In the autumn and September of the thirty-fifth year of Chengshun, just after the Mid-Autumn Festival, a very special army came outside Hefei City: the First Division of the Dachu Empire Army.
For the Dachu Empire itself, this army was actually quite normal, just one of the more than ten first-class infantry divisions in the army.
Although it has a high rank, a long history, and profound military achievements, it cannot be said to be special.
But for the contemporary Chu Empire, this army is very special.
Because this First Division is the first infantry division in the army to be fully equipped with breech-loaded rifled weapons and form combat effectiveness in the local area.
This division has been stationed in Zhengzhou, an important town in the Central Plains for several years. It is the core force of the strategic mobile force in the hinterland of the Chu Empire.
The division can rely on the convenience of Zhengzhou's cross railway network to quickly travel to any place in the empire with railway access, whether it is Liaodong in the northeast, Central Asia in the northwest, Guiyang in the southwest, or Guangzhou in the south, or even Songjiang in the east.
All can be reached in a short time!
The Army of the Da Chu Empire will garrison this first-class combat readiness division and the relatively powerful second-class division at many railway and inland river transportation hubs in the country.
The First Division was transferred from its base in Zhengzhou to Hefei City, not for a change of defense, nor for an outing, but to participate in a large-scale exercise held by the Army: the Imperial Hefei Exercise!
Also participating in the exercise were an A-class division and a B-class division that had not completed the change of equipment, as well as a cavalry brigade.
The goal of this exercise is simple, that is, to verify the actual combat effectiveness of the new army equipped with breech-loaded rifled weapons in large-scale combat.
Now everyone knows that breech-loaded rifled weapons have huge advantages over various old weapons, and new armies have advantages over old armies.
But how big the advantages are, how they are specifically reflected, and whether there are further goals, all of these need to be verified one by one.
In the previous overseas battles, although breech-loaded rifled weapons and skirmishing tactics unleashed powerful combat effectiveness, to be honest, the armies of Burma, Siam, and even the indigenous people of North America were too weak to serve as a grindstone for the Chu army. , exposing the Chu army to more problems.
But overseas indigenous armies are not the only ones who are still transitioning from cold weapons to hot weapons, or are simply cold weapons.
There are also European armies and the Ottoman Empire armies in West Asia that have been widely equipped with flintlocks. The indigenous armies in these areas have also learned from the Chu army and began to use line tactics extensively.
In the future, the Chu army will definitely face these armies. After all, the expansion of the Chu Empire will not stop.
Even if they don't fight other European countries for the time being, Russia will definitely continue to fight... After all, the two countries are still in a state of war so far. The two sides have never signed a treaty such as an armistice agreement, but it has been in fact for many years. No real-scale fighting broke out.
Under this circumstance, in order to further find out the problems of the new army, and to better use tactics and better deal with the indigenous troops using line tactics, the Army held a live-fire exercise.
There are not only new armies like the First Division, but also armies such as the Sixth Division, the Forty-third Division, the Eighty-ninth Division, and the Thirty-sixth Cavalry Brigade, which are still equipped with front-loaded smoothbore guns.
Luo Zhixue is also more concerned about this... Well, he is not interested in the new army defeating the old army. He mainly wants to see the tactics of the new army and even the confrontation between the new armies.
Therefore, Luo Zhixue not only went to watch, but also brought the First Division of the Guards with him, preparing to arrange an exercise between the First Division and the First Division of the Guards.
At the same time, this exercise is not only a simple live-fire exercise, but also exercises the long-distance attack capabilities, logistics supply and other capabilities of the combat readiness troops.
Therefore, this exercise did not start after the first division arrived in Hefei.
It actually started two days ago!
Three days ago, the exercise headquarters officially issued an exercise order to the First Division stationed in Zhengzhou through an expedited train, requiring them to immediately take the train to Hefei City to participate in the exercise.
After receiving the exercise order, the First Division immediately completed the assembly and prepared the troop transport carriages. Just three hours later, an infantry battalion of the division stationed at Zhengzhou Railway Station urgently boarded the train and headed south!
They went south along the Youhan Railway, and then in Xinyang, went east along the Jingxin Railway (Jinling Pukou-Hefei-Xinyang).
After a combat-ready infantry battalion set off at the front, more trains were urgently transported and prepared, and at the same time, more troops of the First Division also began to pedal off.
And it is rare to use trains for night transportation...Contemporary train transportation is limited by technical conditions and backward communication. It is generally operated during the day and inspected at night. The Railway Corporation has also tried to open night transportation before. However, it was suspended after a few accidents.
However, this is only talking about ordinary civilian transportation. In fact, under special circumstances, night transportation is also possible, especially military transportation tasks.
Of course, train transportation at night is not as fast as during the day.
The First Division set off by train as quickly as possible and went straight to Hefei.
It took only two days to travel more than 600 kilometers to reach Hefei. This also includes the emergency assembly of the First Division in Zhengzhou, the time to collect train skins, and the time to board the train.
This shows how much the use of railway transportation helps the army's mobility.
During the Wuchang Uprising in the original time and space, the Qing army relied on the railway and transferred the troops of Zhang Xiyuan's 58th Standard Battalion in Kaifeng to Hankou in just two days.
In the following days, the Manchu Qing Dynasty relied on the railway to mobilize thousands of troops to Wuhan to participate in the encirclement and suppression.
This is still an emergency situation!
Let’s not discuss other matters in this battle. If we simply discuss military issues, this battle perfectly reflects the speed of railway transportation of troops.
The reason why the First Division of the Chu Army was able to carry out the exercise so quickly was because this exercise was not a spur-of-the-moment exercise. The First Division knew that there would be such an exercise half a year ago, but they just didn't know the specific content and time of the exercise. .
But there are all kinds of preparations that should be made.
For example, train skins... This is actually all communicated with the railway company in advance. Although the railway company cannot have a large number of train skins waiting for you, it can also make arrangements from the train dispatching to keep more train skins nearby. The locomotives and trains are well connected, so that when the military needs them, the locomotives and trains can be in place quickly.
Another example is the procedures for emergency assembly and boarding. The First Division has made detailed plans in advance and often conducts internal drills.
Therefore, the division was able to fight directly from Zhengzhou to Hefei in two days, which was inseparable from a lot of advance preparations.
But then again, the First Division was originally a combat-ready Class A division, and it was located in the strategic location of Zhengzhou. Its original mission was to quickly and easily go to a certain area to fight by taking a train.
The contents of these exercises were originally the daily training subjects of the First Division.
Luo Zhixue was very satisfied with the fact that the First Division was able to arrive in Hefei so quickly and with all its personnel.
This is the mobility capability that a combat-ready first-class division should have!
Otherwise, why spend so much money to support these combat-ready troops? The money needed to support one first-level combat readiness division can be used to support two second-level divisions...
After the First Division arrived in Hefei, the main generals of the First Division first went to meet with Luo Zhixue, and then led the team to develop the scheduled exercise site.
This is a typical offensive and defensive war exercise. Each old army plays the role of an indigenous army, using front-loaded muskets and line tactics to conduct defensive operations. For this reason, these old armies have also built bastions in the exercise venue that have not been used for some years. Defense system... In Europe, the bastion defense system is still the mainstream, and there are many bastions...
The first division's exercise goals are long-distance raids and offensive capabilities.
This long-distance journey involves not only railway transportation, but also the land march after leaving the railway.
Therefore, the exercise venue is not actually in Hefei, but in the suburbs of Dingyuan in the northeast of Hefei. The straight-line distance is about 80 kilometers!
However, the exercise headquarters, in order to verify its long-distance attack capabilities and logistical supply capabilities, forced the First Division to go in a circle and formulate a march route of 140 kilometers, aiming to simulate an attack on a target 140 kilometers away. Aboriginal Targets.
The whole journey can only use the carriages and pack horses owned by the division itself, and the official roads with good roads cannot be used... The roads in the Dachu Empire are in good condition, and many official roads are good gravel and cinder roads, but overseas When fighting with the natives, there is no such a good road for you to take.
Therefore, the First Division took some dirt roads, and there were no bridges in some places, so they needed to build emergency bridges by themselves.
This is quite frustrating!
But even so, many military generals with experience in leading overseas troops believe that the basic conditions for the First Division to advance are still too good... When fighting with indigenous people in overseas areas, how can there be such a good flat dirt road for you to walk on? In many places there are small roads that even carriages cannot pass.
For example, when we were fighting in Myanmar, there was no flat road for us to walk on... When the Chu army was fighting, artillery maneuvers basically relied on pack transport. This was also the reason why the army in Myanmar was in urgent need of 75mm mountain guns.
But...the First Division is a serious plain-type Class A combat readiness division, with an artillery regiment under it, equipped with thirty-six 75mm field guns and eighteen 75mm mountain guns.
There are also a large number of four-wheeled and two-wheeled carriages carrying countless baggage.
If you ask them to go climbing a mountain with all the people, and also require high mobility, that is unrealistic!
In the Chu army, the ones who undertake this kind of task are the mountain and jungle troops, such as the 8th Division and the 14th Division that previously fought in the Nanyang region. The artillery they are currently equipped with is all mountain artillery...even 75mm field guns. There are no cannons.
According to the exercise plan, the First Division galloped on the dirt road for four full days before finally arriving at the scheduled exercise site and starting the exercise.
The following exercises for both sides used blank ammunition specially designed for exercise training. It was quite lively when you came and I fired.
After all, the old-style troops participating in the exercise included three divisions and one cavalry brigade. They had a huge advantage in strength. Although they were at a disadvantage in terms of armed equipment, they still relied on their advantage in strength to carry out resistance in various ways.
Especially the use of cavalry units to carry out raids.
This fight is quite lively.
But in the end, the First Division still relied on its absolute firepower advantage to push forward... and overthrown the old-style army that was several times its own strength.
Especially in the final offensive and defensive battle, the intensive artillery firepower and rifle firepower made it difficult for the opponent to raise his head directly and could only rely on defenses to resist.
After the exercise, Luo Zhixue spoke highly of the commanders of both sides.
Based on the results of this exercise within the army, some generals proposed equipping division-level troops with larger-caliber breech-loading rifled artillery.
The 120mm howitzer is too heavy to equip, but a 100mm taller howitzer can be used.
After all, when the enemy hides in the fortifications, although the power of the 75mm caliber artillery shells is not bad, it is still a bit inferior. If there are about 100mm howitzers, then the artillery shells will be more powerful, enough to kill a large number of people hiding in the defense. Enemies in the fortifications.
Luo Zhixue was too lazy to respond to this.
Because looking around the world, there is no other army that can build such complete anti-artillery fortifications like the Chu army, and be equipped with a large number of advanced front-loading smoothbore cannons.
Although the weapons of the old army are backward, that is still relatively speaking. In fact, the so-called old army participating in the exercise is equipped with a large number of 115mm field guns. The effective range of this thing can also reach 1,500 meters, and it can be fired in large numbers. Spherical grenade with wooden base.
And it can also provide a flash cap firing gun with more advanced performance.
Hiding in the trenches and carrying out counterattacks, the power is quite reliable.
And these conditions are impossible for the indigenous people of all countries to achieve.
Therefore, the firepower of the new army mentioned by the Army was not strong enough, and Luo Zhixue was too lazy to pay attention to them.
After the old and new exercises are over, this live-fire exercise is not completely over, because there is still a new live-fire exercise between the armies.
That was the exercise between the 1st Division and the 1st Guards Division.
However, this time the exercise did not involve the participation of the entire army of both sides. Instead, each side mobilized part of its troops and formed a mixed force of about 4,000 people to simulate a field encounter.
In this exercise, the equipment of both sides was almost identical, both were Type 18 rifles and 75mm mountain cannons. The training levels of both sides were actually similar, and the tactics used were also similar.
As for things like morale and courage, after all, the soldiers are all supermen who are not afraid of death!
Therefore, the exercise was more interesting to watch. Just as it was going on, Luo Zhixue discovered that the encounter between the two sides turned into trench warfare.
Therefore, at the beginning of the exercise, when the two sides encountered each other, neither side had an absolute advantage and took the lead...the fight was evenly matched.
In order to avoid losses, they began to build field fortifications on the spot.
Then you come and go and start a roundabout battle... But you can't defeat them even if you go around, so after you go around, it often turns into a positional battle.
This exercise also proved that with the greatly increased firepower density and the lack of large-scale cavalry and large-caliber artillery, it is difficult for a pure infantry attack to break through the defense line.
After the exercise, the Army was quite satisfied, but the Guards quietly proposed to Luo Zhixue to strengthen the artillery firepower of the Guards!
The 75mm series of artillery is not enough, so it needs to be equipped with medium and large artillery.
Because the imaginary enemy of the Guards has never been the natives, but the army and navy!
After this exercise, the Guards found that they had not gained any advantage. How could they tolerate this!
More and larger artillery must be arranged, otherwise how will the Guards control the capital?
At the same time, they are also a little dissatisfied with the Type 18 rifles currently used... because the Army also uses this thing, which makes the infantry firepower advantage advocated by the Guards in recent years in vain.
The Guards urgently need a new rifle with more powerful firepower!
Regarding this... Luo Zhixue also ignored it!
Because the one opposite is the First Division of the Army... The Army actually has few such combat-ready first-class divisions in the hinterland of the mainland, but the Guards has more than 80,000 people, but they are all the same.
Besides, although the main task of the Guards is to guard against domestic rebels... this kind of defense is mainly to guard against small and medium-sized, sudden rebellions of part of the army, not to guard against the entire army!
If the army of more than one million people rebelled collectively, Luo Zhixue would still be a woolly emperor and just go home and play in the mud.
Furthermore, the Guards believe that they control the capital and guard against rebellion... But in fact, in Luo Zhixue's mind... the Guards, the army and the navy are actually in a mutually restrained and balanced relationship.
Normally, the Guards are stationed in various places in Yingtianfu, but the army has one first-class division stationed in Jiujiang, Zhenjiang and Xuzhou. Three first-class divisions vaguely correspond to Tianfu, forming a strategic encirclement!
At the same time, there are also two marine regiments stationed at the Songjiang Naval Base. Under the cover of the naval fleet, they can march towards Jinling City along the Yangtze River at any time.
Moreover, the main generals of the three armies were all not on good terms with each other... It was impossible for Luo Zhixue to put several generals who had good relationships with each other in these key positions.
Under Luo Zhixue's deliberate arrangement, the Army, Navy and Guards actually formed a relationship of mutual restraint. No matter who made a move, it would trigger a violent backlash from the other two parties.
This is also the military balance strategy that Luo Zhixue has pursued over the years.
Coupled with the addition of an armed tax policeman who had some relationship with the military but was directly under the leadership of the Department of Taxation, this formed a complex and stable military faction within the Dachu Empire.
What Luo Zhixue has to do now is to maintain this delicate balance and keep all parties in check, rather than actively breaking the balance!
Therefore, if the Guards want to advance their weapons and equipment by another generation... don't expect it for the time being, as it will easily break the balance.
Furthermore, the Guards will upgrade their equipment at the front, and the Army and Navy at the back will also be clamoring to upgrade their equipment.
I don’t know how many years it will take to complete the comprehensive replacement of this breech-loaded rifled weapon. How can I have the extra money to make such a mess?
Therefore, weapons and equipment should be like this for now, and no one should upgrade their equipment.
After the imperial exercise in Hefei, Luo Zhixue did not take the imperial train back to Jinling City immediately. Instead, he made a brief inspection in several cities in Anlu and looked at the local economic development.
(End of chapter)
