Hi folks,
So, this is slightly on the ASB-ish side but I'm writing a fiction book and I'd like it as believable as possible (within bounds). As such, I'd need a hand assessing the tactical credibility of a battle scene set in 1880.
Basically the idea is the siege of a fortress in the Vietnamese jungles (around Nghe Han) in 1885. An adventurer like
Marie-Charles David Mayréna is hold up there with a small army and decent ground artillery. It's very hard to access by foot and is a few hundreds kilometers of jungle from any large scale supply depot.
The French army has access to airships, including a very large one (think the
USS Akron). This is the ASB-ish part. I don't think it's unfeasible if there'd been a big investment into this at the time and airships would be useful in a colonial context (your troups can't catch malaria if you fly higher than the mosquitos and partisan actions can't ambush you as well if you're 500m above the ground). But it's not here to discuss. Basically there are airships cause they're cool, but they're slow and still fairly fragile like OTL.
The PoD in this is massive investment in airships after the Gallieni flight from Paris gets romanticised, but whatever.
The initial idea would be a first heavy bombardment of defenses from airships using self propelled missiles (to avoid recoil) followed by an infantry disembarkment and assault to clean up once a breach has been made.
Given the long supply line, the need for fuel and ammunition, the doctrine is a quick and brutal strike to break the resistance in the first assault. If it becomes a siege, it's a failure as the fleet would need to be replenished.
The fleet: a flottilla of small scale destroyers carrying some troups but mostly missiles to act as mobile artillery, supported by a large ship (USS Akron type) acting as a supply depot and troup transport. Some other small ships act as scouts and spotters. As in OTL, there's no radio yet and fuel efficiency is only marginally better than OTL at this point in time. Think slightly less than oil, and a top speed under 50km/h without wind.
Note: contrary to popular belief, the balloon of a dirigible can be pierced without exploding or without crashing. Sustentation doesn't rely on high pressure and airships have been known to navigate for days while losing gas.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for any input