Theodore Roosevelt's eyes lit up when he heard this, but he also regretted a little, "If you have a large caliber, I'm afraid you can't carry it alone, right?" ”

"Well, although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, the medium-caliber mortar used by the enemy is rationed to the company level, and there are no mules and horses at the company level, so I think it should be able to be carried entirely by manpower. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info But there is no way to reduce the weight to this extent (the 82mm mortars of later generations are naturally so light, but the weight of the 82mm mortars estimated by Pershing based on the level of materials and craftsmanship in the United States at that time must be much larger than that of the World War II period). ), then it is only possible to take it apart and carry it. This is not the key, the point is that the Chinese company-level troops can launch artillery bombardment very quickly after the movement is in place, so I think they must have thought of a design that can be quickly assembled and disassembled. Their large-caliber mountain howitzers can pass through rugged mountain roads, and they should have adopted a similar design, which can be disassembled and transported by mules and horses. If Li Hui hears these words, he will definitely sigh again, and sure enough, there are often a few brushes that can become historical celebrities.

President Roosevelt also felt suddenly enlightened after hearing this, but regretted that he could not seize the real thing, "It would be nice if there were samples, but now I can only study it myself according to this idea, and I hope that the results can be achieved as soon as possible." ”

As a military general, Pershing naturally regretted it even more, but fortunately, the imitation objects of small arms basically got complete samples, when he asked people to take out the submachine gun and light machine gun for demonstration, Theodore Roosevelt immediately keenly realized the great value of both, especially the ugly appearance of the submachine gun, which looked like a pipe maker's clumsy product, which made him love it even more, "It's hard to imagine that such a simple weapon can have such terrifying firepower!" But the Chinese may regret it, this gun structure is too simple, it is easy to imitate and mass-produce, compared with rifles and machine guns, this 'hand-held machine gun' is much easier to master, and we are now just too many recruits, too late to train, on the contrary, the Chinese army in the North American battlefield limited by logistics supply can only adopt elite strategy, with this weapon is a pity, haha, the Chinese absolutely did not expect that this weapon to them is not as helpful as to us! ”

"Mr. President, I see that we can also equip the state militias in large quantities, which will help them more than the regular army. In fact, it is a shame to say that the results achieved by the militia in the four states are not much smaller than those of the regular army, and their number is far less than that of the regular army, and the combat efficiency is so high that it can be imagined, and if they have this kind of guerrilla artifact, their performance will definitely be much better than it is now. Pershing had thought of this a long time ago, but before he could say it, he immediately nodded in agreement when he heard the words, and specifically pointed out that this weapon was of great value to the militia guerrillas.

Since the results of guerrilla warfare were difficult to confirm and had not yet been summarized, Theodore Roosevelt did not know about it before, and if it weren't for Pershing's assertion based on some information he had, he didn't know how long it would have been before he learned this incredible fact, so he was immediately shocked, "How can the militia guerrilla warfare have such great results?" ”

"Yes, although there may be cases of false reporting of achievements, even if the water is removed, the combat efficiency is definitely much higher than that of our regular army." Although Pershing was a little ashamed, he still answered truthfully, but he also guessed the reason for this strange phenomenon, "I think this is mainly because the guerrilla warfare only has to face Chinese light infantry, and the best weapon is this small mortar cannon, the enemy's main advantage is that the heavy firepower cannot be played, and most of the guerrillas are sneak attacks and ambushes, and throwing a few grenades first will definitely achieve a little result, while the regular army often has to be beaten by the enemy's fierce artillery fire, and this exchange is ugly than the ......"

"It makes sense, in this way, maybe guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines deserves our further attention?" Theodore Roosevelt nodded, and decided to increase the weight of the militia guerrillas in the mobilization plan, and his initial plan was to increase the total strength of the Union Army to more than 3 million men, and to increase the number of militias in the states to 5 million, or even 10 million, a goal that seems scary in the American tradition of gun ownership, but in fact it is not difficult to achieve.

Pershing was very supportive of this, but he also said that he could not completely pin his hopes on the guerrillas, "For the time being, because the situation on the frontal battlefield is extremely unfavorable, the guerrillas can play a greater role; But Mr. President, you must see that China's population far exceeds that of our country, and the reason why they can't invest too many troops in North America is only because of logistical supply difficulties, not because of lack of manpower, simply put, China just can't afford to deploy too many troops in North America at the same time, but if it drags on for a long time, they can completely bear more casualties than our country, so to drive the Chinese army out of North America, we must not expect them to be unable to stand the attrition of guerrilla warfare and retreat on their own, they can only increase the strength of the regular army, Wipe out all the Chinese troops on the North American battlefield! ”

"Why don't I know what you're talking about? It's just that the problem of the regular army can't be solved urgently, and for the time being, we can only count on the militia guerrillas, which is also a matter of no choice, not to mention that expanding the militia is not just for the sake of fighting guerrilla warfare, and a larger number of militias that are not behind enemy lines can actually provide more and better soldiers to the regular army. Theodore Roosevelt sighed when he heard this, and then quickly regained his strength, and said to Pershing seriously, "I want to set up a militia command, on the one hand, to better command the war behind enemy lines, and on the other hand, to unify and coordinate the relationship between the militias of the various states, and between the militia and the Union Army, including coordinated operations and personnel recruitment, John, are you willing to accept this important task?" I know you'd rather want to go back to the frontal battlefield, but it will take time for new weapons to be copied, produced, and equipped, and I'm afraid it will be half a year before we can launch a full-scale counteroffensive at the earliest. You can help me do this work well, with this merit, I will be qualified to directly serve as the commander of the group army when the time comes......"

Although Pershing is more rigid, Mr. President's attention and love are beyond words, how could he be stupid enough to refuse? However, he did not stop caring about the frontal battlefield because he was going to lead the militia, but took the time to share some of his constructive ideas with Theodore Roosevelt...... (To be continued.) )