Chapter 1029: Giving Wings to the Infantry (Second Update, Please Subscribe)
It takes eighteen hours by ordinary train from Youzhou to Zhongdu.
If you take the American Star, it only takes six and a half hours. It is faster and does not stop at any small stations along the way.
Small station...how many people can afford it?
Because of this, the American Star became an express train that did not stop at small stations along the way. Of course, to a certain extent, this was also the fundamental reason for its high speed.
Zhang Pengju, wearing a colonel's uniform, sat in a second-class seat by the window. After getting on the bus, he sat there quietly reading a newspaper. Normally, no one would disturb this imperial officer.
The uniforms worn by the imperial soldiers are not only the armor of this era, but also symbolize the majesty of the imperial soldiers.
Colonel!
He was undoubtedly a high-ranking official of the empire. Ordinary people would never disturb him. This also allowed him to read the newspaper quietly.
The Ameristar high-speed train roared past, passed through the city, and finally sped across the vast land of South America.
The scenery outside the carriage was receding rapidly!
The carriage seemed very quiet. The passengers were either reading books or newspapers. Apart from the occasional attendant pushing a cart and asking if passengers needed any drinks or alcohol, there was no other sound.
His Majesty summoned.
The sudden summons made Zhang Pengju a little nervous. He didn't know why the emperor summoned him, but one thing was certain: it must be something big.
When was the last time?
During the surprise attack on San Diego, he and the captain...
Fifteen years have passed.
The captain is now the Governor-General of Kenya and has just been promoted to Brigadier General in the Army.
And what about him?
Army Colonel Brigadier General.
Although the successful attack on Santiago was the pride of his life, that was all.
In the past few years, he almost completely missed the major battles. He did not go to the expedition to France, and he had just been promoted to the head of the regiment in the "Battle of Brazil". He had just completed the training of his troops and had not yet been sent to the front line when the war ended.
Sometimes, life's encounters are magical.
Just when Zhang Pengju thought his life had come to an end, a sudden summons changed everything.
A few hours later, in the imperial study of the palace, he not only met His Majesty whom he had not seen for many years, but also met an airship officer.
"You two should get to know each other first."
Emperor Zhu said without raising his head.
"Zhang Pengju, commander of the 23rd Army Brigade."
"The 13th Airborne Forces, Commander Han Chengjie,"
After the two introduced themselves, Emperor Zhu raised his head, looked at them and spoke.
"I called you here today for one thing!"
The two men, holding their military caps, stood motionless in front of the table.
"Do you know what this is?"
"Parachute, rifle."
They both answered at the same time.
"right,"
Emperor Zhu nodded.
"Parachutes are for floating troops, and rifles are for infantry. I have always had an idea, and it is very simple, which is to give infantry wings!"
Give wings to the infantry!
His Majesty's words made the two of them stunned at the same time. They even looked at the rifle and parachute on the ground in surprise. After a moment, Han Chengjie said.
"Your Majesty, do you mean the paratroopers?"
Paratroopers... This is a concept proposed by the floating force a few years ago, which is to use airships to transport infantry and use parachutes to carry out airdrops behind enemy lines.
"Um!"
Although His Majesty expressed his thoughts, Han Chengjie knew very well that the paratrooper experiment was not successful at all.
"Your Majesty, we conducted research in this area three years ago, but the experiment was not very successful. Due to the limited number of airships, even if we deployed two squadrons, we could not drop a thousand paratroopers at a time. After the paratroopers landed, they would be scattered everywhere and could easily be dispersed and defeated by the enemy..."
Without waiting for Han Chengjie to finish, Zhang Pengju spoke directly.
"What Commander Han said is surprising. The use of paratroopers is not to storm, but to attack the enemy when they are unprepared, just like the "Surprise Attack on Santiago" that year. If the assault troops had stormed, they would have failed. But they launched a surprise attack, which was to attack the enemy when they were unprepared and not defending."
Zhang Pengju, who had experience in the "surprise attack on San Diego", glanced at the parachute on the ground, then turned to His Majesty and said.
"Your Majesty, I think paratroopers are completely feasible. Just as Your Majesty taught us back then, a small number of elite troops attacking in surprise attacks will definitely have a miraculous effect!"
Facing His Majesty, Zhang Pengju realized that this was his chance - a brand new chance.
"If we can select the best soldiers from the entire army to form an elite assault force, and equip it with parachutes, then this elite force will definitely be able to carry out various special operations, such as..."
Zhang Pengju thought of the word that His Majesty had said that year.
"For example, in the decapitation operation, during the expedition to Paris, although the airship troops obtained intelligence about the German High Command in Versailles and bombed it, the result was not satisfactory. But what if the paratroopers carried out a surprise attack behind enemy lines?"
At this time, Zhang Pengju seemed a little excited. He seemed to have seen a new combat mode, and said.
"If we had paratroopers at the time, we might have had a chance to infiltrate Versailles and end the war with a surprise attack, just like in Santiago - well, as the saying goes, you have to capture the leader first!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Han Chengjie said.
"That's impossible. When I proposed the formation of paratroopers three years ago, the biggest problem I encountered was that there were too few of them. This would make it easy for them to be surrounded. Moreover, if they were to parachute, they wouldn't be able to drop heavy weapons. The only weapons the soldiers could rely on were rifles and pistols, and at most a few grenade launchers. How could such light infantry fight against fully equipped infantry?"
This is why he appeared here. It was he who proposed the idea of "paratroopers" three years ago, but this experiment did not last.
"On the battlefield, the survivability of light infantry armed only with rifles is very poor..."
"I said before, the key to a surprise attack is surprise, to catch them by surprise! Rather than letting them fight head-on with the enemy's large army!"
"Warfare itself is a head-on confrontation. Why has there never been a surprise attack since the 'Santiago surprise attack'? The surprise attack on Santiago was more about the Spencer rifle than the surprise attack. The Chileans used muzzle-loading rifles at the time. We had an overwhelming advantage in firepower. It's not an exaggeration to say that we could defeat ten with one man. This is the key to success."
Listening to the argument between the two of them, Emperor Zhu laughed.
"You don't need to argue about this. If you don't have enough manpower, you can make up for it with firepower. You should be bold and try it!"
Emperor Zhu raised his hand, signaling the two of them to stop arguing, and looked at them.
"My idea is very simple. I want to set up an army commando team, select the best soldiers from the entire army, give them the most rigorous training, and form them into airborne troops, equipped with the best weapons, to carry out airborne operations behind enemy lines. Of course, this kind of airborne operation does not necessarily have to use parachutes. We can also use airships for rope descents. We have experience in this in Africa."
Looking at the two officers, Emperor Zhu expressed his thoughts one by one.
"In short, in this new era, we must be brave enough to try new tactics!"
(End of this chapter)
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