“Lieutenant Grantz, I wish to confirm something.”
“Yes, Colonel.”
“This letter, from General Zettour. Are you aware of what it contains?”
“Yes, Colonel.”
“We are to cut off enemy lines of communication with a division of mages…a volunteer raid, airborne. Details are within these sealed orders. Is that correct?”
“Yes, Colonel,” my subordinate replied in a near-mechanical monotone, repeating the phrase as if on loop. Without waiting for further elaboration, I gingerly set the parcel from First Lieutenant Grantz down on my desk, as if it might explode at any moment.
Honestly, I don’t want to open it. Unfortunately, I have no choice.
Confirming that the seal is intact and protocol is followed, I have Grantz sign as witness, methodically following the rules for breaking the seal…a small act of escapism for me. Even Tanya can show a human side from time to time when confronting something I’d rather not face.
General Zettour’s personal gophers, the 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion, peer bloodshot at the (so-called) operational plan that the General has brazenly assembled.
“Deliver mage divisions to each of three chokepoints?”
I had barely finished reading the objective when a profoundly overwhelming sense of dizziness overtook me. Three chokepoints, indeed!
Of all the harebrained requests! Zettour is supposed to be one of the few people in the Empire with half a brain, isn’t he?! How can he seriously consider such fantasies?
“Put pressure on the Federation Army’s fuel and ammo, thereby triggering their operational limits. Deal a heavy blow to the Federation Army, who are ranging far from their center of operations, at minimal cost…”
I understand the logic of it. Any shred of military common sense is enough to grasp the general’s intentions: Apply pressure to chokepoints in the enemy’s rear and cut off their lines of communication.
Using the main force to envelop space while attacking supply lines is almost textbook. And it feels painfully familiar.
After all, this closely resembles Operation Iron Hammer, which the Imperial Army initiated on May 5 of last year. To be blunt, it seems to have been lifted entirely from the previous operation in places, betraying the hastily constructed substitute beneath the surface.
But regarding the objective…the idea is so far out there that, as one of the officers involved in Iron Hammer, even that overly reckless and dangerous gamble seems rock solid by comparison. And that operation, in my opinion, was practically all risk!
Last year, the Imperial Army still had armored divisions active in the east. How many tanks could the eastern army muster now? Nearly all the surplus was either sunbathing in Ildoa or recovering from sunburn.
Furthermore, during Iron Hammer, support was available for the troops dropping in to screen the enemy’s rear. With the armored divisions gone now, could they still expect such assistance?
I shove all the chocolate scattered on the desk into my mouth and cross my arms. Without sugar, I might become lightheaded again.
“You have some too,” I say, tossing some high-calorie chocolate designed for aerial mages toward a dumbfounded First Lieutenant Grantz as I consider the mess we’re in.
Armor is out of the question, and, as if that weren’t enough, air superiority is a dream beyond a dream.
Last year, we scrambled together air assets from throughout the Empire to secure a modicum of air superiority for high-maneuver warfare. That was a true, deliberate attack. But today, the Empire no longer has that capability. General Zettour completely used up the Air Force in Ildoa, down to the last drop.
As a result, we can forget about not only air supremacy, which is a major prerequisite for airborne operations, but air superiority as well. In fact, it is doubtful we can even secure a decent enough number of large transports.
But it must be precisely because he is aware of these issues that General Zettour has picked out us mages, who can be effective even in small numbers, instead of standard airborne infantry for this operation. He probably expects us to use our firepower and defensive capabilities to make up for the Empire’s numerical disadvantage. The logic, at least, seems sound… That is, if you ignore the question of where we are supposed to scrounge up so many mages from.
Would it be possible, when under present circumstances, even the 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion who report directly to the General Staff, has been told not to expect any replenishment? What contortions will Imperial Army officials have to perform to produce new airborne divisions?
Besides, even if that issue were solved by some miracle…
“…the worst part is, we’ve already done this exact same thing before,” I mutter, despite knowing First Lieutenant Grantz can hear my complaints.
This plan, which appears to have lifted its basic framework from Operation Iron Hammer, is known by both sides. The world learned then how the Empire behaves. Our opponent is now inoculated against such tactics. It’s foolish to expect it to be just as successful now.
The enemy is more powerful than before. And we are weaker. We would be staking everything on an operation with an even slimmer chance of success than our last gamble, reusing old tactics and hoping things go our way.
Even assuming it is the only way, this plan is overly reckless and ambitious. It is ridiculously rash.
“Air mobility, and a large-scale bounding advance with strategic units. It’s…”
The word “impossible” nearly escaped my lips before I remembered my position. First Lieutenant Grantz was present. I rack my brain for a more diplomatic phrase.
“…an expenditure. To be honest, the mages will be massacred. The idea is to buy time and exchange it for victory. However…even if we hold out until we are completely annihilated, the chance of operational success is far from decent.”
According to the sealed documents, we’re supposed to “drop into the enemy rear and cut off supply routes for as long as possible.” Not until follow-on troops arrive, but for as long as possible. Perhaps my stellar experience as a field officer lets me read between the lines. No support will be coming.
In short, there will be no relief troops.
After dropping into enemy territory and using our own strength to apply pressure, these dropped units—isolated and alone—will need to withstand battering from all sides as we wait for the Federation Army’s main force to fall apart from lack of supplies. The exchange might be favorable, but it is an exchange of Imperial mage divisions for the Federation’s main force.
We may as well have been told to go out there and die. I considered refusing, but I had only just indebted myself to Zettour’s due to the falsified orders. I shut my eyes reflexively and prepare for the worst.
“This is…”
I glanced at First Lieutenant Grantz. “Thank you for your hard work,” I said. Then, as if afraid someone might overhear, I charged him with a task: Call in Major Weiss and First Lieutenant Serebryakov, and personally ensure that no one else, no matter who they may be, approaches the operation center.