Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 1130: Chapter 144: The Suffering British Army

Modern warfare was no longer confined to the battlefield; most of the time, the struggles off the field were even more intense.

The war for hegemony began with the United Kingdom on the back foot, but that was merely because their war-fighting mindset had been taken by surprise by the Holy Roman Empire.

In the context of the entire war, it had only been an initial advantage and did not directly determine the final outcome, just as Germany had initially swept across the European Continent in World War II only to end in ignominious retreat.

The only difference was that the Soviet human shield had not yet emerged, and the American nursemaid was still a little girl.

With unhelpful allies, the United Kingdom had to face the test alone. Fortunately, the United Kingdom was at its peak, not in the “setting sun” state it was during World War II.

But no matter how solid the foundation, it was bound to be shaken by war. Rising prices were not a big deal, but the key issue was the disruption to the maritime trade routes, leading to a shortage of domestic supplies.

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Short-term needs might be met with reserves, but the war wouldn’t be over in a day or two, and those reserves were bound to run out eventually.

There was no choice; everyone had set their expectations for the Royal Navy too high and had not considered the safety of the trade routes.

If it hadn’t been for the capitalists sensing the war beforehand and stockpiling some supplies, the situation would be far worse than simple price hikes.

Navy Minister Swindon, “The Navy will escort merchant ships, but our number of warships is limited. We also need to suppress the Continental Alliance, so the number of warships available is limited.

To ensure safety for merchant ships, it would be best for merchant ships to operate as a group, and then we can dispatch warships to provide unified protection.”

The performance of the Royal Navy in the Malacca naval battle had already caused a stir domestically. Even though they proclaimed to have been tricked by the enemy, a loss was still a loss.

Compared to the Japanese Navy, the Royal Navy was lucky, as the British people at most called them worthless, without labeling them as national traitors.

Whether to win this war or to remove the label of “worthless” from their heads, the Royal Navy had to perform well in their upcoming actions.

However, performance aside, the harsh realities they faced still needed to be addressed.

Thousands of ships came and went from the British Isles every day, with at least hundreds being ocean-going vessels. Even if the Royal Navy mobilized en masse, they could not provide protection for all.

Especially since the enemy was now employing a strategy of disruption, which didn’t involve engaging them in an outright battle.

The attacking warships were all high-speed vessels, and regardless of their combat effectiveness, their speed was top-notch.

To deal with these enemies, ordinary warships were useless; only a few could be deployed for combat.

Submarines were an even bigger problem. In this era without sonar detection equipment, they were almost impossible to find unless they came very close.

With this backdrop, even if merchant ships could operate as a group, protecting them was still a heavy burden.

Commerce Minister Burns, “Sir, having merchant ships operate as a group is only viable in theory, and even then, only occasionally. It’s impossible to do so every time.

Different goods can’t all be shipped at the same time, and group operations would severely delay transport schedules.

Especially on some less popular routes, where there are only a few ships a month, we can’t expect them to make just one trip a year, can we?

Our transportation resources are not unlimited; they can’t withstand such wastage.”

War is cruel. The British had also played the game of concentrated transportation in their original timeline, with somewhat pitiful results.

Besides particularly important materials that needed to be transported in a convoy with naval escorts, all other goods were shipped as quickly as possible.

Without any alternative, while naval escorts of concentrated convoys indeed solved safety issues, grouping ships together held back transport efficiency, and some goods not suitable for long-term storage simply rotted in the warehouses.

Other issues were manageable, but anything affecting profits was unacceptable. Human life was the cheapest commodity during war, coinciding with the most profitable era for maritime trade.

As long as the profits were substantial enough, risks became irrelevant. The capitalists didn’t have to escort the shipments themselves and hence didn’t mind taking the risks.

A single long-distance voyage could earn almost a third of the cost of a ship. Even with the intense enemy attacks, it was impossible to intercept all vessels, not even one in ten.

The probability of running into an enemy raid on each voyage was at most a few percentage points, making it entirely possible to take a chance.

If a ship could make four unscathed trips, it was a huge profit. And in the event of an actual mishap, there were always insurance companies to fall back on.

Of course, the insurance wasn’t free. After the outbreak of war, insurance premiums shot up, but in the end, the consumer always pays.

After listening to the Commerce Minister, Swindon helplessly waved his hand, “If the ships can’t be concentrated, then we can only express our regrets.

The enemy’s colonial ports are widespread, and they retreat as soon as the Royal Navy advances. Unless we eliminate these colonies, there’s simply no way to get rid of these rats.”

Giving up?

No, it was politics. Unlike in the past, political slogans could be idly tossed about. Now, in wartime, failing to fulfill promises could be tantamount to delivering a weapon into the hands of political rivals.

Though everyone appeared to be united, there was competition even among comrades.

If an issue arose, everyone was quick to pass the blame. Mutual suffering was unrealistic; it was “better for your partner to die than for yourself” – a common political tactic.

Eliminating the enemy’s colonial ports sounded easy, but in reality, it was not a task that could be completed overnight.

The United Kingdom’s resources were limited. They were barely managing their current colonies, and opening new fronts would obviously be too much to handle.

Army Minister Marcus, “Cape of Good Hope is in grave danger, and the situation in East Africa is sprawling and deteriorating. The Empire’s achievements in Africa are being nibbled away by the enemy.

In Asia, the enemy has launched attacks simultaneously on Persia and the Indochina Peninsula, with no attempt to conceal their ambitions for India.

According to intelligence collected from the front lines, the Russians have also reinforced their presence in the Afghan Region, and could launch an attack at any time.

The Persian Government has already asked for our aid for the seventh time. If we do not send reinforcements, their defeat is just a matter of time.

Of course, we have our own counterattacks. Through the unremitting efforts of the Canadian Legion, we have secured most of Alaska.

Due to national policy, the army has always maintained a low number of troops. Now, with multiple fronts to manage, we’ve reached our limits.”

The reasons were far too compelling. Because the Royal Navy had not played its proper role, the Lobster Soldiers had to bear the brunt of the fighting.

Engaging on five fronts at once, with one of the fronts securing a complete victory, was a performance that entirely justified Great Britain Empire’s investment in the army.

As for the fluff in between, there’s no need to delve into it. The British Government needs good news to stabilize the public’s heart, and the British people need good news just as much.

Under such circumstances, any victory is worth trumpeting far and wide.

The conquest of Alaska is a good topic. With more than 1.7 million square kilometers, it exceeds the total area lost in Britannia, thus after offsetting each other, the Great Britain Empire still came out ahead.

As for the differences between one territory and another, just ignore them directly. As long as the newspapers don’t mention it, how can the ordinary citizens understand?

Moreover, Alaska is not at all unknown in Britannia; it even has a nice nickname among the people, “The Golden State.”

Therefore, the parade of the Canadian Legion cannot be just a parade, but rather a great victory.

Shamelessly, it can even be dubbed “The Turning Point Battle.” After all, it’s all for soothing the public, so a little exaggeration doesn’t hurt.

“The Army has already expanded to two million, haven’t they, and there are also numerous colonial legions, how come there’s still…”

Before the Navy Minister could finish his sentence, Marcus interrupted, “Your Excellency, military expansion also takes time, and two million is just a number on paper.

The war broke out just over a month ago, and there are only two or three countries in the entire world that could mobilize two million troops in such a short time, and that does not include Britannia.

The Army is different from the Navy. You have ample military funds and maintain large formations in times of peace.

Just over a month ago, the Imperial Army had only 137,000. Now it has expanded directly to two million, which is an increase of fourteen times.

With such expansion, whether it’s officers or arms and equipment, we simply don’t have enough reserves.

Optimistically estimated, if the new recruits called up in the next two months can each get a rifle, it would be a remarkable achievement.

Being able to form a rudimentary combat capability within the year would be due to divine providence. In the short term, the amount of mobile troops we can utilize is actually not much.”

Deflecting blame is something everyone can do; neither the Navy wants to take the responsibility, nor does the Army want to be the scapegoat. Everyone’s rationale seems fully justified on the surface.

The Navy is unable to guarantee the safety of trade routes at sea mainly because the enemy’s colonies are there, and there’s no way to destroy the enemy’s breakthrough ships.

The Army is more straightforward, starting with selling misery. The army has expanded, but most of the new recruits haven’t even entered the barracks yet, and ensuring that each person has a rifle is impossible, so how can they be combat-ready?

The speaker may be unintentional, but the listener takes note.

Prime Minister Campbell is agitated by this, the former workshop of the world can’t even ensure that every person has a rifle, how distressing is that?

There’s no way around it, the scale of the British Army has always been only about 130,000, and even if there were an arms reserve, at most another 130,000 rifles could be stored.

Even if there were thoughts of expanding the army, nobody anticipated that it would need to be expanded by so much. Especially since there have been so many international conflicts in the last hundred years, most of the time they ended after a bit of a ruckus.

Based on past experience, it has always been Britannia attacking other countries, never having been attacked by others, at least not in the last few decades.

By the time the situation became tense, it was too late. Not to mention those members of Parliament dragging their feet, just the issue of production capacity is a huge problem.

In a normal year, Britannia only needs the production capacity for around 120,000 to 200,000 rifles to satisfy the needs of the domestic troops and the colonial army.

Now that there has been an expansion at home and in the colonies, a gap of five or six million rifles has suddenly appeared – how can that be filled in a short amount of time?

In the original timeline during World War I, Britannia had to place orders with Americans due to the rapid expansion of the army and the inability of weapon production to keep up.

Now it goes without saying that the only difference is that the industrial capacity of the United States has not risen, and their military production capability is even lower than that of the British.

The United States’ military industry is not up to par, and the industrial capacity of other member states of the Oceanic Alliance is even worse. Most of these countries import all their arms and equipment.

Nowadays, those with military production capacities are almost all huddled in the European Continent, and they are now the enemies of the Great Britain Empire.

Under such circumstances, from where can the British Army procure so many guns? Even if they turn to smuggling, there’s not a smuggler with enough capacity.

Furthermore, it’s not just weapons and equipment that need to be bought; the follow-up ammunition is in great demand too.

With Britannia’s military production capacity, it would be hard-pressed to produce even the daily training rounds for a few million troops.

Unable to resolve these issues, asking the Army to launch a counter-offensive would be a joke. Being able to stabilize the situation would already be cheating.

Glancing at the world map on the wall, Prime Minister Campbell sighed deeply and swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

…

In the Near East, as the Sacred Shinra Army began the offensive against Persia, the Tsarist Government also quietly increased its troops near the border.

Whether these forces were meant to guard against Persian invasion or to emerge at a critical moment to pick off easy gains cannot be concluded rashly.

At least Colonel Si Krest has no clue what the homeland intends to do. In recent times, he has repeatedly asked to be sent into battle but has been denied.

These days, it’s not easy for minor nobility, without a distinguished background, and if without military achievements, it’s not easy to rise above the rest.

Forget the Far Eastern Battlefield; that is a thankless task. Harsh climates aside, logistical problems could arise.

The most tragic part is that when fighting the Japanese, the military merit is discounted; winning is expected, and losing is a heinous crime.

Even if the government can understand the hardships of the frontline officers and soldiers and does not pursue responsibility, the individuals involved wouldn’t have the face to mingle in noble circles.

This fact is clear when looking at the battle reports sent back from the Far Eastern region – the Russian soldiers are truly fighting desperately.

Thankless tasks are disliked by everyone, and Colonel Si Krest is no exception. Achieving honor and distinction also relies on timing, not just any battlefield will do; it’s best to find softer targets to squeeze.

After waiting eagerly for the hegemonic war to break out and the Russian Empire to join the Continental Alliance to start a battle with the British-led Oceanic Alliance, it was a pity that it turned out to be more proclamation than action.

For further chances of advancement, there’s fierce competition within the Russian Army, and naturally, the Afghan front is the most popular.

Although the enemy is numerous, the more enemies there are, the easier it is to clock military achievements. The Indian Colonial Army flies the flag of Britannia, and the officers are British.

Rounding up, it’s almost as if they are all British troops. To rise on the shoulders of the British is just too exhilarating.

Unfortunately, Colonel Si Krest made a misstep; his background limited him in the face of many competitors.