Chapter 100: Coastal Defense System
Aside from the port of Mtwara, other East African ports were also equipped with coastal artillery—most with higher specifications due to geographical and historical importance.
The number of coastal cannons varied according to each port's strategic value.
Dar es Salaam and Mombasa were top priorities. With a long history of port development and the best natural conditions, they ranked as East Africa's first-tier ports.
Each of them was allocated eight cannon emplacements during the initial planning stage.
Tanga and Bagamoyo were also key ports—bridging the waters between Dar es Salaam and Mombasa—making them second-tier.
They were each designated six cannon emplacements.
Mtwara, with its small size and less strategic significance, ranked third-tier. Future ports built in southern Tanzania and Kenya were expected to be on par with Mtwara.
Still, Mtwara received four designated cannon positions.
In addition to these ports, several islands seized from the Zanzibar Sultanate were also prioritized for defense—particularly Pemba and Mafia, the two largest East African coastal islands after Zanzibar itself.
Pemba had been a major territorial part of the Zanzibar Sultanate. Mafia, too, was suitable for human settlement.
Both islands played a protective role for the coastline. Together with Zanzibar, they formed a nearshore island chain.
However, this chain lay too close to the mainland to be useful for foreign blockades.
In contrast to the Ryukyu Islands in East Asia—which, while close to the U.S., are far from continental Asia—this East African island chain was so near the coast that one could reach it by dugout canoe.
Thus, it couldn't realistically be used to block East Africa's coastline. It only covered Tanzania's northern shore, and with the vast Indian Ocean to the east, foreign enemies would struggle to resupply or arm these islands.
Still, Pemba and Mafia were of strategic significance. Pemba, in particular, had great economic potential and capacity for settlement—in a past life, over 200,000 people lived there, with towns, ports, and farmland.
Mafia's status was somewhere between Tanga and Mtwara.
In modern history, it was one of Tanzania's major tourist destinations, with a population of around 20,000.
The East African colony had no intention of giving up these two islands.
To ensure their development and protect the coastline, six cannon positions were reserved on Pemba and two on Mafia.
With this, the outline of East Africa's nearshore defense system had taken shape:
A total of forty large-caliber coastal cannons were planned.
Forty might not sound like much, but given the current scale of East African ports, the figure was proportional.
They were more than enough to deter large vessels of the era.
This was merely the first step.
At present, the colony lacked the means to further upgrade its defenses. Additional large-caliber cannons would come in time.
However, small-caliber artillery could be added gradually.
Large-caliber shells were prohibitively expensive, and using them against small vessels would be wasteful.
In such cases, small-caliber artillery was more appropriate.
Large-caliber cannons had fixed targeting parameters and had been pre-calibrated, ensuring higher accuracy.
They were expensive but ideal against big targets.
Small-caliber cannons, on the other hand, were cheaper, mobile, and more flexible—perfect for hitting smaller threats.
Currently, the colony had no small-caliber guns.
That's because the Hohenzollern arsenal in Trieste had yet to begin production.
Large-caliber guns were technically challenging to develop.
Given the arsenal's current capabilities, it was still too early to produce them.
You shouldn't try to run before learning to walk. Experience had to be built by first manufacturing small-caliber weapons.
Moreover, small-caliber cannons were widely applicable, easy to transport, and cheap to produce—perfect for a modestly sized facility like the Hohenzollern arsenal.
East Africa, being essentially a private territory of the Hohenzollern consortium, would be continuously supplied with arms from this factory.
Currently, the colony mostly dealt with native threats.
Realistically, rifles alone were enough. But Ernst preferred overwhelming firepower.
Portugal was also a potential threat.
With a long colonial history in Mozambique, they likely had serious weaponry on hand—so they couldn't be underestimated.
Once the Trieste arsenal was operational, its top priority would be to supply the coastal defense system and the southern border with Portuguese Mozambique.
The coastal defense plan itself was designed by Austrian naval experts.
Austria, having played defense in the Battle of Lissa, had real-world experience in coastal defense.
After the war, Austria-Hungary strengthened its Adriatic coastline with decommissioned naval artillery—exactly the kind now being repurposed in East Africa.
Ernst had taken full advantage of this, essentially copying Austria's coastal defense system.
Aside from a shortfall in small-caliber guns (the only ones left from Zanzibar were old and few), the rest mirrored the Austrian model.
From reinforced concrete bunkers to artillery placement—everything was the same.
Even the cannons came from the same source.
Thus, East Africa's coastal defense system was effectively a carbon copy of Austria-Hungary's Adriatic model—state-of-the-art for its time.
Once the small-caliber guns were in place, East Africa's shoreline would become an impregnable fortress.
Only an all-out assault could break through.
Not that Ernst doubted other countries' strength—but only Western navies could realistically challenge East Africa's future defenses.
And who would waste their armored fleet on East Africa?
Even the fuel costs wouldn't be worth it.
Only Portugal had the strength and motive to launch a joint sea-land attack.
Hence, the colony had concentrated its military buildup in the south.
The south formed East Africa's land-based defensive line.
The eastern coast was protected by the coastal defense system.
One glance at the layout made it clear who the system was designed to repel.
The other directions?
West and southwest were for offense, not defense.
Mbeya led toward Zambia and Zimbabwe.
To the west, Lake Tanganyika formed a natural barrier.
To the north, only native forces posed a threat.
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