Empire Conquest

Chapter 499 - 495: The Big Picture

Although waiting for news, Nizi did not waste time. He took this opportunity to let the headquarter’s Combat Staff Advisor give a rough introduction of the current situation.

In fact, it was also to allow Spur, Hal, and other main leaders to view the issues more objectively.

This ability to remain calm at all times was characteristic of Nizi and was key to his command of the East Ocean Fleet, which ensured that people like Hal willingly obeyed his orders.

It must be said, Spur’s significant attention from Nizi was related to this as well.

Among the major frontline generals, Spur’s temperament was closest to Nizi’s, able to remain unflustered even if Mount Tai were falling before him.

When it came to the current situation, there really wasn’t much to say.

On the East Ocean side, Wei Island served as the forward position, Transfer Island was the hub, and Treasure Harbor on Honu Island was the rear headquarter, forming a line with three points, divided into three stages of defense lines. If there was any issue, it was that the gaps between the three lines of defense were quite wide.

These problems were being resolved or, rather, mitigated.

On several islands to the east of Transfer Island, the Newland Navy had already deployed plenty of troops and resources to transform them into a series of continuous defensive support points. They aimed to provide stronger support and cover for Transfer Island and form a new defensive barrier for Treasure Harbor in the rear.

This was also why Spur firmly believed that the Liangxia Navy would not attack Wei Island.

In summary, it could be put in one sentence.

Capturing Wei Island would not change the strategic pattern in the direction of the East Ocean, and the help it could provide for the assault and occupation of the Howay Islands was negligible.

Using Wei Island as a base would not only require a strong attack on Transfer Island but would also reveal the intention to attack Transfer Island.

In the direction of the East Ocean, it was a battle to the death.

Whether one was the attacker or the defender, there were no surplus options at the strategic level; one could only engage in a fierce fight with the opponent.

If anything, it was only on the tactical level that some methods could be thought of to reduce the difficulty of combat.

Comparatively speaking, the Southwest East Ocean was the real battleground.

This was also the key reason why Nizi did not side with Spur.

Whether looking at the strategic level or the tactics, the Southwest East Ocean offered the frontline commanders a huge stage, where they could better exhibit their command capabilities.

To put it more vividly, the East Ocean was like a boxing ring, while the Southwest East Ocean was a theater stage.

This situation was evident from the defensive deployment of the Newland Navy.

In the Southwest East Ocean, the first line of defense consisted of Guan Island and Tuk Fortress.

These were also two forward bases.

Although the Newland Navy had invested a lot in these two locations and had even planned to defend them to the last, after the battle of Sai Island, Nizi adjusted the defensive strategy, reducing the investment in these two places, which was tantamount to indirectly giving up these seemingly important islands.

In fact, the bloody battle of Sai Island significantly reduced the strategic value of Guan Island and Tuk Fortress.

Even though the battle inflicted heavy losses on the Liangxia Navy and cost them a considerable amount of time, the impact on the Newland Federation was equally significant.

The most obvious was the severe blow to the morale and spirit of the Newland military and citizens.

Before the battle of Sai Island, the Newland Federation had been heavily propagating that they would stop the enemy’s advance here and deal a severe blow to the enemy.

Some news media even regarded Sai Island as the starting point for a counter-offensive.

In the end, however, the Newland Army suffered a complete defeat.

Although the Newland Authority did not disclose the true battle situation, the news of Sai Island’s fall and the comprehensive bombardment of Guan Island had spread to the domestic population of Newland with the return of thousands of wounded soldiers, and the rumors had begun to circulate among the public. Due to the lack of transparent information, the rumors became increasingly exaggerated.

The rapidly spreading rumors also had an impact on military decision-making.

Put simply, they could no longer afford a similar failure.

Using Nizi’s words, because of the crushing defeat on Sai Island, the number of new recruits enlisting in the Marine Corps and Navy in May decreased by 30%.

In fact, this was also a major reason why Nizi was reluctant to face Transfer Island.

If Wei Island were attacked, it would be possible to choose to abandon it and block the news related to the attack, instead of fighting to the death against Liangxia’s forces on Wei Island.

On the contrary, if the decisive battle were on Transfer Island, there would be no leeway at all.

The situation with Guan Island and Tuk Fortress was more or less the same.

According to Nizi’s plans, if Guan Island and Tuk Fortress were attacked, he would directly hand over the decision-making authority to the Garrison Commander.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the garrison would hold their ground until the last moment.

It was only after completely losing fighting capability that they would surrender to the enemy.

The key point was, Nizi had no plans to send reinforcements to either location.

To the south of Tuk Fortress lies the Melanesian Defense Line, stretching from New Guinea to the New Hebrides Islands.

On this line of defense, the Newland Army had set up three main defensive strongpoints from west to east: Moresby Port on the island of New Guinea, Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, and Sainte-Croix Port to the north of the New Hebrides Islands. The distances between these strongpoints were all within the operational range of the Tactical Air Force, allowing them to mutually provide cover and support.

In essence, this was the main defensive line for the Southwest East Ocean.

From a tactical point of view, the Liangxia Navy would have to attack either Moresby Port or Sainte-Croix Port, both of which were not easy targets.

The former faced the Aus continent, enabling substantial cover to be provided.

The latter, at the eastern end of the defense line, had a logistical supply line which was more than 2,000 kilometers long.

Furthermore, after capturing either Moresby Port or Sainte-Croix Port, they would still need to conquer Guadalcanal to open up the route to the south toward Aus.

As for attacking Guadalcanal directly, not only would it require sufficient military strength, but the difficulty of the operation would also be greater.

However, that was not all.

Further south, in the Coral Sea, below New Caledonia, the Newland Navy had expanded Noumea Harbor.

That is to say, even if the northern Melanesian Defense Line were breached, the Newland Navy could still use Noumea to defend the western side of Aus.

The catch was, even from Sainte-Croix Port, which was the closest, reaching Noumea was more than 1,500 kilometers.

On a tactical level, the Liangxia Navy could not cross the Coral Sea under the cover of shore-based air force, and they would have to send a Special Mixed Fleet to assume control over sea and air supremacy.

Gaining full control over the Coral Sea was by no means an easy task.

The Coral Sea is the largest sea area in the world; theoretically, it would take at least two Special Mixed Fleets, operating separately, to cover the entire Coral Sea.

For the attacking party, it would certainly require more troops to gain the initiative on the battlefield.

In some respects, the Coral Sea was a natural barrier preventing the Liangxia Navy from moving southward and was a key reason the Liangxia Navy was not keen on attacking Aus in the near term.

It’s evident that the fundamental defensive concept for the Southwest East Ocean was actually to trade space for time.

Even at the fastest pace, the Liangxia Navy would need at least a year to conquer these islands before they could attack Aus.

After a year, the Newland Navy would have regained its vitality!

In fact, this was also why Spur consistently believed that the Liangxia Navy would definitely not choose to attack Aus first—the key lay in the fact that the Liangxia Navy had to secure a decisive strategic victory as much as possible while holding an absolute strategic advantage, thereby leading and influencing the development of the war.

Clearly, the Southwest East Ocean was not the grounds for a decisive victory.