Chapter 1170 Austro-Hungarian Battlefield
The last point that Cabrill talked about was somewhat beyond Kuinman's expectation. After all, the artillery in East Africa was not backward before the war, and the number was sufficient for use. At least before the war, East African artillery was not inferior to any major country in Europe and the United States.
But after thinking about it, I felt that it made sense. Kuyinman said: "Now that the military and heavy industries in European countries are fully exerting their strength, artillery warfare is indeed developing rapidly."
Kabri Er continued: "Yes, before the war, some artillery commonly equipped by various countries could no longer meet the needs of the battlefield. More and more large-caliber artillery exceeding two hundred millimeters began to appear on the battlefield, and even rail guns exceeding three or four hundred millimeters began to appear. Also joining the battlefield, artillery played an obvious role in the war. "
Rail guns can also be said to be railway guns. As early as the end of 1914, the French army temporarily designed the first batch of railway guns, which were installed on existing guns. It consisted of outdated coastal defense guns and naval guns on commercial railway freight cars, and the British, as an ally, soon followed suit. The German Army's more adopted method was to use existing long-range artillery mounted on fixed ground-based gun emplacements. Converted into a railway gun that fires directly from the rails.
"Therefore, the role of heavy artillery cannot be ignored. Of course, we in East Africa certainly do not have the conditions to learn from European countries, but we should also be prepared." Cabril said.
The funds of the East African Army are limited after all, and the vigorous development of new units such as armored units and aviation units naturally falls short of the research and development of traditional military weapons.
However, Cabril also knows that many things cannot be wanted at the same time, and military development must make some trade-offs. For example, a war of the scale of Europe is basically difficult to encounter in East Africa.
After all, there are no powerful forces around East Africa to play with the East African National Defense Forces. Europe is now anxious, so it has no choice but to do so.
Kueinman said: "That's right. Just looking at the application of rail guns in the European battlefield, it may not be suitable for our country's national conditions. After all, the railway density in Germany and France is much greater than that in our country. They can Using the railway system to transport large-caliber artillery to the frontline battlefield will cost us more.”
"At the same time, our country is located in Africa and there are no powerful countries around it that deserve such treatment by our army. The main threat actually comes from the sea, so our country's positioning of the army is obviously not as high as Germany's."
" On the contrary, road transportation has great potential. Cars and tractors can become good carriers for artillery shipments. Now this is also a highlight on the European battlefield. "
After the war broke out, tractors in East Africa also became the mainstay of European countries. A hot commodity, this is also the first time East Africa has exported tractors to Europe on a large scale.
Generally used for the transportation of artillery. Before the war, artillery in European countries mainly relied on people to transport artillery. However, after the war broke out, there was a shortage of qualified livestock, so the troops of various countries had to transport artillery from East Africa and the United States. Purchase horses, tractors and other strategic materials.
The performance of American tractors is far inferior to that of East Africa, so both the Allied Powers and the Entente Powers prioritize East African tractors as their primary procurement target.
It can be said that the European battlefield has even become a "battlefield" for many East African local companies. You supply France, I sell to Germany, you occupy the Russian market, and I choose the Austro-Hungarian Empire...
Except In addition to East African state-owned enterprises, many private companies are also making a fortune on the European battlefield. Although the East African economy is still dominated by state-owned enterprises, the supply chain is also open to the market. Many East African private companies have also begun to cobble together "no-brand" products. Sales to Europe.
There is no way around this. East Africa has only liberalized its market for a few years. Most of the country's most basic industrial chains are controlled by state-owned enterprises, while many private enterprises have not yet developed.
However, with the great opportunity of World War I, the private economy in East Africa was able to complete initial primitive accumulation. When the war is over, the overall economy in East Africa will reach a higher level.
Of course, these are not very familiar to Kuyinman and other Wehrmacht personnel. After talking to Cabrill for a few words, Kuyinman began to question other people, and the final result Kuyinman was very satisfied.
He told everyone: "The battlefield is the best teacher. It can especially break our inherent cognition. After all, in order to win the war, both the enemy and us will do whatever it takes, and any changes in technology and other factors may have a major impact on the battlefield. "So this time you must study and summarize the various experiences and data of the two major military groups, and record your insights on the war one by one before returning to the country. This is the fire, the fire for the future of the National Defense Force, to illuminate the past. The present and future path."
As soon as Kuyinman finished speaking, a cannonball fell again not far from everyone, and a burst of smoke and dust was stirred up in the bunker again, but this time This time, no one panicked, but recalled what they had just discussed in their minds.
......
The battlefield on the Western Front is in full swing, but the battlefield on the Eastern Front is not that big. For Germany, the Eastern Front is a secondary battlefield, while the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia The industrial capacity is relatively limited.
Therefore, on the Eastern Front battlefield, it seemed relatively dull, especially on the front lines of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Tsarist Russia. Apart from having a larger number of people, it felt that it was not much better than the South African War more than 20 years ago.
Even military observers in East Africa believe that the performance of Russia and Austria in this war was not as good as the performance of Britain and Portugal in the South African War. Although the British-Portuguese allied forces were ultimately defeated, the war performance showed The mood is no less than that of East Africa.
After all, the South African War was promoted in East Africa as a great war to "defend the homeland", but this was not the case at all in the eyes of the United Kingdom and Portugal. After all, the result of the war was that Portugal lost Angola and Mozambique, while the United Kingdom Then lose north of the Orange River.
This is not a slander against East Africa. After all, although the South African War was instigated by the two countries, East Africa had made a lot of preparations before. For example, Chen Bing always revealed a sense of urgency at the border between the Portuguese colony and the Boer Republic. No country will remain indifferent to the ambition to annex the entire southern Africa.
It can even be said that the war launched by Britain and Portugal played into the hands of the East African government at the time and took Angola and other places into its hands in advance. With the national strength of East Africa at the time, unless Britain showed the same attitude towards Germany now, In the end, the script can only follow the plan of the East African government.
Both sides regard the other as an "invader", so their will to fight is naturally very high. In fact, it would be impossible for the British army to negotiate peace with East Africa unless the British government finally called it a halt.
Looking back at the current battlefield on the Eastern Front, the war-weariness of the soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia has begun to show signs of war. After being stalemate on the front line, they are even more confident in working as foreigners.
Of course, this is also closely related to the industry and logistics of the two countries. Although the governments of the two countries continue to urge, they must also ensure the supply of basic supplies! Especially the Russian troops on the front line, who could not even guarantee basic guns and ammunition, were exposed to the hail of bullets from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
And now because the performance of the German army in the north is too outstanding, in order to stabilize the front, the Russian military has to give priority to supplying materials to the northern battlefield. The Russian army in the south, including some generals, is psychologically unbalanced and lacks the ability and motivation to advance. .
The Austro-Hungarian Empire suffered a big loss before the war began. Although the overall situation has been stabilized now, it still needs time to integrate war resources, especially the mobilization of the army, so it will push the Russian army back After the border zone, there was no next big move.
There is also the influence of the Serbian people. Although Potiorek has been removed from his post due to mistakes in the war, the bad impact it caused still continues. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had to provide more troops and materials to support the Serbian battlefield. The Serbs' determination to resist clearly exceeded Austria-Hungary's expectations.
Coupled with the complex terrain on the Balkan Peninsula, a large number of Austrian troops advanced slowly on the Serbian battlefield. However, compared with the previous life, the situation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was significantly better.
(End of this chapter)