Reich Marshal of the Belkan Reich

RM Vol 2: National Development – Chapter 26: Narrow Margin

You know something is dead wrong when you're working late into the night, only to be pulled to the situation room in the middle of your work. That's what happened to me and no, it's not wrong because Bryn is eyeballing me for overworking again. What can I say, we need to get those satellites up and running pronto, but I digress.

The situation room I talked about is part of an underground complex beneath ONI headquarters, not the one in the Obsidian Palace mind you. That one is reserved for the Empresses in a wartime situation and the circumstance right now is not war per se.

Stepping into the room, furnished with enough electronics, computers, and intelligence officers to run the entire Reich in the shadow, I am greeted by Section Head Agent. The black hair lady gives me a bow before giving me a rundown of the matter at hand.

"Marshal, as we expected, the Sardegnian Papacy has launched their subjugation fleet for Spain, citing that the Spanish Inquisition has gone rogue due to foreign influences and will be put down accordingly."

"I see." After we bombed their so-called supersoldiers to death, it's a given the Papacy would overtly react like that. "ETA and composition?"

I and Bryn take a seat at a large table with a digital map of the Mediterranean. Already there is Grand Admiral Karl Donitz that is eyeing the table with vest interest. Agent operates the instrument on the side of the table and updates the information on it.

"According to SIGINT and HUMINT, they are sending over four corps, amounting up to 200000 men and related equipment. Their army will be transported by a dedicated fleet of twenty auxiliary vessels and due to the amount of cargo they have to haul, we suspect it will take them twenty to thirty trips. The first trip with its accompanying escorts is ten hours away from Spain." Agent reported as the map showed pictures of the Sardegnian Army deployment and boarding the transports with their gear.

"200000 men, that's almost twice the number of the standing army the Spanish Inquisition is currently fielding, counting the military contractors also. Not to mention the fact that, albeit lesser in quality, the Sardegnian has an overwhelming number of armored fighting vehicles." Bryn commented, to which I nod.

"Adding in the unknown number of supersoldiers, or should I call them Crusaders by now, they can overrun Spain in a matter of days. However, to ferry over such a large force, they will need to obtain sea dominance and a good enough deepwater port to boot. I highly doubt the Papacy military is trained in amphibious warfare."

Agent nods before highlighting a section of Eastern Spain. "It's as you suspected, Marshal, our spies reported that they will attack Comberth Harbor, the largest and most heavily defended harbor of the Inquisition Navy. Knowing that they outnumber the Inquisition Navy, the Sardegnians are aiming to knock out the Inquisition naval assets and make landfall in one singular operation, titled Operation Judgement."

Grand Admiral Donitz whistle. "They sure dream big for an untested navy."

"That they are Grand Admiral. The Papacy assigned the Caesar fleet for this operation with the composition of 1 Aquila class aircraft carrier, 1 Littorio class battleship, 2 Conte di Cavour class battleships, 3 Zara class heavy cruisers, 7 Trento class heavy cruisers, 8 Condottieri class light cruisers, and 15 destroyers of different classes." Agent reported while adding the fleet composition on the screen.

"An aircraft carrier? Now that's an interesting choice." I said.

"It's suspected that they are mostly there only for combat air patrol with no aircraft capable of naval bombing. Intel suggests it's carrying around 25 Re.2001 OR Serie II fighters with light armament." Agent added.

"Will the Sardegenian Air Force gets involved in this?" Donitz asked.

Shaking her head, Agent replies. "Not for the foreseeable future, the Sardegnian Navy denied the intervention of its Air Force on the ground that their aircraft are of no significance."

Grunting, the Grand Admiral nods. Bryn then speaks up, questioning the Inquisition Navy. "Are the Spanish ready to go to war?"

"Not yet I'm afraid." Agent shook her head. "While the Inquisition maintains good readiness for its Army, their Navy is lacking for they are still in the middle of being refitted or are patrolling elsewhere. Knowingly or not, Sardegna Papacy picks a good time to launch an invasion. Even though they have a fleet strength of 32 ships with three capitals, the Inquisition Navy can only field 1 Littorio class battleship, 1 Zara class heavy cruiser, 1 Trento class heavy cruiser, 2 Condottieri class light cruisers, and three destroyers. However, with us sending over de-classified technology, these ships of the Inquisition Navy should be able to go toe to toe with the Papacy's numerical superiority. Especially when Matias Torres is the one in charge. The man holds the record of hitting a moving vessel 25000 meters for a reason and the training regime his Navy implemented reflects that."

"They're outnumbered four to one still." Donitz commented.

"Yeah, the prospect of the Inquisition navy is not good. But if he can utilize every single asset he has at his disposal, he will cause significant damage to the Sardegnians." Bryn added.

Tapping my fingers on the table, I turn to Agent. "Do we have any naval presence in the area?"

Nodding, Agent highlights a dot on the Mediterranean, more specifically the Balear Sea. "We currently have two Nassau class submarines conducting naval espionage in the region, Marshal. What should we do with them?"

I give a low hum, thinking up some plans that will prove helpful.

"By using a combination of Shadow Company's Bf-110s and the two Nassaus, we will conduct a torpedo attack on the enemy convoy when they're locked in combat with the Inquisition Navy. The objective is not to defeat the Ceasar fleet but to limit their ground deployment capability, thus giving the Inquisition Army a fighting chance on the ground. It's imperative we must sink the transports to achieve this but the point being, we won't be sinking all of them."

"Hence you said limited..." Donitz said. "I can hazard a guess that you want the war to be an attrition war with boots on the ground. It's just that I don't know why."

"No matter how good Matias Torres is, he can't win against the full might of the Sardegnian Navy and I want to remove Sardegna out of the equation for a few years. This is why I want them to be locked in bitter ground warfare with the Inquisition, one that will be a sinkhole of resources for the Papacy Army. And when the time is right, we will gather their force in one location, Crusaders and all that, and bomb them to kingdom come. That will surely knock the Papacy back years of progress."

"Give them a chance of victory before squashing it, I can see this work. Although Spain will be paying a significant price if we do this. Countless civilian lives will be lost, Yuki." Bryn commented.

I admit the cold truth, not hiding anything. "It's why this discussion must never leave this room. We will be doing Spain dirty but the profit we gain from knocking out the Papacy outweighs the price. Until we can eliminate Erusea and Ustio, Sardegna must be contained in the Mediterranean."

Sometimes, hard decisions must be made for the greater good, for the V2 plan, and Bryn understands this clearly. She is, after all, Brynhyldr, the first Valkyrie of Norse mythology. No one understands war as she does.

"I will see to it that this plan will be a success, Marshal." Donitz gave his words. "The two submarine Captains will also take this chance and record the soon-to-begin battle. We can analyze the footage to gain more insight into the Sardegnians' tactics."

"Alright. With that out of the way, I think it's high time we retire for the night. Just keep me posted if there's a major development or when the battle is about to commence." I talked to Agent before I and Bryn headed out. The task of monitoring the situation will be left for Agent and the intel officers to handle.

On a side note, Agent is filling in the place of Section Head Quellec since the man is still preoccupied in Rusviet.

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Putting down the phone, Admiral Matias Torres of the Spanish Inquisition Navy sighs aloud. The grizzled veteran is clearly unamused by the news. His XO, who is nearby, asks.

"Trouble confirmed, Admiral?"

Nodding, Torres answers. "So it would seem. Sardegna just declared war. Belkan intelligence expects the fleet to be ten hours away."

"Not too long of a time frame, but also not too short." The XO said. "We may be able to give the evacuation fleet a headstart."

Torres grunts in affirmation before he, alongside his XO, makes his way to the flagship of the Inquisition Navy, the Tannager, a Littorio class battleship. Along the trip, they come to see the whole of Comberth Harbor coming to life as convoys of trucks, men, and supplies are moving all over the place to make sure the two fleets are combat-ready.

Though the truth is, only a portion of the Inquisition Navy is ready to bring the fight to the Sardegnians. The rest are stocking fuel and supplies to make their long trip to Belkan shore, unfit for battle. Had there been enough time, maybe all 32 of their ships could have gone to war after being refitted with newer Belkan technology. Sadly for the Inquisition, this is not the case.

Torres has to make do with bringing only 8 of his ships to contend with the might of 37 Sardegnian vessels in ten hours. Granted his ships have a technological edge over their Sardegian counterparts and the latter can't bring all guns to bear without risking their convoy. It doesn't change the fact that Torres and his fleet are outnumbered 4 to 1...

"Then it's an even fight." Torres had the shadow of a smirk as he said that.