March 11, 1869.
The Mediterranean and the Red Sea once again saw specialized cable-laying ships. For those living along the Mediterranean coast, this sight was nothing new; in recent years, as countries increasingly valued the role of the telegraph, capable nations and companies have been laying telegraph lines under the sea.
This time, the ships conducting the cable-laying work came from Austria-Hungary and Germany, each beginning work in the Mediterranean and Red Sea.
From Austria-Hungary's Trieste to Egypt, and then from Egypt to East Africa over the seas, once again the cable-laying work began.
This time it was a backup line being laid since maintaining the connection between East Africa and Europe with a single cable wasn't reliable.
The plan to lay the backup line had already been sitting on Ernst's desk; it had been planned when the first cable was laid from East Africa to Europe, but due to financial constraints at the time, it was not executed simultaneously.
