Empire Conquest
Chapter 398 - 394: Three Steps

Chapter 398: Chapter 394: Three Steps

The betrayal of the Luosha Federation seemed inevitable, so did the Newland Federation really need to risk their only carrier fleet?

The answer was clearly no.

In fact, when speculating whether the Newland Navy would deploy a fleet to launch a surprise attack on East Capital Bay, Bai Zhizhan set a premise that the Newland Federation needed a decisive victory to solidify its relationship with the Luosha Federation, alleviate the pressure on the Luosha Federation, and ensure their victory on the continental battlefield.

They had to defeat the Tiaoman Empire before the first harsh winter arrived!

From a strategic perspective, whether they could defeat the Tiaoman Empire before the arrival of harsh winter would determine if the Alliance Group could achieve a comprehensive victory in this great war.

If not, the best outcome would be like the last war—enduring until the end and negotiating a ceasefire with the Liangxia Empire.

Only by quickly defeating the Tiaoman Empire could they gather sufficient forces to besiege the Liangxia Empire before New Calendar year 101, before the Liangxia Navy recovered, thus putting the Liangxia Empire in a difficult position from both front and rear. Maintaining this advantageous situation could lead to a comprehensive victory within two years.

Based on Bai Zhizhan’s judgment, the Newland Federation chose to join the war in early October related to this.

If the Luosha Federation willingly joined the Consortium Group with prior plans, Bai Zhizhan’s speculation would not hold.

From a prudent perspective, even if worried that the Tiaoman Empire might strike first, the Luosha Federation should have initiated a blitzkrieg in August.

This would mean that the Newland Federation would have to advance their time of joining the war to early August.

If indeed at that time, perhaps the Saiyi Imperial Country would not have surrendered, and the Newland Navy might have won in the Northwest East Ocean Battle.

The reason is that the Imperial Navy might not have been able to deploy four carrier fleets in the Northwest East Ocean during the West East Ocean typhoon in early August.

All in all, the benefits of moving the schedule up by two months were tremendous.

Not advancing the time by two months would only have one reason, there were issues on the Newland side, such as Rofuss’s failure to persuade the domestic opposition in early August.

It might also be related to the general elections of the Newland Federation.

Participating in the war in August and suffering a disastrous defeat would undoubtedly lead to Rofuss losing the presidential election held in early November.

On the contrary, postponing the participation to early October, even if defeated, Rofuss would still have a strong chance of winning.

The key was that, before the election day, the two major parties in the Newland Federation would have reached a compromise.

Essentially, once the Newland Federation’s participation in the war became inevitable, regardless of who was elected president, they would have to command the Newland Federation’s involvement in the war, and politicians from both the Republican and Democracy Parties would not let a now meaningless election and resultant disputes sharpen domestic conflicts.

In a word, it was time to let go of illusions and bravely face the challenges.

It was only after reaching a compromise with the Republican Party and securing his third election as president that Rofuss took action in early October.

This indicated that in the Alliance Group, Newland Federation was truly the core!

However, by delaying the time of participation to October and taking on great risks, which means the Luosha Army might not be able to annihilate the Tiaoman Empire before winter, what reason would there be for the leading Newland Federation to take risks for the Luosha Federation?

To defeat the Liangxia Empire, they must first defeat the Liangxia Navy!

Conquer the Liangxia Empire from land?

After the "Atai Battle," or more precisely after the Liangxia Empire took control of the hinterlands of the Giant Continent, that possibility was permanently non-existent!

Thousands of kilometers of deserts and Gobi, which had not been conquered by nomadic tribes, let alone others.

Even if the Newland Federation dispatched troops, deploying millions of ground troops and sufficient resources, it might still not be feasible to enter the heartland of the Liangxia Empire from the west.

The situation from the southwest was similar.

Since the decisive battle would take place at sea, why would the Newland Navy risk its remaining carrier fleet?

During the planning of the military operations, Bai Zhizhan, Zhou Yongtao, and several young staff officers who joined later had discussed this issue repeatedly.

The consensus they reached was almost unanimous: the Newland Navy would not take risks.

It was at this time that the plan to sneak attack on Wei Island expanded into a campaign to march into the Northwest East Ocean, specifically to seize the North Ma Islands and launch a fierce assault on Guan Island, essentially as the initial phase. After the successful sneak attack on Wei Island, the Imperial Navy would then strike at the North Ma Islands and Guan Island.

The offensive actions in the Flame Sea would start simultaneously.

This was the first strategic-level offensive launched by the Imperial Navy in the direction of the East Ocean.

Retake the North and South Sado Islands?

Those had always been the Empire’s overseas territories, merely set as demilitarized zones, governed autonomously by the locals, and the mission of the Imperial Army was to reclaim lost ground.

Attack the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom?

Aside from strategic bombings and the landing operations to capture Long Sorrow, other battles were mainly carried out by the National Self-Defense Force, bearing little relation to the Imperial Army.

Sweeping through the Ice Storm Peninsula was a ground war.

Crucially, in the Empire’s war plan, whether it was reclaiming the North and South Sado Islands, sweeping through the Ice Storm Peninsula, or even defeating and occupying the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom, none of these were tied to "strategy" per se. Strictly speaking, they were all preparations for the impending decisive battle with the Newland Federation.

As for these former territories and subjugated nations, the Imperial Authority did not truly take them seriously.

According to the finalized plan, the primary objectives were to destroy Wei Island’s airfields and docks and cripple the island; swiftly seize Sai Island on the southern side of the North Ma Islands, transforming it into a forward base for the invasion of Guan Island; attack and attempt to capture Guan Island.

These targets represented three phases.

Of course, there was a fourth phase, although it wasn’t an essential objective.

If the capture of Guan Island went smoothly, with plenty of remaining military strength and supplies, consideration would be given to attacking and capturing Tuk Fortress.

In terms of importance, Tuk Fortress was not lesser than Guan Island.

After the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom declared its surrender, the Newland Navy sent troops to take over Tuk Fortress.

Subsequently, following the announcement of the formation of a government-in-exile by Yingxi, the Saiyi troops stationed at Tuk Fortress swore allegiance to it and obeyed the command of the Newland Navy.

Although the Newland Navy didn’t send many troops to Tuk Fortress, it was originally a stronghold of the Saiyi Navy.

Before the great war erupted, Tuk Fortress was the main base of the Saiyi Navy in the Southwest East Ocean, with a garrison of over 30,000 and ample supplies stocked up. According to pre-war intelligence, even if a total blockade occurred, the Saiyi garrison at Tuk Fortress could hold out for a year.

After Takano’s downfall, Lan Yun led the remnants of the Permanent Fleet to flee to Tuk Fortress, eyeing this point and attempting to hold out there.

However, the most challenging part was actually the sneak attack on Wei Island.

If the sneak attack succeeded, the subsequent battles would be much simpler.

According to the intelligence provided by the Sixth Bureau, there weren’t many enemies on Sai Island; the real concern was actually the few thousand native inhabitants.

Moreover, whether to immediately attack Guan Island after occupying Sai Island didn’t really matter.

Sai Island was close enough to Guan Island, within the striking distance of the Tactical Air Force, thus the aircraft deployed on Sai Island could be used to blockade Guan Island.

Of course, all these were matters for later.

What Bai Zhizhan needed to consider now was how to sneak attack on Wei Island.

What was most needed, it turned out, was patience!

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