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Chapter 1278 Gearing up
"The prince's return to Europe is equivalent to a declaration of war. Time is running out before the war begins. The General Staff believes that the Ottoman Empire is the most likely breakthrough point, followed by Enniao Port, so the main defense should be placed in these two directions.

The natural environment on the northern front was too harsh, with almost no roads for heavy vehicles to pass through, and even if light cavalry broke in, they would not be able to storm the fortress. Without complete logistical support, the army would advance alone and collapse without any attack in a month or two, which would not cause too much loss, and the existing forces would be sufficient.

The Hawaiian Islands are the least of our worries. Unlike Africa, the American continent lacks continuous supply ports at the southern end. Without the guidance of sextants and detailed sea charts, it is almost impossible for a large fleet to pass through. Even if a few ships come around, it will not help. Tao Daxiang's garrison fleet can completely suppress it. "

Tan Mingming had no interest in the Prince of Orange and did not know him. He was concentrating on planning the war. Training new soldiers, mobilizing troops, raising food and grass, and transporting supplies were already familiar to the General Staff. No matter how large the scale was, it would not be difficult as long as there was a place to find supplies.

It was the first time that a battle plan could be drawn up, especially a huge plan involving half of the globe. The most troublesome issue at the moment was not how many troops to mobilize, nor how many troops the enemy would bring, but the general direction of the war.

Without figuring out the approximate direction from which the enemy will attack, it is impossible to formulate a battle plan, and it is impossible to deploy large amounts of war materials and troops.

And the mistake cannot be too outrageous. From Russia to Enniao Port, it spans two continents from north to south. Once the arrangement is wrong, there will be no chance to make up for it, and it will be too late for temporary deployment.

Even if the imperial army increased by 20 at once, it still could not set up defenses everywhere. It could only choose to gather in key areas, and the targets could not be too many, preferably limited to two or three.

"Deputy Chief of Staff Tan and I have similar and different ideas. Enniao Port is under the responsibility of the Navy, the Navy has greater advantages and is more convenient for mobilization, so I won't go into details here.

There is nothing on the African continent, and it will not become a major battlefield. After all, if you want to go east from Europe, there are only two routes: the central and northern ones.

Europeans are most familiar with the middle route, as the Crusaders took it many times. If the intelligence is accurate, the Ottoman Empire has joined the European camp, and it is even more convenient to take the middle route. It is a thoroughfare from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf, with spies everywhere, and there is no need to worry about supplies.

But if I were to command the European coalition forces, I would not take the middle route. Sometimes an advantage is a disadvantage, and since everyone can see it, there will be more resistance.

When the Ottoman Empire sent troops eastward, it would first face the Persian Empire. According to the intelligence provided by the Statistics Department and the Ministry of Rites, European envoys visited Istanbul and Isfahan almost at the same time, but the results were opposite.

Safaishah of Persia only agreed to maintain strict neutrality and firmly refused to allow European and Ottoman troops to enter Persian territory, even through the passage.

It is said that there was a rumor about moving the capital. In order to prevent Isfahan from being raided, Safishah planned to temporarily move the capital to the east, with Mashhad and Abbas among the candidates.

The Ministry of Rites also confirmed that Persian officials had intended to ask the Ming Empire to send troops to assist in defense, but no formal invitation has been received so far, so it is not considered for the time being.

But this shows that the Persian Empire had a firm attitude. It did not want to be involved in the war, let alone be threatened, and was prepared to resist foreign invasion.

The route across the Persian Empire is very difficult to travel. In addition to the mountains, there are also large areas of desert Gobi, and there is an extreme lack of drinking water, which is a great challenge for logistics. Even if the European coalition forces passed through the Persian Empire, or Persia joined the coalition forces like the Ottoman Empire, then the Bukhara Khanate is further east. Compared with the Persian Empire, the terrain here is still very complex and dry, and many areas are not inhabited at all.

At this time, the coalition forces were facing an enemy that was elusive, came and went like the wind, and had the advantage of time, place, and people. How to ensure logistical transportation during a march of thousands of kilometers was a big problem.

If the Empire could provide some help to the Bukhara Khanate at this time, the possibility of the European coalition forces reaching the Western Regions would be lower. If the Empire could persuade the Kazakh Khanate to send troops to assist, there would be basically no hope.

So it is easy to start the expedition from the middle route, but it becomes more and more difficult as time goes on. On the other hand, the northern route is almost all convenient except for the difficult roads, provided that the Russian Empire joins the European coalition.

The southern and eastern parts of Russia used to be large and small khanates, belonging to nomadic tribes, who were very adaptable and familiar with the grasslands, Gobi Desert, and mountainous areas. As long as enough horses could be provided, relying on the help of local people, the logistical needs of tens of thousands of troops could be met.

In fact, the Northern Military Commission started doing this a long time ago, and supplies from the mainland were transported to Habahe, Uliastai, Kharakorlin, and Daganerduo in April and May every year.

The local herdsmen would then transport the goods northwards on horseback, and it would take two months to reach the northernmost Arctic city. Although the losses would be greater, it was the most reliable mode of transportation before roads and tracks were built.

The topography of the Northern Metropolitan Command is basically the same as that of Eastern Russia, with forests, wetlands, and rivers as the main features, and the climate is similar. If we can do it, the Russians should be able to do it too, without any problems.

The only thing that is uncertain at the moment is which direction the northern line will go: whether it will continue eastward to break through the Northern Dusi defense line and then turn south, or will it pass through the Kazakh Khanate and directly attack the Western Region Dusi.

It is still unclear whether the Kazakh Khanate will agree to the Russian army's transit through its border, but it has close ties with the Siberian Khanate, Nogai Khanate, and Kazan Khanate, which were once part of the Golden Horde.

Those khanates have either surrendered or been annexed and have long since become part of the Russian Empire. They will surely not be inclined towards the Ming Dynasty. If the top leaders of the Kazakh Khanate are influenced by them, they may turn to the Russian Empire. "

If there were people from other departments present, the astronauts and Tan Mingming would still be very united and would not easily quarrel with each other. However, within the General Staff, the chief and deputy chief of staff were not all harmonious, and they would also look for opportunities to show off their abilities.

Now is the best opportunity. Everyone wants to play a vital role in this once-in-a-century war, so no one will indulge anyone else. As soon as Tan Mingming expressed his opinion, he was opposed by the astronauts.

"Your analysis makes sense. Do you have a final conclusion?"

Hong Tao stood in front of the map and looked at it. He did not express his opinion after listening to the opinions of the two chiefs of the general staff. The general staff is not only responsible for providing advice, but also for making decisions. After so many days of discussion, no matter whether it is good or bad, they must come up with a relatively mature plan.

(End of this chapter)