9. Political Economy of War
9. Political Economy of War
After the surprise attack by the sprite dragon riders, Great Druid and his trainer immediately became the highest-ranking people in the entire army. The priests spent a huge amount of divine power to use complete healing techniques, finally completely eliminating the scorch marks on Chor's little girl's face and body, making her skin as smooth as if she had undergone the most expensive beauty treatment in the temple. In the emergency meeting that night, all officers unanimously agreed to elect Great Druid Mr. as the new deputy commander of the second auxiliary corps of the Mazobla state, and designated the corps code name as the Giant Bear Corps (is Great Druid a mascot?). Since this Great Druid Mr. is no longer very good at speaking human language, this position was represented by his trainer in the circus, Chor's little girl Greyanna. The little sprite who was not yet 80 years old rose to the third chair of this motley army.
Feri specially assigned 20 female pastors who were not very good at technology but were very good at taking care of children to serve the Great Druid and Garena on the way. They also modified the light armor of the captured Elf Dragon Knights into smaller ones for Garena, in order to ensure the safety of this important person's life. To avoid the Great Druid from suffering from long-distance travel, Feri temporarily transformed a Constructed Puppet. As a result, a strange scene appeared in the marching team: a giant dog bear was lying on an even larger flatbed truck, snoring, with a group of chattering Zorvath girls sitting on its back, and the one pulling the cart was a terrifying Constructed Puppet. There were also people holding fruits, drinks, and snacks following around the flatbed truck, so that the girls could use them at any time.
To stabilize the military's morale and boost their spirits, Charlotte ordered that the four green dragons be skinned and dismembered, and a grand feast of dragon meat was prepared to reward the entire army. This move immediately revitalized the motley crew, as if they had taken Viagra, and everyone seemed to have become a brave dragon-slaying warrior. Phil also drew on later experiences and used the leftover dragon skin to hastily produce a batch of commemorative medals for the battle against the dragons, distributing them to each soldier so that they would have something to brag about in the future. As for the red-robed mages who had made great contributions, Phil promised that after the war, he would have a free magical item custom-made for each of them. However, in secret, he kept the most valuable large pieces of dragon skin and bones for himself.
So when the New Enno Oak State Militia finally met with the Giant Bear Legion, they were all surprised by their high morale, especially after seeing the Dragon Slaying Commemorative Medal on each person's chest and the four giant dragon heads on the carriage, which filled them with confidence in the reinforcements. Under the leadership of the militia, the Giant Bear Legion arrived smoothly at the command center of the New Enno Oak State Militia.
In a remote village, Charlotte and Ferry met the current commander of the New Ennoia State Militia, State Senator Ludwig. Ludwig looked extremely exhausted, with sunken cheeks, dark eye circles, and hair that was messy like a bird's nest, but his eyes still shone with confidence. Through his introduction, Ferry finally had a more intuitive understanding of the current battle situation.
The crushing defeat of the Northern Port's frontline and the landing of the Elf reinforcements indeed dealt a heavy blow to the Empire, allowing General Idriel Lirien's Elf army to push southward by 500 miles in one go. However, with only a few thousand troops, it was fundamentally an impossible task to suppress the northern state with a population of 4 million and the new Enno Oak state with a population of 8 million within just one short month.
The Elven Army, even at the height of its power in Northern and New Enoa, could only claim to control a portion of "points" and "lines", namely key cities and transportation routes. The rest of the area still had large numbers of guerrilla activities, which the Elven Army was powerless to eliminate, and couldn't even maintain land transportation between occupied areas. Moreover, since the militia evacuated residents in time and burned down warehouses, Idril only got a small amount of spoils of war, but had to bear the burden of supplying 5,000 newly arrived troops and 110 warships. Just the food for so many troops was enough to empty Idril's reserves, let alone ammunition, medicine, and magical items.
According to Representative Ludwig, although Idriel brought 5,000 troops into Glory City, putting immense pressure on the New Enno Oak State Militia and even killing the Speaker in a skirmish, he also emptied all his forces from the Northern States. The guerrilla forces operating there have successfully cut off Idriel's connection with the North Pole Port and recovered all lost territories except for the capital. As long as the southern states can provide some support to the two state militias in terms of food, ammunition, and personnel, there is hope to exhaust the already overburdened Elven army.
In Fhieri's view, the current situation on the battlefield has confirmed Clausewitz's point of view in "On War" that "offense must have a limit". Because the expansion of occupied areas, the extension of transportation lines, and the increase in casualties and disease will weaken the offensive force, the attacker must grasp the opportunity, act with caution, and stop at the right time. The attacker should immediately switch to defense when he is still able to organize a strong defense, and the enemy's counterattack has not yet formed. This is the peak of the offense. Now, the Elf Army has not only far exceeded the peak of the offense but also cannot even provide the most basic supplies. General Idriel Lirien tried to destroy the entire New Dalsenia with a lightning-fast war, but ended up getting himself into a dilemma where he could neither advance nor retreat.
The empire, although defeated in battle, still has the vast territory of New Eridoria and a population of tens of millions as its backing, which can withstand losses. The elves, although victorious, only have a small northern port as their rear base, and their own production capacity is negligible compared to the consumption of the elven army. At present, Idriel does not have enough food to feed the troops, no ammunition or magic items to replenish the consumed, and no armory to repair weapons. The imperial army and guerrillas have nearly unlimited reserve personnel in thirteen states, while Idriel's reserve forces are still on the other side of the ocean 2,500 miles away, with one death meaning one less soldier, and the next batch of reinforcements will not arrive for at least half a year. Moreover, according to the news from the mainland, it is uncertain whether the elven kingdom can send reinforcements or not.
If it were a country on the continent of Ferelden that had already been infiltrated by elves, the elven army could still rely on wandering groups, "settlers" or turncoats to quickly stabilize the occupied area and establish vassal forces, obtaining resources from the occupied areas to continue the war. However, in New Thedas, there are no elven wanderers or "settlers". The elven army stupidly slaughtered the surrendered General Soliton on the battlefield due to their Chorl bloodline, which was equivalent to blocking the possible path of surrender for the wavering party. The larger the elven occupied area expanded, the heavier the burden, the closer to failure.
Since the Elf Army is almost impossible to move further south, why did Governor Sohn? Nom send out such a motley crew in extremely unprepared circumstances? What Filia can think of, the 300-year-old Governor Nom should not be unable to think of. If so, the giant bear army's march north can only be due to political considerations.
The thirteen colonies of the Manas continent, although collectively referred to as New Nazaril, are actually independent from each other in terms of administration, with their own governors and parliaments. It is only during wartime that a war zone commander will have unified jurisdiction over all of New Nazaril's thirteen states. Generally speaking, the war zone commander is held by the highest leader of the local military, followed by the governors of the various states in the war zone.
The original commander of the war zone was naturally the highest leader of the army, General Soliton. After he was captured and killed, the position of commander became a target for various governors to compete for. In the difficult situation of contacting the central government, the commander would be elected by the Continental Congress composed of the 13 state councils. And to win the election, Governor Norm had to increase his prestige and reputation.
As a native-born Troll of New Tristram, Governor Nohm had the home advantage. He served as a government official in New Tristram for over 100 years, serving as governor of five states, and far surpassed several opponents in seniority. The only shortcoming was that Governor Nohm had never been a soldier or fought in battle, lacking military experience. However, among other governors, there were several who had served in the native army. This was a major hidden danger in the election during wartime.
Therefore, Governor Norm had to take advantage of his own territory being close to the battlefield before the Continental Congress convened. On the one hand, he coordinated with the New Ennock State Militia to win a few victories, showing that he was capable of leading everyone to win the war. On the other hand, it was also to establish good relations with frontline soldiers and to temper his own troops' combat effectiveness, so that after becoming the commander-in-chief of the war zone, there would be reliable basic troops available.
The new Masob State Council was also aware of these circumstances, so it was reluctant to send troops. However, having Governor Norm elected as the commander-in-chief of the war zone is better than having governors from other states elected, so after Governor Norm made some concessions, the state council still supported this expedition.
Charlotte, although limited in military capabilities, has excellent public relations skills. As soon as he met with the frontline soldiers, he handed over a batch of weapons and ammunition to Ludwig, slightly alleviating his logistical pressure. That night, he also organized a get-together party, where Elise's pastor and the small-time magician who only knew how to perform tricks served as performers, even the great Druid Mr. performed a few of his signature acrobatic feats. The wine and liquor brought along with the army were almost consumed, but the relationship between the two armies became much more harmonious.
Everything went as planned by Governor Norm, Charlotte first established a relationship with the front-line soldiers in various ways, and then under his request, Representative Ludwig agreed to mix most of the troops of the Giant Bear Legion with local militias in small units, using old soldiers to bring new soldiers into actual combat training. The high single-fighting power red-robed mages and others were gathered together, and then guided by guides, they sought opportunities to try to pull out some enemy strongholds or swallow up small groups of enemy troops, which would also be more glorious when reported back to the rear. Once the Elf Army could no longer hold on, it retreated northward. The Giant Bear Legion was able to share the great achievement of repelling the invaders, thereby creating momentum for Governor Norm's election campaign.
However, although war is an extension of politics, if one really plans a war in the manner of a politician, it will likely still go wrong. The truth of this principle was keenly felt by Charlotte and Ferry on the second day.
Currently soliciting famous historical figures from the DND world, humans or elves are acceptable, to be used as warship names, please feel free to offer your advice.
