Battle of the Third Reich

"Are you talking about mules?" The German head of state froze for a moment, then narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Yes, mule." Worried about the other party's misunderstanding, Sir Faye still raised **** by the side of his head.

"I know the mule, Sir Fay, we use it to tow artillery and vehicles." Xu Jun said he understood what the other party said.

In the current German Defense Forces, at least 80% of the army troops still retain the mule establishment. As mentioned earlier in this book, the reasons are very complicated. In addition to the fact that the number of vehicles purchased cannot keep up with the expansion rate, there are mainly logistical problems. The fuel obtained by Germany is extremely limited, and large-scale motorization must be Will increase the burden in this regard. Now that the German fuel problem has been temporarily solved, all troops have begun to increase the proportion of motorization, but it will take some time for a full facelift.

The mule vehicles are mainly equipped for the company's platoon-level infantry units. As the logistics transportation means of the grassroots units, in addition to the rations and ammunition carried by the soldiers, almost two-thirds of the supplies of a company are all loaded on these standard logistics wagons. .

In the German written establishment, each infantry company will be assigned three to four double-drive logistics wagons, as well as a small motorized cooking vehicle pulled by mule horses, which is a company-level field kitchen. Like other European countries, the military carriages of the National Defense Forces are standard equipment, and the design can be traced back to before World War I. Although they look old, they are quite durable.

In the early Germans, a conventional infantry division would be equipped with between 3500 and 5,000 mules. Almost every four soldiers could get one. This ratio can be said to be quite alarming.

Of course, the distribution of horses in practice cannot be calculated that way, because in addition to towing the carriage, German artillery units occupy more than 80% of the horses. A heavy division-level artillery often requires six to twelve strong horses. Dragging.

Before the war, the Germans were equipped with tall and strong stallions or war horses, but the number of mules in the army was not very large, because the Germans had a long history of cultivating and using horses, and the generals had a soft spot for military horses, and mules could only As a backup supplement to some logistic horses. Another reason is that at the time, donkeys were not raised in the German countryside, and mule production was of course inadequate.

During the European War, the German horses suffered a lot of wear and tear. Even the first-line infantry division suffered a loss of power due to the large number of deaths of the horses. After the war, the Germans had to requisition horses in the occupied areas, and at the same time supplemented a large number of mules. The number of equipped mules returned to the level before the war.

At present, the mules in the German army are mainly produced in Austria and Hungary. The Magyar people have the habit of raising mules. The French army also provides a large number of mules for the German army. The French began to use Egyptian donkeys for breeding experiments very early. A mule variety unique to France. In contrast, the Italian Army prefers donkeys, because smaller donkeys are more suitable for maneuvering on narrow mountain paths in the Italian mountains. The German mountain troops are also equipped with some donkeys. This animal is indeed well adapted to the mountain environment, and it is more cold-resistant than ordinary horses and can move for a long time above the snow line.

"Sir, I don't quite understand what you mean. Are you suggesting that we add a batch of mules?" Weierle couldn't help but interject.

"Yes, Lord General." Fay nodded and answered.

"This is indeed a way to supplement capacity, but the problem is that if horses and mules are transported here from Europe, the road will be very expensive and we don't have that much time." Weierle frowned. .

"You are right, Lord General, but you obviously don't understand what I mean." Fay said to Weiller with a smile, and then he looked to the German head of state: "Dear Lord, you don't need to transfer from Europe at all. Livestock, I know there is a place where there are many mules, and it only takes a few days to be transported to the front of the peninsula."

"It's interesting, please go on, Sir Faye." The head of empire sat upright.

"The place I am talking about is India." Sir Fay's tone was a little bit proud, and finally found out that the German head of state still had no field of knowledge.

"Eric, map." Xu Jun raised his head and ordered. Soon a large-scale map was laid on the short table in the middle of the carriage.

"You know, the British Empire has a large number of troops stationed in India, and the bases are almost all over the subcontinent. You see, the distance between the major cities in India is very long, especially in some Tubon states near the northeast, local environment and road conditions. It’s very bad, and the logistics are very difficult.” Following the head of Germany to the map, Fay pointed to the Indian peninsula on the map and began to explain.

"So the British Empire established a special transport force in India. Because of its outstanding merits, it was given the prefix of "Royal" by the King five years ago." Fay said.

"Are you referring to the Royal Indian Army Regiment?" Xu Jun said with a smile and palming, he really should have thought of this, the moment when Fay mentioned India, he had a vague premonition.

The Royal Indian Army Regiment, the official name is the Royal Indian Army Service Corps. This force is the predecessor of the Indian Army Logistics Corps in the future. This is a professional transport force, currently composed of six transport regiments, each with a headquarters in Madras and Mumbai.

The British and Indian Royal Regiment once participated in the First World War. These Indian soldiers fought side by side with the British Army on the European battlefield. Because they have been at the front of the position, they are often jointly attacked by the German air and ground. The loss of personnel and equipment is very serious. In order to commend the merits of the Indian squadron, the British officer in charge often receives awards and medals from superiors.

In the mid-1930s, because of the rise of nationalist thoughts in India, in order to attract the British and Indian troops with Indian soldiers as the main force, George VI gave some British and Indian military units the prefix "Royal" honor, has always shown The British-Indian Army’s heavy-duty squadrons, who were arduous and resentful, became one of them.

This unit is a pure mule army, not equipped with a transport truck, of course, it will be equipped with some cars for command departments and officers, and two-wheeled motorcycles used by heralds.

Speaking of which, Indian soldiers started to ride motorcycles before World War II. Under the harsh road conditions in the Indian countryside, the herding soldiers all developed good car skills. However, at that time, the Indian motorcycle soldiers did not have the guts to play acrobatics, but the commander was a British master. No one could violate military regulations under their eyes.

The British-Indian Royal Basin Regiment is equipped with mules. The British army has cultivated a large number of mules in India. They are mainly provided to the colonies of South Asia to transport the bridles. The hard-working mules are more suitable for activities in tropical jungles than horses.

The British and Indian Royal Regiment, mainly in the plains and low hills, they used the British and Indian military special double-drive and single mule. These mules made of riveted angle steel are very light, and the structure is very simple, according to the size of one to two mules towing. A double-drive mule can usually load one ton of cargo, and a smaller one can load half a ton. The British army generally uses two types of heavy mules together.

A transport team usually has three hundred mules and is equipped with one hundred Indian army soldiers. Each soldier takes care of the three horse mules. There is a person in the regiment responsible for handling and distributing the forage. This job is not too heavy.

Each mule will be assigned a set of British-style pack horse harnesses, including leather saddle pads and rigging with shiny metal buckles. This well-made harness may be the most expensive equipment in these hands. It is only possible to get it from the munitions warehouse after getting the official mission.

Xu Jun estimates that the current corps has at least 15,000 to 20,000 mules and about 5,000 to 7,000 bulging mules. Even if only half of them are transferred, it will be enough to make up for the current shortage of the African Army.

"This matter involves the British and Indian troops and needs to communicate with London first." Xu Jun looked at Fay.

"If you believe me, Your Excellency the Head of State, I am willing to make a meager effort in this matter." Fei lowered his head slightly and looked up at the young head of state.

"The third empire will not forget your friendship, Sir Faye." The head of state nodded slightly.

"Sir, if London agrees, you estimate how long it will take to gather troops." Xu Jun turned around and looked down at the map on the short table.

"Your Excellency, I need to contact the British-Indian Army Command first. Before that, I think I can prepare the ship for transporting people and livestock." Fei quickly closed his smile and began to discuss the specific implementation steps with the German head of state. .

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