The Rise of the Empire

Chapter 469: Cost sharing



This kind of blasting equipment can also be used to clear all kinds of wooden stakes, barbed wire and other obstacles. With the help of efficient blasting equipment, the last obstacle on the attack surface is broken, and the rumble chariot continues to move forward and breaks when it approaches the position. The battle group encountered the fiercest resistance.

Targets symbolizing the enemy rose from the trenches. At a distance of 80 to 120 meters, commandos carrying submachine guns quickly rushed forward, tilting a deadly bullet rain at close range! Accompanied by the roar of the submachine gun and dozens of fire tongues swept back and forth, more than 20 targets were shot to pieces in an instant. Several vigorous figures rushed forward and threw round defensive grenades in the trenches. The entire trench is completely cleaned up!

"Well, today's exercise is good, I will give 8 points!" Finally the prince said with satisfaction. "Collate the graphic materials of this exercise and make 4 copies. They will be sent to me in three days."

"One is on file and one is for research. What about the other two? One is given to the German General Staff and the other is given to the Kaiser?" Prince Leopold asked on the way back.

"There is no need to give it to the General Staff of Germany. Schrieffen will retire soon. Moreover, this old-fashioned person may not be interested in new equipment. It is just a waste to give him one. The most talkative group on the issue of new equipment. And more importantly, he is very keen and interested in these things! He has power and interest, and he is our goal. And giving things to him is equivalent to Given to the Kaiser, let’s give the Kaiser a simplified copy, and let Little Mochi report to the Kaiser by himself."

"As for the other one, I intend to give the Austrian emperor, if there is a war with Russia in the future, we and Austria will have a cooperative relationship. To enhance the strength of our allies is to enhance our strength." The prince said.

"Are they the Austrians? Will they be equipped with these scary weapons that are well made, powerful but very difficult to maintain and control, and expensive?" Prince Leopold's words revealed doubts about the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He has said more than once that since the Kingdom of Austria became the Austro-Hungarian dual empire, he can no longer survive a war!

"Maybe not now, but they will equip them sooner or later. The Emperor Fritz actually understood very well that simply sharing benefits and compromises cannot really safeguard a country. Only a sharp sword in hand can achieve national interests. In fact, the old emperor still Very supportive of our point of view, of the entire population of 40 million in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, only about a quarter of the Germans are usable. On the day before the wedding of His Royal Highness and I, the Austrian Emperor agreed to assist them. The wartime command of the established rapid division is in our hands, and we are willing to cooperate with us at a deeper level."

"What's more, both our tank system and tactical system are far from complete. We need a long time to improve it, and we need more funds to build it, so we have to strive for more. I agree and support that the cost of a Vespa-style assault gun is as high as 100,000 marks. If we only equip it, the cost is obviously too high.” The prince explained.

100,000 marks is approximately equal to 5,000 pounds. This price is equivalent to the price of a mkiv tank in World War I, but it weighs 28 tons, or the currency value in 1915, and the prince weighs 18 tons, the currency value in 1900. The price is actually very high. According to the prince’s plan, a company has 14 vehicles, a company has 2 vehicles, each platoon has 4 vehicles, a tank battalion of 45 vehicles, three subordinate companies and a battalion of 3 companies, only 23 tanks. Ten thousand pounds! Coupled with several times the number of supply vehicles, emergency repair vehicles, and nearly 1,000 personnel, the price is terribly high. The prince estimated it. Not to mention the personnel's salary and training costs, just complete all kinds of vehicles and equipment. At least £500,000!

Among them, 300,000 pounds was used to buy tanks and various spare parts, and another 200,000 pounds was used to buy emergency repair trailers, and most of the other money was used to buy at least 100 trucks with a load of 1.5 to 3 tons. Including, but not limited to, ammunition supply vehicles, oil tankers, and reconnaissance vehicles. Another part of the funds may be used to equip some armored vehicles for reconnaissance and cover. According to the prince, the establishment of such an armored battalion requires at least the profit of one dreadnought ship to be killed!

This price is obviously terrible. If you want to get an armored division before World War I, nothing else, money is a problem, and there are only two ways to reduce the pressure on funds. One is to have a lot of buyers and share it. Cost, the other is that someone is willing to pay for the Vespa assault gun. After all, only Bavaria can produce it. If Prussia is willing to buy it, Bavaria might still make a small profit...

"You think too much, let's not say whether the Prussian military can value this weapon. Even if it is important, they may bid in their own country in the future. The Prussian army has an overwhelming advantage within Germany, and they are unlikely to choose us. As a supplier of an important weapon. Unless we are willing to share technology and profits." Prince Leopold said. "Do you want to?"

"If Prussia really intends to equip a large number of tanks, I would rather ~www.novelhall.com~ because we are the royal family, we won the war to have today's status and privileges, and if we lose, everything is gone! "The prince said without hesitation. Money is a good thing, but it has to be spent!

"What I am worried about now is that if France, Russia, Britain, etc. learn that we are developing this new type of land warfare weapon, they will compete to follow suit. With the technical level of the French and the British, it is not difficult to study similar weapons. Great. Maybe in the next war, it is no longer the flesh and blood and artillery of the soldiers that really determine the victory or defeat.” Prince Leopold said with some worry.

"So we need to keep secrets strictly. But what is certain is that once our new tanks are on the battlefield, then Britain and France will definitely develop similar products in the shortest possible time, and collisions between armors are inevitable. Germany must be prepared."

The tank was originally invented by the British, and the world's first relatively modern ft-17 Renault tank was invented by the French. Moreover, the most fierce tank in World War I, the Saint-Mongolian-type tank was also French. This tank was equipped with a 75mm rapid-fire gun. 36l, not the truncated version that Vespa now uses... Therefore, even if the prince is a traverser and has made a tank earlier, he still cannot prevent Britain and France from making similar things.

Thanks for the support of the book friends No. 1 Guards Tank Brigade, the Sea Boundary ~~~, and the book friends Nangong West, toprock, Xinmengzai, Skirmishers, and Zi Ma for their support~~~! Seeking subscription~~~!