I Became a Witch and Started an Industrial Revolution
Chapter 273 : Armored Breakthrough TacticsThis force disposition led the General Staff Headquarters to discover that, counting the armored forces already stationed in advance along the Gurlag and Maninos defensive lines, together with the three tank corps from the 500,000 regular troops that had been sent earlier to support the Kingdom of Suria, they currently held nine mechanized army groups within Suria.
Assuming each army group possessed around 700 tanks and assault guns, that amounted to an armored force of roughly 7,000 vehicles. If they were supplemented with mechanized infantry divisions capable of keeping pace with their mobility, then the Alliance would have the ability to execute a strategic maneuver around the Allied elite formations on the front lines and launch raids against the Allied main forces in the rear.
They could even completely sever the connection between the main force and the vanguard, splitting the enemy army into two.
However, this idea remained only one of several backup proposals discussed during the planning conference. Leaving aside how bold the concept itself was, the sheer volume of resources required to implement such a plan was enough to discourage the overwhelming majority of generals and staff officers.
Conducting high-speed operations with several thousand tanks and assault guns would consume astronomical quantities of operational hours, fuel, Magic Crystals, and ammunition simply during movement. Mobilizing an army of such a scale and committing so many precious resources demanded a thoroughly proven and practical operational plan.
The Alliance's resource reserves deployed on the main continent were limited.
If a reckless operation consumed the majority of them, it would directly disrupt the Alliance's entire strategic plan.
It was not that the Alliance could not afford the consumption.
Rather, transporting supplies required time for loading, shipping, unloading, and coordinating countless logistical procedures. Transportation efficiency had its limits. Only so much material could be delivered within a given period, making it impossible to casually disrupt the existing supply system.
Moreover, such massive armored forces placed far more demanding logistical requirements on supply lines than ordinary mechanized formations.
If supply problems arose, those gigantic machines would become nothing more than several dozen tons of scrap metal.
At that point, they would not even be as useful as bullets.
If a war plan of this magnitude failed to achieve its intended results, no one could bear the responsibility.
Because the resulting chain reaction could very well cause the Alliance to lose all of its existing strategic footholds and defensive depth on the main continent, forcing it to retreat back to the subcontinent and fight a purely homeland war.
Since the Alliance needed to supply the main continent, most of its factories were located near the coastline.
If the war reached the homeland's industrial zones, conservative estimates placed industrial losses at over thirty percent.
No one could afford such consequences.
Although it had only been a brief discussion, many officers observing the meeting fell into deep thought.
The armored officers, in particular, quietly began discussing the idea among themselves.
In truth, the armored corps had long been somewhat dissatisfied with the Alliance's current grand strategy.
During their education at the military academies, armored warfare had been taught in countless different ways.
The only thing they had never been taught...
Was to leave tanks sitting in place as stationary artillery.
There were already plenty of artillery pieces capable of providing that kind of firepower.
Was it really necessary to waste additional industrial capacity installing wheels onto artillery?
Doing so completely discarded the greatest advantage of tanks and armored vehicles.
Until now, however, they had never found a better approach beyond reinforcing defensive positions.
The sheer number of regular troops fielded by the Allied Nations was simply overwhelming.
So overwhelming that almost every tactical theory and strategic concept seemed to lose its value before such numbers.
Quantity overwhelmed everything.
But today...
It seemed they had finally found a possible direction.
That very evening, after returning to their respective garrisons, many tank commanders at every level gathered together to discuss how they could further develop the raiding strategy they had heard earlier.
Specific problems required specific analysis.
They first compiled statistics on all armored forces currently deployed within the nearby Alliance theaters.
Light tanks were the most numerous because mechanized infantry formations also fielded them in considerable numbers.
Their total inventory exceeded roughly 4,000 vehicles.
Of those, approximately 2,800 belonged directly to the armored army groups.
Medium tanks were similar.
Mechanized formations also fielded part of them, while they simultaneously served as the primary tanks of the armored corps.
Their total numbered approximately 6,000, of which roughly 4,500 belonged to the armored army groups.
As for the Tiger heavy tanks, they had only recently begun entering service.
At present, only two newly established reinforced tank corps possessed them, totaling fewer than 600 vehicles.
The remaining forces included over 6,000 light, medium, and heavy wheeled assault guns, more than 2,000 self-propelled artillery pieces, and over 1,000 multiple self-propelled rocket launchers—the greatest consumers of logistical resources.
If they wished to execute the proposed raiding strategy, they could temporarily set aside the heavy tanks and other slower vehicles.
The primary assault force attacking the Allied main army and vanguard would undoubtedly consist of the light and medium tanks together with the medium wheeled assault guns.
These vehicles maintained sufficient firepower while placing the lowest demands on road conditions.
Altogether, they numbered well over 10,000 vehicles.
Supporting them were transport trucks totaling one and a half times the number of tanks themselves.
To set so many tanks in motion required enormous logistical support.
Several tens of thousands of transport trucks would also be needed, along with large numbers of aircraft to provide navigation, detect enemy positions in advance, and guide artillery fire.
But if they mobilized so many armored army groups...
How should they plan their objectives?
Who should become their primary target?
As silence filled the conference room, one tank platoon leader suddenly drew an enormous circle encompassing the entirety of the Allied main forces.
A company commander asked in confusion,
“Erich, what are you...?”
“I believe the Allied main force itself is our objective!”
After drawing the circle across the map, Erich pointed toward several locations within it and continued,
“The Allied army is advancing with tremendous momentum, but because of logistical supply issues, its deployment is spread across an extremely wide area. Although their individual formations possess a certain capacity for mutual support, with the strength of our armored forces, we can completely break through before their supporting units even receive word of the attack.”
“Once the breakthrough succeeds, we immediately charge toward the supporting force and destroy it. As long as our armored units are not delayed, there is absolutely no way an Allied army consisting primarily of ordinary infantry can march faster than we can!”
“Based on the strength of our existing armored army groups and mechanized army groups, we split into three columns and strike the dispersed Allied main forces at maximum speed. The armored divisions serve as the spearhead, while the mechanized infantry secures the territory opened by the breakthrough.”
“We take responsibility for cracking the hardest targets, rapidly eliminating the majority of the Allied mobile forces and heavy weapons before immediately changing direction and attacking the next objective.”
“While maintaining control of the major transportation routes, the mechanized infantry divisions can use those routes as forward operating positions, conducting precise encirclement and attacks against the scattered remnants of the Allied forces.”
“According to my vision, the left wing and the central army will ultimately link up in Torveta State. At that point, whether we redirect our advance to cooperate with the right wing in attacking toward Borregate, or remain in place to consolidate our gains, either option is entirely feasible.”
Erich drew the three primary advance routes for the armored army groups.
The exact routes would naturally require minor adjustments according to the locations of each individual Allied main force, but the overall concept was precisely this.
As long as they broke through a single point to tear open the front, the mechanized infantry could then advance laterally in a fishbone pattern through the three corridors cleared by the armored forces.
Because all three offensives advanced simultaneously, every enemy force located between any two spearheads would face attacks from at least two directions.
With enemies surrounding them from front, rear, left, and right, the overwhelming majority of Allied formations would become too occupied with their own survival to coordinate effectively.
The Allied strategy of advancing across broad regions while mutually supporting one another would naturally collapse on its own.
“Of course, that's the ideal scenario.”
“We may also encounter situations where we simply can't locate the Allied forces in time, causing costly delays.”
Erich concluded.
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