Empire Conquest-Chapter 916 - 128: Formidable Characters

The Battle of Sinafiye, to some extent, caught Ding Zhennan by surprise.

The enemy did not collapse at the first blow; the high-intensity air strikes affected the ground combat, illuminating the Empire Army’s lack of long-range strike capabilities, the vulnerability of Special Forces in conventional combat, and the coordination and cooperation characteristics of various operational units during mission execution. These issues of modern warfare and the shortcomings of the Imperial Army all surfaced and impacted this military operation.

Many problems were exposed, yet the nature of high-tech modern warfare also strengthened Ding Zhennan’s confidence.

Simply put, after capturing the Euphrates River bridge at Sinafiye, Ding Zhennan no longer doubted whether the 7th Armored Division could take Baghdad.

That evening, October 3rd, Ding Zhennan issued the order for the "Advance to Baghdad."

Although after capturing the Euphrates River bridge, the 17th Armored Division responded more positively, Fu Weimin even personally called Ding Zhennan, ensuring strict compliance with the orders issued by the Alliance Headquarter, and hoping to take on more tasks in the attack on Baghdad. Yet, Ding Zhennan was unmoved, still requiring all units to adhere to the previously established combat plans without unauthorized changes or adjustments.

Ding Zhennan was very aware of Fu Weimin’s intentions.

A Special Forces unit of just over 30 men secured the Euphrates River bridge at Sinafiye under the support of the Navy Air Force and long-range artillery. Despite the difficult combat and the significant casualties among the Special Forces, after this battle, no one considered attacking Baghdad to be such a difficult task; advancing to Baghdad seemed more like reaping the fruits of victory.

To claim military achievements, naturally, one must rush to the front.

However, Ding Zhennan did not take it lightly.

After receiving Fu Weimin’s call, Ding Zhennan contacted Shi Shouliang, asking Shi Shouliang to request reinforcements from the Navy headquarter as the Alliance Commander, specifically to have the Navy send an additional 3 to 5 Shipborne Air Force Wings to intensify the air strikes.

Strictly speaking, it was just to maintain the current intensity of the air strikes.

Even though the Alliance Army had occupied Basra and held firm at Samawa, logistical constraints still prevented deploying Air Force to the frontline, and the Navy lacked genuine frontline Air Force, notably lacking dedicated attack aircraft such as the "Attack-9."

Moreover, ship-borne aircraft have relatively high requirements for ground support.

Due to the support troops being unable to keep up, meaning they couldn’t deploy forward, most of the ship-borne aircraft couldn’t be stationed at the simpler frontline airfields.

Navy Air Force could only be stationed at the rear.

As the ground forces advance towards Baghdad, the operational radius of the Air Force will inevitably expand, reducing efficiency in providing support.

To maintain the support strength, deploying more operational aircraft is necessary.

For the Navy Air Force, dispatching some Aircraft Wings isn’t difficult. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

This involves the Empire Navy’s mobilization system.

Compared to the Army and Air Force, the Navy has a distinctive trait: difficulty in rapidly expanding its forces. It cannot rely on wartime mobilization to expand fleet size after a war outbreak; it must retain sufficiently strong operational forces during peacetime.

This trait has always been the theoretical basis for Navy peacetime military preparedness.

Based on this trait, every post-war naval military preparedness plan emphasized the "dominance principle."

Simply put, the Empire Navy must have more forces than the combined potential enemies at all times.

Previously, the two chambers passed a bill limiting carriers to 15 vessels related to this principle.

Although every ten-year plan changes, the essence remains the same. The final ten-year plan, passed in New Calendar Year 149, in the "Empire Navy Post-War Fifth Decade Shipbuilding Plan," increased the proportion of allies, namely the Eastern Group member countries.

In terms of tonnage calculations, by New Calendar Year 159, the Empire Navy’s fleet size proportion within the Eastern Group would be reduced from the current 75% to 65%. Because the navy continuously expands, the Empire Navy would still need to add 500,000 tons of battleships within 10 years.

From previous decade plans, not all allies completed shipbuilding plans, and the Empire Navy had to cover the lacking portions.

In summary, the Navy places more emphasis on peacetime military preparedness.

Although the two chambers passed the bill limiting the Empire Navy’s active carriers to 15 vessels, the bill did not restrict the number of non-active carriers.

This is also the result of struggles by Wei Jun and other Navy Generals.

Utilizing this legal loophole or compromise from the struggles, post-Boi War, the Empire Navy replaced retiring large carriers over 60,000-ton displacement with the "Chen Bingxun" class and "Xue Yuanzheng" class, sealing the retired large carriers for storage.

By the outbreak of Bos Bay War, within the Empire Navy’s three military ports, there were 18 large carriers constructed in the last war’s late stages through to the end of Boi War.

However, it wasn’t just the carriers that were sealed after retiring.

Although easier than constructing carriers, producing ship-borne aircraft in substantially less time, the Empire Navy still maintained precautions, requiring retired ship-borne aircraft to undergo full inspections, then decide their retirement fate based on the inspection results.