Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 409 Supply Line

After inspecting the development of the new ships and cannons, Hughes devoted himself to organizing the expeditionary force.

The Guardians of the Faith are very powerful, but the North is indeed too far from Castel.

Therefore, the strategy for the battle has not yet been decided.

At this moment, in Hughes' office, a huge map was laid out in the center, and several people were gathered around it, arguing urgently.

"A boat is the best option," Nini said, nodding towards Storm Ocean with her arms crossed.

“Taking a boat is no problem, but it depends on what kind of boat. As for that ironclad warship that sinks three ships in two days, I think we should forget about it—you can swim in the sea, but I can’t swim very far,” Alexei said calmly.

Nini's eyes widened immediately: "How could that be? Things will definitely change after the new ship is launched!"

Alexei pursed his lips: "It's hard to say whether it's a new ship being launched or a new ship being put into the water. I have to be responsible for my lads. I can't let them feed the horse mackerel while they're sleeping."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Alexei calmly stood up and pointed towards Blood Harbor: "From here."

His finger followed the map, around a mountain range in the north, and pointed to the Earl of Bazel's territory in the North. "Go here, all the way."

Nini's eyes widened: "How do we get there? Do we walk?"

"Of course not, we'll go by airship."

After saying that, Alexei turned to Hughes: "My lord, how many people can our Sky Veil Beast carry?"

"If we're only transporting soldiers, the maximum capacity is about five hundred people, that's assuming we discard all equipment." Hughes rubbed his chin. "If we're transporting a fully equipped, complete fighting force with both light and heavy firepower, then it's only a little over a hundred people. Two hundred would be a struggle."

"In other words, if two hundred people are transported, this team will be combat-ready upon landing and can be directly deployed for combat."

Alexei nodded toward the northern earls.

Nini sneered: "What about logistics? Don't forget we don't have any bases in the North. These two hundred men can easily fight off the enemy with the help of airships, but the airships will eventually have to return to transport the next batch of people. How long can these two hundred men last with the bullets and food they carry with them?"

"Small airships can accompany the enemy to provide air support. The enemy doesn't have much anti-air capability, so defense should be achievable."

Nini frowned and pondered, but Hughes suddenly spoke up: "This may not be reliable. Small airships are not very good at dealing with bad weather. They are fine for reconnaissance, but they are not good enough as the main force of the air force."

"Furthermore, small airships cannot fly at high altitudes, so it would be somewhat dangerous to engage in combat."

Muskets are inaccurate, but large things like airships don't need aiming. If they're flying at low altitude, a volley from several musketeers might actually bring an airship down.

“I have an idea, but I don’t know if I should say it,” Monica suddenly interjected. She had been granted permission by Schuster to attend the meeting, mainly because it was still in the discussion phase, and her endless stream of ideas might actually come in handy.

"Go ahead and tell me."

"If it's dangerous to travel by boat, we can find more succubi, and then the boat can sail to shore. That way, even if the boat sinks, there will be enough succubi to pull everyone aboard."

Hughes covered his face: "And then our team is waiting for rescue on some unknown beach? Are we going to war or on a picnic?"

Richard, standing nearby, chimed in, “Miss Monica, the ship will not only carry the Guardians of the Church, but also superhumans. Although pollution in the sea has been greatly reduced, it is still a no-go zone for superhumans. Falling into the sea is extremely dangerous—I can’t fly.”

"Sigh, if only we had a reliable ship." The group sighed in unison. Castel was supposed to be an island, but its shipbuilding industry was so poor that it was somewhat embarrassing.

Going to Blood Harbor is relatively straightforward, as both foreign ships and ironclad warships can handle it, given its proximity to the mainland, the scarcity of extreme weather, and the relatively short voyage.

However, they were unsure about embarking on an expedition to the North, which would involve crossing almost the entire Storm Ocean. Without a reliable ship, they were truly uncertain about the journey.

Seeing that none of them could come up with a solution, Hughes clapped his hands and said, "Well then, let's hear my idea."

Hughes stood up and pointed to Bloodharbor: "My route is similar to Alexei's, going directly from Bloodharbor to the North, except I won't be taking an airship."

"Not taking the airship? Are we going to walk there?"

"My lord, this, this won't do!" Alexei stood up with a worried expression. "Although the Holy See's army is strong in combat, it is not far behind other armies in terms of logistics and supplies. Such a long supply line will be very dangerous!"

Alexei was being mild-mannered; if someone at the Royal Army Academy dared to stretch out such a long land supply line, they would definitely be scolded by the instructors.

This is a supply line that spans the size of three duchies!

If the supply lines are cut off, the frontline guerrillas will immediately run out of food, and defense will be virtually impossible due to the long distance involved.

This meant that a large number of soldiers had to be sent to escort them, which meant that logistics efficiency was extremely low. No matter how well Castel's industry developed, its population was only 10,000, and it was very likely that it would be dragged down by this long supply line.

Hughes, however, waved his hand confidently: "No, this supply line isn't long—not long for Castel."

The journey from Bloodharbor to the North takes an ordinary person nearly a month on foot, and for the Guardians of the Faith, which need to carry equipment, it takes at least 40 days.

Isn't this distance long enough?

Everyone looked at Hughes, waiting for his explanation.

"We'll build a railway over there."

The group was taken aback.

"The railway? That far?"

"How long will it take to fix?"

Only Alexei paused for a moment before his eyes lit up.

The difficulty of resupply is not directly equivalent to distance. The Army Academy has a special logistics management discipline, which includes a whole set of complex calculation formulas to convert the logistical difficulty in various situations.

Resupplying overland is the most difficult, but if it could be done by sea, it would be greatly reduced.

Transporting supplies over a sea distance of 100 kilometers is much simpler than resupplying over land over a distance of 10 kilometers, provided there are enough ships.

Building a railway track on the road would be equivalent to creating an artificial "sea," forcibly increasing the difficulty of resupplying the land to a level close to that of sea transport.

This was something that had never been taught in the academy. Rails had not yet appeared in this era, and even horse-drawn carriages only appeared in some urban areas of the Rhine, far from being widespread, and no one had thought of using them for transportation and supplies.

Construct railway tracks and advance with armored trains at the core. If successful, this could rewrite the entire nature of warfare!
Battlefields thousands of miles apart can feel as close as if they were right next to each other!
(End of this chapter)