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Chapter 1439 Techniques and Tactics
Anyone who thinks this way is politically incompetent, narrow-minded, focusing only on the issue at hand and lacking a broader perspective. Bernhard's ability to become the Allied Commander-in-Chief stemmed not only from his exceptional professional skills, but also from his adept political maneuvering and strategic vision.

What was originally an unsolvable problem of who should go first and who should cover the rear was solved by his actions. First, he set an example by selecting only two elite units as a French Field Marshal, leaving behind the entire Foreign Legion and a small number of Guards Legions, almost halving their strength.

With him as an example, things became much easier. Commanders from other countries could only follow suit, picking and choosing from their own troops, eventually achieving a ratio of about half leaving and half staying.

"Commander-in-Chief, someone asked me to pass on a message to you: if the Italian delegation can board the ship ahead of schedule, they are willing to pay a relatively high price."

But was that all? Not quite. In addition to setting a fixed ratio for each country to leave and stay, Bernhard also set aside a few special slots, which were given to the commanders of each country to make their own arrangements.

The moment the word "freedom" is involved, the meaning immediately becomes much richer. For example, the young Lieutenant General Blaise was planning to discuss with his seniors whether he could give up his spot in the French army and go through the formalities himself.

"The Italian delegation was already on the list, Your Excellency Blazer. They are scheduled to board tomorrow night, but the specific ship has not yet been determined!" Faced with such blatant greed, Bernhard did not hesitate for a moment, immediately deciding the fate of thousands of people, and then greeted them with an elder's smile.

"I am very grateful to the Commander-in-Chief. I think there are still some spaces left in the French fleet. Perhaps our Italian friends can make do with them. When we return to Paris, I will take them to thank you in person."

Blazer seemed quite familiar with this system, immediately understanding the commander's meaning and making appropriate arrangements. This might be called talent and heredity; having such a shrewd and capable uncle by your side all day, you're bound to learn some real skills.

"Chief of Staff Wang, it's a bit of a waste to throw away all the mines. If we could keep some and put them in a suitable spot in the open sea, they could drift towards the port area with the help of ocean currents, and then we'd have quite a show to watch!"

Just as the European coalition high command was plotting to speed up the evacuation, more than 20 warships were also moored in the bay 80 kilometers west of Enbird Port. Yan Busi, commander of the Enbird Port garrison fleet, and Wang Tiemao, commander of the rescue fleet, were sitting in the captain's cabin of the flagship, sighing deeply as they looked at the nautical charts on the table.

That's right, this is the temporary anchorage that Yan Busi found. Not only does it have a cape similar to Enbird Port to protect it from the westerly winds, but there are also wells, supply stations, and lookout posts on the shore.

Not only here, but there are many bays of similar shape along the southern coast of Africa from east to west that can serve as safe harbors. More than a decade ago, the Naval Staff had already thoroughly investigated the hydrological data of these areas and designated five of them as wartime anchorages.

As their deployments lengthened, each fleet commander continued to explore the resources along the coast. Some, though not approved by the Naval Staff, became their personal secret anchorages, like this one.

Why risk returning to shore? That's the wrong question. Without a suitable anchorage, the fleet would be adrift in the open ocean, where the danger would be even greater if the winds were strong. Furthermore, the crew would struggle to get adequate rest. A sheltered, deep anchorage near the shore would be far more comfortable.

“I’ve never been stationed here, how would I know such tricks? Since you know them, why didn’t you allocate them in advance for unforeseen circumstances?” Wang Tiemao and Yan Busi weren’t close friends, and upon hearing these slightly resentful words, he immediately retorted without hesitation.

In reality, this garrison fleet commander didn't socialize much with his colleagues, spending most of his time in the remote Enbird Port. Even when he had the opportunity to return to the base on official business, it was always a fleeting visit, with very little social interaction. "This item requires careful preservation and use; a slight oversight could lead to disaster. I don't have anyone skilled in this area around me!" Yan Busi was indeed not very good at speaking. Even though he knew the chief of staff was unhappy, he continued to explain the technical issues to himself.

"Don't listen to those rumors. As long as the mine isn't equipped with a fuse, there's absolutely no danger even if you smash it with a hammer... It's understandable that you're far away on the frontier and out of touch with the outside world, unable to participate in the exercises in time. But the General Staff issues detailed explanations of new weapons and tactics every year, haven't you analyzed them at all?"

You should at least organize some training sessions. What if you fail the assessment and not only will you be suspended, but all the officers in the fleet will also fail? What will happen then?

If you insist on talking about daily work arrangements, then fine, Wang Tiemao isn't afraid to discuss these things. At least in the Indian Ocean Fleet, the annual performance evaluation of each squadron and each captain is completed by the General Staff in cooperation with the Naval Staff. No one, including the Commander-in-Chief Jie Ji, is 100% without mistakes.

"We've learned everything, from top to bottom, and even the exam results have been reported! However, Enbird Port doesn't currently have the conditions to store a large number of mines. If they're placed in a cave, a mistake could detonate all the munitions."

If stored separately, there's no place to protect them from the corrosive sea breezes. The plan to build a new ammunition depot was submitted at the beginning of the year, and before we even heard anything, we received a combat readiness notice. There's nothing I can do!

Yan Busi felt wronged. If it were Jieji who came, he would have argued his case forcefully, acknowledging that wrong was wrong and right was right, without any ambiguity. However, since he was facing the Chief of Staff of the Governor, whom he didn't know very well, arguing was definitely inappropriate, but he still needed to explain himself clearly.

"Hiss... Let's not talk about that for now, the battle situation is more important! I'm just temporarily leading the fleet to provide support, and I don't intend to overstep my authority in naval battles. I'd like to hear your suggestions first."

Wang Tiemao took a deep breath, suppressing the rising anger within him. He abruptly changed the subject, deciding not to dwell on the matter any further. This argument shouldn't have happened in the first place; he had already explained why he had thrown all the mines down at once, and as a subordinate, he should simply let it go.

Unexpectedly, this guy is a blockhead, not only stubborn but also unable to discern right from wrong, insisting on finding out who is right before he'll stop. I don't know what His Majesty saw in him, actually appointing him from captain to commander of the garrison fleet.

Despite his disapproval, Wang Tiemao did not overstep his bounds just because he was the Chief of Staff and his rank and position were above Yan Busi's. Instead, he clearly explained their respective task scopes and handed over the command of the operation.

This is what makes the Ming army unique: clear division of authority and specific duties. Even if the Chief of the General Staff arrives, he cannot arbitrarily deprive the frontline commander of his command authority without official documents.

Command authority can only be temporarily changed by a collective decision made by the garrison fleet staff in the event of a major error by the commander, and it cannot be obtained by staff personnel but must be handed over to another captain or first officer.

(End of this chapter)