Chapter 232: Continuous Victories
The defensive positions built by the Portuguese were able to withstand some artillery bombardments, but they had not accounted for the threat coming from above.
This led to the Portuguese army suffering heavy losses after being bombarded from the sky. Not only were the majority of Portuguese soldiers unprepared, but the defensive positions that had previously provided significant protection were rendered useless.
Although the number of shells in this bombardment was much smaller than the previous one, the bombs carried by the bombers were all large-caliber ground-impact bombs, packed with large amounts of scrap metal, steel pellets, and glass shards, all designed to maximize damage.
By unfortunate coincidence, one of the bombs fell right next to the commander of the Portuguese garrison in Portuguese Timor, Café Filho. The explosion swept over him and his adjutants as well as the messenger.
After dropping all the bombs, the bombers turned around without looking back and returned to base, leaving only the buzzing sound of the explosions echoing in the sky.
Of course, it was impossible to kill all the Portuguese soldiers and indigenous soldiers with just over 100 bombs.
The precision of the bombs dropped from high altitudes was not very high, and it was considered good luck if half of the bombs hit near the Portuguese soldiers.
But even so, the fear caused by the rain of bombs from the sky was something that could not be easily alleviated.
Especially for those who witnessed the bombs growing larger and larger in their sight before exploding next to them, even if they were lucky enough to survive, their courage had already been shattered.
If the Portuguese soldiers were in such a state, it was even worse for the indigenous troops, whose discipline was already weak.
The indigenous soldiers suffered even heavier casualties in this bombardment. Some of them, so frightened that they had lost control of their bladders, could no longer contain their fear and started scrambling away from the positions.
Normally, these indigenous soldiers would be met with bullets and reprimands from the military police as soon as they attempted to flee.
But now, with the garrison commander Café Filho, his adjutants, and the messenger all dead from the previous bombardment, the military police, immersed in the fear of the bombings, didn't immediately notice the fleeing indigenous troops.
By the time the military police realized what was happening, many of the indigenous soldiers had already made it several hundred meters away, running toward the jungle.
"Damn it, stop those yellow-skinned monkeys!" Some Portuguese soldiers quickly reacted and anxiously shouted.
As members of the military police, it was their job to supervise the indigenous soldiers. If these soldiers managed to successfully flee, no matter the outcome of the war, they would be severely punished.
Seeing that the reprimands weren't working, several military police soldiers quickly drew their rifles and began firing at the indigenous soldiers who were running further away.
Although a few indigenous soldiers were shot down, more of them, hearing the gunfire, fled even faster. Some, even after tripping, crawled forward on all fours.
The Portuguese soldiers were frustrated, but the indigenous soldiers who had started fleeing earlier had already covered considerable distance, making it difficult to catch them.
Reluctantly, the military police turned their attention to the remaining indigenous soldiers in the positions, carefully preventing any more from escaping and immediately reporting to Garrison Commander Café Filho.
But these military police soldiers could never have imagined that their commanding officer, Café Filho, had already perished in the previous bombing, meaning their report was destined to go unheard.
Meanwhile, after the bombing ended, General Silvio Lonni Rodlin was not about to let this opportunity slip by.
After three consecutive rounds of bombing, the morale of the Portuguese soldiers had completely shattered, and the indigenous army had started to flee.
This was the best opportunity for the First Defense Division to attack, and if things went smoothly, they could take the enemy positions in one go.
Of course, in order to minimize casualties, General Silvio Lonni Rodlin specifically ordered the artillery to launch another round of bombardment on the enemy positions before the infantry charged.
This bombardment, like the first, was large-scale and high-frequency.
This was to prevent the Portuguese from mounting a counterattack and causing unnecessary casualties to the First Defense Division.
This was where Australasia's logistical advantage came in. Facing a Portuguese force of only 1,000 soldiers and 2,000 indigenous soldiers, the First Defense Division had already expended hundreds of artillery shells and even deployed bombers.
Naturally, the effects were significant. The First Defense Division had yet to suffer any casualties, while the Portuguese had sustained heavy losses, and most of the remaining soldiers had lost their fighting spirit.
Under the cover of artillery fire, the First Defense Division's soldiers quickly approached the Portuguese positions.
At this point, the remaining Portuguese soldiers, few as they were, could barely raise their heads due to the artillery suppression.
When the First Defense Division's soldiers were only about 100 meters away from the Portuguese positions, the artillery coverage shifted slightly backward, avoiding harm to their own soldiers.
At this time, the surviving Portuguese soldiers, having lost their commander and scared out of their wits by the previous bombardments and airstrikes, had completely retreated into the cement structures, too frightened to come out. They were in no position to mount any counterattack against the slowly advancing Australasians.
By 11 AM, the First Defense Division had successfully occupied the Portuguese positions, capturing over 300 Portuguese soldiers and more than 400 indigenous soldiers.
For these Portuguese prisoners, General Silvio Lonni Rodlin waved his hand and ordered a team of soldiers to strictly guard them.
As for the indigenous soldiers, they had no value, and thus, their only fate was death.
After a brief rest in the positions, General Silvio Lonni Rodlin left a squad to guard the captured Portuguese soldiers while the main force continued heading north toward the capital of Portuguese Timor, Dili.
The Portuguese soldiers and indigenous army at the positions could be considered all the forces in Portuguese Timor.
The only remaining defense for Dili was the few police officers in the city.
But relying on police officers to resist the First Defense Division's attack was an absurd fantasy.
At 3 PM, the Australasian army successfully entered Dili and took full control of the Governor's Palace and the Garrison Command.
Meanwhile, General Silvio Lonni Rodlin ordered his soldiers to move the captured Portuguese soldiers into the city and sent a telegram to the homeland.
When Arthur received the telegram from General Silvio Lonni Rodlin, it was already past 4 PM.
Arthur immediately responded, instructing General Silvio Lonni Rodlin to manage everything in Timor properly and maintain order in the city.
At the same time, he instructed the construction of defensive positions along the coastline and the western border of Portuguese Timor to prevent any potential Portuguese landings in the future.
At 6 PM, with a command from the Ministry of Defense, the Second Defense Division split into two groups, heading to the remaining two Portuguese colonies in Asia for occupation.
Although these two colonies were far from Australasia and, whether it was Portugal's Indian colony or their colony in East Asia, Australasia had no real claim to them, capturing them during wartime was still very necessary.
These two colonies served as Portugal's outposts in Asia, and without them, the closest Portuguese territory to Australasia would be the Portuguese colony of Mozambique, separated by the entire Indian Ocean.
On August 10, 1907, at 6 AM, after over a day of travel, part of the Second Defense Division finally arrived at Portugal's East Asian colony and quickly began to occupy the territory.
This colony was much smaller than Portuguese Timor, and the population was also quite small.
If you only counted the Portuguese population, the colony had fewer than 10,000 Portuguese, and the military presence, relying on local indigenous soldiers, only amounted to about 1,000.
This meant the garrison was poorly trained, and many of the indigenous soldiers were poorly equipped.
After several rounds of bombardment, the Portuguese army completely lost its morale, with most of them being captured, and the rest killed in the shelling.
Just like in Portuguese Timor, once the battle was won, the deputy commander of the Second Defense Division quickly sent a telegram to the homeland, briefly describing the war's progress and results, receiving the latest instructions from Arthur.
In addition to maintaining order and strengthening defense, the Second Defense Division was also instructed to relocate Portuguese assets.
While they couldn't publicly execute the Portuguese, handling their assets was perfectly fine.
All the factories and assets the Portuguese had painstakingly established in the region were now to be repurposed for Australasia's benefit.
Unlike Portuguese Timor, which had already been incorporated into Australasia's sphere of influence, the Second Defense Division did not need to worry about moving assets out of the territory, as they could simply take control when the territory was handed over after the war.
A few days later, on August 12, the Second Defense Division, led personally by Major General Fritz Leiner, reached Portuguese India after crossing the Indian Ocean.
Although when India's colonial masters are mentioned, the British Empire immediately comes to mind, Portugal and France were also among the colonial powers in India.
However, the British Empire had ruled over most of India for so long that the Portuguese and French colonies along India's coasts were relatively insignificant.
Portuguese India, located on India's west coast, was one of Portugal's colonies, with its capital in Goa.
Despite its relatively small size, Portuguese India had a population of around 450,000, with 2,000 troops stationed there—1,000 Portuguese and 1,000 Indians.
Portuguese India, despite having a larger population and more fertile land than Portuguese Timor, had even fewer soldiers stationed there.
This was because Portuguese India bordered the powerful British India, and Portugal stood no chance against the British Empire.
If the British Empire wanted to annex Portuguese India, even a few thousand soldiers would not be enough to stop them.
But if the British Empire had no intention of conquering Portuguese India, the security of the region could still be maintained with just the police force.
Unlike Portuguese Timor, which had to constantly guard against the Dutch, Portuguese India did not face immediate threats from neighboring colonies.
After expending hundreds of artillery shells and suffering a few dozen casualties, the Second Defense Division succeeded in capturing Portuguese India and its capital, Goa.
Just like in their East Asian colony, the Second Defense Division sent a telegram to Australasia detailing the war's progress and results and received the same instructions from Arthur: maintain order in the city, strengthen border defenses, and begin relocating Portuguese assets.
With the complete occupation of all three Portuguese colonies in Asia, Arthur finally let out a sigh of
relief.
Although the First and Second Defense Divisions had suffered over a hundred casualties combined, the results of the campaign more than justified the losses.
Moreover, all the injured Australasian soldiers would be swiftly transported back to Australasia for treatment, with the government covering their medical expenses and continued salaries during recovery.
Once the initial operation had been completed, Arthur was able to confidently announce the victory to the public.
For a long time, he had kept the results under wraps, fearing that any enemy reactions would make the Second Defense Division's actions more difficult.
Now that the initial missions were over, it was time to reveal the good news to the entire nation and even to the world.
Of course, some of the details had to be altered, such as replacing the bombers used in Portuguese Timor with airships.
After all, airships could now fly in the sky and drop bombs.
Since Europeans hadn't directly witnessed the war, no one would question it.
(End of Chapter)
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