Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Chapter 322: Flexible Troop Allocation & Helpless Mughals

November 25th, 1655

Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, The region of Gujarat, eastern defence frontier

While the battle for the city of Makran has ended in the region of Balochistan and the report of the battle is still on its way, Vijay, after confirming the establishment of a heliograph connection with the Balochi battlefield, has gone back to the eastern frontier of Gujarat and is currently commanding the troops to resist the constant assaults of the Mughal Skirmishers, who regularly launch attacks on the villages at the border.

To tighten the defensive line, fortifications had been continuously constructed over the border length of 600 kilometres since the region of Gujarat came into the grasp of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire. However, the Mughal Empire frequently interferes with the construction, significantly reducing the speed at which the border infrastructure is laid down.

Although the main fortresses of Dahod and Palanpur at the eastern frontier could defend against the large threats of the Mughal Empire, they were helpless against the small groups of skirmishers who came to the border region to cause trouble and destroy the efforts of the empire to construct defensive turrets and artillery towers along the border.

Hence, in order to hasten this process, Vijay came up with the strategy of taking the initiative and launching an offensive against the Mughal Empire. This initiative not only allows ample time for the fortifications across the defensive line to be built but also gives the Mughal Empire the impression that the Bharatiya Empire is attacking the region of Madhya Pradesh.

This is exactly what Vijay wanted, hence he cooperated with Kiran Poojari to launch an attack on Madhya Pradesh with the intent to kill. He wants even his soldiers to be fooled by this feint.

Since intelligence reports indicate that there are at least 50,000 troops stationed in the central region of the Mughal Empire, Vijay wants to try his best to pull these troops away from the westernmost frontier of the Mughal Empire, as he does not want his plan to conquer Baluchistan to go up in flames.

Although the Mughal Empire might realize that even this attack could be a feint or a distraction, they will have no other choice but to respond. Even though the attack launched by the combination of Vijay and Kiran Poojari might be a distraction, the troops involved in the battle, the weapons employed by the soldiers, as well as the artillery deployed on the battlefield, are not false.

They are very much still a deadly threat.

Hence, even though the Mughal Empire might be very much aware that it is a trap, it has no choice but to willingly fall into the trap like a docile sheep, Otherwise, Vijay and Kiran Poojari might actually take this as an opportunity and gain another 15,000+ square km of land, including the fortress of Indore, in the region of Madhya Pradesh, furthering the military dominance of Dakshin Bharatiya Empire in this ongoing war of extermination.

This tricky situation is one of the reasons why all countries, no matter how strong, always wish to avoid being surrounded by enemies, no matter how weak. The same goes for even the countries in the 21st century. No matter how strong America is, it does its best to disarm and bring its neighbouring countries to its side.

Moreover, America is a first-hand witness to what happened to the country that attempted to take over the world and was surrounded by enemies on almost all sides.

Although this country was very strong and was the number one militarily advanced country in the world, both with the mechanized army and the Air Force, it eventually got taken down as it could not predict from which side the attack was coming.

Hence, not to repeat the mistakes, America cleverly disarmed its two direct land neighbours, Canada and Mexico. while for the sea neighbours, America is still technically the neighbour of Russia since Alaska is a U.S. state, but it is still too far away from its mainland.

The economic importance of Alaska to America is only its resources and its geopolitical significance, and nothing else, hence Russia does not pose a direct threat.

With these considerations, Vijay is fully confident in the plan he and Kiran Poojari had come up with. Vijay is currently in the barracks dressing up for the battle. He wore metal armour and a general’s attire on top of him, and he wore a dignified helmet made out of steel.

He walked out of the barracks with a talwar on his back and a Brown Bess musket, along with a wheel-lock pistol on the holster by his waist.

Overall, he was dressed in the standard military attire of a lieutenant general. He did this because Vijay did not want his involvement in the battle to be known to the Mughal officials, which could cause them to go into psycho mode and go full throttle in trying to kill him, after all the mess he caused the Mughal Empire.

Hence, only a few important generals in his army know about his real identity, while the rest of the soldiers only know him as a new general in command from a different legion.

"Your Majesty," looking at his arrival, a Sikh man immediately saluted with his fist thumping his chest.

Vijay nodded his head and moved forward. The person who saluted him just now was one of his advisers on the battlefield and his main strategist; Birbal Singh, hailing from the destroyed kingdom of Maratha.

He had accompanied the remaining survivors of the Bhonsle family, And after arriving at the empire, he had joined the military immediately in order to get revenge for his brothers and sisters who died in the battle against the Mughals.

Also due to Birbal being one of the most talented youngsters in the army during the existence of the Maratha Kingdom, he utilized the battle experience he had against the Mughals and climbed the ranks pretty quickly.

With his track record of participating in all major battles, he had reached the position of lieutenant general (a rank only below the rank of a commander) Very quickly and was even appreciated by the legion commanders of the empire.

"Are the troops ready?" Vijay asked, his hand resting on his holster.

"Yes, Your Majesty. A corps of multi-role troops is on standby and ready to march at your command."

With a nod of approval, Vijay signed the order. A corps comprised of 40,000 troops crossed the border, advancing into the region of Madhya Pradesh.

While moving, Vijay divided the army into five different sections after consulting with Lieutenant General Birbal Singh and incorporating some of his own ideas after accessing the memory bank he has of the future.

The first section, which is at the forefront of the marching army, is the advanced guard composed of 5000 troops, in which 1000 troops are scouts and advanced scouts equipped with horses. Additionally, 2000 troops are light infantry ranger units responsible for clearing out weak targets like small groups of enemy troops or even enemy scouts.

Behind these units, the engineering detachment, composed of 500 troops, took up position.

Their responsibilities included clearing obstacles, repairing roads, and ensuring a marchable route for the advancing forces. This unit is a new proposal by Vijay, as he felt the army’s mechanization would be adequate enough by the time the new weapons come out for deploying the Engineering Corps throughout the military.

Behind the engineering detachment is the light artillery, composed of 500 artillerymen equipped with light artillery such as the new culverins, Puckle guns, and six-kilogram calibre cannons. The Bharatiya Scorpion Grenade launcher would have also been equipped if not for its immediate need in the Battle of Baluchistan.

Pushing on behind the advanced guard, which forms the vanguard of the marching army, the second section, regarded as the brawn and body of the force, constitutes the main body of the troops, totalling 25,000 soldiers. This main body is divided into two divisions: the forward division and the rear division, each comprising 12,500 troops.

Each division is organized into five brigades: four infantry brigades and one artillery brigade, each consisting of 2,500 troops. The organizational structure within both the forward and rear divisions is as follows:

1. The lead brigade leads the division. Composed of infantry in marching columns, they stand ready to swiftly deploy into line or square formation as required.

2. Following the lead brigade is the second brigade, poised to provide support or manoeuvre as the situation demands.

3. The third brigade occupies a central position, serving as the core of the unit and coordinating actions between the other brigades.

4. The fourth brigade serves as a reserve force within the division, poised to reinforce or respond to emerging threats.

After which there is a brigade of artillerymen equipped with heavy-calibre artillery like cannons 15 kilograms calibre and above.

The third section is the flank guards, responsible for guarding both the right and left flanks of the marching army, with each flank equipped with 1500 troops.

Next comes the fourth section, which is the rearguard composed of 3000 troops filled with light infantry.

Finally, the fifth section is the support and logistics division, composed of 4000 troops, including medical units, reserve artillery, and command and control HQ, which serves as the headquarters for the corps. This is where Vijay, along with Birbal Singh, is stationed in normal situations, Given that things do not go horribly wrong.

With Vijay’s push, many new concepts were used in this battle. One of the main innovations was the flexible change of the number of troops in a single military unit, such as brigades, divisions, and corps. Previously, the number of soldiers in each of these units was very rigid and had to fit precisely.

However, as the battle started, this rigidity was unable to adapt to the changing battle environment and troop dispatches.

Hence, Vijay decided to introduce the flexible troop allocation function, where brigades, battalions, divisions, companies, and corps could be formed with flexible troop numbers, with the only rule being that each unit should be higher than two or more units of the lower denomination.

The second main innovation Vijay implemented was the further modernization of the military organization structure within the army operations. This included the implementation of a dedicated engineering corps and dedicated logistics and medical units, which were absent in previous battles. However, this new structure is only present in the army Vijay is leading, as it is still in the testing phase.

Traditional military leaders such as Birbal Singh and others did not understand why Vijay divided the troops into so many different units.

Even after Vijay tried to explain the concept in simple terms by using the concept of division of labour principle which is popular in the manufacturing industry, the military leaders, except Birbal who somewhat understood his intention, remained unconvinced. Lacking the patience to reason with them further, Vijay directly ordered them to follow his will.

With Vijay’s ultimatum, the generals complied, albeit reluctantly. Surprisingly, Vijay’s dictatorial action gained the respect of the troops, who followed his orders wholeheartedly, as he demonstrated his ability to make the generals listen to him. This led them to believe that the man in the mysterious steel helmet was a hidden card of the empire.

Vijay is currently on his way to the city of Indore in the state of Madhya Pradesh, which is one of the crucial economic and military bases of the region. This is also the main location where the headquarters of the Mughal Empire, responsible for the skirmishes and attacks on Gujarat, is located.

Vijay had started his march at the frontier city of Dahod in Gujarat, while Kiran Poojari, who was also a part of this plan, had troops from the fortress city of Bhusawal, as well as the cities of Dhule and Amravati attacking simultaneously.

So, the combined strength used in this battle amounts to over 60,000 troops. If the Mughal Empire perceives Vijay and Kiran Poojari’s actions as a feint, then Vijay doesn’t mind fully taking over the city of Indore and extending the influence of the Bharatiya Empire by another 15,000 square kilometres or so.

November 26th, 1655

City of Indore, Mughal Empire

"Your Excellency, three forces are marching towards us from the directions of west, south, and southwest simultaneously. I just received the news from the scouts," said one of the military officials in the Mughal Empire to General Islam Zaheer in the city of Indore.

General Zaheer was the commanding general of the Indore Mughal army and was responsible for hindering the development of Bharat-occupied Gujarat and weakening the defence of the defensive line.

"Damn kafirs," Islam’s voice boomed, his angry swing of the wrist breaking the coloured glass vase beside him, as he immediately ordered, "Request reinforcements! We cannot take on this army alone, and we cannot afford to lose Indore."

Shortly after, Muhammad, although reluctant and wary, had to send an army of 50,000 troops stationed in northern Madhya Pradesh to reinforce the city of Indore to prevent its fall.

Within hours of Mohammad’s orders being passed, Vijay immediately received the news of reinforcements arriving at the city of Indore.

With this news, Vijay, although disappointed in not being able to take over Indore, was nonetheless happy that they were successful in pulling the Mughal Empire into another pit. With this successful operation, the Mughal Empire would take longer to quickly reinforce the actual target of the war, Balochistan.

As Balochistan is already sparsely populated and the communication channels are difficult to establish, the Mughal Empire will likely not realize their attack until Narasimha Naik and Ramayya Senapati take at least a few cities.

With this thought, Vijay, who had already arrived in the vicinity of the city of Indore, had a cunning smile on his face.

P.S. I hope This Pase is OK