Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 74: Concept of Mechanized Forces
Facing Hellingen's instructions, Ryan first took a breath, and waited until his mind became a little clearer before speaking again.

"Mechanized troops, or mechanized infantry, are a type of military unit that is upgraded based on a country's industrial strength after the troops have become accustomed to the use of motorized troops."

"This is different from the motorized forces, which transport troops from the rear to a location some distance from the front line and then require the infantry to move to the front line on foot."

"The vehicles used by mechanized forces are often tracked vehicles that can easily navigate various ground environments regardless of the complexity of the terrain."

"Of course, wheeled vehicles are also fine, but generally speaking, mechanized units tend to use vehicles that have a certain level of armor and can independently conduct combat operations."

"Combat...vehicle?"

Now both Hellingen and Schubert had to be extremely vigilant.

They understood what Ryan meant by the term "tracked vehicle", but this was the first time they had encountered the term "combat vehicle".

Schubert asked before Hellingen could, "Captain, you mean a tracked vehicle, a tractor?"

The nobles of the empire did not have fiefdoms in the real sense, but as a noble, Schubert still owned many farms.

In non-war times, he often drove a tractor to work on the farm, so he was familiar with the properties of tracked vehicles.

The same is true of Heringen.

He and Schubert exchanged a glance, then looked at Ryan.

"Yes, General."

Ryan said: "Tracked vehicles have excellent terrain adaptability. No matter how complex the road surface is, they can pass through it easily."

"So, if we can install armor plates of a certain thickness on a tracked vehicle and install some fixed weapons in the vehicle compartment wrapped in armor plates, then this vehicle can perform combat missions while moving."

"This is the biggest problem with motorized troops: they cannot carry out combat missions while advancing."

"For mechanized troops, their greatest advantage, or rather, the biggest change, is their ability to directly enter the battlefield and participate in combat after a long journey."

"I call these vehicles that can be directly deployed to the battlefield in any situation combat vehicles, combat vehicles, to distinguish them from transport vehicles."

"Interesting." Schubert began to vaguely realize what Ryan was referring to. He scratched the stubble on his chin, and his eyes, sunken in his eye sockets, kept turning around, obviously thinking about something.

Suddenly, just as Hellingen was about to continue asking about the mechanized troops, Schubert looked up at Ryan and said, "Captain Flig, are there any specific requirements for the combat vehicles used by this mechanized unit you mentioned?"

Schubert didn't dare say too much because he was worried that Ryan might not have thought about this aspect either.

After all, the paper Ryan wrote for himself was enough for him to slap each of the staff officers in the imperial capital in the face, and then run to the arsenal to beat up those guys who still wanted to use horse-drawn carts, ox-drawn carts and donkey-drawn carts to transport supplies.

So he used a very euphemistic way of saying it: "I mean, regarding the vehicle's speed, its protection capabilities, and its firepower..."

Hellingen was also very surprised by this, because he always felt that there was a very obvious intention in what Schubert said.

Then the two heard Ryan's explanation. "There are no specific requirements for the vehicle's speed, protection, or firepower."

"Combat vehicles also have different categories and definitions. For example, combat vehicles that need to carry soldiers across the front line often do not need too heavy armor. They only need to have a large enough compartment to accommodate soldiers, tracks that can cross trenches to ensure the ability to advance on the front line, and a fixed machine gun to protect the vehicle from infantry approaching."

"Wait!" This made Hellingen stunned: "You want to use this thing to break through the trench?"

"For armored personnel carriers, it is."

Ryan nodded. "Of course, when the firepower on the front line is more intense, combat vehicles with more powerful firepower are often needed to clear the front line."

"This type of vehicle performing clearing operations often has to face fixed field artillery, a large number of machine guns, and mines."

"Therefore, he will need thicker armor, a more powerful running gear, and a small to medium-caliber gun with sufficient firepower."

"what?"

Now it was Schubert's turn to scream.

"You want to load the artillery onto the vehicle?"

He suddenly remembered what Ryan had said to him not long ago, about using trucks to tow the artillery forward: "No, didn't you say before..."

Ryan immediately retorted, "General, what I was talking about was a towed artillery piece pulled by a truck. That type of artillery cannot be used immediately in combat, so it cannot be used as a combat vehicle."

"Then what is this thing you are talking about now?" Schubert felt a little overwhelmed. As the commander of the artillery regiment, he always felt that the so-called combat vehicles equipped with small and medium caliber artillery that Ryan mentioned would snatch away the 105 and 77 mm caliber field guns under his command!

"A kind of artillery that can move on its own," Ryan said slowly.

"If the general doesn't mind, I'd like to call it a self-propelled artillery piece."

"Compared to the artillery positions built more than ten kilometers away from the battlefield in the past, self-propelled artillery has the characteristics of being flexible and maneuverable on the front line and can be used on the move."

He picked up a truck model, placed his pen on the truck body as a gun barrel, and slowly pushed it across the table.

"Facing the enemy's artillery on the front line, we can use this type of vehicle to carry out flexible strikes. We can also gather a large number of self-propelled artillery and randomly select a battlefield on the front line to break through the enemy's defenses with a swift attack."

"At the same time, our armored personnel carriers will quickly follow up. They will use the results brought by the self-propelled artillery to rush into the destroyed positions amidst the enemy's slight resistance, safely deliver our infantry to the enemy's rear, and complete the breakthrough of the front line."

Ryan said as he placed several toy motorcycles and cars on the back of the truck and placed some books on both sides to serve as trenches.

Finally, he added another sentence.

"This tactic is sufficient to deal with all the fronts the Empire currently faces. The only problem is that we need time to build this force."

(End of this chapter)