Chapter 352 Seeds
A student wearing glasses immediately raised his hand and answered after being allowed, "I think that with the development of military technology, wars are no longer determined by bravery or strategy alone. Understanding of scientific and technological knowledge will also become one of the important qualities of a commander. Now the school invites a great scholar like Director Zhang to teach us in order to improve our comprehensive quality."
"Chen Shukang, right? Your answer is very good." Zhang Xingjiu matched his image with the name on the roster and praised him secretly in his heart. He was worthy of being one of the three heroes of the military academy. His knowledge was deeper than that of ordinary students.
"Some students may not understand it very well, so let me tell you the story of Napoleon. As we all know, Napoleon is the most famous military commander in Europe. He led the French army to sweep across Europe! The reason why he was able to achieve such brilliant achievements, in addition to his military talent, is also inseparable from his support for science and technology."
"In the 18th century, the French mathematical community was full of brilliant stars, including Lagrange, the founder of the calculus of variations, Laplace, known as the 'French Newton', Monge, the creator of descriptive geometry, Fourier, the founder of Fourier series, Poncelet, the founder of projective geometry, and Cauchy, the pioneer of complex variable functions. These mathematicians all served Napoleon to varying degrees, and some even established close friendships with him."
"Napoleon's use of artillery was unrivalled in his time, and this was inseparable from these mathematicians. When Napoleon was studying at the military academy, he was familiar with Etienne Bassaud's six-volume "Mathematical Course (for the Navy and Artillery)". These six volumes of textbooks covered the geometry, algebra, calculus and other mathematical knowledge required for artillery, which enabled him to master fast and accurate calculations and accurately command artillery to make the most correct decisions on the battlefield."
"It was precisely because of this experience that Napoleon attached great importance to the application of professional knowledge such as mathematics, physics, and civil engineering in the military after he came to power. Mathematicians such as Cauchy, Rasputin, and Lagrange either taught in military academies or compiled professional textbooks for artillery. After years of training, the comprehensive quality of the French artillery was the best in Europe, and the strong mathematical attainments made the French artillery invincible in the European war."
"How high are the requirements of the French Artillery School for its students? I have here a set of example questions, which are exercises for ballistics that the French mathematician Poisson created more than two hundred years ago. You students can try to do them and see if you can solve them." After saying that, Zhang Xingjiu wrote a system of linear differential equations on the blackboard.
Those who can enter this military academy can be said to be outstanding representatives of young people from all over the country. They have always been full of confidence in themselves, thinking that they can complete their studies with ease even if they enter the military academy, but this confidence was shattered in the face of this set of equations.
Even Chen Shukang looked bewildered. "Let alone answering the questions, I can't even understand them."
"Yes, I would rather fight the enemy with bayonets than do this kind of questions. There is still hope of winning in a bayonet fight, but I can't solve this kind of question even if you break my head." A short student next to him echoed.
After waiting for a while and seeing that no student dared to try to solve the problem, Zhang Xingjiu continued, "This is the quality of a French artillery officer two hundred years ago. With this level of mathematics, it is more than enough to study in the Department of Mathematics at Aurora University."
"The Beiyang artillery also needs to learn some math knowledge, but what they learn is very superficial and cannot be compared with the French artillery. If you can learn this knowledge, you will be able to shoot more accurately and faster than the Beiyang when you meet them on the battlefield in the future. What does this mean on the battlefield? I believe you know better than me!"
"And mathematics can be used not only in artillery command, but also in military command. Ten years ago, British engineer Lanchester published a series of papers in the British magazine Engineering. He first established a corresponding set of differential equations based on the different characteristics of ancient battles using cold weapons and modern battles using guns and cannons, and based on some simplified assumptions, profoundly revealed the quantitative relationship between the changes in the number of combat units (troops) of both sides during the battle."
"This equation is called the Lanchester equation. It has now attracted the attention of military experts from many countries. They have expanded this equation and it has been widely used in the field of military decision-making. These users have found that this set of equations can indeed improve the efficiency of the use of military forces to a certain extent."
"To give a simple example, a foreign military adviser conducted a simulation exercise based on the Lanchester equation. If a blue team of 1,000 people fights a red team of 1,000 people, the average combat effectiveness of the individual combat units of both sides is the same, and the red team is divided into two halves of 500 people each. Assuming that the blue team first attacks the red team of 500 people with 1,000 people, the blue team will annihilate half of the red team at the cost of losing 134 people, and then the blue team will annihilate the other half of the red team with the remaining 866 people. The blue team loses a total of 293 people in these two battles."
"This process proves the importance of concentrating superior forces in combat. In the past, the commander's experience was the only way to determine how many troops should be concentrated to annihilate the enemy. But now, this can be calculated more accurately through mathematics, which greatly improves the efficiency of the use of forces."
"Physics also plays an important role in the military field. Most basic physics can be applied in the military field. For example, the wireless telegraph I invented can allow commanders to obtain timely information from the front line so that they can make correct decisions in time!"
"So when the commander is fighting the enemy, he has to consider how to intercept the enemy's communications and prevent his own communications from being intercepted by the enemy. He can also learn the location of the enemy's headquarters through the information of the wireless telegram. If he can take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack and decapitate the enemy general, the possibility of winning will be greatly increased."
"Civil engineering, how to build the most scientific defense or offensive fortifications on the battlefield based on factors such as terrain and enemy size? If you want to know how to do it, you have to study civil engineering, such as during World War I."
Zhang Xingjiu used battle examples one after another to illustrate the importance of scientific knowledge in the military field. These words also planted seeds in the hearts of the students, making them realize the importance of knowledge.
He clearly saw that Chen Shukang and his companions were much more focused than others. This seed had taken root in their hearts and would grow stronger in future wars. This might be one of the reasons why they could finally win! Although the conditions they were in were much more difficult than those of the enemy, no matter how difficult it was, they never gave up learning knowledge. This army armed with knowledge and faith became the strongest army on this land.
(End of this chapter)
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