Encircle the Strongpoint and Strike the Reinforcements

The day after the Irish Independence Army declared the armistice invalid, a British Navy squadron appeared off the coast of a port controlled by the Irish Independence Army and named "Carroll Port".

This port was built after the armistice and is now the largest port in the Ireland anti-British base. It was named after Carroll, who generously donated all of his Prometheus Prize money to the Ireland cause for independence. France ships, especially those carrying weapons and supplies, mostly disembarked here, making it a prime target for the Britain.

Suspecting that the Ireland had laid mines near the port to hinder the Britain fleet's bombardment (since the France also had mines), the Britain fleet did not directly approach to bombard the port. Moreover, there was a fortified position near the port, and reconnaissance by hot air balloon revealed that it had more than ten cannons.

Although the Britain estimated that most of those cannons were likely the work of Ireland carpenters, since Ireland's resources wouldn't allow them to place more than ten cannons on a single battery, even if one or two were genuine, a fleet without reliable high-explosive shells would still be at a significant disadvantage when facing such batteries.

Therefore, the Britain fleet did not actually attack Carroll Port, but instead remained anchored outside the harbor to prevent any possible ships from entering.

Ireland has a long coastline, and the coastline under the control of the "rebels" is not short either, making it difficult to completely sever the connection between the France and the Ireland. However, blockading their largest port would significantly reduce the amount of supplies they receive, since the presence or absence of port facilities has a huge impact on the transportation of goods. At the very least, the most dangerous items, such as cannons, would be unable to land.

Meanwhile, the Irish Independence Army was planning their first major operation—to capture Athlone and cut off the railway line between Dublin and Galway.

"Comrades, look at this map. It was obtained by our comrades through secret channels, showing the British Army deployment around Athlone." Division Commander Joyce spread a map on the table and said to the three regimental commanders gathered around him, "Take a look, all of you. This time, our division finally managed to secure the main attack mission. We must fight this battle well. Otherwise, how can we face the Irish Second Division in competing for something like this again?"

Everyone gathered around to study the map.

"The Britain deployment method is very similar..." said Regiment Commander Westwood.

"It's very similar to what our advisor Villefort described to us about the French Army defense system at Verdun," said Regiment Commander Clark.

"According to Advisor Villefort, the France themselves don't have many good ways to deal with this defensive system. If they insist on a direct assault, they can only rely on their firepower advantage to chip away at it bit by bit," Westwood said. "But that's the France way; the France have firepower advantages, we don't."

"These fortifications are quite well-designed; a direct assault would result in losses we cannot afford," Joyce said. "However, as Joseph Bonaparte once said, 'In most cases, defense is a more effective form of warfare than offense, so a skilled offensive general will strive to create a situation that forces the defensive side to leave their pre-planned defensive positions and fight them on an unexpected battlefield.' Therefore, we might consider a different approach. We shouldn't rush to target Athlone. Our goal is simply to cut off and destroy the entire railroad line; we don't necessarily need to capture Athlone."

At this point, he stood up and pointed to the railway line that ran across Ireland on the map. "You see, this is our real target, Railway Line 1. Along Railway Line 1, the enemy has set up a series of strongholds, large and small. If we try to sabotage the railway, we will first have to face the resistance of these small strongholds. These small strongholds are also relatively fortified, and if we cannot take them quickly, the enemy can use the railway to quickly mobilize troops to counterattack us. However, if we can take these small strongholds quickly, then they will have to fight us under less than ideal conditions."

The Britain underestimated our ability to breach fortifications. After all, they didn't know we had some weapons that had never been seen on the battlefield before. We'll likely capture these small strongholds much faster than they expect. And their reinforcements, on the other hand, will probably be slower..."

"Let's make it look like we're besieging Athlone, cutting off the railway lines from here and here," said Kane, the Second Regiment Commander, who had been silent until now. "That way, the enemy at Athlone won't dare to come out easily, and the Britain should send troops from Dublin and Galway to relieve Athlone from the east and west."

Based on our understanding, the Britain have 80,000 troops in Dublin, but after deducting the largely unreliable "Black Dogs," that leaves only 30,000. Then, subtract the essential garrison troops— Dublin has so many supplies; they can't be at ease without leaving a few men. They not only have to guard against us, but also against those "Security Army." Therefore, of those 80,000 troops, probably no more than 20,000 are truly mobile. However, our strength is insufficient to take down those 20,000, even if we call upon the county brigade and district squads.

However, if we can hold them off with a smaller force—for example, if the Irish Second Division can hold off this wave of enemy advance—then we will have the opportunity to concentrate our forces and eliminate another enemy force emerging from Galway.

The Britain have over 30,000 troops in Goveer. Because it's close to their base, their 'Security Army' is relatively small. However, 4,000 of them are naval personnel, so their total available force is at most 10,000. If we concentrate our main force and launch a pincer attack to ambush reinforcements, we might be able to wipe out those 10,000. After we eliminate those 10,000, I estimate the Britain in Dublin will immediately retreat. This way, until the Britain send a large number of reinforcements from the mainland, neither the British Army in Dublin, Goveer, nor Athlone will have the ability to launch an offensive. At that point, we can destroy this railway without interference for a period of time. And not just this railway, but all the others as well. Without these railways, even if the Britain increase their forces, the threat will be much smaller."

"Hey, not bad, Kane!" Joyce patted him on the shoulder. "Yeah, let's get the whole plan out quickly and show it to Chairman Russell. Hmm, I heard the Irish Second Division is up to something too."