gang members’ bodies scattered outside the burned building and the La Dani Gang destroyed.

Police Chief Chavez investigated the overnight destruction of the La Dani Gang and struggled to identify a force powerful enough to kill its leaders and core members. He ordered his subordinates to trace the gang’s recent enemies, hoping to uncover the killers.

• Chavez learned that 180 La Dani Gang members, including Carmen and Rod, had been killed, and examined Carmen’s burned body.
• Chavez questioned whether Maracaibo City’s upper-class families or its city defense force could have destroyed the gang, but ruled them out.
• Chavez acknowledged that his Police Department had cooperated with the La Dani Gang and that he had once helped its founder, La Dani.
• Chavez directed his subordinates to investigate whom the La Dani Gang had offended recently, focusing on forces from outside Maracaibo City.
• Chavez noted that surviving core and peripheral gang members could provide information about the gang’s recent activities.

Chavez questioned Chris about the destruction of the La Dani Gang and suspected the East African Oil Company had hired the attackers. When Chavez confronted Dehr, Dehr denied involvement and warned that the Rhine Empire stood behind his company, leaving Chavez intimidated and unwilling to pursue the matter.

• Chavez questioned Chris, the surviving La Dani Gang leader, who described hiding near the gang’s massacre and seeing dozens of armed Men in Black.
• Chavez questioned other gang survivors and learned that the La Dani Gang had recently targeted an East African Oil Company construction site.
• Chavez concluded the East African Oil Company was a likely suspect and visited its branch to confront Dehr.
• Dehr denied knowing about the gang’s destruction, then warned Chavez that the Rhine Empire would defend the company’s honor and interests.
• Chavez was frightened by Dehr’s threat and recognized that pursuing the East African Oil Company could put him in danger.

After East African agents Anthony and Rice discussed the covert destruction of the La Dani Gang, Ernst ordered East African officials to strengthen overseas asset protection and unite local forces in Venezuela. The chapter left East Africa preparing to expand its influence over the Lake Maracaibo oil region through a mix of force and subtler methods.

• At Lagengreen Tavern, Anthony and Rice discussed their role as East African National Security Bureau agents and the operation that wiped out the La Dani Gang.
• Rice warned Anthony that East African agents could not keep acting as the oil company's hired thugs whenever disputes arose.
• In Rhine City, Ernst said the La Dani Gang incident showed that East African overseas assets needed stronger protection.
• Ning Xiabo explained that inexperienced management and divided local companies had contributed to the trouble in Maracaibo.
• Ernst ordered officials to unite East African forces in Venezuela and secure access to Lake Maracaibo's oil and gas resources.
• Ernst rejected direct invasion as too costly and planned to address Venezuela's problems with a combination of softer and harder measures.

Ernst tasked Sharen and the Immigration Office with expanding East Africa’s Mixed-blood German Plan by establishing a settlement in Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo region. The plan aimed to secure East African influence over the region’s oil, and Sharen was told to model it on the Neretva settlement.

• Ernst summoned Sharen after discussing plans with commerce officials and executives of state-owned enterprises.
• Sharen reported that immigration to Gabon and Cameroon was progressing smoothly, with European War refugees providing an unexpected source of settlers.
• Ernst assigned the Immigration Office to plan a mixed German settlement in Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo region according to File No. 0.
• Ernst intended the settlement to strengthen East Africa’s control of local oil and deter the United States and Venezuela from challenging its interests.

Ernst reviewed the Immigration Office’s proposal to expand Document No. 0 into Venezuela by settling German-speaking mixed-race immigrants and establishing German education in Zulia State. He warned that the plan, part of East Africa’s Centennial Plan, had to proceed cautiously.

• Sharen told Ernst that Venezuela’s sparse population and immigrant history made it a more promising location than the Neretva region.
• Sharen described how East Africa could buy inexpensive land around Lake Maracaibo and establish farms, plantations, and German village communities across Zulia State.
• Sharen proposed using petroleum development zones as immigrant centers, absorbing Indigenous residents, and expanding German-language education through local schools.
• Ernst cautioned Sharen that Document No. 0 was a crucial national policy and that its implementation in Venezuela required care.

East African envoy Treller offered to resettle Belgian refugees in East Africa while negotiating with Queen Wilhelmina for the Netherlands to sell Borneo. He left the Dutch queen facing East Africa’s implied threat to seize the territory by force if negotiations failed.

• Germany and the Anglo-French forces began the Battle of the Marne after German delays at Liège weakened the Schlieffen Plan’s momentum.
• Treller offered Queen Wilhelmina and Dutch officials transport and refuge in East Africa for Belgian refugees, and Wilhelmina agreed to facilitate voluntary migration.
• Treller revived East Africa’s interest in Borneo, prompting Wilhelmina to fear that East Africa might target the Dutch East Indies during Europe’s war.
• Wilhelmina rejected selling the East Indies, but Treller argued that the Netherlands should sell Borneo and focus on Java, implying East Africa might otherwise use force and encourage colonial unrest.

Treller pressed the Netherlands to sell East Kalimantan to East Africa, arguing that the deal would bring security and economic benefits. Prime Minister Kaper recognized some advantages but remained wary and undecided.

• Treller demanded East Kalimantan, and Wilhelmina hesitated as Kaper prepared to answer.
• Kaper objected that East Kalimantan was an inseparable part of the Netherlands despite its limited influence there.
• Treller argued that Dutch control was weak, Britain threatened the region, and East Africa could serve as a buffer between the Netherlands and Britain.
• Treller offered the Netherlands a fair price, citizen privileges, and a share in East Kalimantan's development while insisting that sovereignty pass to East Africa.
• Kaper found some of Treller's arguments persuasive but doubted East Africa would honor its promises and could not yet decide.