Chapter 230: Land! Land!
Portuguese Timor was the second colony of the Portuguese Empire in East Asia and one of its important outposts in the region.
At present, Portuguese Timor had a population of over 350,000, with 90% being local indigenous people, 3% from other foreign ethnicities, and less than 7% being white immigrants from Portugal and Europe.
This meant that Portuguese Timor had a small white population of just over 20,000 people, making it a small colony in terms of both land area and population.
However, the economic value of Portuguese Timor was not low. While over half of the land, particularly the western part of Timor Island, was gradually occupied by the Dutch, Portugal still held onto its territory in the eastern part of the island.
More importantly, despite its small size—only about 10,000 square kilometers—Portuguese Timor was rich in mineral resources such as gold, manganese, chromium, tin, and copper. The Timor Sea, nearby, also held abundant reserves of oil and natural gas.
Although only a few mineral resources had been discovered so far, Portuguese Timor was an extremely important stepping stone for Australasia, as it could give them control over the heart of the Dutch East Indies.
If they could control Portuguese Timor, Australasia would be able to turn the entire Timor Sea into its own inland sea.
Not only that, but it would also allow Australasia to exert some control over the western part of Timor Island, which was close to Java.
Since the two countries declared war on each other, the conflict had caught the attention of several European nations.
No one expected that what started as a diplomatic dispute would escalate into a full-scale war between two countries.
This could only be attributed to Australasia's resolve and Portugal's refusal to back down.
All the major European countries expressed concern over the war, but in such a chaotic time, war had become so common in Europe that people had grown used to it.
Currently, Portugal owned three colonies in Asia, located in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and India.
However, these three colonies shared the same characteristic: they were small in size and had a small population, which meant there were not many troops stationed in them.
As a result, the combined forces of all Portuguese colonies in Asia amounted to only around 3,000 men.
It was nearly impossible for such a small force to hold off the Australasian military's advance.
Of course, King Alfonso I was not relying solely on these 3,000 men to win the war. Reinforcements from Portugal were already on their way, and the fastest troops could reach in as little as a month.
Even before the war started, the Ministry of Defense had prepared a detailed plan. Australasia would commit at least 50,000 soldiers, with 10,000 being the vanguard responsible for swiftly capturing the Portuguese colony in Timor in Southeast Asia.
The remaining 40,000 soldiers would be split into two parts: one would be the main force to land in other Portuguese Asian colonies if the vanguard successfully captured Timor, while the other would remain as reserve troops, stationed in Australasia in a state of readiness. This would serve two purposes: one, to guard against any possible enemy landings in Australasia, and two, to provide support for the frontline in an emergency.
Of course, the most important goal was to quickly capture Portuguese Timor, and from there, use it as a springboard to launch attacks on Portugal's colonies in East Asia and India.
After losing three colonies in a row, the Portuguese government would have to consider the consequences of continuing the war.
On August 8, 1907, at 4 PM, the port of Mariborough.
After the government of Australasia declared war on Portugal, the First Defense Division was already prepared and boarded transport ships to land on Timor Island.
The division commander was Silvio Lonni Rodlin, an excellent general known for his emphasis on offensive firepower.
However, at that moment, Silvio Lonni Rodlin's face looked less than ideal. His usually steadfast expression appeared somewhat hesitant, clouded with worry.
Of course, Silvio Lonni Rodlin was not concerned about losing to the Kingdom of Portugal, nor was he afraid of the war that was about to unfold.
What truly troubled him was a command from Arthur, which was to minimize soldier casualties as much as possible while weakening the Portuguese's effective strength, including their influence on Timor.
Weakening the Portuguese's effective strength was easy to understand—just eliminate as many Portuguese soldiers as possible, right?
Minimizing casualties was also achievable by suppressing with firepower before the attack, using more firepower to increase the survival chances of soldiers.
But how could they weaken Portugal's influence on Timor? Surely they couldn't go around massacring Portuguese civilians, because while that would weaken Portuguese influence, Australasia would become the villain of the war.
Turning a supported war into a condemned one was not in anyone's best interest.
Shaking his head slightly, General Silvio Lonni Rodlin decided to push those worries aside and focus on capturing Portuguese Timor first.
Unless there was an emergency, Arthur's personal guard unit was unlikely to be deployed in the war.
This meant that Arthur's last card, his most equipped and elite unit, was still off-limits.
This was the reason the First Defense Division had been selected as the vanguard. It was the oldest and most experienced division in Australasia, with combat effectiveness rivaling that of Germany's elite troops.
To emphasize firepower, General Silvio Lonni Rodlin had specifically ordered all artillery to carry at least twice the usual ammunition and had requested naval assistance as well.
Mariborough was a small port city on the eastern coast of Queensland, chosen as the departure point for the landing force because of its small size.
Launching an operation from a big city like Sydney would risk alerting the Portuguese in advance.
While this would not drastically affect the outcome of the war, it would certainly lead to greater casualties for Australasia's forces.
The distance from Mariborough to Portuguese Timor was not short. Even with the fleet traveling at full speed, it would take at least several hours to arrive.
This meant the fleet would approach Portuguese Timor around 6 AM, just as dawn was breaking.
Since it was winter in the Southern Hemisphere, although Portuguese Timor wasn't very cold, the dim morning light was perfect for a surprise attack.
The soldiers of the First Defense Division had spent a long time resting aboard the transport ships. Although they had not slept well, they were in high spirits, eagerly anticipating the action.
"Move out!" At General Silvio Lonni Rodlin's command, the soldiers of the First Defense Division boarded small boats and headed toward the shore for the landing.
At 6 AM, Timor Island was still in darkness, and even though all the soldiers had successfully landed on Timor Island, the sky was still barely starting to lighten.
The real reason the First Defense Division didn't encounter any resistance was that the landing site was in a region controlled by the Dutch.
While the Portuguese might have anticipated an attack and fortified their coastal defenses, no one would have expected Australasia to land in a Dutch-controlled area.
Unlike Portugal, the Dutch had many colonies in Southeast Asia, with the Dutch East Indies consisting of numerous islands.
This created a significant problem for the Dutch: they lacked the resources to fully control the entire Dutch East Indies.
Many smaller islands and barren areas in the Dutch East Indies were barely under their control.
While the western part of Timor Island was contested between the Dutch and the Portuguese, the Dutch focus on the island was in the western cities.
After landing in the central part of Timor Island, General Silvio Lonni Rodlin waved his hand and ordered all soldiers to advance east, heading straight for the Portuguese Timor capital, Dili.
Portuguese Timor had over 20,000 Portuguese residents, most of whom lived in Dili.
This meant that controlling Dili would effectively give control over the entire Portuguese Timor.
To protect the only important city, Dili, Portugal had stationed about 1,000 soldiers and approximately 2,000 indigenous troops in the area.
As the First Defense Division approached Dili, they encountered a strange sight.
The defensive positions near Dili included extensive trenches and fortifications, mostly built by the indigenous laborers under the supervision of a few Portuguese soldiers.
At dawn, the Portuguese forces were likely still resting. After all, who would have expected the Australasian military to reach Dili so quickly after the declaration of war?
General Silvio Lonni Rodlin immediately ordered his troops to stop advancing and conceal themselves, then instructed all artillery to set up temporary positions and begin shelling the Portuguese and indigenous forces ahead.
Perhaps due to exhaustion from the previous night, the Portuguese were distracted by the indigenous workers, occasionally chatting and lashing out at them with whips.
The indigenous workers were in an even worse position, facing harsh treatment whenever they paused, making it impossible for them to notice the Australasian forces.
With the dawn still not fully arrived, the First Defense Division had an extra layer of cover, allowing artillery units to set up without being detected.
After receiving the report from his artillery units, General Silvio Lonni Rodlin nodded in satisfaction, coldly watching the Portuguese forces a few hundred meters away. He gave the order: "Artillery, target the enemy positions—fire a round of indiscriminate bombardment!"
Indiscriminate bombardment, as General Silvio Lonni Rodlin called it, was essentially a wide-area bombardment.
While this method consumed a lot of ammunition and indirectly raised military expenses, it was a highly cost-effective trade for Australasia.
The First Defense Division was equipped with CA-1 machine guns, M1897 75mm field guns, and GA1906 105mm semi-automatic artillery.
These three artillery pieces all had the common feature of being equipped with semi-automatic technology.
While this increased ammunition consumption, it significantly boosted firepower.
Thanks to these weapons and the extra ammunition requested by General Silvio Lonni Rodlin, he was not concerned about logistical strains.
Arthur had reassured him before the military departure, instructing him to unleash the full force without worrying about logistics.
The military factories had already produced ample reserves of ammunition, and the Australasian fleet would swiftly transport supplies to the frontlines.
(End of Chapter)
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