Empire Conquest

Chapter 604 - 600: The Kingdom of Sban Goes to War

The Fleet had stayed at Colombo Port for 5 days, not only to allow officers and soldiers to rest on the spot, but mainly to carry out inspections and repairs on large warships, including carriers.

Before they came to the Fan Flame Ocean, the overall situation had been extremely tense, leaving no spare time, so most of the warships in the 11th Special Mixed Fleet had undergone only basic checks.

After that, having participated in several large-scale combat operations in the Fan Flame Ocean and then in combat missions in the Land Heart Sea, all major warships, including the large carriers, had developed various problems. Their condition had deteriorated significantly, and it was time for necessary maintenance.

This was one of the key reasons why the 12th Special Mixed Fleet didn’t immediately head for the Mo Sea.

For this reason, the Navy had sent several large floating docks to Alexandria and, under the guise of reorganization, given Liu Xiangzhen several months’ time.

Five days in Colombo would definitely not be enough.

According to initial inspection results, the main warships of the 11th Special Mixed Fleet all needed repairs, preferably at domestic shipyards.

The issue was not that the floating docks were not large enough, but rather the lack of necessary equipment and parts needed for the maintenance.

Moreover, the naval engineering unit stationed in Colombo had never performed repairs on large carriers before; their main service had previously been for escort battleships and transport vessels.

After arriving in Lion Spring City, Bai Zhizhan received the latest news.

The Sban Kingdom had officially entered the war, or to be precise, on the second day after Bai Zhizhan and his group had left Colombo, they signed a treaty to join the Consortium Group.

Two days later, which was the day the 11th Special Mixed Fleet arrived in Lion Spring City, the Sban Kingdom officially declared war on all countries of the Alliance Group.

A few hours earlier, the Tiaoman Empire had airlifted two divisions’ worth of troops to the Barry Ari Islands of the Sban Kingdom and had taken control of several airports and ports there. Subsequently, they deployed a batch of fighters to strengthen their military presence on the islands.

The Raleigh Navy dispatched a Fleet, centered around two fast battleships, to escort a convoy carrying equipment and materials, joining the Tiaoman forces en route to the Barry Ari Islands.

In addition, before declaring war, the Sban Kingdom had sent three additional divisions to its southern regions.

These forces were concentrated north of the Nara Peninsula.

However, Sban would only launch an operation to attack the Nara Fortress after the Tiaoman Empire dispatched troops.

Before that, they would also need to deploy the Air Force to the Barry Ari Islands.

The most critical aspect was waiting for the maritime combat capability of the Navy’s 31st Special Mixed Fleet, commanded by Liu Xiangzhen, to be restored.

Sban’s entry into the war was essentially the signal for a full-scale attack against the Bulan Kingdom.

Although in the following three days, the Bulan Royal Air Force had exerted its utmost effort, calling upon the Newland Land Air Expeditionary Wing to bomb the major cities of the Sban Kingdom wildly, it could not change the established facts, let alone eliminate the significant threat to Nara Fortress.

Actually, on the same day that the Sban Kingdom announced its participation in the war, the Bulan Authority had made the decision to abandon Nara Fortress.

Of course, it wasn’t a simple abandonment.

Later that same day, a transport convoy left the port of the Bulan Kingdom, covered by a dozen warships, and headed to Nara Fortress at top speed.

This convoy included 5 cargo ships carrying about 60,000 naval mines!

Crucially, these were mainly magnetic induction bottom mines or moored mines.

In addition, several cargo ships were carrying a large amount of explosives.

Even if the Bulan military was planning to give up Nara Fortress, they would block the Strait of Nara with naval mines and blow up the entire fortress before evacuating.

Fortunately, the Tiaoman intelligence agency received the information in time and took action promptly.

According to the battle report received, after gaining support from the Sban Kingdom, the Tiaoman Air Force immediately deployed an expeditionary wing to the Sban Kingdom, preparing to attack the transport convoy heading for the Strait of Nara. The Tiaoman Navy also made deployments, ordering all submarines operating in Biscay Bay to search for and intercept this convoy.

Moreover, the Tiaoman Authority had already sent a request to the Empire, hoping for the Imperial Land Air Expeditionary Group to participate in the operation to intercept the convoy.

Within three days, the Consortium Group would be able to dispatch hundreds of long-range bombers to Biscay Bay and use over a hundred long-range fighters to escort the bombers.

However, no one dared to guarantee that the convoy could definitely be stopped from reaching Nara Fortress.

Finding a convoy in the vast ocean is definitely not an easy task, especially since the weather in the North Sunset Ocean is notoriously bad. Moreover, the Bulan Royal Air Force would not sit idly by; at the very least, they would deploy combat aircraft from the North Xuan region to provide cover for the convoy.

Besides, there were many problems on the Sban Kingdom’s side.

Not to mention anything else, the Sban Kingdom had yet to achieve industrialization!

Although it is known as the third strongest power on the West Continent, the Sban Kingdom still primarily relies on agriculture and remains a very isolated country.

In the western regions of the Sban Kingdom, there were even hardly any airports with hard runways.

Railways and roads were also in very poor condition, with no highways at all in the northwest region, let alone railways, only trails traversable by mules.

Actually, this was also why the Tiaoman Empire had previously not exerted pressure on the Sban Kingdom or encouraged them to send troops into the war.

Deploying combat aircraft to hastily established field airports was not a problem, but relying on field airports for combat was a big issue.

Fuel supply alone could make the commander in charge of the combat operations hesitate.

In fact, this was also the key reason why the Tiaoman Air Force chose the Barry Ari islands instead of the Sban Kingdom mainland, namely to build field airports on the islands while being able to construct docks nearby, reducing the logistical burden through sea transport instead of relying on mules and horses to bring everything to the front lines.

As for the Sban Air Force, one should temper their expectations even further.

Before the formal engagement in the war, the mainstay of the Sban Air Force was still the biplane that served in the late stages of the last great war, and their total number was less than 300.

In terms of combat effectiveness, a squadron of the Tiaoman Tactical Air Force was stronger than the entire Sban Air Force.

Apart from the lack of advanced fighter jets, the Sban Air Force was also short of experienced pilots.

In fact, one of the conditions for the Sban Kingdom’s participation in the war was that the Tiaoman Empire free provide 1500 combat aircraft and train the pilots.

According to the agreement reached between the two parties, the Sban Air Force would send 1000 pilots to the Tiaoman Air Force within six months to fly the Tiaoman aircraft in combat. After completing a minimum of six months to a maximum of one year of practical training, these pilots would return to their country and form the backbone of the Sban Air Force.

Additionally, the Tiaoman Empire would provide a fighter production line to the Sban Kingdom, enabling the Sban Kingdom to have the capability to independently manufacture fighters. Due to the weak industrial foundation of the Sban Kingdom, the implementation of this agreement was postponed until after the war, with no requirement to honor it during the war.

Clearly, hoping to rely on the Sban Kingdom to stop the Bulan Kingdom’s convoy from reaching Nara Fortress was not only very difficult, but the chances of success were also very low.

As for submarines, they wouldn’t be of much help either.

Don’t forget, the Bulan Royal Navy had arranged for more than a dozen escort battleships!

The only hope rested with the Thirty-First Special Mixed Fleet, still reorganizing in Alexandria.

It was for this reason that on the day the Sban Kingdom joined the Consortium Group, Liu Xiangzhen issued a combat readiness command, preparing all battleships for departure.

Once the Sban Kingdom formally declared war, the Thirty-First Special Mixed Fleet set sail from Alexandria.