Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 1138: 152 Chapter, Emotional Gap

The Allied Forces were plagued by severe losses, and the atmosphere within the London Government was even more somber.

The Royal Navy, which held great expectations, not only failed to achieve a sweeping victory but did not secure any victory at all.

For Britannia, a pyrrhic victory was tantamount to defeat. In the daytime battles, the Air Force had exhausted its efforts to create opportunities for the Navy but failed to achieve strategic goals. It would be even harder to get such opportunities later on.

Without air superiority and unable to suppress the enemy’s navy, the defense of The British Isles was inevitable.

Campbell stared at the report in his hands, speechless for a long time. The cold numbers alone revealed how desperately the Royal Navy had fought.

The lack of victory was not due to the Royal Navy’s lack of effort, but rather the overwhelming strength of the enemy.

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Even a layman in military affairs could discern the power disparity from the data on paper. Indeed, the Royal Navy held the advantage in conventional ships, but it lacked seven crucial dreadnoughts.

Managing to fight to a standstill despite being weaker, the Royal Navy lived up to the name of a dominant force. However, this was far from enough; Britannia needed a vigorous and decisive victory.

“Everyone has seen the combat report,” Campbell declared, “both the Air Force and the Navy suffered heavy losses in the daytime battles. Casualties alone reached 14,000, the highest since the war began.

The loss in weapons and equipment was severe, and it will be very difficult to organize another battle of this scale in the foreseeable future.

Despite the high price paid, we have inflicted significant damage on the enemy’s navy. But this is still far from sufficient, the enemy’s strength is greater than we anticipated.

Whether we like to admit it or not, the plan to use the navy to block the enemy’s landing has failed. The upcoming defense of The British Isles will be even more fierce and bloody.”

There were no excuses made, no responsibilities pursued, just a factual discussion. It wasn’t because Campbell’s integrity was so high, but rather that discussing those matters now was pointless.

Public criticism of the government had soared to the skies, and the Cabinet’s standing in the eyes of the people had plummeted.

Campbell’s own reputation also rapidly deteriorated, and if not for political correctness, the domestic media would be less forgiving, making him potentially the worst leader in the history of the Great Britain Empire.

However, the title of the worst Prime Minister had already been assigned. Lord North, Spencer Percival, and the Duke of Wellington—all predecessors—had not been able to stop his ascent to the top.

Ultimately, in a monarchy, the worst leader must be a “regicide.” The media has to respect political correctness, and Campbell, recognized as “incapable,” was placed closely after them.

Of course, this still assumed the war was ongoing; if they were to lose, people would not be so restrained in their speech.

Interestingly, the widely discredited Campbell Cabinet had not been ousted by parliament. Especially in recent times, even impeachment proposals had vanished.

It seemed as though overnight all the competitors disappeared. Even evident faults brought no advantage.

Instead, the Campbell Cabinet had submitted multiple resignations to the King, hoping a prodigy would emerge to turn the tide.

Unfortunately, no such prodigy appeared. Even Edward VII, who was supposed to restore Britannia’s monarchical authority, kept a low profile after the outbreak of the war, handing all official duties over to the Cabinet and becoming a hands-off manager.

It was not fair to blame public opportunism, as the mess left by previous leaders was too severe, and the disaster too great to manage.

Even if the war was won by chance, Britannia would suffer heavy losses. As government leaders, they would not only fail to gain prestige but would instead face considerable criticism.

This was seen during the world wars of the original timeline, where governments that had led Britannia to victory were immediately ousted post-war.

Though eras differed, the political logic and essence remained consistent. Wise individuals simply wouldn’t get involved in such muddy waters.

Nevertheless, the Campbell Cabinet hadn’t done poorly, which was a significant factor for its retention.

Common folks might not understand, but the elite knew the difficulty of a single nation opposing the whole European Continent.

“The Army has prepared to fight a decisive battle to the death. We will spare no expense to defend The British Isles and show the enemy that landing here is their gravest mistake.

However, defense alone cannot win the war. Given that we are facing the entire European Continent, both the Navy and the Air Force must adopt more active strategic plans.”

With loud slogans, Marcus showed no shame in pushing responsibilities onto his colleagues.

As the Army Minister, Marcus was all too aware of the mettle of the Lobster Soldiers.

Though originally considered elite, and ranked high globally in combat strength, the forces had dramatically declined in prowess after expansion.

Regardless of acceptance, the Lobster Soldiers had become a disorganized mob.

Since the Army could not fulfill the task of defeating the Continental Alliance, the responsibility had to be passed to his colleagues.

After all, the Army had always been the least favored. They were used according to their funding; in times of crisis, those with deeper pockets should step up first.

The Minister of the Air Force was better off, as a newer military branch with fewer resources, the Air Force’s shortcomings were understandable.

The situation for the Minister of the Navy, however, was awkward. The Navy had always received the largest share of the budget, often citing the security of The British Isles during budget debates.

Now, when it was time to defend the security of The British Isles, they had faltered.

“The strength of the enemy,” was no excuse. The Royal Navy had traditionally boasted about its capabilities, but its current performance was unsatisfactory to everyone.

Swindon, consumed by shame, could only hang his head and pretend he heard nothing.

Retaliation wasn’t an issue, but would be reconsidered after the new battleships were commissioned. As long as the main fleet gaps were filled, Swindon remained confident in the Royal Navy.

Yet, this required time. Despite the shipyards working overtime, time was still needed.

Until now, only the northern shipyards had completed the main construction of the battleships and were close to launching. Other shipyards had their progress delayed, more or less, due to enemy air raids.

However, time waited for no one on the battlefield. If the Royal Navy couldn’t fully control the seas, the enemy could escort their army to land on the British Isles.

Though the army had strengthened its defenses, Britain’s coastline was so extensive that it was impossible to cover entirely; priority was given only to regions of high strategic value.

Once the enemy managed a successful landing, regardless of the location, the political implications would be fatal.

The atmosphere within the Oceanic Alliance was already tense, and such dire news would force everyone to fend for themselves.

The room fell into a heavy silence, only the thumping of individual pulses audible, making the oppressive atmosphere difficult to breathe in.

Seeing no escape, Swindon slowly stated, “Our losses during the day were too great, and most of the battleships now face extensive repairs, making it unsuitable for us to wage another battle against the enemy soon.

However, we will deploy high-speed battleships and submarines to attack enemy troop transports and supply ships.

As for a full counterattack, we plan to execute it in three months when our latest fleet of battleships will have been commissioned, ideally changing the balance of power.”

This was the Royal Navy’s weakest moment; to confront the enemy again, ordinary battleships would need to contain the enemy’s “Dreadnoughts.”

This “containment” required a blood price. That had been clearly demonstrated during the day’s battle, with as many as five battleships sunk.

Such a grievous cost for merely managing to damage the enemy’s ships.

By contrast, confrontations between Dreadnoughts were much less hostile. After a major upheaval, both sides had their Dreadnoughts severely damaged, but none were directly sunk.

There was nothing surprising about this; accuracy was inherently low in naval artillery, and with the thickness of the Dreadnoughts’ armor offering ample defense,

only repeated hits to critical areas could cripple them; otherwise, they suffered only minor, non-fatal damage.

As long as luck wasn’t entirely unfavorable, the survival capabilities of Dreadnoughts in naval engagements remained strong.

Originally, few Dreadnoughts were ever sunk in ship-to-ship bombardment, but with the advent of aircraft carriers, planes inflicted more destruction.

For now, there was no need to worry about aircraft carriers; the English Channel was a small place, and the air force could reach it within an hour, making any land a natural aircraft carrier.

“The air force will also attack enemy troop transports when the time is right. But we must try to avoid engagements during the day like today.

Once the Japanese Death Squads arrive, we will pick an appropriate moment to launch a surprise attack on the enemy’s naval forces.

In the short term, we still need to build up our strength. We can only provide limited fire support in daily warfare.”

Strength was the foundation of everything; with the air force itself inadequate, Attilio’s statements were naturally not assertive.

His most active strategy was limited to surprise attacks. Full-scale decisive battles weren’t even considered.

Despite the air force’s desire to escalate, there weren’t enough planes and pilots available. Organizing another wave of combat like today’s, in the short term, was simply unfeasible.

…

After hearing the military’s views, Campbell’s expression underwent dramatic changes, as if engaged in an intense internal struggle.

In the end, reason prevailed. Reluctant as he was to admit it, Britain was hard-pressed to win the war under the current circumstances.

Unless there was a significant shift in international relations, such as the defection of key members of the Continental Alliance, or an internal collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, a reversal for Britain seemed unlikely.

Hoping for such drastic changes was less probable than praying to God for a meteor to strike down the enemy.

As woeful as the military front was, the political situation was worse. Though the chances of winning the war were almost zero, a dignified conclusion to the war was still within reach.

In the early 20th century, the Great Britain Empire truly was a behemoth, even without Africa still a global powerhouse.

Formerly a symbol of Britain’s glory, now it was a blockade during their strategic retreat.

The larger the assets, the more likely they were eyed by others. With interest comes envy, and securing a dignified end to the war necessitated dispelling the interests of hungry wolves first.

With so many member states in the Continental Alliance, it would be naive to think they lacked ambition for the Great Britain Empire’s wealth, except perhaps for minor players like Monaco passing the buck.

Any country with a bit of power was already gearing up, waiting to partake in the feast. Convincing them all to stand down was no easy task.

After hesitating for a moment, Campbell firmly said, “There’s no point in waiting anymore. Send all the asylum-seeking members of the Revolutionary Party from various countries back, activate all our undercover agents buried in the European Continent, and provide them with as much support as we can …”