It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 45 | Outlook for Armored Infantry

Shang Ke didn't bother to pay attention to this issue at all.

accurate?

Hold it in!

The four of them sat around the sandalwood round table, and the cold dishes of peanuts and preserved egg tofu were already served.

Everyone came in casual clothes today to feel comfortable.

"Just be yourself and don't bother with their gossip." Shang Ke picked up the small cup and drank it first, saying, "Come on, let's have a drink first!"

Liang Xianzhou was the youngest person present, only 25 years old. His resume was quite inspiring. He joined the army early after graduating from high school. At the age of 20, he was admitted to the Nanning Engineering College as a corporal and was promoted to lieutenant this year.

As for Liao Huixiao, he is considered a role model for small town test-takers. Born into an ordinary working-class family in Shaoyang County, he worked his way up and was admitted to the Lanzhou Cavalry Academy. Before that, he served as a military attaché at the embassy in Fontainebleau for two years and returned to China in the summer. He is now 32 years old.

The four of them had a nice drink and a harmonious dinner together.

However, Shang Ke still felt that it was not fun enough, and always felt that something was missing.

Hey! It would be nice if Sand Can and Biscuit Factory Manager were here too.

He secretly made up his mind and then tried to find out whether the two figures, Sha Guan and the factory director, were currently there.

After talking about all sorts of nonsense for a long time, Shang Ke decided to change the subject to serious matters.

He picked up a piece of mutton and rinsed it, then said seriously, "Let's get down to business. This large-scale exercise is very rare. It has highlighted many problems and can basically point out the direction for future tactical thinking."

Xu Zhong looked around and reminded, "It's not appropriate to talk about the drill here."

Shang Ke waved his hand and said, "Xiao Sheng is helping to watch outside, it's okay."

As he said that, he stood up and gave a few instructions to Li Qingsheng outside the private room, then closed the door.

He put his hands on his hips and spoke eloquently, "Regarding the use of tank units, I only support my own views. We should establish armored divisions and armored brigades at a one-to-one ratio. The military industry should develop medium-sized tanks that combine firepower, protection, and mobility, as well as armored personnel carriers that can carry accompanying infantry."

"Zhicheng, your paper has been a hot topic lately. I've read it." Liao Huixiao took off his gold-rimmed glasses, wiped them carefully, and commented, "What are your thoughts on today's mobile infantry?"

Shang's graduation thesis, "A Brief View on the Organizational Model of Tanks and Related Armored Units in Common Terrain Combat," was published in an internal publication of the National Defense Forces.

From this point of view, he actually became a little famous half a month ago.

Mobile infantry refers to motorized infantry - they ride on various vehicles when marching and fight on foot when fighting.

For industrial powers, infantry divisions are generally motorized infantry divisions by default.

But at present, only the armies of the United Kingdom and the United States of America have completely completed motorization, because the former has only more than 20 divisions in total, and the latter has only a pitiful eight divisions.

The Grand Unified Federation was the most ridiculous, as it only motorized its northern troops. This was because some generals insisted that vehicles would be severely restricted in the south due to hills and waterways, and would be less reliable than mules and horses.

Varland, Marianna, and Ivan Ross are all powerful armies with large scale, but their automobile production cannot meet the demand, so most of them are destined to be ordinary infantry divisions.

"I don't think there's much to say about that." Shang Ke Tactics leaned back and spoke slowly, "Full motorization is the general trend. Our country has no shortage of trucks. From now on, with the exception of a few specialized mountain troops, ordinary infantry units will rely on vehicles for mobility by default." Liao Huixiao agreed and then asked, "What about the armored infantry you mentioned in your paper?"

"The troops that are needed purely to solve the problem," Shang Ke listed. "Truck-mounted mobile infantry units aren't very suitable for fighting alongside tanks. The vehicles have no protection, and they have to dismount and deploy at least three kilometers from the enemy's front line, which slows down the attack."

"Well, actually, three kilometers is too close. We usually don't go past four kilometers. From the time we complete the deployment to the time we prepare for the offensive starting position, it takes half an hour."

"So, to address this problem, we need to find a way to get infantry closer. The inference is obvious: have infantrymen ride in armored vehicles, unfazed by bullets and shell fragments, and follow the vehicles directly to within a few hundred meters of the enemy front line. After disembarking, they can briefly regroup and then immediately attack."

The difference between motorized infantry and mechanized infantry is directly reflected in the two famous events: the 5km cross-country race and the 400m obstacle race.

Mechanized (armored) infantry generally fights in conjunction with tanks, but can also perform combat missions independently. They have better survivability and impact capabilities and their position is extremely important.

Liao Huixiao put on his glasses and pondered, "This means that entire infantry battalions and regiments will have to be equipped with armored vehicles. Tracked armored vehicles... which aren't cheap, with a price difference of seven or eight times. Production volumes are definitely low, so they can only be concentrated on the elite."

Shangke said in a relaxed tone: "It's not a big problem. Most countries will only become more financially strapped (in this regard) anyway."

The manufacturing cost of tracked armored vehicles is undoubtedly very high. Even second-rate industrial countries cannot afford to equip their troops on a large scale. Looking around the world, only the two industrial Cthulhus on the east and west coasts of the Pacific can afford it.

For example, the purchase price of some German weapons and equipment in 1943 was:
-
Panzer IV H – 10.3 marks
-
SdKfz251 armored car - 2.2 marks
-
Pak40 anti-tank gun - 1.2 marks
-
MG42 general-purpose machine gun - 250 marks -
Average monthly salary of workers: 194 marks
At this time, Liang Xianzhou asked curiously: "I have a question. If things continue like this, the engineering corps will also have to expand significantly, otherwise they won't be able to support so much heavy equipment."

Shang Ke nodded and said affirmatively, "Yes, I think the current organization of the Independent Engineer Brigade has many problems. The pontoon battalion's bridge-building capabilities are a bit weak and need to be strengthened."

Just as a few people were chatting enthusiastically over hot pot and wine, an untimely commotion was heard outside the private room.

Shang Ke couldn't help but frown, stood up, walked over and opened the door, and what came into his sight was a rude and arrogant young man with a few followers.

"This girl is really good, she has a temper, haha, she has a temper."

Li Qingsheng faced this group of malicious guys alone with a cold look in his eyes.

"Hey, I opened the door to see you. These guys are hiding inside eating and drinking to their heart's content, leaving you outside. How boring! Girl, go play with the guys today. The car is downstairs."

The young man was drunk and looked like he had drunk quite a bit. As he spoke, he reached out and tried to pull Li Qingsheng's hand.

The latter's reaction speed was six times faster than that of an ordinary person, and he easily dodged sideways.

Liang Xianzhou followed Shang Moumou over, and the other two followed.

Shang Ke said calmly to his followers, "This man is drunk, get him out of here."

"Can you talk?" one of them said contemptuously, "This is the second young master of the Cai family. Don't spoil his fun. Go back and eat your food. Otherwise, the four of you will beat you so badly that you won't even recognize your mother."

"It's really stupid." Xu Zhong muttered.

"What are you doing here? Can't you see I want to play with this girl? Get out of here now!" The half-drunk second son of the Cai family was very angry.

"He has some hooligan habits." Shang Ke crossed his arms and looked at the show, jokingly saying, "Xiao Sheng, sober him up."

(End of this chapter)