Empire Conquest
Chapter 305 - 301 Disordered Steps

Chapter 305: Chapter 301 Disordered Steps

From a broader perspective on the war, the situation on the West Continent was even more "alarming."

Although Tiaoman Army had completed their combat mission ahead of schedule by late June, forcing the Locke Republic to sign a surrender pact after advancing to the outskirts of Seba and subsequently capturing the Kingdom of Viking with ease, the strategic bombing campaign against the Bulan Kingdom had left the Tiaoman Air Force stretched thin.

"High expectations, poor execution" would be a more accurate description.

Before the battle commenced, Marshal Golin had boasted, claiming the mighty Empire’s Air Force would crush the Royal Bulan Air Force within three months, dominate the airspace above the Bulan Kingdom, and force the Bulan Kingdom to surrender, rendering the formidable Royal Bulan Navy useless.

However, just like the Liangxia Army Air Force before the war, the Tiaoman Air Force lacked bombers and fighters with long operational ranges!

The Tiaoman Air Force was a typical tactical air force.

Although the Liangxia Empire started supplying bombers to the Tiaoman Empire from July as promised, it did not help much.

It wasn’t that the bombers provided by the Liangxia Empire were bad or too few, it was that the Royal Bulan Air Force also received strong reinforcements.

The Newland Federation dispatched volunteer air squadrons and began supplying fighters and other military equipment to the Bulan Kingdom through the "Aid Act."

For the first time, Newland and Liangxia military personnel encountered each other in the skies over the Bulan Kingdom.

However, both sides were wearing the uniforms of other nations.

According to the original plan, the Tiaoman Air Force was supposed to have completed the strategic bombing of the Bulan Kingdom within the year, or else they would have to adjust next year’s strategic plans.

To date, the Tiaoman Air Force had not defeated the Royal Bulan Air Force.

Unbelievably, in early August, the Royal Bulan Air Force launched retaliatory bombings against the Tiaoman Empire.

They targeted the Empire’s Capital on their first strike!

This directly led to the Tiaoman Air Force reallocating a large number of forces to concentrate on bombing Luntai City.

In its external propaganda, the Bulan Kingdom’s media repeatedly emphasized the leadership of their new Prime Minister Chur, who served as the Minister of the Navy during the last war. Bombing the Tiaoman Empire’s Capital was Chur’s advocated action, showing that the Bulan Kingdom would never surrender to the enemy.

After taking office, Chur’s first act was to call upon Bulan’s military personnel and civilians to rise in resistance!

The strategic intent behind this, however, was to make Luntai City a magnet for bombs, thus protecting the industrial cities in the southern part of its territory.

At least in August, this tactic was notably effective.

The fierce battle above the Bulan Kingdom’s homeland caused severe losses to the Tiaoman Air Force, forcing the Tiaoman Empire to repeatedly modify their strategic plans.

At this point, the crucial question was whether to deploy the "Prime Minister" ahead of schedule.

This Battleship, into which the Tiaoman Navy had poured its heart and soul, had been completed in August and delivered to the Navy, but it still required a substantial amount of time for acceptance testing.

Even if everything went smoothly, just being able to be combat-ready by the turn of spring and summer next year would be an achievement.

According to the original plans, it was only by the middle of next year that they would consider deploying the "Prime Minister."

Interestingly, it was during discussions about whether to deploy the "Prime Minister" ahead of schedule that the Tiaoman Authority decided to initiate unrestricted submarine warfare prematurely.

The logic was: if the "Prime Minister" could not be deployed ahead of schedule, then severing the Bulan Kingdom’s lifelines would only be possible through unrestricted submarine warfare.

Objectively speaking, there was some sense to this reasoning.

From the outset, the Tiaoman Navy had never intended to use the two "Prime Minister" class ships to challenge the Royal Bulan Navy directly; the principal purpose of building these two Super Battleships was for oceanic commerce destruction—to crush the Royal Bulan Navy’s battlecruisers in an oceanic commerce raiding campaign.

This design philosophy was perfectly embodied in the "Prime Minister" class’s speed and endurance.

Reaching a cruising speed of 29 knots and an endurance of 8500 nautical miles at 19 knots cruising speed made them highly suitable for executing far-reaching oceanic operations that mostly involved raiding, like chasing down an enemy’s fleet or evading an enemy’s ships after being spotted.

The key lies in the cruising speed of 19 knots and an endurance of 8500 nautical miles.

Despite the Bulan Royal Navy having dozens of main battle ships, including several battlecruisers, not a single one could reach a cruising speed of 19 knots.

Even if a battlecruiser traveled at 19 knots, it could not achieve an endurance of 8500 nautical miles.

Implicitly, across the vast ocean, even if the Bulan battleships could catch up with the "Prime Minister," they lacked the endurance to maintain a pursuit.

In fact, the figure of 8500 nautical miles was very well considered.

Departing from the ports of the Tiaoman homeland and taking even the longest route, which means circumnavigating the Xuan Continent to enter the Fan Flame Ocean and reaching the Throat Strait, was just about this distance.

If necessary, the "Prime Minister" could break through to the Liangxia Empire.

Now, the "Prime Minister" was unable to deploy early, and the tense situation required an early strategic blockade against the Bulan Kingdom. The only option left was unrestricted submarine warfare.

The problem was that the Tiaoman Navy’s submarine force was also unprepared for total war.

According to the "Seba Peace Treaty," the Tiaoman Navy was not allowed to develop submarines for warfare.

Although the Tiaoman Navy had been researching and designing submarines, it was only in the year 96 of the New Calendar that the first submarine was ordered and the submarine force was established.

Even though the Tiaoman Empire’s long-distance submarines were technologically advanced, the Tiaoman Navy primarily focused on building battleships, not submarines, before the outbreak of the great war!

Only a few of those advanced long-distance submarines existed, with the majority being medium submarines displacing less than 1000 tons.

Indeed, in the previous few months, the Tiaoman Navy’s unrestricted submarine warfare had caught the Bulan Kingdom by surprise, especially as the dozens of destroyers assisted by the Newland Federation had not yet been deployed, the Bulan Royal Navy’s forces were too scattered, and they themselves had few destroyers available for escort. Therefore, facing just a few Tiaoman submarines, the Bulan suffered heavy losses, but this one-sided situation was difficult to maintain for long.

By the end of August, the Tiaoman Navy’s submarine force losses had exceeded expectations.

If the unrestricted submarine warfare did not achieve its intended goals, and the maritime strangulation of the Bulan Kingdom was unsuccessful, would the Bulan Kingdom declare war against the Liangxia Empire after recovering, and send a fleet to the Fan Flame Ocean, severing the Liangxia Empire’s sea transport routes?

Almost certainly, yes.

Now ruling the Bulan Kingdom was Chur, a genuine old stubborn, a representative of the hawks.

War has not yet been declared against the Liangxia Empire; it is only a matter of needing a few months to stabilize their position.

Furthermore, it is a matter of waiting for the Newland Federation to enter the war.

As for the fight held by the Luosha Federation at the Chains Land Bridge, it can be summed up in one sentence.

A hopeless case.

It could also be said that the Luosha Federation really wasn’t making an effort, even if they launched an attack as per the secret agreement, it was just for show, in order to receive relevant aid.

Another key point is that the Luosha Federation has been "skimming off the top."

Using the pretext of unsuccessful attacks, they withheld many military supplies originally destined for the Tiaoman Empire, particularly ammunition, fuel, and military materials. As a result, the Liangxia Empire had to increase its output to ensure that it could deliver on its promises so that the Tiaoman Empire would receive enough support.

Because of the misappropriation of supplies en route, both empires already had many conflicts with the Luosha Federation, stopping just short of an open break.

Of course, this also indicated from another angle that the Luosha Federation never really intended to put in a serious effort.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.