Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 1126: Chapter 140: Post-war Impact

In the early hours of the morning, the British Government’s temporary residence in the air-raid shelter was still brightly lit.

Another sleepless night had come; the smoke from the day’s bombings had just cleared when another piece of bad news arrived.

The British-Japanese Allied Army had suffered a disastrous defeat in a naval battle, even losing their flagship, and Admiral Mitchell’s fate was currently unknown.

Upon receiving this news, everyone’s first reaction was, “You must be joking,” since just the Far Eastern Fleet alone could suppress the Southeast Asian Fleet, how could the British-Japanese Allied Army possibly lose?

Regrettably, after repeated verification, it was proven that this was reality, not some cruel prank.

Forced to accept this reality, Prime Minister Campbell’s entire world view was shaken—he realized that the Royal Navy was no longer invincible.

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With this new understanding, Campbell was completely thrown off. If the Royal Navy could not maintain control, what would become of the war?

The most bewildered of all was Navy Minister Swindon, whose frontline reports, although clear, pinned the cause of the defeat on the enemy’s participation of their air force.

As for the aircraft carriers, they had always stayed behind, never showing themselves; after all, it was always aircraft conducting the bombings, and the British ships naturally couldn’t tell the difference.

War is cruel, a loss is a loss, regardless of how many reasons there are, at the end of the day, it cannot change the reality of defeat.

Just look at where the Cabinet Government’s offices are now to understand how formidable the enemy’s air force is. If there were any solution, they wouldn’t have fallen to such a state.

After a brief exchange of glances, the room quickly fell silent, and everyone fell into a state of helplessness.

It was somewhat like the saying, “From the tree of confusion grows the fruit of bewilderment, beneath which stand both you and I.”

After a cup of coffee’s time, Foreign Minister Adam took the lead to break the silence, “The defeat at the Battle of Malacca has had a very adverse effect on the Empire’s overall strategy.

I’m not very clear about the military issues, but the diplomatic troubles are certainly overwhelming.

The enemy won’t let this go and perhaps tonight, or maybe tomorrow, this news will spread across the world.

Our already wavering allies will likely stir trouble again. To appease them, the Empire will inevitably have to pay a greater price.

The best way to solve the problem is still to prove our capacity to win the war, otherwise, it will be hard to get them to give their all.”

Adam, accustomed to playing the game of getting something for nothing, obviously found it hard to offer concrete benefits now.

However, the harsh reality was before him; the era of mere lip service was over, everyone had become wiser. No matter how tempting the promise, it couldn’t stave off hunger.

Even if we can’t immediately enjoy a big reward, we at least have to let everyone smell its aroma, or else why would they exert themselves?

Navy Minister Swindon added, “According to intelligence returned from the frontlines, this defeat was mainly due to encountering an enemy ambush, our previously neglected air forces and submarines have now become the enemy’s magic weapons for surprising victories.

The same tactics only work the first time, as long as we are prepared, things will be different.

However, we must acknowledge the role of air forces in naval battles; I suggest we establish our own naval aviation to specifically counter the threat of the enemy’s air force.”

This was all bearable until Swindon proposed the idea of establishing “naval aviation,” which immediately made Air Force Minister Attilio uneasy.

If the navy had its own aviation, then wouldn’t the army want the same? If both the navy and the army had their own air forces, what would be left for the air force to do?

Touching upon the very existence of the air force, Attilio had to fight tooth and nail.

“It won’t work. The navy and air force are both highly specialized branches of the military, focusing on one area is the best choice, trying to manage both would end up accomplishing nothing.”

Swindon shook his head, “But your air force is currently unable to bear such a heavy responsibility, you can’t even ensure the safety of London, how can you ensure the defeat of the enemy’s air force?”

He was not trying to usurp power, it was simply that the performance of the Britannian air force was too unsatisfactory. Since they could not be relied upon, they had to handle it themselves.

Although the Royal Navy did not have a perfected air force structure, they had quite a few reconnaissance planes and even a small number of fighters and bombers.

Expanding these would create an air force. They didn’t need to be very powerful, just capable of holding back the enemy’s air force during naval battles.

Ultimately, with the distance across the English Channel being so short, if the enemy attempted a forced landing, the Royal Navy would still only be able to fight within the coverage of the enemy’s air force.

Attilio scoffed dismissively, “Our air force is inadequate, and you think establishing a naval aviation will be sufficient?

The Holy Roman Empire is the world’s foremost air power, their air force at least twice the size of ours, how can we compete without thousands of planes?

Do you have enough pilots, or sufficient crew members, or do you think just anyone can handle these roles?”

Staffing was a critical issue; this wasn’t something that could be simply conjured up. Though Britannia had quite a few aviation clubs, they were all exceedingly small in scale.

Even into the 21st century, planes were toys for the few. Nowadays, aside from a handful of wealthy individuals, who else could afford such luxury?

Unfortunately, these wealthy individuals who could afford it were mostly from rich and noble families, and few were willing to risk their lives on the battlefield.

These rare talents had already been recruited by the British Air Force, including all the crew members, even from civilian airlines.

Yet, even so, the British Air Force still struggled to defend London.

As the argument threatened to escalate, Campbell interrupted, “Stop arguing, at this point what we need is to pull together.

If the navy wants to establish a naval air force, they’ll have to figure out the personnel issue themselves.

The Foreign Office should try to communicate with our allies to see if they can support us with some pilots in advance, and even some of the aircraft production could be outsourced.”

It was clear that Campbell was truly exhausted. Now he didn’t even want to talk more than necessary.

Since the bombings of London had begun, he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep. He had hoped to rest well tonight, but this issue had arisen.

…

Not only the British Government had a sleepless night, but the leaders of European countries who received notifications from the Vienna Government were also restless.

Only the neighboring countries in Europe could truly understand the might of the Holy Roman Empire.

Since the massive bombings on The British Isles began, everyone had been confident in the Holy Roman Empire’s victory, but the turning point of the war came much faster than expected.

It was surprising that less than a week into the war, the once-bragging Great Britain Empire was already in a predicament.

The Russian Empire was the most shocked, unlike the minor European countries where leadership was out of reach, the Russian Empire was also a contender for supremacy.

However, it was currently in a disadvantageous position, unable to contend with Britannia and Shinra, yet the Russian Empire, being the world’s third superpower, had never abandoned its ambitions.

The Tsarist Government, which had hoped to benefit from the squabbles between the top two, suddenly found its allies, unexpectedly successful.

The Southeast Asian Fleet had defeated the British-Japanese Allied Navy; an implausible event occurred so blatantly, achieved with minimal cost.

Now, whether to advance southward had become a difficult decision for the Tsarist Government, much to Nicholas II’s distress.

Navy Minister Leonid said, “The situation has changed too rapidly; it proves that the British are merely strong on the outside without matching strength. The Royal Navy may not be as powerful as we believed. For the empire’s interest, we must quickly initiate the southern strategy.

If necessary, we can first abandon the Far East. Time waits for no one; if we don’t establish control over India quickly, by the time the war ends, there might be nothing left for us.”

The Navy’s desire to move southward was not strange. Russia lacked quality seaports; although Constantinople was favorable, it was under the watch of the Holy Roman Empire.

Moreover, the Mediterranean had become an inland sea for Shinra, visibly leaving no opportunity for the Russian navy. Even if they managed to station forces reluctantly, there weren’t any benefits for them.

The situation was similar in the Baltic Sea, not only was there a strong Nordic Federation at the door, but they also had to face directly both Shinra and Britain.

Getting a share was already the limit; attaining regional dominance was utterly impossible.

The choices were limited to the subcontinent and the Far East. Unfortunately, the Far East’s geography and climate posed severe limitations and connectivity issues with the mainland, which even the Siberian Railway couldn’t mitigate.

In contrast, the subcontinent was much better. Not only was it wealthy, but it also was easy to govern, making it one of the best colonies in the world.

Interior Minister Vyacheslav said, “The eastern strategy has progressed to this stage; we must win, we cannot talk of giving up.

The southern strategy might seem appealing, but it too is fraught with difficulties. Not to speak of the strong British presence in India, even getting through our allies is challenging.

With so many countries in the Continental Alliance, who wouldn’t want a share? Why should we monopolize it?

Even if we truly managed to take it, we would likely have to yield most of it after the war. The real benefits for us might not even match the gains from defeating the Japanese.

Another critical factor we must consider is India’s importance to Britain. If we aggressively advance into India, the British Government might surrender.

Without the British restraining them, how could we possibly beat the Holy Roman Empire to control the Indian region?”

India, this fat deer, everyone wanted a piece of it. The Russians were salivating, and other member countries of the Continental Alliance were no exception.

If the Russian Empire really tried to monopolize India, they would immediately become the target of many. Avoiding a societal backlash, they would eventually have to spit it out.

Foreign Minister Mihailovich said, “The Marquis is right, we must be cautious about moving south.

Even if we truly decide to go south, it’s best to first communicate with the Vienna Government and prearrange our respective interests.

Relying solely on ourselves, we do not have the strength to swallow the Indian subcontinent. Blindly stuffing it into our mouths might just choke us.”