Youjo Senki - Volume 12 - Chapter 6.3

THE SAME DAY, THE UNIFIED STATES HQ IN ILDOA

On the Ildoan peninsula, where the conflict between the Empire and the Alliance raged on, outside help was necessary for replenishing the constant outflow of supplies, gunpowder, and lives. The war was truly avaricious in this sense.

Weapons needed constant maintenance, and ammunition, naturally, could only ever be used once. Before anything else, soldiers were living, breathing humans. It wasn’t as if the US troops stationed in Ildoa under Truger’s command could defy the laws of nature. That made it necessary for them to request that supplies be sent from home.

The men and women fighting the war needed both weapons and ammo, as well as other essential resources such as food and water. Luxuries, too, were important for a healthy, functioning army—almost indispensable. These soldiers, who longed for nothing more than a simple letter from back home, were risking life and limb on the battlefield. Was some amusement, be it in the form of food or entertainment, too much to ask for? A lot went into keeping spirits high despite their perilous circumstances.

In this regard, the Unified States did well for its soldiers, meticulously learning from past mistakes to ensure that those stationed abroad were treated well.

“Everything is perfect. We can even get our troops on the front lines ice cream and steak.”

A logistics worker would aptly make this remark on the job one day. They took pride in the strong supply lines they had established.

It went without saying that ammunition was readily available. The nation had a tremendous stockpile for its well-established worldwide lend-lease program, which allowed it to keep its soldiers well fed and armed to an extent beyond the Empire’s wildest dreams.

What’s more, their distribution network was perfect. With many boats for transportation, each guarded by escort vessels, and an expansive air force, it had the seas and skies of the world covered and enough easily transportable fuel to fully maintain it.

It was a standard for distribution never seen before. What the Unified States considered a perfect system had Tanya screaming, “Cowards!” Where the Empire had most of its supplies still being transported by horse, and even had to resort to having its mages use tugboats to tow its tanks across rivers, the Unified States’ transportation network was completely motorized. The nation had so much of a surplus that it could keep the other members of the Alliance thoroughly supplied on top of this. It was the picture of excellence.

There are few methods as tried and true as sound logistics to bring a country to infallible victory, which was why the Unified States made heroic use of its seemingly limitless resources to make sure that the front lines had everything required to win.

While the front line was bolstered with the best people and equipment for the job, fate had a different plan for the country. When the Unified States reached the peninsula, it underwent its own baptism in total war, and it was the dreaded General Zettour who bitterly, evilly, and relentlessly poured the holy water over the helpless newborn US Army’s forehead.

Were the US generals and officials incompetent? No, not by any stretch of the imagination—both Ildoa and the Unified States had studied the con artist Zettour in exacting detail.

The two forces went into the battle with both a clear strategic and tactical advantage to defeat their crafty nemesis: sheer numbers. As simple as this may sound, it should’ve been the correct answer to the problem. The Unified States, the Commonwealth, and Ildoa were all major maritime powers with control over the seas, ample forces on the ground, and a combination of mages and planes that could achieve aerial superiority. Putting it plainly, the three nations did everything right, and their military leaders were confident that they would be able to put up as strong a fight against the Empire and Zettour as any other forces could.

Incidentally, many said that General Zettour admired his enemy.

“One must be jealous of our enemy. Look at their massive army, bountiful resources, and endless supplies. It is difficult to call this a fair fight. It’s almost immature of them, really.”

The dreaded Zettour was widely considered a crafty tactician and a one-of-a-kind strategist. The US officials behind the creation of a flawless military-industrial complex should be proud of the fact that they had made him concerned.

They were going to destroy the enemy with their superior resources. A simple, effective approach that the US could have faith in. A losing army that lamented over losing due to a lack of resources never should’ve gone to war in the first place. This would ultimately be what led to Zettour going down in history as the defeated general he became.

However, it’s well established by now that the dreaded Zettour will go down in history as one more thing: a con artist. This reputation of his has established itself not only in the eastern front, but in the west as well.

By the time the Unified States had prepared its forces in Ildoa for an epic counteroffensive against the Imperial Army, the bomb laid at their feet by the expert of total war would explode. An explosion that would have the Unified bureaucrats practically fainting over the newest reports.

“We don’t have enough boats! Or goods! What the hell is going on?!”

Reality was nauseating for the planners overseeing logistics, who lamented over the hopeless status of their merchant navy.

What in the world could’ve led to this?

They could understand the cause.

It was all due to a surge of unexpected demand, for which there were two reasons. First, the Ildoan Army’s lack of critical resources. And second, the geographical impact of total war in Ildoa.

Had it been only one of these problems the Unified States had to deal with, it probably could’ve met the challenge without issue. Both of them culminating together at the worst possible time, however, made for one massive dilemma.

General Zettour’s blitzkrieg invasion of Ildoa led to the occupation of the nation’s heavy industrial zone to the north by the Imperial Army, which would go on to be described as one of the more catastrophic events in the war.

Having lost its industrial base, armory, and even its stockpiles, Ildoa was in no position to remilitarize on its own, and outside support—which in this case fell on the Unified States to provide—was vital.

The Unified States had a contingency in place to resolve this, of course. They would simply send all the weapons, equipment, and ammunition the country needed.

If the Ildoan youth had been willing to fight the Empire so the youth of the Unified States didn’t have to, then sending them what they needed would have been an easy decision for US politicians. From a long-term perspective, Uncle Sam was more than willing to help keep the Ildoan Army fighting on the front lines. Although it was also true that this posed a short-term problem. If they needed to keep dozens of mobilized soldiers armed…then it meant that the Unified States would have to reduce the allocation of resources for its own army.

There was also the nightmare of having to actually send everything its ally needed. A person in charge of the Unified States provisions who was ordered to make this possible would aptly remark:

“What, do they think these weapons grow on trees?!”

While the nation had a massive surplus of weapons and bullets, these were still finite.

Even for the massive manufacturing base boasted by the Unified States, it was no small task to arm the armies of the Commonwealth, the Free Republic, and even the Federation, all while keeping its own quickly expanding army well geared.

On top of having to do this, it was expected to send over a dozen divisions’ worth of supplies for the Ildoan forces.

Just procuring the arms would be a lofty task on its own, but getting them across the sea as soon as possible was truly a nightmare.

Anyone would lament over the orders.

“We’re going to have to reduce what we’re sending to the Commonwealth and Federation, and lower the pace of our own army’s expansion…”

It was with a collective sullenness that those who oversaw logistics made such a grave decision, for they knew they had a lot of work ahead of them.

While it was tough for those who had to make the cuts, it was far tougher for those on the receiving end of those supplies. When the Federation, Commonwealth, and Free Republic learned their allotment was being reduced, officials from each nation worked fervently to secure their own portion. The strong mutual distrust among the three supposed allies intensified as they entered this new prisoner’s dilemma. It would later be discovered that behind the curtain—when begging, demanding, crying, and relentless attempts to entertain ambassadors weren’t enough—the foreign diplomats even resorted to bribery and extortion.

The number of backroom deals and underhanded tactics that would take place was utterly detestable. This should’ve been more than enough to undo the jerry-rigged bond the nations had in their Alliance. Though before the cut-and-dried separation between the thought camps would take root in the east and the west, a clear wedge had been driven between the two sides. Were it not for the existence of an overt and obvious mutual enemy, this change in supply allocation created more than enough hostility to spark a new conflict.

As such, the Unified States made a decision that all the stakeholders could reluctantly agree on. While it was a noble decision for the nation to prioritize the nation in crisis, Ildoa, much of the effort that went into launching their initiative would fall flat. Despite the Unified States’ best efforts, the Ildoan Army simply lacked a distribution network that could adequately handle the amount of supplies they needed. Until new domestic supply lines could be established, the Ildoan Army was fully dependent on the Unified States for every last bullet and morsel. And even then, the question of supplying weapons to Ildoa was…one of the easier issues the Unified States would face as a nation.

The worst problem manifested was the national food shortage—a vital resource Ildoa’s citizens needed to live. This was a complete blind spot for the Unified officials and cause for a major headache.

That wasn’t to say that they had no considerations for food shortages. They had plans set in place to provide food for refugees in locations they might occupy, and they were more than capable of bringing food to such locations as opposed to having to acquire it at their destination.

The Unified logistics officials even had a structure set up in case they invaded the Empire and had to provide for its people under military rule. The same went for the François Republic’s territories. They could establish a temporary rule there while they waited for the Free Republic or its bureaucrats to take over.

Thus, the possibility of unforeseen civilian demand was something that was considered by the logistics officials. What they couldn’t have predicted, however, was just how much grain they would need to hand over to the civilians when they reach their allied nation!

Any predictions they had made going into the war were only for military support and equipment. Thus, their initial decision to prioritize Ildoa was more of a slogan than a firm policy.

While they knew they would have to reduce support for their other allies going into the war, it was only a matter of by how much, not all at once. The logistics team figured they could primarily support Ildoa while maintaining the rest of its supply network.

This miscalculation would be dispelled at a moment’s notice upon receiving word from the Ildoan ambassadors of the possibility that the country could need a large quantity of wheat—a request that would have anyone doubting their ears. The very concept went against all common sense.

“This is Ildoa we’re talking about!”

The officials blurted out their doubt.

“It’s an agricultural exporter!”

“How does a nation that produces so much run out of food?!”

It was exactly as the government officials were exclaiming to each other as they fell into a panic: The nation of Ildoa was traditionally known as an agricultural powerhouse.

The country had a rich, world-famous culinary culture that spanned from the north to the south.

As rich as this culture was, it wasn’t without its own idiosyncrasies. The climate of Ildoa was different in its northern and southern parts, allowing the nation to harvest a wide variety of crops.

Specifically, the north produced a majority of the nation’s staple grains, while the only grains grown in the south were purely for self-consumption, with tree crops being the main commercial product. Their agricultural products included a wide variety of produce, such as olives, grapes, and citrus fruits, as well as wines and other processed derivatives. It also included the milk and meat of sheep and goats.

Ildoa had a plethora of produce that it was well known for, and there were few nations around the world that matched the nation’s scale in agricultural exports. If there was any difficulty with the nation’s agricultural foundation, it was that the vast majority of its commercial produce was difficult to use as a staple food.

Were this a time of peace, this wouldn’t be a problem. The nation enjoyed a comparative advantage that would’ve made Ricardo proud.

But this was total war.

With all imports having been ceased due to the war, the nation was receiving an influx of refugees from its north to its south.

The hotels that were empty due to the war quickly found themselves overflowing with refugees. It wasn’t as if the southerners didn’t try to help their northern counterparts out in their time of need, but no amount of desire to help could fill the void created by a dearth of resources.

Supply had diminished, and demand had increased dramatically. Prices began climbing faster than even the notorious Imperial mages, and while it wasn’t anyone’s fault, the country reached it breaking point when the US military arrived.

When the multinational volunteer unit—consisting primarily of US and Ildoan troops—deployed to defend Ildoa, the Ildoan authorities naturally provided the army with its stockpiled food while also trying to replenish said stockpile with food from the market. At the same time, by force of habit, the Unified States tried to establish its own local stockpile—using foreign currency to buy up what they could—and they directly contributed to the astronomical rise in food prices in southern Ildoa.

By the time officials picked up the situation, the prices were already growing out of anyone’s control. It was clear that food could be sold for more tomorrow, and then even more the next day, resulting in a reluctance for farmers to sell crops too early due to the ever-increasing prices.

Regardless of the prices, there just wasn’t enough food to feed the nation due to the stockpiles in the north, which were prepared for times such as these, falling into Imperial hands. The result: The Ildoa-Unified HQ was up against a new, unforeseen enemy—a difficult-to-believe sudden rise in food prices on the civilian market. In addition to this, it didn’t help that citizens of both the Unified States and Ildoa both enjoyed a prosperous standard of living long into the Great War.

In any case, one of the major impacts that total war had on the nation was a food shortage without precedent. Everyone back home was foaming at the mouth with rage, cursing the heavens while they fell to their knees.

“Southern Ildoa is on the brink of a famine?!”

From an objective perspective, it wasn’t as if the Unified States Army’s presence in the nation was the trigger for the new development. As with any shortage, prices rising was only a matter of time more than anything. It was just as likely that those living in the south would end up causing a rise in prices due to bulk panic-buying out of fear of further invasion, but any potential causes were simply that—causes that never had the chance to happen.

What the people of Ildoa, and the world, saw was a tremendous rise in food prices the moment the Unified forces hit Ildoan shores. It left the Unified Army with the unfavorable criticism that they were buying up all the food. In actuality, the dent that twenty, thirty thousand soldiers would make on the feeding of millions of civilians was insignificant, but it was the optics that mattered.

The world’s opinion on the matter had solidified. It was around this point when the officials, already in a deep panic, would receive even worse news: that a key port in southern Ildoa had lost its function due to an Imperial assault.

The fact that all the large port facilities in the south were within range of an Imperial attack also posed a new, serious problem for the Allies in terms of ensuring the safety of transportation routes. Although this much could’ve been solved if the Allies could expel the Imperial Army from the north.

“But that’s a big if.”

It was as one of the bureaucrats so aptly articulated: If they could expel the Empire, there would be no problems.

With that, the expeditionary forces brought to Ildoa under the command of Lieutenant General Truger were engulfed in the logistical chaos. His initial plan, seeing as the ground forces that had been urgently deployed to the outskirts of Ildoa’s capital had already been defeated by the Empire, was to fortify the positions in the south as quickly as possible before heading north to raid the enemy holdings and help stabilize Ildoa’s lines…but this plan quickly fell apart.

Everything was going smoothly when he reached his position in a southern Ildoan city and established his HQ, but his schedule would be turned upside down when he received word that an Imperial task force was attacking a military port to his south, forcing him to immediately deploy mage reinforcements to help protect the supply ships.

With his forces exhausted afterward, and there being no food to feed them, Truger knew he was in no position to mount a counteroffensive. The general was in his office, dealing with the administrational aftermath of the attack, when his subordinate would come with a new report.

“Sir, we’ve received a maximum-priority message from back home. Please read this.”

“What is this insignia?”

From behind a mountain of paperwork, Lieutenant General Truger expressed his confusion.

“I’ve never seen this, either. What’s it say here? Integrated Form 1?”

“With the Department of War being reorganized as the Department of Defense, the navy and army are now both under the same command. I heard they were going to reformat all our paperwork.”

He waved his hand and sent his subordinate away, sighing deeply while he read over the paper.

“So the folks back home are quick when it comes to whipping up shit like this to send over with the highest priority.”

Where provisions wouldn’t find their way, mundane problems reached him with utmost haste. Lieutenant General Truger read over the report with regret in his eyes.

The paper his accountant was so kind in bringing him spelled out in the most direct of terms the supply issues that were occurring across Ildoa.

“We could win in an all-out battle, but it’s taking us too long to get to the battlefield.”

They had the firepower. They had cannons and shells. Observational equipment and trucks to get these around. All the fuel they could ask for.

If he gave the order, his brave soldiers would head north without question. If he followed navy doctrine, there was little reason for him to keep his forces in the south, but moving north now meant the Ildoans would starve.

“We came here to fight the Imperial Army. What the hell is this?”

Truger let out a large sigh.

“The shipping problem is far too severe. If only we didn’t need to distribute the Ildoans’ food for them…”

The man bit down on the cigar in his mouth and looked down on the strategic map left on his desk.

“Currently, the Imperial Army has thirteen divisions and three panzer divisions.”

The equipment for these units were, as far as he could tell, still in good condition. Conversely, the Alliance was in poor shape.

While Ildoa boasted thirty divisions, plus the Unified States’ infantry divisions and a single naval squadron…with the exception of the Royal Guard units, these were mostly weaponless.

“We could arm them, but…”

They didn’t have enough ships to bring the weapons they needed to Ildoa. While ships were being built as fast as they could back home, it wasn’t possible to bring everything they needed right now.

The New World and the Old World were separated by a vast amount of space. Just bringing this number of soldiers along with the immense provisions to keep them supplied across the great sea that divided them was a feat in itself.

“If our boats weren’t being used to carry wheat, I could ship twenty of our own divisions along with a couple of Ildoan ones to the north and execute our Plan B to surround and destroy the main Imperial forces.”

The Unified States had two choices: to bring wheat to Ildoa or bring its forces north. There was no choice for the good soldier to make, no matter how much of a warrior they were.

“If we send our soldiers north…the starvation of those in the south will be pinned on us.”

Was a military victory worth the lives of civilians? It was a military dilemma that a democratic nation never wished to face.

“The folks back home won’t let us do that… And we certainly can’t let innocent people die.”

He dropped his cigar into his ashtray and signed the papers before looking at a new set of documents that similarly described limitations due to deficiencies.

They had the boats. These boats were carrying what the nation needed.

“Just look at this mess.”

Being forced with the laborious task of taking care of southern Ildoa had the Unified States writhing in pain and left Truger chuckling wryly to himself. He had an idea of what the Empire was going to do next.

“Judging by the current situation…the moment we seize the Ildoan capital and any major cities in the north, our supply lines will be forced to carry an even heavier burden.”

The capital and some of the northern cities were where most of the population lived. As the Unified States entered the conflict, its chief concern had been urban warfare, but it now looked more and more like advancing north would tax their supply lines more than their own military.