John. William. Colonel Smith is forty-three years old this year, as the commander of a cavalry regiment, this fellow from Ohio, who also graduated from West Point, is both a fellow villager and a classmate of Sherman, and it is said that there are several layers of relationship, and he should have a good relationship with Sherman in the army.

But in fact, the relationship between Colonel Smith and Major General Sherman was quite bad, and Smith had repeatedly mocked Sherman, both publicly and privately, saying that he was nothing more than a deranged madman, a mad cow who could only do things, and was not a qualified commander at all.

Many people believe that Colonel Smith is jealous of Sherman, because strictly speaking, Sherman has been in the army for a shorter period of time than Colonel Smith, and he is slightly younger than Smith, but he is promoted much faster than Smith.

Just by comparison, Smith has been in the position of colonel of the cavalry regiment for almost eight years, but in less than two years, Sherman has been promoted from an infantry captain to a major general, becoming a commander in charge of his own army, and he still commands a large army of more than 30,000 people, and the difference in status is already very large.

However, Smith never considered himself jealous, for he felt that Sherman lacked practical leadership skills, and that this instructor-turned-fellow would do nothing but grind his tongue and come up with his shady battle plans.

In fact, Smith was not entirely jealous, he really couldn't get used to Sherman, a general who didn't have much actual experience in leading troops, but relied on his connections to stay in the rear and think about a few occasionally successful battle plans to get a high position, and felt that they were too childish to lead troops, which was the real reason why he hated Sherman.

In other words, the disagreement between Sherman and Smith is simply a contradiction between the academy's airborne faction and the grassroots combat faction, which is also a relatively common contradiction in the US military.

To put it simply, Smith was an officer in the regular army of the United States of America very early, before the outbreak of the Civil War. He was already a cavalry colonel, and earlier, he was just an ordinary cavalryman, and later, with his seniority and military exploits, especially the merits of the war with Mexico, he slowly climbed from an ordinary cavalry second lieutenant to the position of cavalry colonel.

After becoming a cavalry colonel, he has been fighting the Indians, and even if he won many battles, he did not have much credit, and for several years he stayed in the position of cavalry commander. There is not a hint of promotion.

Of course, this has something to do with his character, because Smith likes to stay at the grassroots level, with junior officers, but rarely keeps up with high society, and hates bribery, which is why he has been in the position of regiment commander for so long.

Fortunately, there were not many regular troops in the United States of America before the Civil War, so his weight as a regimental commander was quite sufficient, and his blow to the Indians was real. There is a lot of credit, so if it is normal to say that in a few years, his promotion to major general is estimated to be a certainty.

However. The outbreak of the civil war changed all this.

Since the outbreak of the Civil War, due to the lack of troops, the United States began to recruit soldiers on a large scale, and at the same time as recruiting soldiers. And because of the lack of officers, a large-scale recruitment of officers began, many of whom had never been a soldier before. Just because of a little status, or a little money, you can easily get an officer.

Although Sherman is not an officer who spent money, and after all, he was born in a military academy before, and he also served as a soldier for a short time, so he is said to have some experience as a soldier.

But in Smith's view, Sherman used to be just a deserter, he didn't want to endure hardship before leaving the army, and later Sherman did a lot of work, but he was not very satisfied, and he couldn't get along anymore, so he re-mixed into the barracks, and was an out-and-out lazy and speculator.

As for Sherman's success, it's just because of luck and he can drill camp.

Because Sherman had spent time at West Point in the past, and had been an instructor in the past, he was good at math, and his plan was beautifully written, so when Grant formed the army, he recruited him as an adjutant, which was actually no different from an orderly.

Later, he drew up a battle plan for General Grant to attack Fort Henry and Fort Donalson, and the plan was also successful in actual combat, so General Grant appreciated it.

In addition, I don't know why, Sherman and Grant were very angry, and the relationship between the two was quite good, so through Grant's relationship, Sherman rose to prominence one after another, and soon became a major general of the front army in charge.

On the contrary, General Smith was later transferred to Grant's commanded troops, not Grant's descendant, and General Smith's temper has not changed, he still does his own thing and will not drill the camp, so General Grant still doesn't treat him very well, and he is still in charge of the old department, and his official position is the same as before.

Perhaps because of this, Smith's heart was full of resentment, not only did he feel that Sherman was a talentless villain who commanded the drill camp, but even Grant looked down on him, thinking that the other party was just a lucky guy who would do things blindly.

For example, this attack on Vicksburg, Grant's many plans, Smith didn't look at any of them, and felt that the reason why he was successful was completely a fluke, that is, the attack on Jackson City was slightly brilliant, but it was just that the other party was more stupid, not as clever as Grant.

All in all, Smith is a guy with rich experience in actual combat, but he does his own thing, and he is arrogant, and he doesn't look down on his superiors, but fortunately, he has a high military literacy and is still uncompromising in carrying out orders, so he has not been removed so far.

Of course, Smith's ability to stay in this position and continue to be his head of the regiment is also related to Sherman's maintenance.

Historically, there have been many comments about Sherman, most of them saying that he was cruel and engaged in massacres, but in fact, Sherman was an out-and-out literati character, with a feminine personality and a very tolerant attitude towards his subordinates, even for people like Smith, Sherman can fully tolerate and control.

It is precisely because of Sherman's tolerance and even indulgence of his subordinates that he has won the love of most of his subordinates, and he has won the love of his subordinates, so the morale of this unit is naturally high, and the execution of orders is more resolute, which is also the fundamental reason why Sherman's corps can fight.

In other words, the discipline of the troops led by Sherman was not the best, but because Sherman himself was tolerant of his subordinates, and Sherman was indeed unique in making battle plans, and he was very meticulous in directing operations, so he led the troops independently. Only then will there be more wins and fewer defeats.

Of course, Sherman is not a masochist, and he doesn't like to be scolded at every turn, especially by his own subordinates.

It's just that Sherman pays more attention to the dà game, and Smith is very popular in his cavalry unit, and he has outstanding combat achievements, and he does have a lot of cavalry experience, so Sherman does not have the same knowledge as Smith for the combat effectiveness of the troops. On the contrary, they often secretly courted Smith, hoping to reverse their prejudices.

For example, this tactical reconnaissance mission seems to be dangerous, but in fact, because they are cavalry, and they are only doing forward reconnaissance, the danger is very low, and once they come back, the credit will not be small.

So, send Smith out to investigate. Instead of Sherman giving Smith small shoes to wear, he lifted him, but Smith didn't realize it.

Clearly, Smith had a deep prejudice against Sherman. He thinks that the other party sent him to reconnoitre, just to look down on him, or to frame him, and not want to let himself gain military achievements.

Everybody knows. After the cavalry has carried out a wide range of tactical reconnaissance, the horsepower will be greatly reduced, that is, it will be tired in advance. Then in the next battle, the troops that have been reconnoitred will generally not be sent to the battlefield at the first moment, unless it is really necessary, and this unit will be allowed to fight again.

Then, now this battle is obviously a big battle, and Sherman's attitude is that the main force is all out, and he must take advantage of the opponent's unstable foothold to press it with all his might, which means that there will be a big battle to fight soon.

At this time, let Smith do the reconnaissance mission in advance, consume the horsepower of their army, and when the time comes to really attack, Sherman can justifiably put Smith's troops in the rear, so that Smith's chance of going into battle is slim. And once you don't go into battle, it means that you have no combat merits, and if you don't have military merits, you will naturally not be able to be promoted quickly.

Therefore, Smith thought that Sherman was retaliating and was afraid that he would climb on Sherman's head, so he gave him this reconnaissance mission, which was obviously to punish him.

Despite his dissatisfaction, Smith was an old-school officer who was very obedient to orders, and he also thought that it seemed unreliable for anyone but his own team to go to investigate, so he pinched his nose and took the order to investigate.

However, Smith also had an extra mind, that is, when he led his troops to investigate, he deliberately slowed down the horse's speed, so that he could save horsepower and not squeeze the horse's strength out as soon as he came up.

It is said that horses are not as endurable as humans, and that the strategic marching speed of cavalry is not as fast as infantry, but in fact, that is only a statement in extreme situations.

In essence, although the endurance of the horses is not as good as that of people, but the speed is there, if you do not pursue the limit speed, that is, do not let the infantry force the march, then the speed of the cavalry march must exceed that of the infantry, and the key here is a matter of limit.

For example, if you let a horse walk at a constant speed, it is definitely not as fast as a horse walking at a constant speed, then at a certain distance, the speed of the horse must be much faster than that of a person.

Therefore, although Smith slowed down the speed of his horses and allowed people to save horsepower, because the horses under these cavalry were all excellent war horses, their speed was actually not slow, and they soon approached the camp of the Dream Division.

Although Smith was proud, he was not a fool, and although he looked down on the Chinese in his heart, he still had basic military qualities, so he gave a death order very early on, allowing the troops to stop at most two thousand yards from the opposite camp.

Two thousand yards, or about 1.8 kilometers, was the reason why the troops were stagnant at such a distance was because Smith was afraid of the opposing ships.

In fact, when he was three thousand yards away, Smith spotted the shadows of the fleets on the Mississippi River, and that was why he was so careful, knowing that the range of the ship's guns could exceed two thousand yards.

Although Smith believed that once it exceeded two thousand yards, the accuracy would be miserable, but having enough ships meant that there were enough guns, and long-range shooting was about the same as trying to get lucky, and if you accidentally ate a cannonball, it would be more than worth the loss.

Anyway, they are just here to investigate, and there is no need to touch the other party's nerves, so at a distance of two thousand yards, the other party probably won't open fire.

In addition, at a distance of two thousand yards, the naked eye can clearly see the situation in the camp opposite, and this distance is far enough to give yourself enough time to react, even if the other party reacts and wants to come out to deal with you, you will have enough time to escape.

So. Smith had just given the order to reconnoiter two thousand yards away, and he was swaggering to reconnoiter from this position, making it clear that you can't help me.

The opponent's artillery can't hit him, and he can run away at any time for reconnaissance at this distance, so Smith slowly stopped his horse and slowly held the telescope to look ahead.

After looking at the situation in the camp opposite, Smith pursed his lips disdainfully and said to the adjutant next to him, "Hehe, do you see it?" Second Lieutenant Calvin, I'll just say that the Chinese on the other side are nothing remarkable, you see, the barracks are in such a mess, there is not even a basic defensive wall, just two fences are pulled outside, it is really careless. ”

By fence, Smith refers to the two barbed wires, both of which are actually rings of barbed wire that can be quickly arranged.

These rings of barbed wire. In fact, it is the so-called barbed wire cage, which is essentially an iron wire, but it is usually rolled into a circle, when arranging the barbed wire. It will extend out in a circular shape on the ground, and then fixed by a matching steel rod to become a barbed wire cage.

Although it is called barbed wire, it is actually steel wire mesh made in modern society. It's still the kind of polymeric wire like steel wire rope, and a blade is added, so these barbed wires are military blade barbed wire.

This type of barbed wire is characterized by its rapid unfolding and storage. With good portability, and strong toughness, sufficient protection, the general scissors are light and cut continuously, can effectively block people and animals, is a kind of barbed wire that is quite common in modern society.

However, before I have personally touched and tasted the taste of this barbed wire barbed net, the front and back two barbed wire roller cages look quite thin on the surface, especially only one meter high, and it feels less intimidating than wooden fences or wooden fences.

In the eyes of ordinary people, such a low fence can be passed in one or two steps, even if those thorns look a little troublesome, when the time comes, it will be enough to find a pad of clothes or something, and it will not be a deterrent at all.

Especially in the face of a large army attack, thousands of people go together, this kind of wire fence can be blocked for a minute or two at most, and it is all a gap, not a defensive wall, and has no tactical value.

However, they did not know that these barbed wire fences were not used as defensive walls for the Chinese, but only played the role of blocking the attacking troops in front, not to mention that these barbed wire fences are not easy to solve, even if they can be solved, even if they can be passed in only a minute or two, but in this time, the attacking troops will inevitably stop the offensive speed, and the machine gun fire in the rear can sweep over, harvesting human lives piece by piece like cutting leeks.

In other words, this kind of barbed wire is used to cooperate with rapid-fire weapons such as machine guns, and without rapid-fire weapons, the effect of this barbed wire will indeed be greatly reduced.

It's a pity that Smith and others are all people in the sixties of the nineteenth century, old-fashioned in thinking, and they have never seen machine guns before, and they are still stuck in the original era of queuing to be shot, so they don't have this kind of insight, and they can't see the horror of this kind of barbed wire, which is very normal.

"Colonel." The adjutant named Calvin did not answer the question, but said something else, "You see, their clothes are a little strange, colorful, completely different from ours, and if you don't look closely, you almost admit that you are mistaken." ”

"Oh?" Hearing Calvin say this, Smith raised his monoculars again, and sure enough, he found that the troops on the opposite side were all wearing a kind of colorful clothes and a kind of semicircular helmets that were also colorful.

Don't say it, let's not talk about whether it looks good or not, but it's true that as Calvin said, if you don't look carefully at this distance, you will really admit that it is just a stone or something, not a person.

That, of course, is where camouflage uniforms come in.

The officers and men of the Dream Division not only have advanced weapons, but also have distinctive combat uniforms, and their clothing is regular digital camouflage uniforms, and they are copycat versions of the US Army ACU camouflage uniforms, that is, the US Army's digital camouflage general combat uniforms.

Although it is a copycat version, in fact, no matter in terms of the material or performance of the clothes, it is no different from the ACU of the United States Army, after all, this kind of clothing is expensive in a design, once the product appears, it is easy to copy.

In fact, the Chinese factories that make these copycat ACU camouflage uniforms used to really customize this kind of clothing for the US Army, which used to be exported, but unfortunately the United States later changed its policy, and such combat clothing had to be produced domestically, so the way was cut off, but the equipment was still available.

Afterward. Zhang Xinda re-contacted the factory and directly produced ACU again, which was nothing more than some small details that were changed, and there was no pressure on the garment factory at all, and he was even happy, because there were orders again, and a large number of operations could be started.

In other words, the mass of this kind of copycat ACU camouflage uniform is no different from that of the US Army's ACU, so in terms of camouflage performance. It's much better than the ordinary four-color camouflage uniform worn by the Praetorian Guard.

As for why modern China's Type 07 camouflage uniforms are not used, the reason is very simple, that is, the Type 07 camouflage uniforms are worse than ACU in camouflage effect, and the price is ...... Li Yongji had to complain that the Type 07 camouflage uniform was actually more expensive than the ACU camouflage combat uniform!

Although there are many other reasons for this, such as this batch of ACU camouflage uniforms is actually a tax evasion version, that is, Zhang Xinda directly sent the goods to Li Yongji directly in the factory production area, during which the circulation links were reduced. There is also a lot less tax, but this is not a reason why ACU is so much more expensive than 07-style camouflage uniforms, after all, even if these factors are added. In fact, it is not much expensive, because the clothing itself is a small profit and quick turnover.

In fact, the words to make this question clear are very simple, that is, Type 07 is a customized clothing of the Red Chinese Army, and it cannot be used indiscriminately by the people. And why is the purchase price of military 07-style camouflage uniforms in the army so much more expensive than the ex-factory price of ACUs, which are of higher quality and more expensive material costs...... Those things about the Chinese army. Everybody gets the idea.

So, since there are copycat versions of ACUs with better quality, cheaper prices, and fewer problems, why bother to buy those 07-style camouflage uniforms with many problems.

Although the Dream Division is wearing a copycat version of the ACU camouflage uniform, the helmet is not the PASGT Kevlar helmet of the US military, but the aramid helmet of the red Chinese army.

China's aramid helmet is stronger than the U.S. military's Kevlar helmet in terms of bulletproof ability, but the price is cheaper, although it is slightly inferior to the U.S. helmet in terms of humanity and workmanship, but it is generally quite suitable for Li Yongji's troops, after all, in the sixties of the nineteenth century, Li Yongji's soldiers did not need to install so many digital devices on the helmet.

This is actually a cost-effective problem, because the US military actually has better helmets, such as MICH2000 helmets, which are much stronger than the aramid helmets of the Chinese army, but the price is too expensive, so aramid helmets have become the first choice, this is because of the cost-effective factor.

Similarly, although an aramid helmet is used, the helmet cover is made of the same fabric as the ACU, so that the helmet and the costume can be harmonious as a whole without being abrupt.

Wearing such clothes, the camouflage of Chinese soldiers is greatly enhanced, especially at a distance of 1.8 kilometers, it is difficult to spot it lightly when viewed with a monocular with very low definition.

In fact, if it weren't for the constant movement of the Chinese soldiers around the camp, Calvin wouldn't have been so easy to notice.

After looking carefully, Smith nodded: "Strange Chinese, always engage in these weird things, not to mention the camp, even the clothes are so strange, it is really difficult to find without looking carefully."

I'll just say, how come there are so few people in such a big camp, it turns out that they are wearing such strange clothes, they are wearing such a thing, they are simply a bunch of ugly marmots, and they have no sense of honor at all. ”

"But the Colonel." Calvin said, "Although those Chinese clothes are ugly, they are really difficult to notice, right?" If they weren't running around, it would be hard for us to spot them with our binoculars, and if we were to shoot, it would be really hard to hit. ”

"No, no, no, you're wrong, Calvin." Smith shook his head disdainfully, "I admit that those Chinese have some weird gadgets, but that only makes it impossible for us to spot them from a distance, and once we get close enough distance, it is not difficult to find them at all."

You know, we're looking outside the 2,000 yards range, so it's not easy to spot, but once we get close to 400 yards, or even 200 yards, the clothes don't work, so it's naïve to expect them to be out of our sight and out of sight with such a suit. ”

"But Colonel, if it's dark, it's hard to spot even up close, right?" Calvin said again, "In case they ......"

"Shut up, Calvin!" Smith said with an unkind face, "This is a group of cowards, you know, cowards!"

Only cowards, only those who are weak, need to disguise themselves, for fear of being discovered by others, when do you see lions and tigers need to be disguised?

In short, if the Chinese wear such clothes, it shows that they themselves have no confidence and no backbone, but they are just an army composed of a group of cowards, what is there to fear! ”

Seeing Smith like this, Calvin opened his mouth, and finally nodded quickly: "Yes, the general is right!" ”

"Hmm." Colonel Smith, who felt that he had educated the young ensign, nodded, picked up the monocular again, and aimed it at the Chinese barracks.

"Huh?" At this moment, Colonel Smith, who was observing with a telescope, actually looked surprised, "What is that?" It seems to be made of steel...... Steam car? But how come there is no chimney? Oh God, who can sue me what the hell is going on! (To be continued......)