Chapter 362: Room for Maneuver
Billy Shen has been practicing shooting at the shooting range most of the time.
It's not that he wants to show off his marksmanship in front of others, but he really needs to do so.
Shen Bi had always used the British Lee Enfield rifle, and he was used to its feel, its rate of fire, and its recoil.
But Shen Billy soon realized that he could not continue to use this rifle.
This is the French army. Everyone around is using Lebel rifles. Although Britain is an ally and can easily get Lee Enfield's 7.7MM caliber bullets, what if they are on the battlefield?
What if you are in the trenches and far away from the British defense zone?
Or what if you are fighting deep behind enemy lines and the logistics department only delivers bullets for Lebel rifles?
After careful consideration, Shen Billy finally decided to replace the rifle with Lebel.
This almost made Billy Shen collapse, because he felt that he was not learning one kind of gun, although he was only holding one in his hand, but actually eight different kinds of guns.
Every time Lebel fires a bullet, the change in center of gravity causes the feel to change.
It would be fine if this change had rhythm and regularity, but the change is the biggest in the first shot, then gradually decreases, and finally becomes almost non-existent.
(Note: This is determined by the distance of the bullets. The farthest bullet in the magazine has the greatest impact on the center of gravity, while the closest bullets have the least impact.)
Although this change is generally slight and does not have much impact on ordinary shooters, it is fatal to a sniper like Shen Billy who demands extremes.
“No wonder the overall level of the sniper company is not good.” During the break in practice, when Shen Billy put away his gun and sat on a simple chair to rest, he couldn’t help but frowned at his unsatisfactory results: “This kind of gun is artificially increasing the difficulty for us.”
Just as Shen Billy was thinking about how to solve this problem, Dominic mysteriously walked up to him with a gun box and said hello: "Hey, Shen."
“Instructor?” Billy Shen looked at Dominic doubtfully, and when he saw the gun box in Dominic’s hand, he laughed: “Are you planning to come here for revenge?”
He thought Dominic was thinking about the last time he lost the pigeon bet.
Dominic shook his head, put the gun box in front of Shen Billy, and said, "Are you ready? Once you open this gun box, the sniper company will be trained in isolation!"
Billy Shen curled his lips: “I don’t care.”
Billy Shen really didn't care. He was alone in France, without a home, relatives or even friends, and he was always in isolation.
“Very good!” Dominic opened the gun box, turned it in a direction and pushed it in front of Billy Shen.
It was a gun, like a Lebel but with a shorter barrel, and it had something like a telescope, a monocular.
Shen Billy was not interested at all. Nothing about Lebel could arouse his interest.
However, Billy Shen immediately noticed something different, he picked up the rifle and looked at it, then looked at Dominic in confusion: “Vertical magazine?”
"Yes," Dominic replied, "This is a Berthier rifle, a cavalry version of Lebel's rifle. The general thinks it is more suitable for the sniper company. What do you think?"
Billy Shen held the rifle and felt it, then nodded affirmatively: “Of course, we need this rifle.”
Xiaer knows us very well, Billy Shen thought.
A short barrel will lose some accuracy compared to a long barrel, but it is much better than having a different center of gravity after each shot. The latter is not only a problem of loss of accuracy, but also makes the shooter at a loss.
The magazine can only hold three bullets, which may be a little too little for ordinary infantry, but snipers are required to move to another position after each shot. They can reload while changing positions, so there are no high requirements for the ammunition capacity.
What's more, short-barreled rifles have many conveniences in trench warfare.
Dominic added: "These are specially made by the Saint-Etienne Arsenal for the sniper company. We carefully selected 200 of them from more than 3,000, and the bullets are also carefully selected. There will be more in the future, so you can use them with confidence."
“Thank you, Dominic.” Billy Shen was delighted.
Dominic spread his hands and said, "Don't thank me. This is the general's intention."
Billy Shen laughed “Haha” and sighed in his heart that it was a good thing to have a general who knew sniping.
But he still had some doubts in his heart, because this meant that the sniper company would be trained in an "isolated state"? Is this a bit too much?
Then Billy Shen noticed the rail on the rifle, and looking at the "monocular telescope" still lying in the gun box, he suddenly reacted, took it and installed it on the rifle.
Then Billy Shen exclaimed "Wow", and couldn't wait to raise his gun to try it out. He could see the chest target two hundred meters away clearly through the "telescope".
Billy Shen’s eyes were full of shock, and he turned his head to look at Dominic: “This…”
"Of course." Dominic nodded: "It's still the general's intention."
Billy Shen was convinced, this was what the sniper company really needed, it could instantly raise the sniper company’s combat effectiveness to a new level.
But this is just the beginning.
Dominic said, "Remember the observer gun you mentioned before? We are producing it and I believe it will be available soon."
The modification plan given by Charles was almost perfect and could almost skip the long trial and test phase. Dominic estimated that the sniper company would be able to be equipped in two weeks.
Billy Shen nodded with emotion.
The sniper company is so valued that almost all external needs are met by Charles single-handedly, which allows the sniper company to train with confidence and concentrate on using them on the battlefield.
What more could he ask for?
A gentleman will die for his friend. If he doesn't take good care of the sniper company, he will be unworthy of Charles' recognition of him and the sniper company!
…
Rome looks solemn and glorious under the sunset. The air is filled with the faint aroma of coffee and fresh bread. Every building on the street seems to be telling a thousand-year-old story.
A gorgeously decorated carriage passed through the downtown area with the sound of crisp hooves and stopped in front of the Rodeway Inn in the city center.
A middle-aged man in a suit and top hat got out of the car. He glanced quickly to both sides, then walked quickly into the hotel surrounded by several assistants, as if he was worried about being discovered.
This middle-aged man is General Winter, who was supposed to be commanding the battle in Gallipoli, but now he appears here in civilian clothes.
Italian Foreign Minister Sonlino was waiting anxiously in the conference room, and he only breathed a sigh of relief when General Winter entered safely.
"Welcome, General!" Sanlino shook hands with General Winter enthusiastically.
"Thank you very much, sir." General Winter said, "I believe this negotiation will satisfy both sides."
"I hope so!" Sang Lino nodded, stepped aside and asked General Winter to sit down across the table.
The reason the talks were held in secrecy and with the Foreign Ministry rather than military personnel was that Italy did not want the Allies to know.
Only in this way will Italy have room for maneuver.
(End of this chapter)
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