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Originally, a year and a half ago, Yang Jian was still in the artillery workshop and asked Nan Huairen to help cast a few more marine guns, but until June last year, the hundreds of artillery pieces in the artillery division had not been fully equipped. But in June last year, the war horse traveled from Yunnan to Fujian, and the No. 1 special steel was also developed in the starting point town, and the performance of the improved new artillery was greatly improved again, especially the weight was reduced a lot. In this way, although these artillery pieces in his hands are also very good, compared with the new artillery made of special steel, Yang Jian can't look at it again.

Fortunately, the technology of casting cannons in the artillery workshop is quite proficient, and the iron fan casting cannons are simply fast, and the number of more than 300 guns per month in the two places is stable under the condition that the iron material is sufficient. Now there was no need to cast artillery for naval warships, so it took only two months to update the 600 guns of various types in the artillery division, and all the marine guns that had been built less than a year ago were replenished to small warships. You must know that in addition to the number of guns on the third-class battleships, the number of guns on the Mawei Navy is fully allocated, and the number of other fourth-class and fifth-class warships is a little short, which adds up to 600 guns. Now in the Mawei Army, whether it is the Navy or the Marine Army, the eighteen-pounder cannon is called the generalissimo cannon, the twelve-pounder cannon is called the generalissimo cannon, and the eight-pounder and below are all called the general's cannon, with a big character missing.

"Subordinates, see the prince! Artillery Division Yang Jian reports! After Yang Jian received the order, he quickly arrived in front of Geng Jingzhong. Not all of the artillery divisions were on Pingtan Island, and half of the 4,000 men stayed on Nanri Island. This is separate for each battalion training. Sometimes the two battalions train together. But that's not the case. After all, artillery is not the same as other arms. Even in later generations, the artillery unit was left alone, of course, it refers to the heavy artillery unit, but now this artillery division is not considered a heavy artillery unit?

"Lord Wang, the last general transferred the first battalion of the first brigade of the artillery division and the fourth battalion of the second brigade, and brought a total of sixty general guns and one hundred general guns. Please instruct" Yang Jian reported with a straight waist, now in terms of combat effectiveness, his artillery division can be said to be one of the best in the Marine Army, and the point is that he has these cannons.

"Okay, you let the artillerymen show me individually first! Do you see the barren mountain with the red rope on the other side? The target is the barren mountain opposite! Geng Jingzhong pointed to the bare mountain in the distance and said, there is a place on the central slope that is tied with a red cloth belt, which is more conspicuous. There is a large area here, and it should be said that the entire Pingtan Island is now a military area, and it is all a training ground. However, I don't have to worry about having idle people staying, so I don't have to worry about accidental injury.

Yang Jian received the order. Immediately turned around and asked the flag commander: "Order, the two battalions will immediately turn from the marching room to the combat state!" ”

The flag commander immediately waved the command flag in accordance with the instructions, and the commanders of the two battalions of the artillery battalion not far away immediately took action. Now these artillery pieces in the army are all artillery cast from No. 1 special steel, and the largest caliber land cannon, that is, the eighteen-pounder gun, is only 1,200 catties, which is more than half of the original weight. The two war horses dragged and marched, and the speed was not slow, while the general cannons were lighter, and the two horses could pull and gallop. Now the artillery trucks of these land guns have been modified, and the wheels have been increased and widened under the steel frame of the all-steel structure, which can also adapt to complex terrain and roads. Although it is said to be an island, the training ground is flat, and the gun wagons are moving without any problems, which is very safe.

The artillery battalion immediately came to the chosen location, and then one by one the soldiers dragged the tools off the horses, and then pulled the horses behind. Two more fighters quickly lowered the artillery mount and smashed it to the ground as a support point. Two other fighters took the ammunition packs and divided them, one quickly pushing the shells from the front of the gun into the chamber, and the other loading the propellant into the powder pool. Several gunners were busy with different jobs, in an orderly manner. All the work was carried out almost simultaneously. In only five minutes or so, the artillery battalion stopped and set up the artillery, all that remained was to adjust the angle, load the shells, and wait for instructions on the next step.

"Ready!"

"Can be fired!"

As soon as the artillery general was ready, the commanders of the two battalions glanced at each other, then nodded at the same time and ordered: "Open the artillery!" ”

"Tom tom!"

"Tom tom!"

"Tom tom!"

A few rounds of artillery rang out, and all 160 shells were fired towards the hill. The gunners of the artillery battalion have been studying for a year, and they are desperately training because they don't want to lose the reputation of the artillery division, and they want to prove that they are professional and will be stronger than the two artillery battalions in the first and second divisions of the Marine Corps, so the current hit rate is quite high. It can be seen that the area of the red cloth belt is now rising with a puff of gunsmoke. By the time the smoke cleared, it was obvious that the small area had become miserable.

"Okay, it seems that you have put a lot of effort into it in the past six months!" Geng Jingzhong said with satisfaction.

When Yang Jian heard this, he immediately smiled, he was tired and tired, in order to hear such a compliment. "Thank you, the brothers are also holding their breath, wanting to prove their skills to the prince!"

"Okay, there will be a chance in the future!" Geng Jingzhong smiled and said. "Now let's start to cooperate with Division Commander Jiang's subordinates to practice, I want to see how powerful the infantry artillery is in coordinated combat! I'll take a look at it as you agreed before! ”

"Yes!" Jiang Dejun and Yang Jian replied in unison. After speaking, the two looked at each other, smiled slightly, and then turned away at the same time, and began to give orders to each other. The following cooperation drills do not need the two of them to worry about, there is a special person in charge, and the two of them only need to give the start order. Soon, the artillery battalion returned to formation.

"Di, Di, Di!" Suddenly, a sharp sound of suona sounded in the army, and several special notes entered the ears of every soldier.

Not far in front of the military formation, about three hundred meters away, about a thousand or hundreds of models were erected at once. It's rough, but it's a bit like a horse. And there's a straw man on it. Wearing shabby clothes, they are neatly arranged, and it is really a little scary. This is a simulation of cavalry charging into formation, but it is different from the 1st Division's side, which is a real gun, the shells are not fake, and the artillery will fire as usual. Therefore, it is impossible to use real horses for this exercise. Besides, who willing!

"Enemy attack!" This is the meaning of the notes that come out of the suona. Needless to say, the artillery fighters immediately followed the procedure just now, divided labor and cooperated, and operated at the same time. Geng Jingzhong stared at them not far away, silently estimating the time. As warfare became more and more professional, time became a very critical element. In ancient times, a battle often lasted months or even years. But, now, a battle. It will be over in two or three days at most. And the crucial battle may not take two hours.

"Ready!"

"Ready!"

"Ready!"

Ammunition is loaded. The gunners reported loudly one by one.

"Can be fired!"

"Good!"

Geng Jingzhong nodded with satisfaction again. Geng Jingzhong looked at the pocket watch in his hand, and it did take only thirty seconds, five seconds faster than just now. For this time, Geng Jingzhong can say that he is quite satisfied. If the enemy's cavalry attacked, in thirty seconds, it would have advanced a distance of nearly three hundred meters, and the squadron leader of the Mawei Army and the scouts in their hands could all have telescopes, and in the plain area, they could basically find the enemy's cavalry two or three thousand meters away.

No matter how fast the speed of the war horse is, it will take about five minutes to complete the distance of two thousand meters. A single cavalry may be faster, but a large-scale cavalry operation, capable of advancing forty kilometers per hour, is already very fast, even when a charge is launched. In this way, before the enemy cavalry arrived, it was already ready and ready for battle, in that case, is it not a chance to win? But if it's in the mountains...... Who would be stupid enough to use cavalry in the mountains? The cavalry in the mountains was drawn into long strips, and only the muskets of the Marines were needed to destroy them. Cavalry, or group shock is powerful.

Each marine gun could fire at least once a minute, and the eighty furlong guns could fire at least three times. Thirty twelve-pounder guns can be fired at a distance of one thousand meters, and all other guns can be fired in a salvo at a distance of four hundred meters. The main thing that the artillery causes to the enemy is a huge psychological strain. The consequences of being hit by a solid projectile are completely different from being hit by a Minnie bullet. The damage caused by the former is much greater than that of the latter, and the deterrent effect is even more incomparable.

This refers to the firing of solid iron bullets, and if all of them are changed to flowering bullets, it can be said that the cavalry on the opposite side is finished, and none of them can escape. Even if it was a solid bullet, the twelve-pounder cannon fired a large iron ball with a diameter of one hundred and twenty millimeters was enough to knock out almost twenty enemies in a straight line. If the enemy's cavalry is too dense, it is possible to even defeat forty or fifty people. During the American Civil War, there was a Napoleonic cannon that reimbursed half a company of the enemy. It sounds incredible, but it does exist, mainly because the enemy is lined up in a straight line and the ranks are dense.

Artillery also has a very important effect on the enemy's cavalry, that is, it frightens the enemy's war horses. Not all horses are completely accustomed to the roar of cannons. Especially when there is confusion. A considerable number of war horses, in fact, like people, will also be frightened after suffering a terrible blow. Once the horse is in a state of panic, the power of the enemy's cavalry will be further reduced. This is also the reason why Geng Jingzhong did not let the infantry phalanx shoot before, those war horses have not been specially trained, once they hear a loud noise, they will definitely explode the group.

"Goal! Thirty degrees northeast! ”

"Ready!"

"Put!"

"Tom tom!"

"Tom tom!"

"Tom tom!"

The gunners lit the fuse, and a moment later, the sound of the cannon rang out.

At this moment, all the artillery is fired, and all the shells are loaded. One by one, the shells flew out and hit the places where the wooden improvised models were more than 400 meters away, and some of them smashed a huge hole in the dirt, and then began to explode. Some hit the model and then exploded.

A round of artillery rang out here, and a model was erected less than three hundred meters away from the military formation, but this time the number was much less, about five hundred, but because it was closer, it was more clear.

"Grapegre load!" The commanders of the two artillery battalions ordered in unison.

The gunners quickly completed the reloading task. "Ready!"

"Ready!"

"Ready!"

"Ready!"

"Put!"

When the cannon fire rang out again, a large number of round marbles were thrown out and landed at a position of three hundred meters. It is not the Hongyi cannon that can react so quickly, but the Furlong machine artillery, and as soon as the gun is changed, it can be loaded into it. At a distance of 300 meters, the use of grapeshot against the enemy's cavalry is only stronger than the fire bullet. Grapeshells spread over a large area and can cause a large number of enemy cavalry to fall at the same time. Once a large number of enemy cavalry falls, the enemy's charging line will inevitably cause confusion and reduce the speed of the impact. If a large number of horses fall to the ground, they can even stop the enemy's cavalry from continuing to advance. This way, the Marine infantry soldiers on the side can wait to shoot, and the gunners will have more time to fight back.

In fact, grapeshot also has a great effect, that is, it is like a sieve, filtering the enemy first. As long as they are properly coordinated, the 80 guns of the generals can form a continuous and uninterrupted blockade of bullets 300 meters in front. As long as the cavalry passes through this rain of bullets, it is possible to be damaged. Eighty gates, that's a terrible number, each gate fires a hundred iron bullets at a time, and eight thousand fall, how many cavalry can be enough to fight? The power of the god of war cannot be underestimated.

"Brothers, lift up the spirits, prepare!" The infantry phalanx of the 2nd Division was on the side of the artillery battalion, and when he saw that two or three hundred models had been erected again less than two hundred meters in front, the battalion commander shouted.

"Raise your gun!"

"Put!"

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

It was at this time that the coordination of artillery and infantry really began. No matter how powerful the artillery is, in the end, it must cooperate with other arms in order to be able to exert its maximum power. The main content of today's drill is not how the artillery assists the infantry in attacking, but how the artillery assists the infantry in defending and counterattacking. The main task of the artillery was to hold back the tide of the enemy. In front of him, the artillery first weakened the cavalry, and then the infantry attacked, and from the point of view of the effect, it was a complete victory!

This kind of infantry and artillery coordinated training, Geng Jingzhong seems to be a little ancient, and he doesn't seem to be very accustomed to it, and he is not as domineering as in later movies and television. The infantry of later generations had radio communication and coordinate maps, and as long as the accurate coordinates were reported to the artillery, it did not take ten seconds for the shells to fall accurately. Right now......

After a few more drills, Geng Jingzhong came to the conclusion that the infantry should immediately retreat as soon as the battle began, and at the same time push the artillery forward. In this way, there is no one to block the artillery rays, and no one to block the observation of the artillery. The artillery could fire directly at the enemy cavalry that charged up. However, such an approach is obviously dangerous. Because, artillery is the core of the battle, once you push the artillery to the front, in case the enemy's cavalry, fearless to death, rushed towards the cannon, with the inertia brought by the gallop of the height of the war horse, even if it is killed, you can easily crash the artillery car. The gun was mounted on a gun carriage, and once the gun carriage was destroyed, it was impossible to continue firing. (To be continued......)