Deleted member 67076
Huh, neat.
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The Great War (I)
In the lead up to the Great War, the Congolese state was effectively dubbed "The Prussia of Africa". This was a relatively accurate description. In the vein of the old Prussian kingdom, Congo was very much an "army with a country", rather than the other way around.
A hodgepodge force of mercenaries, vassal troops, native auxiliaries, the ever growing support corps and the actual professional core, this ~200,000 or so bloated monstrosity of an organization is the largest (if not the most well trained or equipped) army on the African continent, dwarfing its neighbors, even after Britain, France and Portugal have massively upped their presence in response. It takes up the vast majority of state funds, and has geared nearly every single organization and economic activity within its borders to feed, equip, defend and supply the great beast.
The actual professional army was a sight to behold. The brainchild of Leopold II's personal security force- once his loyal enforcers no the premier champion of anticolonialism- had now become an entire system of their own. Perhaps an entire ethnic group if one were to be generous. Grown by both tribute and willing recruitment from the vast native states under the Congolese dominion alongside many foreign volunteers, these young men (and lets face it boys in a lot of places) were sent to an army complex based on the Prussian model where they received training, basic education, and religious ministry.
This educational/administrative complex was initially formed by the initial crop of Congolese troops during the Colonial era, but following the establishment of the Republic and the de facto alliance with Germany, increasing numbers of German officers (sometimes sent as a punishment from back home) and freelance retired troops from other nations (principally France) were given jobs as teachers and advisors. As a result, professionalism steadily increased within the troops and kept them up to date with modern techniques and technologies.
It is worth noting that though was a small scale attempt by the Germans to connect Tanganyika to Kamerun as part of the "Mittleafrika" strategy, but the realities of Congo's immense size and geographic difficulties put this on standstill.
On the logistical side of things, outside capital provided Congo with most of the factories it needed to equip its vast armies. Centered around the major river cities (for ease of transport) and the budding mining towns of the Savannah, the factories also provided the basis for the steady stream of internal migrants from the countryside looking for work (or being coerced into working) outside the grueling commodity extraction jobs, or were unable to enter into the business of trade and shopkeeping that supplied the budding boomtowns. Additionally, telegraphs and roads were built by the Europeans, principally to ease resource extraction but also to as part of concessions granted to capitalize on the swelling market that was the Congolese Army.
At the onset of hostilities, the Congolese army was no where entirely a 'modern' force. It was enough well equipped to make it a very hard nut to crack, which combined with European paranoia about the monopolization of the Congo's vast resources by rivals, ensured its theoretical safety. But /offensive/ warfare, well that's another story.
In any case, as hostilities broke out in 1920, Congo remained at first cautiously neutral. There was plenty of money to be made from the sharp rise in copper, bronze and nickel alongside the increased wartime investment by outside powers in their factory towns. But by 1922, when things seemed to be swinging over the side of the Central Powers (and Tanganyika was close to falling), the Congolese entered the war in a surprising (to the Entente) movie and fast strike.
At home, this was received quite well. This was their chance to strike against the colonial vultures, to avenge the injustices of the past. And to take more coastland and steal back all those concessions.
Initial moves saw wide success. The Congolese had an absolute monopoly of violence internally, and any and all resistance to commandeering foreign possessions was laughable. Swiftly, the Congolese took back what they could, reversing decades of creeping informal control in a few months. For the average worker, this meant absolutely nothing. Meet the new boss, same as the old. Actually no that's not right; meet the new boss, almost as insufferably smug as the old.
The Grand Strategy of Congo in the African Front was 2 fold: One, to prevent the fall of Tanganyika and two, to seize French Congo and Portuguese Cabinda. Everything else was merely to hold the position until the invaders were exhausted and peace came, which at the time seemed to be pretty soon.
Here, the initial advantage laid with Congo. Their armies had massive numerical advantage over colonial armies and could almost effortlessly swarm garrisons in French Congo and (after Portugal joined the war) Cabinda. By the start of 1923 a link up was established with Kamerun as French Congo fell to Congolese troops. The logistics were hell, the movement slow and grueling, but Congo had both native support (Thanks to promoting themselves as anti colonial) and plenty of troops to throw into the meat grinder. The Europeans lacked that advantage as disease carved a swath through the ranks more than bullets and artillery did, and their stalwart refusal to arm natives in the fight ensured a very bloody, embarrassing campaign. Sporadic revolts, armed by the Congolese in the colonies of Gabon, Sudan and Uganda, merely added to this paranoia and thinning of troops.
Domestically, news of victory had given to widespread support of the war... for the first year of war. Public opinion quickly shifted after the shock of the economic situation was realized. In antagonizing the Entente, this meant Congo's International trade plummeted to virtually nil as Congo's overseas markets were strangled once British blockades began. Internal mobilization, seizure of foreign property and emergency wartime mobilization alongside wartime plundering (Which was beginning to get wear out the welcome amongst natives in East Africa) and weren't nearly enough to upset the balance, and Congo entered an economic free-fall as the years went on. Inflation skyrocketed, shortages were rampant and de facto forced labor with no payment was becoming increasingly the norm.
Militarily, the next year saw stalemates arising in Katanga against a South African invasion, another in French Congo following a counter attack and yet another front opening up in East Africa to push back the British. Congo was cracking under pressure, the question remained if she could hold out until the war ended, or fall into total chaos as total war undid decades of progress.
