"What is this?"
"It was supposed to be a battleship, or near enough, that could also move on land. Sadly, the engine wasn't powerful enough for the vessel to function on land, with the treads also slowing it down in the water."
James continued looking at the dismembered hulk of the attempted tank-battleship combination. "I would advocate that this concept be scrapped."
Steel Lobby sighed. "I concur. We've already decided that the vehicle will be dismantled and its parts will be used for other projects. I had hoped it would be a useful hybrid machine, but, alas. And it would have had anti-air rockets and guns and a shield, too. A pity. A real pity."
"I'm not against the idea. But Equestrian technology will have to advance quite a ways before its ready for this."
"True. While our advances in magic are impressive, our mechanical arts require much more attention. Magic can't solve all problems. Of course, as I said earlier, our various industries are reluctant to change for fear of going out of business or for the money it would cost to change."
"But change has happened before."
"Yes, like the railroads forcing wagoneers out of work and forcing them into other persuasions. It's very discomforting in those first few years... or decades, as it were. It's true there was an improvement, but you can see why most ponies are conservative regarding technology and traditional modes of work." Steel looked at James. "You've certainly made a lot of changes to Equestria's military apparatus."
"Huh?"
"The Royal Guard used to be all that the Equestrian military was; a small military force designed primarily to protect the Princesses and maintain order. But then, under your recommendation and the acceptance of the Princesses, we've had the Regulars formed, unarmored but far, far greater in number and sometimes better armed. By and large, the Royal Guard, though prestigious, were nearly made obsolete by the reorganization of our military structure."
"The Guard took up numerous necessary engagements during the war, especially the early period. And several of my best commanders were Guards."
"Even so, there was a change." Steel sighed. "Not that I am against change; the renaissance of industry in Equestria is desperately needed, even without considering military needs. Our economy can't rely on gold, gems, and silver mines alone; there has to be a bigger effort to make more things so we can feed, clothe, and in general take care of our growing population. And given that part of the reason we won the war was the result of alliances with other countries and peoples, we need to expand our trade networks instead of retreating into isolation. But that said, I still sympathize with those who will be discomforted or put out of business by the necessary changes to our society, economy, military, and more."
"I sympathize as well, but stagnation isn't healthy. Numerous states in my world were brought down or humiliated because they refused to change when needed. If a country wants to retain it's position, it needs to adapt or be destroyed, whether due to military or economic pressure."
"And given how many of the griffon tribes and clans had better technology than we did, or at least equal technology, I can see your point. Their combination of technology and magic late in the conflict was especially frightening. I shudder to think what would have happened if the enemy had waited a year to attack... or if their campaign was coordinated with the changelings." Steel shuddered. "Our forces were notoriously small. As much as harmony and friendship are good things for us to treasure, we need to be prepared in case there are nations or entities who cannot be persuaded to a peaceful co-existence."
"True, and you've done some good work here, I won't deny that. But as much as I hate to say this to someone who has worked so hard, more needs doing."
"Unfortunately you are correct, and not to worry, I take no offense from that statement. A good, live-exercise with dummy ordinance might be just what the doctor ordered. In particular, it might be good to wage an entire dummy campaign in order to find out what works and what doesn't."
"Not the worst idea... provided that all safety precautions are taken into account. It's not like these weapons are toys by any means; they can and will hurt or kill you if you're not careful with them."
"Again, true. I intend to replace all ammunition with dummy rounds made of paint. They'll pack a sting into whatever they hit - minus the hoof wall - but they'll do just fine."
"That can account for personal firearms, but I fail to see how you can pull that off with artillery and bombs."
"With careful infusion of magic into the rounds, we might be able to pull it off. I already have some designs for such rounds ready so that they will blow up prematurely if living beings are detected on the ground... and of course still cover them in paint. Provided I can get the cooperation needed, and I think I can, it should go well. however, it will be up to the military itself to actually approve the project and go through with such an exercise. I can make the proposal to the Princesses, but they and those who advise them will have the final say."
"Yeah. I'll probably have to bring them around to the idea, but I think a good exercise with these paintballs will be useful."
"Ah, a good name for such ammunition. I shall make the necessary armaments; we can easily adjust, given the war's barely over and our industry is still well above average production."
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Over the next week, the exercise took shape. A panel of judges would decide who won the three-day mock campaign and settle on what would be allowed and disallowed. A number of judges would personally oversee the armies in conflict, noting their decisions, asking questions, and deciding, based upon the rules, what commanders could and could not do.
One thing that everyone had to accept was that goggles were to be worn at all times, even during nighttime hours and mealtimes, as combat could occur at any time, night or day; the exercise would be as realistic as reasonably possible.
The two forces would be made up of rookie soldiers who had volunteered for the army. The goal of one side was to defend a supply depot from the other; if the attackers succeeded in taking the depot, the defenders would have to defend a "city" (hastily but firmly constructed out of wood) until the time for the exercise ran out. If the attackers took both objectives, it would be a major victory for them. If they took the depot, but failed to take the city, the campaign would be seen as a partial success for the attacking faction. The defenders would win a major victory if they held onto both, or completely defeated the other side. The paintballs would all be some shade of red (blood red for the defenders, bright red for the attackers) to simulate real wounds. Of course, a pony (or the solitary human among them) hit by them would not be killed or even hurt that much; James had been hit in the leg, and it didn't hurt any more than a normal paintball would. However, the rifles - the cartridges - being used had realistic ranges, so the fighting would not just be at relatively close quarters; one could easily be hit by a paintball rifle from over a mile away. The entire operation would be conducted over a period of three days.
Celestia and Luna would each command a division of 8,000 soldiers, each division split into two brigades of 4000, with regiments of 1000, and companies of 100. In total, they'd have 16,000 troops. James and Shining would have two brigades between the two of them, or about 8,000.
Both Princesses would be commanders on the attacking side. Both had read up on the war and were relearning lessons from older ones. Their force would be larger, but split between two equally-sized armies. The defense would be led by James and Shining Armor. As some Crystal troops were taking part in the defense (not many; between three to four hundred were participating in order to gain some experience), some began joking it would be the Crystal Army's finest hour.
While the whole thing had a bit of the ridiculous about it - the fact that it was being conducted with munitions guaranteed to be non-lethal, and that the areas being attacked would be obvious stand-ins for the real thing - once in the "combat zone," everyone would have to be serious. Orders were to be obeyed as if they had been given in an actual field battle, and in everything soldiers were expected to maintain a military bearing no matter the circumstances.
James had the opportunity to test one of the rifles to be used in the contest. It was much less bulky than the weapons used by Equestria later in the war, though it had a longer barrel and stock, and it kicked a bit less when fired, though he wondered how much of that was due to the rounds being fired being paintballs. He got his answer when testing a live magazine - one that held five shots as opposed to four - and found out. The new rifle didn't kick - quite - so much as it might otherwise have. Furthermore, it was accurate; all five rounds landed on the target each time he fired the weapon, albeit on different areas. Admittedly, that pattern may have been due to his own struggle to keep the weapon steady when shooting it; it was a bit heavier than previous rifles.
It wasn't the only new weapon, though; a type of submachine gun had been invented, having improved upon the Gatling guns used in the late war. Rather than using multiple barrels, there was only one, into which bullets would be levered up and fired off. The trigger could be pulled back and held to give a burst of fire. It didn't fire particularly fast, however; when fired, it sounded more like the gunshots were being fired from a revolver than from an actual automatic weapon, and James could easily feel the time between firings; the thing fired maybe one shot every half second or so. It was still useful, but not quite the devastating weapon he'd hoped for. It was light and was generally accurate, though at shorter ranges than the new rifle.
The artillery being used would also differ from those models used in the war; they were breechloaders, but were of smaller caliber, the barrels being about 77 millimeters in diameter. They were designed to fire a lot of rounds very quickly, though, which was the whole point. There was a larger gun, with a 140 millimeter barrel, that would serve as heavy artillery. The rounds being heavier, of course, meant it would be very slow to fire compared to its smaller cousin. A final gun, a massive 280 millimeter, would not be used in the field exercise; it was designed primarily for coastal and city defense, and as such had been designed as a stationary (though heavily shielded) weapon.
Lastly, there would be grenades and flares. James had nothing to criticize or commend regarding them; they would work as they were supposed to, which would be enough.
News from the trial leaked out. It was clear that the ex-emperor and the former Queen refused to cooperate with the courts, continuing to create drama and hold the court itself in contempt. By now, audiences had been banned from the trial entirely as the defendants had essentially been trolling them in order to mess with the proceedings. Given how badly things had become, James wasn't surprised that the two Princesses were eager for a break from it.
James continued to look at the map, pondering what he could realistically do. None of the big machines he had reviewed would be used in this "campaign" so they could be safely disregarded. It really would be a push been soldiers armed with rifles, some artillery, and pegasi and thestrals flying during parts of the battle.
Attaque! Toujours l'attaque! came the quote from Napoleon to his mind.
And why would I do that - we do that - outnumbered two to one? he thought back.
He looked over suitable sites for defense. There would be some hills the attackers would have to go over or between during their advance, but they would lack forests from which to hide an ambush or counterattack. Indeed, most of the forests in the campaign area were behind the crossroads where Celestia and Luna would link up; after that, they could march through open land.
There was the option to meet the enemy before they got to the crossroads; both defending brigades could quick march up one of the roads to try to defeat either Luna or Celestia before marching back. However, at best they would be meeting the enemy in equal numbers; additionally, attacking down one road would leave the other open, and getting surrounded at the start of the campaign would not go well.
Another option would be for one brigade to hold one road each, skirmishing with the attackers before meeting at the crossroads for a battle there. However, that would assume that neither brigade was surrounded or just overwhelmed before the crossroads; it would also require that the casualties of the attacking army be considerably higher than the defenders, and that wasn't guaranteed whatsoever. Both sides would have a mix of rookies and vets in them, so the numerical imbalance between the two armies couldn't be compensated for by higher experience within the rank and file.
There was the possibility that the Princesses' lack of personal experience in the late conflict would pay off for the defending side, and James hoped it was a brush he could tar both of them with. Yet they were learning the military arts, however distasteful it may have been for them. Well, distasteful for Celestia; Luna was eager to learn anything she could, eager to protect Equestria from future threats. Furthermore, they would be advised by veteran soldiers, and as such would benefit from their advice.
How far that would go when the whole thing went down, James couldn't say for sure. But the field exercise - and hopefully others like it down the line - would help the Equestrian military maintain its readiness in case of a future conflict.
The future is the part of a book that is as yet unknown by man, filled in one page at a time to the impatience of those who are reading it. I hope this all goes well, God willing.