Chapter 35
The history of major naval battles in this world had gone in a different direction from Earth’s.
The reason was the existence of mages and sea monsters beneath the water.
Mages could sink enemy surface ships on their own, and sea monsters lurking underwater would burst out and destroy enemy vessels.
In such an environment, the role of fleets naturally diminished.
They became a surface platform for mages. A decoy to draw the attention of enemy sea monsters. Cannon fodder on the open sea.
So the mages further imposed technological restrictions on the already poorly regarded fleet.
As a result, the Eastern Navy, which protected the Empire’s seas, consisted of sailing ships using only obsolete cannons like culverins.
Because the East’s main force was the underwater monster corps.
And the defining trait of the underwater monster corps was...
"They were absurdly huge."
A gigantic giant squid, Tusoteuthis.
The colossal sea monster, with tentacles reaching up to 100 meters in length, had the power to seize a sailing ship and sink it in one go.
No matter how hard surface ships struggled, there was no way to defeat a giant sea monster that hid deep underwater and suddenly emerged.
One sweep of its massive tentacles above the water was enough to smash several sailing ships to pieces at once.
That was why sea monsters could be dealt with only by other sea monsters.
Naturally, the Eastern Navy came to revolve around bigger and stronger sea monsters.
It was similar to the battleship-and-big-gun doctrine from my previous life on Earth.
And if you think about how battleship-and-big-gun doctrine declined, the downfall of the sea monster corps was, in fact, predetermined as well.
With a powerful spear that could inflict tremendous damage, you wore down the enemy little by little from beyond the reach of a giant foe.
For battleships, that opponent was the carrier; for the giant beasts beneath the water, it would be the submarine.
That was why, in order to dominate the seas in the future, we needed a large number of submarines, a new type of ship.
Destroyers’ role also became enormously important.
Because depth charges dropped from destroyers were essential for dealing with medium and small monsters roaming the sea.
That said, it wasn’t as if battleships had lost their role entirely.
In the end, it would be our battleships that would crush the mages at sea, the enemy naval fleets, and the enemy ports.
"So in the second half of this year, we’ll focus on building submarines and destroyers."
That settled the budget allocation issue.
Now there were three things left to think about.
The submarine’s weapons. The submarine’s eyes. And the destroyer’s anti-submarine measures.
The naval doctrine of this era centered on battles between giant monsters. Naturally, as for weapons used underwater, there was practically nothing beyond simple attack magic.
Naturally, the shape of combat also became a struggle between giant monsters rather than large-scale fleet engagements.
Besides, giant monsters had a fairly high degree of magical resistance. The mages’ role was already limited enough underwater, where visibility was poor.
So there were almost no weapons or spells that could actually be used in underwater warfare.
Weapon development ultimately follows the conditions of the battlefield.
That was very good news for us.
Even an early World War I torpedo boasted a range of 6 to 7 kilometers.
The enemy would be torn apart by torpedo fire before they ever reached the submarine.
And besides, there was mana stone here, a natural semiconductor.
That meant we could imitate guided torpedoes even without semiconductor technology like vacuum tubes.
The submarine’s eyes?
That side was already more or less prepared as well.
I had once proposed the concept of an early sonar radar by using the radar deployed during the Albion air raid incident. Research on that 'radar' had continued ever since.
Besides, we had one advantage Earth’s navies did not.
Giant sea monsters were, in practice, impossible to conceal or hide.
Just look at Tusoteuthis, their representative sea beast.
The vibrations caused by that thing thrashing eight 100-meter-long tentacles to propel itself through the water were truly monstrous.
Even without using any special technology, an experienced boatman could feel the vibrations within a certain distance.
It was basically shouting, 'I’m here!'
Against such a giant sea monster, even a simple fishing-boat sonar would be enough.
Lastly, the destroyer’s anti-submarine measure: depth charges.
Submarines would take on giant monsters. Of course, if torpedoes and sonar were developed, they could also deal with small monsters, but torpedoes are too expensive to waste on that.
Besides, a submarine couldn’t always keep up with a fleet. In the end, the fleet’s anti-submarine defense would have to be handled by destroyers, and depth charges would be the best tool for anti-submarine warfare.
Depth charges were truly cheap, simple, and powerful weapons.
Put explosives into a drum and fit it with a simple pressure-sensing device, and that’s a depth charge.
Since it has no propulsion system, most of its weight is explosive. With a pressure-sensing device, it can sweep the depths of the sea clean.
It wasn’t called a weapon that would still be used in the 21st century for nothing.
In that sense, I had the feeling the Design Bureau would stay busy for quite a while yet.
"Lusilla!"
"Yes, Archduke."
"Pass all of these documents to the Design Bureau as well. They’re the list of things that need to be completed this year."
Once the three weapon systems were complete, we wouldn’t have to worry about a naval blockade anymore.
We would secure complete sea control around the Belfort Archipelago.
It wouldn’t be long before we secured the 'South’s right to survive.'
***
While the South was busy preparing for what came after the annexation of the West, changes were taking place in the West as well.
The biggest changes, as expected, were in the military.
For the soldiers of the western territory, who had only ever handled spears, swords, bows, and muskets, a weapon system called a 'machine gun' was not just new but unfamiliar.
A 'machine gun' didn’t even have a sharp, blade-like attachment. For soldiers living in an era when even muskets had bayonets, it was a completely unfamiliar weapon.
However, no one doubted its performance.
They had seen it with their own eyes, as hundreds of barbarians were unable to do anything at all.
"Joint operation preparations?"
So the attention of countless soldiers was drawn to the notice about 'Joint Operation Preparations' posted by the Southern Army.
The notice could be summarized very simply.
1. Very soon, under a joint operation between the Southern Army and the Western Army, a large-scale campaign to suppress the barbarians will begin.
2. The Western Army will operate under the command of the Southern Army.
3. Participating soldiers will be issued firearms.
4. First, as a trial, some Western soldiers will be selected and given a live-fire demonstration.
At that very moment, the area in front of the Southern Army barracks was packed with Western volunteers.
For the past 50 years, a deep rift of hatred had grown between the West and the barbarians. They had killed and plundered each other, driving their relationship to the absolute worst.
If not for practical constraints, they would have attacked each other outright long ago.
For the Western Army, which had struggled to bring down the barbarians, the appearance of the machine gun was nothing short of a revolution.
Those barbarians who wouldn’t die no matter how much you struck or stabbed them, being swept away in one burst?
No one would refuse the chance to use a weapon like that.
Willie, a soldier in the Western Army, was one of those men.
Fortunate enough to be chosen as one of the demonstration soldiers, he headed to the firing range with a light heart.
"I’m Willie, a soldier in the Western Army!"
"Nice to meet you. I’m the machine gunner helping with your shooting demonstration. First, take this."
The machine gunner handed him earplugs.
At first, Willie was slightly puzzled.
'Why would I need earplugs to use a weapon?'
For someone unfamiliar with firearms, it was a natural thought. If he wore earplugs during training, wouldn’t he miss his superior’s orders?
That question was soon answered.
"First firing line, fire!"
Drrrrrr-!
From far away came the chainsaw-like roar of the machine gun. Even though it was more than a hundred meters away, the sound stabbed straight into his ears.
It was far sharper and more chilling than the shouts of barbarians. Hearing it, Willie’s feelings grew complicated.
Fear of an unknown weapon.
And anticipation that he would soon get to use that weapon himself.
"The third firing line is open."
After hearing his subordinate’s report, the machine gunner led Willie to the third line.
The machine gun was mounted at exactly shoulder height.
Seen up close, the 'machine gun' was a truly unusual weapon.
A solid block of metal made of a rectangular body and perforated pipes. It couldn’t even be lifted, so it had to be fixed in place to use.
And with no knowledge at all, he couldn’t even begin to guess how to operate it.
The machine gunner kindly explained it to Willie.
"This is the buttstock. Rest it against your shoulder so it can help control the recoil. Put your hand here, and it’ll fire as soon as you pull the trigger."
Contrary to what he had imagined, pulling the trigger of the machine gun did not take much force.
The trigger was so light that even a child could pull it easily.
However, the result was anything but light.
Drdrdrdrk-!
Along with the noise piercing through the earplugs, the large wooden board used as the target was literally shattered.
Willie, and the Western Army soldiers who had experienced a machine gun firsthand that day, all thought the same thing.
That the South had created a weapon even more magical than magic itself.
And that maybe this campaign to suppress the barbarians would be different from the ones before.