Empire Conquest
Chapter 424 - 420: The Third Plan

Chapter 424: Chapter 420: The Third Plan

In the following days, Bai Zhizhan, accompanied by Du Kang, visited several frontline bases and essentially mastered the situation of the frontline troops.

The state of the troops,speaking relatively, was still not bad.

According to Du Kang, they had swiftly swept through the South Toe region, and the Damman Kingdom had a change of heart, allowing the Imperial Army access to its national borders and also providing military bases, making the latter part of the combat operation into a "battlefield tour." Most combat troops had recovered from the initial fierce battle.

To boost morale, the Army even arranged for main forces to rotate into cities of Damman Kingdom for rest and recuperation.

As for the Land Air Force, they were thriving even more.

To facilitate military personnel visiting tourist destinations in Damman Kingdom for vacations, the Land Air Force had specially arranged several transport planes and launched a military flight service nicknamed the "Battle Zone Express." Before Bai Zhizhan’s arrival, the Imperial Guard law enforcement troops had already reached Damman Kingdom to maintain social order near the military bases.

As Du Kang said, the biggest problem was that the infrastructure couldn’t keep up.

Let alone deploying combat aircraft at airports, even the military camps were severely lacking, forcing the Army to spend a hefty sum to rent houses from civilians for temporary accommodation for officers and soldiers.

Speaking of combat operations, the Navy had to take on the primary responsibility.

The Army was temporarily stationed at the southern end of the Toe Peninsula because the southern part bordered Damman Bay, necessitating that the Navy deploy the landing fleet to transport the combat troops to the Mala region.

Du Kang specifically introduced Bai Zhizhan to the combat plan for attacking the Mala region.

Actually, it was also related to the Damman Kingdom.

According to the initial plan, since they hadn’t considered passing through the Damman Kingdom, there was only one route available, to land directly in the Mala region.

The operation’s difficulty was immense, and it required the capture of a forward base.

However, there was a significant disagreement between the Army and the Navy on exactly how to proceed.

The Navy advocated first capturing a forward base, such as an island east of the Mala region, and then landing in the Mala region after the Air Force was in place.

The Army believed this was unnecessary and proposed landing directly on the northern part of the peninsula instead.

The reason was: the Bulan forces primarily guarded Lion Spring City, and there weren’t many troops stationed on the peninsula. Thus, landing at the northern part of the peninsula far from Lion Spring City wouldn’t be too difficult.

However, both plans had one problem in common.

They wasted too much time.

According to the Navy’s plan, even if capturing a deserted island was not difficult, constructing an airport and dock, and deploying shore-based Air Force would take at least half a month.

Considering logistical support, it would nearly take a whole month in total.

The Army’s plan was similar; after landing in the northern part of the peninsula, since there were no roads for the Armored Forces to advance, they would have to spend a considerable amount of time moving south.

According to the most optimistic estimate, reaching the southern end of the peninsula would take twenty days, with additional days needed to prepare for attacking Lion Spring City.

This was why a combat scheme had not yet been finalized.

To save time, the troops would have to land directly in the southern part of the Mala Peninsula.

However, the difficulty was incredibly high, and the risks were significant.

Mainly because it was too close to Lion Spring City, they would surely face opposition from Bulan forces during the landing, and even the safety of the landing fleet could not be guaranteed.

Moreover, the Bulan Royal Air Force had deployed over 100 combat aircraft in Lion Spring City!

Since they had to fly over the entire Damman Bay, with a combat radius exceeding 1200 kilometers and limited front-line airports, the Land Air Force’s bombings of Lion Spring City had been sporadic and not very effective, and to this day, they had not degraded the local Bulan Royal Air Force’s combat capabilities.

Indeed, this was also related to the radars deployed there.

According to Du Kang, the Land Air Force had continually bombed the Bulan Royal Air Force’s radar stations, but had still not destroyed those several air search radars.

Speaking of it, the Bulan Royal Air Force had accumulated a great deal of actual combat experience in defending their homeland.

In Du Kang’s words, it was all thanks to advanced radars that the Bulan Royal Air Force had defeated the formidable Tiaoman Air Force in domestic air defense operations.

Without radar, the Bulan Kingdom might have been defeated before the Luosha Federation turned against them.

If they couldn’t take down the Bulan Royal Air Force at Lion Spring City, the Navy had to provide air defense cover for the southern landing on the Mala Peninsula.

Without cover, sending the Landing Fleet was tantamount to sending them to their deaths.

Moreover, the Marine Corps needed air support after landing ashore.

In short, they had to get the Navy to send a carrier.

This was also a problem the Army repeatedly mentioned, hoping the Navy could quickly complete deployment adjustments and send the Special Mixed Fleet to participate in the attack on Lion Spring City.

Even if they requested passage through the Damman Kingdom, the Navy still had to contribute.

According to Du Kang’s introduction, the Army’s top priority during this time was actually strategic deception, making the enemy believe the Imperial Army would launch from the southern region of the Damman Kingdom, such as Songkhla in the central part of the Mala Peninsula, and deploy the Air Force there to block the Throat Strait on the west side of the peninsula.

Of course, this also served as a springboard to attack Lion Spring City.

Simply put, they would skip the Mala region, block the Throat Strait and go straight for Lion Spring City.

This move’s greatest benefit was avoiding ground combat which saved time advancing on the ground.

For this reason, the Army had already sent an engineering troop to Songkhla.

After completing the infrastructure, the Army planned to deploy an Airborne Force in Songkhla, showing preparedness to carry out airborne operations in Lion Spring City.

If they could defeat the Bulan Royal Air Force and seize air superiority, airborne operations might be feasible.

Of course, it definitely required coordination with an amphibious landing.

Therefore, the Navy still needed to send the Special Mixed Fleet and assemble a Landing Fleet in the southern Flame Sea, preparing to launch an amphibious landing.

In all combat plans, the amphibious landing was the absolute main force, with other means like airborne and bombardment serving as assistants.

The reason being, only through an amphibious landing could they send heavy equipment to the battlefield and capture Lion Spring City guarded by more than 200,000 Bulan soldiers.

Without heavy equipment, let infantry assault directly?

Even if the Commander’s brain got stuck in a door, they wouldn’t make such a foolish move.

The battle between the Ice Storm Peninsula and the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom had already proved that if a city must be attacked, troops needed enough heavy equipment, especially tanks.

Overall, after gaining utilization of the Damman Kingdom, more options were available for the attack on Lion Spring City.

Deciding exactly how to attack still needed to be determined by the higher-ups.

Bai Zhizhan was clear that the last proposed plan was actually the most feasible.

The key was utilizing the Air Force deployed in Songkhla to block the Throat Strait.

If there was enough time, sustained strategic blocking could bring down the defenses of Lion Spring City.

Unfortunately, there was not only insufficient time but also extreme urgency.

As for deploying the Airborne Force, it was a feasible method but just a method. At most, it could aid the military operation of landing in Lion Spring City.

Fundamentally, the Navy had to play the main role.

The combat plan also reflected this, having the Marine Corps lead the charge. After successfully establishing a beachhead and the landing site, they would send in the Army.

On New Calendar Year 100’s last day, New Year’s Eve, at the Sharp Bamboo Pattern Army Air Force Base, which was the Imperial Army’s front-line headquarter, a New Year’s Eve party was held.

Because it happened in the Damman Kingdom, many members of the Royal Family and Damman Royal Army generals were invited.

Bai Zhizhan attended as a representative of the Imperial Navy to the banquet, mainly to interact and discuss cooperation with the Damman Navy’s generals.

Regardless, the Damman Kingdom had become a de facto ally of the Empire, and it was certain to warrant high significance.