Munitions Empire

Even the U.S. military in 1944, when conducting transatlantic operations with the UK as a supply base, did not have an easy time landing at Normandy.

Had they not secured air superiority and used a series of methods to conceal their strategic intentions, they almost got pushed back into the sea by a bunch of SS youngsters.

Moreover, the Great Tang Group did not have this capability—at attacking a huge country across the sea was definitely not an easy task.

Of course it wasn't easy! If it were, would Tang Mo have bothered to summon two people for consultation? He could have simply given an order, and that would have been it.

It was precisely because Tang Mo knew that this operation was unlike any before and required serious consideration that he summoned his two most trusted generals to discuss and come up with a suitable plan.

Looking at the coastline of Zheng Country, Luff continued, "If it's about threatening or defeating them, it's easy, Bernard's navy could do it with ease."

He had great confidence in the navy of the Great Tang Group because it was a technical branch. As long as there was an overwhelming technological advantage, quality could make up for the lack of quantity.
Find more to read at empire

Furthermore, once a war started, the number of warships that the Great Tang Group could assemble was not small, and it was unlikely that the enemy could gain the upper hand.

So with a hint of regret, he remarked, "But if it's a full-scale offensive, our disadvantage in troop numbers is too obvious."

Tang Mo smiled, glanced at Luff, and jokingly retorted, "If I wanted to use the navy to bully people along the coastline, why would I need to call you over? I could just summon Bernard to arrange the mission, right?"

Luff scratched his head in embarrassment and then answered Tang Mo's previous question, "The security forces of the Great Tang Group currently have two divisions on the books but, in reality, only one and a half divisions' worth of manpower."

"One-quarter of the soldiers in both divisions are missing because we are not in a state of war." He briefed the current state of the Great Tang Group's troops, "As they're stationed for home defense, both divisions are below full strength, and to go to war, we would need to fill these vacancies."

In order not to provoke an excessive reaction from the surrounding kingdoms and to avoid agitating these kingdoms, the troops directly under the Great Tang Group have always been limited in number.

With the development of Dragon Island, the troop numbers were barely expanded to the size of two divisions—but since it wasn't wartime, these divisions weren't at full strength.

They had most of the administrative infrastructure and weaponry, but a significant portion of the soldier count was missing, which on one hand saved military expenses, and on the other also preserved valuable labor resources.

You must know that the soldiers of the Great Tang Group's security forces were not like those recruited from illiterate farmers and vagrants by other powers and kingdoms.

The soldiers of the Great Tang Group were precious talent, educated, literate, and skilled individuals. Losing even one of them was a regrettable loss.

It was because of such high-quality soldiers that the troops of the Great Tang Group had stronger coordination during missions, high initiative among soldiers, a tenacious and resilient fighting style, and sensible arrangement of local tactics...

As the chief of staff for the Great Tang Group, Luff knew his troops like the back of his hand, so he directly provided his assessment: "If both divisions are brought up to full strength, our existing combat forces would be around 20,000, which is still not enough."

Tagg, purely analyzing from a military operation perspective, also shook his head reluctantly, "This is difficult. We're conducting a transoceanic operation; first and foremost, we must establish a strategic hub in the coastal areas of Zheng Country, and then we have to withstand the enemy's counterattack, which is very important."

Dragon Island is far away from Zheng Country, otherwise it wouldn't have remained unexplored until just over a decade ago. Setting out from Dragon Island and relying on ships to supply troops for combat operations in Zheng Country was clearly too insane a plan.

Even if Tang Mo controlled most of the transit capacity on the Endless Sea, he wouldn't be so arrogant as to make such a foundational judgement.

Therefore, Tagg's idea was probably the easiest solution—to find an island near the coastline of Zheng Country to serve as a strategic springboard.

Firstly, stockpile sufficient strategic materials on this island, including ammunition, food, weapons, and equipment, establish repair factories and docks capable of fixing ships, and providing coal and perhaps even gasoline.

Then, using this island to launch an attack on Zheng Country would undoubtedly shorten their own supply lines and simplify logistics.

The Great Tang Group's military had always valued logistical support, so when Tagg analyzed the problem from the perspective of supplies, Tang Mo didn't find it strange at all.

As the saying goes, the army does not move without provisions going first. Calculating one's own supply issues before initiating a campaign is one of the most important jobs for modern warfare commanders.

"Our current transport capacity is inadequate to support the entire war effort, and we'll need to transport and stockpile strategic materials over a long period; clearly, this is a huge project." The more he gazed out upon the Endless Sea, the more Tagg felt that such transoceanic supply efforts would be the death of the Great Tang Group's logistics corps.

Meanwhile, everyone was very aware that Zheng Country had no trains, no railroads, and the state of the roads was also unclear; the transport conditions could be extremely poor, which would severely constrain the Great Tang Group's series of operations in Zheng Country.

Luff could not help but shake his head as he outlined the potential difficulties: "To occupy Zheng Country, a large number of troops are needed, but a large number of troops will consume a lot of ammunition, which requires resupplying across the sea. Hence, sufficient sea transportation is a must, yet this is a contradiction."

"At least another five divisions of troops, 50,000 men, would be needed; that's about the limit. Any less, and we might neglect one area while focusing on another." Tagg, the frontline commander, had done a rough calculation in his mind and proposed what he believed was the bare minimum number of troops necessary.

Upon hearing this number, Luff shook his head even more vigorously: "To transport 50,000 men to reach the western side of the Endless Sea, even for us, would not be an easy task. I am not worried about naval battles, but I am precisely concerned about the land combat aspects."

Just think of Operation Sea Lion, even the naval and maritime transport capabilities of World War II Germany were not sufficient to ensure the crossing of the English Channel, let alone the Great Tang Group, whose actual transport capacity might not even match that of the Third Empire.

While Germany had to consider counterattacks from the British Navy and coastal defense forces, the Great Tang Group also had to consider its own transport capabilities, most of which were still reliant on sailing ships...

"If we get bogged down in a tough battle, our supply lines will be extremely difficult... Campaign logistics on the scale of tens of thousands of people, even for us, have never been attempted before. We have no way to predict what might happen or what problems might arise," Luff cautiously voiced his opinion.

As the chief of staff of the Great Tang Group, he was obligated to fully remind Tang Mo of the possible dangers he might face before making a decision; it was his duty.

"Is there a possibility that with a force of elite troops, we strike directly at the capital of Zheng Country and seize King City, paralyzing their resistance?" Tang Mo pondered for a moment, then came up with a plan to simplify logistics as much as possible and achieve a swift resolution to the conflict.

Tagg immediately responded: "Theoretically, it is feasible, but from a purely military standpoint, this tactic is not the most rational choice."

In fact, he had been designing similar plans in his mind since the conversation began because the idea was too tempting.

If it could be accomplished, the war could be ended swiftly, which would significantly simplify the supply issues associated with overseas operations, while also reducing losses; it would be akin to killing three birds with one stone.

However, such a military gamble, akin to the stratagem used in the Battle of Guandu, would also entail immense risks.

Luff immediately nodded in agreement with Tagg's point of view, then continued to explain to Tang Mo: "Yes, on the one hand, we need to ensure that this deep-penetrating force has plenty of food and ammunition, which is already a difficult task. On the other hand, we cannot ignore the potential consequences if the operation fails."

"The consequences could be very severe..." Tagg stressed: "If the enemy's King runs away with his Ministers, abandoning King City, and we come up empty, their counterattack will come from all directions, and our troops will have trouble retreating, possibly facing the risk of annihilation."

"Or even if we successfully capture the enemy's King and take control of King City, if the surrounding enemy forces refuse to surrender, our situation remains very dangerous," Luff added another possibility, helping Tang Mo understand the pitfalls of this tactical choice.

"Therefore, we should ensure as much as possible that the force attacking King City has at least one direction where there is support or safety," Luff said, pointing at King City of Zheng Country and gesturing in several directions.

Indeed, whether it was Luff, Tagg, or even Tang Mo, they all believed that taking a few cities or capturing a Kingdom's King City was not a difficult task.

What they were discussing now was how to control the situation and occupy the entire Kingdom, not just achieving a dramatic quick victory.

Last time, Redman's surprise attack on the King City of the Kingdom of Gemalin led to the Kingdom's sudden collapse, which was not a victory that could be replicated.

The collapse of Germelin was the result of several factors acting together, not merely the capture of the King City and the capture of the King leading to the downfall of the Kingdom.

Firstly, the main forces of Gemalin were actually annihilated by the Northern Ridge military after they entered the territory of the Leite Kingdom, leaving the Kingdom of Gemalin almost defenseless and incapable of any counterattack.

Secondly, the King of Gemalin was naive; he thought the enemy would not kill him, even expecting to negotiate with Shireck afterwards and save the Kingdom of Gemalin... Clearly, he was mistaken.

So... such a foolish King, coupled with the once-in-a-lifetime vulnerability of the country, created the miracle of annihilating a Kingdom in just over a dozen days.

To replicate such a miracle, Tang Mo knew it was almost impossible. Therefore, relying on the idiocy of the entire Zheng Country was foolhardy, imagining the enemy as fools before a battle was the kind of stupidity characteristic of Japanese planners.

----------

There will be another chapter update in about 20 minutes.