Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 1181: WWI: Siege of the Americas (5): 17 targets

16th May 1700.

Hawaii, Akhand Bharatiya Empire.

The war could be described as both dramatic and anticlimactic. Although that may sound contradictory, in reality it is not. The war was dramatic because countless lives were lost, a large number of warships were sunk, and immense destruction followed, with debris and wreckage still floating across the ocean.

At the same time, it felt anticlimactic because a conflict that was expected to last several months ended in just a few days, creating a surreal sense of, ’I only went to my hometown for a few days, and when I came back, how come the world has changed?’

Putting the oddities of the current reality aside, Agni had summoned all the military officers for a meeting to decide on the next course of action.

The location was still at the balcony of the port management office, facing the ocean, overlooking the warships docked at the harbour undergoing repairs and maintenance.

Agni quickly skimmed through the post war reports, and a faint smile crept onto his face, something that rarely happened.

’Nearly 60,000 prisoners of war and over 320 ships. We’ve made quite a haul this time,’ he thought to himself. For once, he showed a hint of genuine satisfaction, giving off a light and cheerful air that was rarely seen.

The admiral, vice admiral, rear admiral, and commodores felt the same way. From their perspective, this war had been extremely profitable. Even if most of the captured ships could not be considered proper warships by Bharatiya standards, the sheer number, over 320 vessels, meant they were still worth a great deal, even as civilian merchant ships.

As for the prisoners, they represented another major gain. They could be exchanged with the Europeans for large sums of money, and even if the Europeans refuse, they could instead be used as labour. With tens of thousands of military-aged men now in custody, the logistics department would not have to worry about finding manpower for heavy and unpleasant work for a long time.

Putting aside the document with a good mood, Agni looked at Vikramaditya, "What are your next plans, Admiral?"

Vikramaditya did not hesitate; all of his subordinates had only had one thought in their minds: "We will occupy the strategic bases that were previously decided upon, your highness, and given that the European Navy has lost, it shouldn’t be too hard to take over."

Agni nodded, but he did not directly approve the action. In truth, he had the same idea as the admiral and the other officers, but a few hours ago, he suddenly had another idea, and he wanted to give it a try.

"But before the decision is finalised, consider this," Agni said as he stood up and walked towards the map, "According to the original plan, we had five targets: San Francisco Bay, Acapulco, Panama, Callao, and Valparaiso. If we follow the original intention, occupying the five bases should give us the dominance over the western coast of the Americas, but here’s another option," he started circling one area in the map after another until the entire western coast of the Americas was filled with over 17 circles.

Vikramaditya’s eyes widened. "Are you suggesting that we expand our targets, your highness?"

"Correct," Agni did not hesitate and nodded.

"Practically speaking, it does not matter whether we occupy the 5 major bases or the 17 I just proposed. Since the Navy of the European Union has already been defeated, and they can never hope to replace the defeated warships with other warships before our fleet arrives at the shore, it does not make sense to make such a move." He boldly admitted that the plan he proposed would not bring any substantial benefit for the navy, confusing the officers, but the confidence in his demeanour and the brightness in his eyes had not lessened at all; if anything, they seemed to be much stronger. Such a thing made Vikramaditya raise his eyebrows with surprise, "Then...your highness.....?"

Agni showed a sly glint in his eyes as he, instead of answering the doubt, asked another question, "Can anyone answer why we should take over the 5 naval bases?"

The senior officers looked at each other in confusion. What sort of a question was this?

"In order to control the western coast of the Americas, your Highness," Rama Verma Tampuran was the first to respond.

"Very good, what else?"

’What else?’ Even Vikramaditya was confused, "In order to make it easier for the army to land and conduct their operations...?" He replied, but by the end of his reply, he seemed to catch on to a fleeting inspiration.

"Exactly!" Agni nodded, his eyes filled with a look of approval, "It is to provide convenience for the army."

"So, returning to my original proposal, while it may not make a major difference to the Navy whether we occupy five locations or seventeen, it matters far more to the Army. The more locations we control, the greater our flexibility and the more room we have to manoeuvre on land."

"Now that the enemy’s entire naval presence in the Pacific has collapsed, why should we waste this opportunity and settle for occupying only five locations when we have the capability to take seventeen?"

Vikramaditya’s eyes lit up. That’s right, yesterday’s victory belonged to the navy alone, not the army. The battle had ended in their favour, but the war was far from over. Wasn’t it only natural to strengthen the army’s foundation before the next phase began?

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and soon a broad smile spread across his face. "You’ve made an excellent point, Your Highness, one that I completely overlooked. We should indeed support our brothers in the army as much as possible."

"So you think the proposal I put forward is feasible?"

"Of course, Sire. There may be some resistance from merchants and minor armed groups scattered here and there, but overall, it shouldn’t be a major issue. We should be able to form seventeen battle groups and secure all seventeen locations you’ve identified."

Agni nodded, "In that case, quickly make the preparations and set off."

"Right away, your Highness."

The reorganisation was fairly quick, and within a day, the 17 battle groups were formed, aiming at different naval ports and locations useful for further infiltration.

Since each battle group targeted a different location, the time that it took to sail was also different, as the distance ranged from around 3800 kilometres to even 10,000 kilometres, with travel taking anywhere from a few weeks to a month.

But the fastest battle group arriving at the San Francisco Bay took only a week and a half.

As soon as the Bharatiya battle group reached the shore, it began bombarding the naval guns and coastal defences along the coastline. The European navy stationed on the West Coast was already outdated and poorly maintained, so the state of the coastal defences can be imagined.

The Europeans did not even get a chance to fire a single shot. Salvo after salvo rained down on their positions, and within a few hours, the once fortified defences were reduced to twisted scraps of broken iron and copper.

Landing at the bay proved to be more troublesome, since the enemy still had a lot of manpower, but the trouble is only compared with the actual destruction of the naval defences, which could be said to be too simple. When compared with normal beach landing operations, it could not even be called as a trouble, since as soon as the boats arrived at the shore, the Marines quickly bombarded the enemy positions with machine gun suppression, mortar bombardment, and hand cannon firing, with explosions happening everywhere. Despite the enemy being larger in numbers, they could not stop the Bharatiya military.

And soon, by the time they could recover, fortifications had already been built, and more boats started to arrive from the ship, pushing them back again and again until they had no choice but to retreat from the city.

After San Francisco, it was San Diego, then it was San Blas, after which it was Acapulco. So on and so forth, throughout June, July, and August, landing operations happened all over the western coast of the Americas, be it northern, central, or southern, and throughout the three months, all the European forces within the regions or ports occupied had been eliminated or brought under Bharatiya control.

Agni knew he had to wait for further army reinforcements from the empire. After all, the Americas were too large, and although it is sparsely populated, the European influences spread too widely, but he did not want to lose the upward momentum and give the enemy a chance to recover, so he got an idea. Although it was quite radical, he felt there was a high chance it might work.

Hearing his idea, the commanders of the three legions all showed signs of hesitation, but they were still willing to give it a try.

"Good, in that case, we must first make contact with them, and for that, we need a mediator."

"Enquire within your regiments, I am sure there are American Bharatiyas who have emigrated from this land; they should be able to help us."

"We will do as you suggest, your Highness."