Empire Conquest-Chapter 766 - 55: Spur the Horse_2
Certainly, this really was a solution.
It was just an emergency measure that wouldn’t provide immediate relief.
Although, after the end of the Boi War, the Imperial Navy did everything possible in the massive demobilization wave to preserve more than 20 large carriers that had not yet reached their design life, reactivating these mothballed carriers would take a lot of time, even without considering their performance.
In theory, it would take at least half a year to bring a mothballed carrier back to active service. The first three months would mainly involve cleaning both inside and outside of the ship’s hull, followed by necessary modernization upgrades at the shipyard over the next three months, with testing of major equipment and systems during this period.
However, the actual execution would certainly require more time.
Not to mention, the shipyards simply didn’t have the capacity to upgrade all the mothballed carriers at once, nor did they have enough dry docks to do so simultaneously.
Moreover, shipyards wouldn’t delay other warships’ construction just to reactivate these outdated carriers.
After the outbreak of the war, the shipyards’ first task was actually to start building more super carriers immediately according to the pre-war plans.
In this regard, the Imperial Navy had a very complete and extremely detailed shipbuilding plan.
According to the data provided by Qin Fenglie, it was possible to recommission 6 better-preserved mothballed carriers within six months at the earliest.
However, being back in service didn’t necessarily mean they could go to sea for combat.
The reason was simple: the Navy would need more time to train the reservists on their skills to reacquire the necessary competencies.
It wasn’t that the Navy’s mobilization system was too poor, rather, the mothballed carriers were just too outdated.
These large carriers had almost all been built during the last Global War; only the 6 in the best condition were built after the war ended.
Although those carriers built during the war had undergone several improvements before being mothballed, like getting updated with angled flight decks and more efficient steam catapults that appeared after the war, being mothballed for more than a decade was enough to be left behind by the rapid developments of technology.
Another key point was that the officers and sailors who originally served on these carriers were mostly over 50 years old now!
Some of the core personnel, especially the technical sergeants, were over 60.
This meant that many young officers and sailors had never actually worked on these carriers, so it was impossible for them to directly pilot the carriers into battle.
After reactivation, it would take at least several months of adaptation training.
Even under more ideal circumstances, if the first batch of 6 large carriers could form combat capability within a year, that would be quite remarkable.
In the Navy’s strategic plan, mothballed carriers were only second-line forces.
Put simply, during the war, these carriers would stay with second-line troops to take on anti-submarine escort missions, reducing the pressure on the front-line forces and obviating the need to build specialized escort aircraft carriers after the war began, thus allowing for the construction of more super carriers.
So, what about building new carriers?
Obviously, that was even more like distant water unable to quench an immediate thirst.
Although within a few days, the Senate and House of Representatives would approve the new shipbuilding plan, lifting the restrictions on the Navy, allowing it to build warships, including carriers, based on actual needs, it would take at least 30 months to build a super carrier, even if the shipyards entered a state of war immediately.
If the time it took for the shipyards to complete their mobilization was also included, being able to commission the first batch of super carriers within 3 years would be quite an achievement.
Speaking of which, due to one problem or another, the first batch of super carriers, started after the outbreak of the war, would take at least more than 3 years to be built. For example, during the last Global War, the "Province" class joined the battle sequence 3 years after the war erupted. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
Could they wait for three years?
Although in theory, the Newland Republic also couldn’t acquire many carriers within 3 years, and at least in terms of overall military strength couldn’t surpass the Liangxia Navy, the Newland Navy only needed to operate in one direction, namely the East Ocean, and did not face the problem of conducting a two-front war.
Clearly, this was an advantage the Imperial Navy didn’t have.
As such, deploying sufficient forces was simply not possible.
Coming full circle, the question returned.
To deploy sufficient forces in the Southern Subcontinent, that is, to gain enough strategic advantage, the only solution was to end the combat operations in the Boss Bay area within three months, reallocating the forces originally intended for that direction to the Southern Subcontinent battlefield.
Don’t forget, the plan was to deploy 6 carrier battle groups in Boss Bay!
Even if 2 of them had to cover the Southern Subcontinent, as long as the combat in that direction could be completed in time, 4 additional carrier battle groups could be dispatched.
Without a doubt, this held decisive significance.
To put it bluntly, if four more carrier battle groups could be added, the Empire’s Navy would be able to single-handedly take on the challenge on the battlefields facing the Southern Subcontinent.
The key was to maintain a sufficient strategic advantage in East Ocean.
That way, there was hope to, within a year—that is, after withstanding the advance of the West Continent group, retaking the eastern shore of the Volga River through a reprisal, and even seizing and controlling Luosha—to leverage the substantial strategic advantage and compel the still-neutral Newland Republic to accept the fait accompli.
This was the most ideal outcome that could be strived for.
So, could the military operations in Boss Bay be concluded within three months?
Zhou Yongtao posed this question to Qin Fenglie, who then made a request.
No longer limit the expenditures or enforce a cap on casualties.
If costs were disregarded, perhaps Kuwait could be liberated within three months.
Qin Fenglie had ample reasons for making this request.
The Iraqi military was well-prepared, definitely capable of holding out for several months, so an early ground offensive would inevitably lead to a direct confrontation with the not-insignificant Iraqi Army, and the Empire’s Army and Marine Corps’ equipment advantage could not fully offset their disadvantage in troop strength.
The key was also that the Air Force would have to dispatch the Tactical Air Force to the Northwest Battlefield, with the Navy’s shipborne air force as the main force in Boss Bay.
It wasn’t that Qin Fenglie underestimated the Navy, but in terms of operational efficiency, the shipborne air force still fell short.
For instance, in terms of sortie capability, carriers definitely couldn’t match Air Force bases.
Additionally, geographical restrictions had to be considered.
In Boss Bay, closest to the battlefield, at most two carrier battle groups could be stationed, while the other carriers had to be deployed hundreds of kilometers away in the East Continent Heart Sea or in the Mua Sea, far exceeding the combat radius of the shipborne aircraft to the Tactical Air Force based in Saudi Arabia.
Just the additional hundreds of kilometers in combat radius could greatly reduce the operational efficiency of shipborne air force.
As for increasing troop deployment, more time would be needed for the initial deployment, which would also make logistical support more complicated, and all of these factors would lead to an extension of the combat duration.
According to a report provided by the Joint Headquarters, deploying an additional division of troops would require three extra weeks to transport equipment and supplies to the front line.
Without discussing others, merely delaying by another three weeks was hardly possible!
Of course, that wasn’t to say there was no way out.
The most effective method was actually to mobilize the South Coast oil-producing countries of Boss Bay, having these countries increase their commitment, such as assuming some of the ground combat tasks.
Previously, countries like Saudi Arabia on the southern coast were hesitant as, after all, Iraq was also a member of the Mua Alliance.
Now, such hesitations had to be set aside.
The Global War had already erupted, and unless countries like Saudi Arabia planned to change course and follow Iraq in joining the West Continent group, they needed to commit fully.
According to Qin Fenglie’s view, if he could persuade countries like Saudi Arabia, there would be a greater certainty.
On the matter of utmost concern to Zhou Yongtao, namely the selection of the Northwest War Zone Commander, Qin Fenglie indicated that he could personally go to the Northwest War Zone and, once the military operations in Boss Bay were over, have Shi Shouliang take over, reinstating him as the Battle Zone Commander.
Clearly, Qin Fenglie shared the low opinion of the current Acting Commander.
Since this was an internal Army affair and Qin Fenglie’s answer was barely acceptable, Zhou Yongtao did not make further demands but asked Qin Fenglie to arrange matters as soon as possible.
Of course, Zhou Yongtao mentioned that, unless there was no other choice, Qin Fenglie had to stay in the Imperial Capital.
Implicitly, it meant that Niu Zhengshen would suffice to send.
Qin Fenglie did not object, as he was now officially the Minister of Defense, strictly speaking a civilian official without the right to command troops in combat.
Before Qin Fenglie took the position of Minister of Defense, he had already retired from the Empire’s Army.
After Zhou Yongtao had made his arrangements, Qin Fenglie left the Prime Minister Mansion.
Lin Shiping stayed behind; there were some things not appropriate to discuss in front of Qin Fenglie.
