Of Pride and Power - 23. Chapter 23: “Plan all the way to the end.”

By the autumn of 1557, we were finally ready to make a move. My forces had swelled to two times their original size in 1553 with a combined force of around 38,000 men and women, serving in my armed forces. I had 84 tracked armored vehicles, 26 of which I would classify as medium tanks were built on a chassis similar to the famous T-34 tank with its sloping armor and 76.2-millimeter gun. Another 32 tanks were built with lighter armor and a smaller caliber 37-millimeter gun using Soviet and Czech designs for ease of manufacturing. The other 26 tracked vehicles were mobile armored support vehicles with radio broadcasting and ground radar equipment to organize military forces. Training tanks and mechanized forces required a lot of secrecy and coordination, we had established a training facility for the equipment in an area of Cornwall with the Cornish assistance, in exchange for equal standing and duchy status. Due to the limitations on gasoline and equipment production, we didn’t fully mechanize our forces, but the suspension system for carriages, increased iron production, and new designs proved invaluable. Additionally, we built 18,740 Conestoga wagons, which could carry 12,000 pounds each, to move the army and equipment, especially the 5,628 flak guns, based on the feared German “acht-acht”, or “Eight-Eight” dual-role anti-air/anti-tank heavy artillery gun. As I did not have an air force due to secrecy reasons and needed multi-role equipment, the German artillery gun was the best choice to make up for the deficit of air superiority by spreading air suppression fire across a battlefield, while serving the role of heavy artillery. Infantry mortars and semiautomatic rifles would provide close combat support against forces that would be a mix of modern infantry with equivalent equipment to medieval knights, who would fall in the first volley.

Land forces were not the only things I prepared over the four years. We had built a fleet of 38 diesel-powered steel-titanium hull frigates and cruisers, which could provide fire support to ground forces with their guns that had ranges of 15-20 miles. At sea, they could use their guns at a distance or torpedoes in proximity to take out enemy surface ships, which were still mainly wooden as both the Papal and Imperial forces did not emphasize development of their navies, instead preferring land and air power. The fleet possessed anti-air capabilities as well with a radar system and flak range up to 30,000 feet. Ultimately, their most important role was being a naval escort for our secret weapon.

It took nearly a year to create after getting the 3 orbs and fitting our flagship, Dreadnaught. Robert had named the ship after a famous British battleship that defined the peak of naval arms as being fastest, most protected, and having the longest range of any warship at sea during the dawn of the 20^th century. Of course, I wanted to call ship the Enterprise, which several other fair folks agreed was a better name for a flagship, but as Robert was the main producer of the equipment and parts, he vetoed my name suggestion. A Star Trek reference would have to wait for a few centuries.

Unlike its namesake, Dreadnought was more than an engineering marvel of its time, it was a force multiplier for decades after its construction. A fifteen-deck battleship built with two breach-loaded 15-inch gun turret batteries, based on the design of the successful British BL 15-inch gun. It fired four rounds per minute with an effective firing range of 18 miles in its original design. An additional six batteries of 3-inch anti-air gun turrets were spread throughout the ship to provide complete 360-degree coverage. Four torpedo and depth charge launchers were distributed to forward, port, aft, and bow covering 90° interlocking firing arcs. It had Type 293 and Type 277 equivalent radar systems for simultaneous air and surface target tracking systems, along with a Type 145 sonar system to counter submersible vessels, if they came into play in engagements. Of course, the most powerful and famous weapon aboard was Pluton, a naval railgun that could achieve 200 miles firing range, 1 round every three minutes, and a kinetic force equivalent to half a ton of TNT, approximately equal to a US Tomahawk cruise missile of the late 20th century in power. There was also the potential of increasing the kinetic energy by thirty million times if either Robert or I were present on the ship, storing or delaying kinetic energy before the firing for an additional five minutes, making the weapon closer to the US’ “Castle Bravo” thermonuclear weapons with a 50-megaton equivalence in TNT. I named the gun after the “ancient weapon” from the One Piece anime and manga series. Robert accepted that name without issue as it was derived from the Roman God, Pluto, king of the underworld. It was our answer to Sky Fortress’ firepower, which had already clocked in firepower equivalent to tactical nuclear weapons and had a potential maximum output that would be three times greater than Pluton. An armament race was inevitable at this point, despite what Robert promised me earlier about the use of our abilities due to the presence of these blue orbs. These weapons were worse than nuclear weapons, since they had no risk of mutually assured destruction from radiation, meaning it was easier to use them. The balance of terror was the only way to create lasting peace.

The props and stage were set for a confrontation, all we were waiting for was the curtain call to begin. That came on December 7^th, 1557, when Francis sent back information from his contacts in Continental Europe that Mary was pregnant again. The historical second pregnancy was something I had planned for, knowing that it would probably occur. Mary and her allies wanted to keep the pregnancy as secret as possible, to prevent any other complications. They began to maintain tight surveillance over royal servants, cooks, and even chamber pot maids at that time to maintain the secret. Services like the royal musicians favored artists, and physicians were not allowed to be within 50 feet of Mary, starting in July 1557. Due to their actions, Thomas Tallis was unable to provide us with the intelligence of the pregnancy. However, unluckily for Mary, Stephen Gardiner, her archbishop and lord Chancellor, died on November 12^th, 1557, due to contracting pneumonia. He lived for two years after his historic date of death, but no one is immortal. His death also revealed the major secret to Francis Walsingham, who was working in Navarre, protecting the young Henry IV. It took almost a month for his message to reach the intelligence dispatch terminus at Bristol. Once the source was authenticated, Operation Golden Fleece would begin. We had developed a Medea-variant to the planned combined naval-ground assault on Western England to include the port of Calais with Dreadnaught incorporated as an active combat platform.

Robert and I had originally considered Calais a lost cause, just as in history. During the historic war between Valois-dominated France versus Mary I’s England and Phillip II’s Spain, England lost their last remaining European province to France in 1558. We’ve learned over the years a lot of historic events seem to follow their traditional courses, but there were major exceptions like the Peace of Augsburg due to technological interference with weapons like the Sky Fortress. If a Habsburg-Medici Empire could remap Europe, then why couldn’t I retain Calais? Robert and I both knew that England and France would one day be linked through the Channel Tunnel around Calais, ushering a new period of increased international trade in the 1990s and 2000s, until the UK left the European Union. One thing, we wanted to avoid in the future was a disassociation between the British Isles and Europe, which started here in 1558 when France defeated the English garrison and took England’s last continental province. To the French, it was a victory for nationalism, even though those lands were ancestrally the lands of England, not France that were taken. The need to ignore that fact by English leaders led to periods of isolationism. An important lesson to remember for my descendants is that territory affects long-term politics. If you want to be involved in world affairs, you cannot abandon your territorial obligations. It was true for a small province like Calais as it is for the Empire that many people spent their lives creating and defending.

The offensive officially began on New Year’s Day, January 1^st, 1558 for the campaign to capture London, but military actions had already taken place on December 8^th, 1557, a day after Francis’ information reached Bristol. Our military’s first target was the Isle of Man as a staging ground to secure our western flank, rather than the grandiose claims of sycophantic scholars nowadays that the target was London. I allowed that myth to persist because the idea of a small island that barely offered any resistance to my forces was not a big enough spectacle to rouse future generations. However, I want my descendants to remember the true accounting of this military engagement, because the island was important for various reasons.

Strategically, the island is an ideal location between the coasts of England, Wales, and Ireland. Of course, due to its central location. In both timelines, Mary had left the island’s defense to one of her privy council allies, Edward Stanley. With her operations in Ireland requiring such a large deployment of her forces, threats from the Welsh population, and my port city of Bristol, the watch-post functions were even more needed. However, despite reinforcing the island with 2 long-range 152 mm cannons imported from Papal states at high expense to the English treasury, the island was susceptible to amphibious assault by well-armed and trained marines. It was an easy battle that saw the first actions of my new marine division taking the stronghold and capturing Lord Stanley within 30 minutes without their cannons ever firing a shot. The island’s remaining garrisons quickly surrendered as a result. While Edward Stanley was an ally of Mary I, he was historically a political opportunist and eventually served Elizabeth I loyally until he died in 1572. As such, I only asked that he be captured and offered fair terms. Many of Mary’s allied nobles, despite their affiliations, submitted out of fear rather than true loyalty. By offering good terms and a display of military power, it wasn’t difficult to win their support. Through some magnanimous action, I wanted to prevent a drawn-out civil war as was felt nearly a century earlier during the War of the Roses.

While all of this was happening, messengers to John Knox and the “Lords of Revelation” were making their way across Scotland. In my history, John Knox was also a leader of a rebel Scottish faction known as the “Lords of Congregation”, so some historic events continued as they did in both timelines. However, instead of exposing the concepts based on faith, John Knox promoted concepts of secular reform, egalitarian treatment, and individuality. Revolutionary ideas that would have appeared two centuries later during the Enlightenment would begin to have a major impact on Scottish politics and society. The idealism grew to attract many Scottish lairds, artisans, and commoners to the cause, especially with the tumultuous issues under Mary of Guise.

Mary of Guise and her daughter’s hold on the throne of Scotland was as unstable as Mary I was in England. The propaganda of French occupation of Scotland with Mary of Guise’s complicity had been brewing for years, made worse by the failed French royal marriage of Mary’s daughter. Pamphlets were spreading to every corner of the Scottish society, raising awareness. With Mary Tudor's imminent birth being a signal for my action, the Scottish group had also begun their rebellion. While the French had more sophisticated weapons and nearly 50,000 troops stationed in Scotland at this point, I supplied the Scottish rebels with grenades and incendiary devices along with guerilla tactics to be used against French troops. What I needed the Scottish rebels to achieve was a holding pattern against French forces in Scotland to secure my northern flank as I marched my forces toward London.

Mary through her noble allies and personal troops trained by the Imperial-Papal alliance had disbursed 3,000 troops to Wales, 30,000 troops to Ireland, and had her strongest military units of 23,000 troops around England. Her hold on power was weakest in Wales since her forces were made of low-morale conscripts and further spread out across 10 garrisons. At that point, the battle plan was to use a small fleet to secure the coastline of Wales and use 10,000 troops with 3 squads of tank support to remove Mary’s loyalists in the region. Cutting off communications from Wales to northern and eastern England would likely remain unnoticed only for a few days, but the speed of the armored phalanx and control of the seaports assured the operation’s success. The local guilds had already pledged their loyalty to me due to our numerous business dealings over the years, so I had detailed knowledge of where Mary’s garrisons were through their supply runs. Within three days, the entirety of western England was under our control.

Before the end of January, an army of 10,000 troops with all remaining tank squads was sent to support William Parr, the Marquess of Northampton, to secure the second largest city in England, Norwich. With the bloodless capture of Norwich due to local support from my actions in 1550, our forces were within one day of reaching London from the northern road and cutting off London from Northern England. Mary’s elite royal force of over 12,000 men under the current Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy, attempted to repel my main army and recapture Norwich. Despite being equipped with armored vehicles, howitzers, and heavy machine guns, a concentrated volley of mortar fire had forced their forces to seek cover before they could organize. While the majority of Mary’s troops were trained by Imperial and Papal instructors abroad, they were still not modern tacticians by any stretch of the imagination, so they had no idea what military doctrines existed for the combined uses of their heavy weapons. After their units became dispersed, thirty of my tanks began flanking actions across their lines. They could never recover after that move, since their heavy machine guns could not penetrate the steel plate armor of my tanks. Henry Percy was captured with his remaining force of under a thousand men at the little village of Newmarket, fourteen miles from Cambridge and sixty-one miles from London.

Additionally, twenty ships of the navy attacked and secured the city of Portsmouth, including the capture of the antiquated English wooden ship navy, along with the capture of Mary’s 3,000 elite modern marines. They were likely garrisoned there as it was one of the most developed naval ports in England under Henry VIII and Edward VI, including a significant series of forts with Southsea Castle. Dreadnaught saw its first engagement that day, destroying all the forts and Southsea castle before transport ships unloaded any troops. The precision destruction of their strongholds and munitions depots made it impossible for the enemy commander to do anything other than surrender. With the capture of Portsmouth, we could reach London from the southern roads and cut off the city from the south. The remaining ships of the navy sailed to the east coast of England and captured Yarmouth and Dover. This eliminated any escape by sea from routes to the east.

While the army and navy had achieved their flanking moves, a smaller force of 1,000 elite marines was sent through Warwickshire to secure the Thames River crossings that would lead to London directly. I joined this smaller elite force as I wanted to reach London immediately. They were led by their charismatic and aggressive 19-year-old female commander, Frances Howard. By this point, I can honestly attest that her masculine features had reached full bloom, and I was tempted more than once by her muscular arms and sharp facial features, much to Robert’s enjoyment. A military life seemed to suit her well. Due to her capable leadership, we were easily able to subdue and capture the entire riverway to London within a few days.

On the outskirts of London, radio signals were detected by the equipment that we possessed. Usually, radio communication during wartime would not be made “in the clear” due to the possibility of interception, but I doubted anyone had anticipated that I would have radio equipment with such capabilities already.

The messages began to be heard over the radio:

“…Are you sure the reports of armored tracked vehicles with mounted weapons are accurate? Aerial intelligence has not shown the development of any prerequisite industrial technology in western England for such a development.”

“Damn you if the campaign in Germany had gone faster, we should have access to photographic equipment by now and our scout could show you. I’m telling you those are real tanks and the exhaust coming out of them smells like gasoline. Also, lord Percy led a group of our howitzers against them and their slope armor absorbed all the hits. They have steel plates. Duke Eli has been playing possum for the last decade. We need air support quickly.”

“King Reginald Pole, the sky fortress is currently in Rome undergoing maintenance, but we have dispatched air support units. They should be flying over England as we speak…Hold…Anti-aircraft weapons are firing south of London…By order of Regent Medici, all air forces are withdrawing back to France, you need to get Queen Mary and our remaining forces out of England immediately. Withdraw to French or Scottish strongholds. Enemy military strength has been underestimated.”

The quick back-and-forth exchange was within our anticipation, which was why the naval forces had cut off various ports in southern England. Since the western English ports were the first to fall in the early days of the campaign, the 30,000 troops currently stationed in Ireland for suppression and other activities were unable to return to England for a counterattack. Of course, six Papal ironclad warships did leave Ireland and attempted to capture the Welsh port of Marloes, but their attack vector was picked up from radar equipment placed on the Isle of Man and artillery was put in place before they reached the port. All six ironclads were sunk as a result. Scotland was undergoing an internal revolt as well, so I had closed off every path of escape for Marian forces in England.

While it was logical to enter London through the gate that passes through the Thames River, Robert and I had declined the direct approach as we did not want to be associated with the infamous Traitor’s Gate of London. Of course, I could rename that waterway entrance if I needed to, but some historic monuments needed to remain, including something to symbolize loyalty and treachery. Instead, my small army approached Ludgate, which historically had a famous statue of Elizabeth I in my history sculpted in 1586. In this timeline, a thousand sculptures of soldiers along with Frances, Robert, and me were commissioned. I should never have mentioned terracotta warriors to the young William Kerwin, who was the fair folk artisan I granted the commission. It will make it so much more difficult for my future descendants to tear down without feeling like they’re tearing apart a piece of their history. If you can, preserve the sculptures in a nice museum, but please do not feel like you must preserve Ludgate for my benefit. I still want Fleet Street to develop as a modern main street for urban commerce.

William Kerwin’s depiction of the scene where we met the gatehouse guards was accurate. They saw the army and quickly laid down their arms without a fight. The gatehouse guards had recognized me and Robert from our activities during the last siege of London in 1553. The captain of these gate guards, who probably already heard about my vastly superior forces surrounding the city, ingratiated himself with me immediately. I sent him off with a letter to William Cecil’s London home, so he could rendezvous with me enroute to the Tower of London palace complex. I didn’t want the entire army to enter the city, it was an unnecessary show of force. Mary ruled through fear without limits or restraint, I wanted people to know that I was different.

When we reached St. Mary Aldermary church, we had gathered quite a group of followers. Many had heard rumors of the large army and navy that I wielded that matched the Imperial-Papal alliance, so they were curious as to what I intended to do. Mary’s troops in the city had attempted to set up barricades at several points on the way. When I detected a barricade, Frances would order her troops to destroy it with hand-held rocket-propelled grenades. With Robert by my side, we could resupply our stock of rocket motors with various explosive packages infinitely. Of course, Robert would do his work hidden away, while I grabbed everyone’s attention with a street corner speech.

In later years, I learned members of parliament, who gathered to follow me around London, had emulated my unique street corner speeches to rally voters to various political causes. They cited my rousing oratory and ability to sway public opinion as inspiration. I had inadvertently invented soapbox politics when I only meant to distract the public from noticing Robert’s ability to create munitions.

William Cecil, William Paulet, and four additional men had gathered at St. Mary Aldermary Church.

William Cecil bowed and spoke in a soft tone, “My Grace, you have delivered your forces to the gates of London. We shall deliver her treasure and people to your cause. The royal treasury has been secured by Lord Paulet, the militias have been disbanded by me, and these fine lords have closed all workshops, granaries, and other stores to the Usurper Queen and King. Their remaining royal guards have rallied to the Tower, they number less than a thousand men. I hear you have an army of 50,000 across all four cardinal directions around the city with horseless iron carriages that are superior to any other. The captains of all the gates will allow them to enter upon your command.”

I shook my head, “No my old friend, the forces outside the city are meant to prevent anyone from escaping the city from Mary’s court, especially Reginald Pole. I do not want to hold a parade with my troops to announce this triumph. They will all be heading north, when we finish securing London,” I pointed to the troops around me, “These troops will be enough to take care of the remnants of Mary’s forces. As you said, most will surrender on their accord and everyone else cannot withstand our forces.”

William Paulet jumped to the conversation, speaking nervously, “My Grace, you do not need to be part of this procession. Mary’s forces may have dwindled, but a sudden reversal of fortune or an assassin’s bullet could end everything. Please take caution.”

Unlike William Cecil, whom I trusted with some of my abilities except quantum entanglement, William Paulet was a more conservative advisor. If I did not possess these abilities, it would be a better idea to allow my elite troops to secure the city before I enter it.

However, with my abilities, I wanted to achieve something far greater equal to Kazuya Souma’s easy conquest of Vargas Duchy, so I loudly proclaimed to everyone, including the crowd standing nearby, “A sovereign should be able to walk through their domain unfettered by pretenders and false prophets. I want the people of London to know that their sovereign does not require the full use of his forces because a true ruler does not need to defeat their opponents by numbers alone.”

The people of London knew about the army that I brought with me being equal in number to Mary’s remaining forces, they didn’t know how overmatched Mary’s forces were compared to my forces. However, the story of evenly matched foes could be useful, especially in these kinds of power struggles. While the David and Goliath dynamic is more common in my era for favorable treatment, it was more common throughout history that equal power dynamics between opponents were favorable for popular stories. That’s why single combat stories between knights eventually translated into science fiction stories about space knights with laser swords.

We marched towards the gates of the Tower of London, where history would be made.