After some verbal arguments, Captain Gomi, who was about to graduate from the Higher Staff Academy, obediently shut up the cadets who participated in the special training, but his face did not show the smugness of a victor. Obviously, these cadets, who have only been in the junior military academy for only two years, are still a bunch of ignorant rookies in the practice of military theory, and the questions they raised have exposed their superficial understanding of the external environment and macro strategy......

After a brief conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Lundstein, Captain Gomi prepared to leave. At this time, Weiss had already conceived his thoughts, and he walked up to Captain Gomi: "Dear Captain, I think the point you just made is very correct. Despising the development of the army is perhaps the biggest mistake made by the Federation in recent years in terms of national defense construction. In fact, through face-to-face meetings with the visiting representatives of the Royal Norman Army Academy, we were surprised to find that their basic combat capabilities were more than one notch higher than ours, partly because of their proficiency in combat skills, and partly because they used more superior weapons and equipment. ”

Captain Gomi had spoken to Weiss a few times before, and he was already impressed, so he listened to him carefully.

"So what?"

"So......," said Weiss unhurriedly, "in retrospect, in the three wargames we had with the Norman cadets, they were very skilled in the use of the Marine Corps, and they were also very rich in tactical means. As you said earlier, when there is not much difference in the strength of the aviation forces of the belligerents, the commanders tend to adopt a relatively prudent strategy in the use of the flying fleet, so that, at least in the early stages of the war, combat operations are mainly carried out on the ground, and the side that is skilled in land warfare will inevitably have an advantage. What I want to say is...... The construction of the army is often a long-term process, and if the 'war of tomorrow' refers to a war that may break out in the short term, then we must consider some effective contingency measures so that we can be as comprehensive as possible, don't you think? ”

Captain Gomi's eyes lit up suddenly: "Well, your suggestion is good, please keep talking!" ”

Wei Si said: "In the short term, if we want to rapidly improve the combat capability of the land troops, the most effective way is to conduct high-intensity rotational battles, simply put, to select an elite unit to act as an imaginary enemy, and let other troops take turns to fight against it, and this kind of combat must be as close to actual combat as possible." In terms of weaponry, we will concentrate our efforts on upgrading and replacing two or three key technical weapons and developing one or two new types of equipment. For example, replacing old anti-aircraft guns with truck-mounted anti-aircraft guns, using more powerful and long-range rapid-fire infantry weapons, developing new armored combat and transport vehicles, and so on. In short, we must invest the limited funds in areas that can maximize the combat effectiveness of the Marine Corps. ”

"Is the focus on improving the mobility of the Marine Corps?" Captain Gomi touched his chin, "I made a similar suggestion when I was a corps staff officer, but there are two very big obstacles to implementation: one is that the cost of refitting is too high, and with a combat corps equipped with 200 armored vehicles and 500 artillery trucks, the estimated cost of the entire army is at least 300 million crowns, which is simply unaffordable at the level of the federal government's investment in the army." The second is that the reliability of the new equipment is too low, and we have tested the samples provided by Kardis, and the failure rate of the engines used in armored cars and gun-carrying trucks is too high to meet the requirements of actual combat. ”

Without waiting for Weiss to reply, Captain Gomi said to himself: "But compared with the terrible consequences of losing the war, and compared with the bitter consequences of the hundreds of thousands of deaths of the younger generation, is it expensive to add hundreds of millions of crowns to military spending?" Not at all! Was it hard to get through the pain of using new equipment? Not at all! By any measure, it's a pretty good deal! ”

Weiss thought for a moment: "There are some problems with Kardex Remstar's engine technology, so my suggestion is to select them through an open auction or an open competition, in which case there should be a better harvest." ”

Captain Gomi shrugged his shoulders and said, "Okay! If we have enlisted the support of the top management and selected and procured a considerable number of armored vehicles and artillery trucks, how do you think we should allocate and use them to achieve the desired effect? ”

Weiss's original idea was to fully exploit the technical potential of the internal combustion engine, to build a modern army that subverts tradition with relatively low cost and suitable for mass production, and to smash the opponent's traditional combat system with resolute and rapid penetrating attacks.

However, do today's federal leaders have such courage and determination?

Thinking of this, Weiss sighed and summarized in concise language: "Theoretically, these technical equipment should be centrally deployed, focused on deployment, and used as an assault force in a campaign. After opening up the situation, use the ability of high-speed maneuver to seize the tactical stronghold of the enemy's deep strength, cut off the enemy's retreat, or complete the encirclement of the enemy's main force, force the opponent to take the lead in using the main fleet, and win the opportunity for our fleet to strike backward. ”

Captain Gomi seemed to empathize with Weiss's helplessness, and he reached out and patted the other party's shoulder: "It's rare to have a confidant in life!" It's just a pity that we don't seem to be born in the right era, and in the right place. ”

Somehow, Weiss was reminded of his brother, whom he had never met. Leaving his family and going to the Norman Empire alone, did he really get a chance to realize his dreams and ambitions? If you get the chance to go to the Norman Empire this time, can you meet him and answer all the doubts in your heart for a long time?

With a thoughtful look, Captain Gomi left silently.

The next day, the graduation assessment of the Delafig Higher Staff Academy continued. After drawing lots, Captain Gomi was the third speaker in the morning. After the mediocre remarks of the previous two people, Captain Gomi gave a refreshing feeling to the audience with a prominent theme, clear logic, and full exposition.

Contrary to the previous night's explanation, Captain Gomi listed the reform and innovation of land warfare as the main response strategy, and clearly put forward the concept of "iron fist tactics" - using armored vehicles and artillery trucks to cover the infantry assault group to forcibly break through the defenders' positions, and then quickly advance into the enemy's depth, seize the enemy's rear transportation hubs and tactical strongholds, disrupt the enemy's deployment, and destroy the enemy's soldiers' psychological defense.

In response to this tactical concept, Captain Gomi proposed a clear plan for the rapid reorganization, that is, the purchase of 400-500 armored combat vehicles and 2,000 artillery trucks, the formation of 4-5 armored assault regiments and 10 mobile artillery regiments, and the deployment of 4-5 hoplite divisions, to form an iron fist force. In order to improve the combat effectiveness of the Iron Fist unit and make it play an active strategic role in peacetime, Captain Gomi incorporated Weiss's strategy of rotational combat training into it, making his entire discourse system fuller and richer.

When Captain Gomi's speech ended, the audience burst into applause, and even the senior faculty and senior experts who sat in the front row, most of the time with stiff faces, gave him a look of approval for his brilliant statement. Of course, the more otherworldly the view, the more it will be questioned and refuted. The first question from the chief expert was that the purchase of tanks and trucks would be enough to build 2-3 capital ships, and 2-3 capital ships could easily blow his so-called Iron Fist troops into slag, how to break this paradox?

Captain Gomi calmly replied that adding 2-3 capital ships would not be enough to change the balance of air power between the powers, and based on the theoretical assumption of a cautious duel, the commanders of both sides preferred to concentrate their flight forces in case their own air forces were weakened by their opponents. At the cost of building 2-3 capital ships less, creating an assault force that can change the situation of ground operations is a good deal, both from a tactical and economic point of view.

After the chief expert, the experts, instructors and students present raised various questions or different points of view, and the number of questions and the quality of the questions significantly exceeded that of any of the graduates who had spoken before. The overwhelming response was enough to show how wonderful Captain Gomi's graduation discussion was. Weiss noted, however, that although the experts' concluding remarks were highly praised, there was no mention of presenting his views to his superiors for decision-making. In contrast, the two trainees who had discussed the economic behavior of war and the rational allocation of flying ships the day before were recommended by the experts in terms of their on-the-spot performance and depth of views.

It is clear that for some practical reasons, Captain Gomi's views and proposals are not operational, or rather...... There is an insurmountable chasm in front of us, and with the opinion of only a few military academy experts, the result will only be a stone in the sea.

Receiving this "unjust" treatment, Captain Gomi not only did not act excessively, but also looked as if he had expected it, and did not even see the slightest expression of frustration. However, this did not mean that he did not regret or be disappointed, and after the morning graduation discussion, he left the auditorium in a hurry, and after that, as if he had evaporated from the world, he did not go to Lieutenant Colonel Lundstein's special training class to help, nor did he appear in the auditorium to listen to the discussions of his classmates. It wasn't until the day of the graduation ceremony that he hurriedly appeared and said goodbye to everyone one by one with a complicated expression.

A few days later, near the end of the special training course, Weiss learned the shocking news from the instructors: Captain Gomi had mysteriously disappeared from the designated unit after graduating from the Senior Staff College. Based on the experience of similar incidents in the past, it is believed that he most likely defected to the Norman Empire, but without direct evidence, the Confederation was unable to lodge a diplomatic protest with the Norman Empire, nor was there a way to demand the Norman Empire's repatriation......