Empire Conquest-Chapter 705 - 27 Hanging in the Balance
Although no one would admit it, everyone, including Herbert, knew that a full-scale war with the Liangxia Empire became inevitable the moment the voters sent Ronald to the Grey Palace 10 years ago. The subsequent events merely accelerated or slowed the approach of the war.
However, the developments that followed exceeded everyone’s expectations.
When the decision to take steps towards hegemony, that is, to dominate the western hemisphere, was made, everyone, including Ronald, believed there was enough time for the Newland Republic to build a first-rate military force and gain enough comprehensive national power to match the Liangxia Empire before the outbreak of the war.
It was from this moment that the Newland Republic began to focus on building their Navy and vigorously developed their Air Force.
The most representative example was Ronald’s announcement after his election that he would increase the number of large battleships to 350 during his term.
Although he did not fulfill this promise, as the Newland Navy had only 335 large battleships by the time he left office, no one could deny that it was through Ronald’s efforts that the Newland Navy had developed from a regional force to the second global navy after the Liangxia Navy.
The Air Force also made rapid progress.
Unfortunately, the gap with the Liangxia Empire was still very evident.
As for catching up with the Liangxia Empire in the short term, that was clearly wishful thinking.
Herbert couldn’t help feeling bitter about this.
Although he was only five years younger than Zhou Yongtao, Zhou Yongtao had been one of the main contributors to the Liangxia Navy in the previous war and was later promoted to Navy Marshal, while Herbert had been just a torpedo bomber pilot, a mere Lieutenant.
In fact, Herbert’s life was, in a sense, spared, or rather, granted by the Liangxia Empire.
On his last mission, the torpedo bomber piloted by Herbert was shot down. The machine gunner died on the spot, the navigator fractured his skull during the forced landing, and only he survived. He merely broke his left arm and was rescued by a Liangxia destroyer three days later, spending several months in a prisoner-of-war camp thereafter. Shortly after Wallace fled to the Howay Islands and established the Honolulu regime, Herbert was released and managed to return to the Newland mainland, becoming a Republican Party federal congressman after the war ended.
If not for stumbling upon that destroyer and its lookout not falling asleep, Herbert would have been shark feed long ago.
After the resumption of normal diplomatic relations, Herbert even went to the Liangxia Empire to visit and thank the captain of the destroyer that had saved him.
If it were just a matter of personal stance, Herbert would have preferred to live in peace with the Liangxia Empire, even if it meant acknowledging the Liangxia Empire as the world’s leading superpower.
Unfortunately, as a politician, Herbert definitely couldn’t handle national affairs based on personal preferences.
Different from Ronald, Herbert never believed that the Newland Republic could defeat the powerful Liangxia Empire in the next great war. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
This view had been formed more than 40 years ago while he awaited resettlement in the prisoner-of-war camp.
During those months, Herbert was not only treated without any abuse but also had his broken arm healed and gained almost 20 pounds before being repatriated, more than when he had been captured.
Just the treatment of prisoners of war was enough to illustrate the point.
Was there any chance of winning against such an opponent in battle?
Of course, the choice was not in Herbert’s hands.
After the other federal officials and generals had finished viewing the information sent by Karen, which were those satellite photos, Herbert turned his gaze towards Colin, sitting next to him.
He was the Army Chief of Staff and also the rotating chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"The current situation actually hasn’t exceeded our predictions," Colin pushed his glasses up and said very calmly, "If we were to fight this war, aside from needing to strive diplomatically for more time in the early stage, our performance on the battlefield wouldn’t be much worse than that of the Liangxia troops. It’s not that we’re better, but that the Iraqi forces are too weak, simply no match for the Liangxia troops."
"How long can Iraq hold out?" Secretary of State James asked directly.
Colin didn’t answer immediately. After Herbert showed interest, he said, "The key depends on the goals the Liangxia Empire wants to achieve. If it’s merely about liberating Kuwait, it could take as little as three months, at most half a year. If it’s to overthrow the Hussein Regime, it would need at least six months. The only certainty is that the Liangxia troops will spend a lot of time conducting aerial strikes before launching a formal ground war."
"Is that necessary?" Herbert was quite puzzled.
"In purely military terms, there indeed isn’t such a need, and launching a ground war as soon as possible could more effectively test the value of new military theories, given that after a decade of military reform, the Liangxia military’s Air-Ground Integrated Warfare has never been tested in actual combat. No one can really be sure how it would turn out. However, if we consider the political factor, starting with high-intensity aerial strikes is actually the more ideal choice."
"Why?" Minister of Defense Bruce pursued the question.
This question proved that Bruce was an outsider.
It’s not strange for a civilian official to become the Minister of Defense. Over a decade ago, the Democratic Party’s Minister of Defense McMarraman had been an accountant.
"There’s no time to explain."
Colin didn’t put on airs; it was just that Norman, a Navy Admiral sitting beside him, answered before he could.
