Chapter 526 Vehicle-mounted Rocket Launcher
Charles was very patient.
He eats and sleeps on time every day, maintains a stable schedule, sometimes takes a nap, and has developed the habit of running around the airport a few laps before dinner to ensure his physical strength.
Charles believed that only by taking good care of one's health in peacetime could one have enough capital to overdraw in wartime. Otherwise, if one remained in a highly tense state, it would not take long for one to collapse.
After all, there is still a long time to go. The four-year war has only been going on for over a year, and it is not going to end as soon as people think.
Tijani was busy with everything, paying attention to the situation of the Battle of the Somme, gathering intelligence on Namur, and at the same time, he was busy organizing a rocket artillery unit and training.
That evening, when Charles had just finished running and returned to the headquarters, Tijani couldn't wait to greet him and said, "Major General, aren't two rocket artillery regiments too few?"
The rocket artillery regiment is organized like a conventional artillery regiment, with 12 guns in each battalion, and a rocket artillery regiment has only 36 guns.
The German army deployed five artillery regiments in the river bend area of Namur Fortress alone, not counting the 77MM artillery in the hands of the infantry division.
Charles took the towel from the orderly and wiped his sweat, then took a few sips of the warm water offered to him before replying, "It's never the bazooka, General, that's important, it's the rockets."
Tijanini pondered for a moment, then understood.
Rocket launchers are different from conventional artillery. They are not consumables, but are moved immediately after being fired. This combat method gives them a high probability of survival.
Therefore, the point is not how many rocket launchers there are, but how many rockets can be used to cover the enemy artillery positions again and again.
Tijani nodded and then asked, "So, what kind of vehicle should we use to tow the rocket launcher? I mean, if we need to fire and leave."
Charles asked back: "Why do you want to pull?"
Tijani looked confused: "If we don't pull it, do we have to push it? No, no, although we can push it, the speed is too slow!"
"Come with me, General." Charles took his coat from the hanger and put it on, then took the military cap handed to him by the orderly and put it on.
The weather in December is already a bit cold, and there have been a few light rains recently, causing the temperature to drop sharply. Charles doesn't want anything to happen to his body at this time.
Taking Tijani downstairs, we walked through the passage between the buildings and along the gravel path, and after a few minutes we arrived in front of a warehouse.
There were several guards and patrolmen standing in front of the door. As soon as they saw Charles and Tijani, they stood up and saluted.
The patrol team continued patrolling, and the guard at the door struggled to push the warehouse door open to both sides and considerately turned on the lights inside the warehouse.
Tijani was a little surprised. As the commander of a mechanized division, he was stationed at the airport, but he didn't know that there was such a "secret space" right under his nose.
Following Charles into the warehouse, Tijani became even more confused. There were more than a dozen reconnaissance vehicles parked in the spacious space.
Tijani looked deeper and saw nothing but a reconnaissance vehicle. If there was any difference, the rear compartment of the reconnaissance vehicle was covered with canvas, as if it was transporting something.
There was a hint of disappointment on Tijani's face, as he had thought there was some new equipment.
Reconnaissance vehicles may be the envy of other troops, but they are routine equipment for Tijani's mechanized division.
Charles stepped forward and pulled the canvas. When the canvas fell with a "crash" sound, Tijani opened his mouth in an instant, so surprised that he couldn't speak.
After a long while, he looked at Charles with surprise and joy, and said excitedly:
"Rocket launcher, it's actually a rocket launcher?"
"You, you actually installed a rocket launcher and a reconnaissance vehicle together?"
"Great idea, Major General, you are a genius!"
It was indeed a rocket launcher. Charles installed the 107 rocket launcher on an armored reconnaissance vehicle, but made some minor changes: the protective armor of the armored reconnaissance vehicle was removed and replaced with a rocket launcher, and a rotatable gun mount was added to the rocket launcher.
(The picture above is a Katyusha rocket launcher. The rocket launcher that combines a reconnaissance vehicle with a 107 rocket launcher in this article is not something that has ever existed in history, so this picture can only be used as a substitute. The rocket launcher invented by the protagonist is more advanced. Katyusha uses a guide rail, and the rocket is exposed to the outside, which can easily cause an accident. It cannot be started with a rocket, otherwise the rocket will fall from the guide rail. This method was eventually replaced by a cylindrical launch tube)
As he spoke, Tijani touched and looked at the equipment, his eyes full of amazement. He shook his head and muttered to himself from time to time: "This is crazy, unbelievable. The combination of the two equipments has become one equipment, a brand new equipment!"
Charles raised his head towards the rocket launcher and asked calmly, "Do you know the advantages of doing this?"
Tijani thought for a moment and nodded heavily:
"I can roughly guess, Major General."
“Compared to the towed type, it is simpler, more stable and easier to control.”
"More importantly, it is easier to deploy and can be moved more conveniently and quickly."
"My God, it's the perfect combination of 'guerrilla tactics'!"
Charles secretly praised him.
Although these are not secrets to Ciel, a modern man.
But many generals during World War I were still obsessed with "attack", "defense", and even "cavalry", "trench" and "cannon", and believed that they could solve all war problems.
It is rare and precious that Tijani could summarize the advantages of rocket launchers so quickly.
Charles believes that this may be related to the fact that Tijani does not have much practical experience.
In an era when tactics are changing rapidly and developing rapidly, combat experience often means being old-fashioned and stubborn, because they firmly believe in their so-called experience and are convinced that this experience can bring them victory.
"How many of these cannons do we have?" Tijani looked at Charles with anticipation in his eyes: "All of them from both artillery regiments?"
"No, General," Charles replied, "we shall probably have time to produce only one of the vehicles, and the other will be of the original type."
"I understand." Tijani nodded. "Supplies are in short supply right now. It's already very difficult to have a vehicle-mounted artillery regiment."
Tijani knew this well. Other troops had difficulty even finding a pair of boots, but he was able to be equipped with such high-end rocket launchers. It was simply a world of difference.
If it weren't for Charles, they would never have been treated like this!
What Tijani didn't know was that this was actually done intentionally by Charles.
The advantage of the 107 rocket launcher is that it can be used in any situation, in the jungle, on high ground, in trenches, and can be towed by a sidecar, a horse, or pushed by manpower. In marching state, the total weight is only more than 300 kilograms.
If necessary, the launch tubes can be disassembled and transported one by one and then reassembled when they arrive at the destination.
Vehicle-mounted rocket launchers are good, but they are still too dependent on roads and the environment.
Changing all of them to vehicle-mounted rocket launchers will lose their flexibility, and it will be easy for the troops and even commanders like Tijani to develop an inertial mindset and not develop the guerrilla potential of the 107 fire.
So, it’s not “too late to produce”.
But Charles' goal is clear:
Two rocket artillery regiments, one vehicle-mounted to deal with German artillery, and the other original version to cooperate with troops in combat.
(End of this chapter)
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