Chapter 270： Prussian delegation (1/2)
The German delegation composed of Earl Schlieffen, Little Moch, and Hindenburg almost covered all the projects of the entire German Army from the formulation of the highest strategy, the implementation of the campaign, and the tactics of the grassroots. The Kaiser believed that after these three had made a round in Bavaria, they could fully understand the military base of the Kingdom of Bavaria.
”Well, isn't it a bit of a stir?” After the Kaiser confessed the task, Count Schlieffen first offered his opinion. The Prussian chief of staff led the team around. The movement was a bit too big, and he didn't think there was anything in Bavaria. Something is worth seeing by himself, the chief of staff.
The German Army has more than 20 armies and nearly 100 cavalry regiments. Schlieffen believes that as the chief of staff, he needs to focus on the overall strategy, not a certain point. No matter how strong Bavaria is, but the size of the three armies is at most the battle level in the national wars of European powers. There is no need to pay attention.
Look at how many cannons the Bavarian army has? How many machine guns are there? Is the formation going strictly? Is the training level very high? Please, just leave this to Hindenburg. I am a big man, how can I manage these things?
”But don't you think that, as the chief of staff of the empire, you don’t understand the army of the second largest state under the empire. Isn’t that a kind of negligence?” The Kaiser disliked that others would confront him. Recht, due to the identity and relationship of the other party, some things are hard to say. But facing the chief of staff is different. The former is a partner of Deutsche Group Co., Ltd., and the latter is just an executive. The executives are not pleasing to the eye, and they change when they change...
”Little Maoqi, tell me your opinion. It is said that you have a close relationship with the military attaché of the Kingdom of Bavaria in Berlin.” The Kaiser did not ask for the earl's ideas at all, but directly said to Xiao Maoqi.
”This, it is said that the Bavarian First Army is preparing for a refit. They plan to replace a large number of 75MM rapid-fire guns with 105MM light field guns. From the weight point of view, the latter is slightly more neutral, but the ballistic is more curved and increasing. After the elevation angle, the range is also good. This type of artillery that can be curved and has a larger projection volume is very suitable for indirect shooting, and is suitable for combat in the hilly areas of northeastern France.”
”But one thing I don’t know is that Bavaria seems to be abolishing its military horses. The number of their military horses has not increased or even declined slightly in recent years. If they want to use new artillery, the logistics pressure will increase. After all, the 105MM howitzer. The ammunition is heavier, and after a large number of machine guns and semi-automatic rifles are equipped, the Bavarians have reduced the number of carriages. This is incomprehensible.” Xiao Maoqi said in his doubts.
”They are trying to use steam cars or tractors to transport weapons and supplies. And it is said that they have achieved very obvious results.” Hindenburg said. As the commander of the Fourth Army, what is the most annoying about Hindenburg? The logistics and speed of the army! I don’t know if you don’t bring soldiers. After you bring soldiers, you know that logistics is the number one problem in the military and the second enemy!
The two sides opened up their positions, artillery conquered, soldiers occupied, and broke through each other’s surface positions. These were the simplest things in a war. What was the real difficulty? How to send these troops from home to the front line, and then ensure the supply of the front line, and the offensive troops can be supported at any time is the most critical!
Take the current Hindenburg Fourth Army as an example. There are nearly 40,000 soldiers in one army and 12,000 horses. On average, less than 4 people have a horse. These horses carry nearly a hundred artillery pieces of the entire army and can last no more than 5 days if they don’t rely on railways. Even if there is no war, the distance of the march every day is no more than 25 kilometers!