Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 987 Maintaining Peace in North America

Lieutenant General Bian Chunsong not only has the richest experience in commanding armored forces so far, but also has a solid theoretical foundation. He is the founder of the high-mobility and large-depth tactical theory of armored forces, and represents the armored theory of the Ocean Empire Army. One of the two mainstream factions in armor theory.

The other faction is the "infantry vassal" insisted on by the European powers such as Britain, France, and Germany. The design concept of its tank and armored vehicles also obeys the tactical theory. It does not pursue high speed and high mobility, but pursues large firepower and heavy armor, which can accompany it. The infantry can attack.

  These European tanks are generally bloated, slow, and unreliable. Large cruise tanks have 8-10 crew members, and the largest can fit 14 tank crew members, and the speed is generally only 10-12 kilometers per hour.

  These European tanks with large size and slow movement speed have to take part in the frontal battlefield attack under the fierce fire of the enemy, which is equivalent to a living target. How can they not lose a lot?

   No matter how thick the frontal armor of the tank is, at best, it is 30 mm to the sky. How can it withstand the fierce bombardment of medium-caliber artillery?

  The arrogant Europeans were very stubborn. Instead of reflecting on the pros and cons of tank combat theory, they retreated from the position of mass use of armored tanks.

  Many German generals would rather increase the strength of a few more divisions than use this kind of iron pot. Their stubborn and conservative ideas make it difficult for them to accept the new things such as tanks and armored vehicles.

   Such expensive equipment is still finished in one shot.

   Germany is equipped with a large number of Ocean Empire standard tanks, but due to unreasonable application, a lot of damage in battle, this is not a problem of weapons and equipment, but a problem of tactical thinking.

   Knowing the difference is helpful to analyze the true intentions of General Clark, the commander of the German First Army, and avoid misjudgment.

   Take the T-2 Cheetah medium tank as an example;

The "T-2" tank weighs 26.5 tons and is driven by a high-power 8-cylinder 9.4-liter diesel engine with a power of 226 kilowatts and a crew of 5.

The main weapon is a 60mm 24-caliber short-barreled howitzer, a 7.62mm heading machine gun, a 12.7mm roof heavy machine gun, an innovative torsion bar suspension design, a maximum speed of 38 kilometers per hour, and a maximum stroke. 280 km.

   Such a high-mobility tank has excellent performance and is suitable for performing large-scale, high-mobility interspersed missions, giving full play to its advantages of fast speed, fierce firepower, and strong assault ability, tearing apart the defense of the enemy's heavily armed group and dealing a heavy blow.

  Look back

The front of the T-2 tank is inclined at an angle of 76 degrees, with a thickness of 23 meters and high hardness bulletproof armor, which is equivalent to the defensive capability of a 55mm vertical bulletproof armor plate. The side armor provides protection against 20mm shells.

However, on the European battlefield where the artillery is dense, the 60mm and 76mm artillery is equipped with the French infantry battalion. As long as these powerful artillery hits one shot, the T-2 tank accompanied by the slow attack of the infantry is the end of the car crash. There is no first 2 possibilities.

Once the   T-2 tank moves at a high speed, these cumbersome army artillery will not hit at all, but will be destroyed by the mobile and flexible tanks one by one.

Let's take a look at the wild wolf light tank imported from Germany. This guy is completely thin-skinned. It can only block one block of infantry bullets at most, and can block one block of heavy machine gun bullets at long distances. , was beaten into a sieve in minutes.

   So it's not that tanks are not good, but the old concept of German commanders can't keep up with the development. How can they not fail if they insist on letting light cavalry do the work of heavy infantry?

   analyzes the combat thinking of senior German officers, and then takes a look at the actual equipment.

As the vanguard of the rush, the German First Group Army is equipped with a total of 320 sets of tanks of various types, including more than 100 T-2 tanks and more than 200 wolf light tanks, all of which are imported from Yishui. There is no German The no-name brand produced can be said to be top-notch equipment.

   Since the outbreak of war on August 2

After more than a month of hard fighting, the tanks and armored units of the 1st Army suffered heavy losses, with an average reduction of 2/3, which means that there are still more than 100 tanks of various types, including about 40 T-2 tanks as the main force. Left and right, no more.

This clearly shows that German General Clark is a stubborn and conservative old-fashioned Junker military aristocrat. While possessing profound military literacy, he cannot accept new things, and cannot make good use of armored forces. He only regards tanks and armored vehicles as charging Used by heavy infantry.

Turn around and look at the French Sixth Army. The total strength is about 257,000 people. Because of the factors of defending the capital Paris, they are equipped with various heavy, medium and light artillery, the number is as high as 11,700, and the firepower is very powerful. This is why they dare to plan to flank Germany. The strength of the First Army.

  The French army has no shortage of artillery and shells. What role can more than 40 T2 tanks play?

  Even if it is interspersed at high speed, it is based on the strength of the powerful armored corps. No matter how sharp a small knife is, it is impossible to cut off the big stone pillar. The strength of the two sides is several levels different!

  Because of the so-called large depth and detour of the armored corps, the tactical action of dividing and cutting, according to the combat mission, it is necessary to maintain a certain strength to prevent the enemy from counterattacking, rather than running after the fight.

   Therefore, the Ocean Empire Army will be equipped with artillery battalions, mechanized infantry regiments and other arms within the armored division, and cooperate with the armored force to resist the enemy's counterattack when defending, and expand the results when attacking.

   Only in this way can we achieve the purpose of the campaign to cut off the French Sixth Army's way home, surround and annihilate it.

   The German 1st Army did not have a mechanized infantry regiment, and it was impossible for infantry to accompany tanks and armored vehicles for high-mobility assaults. Just running on two legs could be exhausted.

In summary

  The hypothesis put forward by Major General Wu Peifu does not hold. Among the above three situations, only the first situation is in line with the current German actions;

   That is, General Clark, the commander of the German 1st Army, did not notice that the flank was exposed to the French army at all, leaving the French a good opportunity to come back and win.

Although it is said that the quality of German officers is generally high, since the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, after a lapse of 43 years, none of the senior German commanders had the experience of commanding large corps, not even in wars with tens of thousands of people, let alone commanding hundreds of thousands of them. man's war experience.

in this regard

   The Ocean Empire and the three countries of Japan, Russia, and the United States have the most experience. Within 10 years, they have commanding experience in large corps operations, regardless of whether they win or lose. At least they have experience in commanding and organizing large corps operations.

  The Russians lost to the Fusos, the Fusos lost to the Americans, and the Americans lost to the Ocean Empire, which formed an interesting chain.

   So, there is no need for mythical German high commanders, they also make mistakes sometimes.

   Now the question is, can the French seize the opportunity?

  The Ocean Empire has its own news channels on the European front lines, and can send back more accurate battlefield information as soon as possible, but compared to the actual battle situation, there must be a delay of 2 to 3 days, which is also impossible.

   The actual situation is that the French did not seize this fighter and let him slip away in vain, and this is what the next "Battle Command" will teach.

  How to find out the key points from the chaotic battlefield and grasp the key points?

  How to mobilize the enemy through reasonable command from the seemingly unsolvable battle situation to create a fighter plane?

  How to reasonably deploy the troops in hand to form a local advantage?

  How to correctly interpret the war situation, view and guide the direction of the war from a macro level?

  How to arrange in advance to achieve the final battle purpose?

  How to use air power, armored power, artillery and infantry to form a joint force, and innovate tactics, these are all new knowledge, new concepts and new theories that general students need to learn.

  The students of the general class will also be exposed to the latest radio technology, take a small transport plane to experience the actual experience, watch the joint exercise of fighter jets and bombers as T5 heavy tanks gallop on the exercise field, and deeply feel the power of new technology to change the face of war.

  The senior officers of the Army General Staff Headquarters with rich experience in the war, the military leaders and the field marshal Duke Li Shuanzhu will all take the time to give lectures to the generals and students, pass on their experience and experience in the war, and contribute to their growth.

All of these are courses arranged by Emperor Li Fushou himself. The purpose is to let the generals who master the front-line troops abandon old concepts and introduce new strategic thinking. This group of general students between the ages of 40 and 50 years old They are the bright stars of hope for the empire.

  If 1~2 handsome talents can emerge, his teeth will be able to smile and make a lot of money.

   Just a few years ago, Field Marshal Duke Li Shuanzhu ended his important role in the Northern Federation and returned to the mainland to serve as Minister of War.

  Admiral Mo Rufeng, the former Minister of the Ministry of War, was promoted to Marshal, and was ordered to go to North America to sit on one side, continue to deter the United States with strength and prevent it from any changes.

In terms of military deployment, 86,000 new recruits have been recruited on the spot in North America, which is part of a total of 420,000 soldiers. They are currently undergoing intensive military training. They will be formed early next year. Class division and C division division.

Thus

  The 260,000 North American garrison plus the 86,000 recruits, as well as some of the troops that will be sent from the mainland, will form a total of 400,000 heavy troops to maintain a stable, united and peaceful environment in North America.

   Containment of the United States is a strategic option prioritized by Emperor Li Fushou of the Ocean Empire at all times.

   No matter how Europe fights or makes trouble, giving priority to ensuring that North America is under control is a prerequisite for Li Fushou to make all decisions.

   Without his permission, no one in the United States and Japan is allowed to riot.

Originally, after the outbreak of the war in Europe, the Davenport government of the United States showed signs of being ready to move, and the army force limited to less than 100,000 people was successively transferred to New Mexico (established after the first US-Japan War, and I will not repeat it later). There are 90,000 people, and there are signs of mobilization of militia divisions in various states of the United States. This is not a good sign.

   (end of this chapter)