Chapter 1170: Austro-Hungarian Battlefield

The last point Cabril mentioned was somewhat beyond Kuinman's expectation. After all, the artillery in East Africa was not lagging behind before the war, and the number was sufficient. At least before the war, the artillery in East Africa was not inferior to any in Europe and the United States. Big country.

But after thinking about it again, I felt it made some sense. Kuyinman said: "Nowadays, the military industry and heavy industry in European countries are fully exerting their strength, and artillery warfare is indeed developing rapidly."

Cabril 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, even exceeding three or four hundred millimeters. Railguns have also joined the battlefield, and artillery plays an obvious role in the war.”

Railguns 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 As early as the end of 1914, the French army temporarily designed the first batch of railway guns, which consisted of outdated coastal defense guns and naval guns installed on existing commercial railway freight cars. As an ally, the British It soon followed, and the German Army's more adopted method was to convert existing long-range cannons installed on fixed ground-based gun emplacements into railway cannons that could be fired 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.

After all, the funds of the East African Army are limited, 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 both wanted and needed. The development of the military 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.

Kuyinman 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 density of railways in Germany and France is much greater than that in our country. They can use the railway system to move large-caliber If the artillery is transported to the frontline battlefield, we will have to pay more costs to do this. "

"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 transportation. Now this is also a highlight on the European battlefield."

After the war broke out, tractors from East Africa also became a hot commodity in European countries. This was also the first time that East Africa exported tractors to Europe on a large scale.

Generally, it is mainly used for the transportation of artillery. Before the war, artillery in European countries mainly relied on people to transport artillery and horses. However, after the war broke out, there was a shortage of qualified livestock, so the troops of various countries had to purchase horses, tractors and other strategies from East Africa and the United States. supplies.

The performance of American tractors is far inferior to that of East Africa, so both the Allies and the Entente countries give priority to 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 to compete. You supply France, I sell to Germany, you occupy the Russian market, and I choose the Austro-Hungarian Empire...

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. "Sold 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, East Africa's private economy was able to complete initial primitive accumulation. By the time the war was over, East Africa's overall economy would 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 was that Kuyinman was very disappointed. Feel 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. Before returning home, record your insights on the war one by one. This is the fire, the future fire of the National Defense Forces, to illuminate the past, present and future. The road ahead.”

As soon as Kuyinman finished speaking, a cannonball fell again not far away from everyone, and a burst of smoke and dust was once again stirred up in the bunker. However, this time everyone did not panic, 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, and the industrial capabilities of Austria-Hungary and Russia are 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 coalition was ultimately defeated, the war emotions displayed were no less than those in East Africa. .

After all, the South African War was promoted in East Africa as a great war of "defending the country", but in the eyes of Britain and Portugal, it was not the case at all. After all, the result of the war was that Portugal lost Angola and Mozambique, while Britain lost the 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 that. For example, troops were stationed on the border between the Portuguese colonies and the Boer Republic, revealing a momentum to annex the entire southern Africa at all times, and no country would remain indifferent.

It can even be said that the war launched by Britain and Portugal was exactly what the East African government wanted at the time, and Angola and other places were taken into its pockets in advance. With the national strength of East Africa at the time, unless Britain took the attitude it now takes towards Germany, the final script could only follow the plan of the East African government.

Both sides regarded each other as "aggressors", so the will to fight was naturally very high. In fact, if the British government had not called a halt in the end, the British army would never have negotiated with East Africa.

On the other hand, the war-weariness of the soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia has already shown signs on the Eastern Front. After being deadlocked on the front line, they are even more arrogant and lazy.

Of course, this is also closely related to the industry and logistics of the two countries. Although the two governments are constantly urging, they must also ensure the basic supply of materials! Especially the Russian army on the front line, which cannot even guarantee basic guns and ammunition, and is ready to face the gunfire and rain 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 line, the Russian military has to give priority to the supply of materials to the northern battlefield. The Russian army in the south, including some generals, is psychologically unbalanced and has no ability and motivation to advance.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire suffered a great loss before the war began. Although the overall situation has been stabilized now, it also needs time to integrate war resources, especially the mobilization of the army. Therefore, after pushing the Russian army back to the border area, there is no next big move.

There was also the influence of the Serbs. Although Potiorek had been dismissed for his mistakes in the war, the adverse effects he caused continued. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had to provide more troops and supplies to support the Serbian battlefield, and the Serbian people's determination to resist obviously exceeded the expectations of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In addition, due to 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 obviously much better.