Chapter 909 Concept of the 226th Armored Force
"Traditional cavalry will inevitably be eliminated. With the advancement of military weapons, such as the use of machine guns, which was tested in the South African War, in this case, how the cavalry breaks through the machine gun fire coverage network is a big problem. In If there are enough machine guns, infantry can effectively deal with the threat of cavalry, so our cavalry must adapt to the development of the times and embark on the path of motorized cavalry," Lieutenant General Mars said.
Mars was promoted after the South African War. The 221st and 222nd Cavalry Divisions he created before the South African War both achieved good results, especially the 221st Division, which fought almost the entire war in Mozambique.
Not only does the East African Cavalry have a long history, but its performance is also mediocre. After all, the earliest East African Cavalry was born entirely to suppress the indigenous forces in East Africa. It was a waste of time.
The highlight moments of the East African cavalry were the Boer War and the South African War. As for the first East-Portuguese War, East Africa did not need the cavalry to successfully destroy the Portuguese territory. The two Portuguese colonies were too close to the core territory of East Africa. , the East African border troops were enough to deal with the Portuguese. Even the East African border troops were not fully dispatched at that time, and instead used black people to fight the Portuguese.
With the end of the South African War, the East African Army has naturally not been idle in recent years. First of all, it has continued to promote research on traditional weapons such as rifles and artillery.
After the South African War, the emphasis on new weapons, new technologies, and new tactics such as machine guns, railways, telegraphs, and trench warfare was further enhanced. The Defense of New Frankfurt City was a classic case of trench warfare in East Africa. The East African Defense Forces centered on New Frankfurt City. The trench system constructed greatly consumed and delayed the military power of Britain and Portugal.
This is the impact of the South African War. Putting aside the war factors, the development of new things such as radios and automobiles once again promoted the East African Army's research in related fields.
It was on this basis that Lieutenant General Mars was pessimistic about the development of the cavalry force. With the establishment of the Infantry Mobile Force of the Guards Division, the importance of automobiles in the future military has become prominent.
In 1895, with the development of the automobile industry in East Africa, the military also proposed the military application of automobiles. As the most wealthy Guards Division, it was natural that it was at the forefront of various forces in East Africa.
Mars is now in charge of the 101st Cavalry Division and serves as the division commander of the 101st Cavalry Division. The 101st Cavalry Division is the cavalry unit stationed in Mbeya City.
Mbeya City is one of the production bases of the automobile industry in East Africa, so Mars can also see the rapid development of the automobile industry in East Africa most intuitively. Coupled with the establishment of the Infantry Mobile Force of the Guards Division, he realized the importance of the traditional cavalry in East Africa. crisis.
In order to deal with this kind of crisis, it is natural to make changes, so after more than a month of hard thinking, Lieutenant General Mars believed that if the cavalry unit wants to keep pace with the times, it must have more powerful machinery than the mobile unit of the Guards Division. , and it must be a powerful machine that integrates offense and defense and has the advantage of mobility.
This kind of machinery is obviously different from a car. It should have certain defensive functions and can be equipped with weapons with strong strike capabilities such as machine guns and artillery.
In terms of realizing the defensive function, it is natural to equip "armor". As for machine guns and artillery, it is to suppress the infantry. However, after Mars learned that machine gun positions were installed on the vehicles of the Infantry Mobile Unit of the Guards Division, he even more The idea of installing more powerful artillery on the machinery used by the cavalry units was determined. Of course, machine guns are also indispensable.
"That's very well said, Mars. As for the new cavalry equipment you proposed, related research has actually progressed under the promotion of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. However, I cannot reveal the specific content yet. But you can be aware of this problem in advance. It shows that your alertness and sensitivity to new technologies are very good, which is what our East African soldiers need," Merkel praised without hesitation.
"As for the new cavalry equipment you mentioned in the document, we have already planned it. It is called "tank". Its equipment is similar to what you expected, but there are some differences, but the overall functions are similar." The specific difference is naturally " The wheel hubs of "cars" are replaced with the tracks used by "tractors". Of course, wheeled armored vehicles are naturally also studied, but the tracks are obviously more suitable for battlefield environments. This has also led to more tractor factories in East Africa participating in armored vehicle research than automobile factories.
Furthermore, there are some definitional differences between "tank" and wheeled armored vehicles. Armored vehicles obviously emphasize the meaning of "car", while tanks emphasize the integration of offense and defense.
Of course, this does not prevent the tank from being a type of armored vehicle, but it just emphasizes its offensive nature.
"In the future, our country intends to deploy its first armored force in the central region. Of course, it is still early to say this. After all, tank research is still in progress, so it will take a long time. However, you can participate in the preparation of relevant military tactics first. How about To leverage the battlefield advantages of this integrated offensive and defensive force, we should also conduct relevant research on how to restrain this armored fighting vehicle.”
Merke’s words basically confirm Mars’ future participation in the formation of East African armored forces. After all, no one knows what the tank looks like before the finished product is released. Now we can only rely on guessing and imagination.
And Mars was the first among the generals in East Africa to recognize the shortcomings of the traditional cavalry force and even proposed corresponding solutions. In Merk's view, it was very worthy of training.
"Of course, we must also pay attention to confidentiality. Only a few people know about this now, because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has high hopes for the armored force and even considers it to be the main force on the future battlefield. Therefore, the armored force is also our trump card in the future of East Africa. Don't do it after you go back. Disclose this to others.”
To this point, Mars naturally nodded in agreement. Confidentiality has always been the tradition of the East African army. Even less important information is kept secret, not to mention that General Staff Merkel so solemnly confessed it to himself.
“General Staff Officer, I have a question. I don’t know when the so-called tank will be finished. After all, I can’t complete the tactical design of the future armored force just by guessing.”
It is impossible to make a meal without straw, and it is impossible for Mars to formulate corresponding tactics with "virtual" tanks. Specific details and data support are needed to explore the development direction of the future armored forces bit by bit.
Merk said: "It's hard to say, but it's just happened in the past few years. Even I don't know the specific details. I'm afraid only His Royal Highness the Crown Prince knows about this matter, because the project had been determined before I took office. Prime Minister Sweet I don’t know when this project was launched.”
As Ernst’s confidant, Sweet has become the leader of the East African Planning Economic Commission, that is, the Prime Minister of the East African Planning Economic Commission.
In the absence of a prime minister in East Africa, this prime minister is equivalent to a "quasi" prime minister. Of course, it is more similar to the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty cabinet, except that the Planning Economic Commission is in charge of East African economic affairs and has a smaller scope of power, but it is not like the Ming Dynasty cabinet. Not a "statutory" body.
All in all, the East African government agencies have changed beyond recognition under Ernst’s transformation. There is no organization in the world that is the same as the East African government, which incorporates the characteristics of various national political systems.
(End of this chapter)