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The fifty-year plan required massive modernization of Paradis in almost every department. Industry and manufacturing, of course, but they would hopefully slot themselves into the global financial system– banking, paper currencies, the external debt they were already piling up– and most critically, they needed a modern military that could replace the Rumbling as a deterrent.
Of course, they were copying many things almost directly. Paradis couldn't do much to improve modern guns beyond using ultra-hard steel to reduce wear, but there were some things unique to them. Most obviously, there was the ODM gear. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to revive the sword as a serious combat weapon– in most cases, ahem, Levi– but it was an incredible tool.
They knew their way around ODM gear, but how it interacted with modern weapons, and how the thunder spears could be utilized… those were questions that needed to be answered.
And so, the first-ever Paradis Army Wargame was underway. All soldiers were provided with new rifles– some locally made, some purchased– loaded with blanks that should bruise instead of penetrating. Artillery couldn't really be tested that way, but they were already drilled with mortars and piecemeal guns they could carry in parts over several soldiers.
Still, there was an awareness that the overall situation was defensive. Their military minds were discussing small unit tactics, infiltration, and flying columns… but the scenario that seemed likely was an invasion of Paradis. In an ideal world, they'd have a navy to stop landing before it happened, but at the moment they barely had anything more than hastily retrofitted cargo ships. So that left them to learn how to defend, and to defend well. Even without ODM gear, in some cases. If it didn't provide a tactical advantage…
Jean was the leader of the defending side for this particular battle, and he had followed contemporary, non-ODM doctrine. Trenches zig-zagged through the dirt (so a direct artillery hit in the trench wouldn't wipe out an entire stretch of the defense) with barbed wire and caltrops scattered in front. It turned out that ODM gear and barbed wire did not play nice together, so fear of it had been hammered into everyone.
The trench was supposed to be the queen of defensive warfare, something that could only be broken by expensive armored units or Titans, in Marley's case. However, Jean wasn't liking his chances, considering that Armin was the one leading the attacking side.
They were defending what was once the Blouse escarpment. Sasha had proved a tremendous help in mapping the wooded, rugged region. It was only fair she got something named after her.
At least, that was the original thought. This particular region was the testbed for all their military experiments. Yes, all of them, including tests with Armin's Titan. The heavy woods that covered the land no longer existed, and Armin had cut the steep slope down to a minor rise at best.
But it was a suitably rugged place for wargames. The grass came in patchy, and the trees had all been torn up. It was the perfect place to see how Paradis tactics adapted to flat ground, where the ODM gear typically suffered.
Jean had considered the problem, of course. If he was defending with ODM gear, he might try for something involving planting posts in the ground? They'd be weak to artillery and sappers, but a quickly maneuvering scout should be able to spray a creeping enemy with fire from above. Well, assuming the area could be kept clear of machine guns. Those things were a scout's worst nightmare.
(There were precautions you could take to severely hamper the gear while defending, but putting up posts to hang nets would only give Armin more to work with.)
Unfortunately, ODM gear wasn't the only advantage Armin had. He had a ludicrously expensive foreign import on his side: two landships bought through Azumabito. Jean supposed those were about as close to Titans as you could get on the mainland. Great, lumbering, only capable of being destroyed by artillery or specialized infantry. Well, a landship was much easier to break than a Titan, that was certain. They didn't heal, they had a longer list of weaknesses…
But they were still dreadful, creeping in from a distance. The machine guns in their sides– instead of small cannons– were a definite threat, enough to throw a wrench in the classic outmaneuver with ODM gear and thunder spear tactic. Well, they could probably do it with surprise, but a well-supported landship attack could see a lot of casualties as scouts rushed back to cover.
Still, there was something strange about them beyond the technology that propelled them. What has possessed Armin to put fascines on top of the landships? Jean supposed the great bundles of wood might stop some minor attacks from above, but it was a strange tactical play. Was Armin expecting that he'd need to fill in a trench during his assault, so the landship wouldn't dip in? Jean had time to hunker down, but not enough for massive defensive ditches.
They had a few "thunder spears" for defensive use, although fragile wood replaced the explosive heads. Hange was in charge of testing penetration characteristics against sheets of armor and such, but for now, they were treating thunder spears like a guaranteed kill when it came to landships.
Again, research was underway for some sort of contact mechanism for the thunder spears, but for now, they had adapted it to an anti-armor and fortification tool for regular infantry by lengthening the trigger string. Judging distance could be a real trick, though… still, landships were easy targets, and 'rockets' shattered against their fronts quickly enough. The crew had suspected it, though, throwing themselves out and crouching behind their tank as a hail of blanks landed around them.
This was wrong. Armin wasn't the sort for suicide attacks, and even without artillery support, he could have done something. The thought of Armin not thinking up something as simple as modifying the thunder spears for range was… well, Jean read some nefarious plan into it.
And then two thin lines of silver attached themselves to the fascines on the landships, and Jean realized Armin's plot.
If they didn't have trees or buildings to use for grappling, why not introduce them? Jean shouted for his troops to lift their guns, but Mikasa swept over the trench like a bullet, dropping off thunder spears and flying so close you could feel the air as she shot by.
Disorder spread through their ranks, and as Mikasa pulled away more of Armin's troops catapulted themselves over the trench, too fast to get shot or be shot. Didn't matter, their goal was probably to go behind the lines and gut their (imagined) logistics.
The exercise proved interesting, and although Jean's side lost, it had required some clever thinking on Armin's part. In addition to grueling labor on the railways, it seemed likely that fortifications near the gates in the walls were likely. While helpful with Titans, the Walls seemed like they would be a much bigger problem to defend when facing humans. Manning the whole length would be impossible… they'd need patrols practically racing around the edges looking for any enemy units attempting to scale them.
At the very least, the Walls would provide a significant barrier. Logistics over them was a nightmare even with modern technology, and the gates were chokepoints. There was a workable strategy there, although it would mean retreating inside the Walls again.
Still, now wasn't a time for such grim thoughts. They were drinking imported beer and celebrating Armin the conquering hero. There was some room for improvement in the strategy– they didn't want to be losing landships– but mobile supports for ODM gear had some real merit.
Mikasa walked up to him, and Jean smiled at her. Her display was brilliant, even if it crushed his hopes. "Have you seen Eren around?"
Jean bit back a disparaging comment. Eren had been an excellent subordinate during the exercise earlier… "He was going to talk with one of the Volunteer attaches, I thought."
Mikasa frowned. "He's been spending so much time with them…"
"He's been strange lately," Jean said.
"I wish I knew how I could help him."
(They didn't know it, but Eren was tying up loose ends. Fake identification papers, Liberio culture, putting on hints of that strange accent he had heard bits of from his father… At first they thought he was genuinely going on some long con mission to learn about the operations of the Marleyan army.
They were wrong. They hadn't really known him since the ceremony, Jean would think. Later, though. Very much later.)