Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 1178: WWI: Siege of the Americas (2)

While revolutionary internal combustion research was being conducted back home, far away in the overseas territory of Hawaii, Agni was making final preparations before the war began.

Agni sat in the port management office balcony, overlooking the warships docked below. He flipped through the logistical reports, carefully calculating every detail in his mind.

The upcoming war was of vital importance to the Bharatiya Empire, not only because defeating the Europeans in the Americas would cripple the enemy’s access to cheap raw materials, but also because it would place the empire in an even more advantageous position when confronting the European Union in the future.

For this reason, the Bharatiya Empire held nothing back, committing the entirety of the Pacific Fleet to the campaign, a decisive battle that Agni himself would personally oversee.

The fleet under his command was made up of a large and varied group of warships. It included a single Kathmandu class military logistics ship, 192 Kolkata and Amaravathi class vessels, and 22 Malacca class light frigates, which were 220-tonne ships specially customised for operations in Southeast Asia. It also had 35 Magada class full metal logistics vessels, 18 Siam class frigates, once again, custom ships built specifically for ASEAN, and 145 Colombo and Chennai class ships.

In addition to these, the fleet also included 22 Guwahati-class military transporters and eight Ayutthya-class battleships, Southeast Asia’s counterpart to the Delhi-class battleships, though with lower tonnage and reduced firepower. The fleet also fielded 44 Delhi-class battleships, along with five Ramachandra-class battleships and two Maharaja Ramachandra-class battleships.

In total, the fleet had 472 warships with a combined draught tonnage of over 383,000 tonnes, just 28 ships short of the 500 mark.

It was the first time Agni was overseeing a fleet of this scale, but he was neither nervous nor overwhelmed. Years of experience and hard-earned wisdom had given him the confidence to face any situation without losing his composure.

"Tap!"

Agni signed the document, closed it, and handed it back to the fleet administrator.

After reviewing the logistics and confirming that everything was in order, he called for a high-level command meeting.

As if the top officers had already anticipated it, less than half an hour after his summons, all five senior officers were seated before him, waiting for him to begin.

Agni nodded and had his assistant lay out a map of the entire western coast of the Americas, both North and South.

He did not wait for the map to be fully set up before he began to speak. His face was calm and emotionless, with only his eyes revealing the seriousness hidden beneath.

"Hawaii is an extremely valuable strategic base. It’s no exaggeration to say that it is the most important naval base and territory the empire controls in the Pacific Ocean. Hawaii not only serves as a transit point for resupplying our ships, but it also acts as a gateway to the Americas, allowing the empire to extend its presence up to the western shores of the continent. Losing this place would be no different from losing an arm.

"So once the war begins, and once the Europeans are overwhelmed, which they inevitably will be, I predict they will make a last-ditch effort to attack Hawaii."

Vikram Aditya Singh Rajput, the admiral of the Pacific Fleet, nodded in agreement. He had reached the same conclusion, and the other officers also nodded along.

"Normally, relying on a single territory for logistics and defence, like putting all the eggs in one basket, is not a good strategy. But since we have no other viable alternative and are geographically constrained, we might as well take full advantage of the situation."

The officers felt intrigued, and they eagerly listened with their ears perked up.

"Since we know that there is a very high chance the enemy might attack, we might as well set up an ambush to completely cripple their navy."

"Divide the fleet into seven battle groups. Two of them will be assigned to Hawaii, but given the heavy trade passing through the territory, there are many European spies operating here. So, except for twenty warships, all vessels will depart for the main battlefield, making it appear as though Hawaii has been largely stripped of its defences. This will allow spies to pass on the information, increasing the chances of the Europeans launching an attack."

"Then, a few weeks after the fleet initially sets sail, two battle groups will quietly return and conceal themselves behind the nearby uninhabited islands, lying in wait for the enemy to walk straight into the trap."

"So up to this point, are there any disagreements?"

Vikramaditya pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "None, Your Highness. So far, the strategy is sound, and it leaves plenty of room for adjustment if the situation changes. To make it more convincing, we could deliberately leak false intelligence to known spies within the territory. At the same time, we can also use merchant vessels to fill up the numbers when the battle begins, ensuring the enemy does not realise that a significant portion of our warships is missing."

Agni thought about it and nodded, "It’s a good idea, let’s do it as you suggest."

He quickly noted down the suggestion before continuing, "Moving forward, we have five key targets that we must secure to establish a strong foothold along the western coast of the Americas, namely San Francisco Bay, Acapulco, Panama, Callao, and Valparaíso."

"Among them, the port city of Acapulco in the Viceroyalty of New Spain is especially critical. Securing this base would be almost equivalent to bringing nearly three-fourths of North America under our influence."

"So, from the remaining naval force after the two battle groups return to Hawaii, two battle groups will be assigned to Acapulco, with the goal of defeating the enemy there and capturing the port as quickly as possible. One battle group will head to Callao, and another to Valparaíso."

"As for the last battle group, it will be the auxiliary battle group. It will reinforce any battle group that needs reinforcements and will move wherever it is necessary."

"San Francisco Bay is pretty close to Acapulco, so once it is occupied, with a little support, it should not be a problem to quickly take over San Francisco Bay, and the same goes for the battle group heading towards Callao. After defeating the European fleet in Callao, taking over Panama should be relatively easy, especially since His Majesty has a small territory right at Panama where a lot of naval artillery pieces have already been secretly moved and set up, ready to provide cover fire for the Bharatiya fleet whenever necessary."

Agni spoke up to this point and paused, "Roughly this is the overview of the battle. Does anyone have anything to add?"

Vikramaditya stroked his chin for quite a while and then finally shook his head, "In principle, it is a very comprehensive strategy, your Highness. I have nothing to complain about, but I would like to add a few things and make changes to the smaller details."

Agni nodded and gestured for the admiral to continue. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Vikramaditya nodded with a slight smile on his lips in gratitude and stood up, walking over directly to the map that had been hung on a wooden frame.

Agni, without saying anything, simply turned his chair around, facing the warships as well as the map.

"The first issue is the sheer distance between our northernmost and southernmost targets, which is over 10,000 kilometres, nearly five times the distance from the empire’s central region to its southernmost tip. So any hope of real-time communication between the battle groups should be abandoned from the very start. Our battle groups will be far too spread out to support one another, so each group must operate independently."

"The second point is that, since meaningful communication during battle is nearly impossible, the 7th battle group will not be able to efficiently reinforce or support any of the others."

As he said this, he glanced at the prince to gauge his reaction. Thankfully, His Highness did not seem offended, instead appearing deep in thought.

Agni realised the loophole, or rather a problem in his plan, and nodded, "So it is. It looks like my strategy indeed lacks a little practical touch, so what do you suggest, admiral?" He asked.

"No, Your Highness, your strategy is very good. As for the solution, we could split the 7th battle group, and, instead of reinforcing our own forces at the five target bases, these smaller groups can be used to constantly harass European warships that are most likely to provide reinforcements."

Agni’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. Although the tactic would not directly strengthen the main battle groups, its indirect impact could be just as significant, if not greater. If enemy reinforcements were delayed, disrupted, or forced to retreat, the main battle groups would end up facing a weaker and more isolated opponent, greatly increasing their chances of swift and decisive victories.

Venkatapathy then began circling several additional locations on the map.

"Apart from the five main bases, these smaller ports can serve as secondary targets. Each of these secondary bases has some level of European military presence. Individually, they may not seem like much, but together they could form a sizeable fighting force. However, the advantage is that these ports are more widely scattered than our own battle groups.

"The split of the 7th battle group can be done into multiple smaller units and assigned to different zones. These units can operate using a guerrilla-style approach. The goal is not to decisively defeat the enemy, but to harass them constantly, disrupt their logistics if they try to set up supply lines, and create as much chaos as possible. This way, the main battle groups will not be slowed down or distracted by outside interference."

"It is at this point that the Europeans might try to attack Hawaii. Once they do, their defeat is already inevitable."

Agni looked at the map covered in intersecting lines, and in his eyes, it looked like a chessboard, with every piece positioned to form a trap, patiently waiting for the opponent to step into it of their own accord. Unconsciously, his lips curved into a faint smile, and he found himself eager for the day to pass so the plan could finally be put into motion.