The Rise of the Empire

"Only when you see something with your own eyes and experience it can you know how great and terrifying it is. It was a continuous torrent of steel, with hundreds of corps composed of various vehicles, artillery, assault guns, tanks and armored vehicles like a tide. Sweeping away from the wilderness, they walked on the wilderness as if they were on the road. They were as strong and sharp as the ancient Teutonic knights. Only the knights' long swords were replaced by artillery, and the horses on their crotches were replaced by vehicles. , the abundant power brought by the steel engine makes them more terrifying than their predecessors!" Prince Albert described in his diary the scene when he saw the Bavarian First Division dispatched.

At the station of the First Division, Prince Albert Zhongzhu saw how powerful a fully reinforced Bavarian main division was. The total number of various assault guns, tanks and self-propelled artillery exceeded 120, and almost all of them were above 75MM. The artillery is all tracked or half-tracked. All artillery shells and artillery supplies are transported entirely by motor vehicles. Most of the infantry can be overloaded and leave in trucks. Because there is no need to carry ammunition this time, oil, most food, and water sources are also provided by the local Prussian government, so a large number of transport vehicles are freed up. As a result, the Bavarian Division, which was originally unable to be motorized, actually became the first in history. A large, fully motorized force, although the total motorized distance probably does not exceed 30 kilometers.

But just this 30 kilometers distance was enough to make other armies at the same time worry. There were no four-lane highways during World War I. It was a very cumbersome task for a large army with baggage to assemble at the train station and then ship it. If nothing else, even on the road, a 150MM cannon weighs nearly 10 tons! There are not 16 horses that can't move smoothly. Then calculate the distance and the mobility of the horses. What a long team it will be.

"All cars and towed artillery take the road, half-tracks take shortcuts through the wilderness, and all trailers are gathered together to transport ballistas, heavy self-propelled artillery, Hufeng assault guns and Cricket tanks." When Prince Albert asked Rupre When Hitt transported these heavy equipment to the train station, the latter said this easily.

The mobility of cars is indeed faster than that of horses. With the help of the local government and police, the entire convoy crossed the distance from the station to the station at an average speed of 15 kilometers per hour, including the departure of the troops and the arrival of relevant vehicles. Once you get on the train, the whole process only takes about 3 to 4 hours.

While waiting, Prince Albert carefully observed the heavy self-propelled cannon code-named Ballista. This self-propelled artillery uses the new K08 150MML40 artillery. Although the maximum range is not as powerful as the K16 in history at 22 kilometers, it is still capable of reaching 18 kilometers. In this era, it was still somewhat difficult to create a self-propelled howitzer similar to that of later generations. Basically, it was an artillery placed on the site of the Hu Feng-type assault gun, with the cab in front of the gun truck. The artillery's elevation device is at the rear of the center, and there is a simple mechanical status device at the rear of the gun. There is a fishing rod on the left side of the artillery, and a spare shell can be placed on the boom. There is a hoe stationed behind the artillery cart. It can be put down at any time to fix the car body.

Although this system is not complicated, it is already an industrial miracle in this era. The real tracked self-propelled artillery was still developed by the French in World War 1, but they developed 280MM self-propelled howitzers and 194MM heavy self-propelled guns. The cannon is a bit taller than what the prince made. Fortunately, this system has good stability. It is said that the engine can guarantee a stable run of more than 150 kilometers on the road...

As a German military commander, he can fully feel the huge advantages brought by this artillery.

Although this big guy is heavier and larger, its passability is definitely better than that of the horse-drawn artillery. Moreover, one artillery piece and one ammunition truck can form a complete firepower unit, and the speed of entering the position and deploying it will not exceed 15 minutes. After entering the position, the first shell was fired in 20 minutes. This speed is impossible for horse-drawn artillery. Apart from other things, find a piece of land, remove the artillery from the front and rear gun mounts, and then install the gun body. How long does it take to get to the gun mount?

Yes, you read that right. This kind of artillery is transported separately in the Prussian Army. During the transportation process, the artillery will be arranged on a front car, and then the barrel is extracted from the gun mount and fixed on the front car, and transported to the designated location. After setting up the position, the first thing to do is to set up the artillery... This process should take at least half an hour--!

It is even more troublesome to put it away. Considering the poor passability, Prince Albert can naturally see the impact of such an artillery on the current tactical level. "If it can be equipped with aviation corrective fire, this kind of fast-moving artillery can definitely be called an artillery killer. Compared with the current semi-fixed deployment method of heavy artillery, this artillery is really terrifying. If possible, I It is hoped that the Prussian Army will be equipped with a certain number of self-propelled cannons at the first level for the suppression of the opponent's deep targets and counter-artillery operations."

Ludendorff focused on assault guns and mortars mounted on half-tracks. Paying attention to artillery is a compulsory course for every senior German officer, but at the same time paying attention to the front-line infantry support firepower and being able to see the ropes is the real skill, and Ludendorff belongs to the latter.

Long-range suppression of artillery fire cannot solve all problems. The 105MM artillery has good trajectories but is too weak. A slightly strengthened bunker can block the attack of a medium-caliber howitzer. Moreover, the hit accuracy of the curved fire is too low for point targets. It is foreseeable that with the large number of machine guns Popularized, machine gun bunkers will become the backbone of the defense line. In the future, it will be normal for a division to be equipped with hundreds of machine guns. And if you want to use artillery to clear these firepower points, it will be difficult, and the artillery itself is also the opponent's hunting target. It is not safe to leave everything to the supporting artillery.

Therefore, the appeal of Ludendorff to this kind of tank that has good defense and can concentrate a dozen or even dozens of them on a small front is evident. Stroking the thick willow armor on the front of the Hu Feng assault gun and the track pads covering it. "If this layer of track pads is added, if a 3-inch level rapid-fire artillery wants to penetrate head-on, it will probably have to be closer to about 300 meters." Ludendorff estimated in his mind.

When he thought about the dozens of rapid-fire cannons advancing into the opponent's position, and then suffocating the opponent's defense with a rate of fire of about 6 rounds per minute, Ludendorff felt excited. Yes, he was excited. This kind of thing is very important to the existing position. The threat is too great. Whether it is the French 75MM rapid-fire gun or the German 77MM rapid-fire gun, even if it has armor-piercing projectiles, it is not a great threat to this kind of tank. You can't level the 105MM cannon for anti-tank, right? There is no doubt that because of the emergence of this weapon, the costs for the defender will increase significantly.

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