Chapter 7

"Although the road is winding, the result is certain." After the exercise, Ruprecht sighed, reflecting that although his uncle had a tough fight, he ultimately overcame the arrogant穿越者. Although the process was tortuous, the two things he created were recognized by the military. He could say he had achieved his goal. As for the issue of losing face? The穿越者firmly believed that if this matter were to get out, the one who would be most embarrassed would definitely be his uncle, while he would be seen as a brave hero who fought valiantly against a formidable enemy and ultimately fell gloriously! Yes, after indulging in this fantasy, he felt much more balanced mentally!

Overall, his efforts had been rewarded. The two groundbreaking weapons he had meticulously plagiarized were recognized by his uncle. Relying on his uncle's status and influence, promoting them in the Bavarian army and replacing the old weapons should not be a problem. The replicated M1897 rapid-fire gun and Vickers machine gun would definitely give the Bavarian army a technological edge for the next decade.

Although they were both rapid-fire guns, there were still significant differences. The French M1897 could fire 15 to 18 7.2 kg shells per minute, while the German 1896 77 mm rapid-fire gun could only fire 8 to 9 6.85 kg shells per minute. The Japanese 75 mm rapid-fire gun had a firing rate of only 6 to 7 rounds per minute, with each shell weighing just 5 kg! The performance gap was obvious!

Although the French 75 mm rapid-fire gun was suppressed by various long-range and more powerful howitzers during World War I, this could only be attributed to technological progress. After all, you were using weapons from 1897 to fight against weapons from around 1910, a gap of over a decade that even a god couldn't save! This wasn't to say that the 75 mm gun was not excellent; it was simply a limitation of the historical context.

As for the Vickers machine gun? Overall, the water-cooled machine guns used by several countries in World War I had similar performance. There were two reasons for choosing the Vickers: one was its lightness, and the other was its better field of fire. The Vickers, mounted on a tripod, was naturally lighter and had a wider field of fire compared to the Vickers mounted on a sled-type four-legged stand. The weight of the stand was over ten kilograms lighter, which was a significant difference. As for the firepower of the various machine guns, they were all about the same.

"Tell me your thoughts." After the servant served coffee and pastries and left, only the uncle and nephew remained in the room. The prince looked at his nephew and said calmly.

"The widespread use of rapid-fire automatic weapons is an inevitable trend in history. Many countries are researching them, including our arch-enemy—France! Machine guns and rapid-fire guns will eventually change the nature of war. The army that takes the lead will gain a significant advantage." The prince said, while in his heart, he was calculating how much money he could make.

"If both sides are equipped with a large number of rapid-fire artillery and machine guns, do you think we have an advantage or a disadvantage?" The prince suddenly asked an unrelated question.

"Disadvantage! The French are not fools; they will also update their arsenals. When a large number of rapid-fire weapons are equipped, a small force can intercept large-scale attacks, and with defensive fortifications, the defenders will have a greater advantage than the attackers. As a country in the heart of Europe, we must rely on a quick victory, or else France in the west and Russia in the east will eventually drag the empire down." As a穿越者, he was very clear about how Germany had fallen in World War I, unable to break through the Western Front and ultimately being overwhelmed. Even if they had an artillery advantage at the beginning, they were still stopped outside Paris.

"The key is logistics! The ammunition consumption of rapid-fire guns and automatic weapons is enormous. Do you know that during the Franco-Prussian War, we fought for six months, but each infantryman only fired an average of 65 bullets? This number was even less than the ammunition they carried. But now, if I'm not mistaken, a machine gun can fire over 450 bullets per minute! The logistical pressure on a fully automated army is enormous. Without railways, we can't move quickly, and without mobility, once the enemy mobilizes, our plan for a quick victory will be a mirage. This is absolutely fatal!" the prince said.

With a clatter, Ruprecht's spoon fell into his cup. The prince's words hit the nail on the head, analyzing the inevitable failure of the Schlieffen Plan from a logistical perspective! At this time, Schlieffen had not yet become the Chief of the General Staff and had not yet begun to study his plan that he had been working on for over a decade! This insight and foresight were truly remarkable, no wonder he became the Commander-in-Chief of the German Eastern Front! His vision and ability were truly impressive!

If the tactical essence of the Schlieffen Plan was to concentrate forces on the right wing and then use overwhelming force to crush the enemy in a short time with a blitzkrieg, then the logistical essence of the plan was to use railways as an offensive tool, capturing the enemy's railways and rapidly transporting troops to the battle positions, and then advancing all the way to Paris!

However, how could this plan be described? The idea was good, but reality was harsh! During the Franco-Prussian War, the Germans used their god-like mobilization speed to crush the French, but wouldn't the French learn? Not to mention the French, even the Russians would! Historically, by August 19, 1914, the French had already transported 1 million troops and 400,000 horses to the battle positions, along with 115,000 British troops and 46,000 horses. The backward Russians were not far behind, mobilizing two-thirds of their forces in just 18 days. When both sides used railways to mobilize their internal forces, the Germans did not have an advantage.

So, let's look at the outer wing of the Schlieffen Plan. Why did the Germans attack Belgium? One very important reason was to capture Belgium's railways and then enter France! However, what was the result? When occupying Belgium, 26,000 German railway troops worked hard to repair only 600 kilometers of railway, while the total length of Belgium's railways was 4,000 kilometers. Out of 43 large railway buildings, only 3 were repaired by the time of the Battle of the Marne! The distance between the vanguard and the end of the railway was 100 kilometers, which could only be covered by horses!

Schlieffen seemed to have considered this issue and equipped the army with a large number of animals. At the beginning of World War I, the ratio of men to horses in the German army was 3:1! The First Army alone had 84,000 horses! However, this was of no use. Not to mention the transportation capacity of the horses, even feeding them was a problem! 84,000 horses consumed 2 million pounds of feed per day! These four-legged animals were even more picky than humans! Humans could continue fighting by eating potatoes, but try feeding potatoes to horses! Tens of thousands of horses grazed the fields bare, but still couldn't fill their bellies, let alone talk about transportation?

So, from the perspective of the穿越者, the Western Front of World War I was almost unsolvable, as logistics restricted everything. The Belgians could destroy railways faster than the Germans could advance, and the horse transportation capacity of the Germans was far inferior to the internal railway transportation capacity of the French. The failure at the Battle of the Marne was historically inevitable, even if the Germans had not been found vulnerable at the junction, their fragile logistics were still insufficient to support the war. Even if the Germans had an advantage in heavy artillery and a large number of machine guns!

Some people say that Moltke's failure was due to his lack of boldness and insufficient reinforcement of the right wing, but even if he reinforced it, it wouldn't help much. Without sufficient logistics, you can't make soldiers eat grass, right? Well, there wasn't even grass, as the fields in Belgium and France had been grazed bare by the horses.

Prince Leopold was not a穿越者, but with his years of military experience, he could recognize this issue, which was truly impressive. Although Schlieffen had also participated in the Franco-Prussian War, he was a staff officer, and his understanding of war was different from Prince Leopold, who had fought on the front lines. As for Moltke, he had even less combat experience than Schlieffen. The穿越者couldn't help but sigh that the Germans didn't deserve to lose in World War I!

In fact, if you look at the four marshals who received the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross during World War I (excluding Wilhelm II, who could get it by status alone), none of them were pure staff officers. Hindenburg, Prince Leopold, and Mackensen had all fought on the front lines during the Franco-Prussian War. Ludendorff later worked on military supplies. This clearly shows that a great general usually rises from the front lines, and direct parachuting of staff officers is unreliable. The extreme example of staff officers leading to disaster was Japan in World War II.

In short, after seeing the new weapons, the prince was concerned about the future of the German army, while the prince was pleased with the marks he was about to receive. What the穿越者didn't expect was that a greater fortune was about to fall on his head! Because the large-scale construction of the German navy was about to begin!

A new book is being uploaded, and the guy in front of me on the new book chart managed to go from 300 favorites to 1,000 in just three days... The pressure is immense! Today, there are two updates, the second one in the afternoon! Please support me! I update nearly 10,000 words a day, considering both new and old books! In appreciation of my efforts, can everyone support me a bit more?

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