Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 837 Unconventional

The military observation team is composed of 15 people, and the lowest rank is also a major. They have to observe the southern African army from different aspects and comprehensively measure the combat effectiveness of the southern African army. Weapons and equipment are the most important thing. How big is the pressure brought by logistics, and is it possible to implement it within the British army.

Not all the southern African troops were sent to the front line. There are still four companies left in Cairo as a reserve. George White came to the camp early the next morning to start working. He felt the strength of the southern African army before entering the gate. .

When other troops were still using sandbags to build fortifications, the southern African army had already begun to use armored vehicles. In order to prevent the scorching sun, the soldiers even built a pergola on the armored vehicles, which looked as nondescript as illegal buildings, but George White didn’t want to Laughing, just feeling heavy.

Unknowingly, the army of the British Empire has fallen behind the times so much.

Walking into the gate of the station, there are more than 20 trucks and armored vehicles neatly placed on the side of the wall next to the gate. The distance between the vehicles is as accurate as if measured with a ruler. The unbearable smell of horse manure, the lack of dirty and messy stables, and even the sanitation of the entire camp have improved to a higher level.

In the past, George White thought that the cost of trucks would be higher than that of cavalry, but now George White knows that trucks are cheaper than war horses. A truck can transport [-] soldiers, and the price is only [-] pounds , and the price of [-] war horses is far more than [-], as long as the car does not start, there will be no cost, and the war horses need to be carefully taken care of, and must be taken care of by a special person.

"Our drivers have undergone strict training. They can not only drive but also maintain, so the troops don't need to have additional maintenance personnel. The only disadvantage of cars is that they have relatively high requirements for road conditions, but this is not a problem for Europe." Rock said nicely that the actual situation is certainly not so optimistic.

"So, only seven trucks are needed to meet the needs of a company." George White's understanding is still biased, and such a simple calculation cannot be made.

"In fact, we need more, about ten vehicles. After all, trucks are needed to transport logistics supplies, but trucks can be reused, so the higher the degree of mechanization of the army, the more efficient the staff department is needed." Luo Rock answered every question. The United Kingdom now also has a staff department, but the efficiency is a bit low, and the Ministry of War does not pay enough attention to it. This problem cannot be solved by Rock.

Even if it was ten, George White calculated in his mind how much it would cost to equip the British army with trucks, and immediately abandoned this fantasy.

Impossible, the army in southern Africa only has more than 3 people, even if they are all equipped with trucks, it doesn’t cost much money. The British army now has more than 40 people. In addition to the regular army of six infantry divisions and two cavalry divisions, there are also There are more homeland defense forces. The number of homeland defense forces alone has reached 26. It is impossible to change all of them.

The UK has a small number of local regular troops, but once a war breaks out, the UK can also recruit the reserve national army and the troops of the colonial dominions at any time. There are now 120 million people in the UK who have received military training, and the human resources in overseas colonies are even greater. India can always More than one million troops have been recruited, and eight African divisions have been formed in southern Africa, ready to rush to the mainland at any time.

Compared with the United Kingdom, which is expanding its military and preparing for war, Germany and France have expanded their military more vigorously. Germany’s standing army is 75. Once a mobilization order is issued, it can be expanded to more than 200 million. At its peak, there are 500 million soldiers serving. France’s standing army is also 75 Once the mobilization order is issued, it can be expanded to more than 300 million.

Therefore, no country can afford large-scale mechanization, and the elite model in southern Africa can be tried.

However, if the local area is also partially changed, it is still acceptable.

Anyway, that question aside, George White was most concerned with automatic weapons.

The most automatic weapons in southern Africa are general-purpose machine guns and grenade launchers, which can already be counted as heavy weapons in Africa, but they are obviously not enough for Europe. Both the Rhodesian Northern Division and the First Cavalry Division have only one The heavy artillery unit of the battalion was equipped with twelve 120mm howitzers, which puzzled George White.

The southern African army is the same as the British army, regardless of the battalion and regiment. The southern African regular army is directly below the company. There is no battalion organization, but the artillery has. The infantry reserve national army has a battalion-level organization, which will be expanded to the regiment level in wartime , but the previous name will not be changed, so some regiment-level troops in the UK have only 600 people, and some battalion-level troops have 3000 to [-] people. If you don’t understand these establishments, you will often be at a loss.

In the arsenal of the camp, the military observers finally had close contact with various automatic weapons equipped in southern Africa.

In fact, it is not too advanced. The prototype of the 40mm grenade launcher is the "Boom Cannon" equipped by the Boer Allied Forces during the Boer War, and the "Boom Cannon" is an enlarged version of the Maxim heavy machine gun. No stranger to soldiers.

General-purpose machine guns are refreshing to George White and the others. George White is very sure about the concept of general-purpose machine guns, but he is not satisfied with the caliber. In order to unify logistics, the caliber of general-purpose machine guns is also 7.7 mm, which makes George White very dissatisfied , in George White's view, the caliber also represents the power, and the smaller the caliber, the power is definitely not enough.

Fortunately, all the weapons are well maintained, and they are not careless about the maintenance of weapons like many colonial troops. The attitude towards weapons can reflect the professionalism of southern African soldiers, which is worthy of recognition in southern Africa.

"The 120mm howitzer was just equipped last year. This was Minister Churchill's request. For southern Africa, the 40mm howitzer is enough. There is no need to equip a large-caliber howitzer." Rock does not want a large-caliber howitzer. Without a large-caliber howitzer, it will be unable to compete with the European army equipped with a large-caliber howitzer. This is very important.

Sure enough, as soon as Rock finished speaking, George White exchanged a look of relief with a dry, skinny old man with eyes.

The dry, skinny little old man was Clark Bell, Chief of the Third Operations Branch of the War Department.

There are some things that Roark will not explain. Southern Africa now has powerful four-engine bombers, which are more efficient than large-caliber heavy artillery, so the importance of heavy artillery is constantly declining. Britain is actually playing a small-scale elite army. A division has There are 8000 people. Although there are not many automatic weapons equipped now, once the rich and powerful Britain really pays attention to this issue, the energy that will explode is still terrifying.

In 1914 in another time and space, not long after the war was reported, a British division was equipped with only 24 machine guns, and soon the number rose to 280. This firepower density can be referred to the United States. The size of the US army division is too large. Almost 8000 people, only equipped with 260 machine guns.

Compared with machine guns, the British pay more attention to artillery units. Each British army division is equipped with 54 18-pound field guns, 18 4.5-inch (114 mm) howitzers, and 4 60-pound heavy field guns. Main firepower output.

"Your current weaponry is very unreasonable. You should fully realize the role of artillery. Compared with machine guns, artillery is the god of war." George White sincerely pointed out that once war breaks out, the army in southern Africa will also become British. A powerful supplement to the military, George White hoped that the army in southern Africa would have a stronger combat capability.

Unlike infantry, which can be recruited at any time, artillery requires long and rigorous training to be effective. In this regard, George White's starting point is the same as Winston.

"We have artillery, and 40mm grenade launchers are enough." Roque insisted that anyway, if war broke out, Roque would not send the Rhodesian Northern Division and the [-]st Cavalry Division to Europe.

"You have entered into a misunderstanding like the French. The power of artillery is definitely not how fast it fires, but how far it hits and how powerful it is." George White is still capable, otherwise he would not have been The Ministry of War is reactivated.

"No, no, I think what is suitable is the best, instead of blindly pursuing larger caliber and greater power. The situation in southern Africa is different from that in Europe. Our potential enemies are not equipped with large-caliber artillery, so we don't need that. There are 203 and 254 caliber guns, and 120 is already a surplus for southern Africa." Rock's attitude is firm, and the caliber of scoop guns equipped by the armies of some European countries has exceeded 300 mm, which is actually a disaster for the current army. It's understandable if it's a fortress gun. Field guns don't need such a large caliber at all.

"Why don't you use the imperial system?" George White finally noticed the problem.

Rock wants to complain too much about this issue. The British system is definitely a disaster for countries other than the United Kingdom. Of course, this must not be said in front of George White, so Rock still emphasizes the national conditions of southern Africa.

"Southern Africans are generally not well educated, including many government employees, and it is difficult for them to understand complex weights and measures. The same unit of weight makes it difficult for them to understand dan, pound, ounce, grain, and dram. They are all tons, the British ton and the US ton have different weights, and the same is true for dan, so we use a more simplified method, which is also to increase work efficiency.” Rock is determined not to use the imperial system, and even the United Kingdom has begun to use the metric system in the 21st century , there is nothing to worry about on this issue.

(End of this chapter)