The East African colonial government was preparing for war, and the remaining four countries led by Buganda were also active. They continuously dispatched troops, recruiting a large number of soldiers at the border.
At this time, Buganda was the most powerful country in the Great Lakes Region, apart from the East African colony. Its monarch, Mutesa I, was quite accomplished.
Buganda had once been a vassal state of its northern powerhouse, Bunyoro. However, entering the 19th century, like most old empires, Bunyoro went down the path of decline, allowing Buganda to rise swiftly, taking over Bunyoro’s former ecological niche.
During the same period, the Tu Rou Kingdom also broke away from the Bunyoro Empire.
Interestingly, both the Buganda Kingdom and the Tu Rou Kingdom were established by members of the Bunyoro Empire’s royal family. Buganda separated four to five centuries ago, while the Tu Rou Kingdom was established in the 19th century by the rebellion of the Bunyoro Empire’s then-king’s eldest son.
Despite suffering numerous setbacks, the Bunyoro Empire did not disappear, with the Gitarra Kingdom being its direct successor.
Meanwhile, the Enkole Kingdom was also an ancient nation that had existed for over a hundred years.
The basic information about the Northern Four Nations shows that their relations are actually quite similar to European countries; hence, their aristocracies’ interactions were not affected, regardless of whether their relationships were good or bad.
Before the East African colony was established, Buganda already had a standing army of over six thousand men and a navy organized with three hundred ships.
Therefore, Buganda’s strength was quite substantial, justifying its reputation as the overlord of the Great Lakes Region. Furthermore, Mutesa I was a rather arrogant person, especially in recent years, leading the Buganda Kingdom from one victory to another.
He not only completely replaced the Bunyoro Empire, bringing the Buganda Kingdom to its peak but also led the nation effectively in resisting the invasion of the Eastern Bantu people.
Although the Eastern Bantu invasion weakened the Buganda Kingdom, it further bolstered Mutesa I’s prestige.
Under the rule of such a strong monarch, the Buganda people were naturally filled with fighting spirit, believing their monarch could solve any problem.
Mutesa I was also a man of vision, having considerable knowledge of North Africa, especially Egypt, and during the latter part of his rule, he even introduced British and French forces to balance the influence of the Arab Church.
Thus, Mutesa I was also somewhat aware of the East African colonial neighbor that suddenly emerged, but his people couldn’t enter East Africa, so he could only observe the situation at the border (Western Kenya region).
The subsequent wars of East Africa against Burundi and other countries further convinced Mutesa I that the East African colony was not to be taken lightly.
This was a formidable enemy that Northwestern countries had never faced before. In the past few hundred years, all the wars the Northwestern countries encountered were wars of conquest.
After all, population was a significant wealth, especially for backward Africa in terms of productivity. Conquering the other side to gain their people and assets had always been the theme of Northwestern wars.
But now, the East African colony clearly wanted land over people, not leaving any room for the Northwestern countries, forcing Rwanda and the Ijara Kingdom to retreat to Central Africa.
Yet, Mutesa I was not afraid of the East African colony. From the day he ascended the throne, he fought his way through.
Repeated victories filled Mutesa I with confidence, having faced many dangerous situations before, so he did not fear war.
To confront the challenge of the East African colony, Mutesa I actively connected with the other three countries and formed a Four Nations Alliance.
Mutesa I served as the alliance leader, using the resources of four countries to organize a 30,000-man army, divided into two fronts to battle the East African colony.
Over 20,000 were deployed on the southern front, with over 10,000 on the eastern front. To appease each nation, the eastern front mainly consisted of Buganda people, while the southern front was composed of troops from the Four-Nation Alliance Army.
The Tu Rou Kingdom and the Gitarra Kingdom had some minor ambitions because they did not border directly with the East African colony, so they didn’t give their full effort.
The Enkole Kingdom, directly facing the threat of the East African colony, had already mobilized its entire nation to cooperate with the Buganda Kingdom, making the main forces Buganda and the Enkole Kingdom.
Mutesa I was naturally aware of the minor ambitions of Tu Rou and Gitarra, so he also stationed over 10,000 reserves in the rear to prevent any surprises.
On July 4, the East African army, having rested for over a month, began activity once again, preparing for war on both the eastern and southern fronts.
The southern battlefield was still commanded by Arman, while the eastern front was led by Felix.
The main force of the Four-Nation Alliance Army was personally led by Mutesa I, while his eldest son temporarily took over national affairs.
This time, the East African colony did not directly attack the territories of the four countries. With the precedent of Rwanda and the Ijara, the East African colony first issued a notification to the four nations.
The content was roughly that the time left for them was running out, urging them to learn from Rwanda and the Ijara to ensure a safe retreat. If they remained obstinately, they should not blame the East African colony for being ruthless.
In essence, it was a warning not to blame them for not forewarning. However, unlike Rwanda and the other countries ravaged by the Eastern Bantu people, the Northern Four Nations had vast households and wouldn’t easily give up.
Mutesa I personally sent a message to the East African colony, proposing a battle between warriors: the winner takes all, and the loser is utterly defeated.
Blunt and straightforward, there was nothing more to say. Regarding the battle of warriors, the East African colony claimed, "we are not warriors; we only know how to bully with superiority."
The main forces of both sides initiated a decisive battle on the southern shore of Nakivale Lake, with Mutesa I personally leading the allies to attack the East African army.
The brave and fierce Mutesa I directly boosted the allies’ morale, surging towards the East African army like a tide.
The allied soldiers wore tattoos and painted vibrant colors on their faces, with braided hair, wielding simple shields and spears, appearing daunting.
The elite troops wore battle robes, carrying scimitars and bows and arrows, supervised personally by Mutesa I.
The East African commanders were not in a hurry to attack, only starting to line up and execute after the enemy entered range.
The battle lacked any significant value, simply bullying the indigenous weapons’ backwardness, coupled with the East African colony having stockpiled sufficient ammunition, the East African army freely engaged in combat.
At three in the afternoon, the battle ended.
Mutesa I and the allied nobles were nowhere to be found, leaving the battlefield full of indigenous corpses, a dire scene for the East African colony to clean up.
This was the largest battle the East African colony had fought in the northwest, with the enemy leaving behind over ten thousand corpses, and the East African colony could not simply ignore them.
Lacking fuel, there wasn’t enough time to burn them, so they had to transport large amounts of hay and firewood from the rear for incineration while digging pits on site for burial. It took two to three days of double-pronged efforts.