Chapter 395 We need a powerful assault force
Kariput's war report was finally delivered to Berlin after more than half a month of traveling across the ocean. Several copies were printed and sent to the Prussian General Staff, the German Emperor, Ruprecht and the Bavarian military. The responses from all parties to this war report that beat the British were different.
The General Staff of the German Army, led by Schliffen, admitted that Kariput performed very well in South Africa, perfectly integrating the maneuverability of the cavalry and the firepower of the artillery. Moreover, this tactic of directly interspersing and maneuvering through the frontal defense line is also very excellent. But unfortunately, all of this is not suitable for the European battlefield, and its reference value for the German Army is very limited.
"In fact, such tactics can be successful with great contingency or speciality. In South Africa, the British's troops were not limited and could not form a coherent front line at all. Moreover, they lacked firepower, and the cavalry troops could easily intersperse. After adding a little artillery, they could attack the British's unsecured rear. But in Europe, nothing could be possible."
"Whether it is the Western or Eastern front, if we fight with the French or Russians, millions or even millions of troops will be squeezed into a not-wide front. European legions have a large number of heavy artillery and machine guns. With fortresses and trench systems, it is almost impossible for cavalry to block them through layers of layers."
"So all our previous plans were to use the time difference to defeat the other party before they could react after the war started. If the war turned into a stalemate stage, the German Empire, which had few resources, would inevitably fall into a disadvantage."
"As for increasing the number of vehicles, this is a very good suggestion, but this is feasible for Bavaria, which has less troops, but it may not be possible for Prussia, which has a large number of troops, because our military expenditure is limited, but we will try to increase the mechanical capacity as much as possible."
The prince put the reply from Earl Schliffen aside. It cannot be said that the Earl's point of view is wrong. Judging from the situation in World War 1, any action that wants to make a breakthrough on the Western Front, interspersed or jumped from a distance will not succeed in the end. Without it, the military density is too high! And the firepower density is equally terrible!
Taking the beginning of 1918 as an example (before the US military reached a large scale), Germany had a total of 194 and a half divisions on the Western Front! It had a total force of 4 million people, 15,000 artillery combined with 3,000 aircraft and ten tanks. What about the Allies opposite? It had a total of 176 infantry divisions and ten cavalry divisions! It had a total of nearly 5 million troops, 17,000 artillery, 3,800 aircraft and more than 800 tanks! All these troops were concentrated on a front line that was only more than 500 kilometers wide! The average front line of one kilometer was 10,000 people! In addition to trenches, mines and machine guns, what kind of troops could completely penetrate such a defense line in one battle?
Therefore, His Highness the Prince agrees with Earl Schliffen's idea, that is, it is very difficult to win the Western Front, even the so-called fast corps. However, if this fast corps is used on the Eastern Front, it is very promising. The reason is very simple. First, the front line on the Eastern Front is too broad. Second, the Russian army cannot compare with the Western Front in terms of number of people and equipment. It is easier to break through. Third, Russia's railway network is very sparse. Once a point is broken, it will lead to a long section of the front line not being able to obtain enough supplies. Even if the frontal attack is difficult to work, the Russian army lacking supplies must choose to retreat!
What is the Eastern Front in history? Let’s talk about Russia first. The Russian front-line troops (combatants and combat troops) have always maintained around 3 million people. The army of this size is deployed on a long front of 1,625 miles, and the density of such troops is completely disproportionate to the forces of Britain and France on the Western Front. Moreover, if the railway density of Germany is 10 per unit area and the railway density of Austro-Hungarian Empire is 6.7, then Russia’s railway density is only 1!
Whether it is World War 1 or World War 2, the Russian army's supplies are completely dependent on railways. The Russians have limited troops and their equipment cannot be compared with Britain and France. The terrible length of the front line means that their defense line is very easy to break through. The mobile corps that break through quickly still have great potential in the rear of the Russians. Without seeking to fight blitzkriegs similar to the level of World War 2, as long as they can eliminate the key transportation center behind the front line, the huge Russian army will be finished by itself, because no matter how strong it is, they must eat.
In order to deal with Russia as soon as possible at the lowest cost, the prince believed that the simple ground pushing combat efficiency was too low. The Russians knew that they could not defeat Germany, so the countermeasures adopted by the Russians were to drag the word, just like the history of dealing with Napoleon. When necessary, when they saw that the main force of the German army was no longer on the Eastern Front, they launched one or two large-scale attacks and hit Austro-Hungary. (For example, the Brucino offensive) But unfortunately, Russia in history failed to kill his opponents and died due to internal and external troubles.
In the prince's timetable, Russia must be resolved within two years of war! Only then can we withdraw from Russia and resolve a series of problems on the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Western Front. At the same time, the compensation obtained from Russia is also the key to supporting Germany's battle. Various materials are one aspect, and the most important thing is food!
The frontal advancement and limited maneuvering combat is the tactical framework for the prince to plan in the future. The former is easy to say, but it is impossible to do even worse than in history by relying on the quality and equipment advantages of the German army. However, the latter is troublesome because the material conditions in this era are very coffee tables.
This mobile corps is not just about running fast. Having a large number of vehicles and strong transportation capacity is just the first step to make this mobile corps form, which only solves some logistics problems. The most critical issue - how to continuously break through the opponent's defense line has not been solved.
When it comes to this problem, the first thing that comes to mind is tanks. Yes, there must be tanks, and armored vehicles are not good. The reason is very simple. Armored vehicles are not good at passing. Historically, the German tanks were tragic, and they cannot be compared with Britain and France in terms of quantity and quality. In this plane, if the prince wants to blitz the Eastern Front, the first thing he has to solve is the tank problem.
Fortunately, now, the first batch of tanks have been tested in the Bavarian military's test ground. Yes, in order to deal with the war that swept across Europe, the prince was still well prepared, especially in key technical weapons. The first batch of tank bidding projects had two alternatives.
When the prince believed that Prussia would not be interested in building a new large-scale rapid assault corps in a short period of time, he decisively left Berlin and went home to work on his own affairs.
Chapter completed!