novelhk Chapter 473
Chapter 473
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September 192, in Audi, on the banks of the Danube.
A cavalry unit is crossing the river.
A young officer in a major general’s uniform stands on a rock by the river, looking into the distance.
“The terrain around the Danube is really open. It feels so good to gallop here!”
As a cavalry general, Dietrich’s Sixth Army is the last unit in Hans’ army to be equipped with a cavalry division.
“It is open, but it would be too boring if we just train by ourselves. It would be great if we could invite friendly forces to come over for training!”
Commander of the Cavalry Division, Colonel Klaust, complained. He put all his energy into the training of the cavalry and created a cavalry unit that can be regarded as one of the best in Europe and even the world!
However, there are not many cavalry units in Hans. Most of the cavalry units of each army group are used as reconnaissance and communication units, not as combat units.
Therefore, the largest organization of the cavalry of each army group is the cavalry battalion, and there is no organization at the regimental level or above.
Kleist’s First Cavalry Division is the only cavalry division. After the reorganization of the Second Cavalry Division the year before last, they became the only one!
Generally speaking, being the only one should attract everyone’s attention and their status will be greatly improved.
However, the status of Hans’ cavalry is very embarrassing!
Because Hans’s army attaches great importance to the armored forces, the most famous and the most popular in the entire army are the armored divisions in the major army groups.
Compared with the armored forces that can fight, resist, run, drag and pull, the cavalry units are very embarrassing.
Compared with their speed, they They can’t compare with the No. 1 tank, they can’t compare with anyone in terms of endurance, they are still at a disadvantage in terms of firepower, and they are still at a disadvantage in terms of endurance!
So, after a long round of comparison, the cavalry was in an embarrassing situation of complete defeat in almost all data.
In this case, they were completely crushed by the armored forces, so it was impossible to get more attention for the cavalry!
Kleist was so depressed!
He didn’t think that his cavalry was weaker than the armored forces at all. Of course, in terms of pure data comparison, the cavalry was indeed not as good as the tank, but the cavalry was more mobile and flexible!
If the tank left the logistics support system, it would become scrap metal. If it relied entirely on tanks, it would suffer a great loss in the future!
Although Dietrich was also full of confidence in the cavalry under his command, he knew very well that the era of cavalry was over, and this era belonged to the armored forces!
Therefore, after seeing the unyielding expression on Kleist’s face, Dietrich knew that if he didn’t let this guy experience what a steel torrent was, perhaps he would never be convinced
“One month later, a large-scale military exercise will be held in Saxony. This time, the military exercise will not compete in combat, but in attack speed. It will compete in the shortest time it takes for troops to reach the combat area during the march. Whoever is faster and spends less time will win!”
When Dietrich just opened his mouth, Kleist’s eyes lit up. After listening to Dietrich’s words, Kleist immediately said excitedly:”Commander, can we participate in this exercise?”
Dietrich smiled and said,”Of course, in fact, Meiyin has appointed your troops to participate in this exercise, and your troops are the only designated team in an exercise!”
“Really? That’s great, I will definitely not let the general down!”
Kleist was very excited. It was a great honor for him to be personally named by General Mainz.
If he and his troops could shine in this military exercise, it would definitely leave a deep impression on General Mainz, and make him remember him as a unique cavalry general!
……
“Competing with a group of cavalry? Who are you looking down on?”
In the First Army, Guderian was full of disdain after hearing the news.
In terms of speed, tanks have a natural advantage over cavalry.
Tanks are machines that can run by burning oil, while war horses are not machines but animals, with flesh and blood. They get tired and hungry, and will run out of energy after running for a while, and then they can only rest.
It is too difficult to expect cavalry to compete with armored units. On the other hand, for armored units, competing with cavalry is really not challenging!
“That can’t be said. The exercise area this time is the mountainous area in the southern region. With this kind of terrain, we certainly can’t move fast. If we block a tank in front, all the tanks behind may be blocked. The cavalry is more flexible than us. They can go through some narrow paths, but we can’t!”
Colonel Reinhardt did not despise his opponents. He felt that armored forces usually have advantages over cavalry, but in some cases, they may be at a disadvantage.
This exercise is different from previous exercises. This is a long-distance raid exercise.
The battlefield of this exercise is hundreds of kilometers away, so they must rush to the battlefield in the shortest moment and at the fastest speed!
And this is obviously prepared for future operations!
“Well, what you said makes some sense. The Supreme Command must have started to conduct actual combat drills. We have almost finished the offensive and defensive drills on the battlefield, so now it is time for a real actual combat drill!”
Guderian’s position was higher, so he got more intelligence.
This military exercise was a thousand miles from Lower Saxony to the lower reaches of the Danube in the east of Odili!
The straight-line distance of this section of the journey exceeded 500 kilometers, and it had to cross the valleys of the Alps. The road was not only tortuous, but also dangerous. There were no supply points of their own along the entire journey, and the combat troops needed to prepare all the necessary supplies by themselves.
Including fuel, weapons and ammunition, food and medicine, as well as various repair and maintenance tools.
Guderian knew very well that this exercise was to test the failure rate and combat effectiveness of tank troops in long-distance raids. The reason why they chose mountainous terrain for training instead of flat plains is mainly because the area where they will fight in the future is such a mountainous area!
The Ardennes Forest is a salient, and the terrain here is very complex, including forests, hills, mountains and swamps!
And compared to training in Hans’ own territory, once the war starts, if they lead the army to break into the Ardennes Forest, they will be isolated and helpless.
They have to solve all the problems they encounter along the way by themselves, including not only marching problems, but also combat and defense, as well as offensive problems after arriving at the destination.
Actual combat is much more complicated than exercises, because you will never You never know what will happen in the next second!
Therefore, before the actual combat, we should conduct such a long-distance raid in a way that is closest to actual combat, detect various problems in the army, and then find out the most suitable attack frequency and speed for the armored forces based on the speed comparison with the traditional cavalry. This is crucial for their future operations!
It is for this reason that Mainz specially called Kleist’s First Cavalry Division to serve as a sparring partner for Guderian.
The purpose of this exercise is not to see who can win, but to expose and detect various problems and hidden dangers of the armored forces!
If these problems are exposed on the training ground, the most At most, it would just be the loss of some equipment and some time.
However, if this kind of problem occurs on the battlefield, it may ruin an army, a battle or even a war!
War, for any country, is the biggest and craziest gamble!
No one can afford to lose!
After careful consideration, Guderian pulled out Reinhardt’s First Armored Division and asked him to represent the armored forces to participate in this exercise!
And this time, the bigwigs of the military, including Mainz himself, will be present in person!