African Entrepreneurship Record

The situation faced by the Portuguese troops stationed in Angola is actually similar to the one encountered by early East African immigrants.

However, East Africa’s conditions have improved considerably now, especially those provinces that have been developed; they look no different from other parts of the world.

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Night.

Oerting’s company decided to rest overnight at Luaina Village, then proceed eastward to search for the whereabouts of the East African army.

However, most Portuguese, including Oerting himself, agreed that finding the East Africans would be very challenging.

Because in the past three months, they had not seen what the East African Defense Army looked like. Although other troops had skirmished with the East Africans, these encounters had become something of a legendary tale among the Portuguese invasion forces in Danube province.

Therefore, after establishing the temporary camp, the defenses of Oerting’s unit were very lax, with barely any sentries posted.

After months of hardship, having a proper sleep in this unknown village’s ”ruins” was more crucial for the Portuguese than worrying about the ”elusive” East Africans.

Yet sometimes things happen coincidentally; while Oerting and others were bivouacked at Luaina Village, a squad of soldiers from the East African 411th division was also in the area.

”According to the map, ahead is Luaina Village, which used to be one of our settlement villages. But when the war broke out, villagers were arranged to evacuate to the rear. The Portuguese were so inefficient, now they’ve just reached here. Had we known this earlier, there would’ve been no need to evacuate Luaina Village at all,” said the squad leader Ronar.

Based on plans from the Western Military District, nearly four-fifths of Danube province’s territory was basically abandoned. The Portuguese should be able to push their troops into at least two-thirds of our land.

But the Portuguese taught East Africa a lesson: that the efficiency of the Portuguese army was far slower than East Africa anticipated.

”Our reconnaissance troops spotted smoke rising from Luaina Village at around six today, so we inferred there are Portuguese troops stationed there. However, the exact number is unknown. Judging by the scale of the smoke, there can’t be many of them. The environmental impact is minimal; there are no signs of birds or other animals being startled. So this troop is likely a small reconnaissance unit of the Portuguese vanguard,”

”Our forces didn’t delve deep, fearing to alert them. But it’s certain this is the frontline reached by the Portuguese. I’ve informed the rear forces of this situation. Following the command center’s orders, we’ll act within our capacity. This counteroffensive requires no timid approach; any unforeseen incidents can easily receive support.”

Ronar looked at his watch and continued, ”It’s now seven in the evening, so this Portuguese troop shouldn’t be resting yet. Wait until eight when it’s completely dark; our scouts can then approach and assess the situation. If there aren’t many of them, we’ll eliminate this enemy unit.”

With Ronar’s arrangements, all soldiers of the company began leaning against tree trunks and meditating; the sun had set, and the rainforest was slightly cold.

Due to the enemy’s presence, to avoid revealing their position, no fires were lit. Prior to this, everyone had subsisted on some compressed biscuits.

Though the soldiers of the company appeared calm, beneath the surface their hearts were racing, their spirits were highly energized.

At eight, the scouts set off again, donning camouflaged clothing woven from green vegetation as they approached Luaina Village, avoiding the main road to circumvent possibly hidden sentries laid by the enemy.

Luaina Village had a nondescript road connecting it to the outside, but it was now overgrown with weeds; if not closely examined, it would be hard to notice.

The scouts neared Luaina Village along the forest edge, easily discerning its location because the Portuguese, in pursuit of warmth, hadn’t extinguished the bonfires. As such, faint firelight flickered in the village.

Such a flicker of firelight provided East African scouts with an accurate position, allowing them to stealthily survey where Oerting and the others were camped.

In less than twenty minutes, the scouts returned to report to Ronar.

”Captain, the enemy’s vigilance is very lax; they’ve set no sentries on key passageways, nor in village peripheries, except near the campsite where there are a few sentries. We haven’t been detected.”

”These Portuguese are truly complacent. Are they not afraid of encountering us and getting caught off guard!”

”I fear these Portuguese aren’t the main force of Portugal; such level of oversight is unimaginable in our army. Even if sentries aren’t deployed on critical paths, at least some personnel should be arranged around the perimeter!”

In reality, Oerting’s unit hadn’t considered Luaina Village’s exterior routes. After months in the jungle, their vigilance had long been discarded.

Thus the instinctive decision to camp also didn’t recall this point; indeed, Luaina Village appeared remarkably abandoned, particularly the existing roadways. If not attentively observed, they were easy to overlook. Given the present state of the Portuguese army, they couldn’t alertly notice this detail like the East African scouts.

Regarding the scouts’ derisive comments, Ronar found himself at a loss for words. He wasn’t clear on the exact situation of the Portuguese army – he was, after all, not their commanding officer.

He asked, ”How’s the enemy strength?”

”There seem to be about a hundred troops, probably the size of a company, but they’re not in good condition, and their equipment doesn’t seem that sophisticated either.”

Ronar said, ”Great! We should be able to directly capture this force.”

”Captain, should we attack now?”

Ronar checked the time again and replied, ”Continue resting; the enemy’s not going anywhere. A large-scale action now might cause unexpected changes. Wait until after eleven when the enemy is completely relaxed, then we’ll approach and catch them off guard.”

Thus, time slowly slipped by, an extreme psychological torment for the East African soldiers, given that nothing could be done at this moment. Meanwhile, the Portuguese at Luaina Village gradually drifted into slumber, unaware of the looming threat.

After eleven o’clock, Ronar and his unit began moving, led by reconnaissance soldiers down the road, approaching Luaina Village with ease.

As described by scouts earlier, the Portuguese completely overlooked this aspect upon reaching the village’s outskirts.

At Ronar’s command, the company quickly stormed into Luaina Village. The Portuguese forces, barely having entered dreamland, were caught unawares and found themselves confronted with guns pointed directly at their heads by the East Africans.

The entire skirmish lasted less than five minutes, ending with East Africa’s victory, with only sporadic gunfire.

Most Portuguese hadn’t even comprehended what was happening before becoming prisoners of East Africa, though three did manage to escape.

However, fleeing was evidently not a wise choice; the surrounding rainforest combined with the pitch-black environment made it likely to lose one’s bearings. Moreover, these Portuguese weren’t locals; as outsiders, straying from their main force would be nearly inevitable death.

And twenty minutes after the skirmish occurred, one unlucky escapee returned to surrender to East African officers, unable to figure out where to go, thereby choosing surrender as his only option.

The success at Luaina Village symbolized East Africa’s initial counterattack against the Portuguese in the western region.

With control over Luaina Village regained by East Africa, it marked the first step in reclaiming Danube province’s territory. Being the province’s center, subsequent large-scale battles between East Africa and the Portuguese were bound to erupt rapidly.