Episode 50 High Simulation Battlefield

The army participated in the exercise, and the scale of the exercise was expanded, and the number of troops participating in the exercise was expanded from four divisions to eight divisions, and the exercise area was also more than tripled. The east-west span has expanded from about 50 kilometers to more than 100 kilometers.

Geographical expansion, which is also what Xiang Xiaoqiang, Zhang Zhaoxian, and Tang Yunsheng hope for. Only when the battle line is as long as possible can the role of air superiority and maneuverability be tested as much as possible. In addition, it is possible to simulate to a greater extent. Whether it is Xiang Xiaoqiang or Zhang Zhaoxian, they all know that if they really fight against the Qing Dynasty, then the battle line will not be more than 100 kilometers now, but thousands of kilometers of the North China Plain.

The reason why this area was chosen for the exercise was entirely to imitate the terrain of the North China Plain. In terms of simulation, this area can only be said to be okay, there are some small rivers, but it can't be called a water network; There are no patches of mountains, and the main large hills are all around, and occasionally there are some small hills that do not have much impact; There is a Maoshan mountain range in the middle, and there are some small lakes on both sides, but there is no way to do that. The delta in Shanghai is flat, but the dense water network can't stand it.

Xiang Xiaoqiang was also very depressed when he chose the exercise area, there was no way, Nanming had this geographical condition: six mountains, three rivers and one field. This piece is the most similar place to the North China Plain that can be found in the entire Nanming.

This exercise was conducted with real troops rather than with live ammunition, that is to say, infantry, tanks, artillery, and airplanes should be dispatched and how they should be dispatched, but they did not use real ammunition, but mainly used empty cartridges and training ammunition, and the risk of accidental injury was very small. Therefore, it is only necessary to demarcate the area for both sides, stipulate the purpose, and give the winning and losing criteria...... These are the most basic things. There is no need to strictly design the position of each step of each step of both sides in advance in order to avoid accidental injury, as in a live-fire exercise. Therefore, the design phase of the exercise can be short.

The main preparation was to rush to produce and distribute a large number of empty cartridges. During the week from May 23 to June 1, several small arsenals in the Yangtze River Delta Plain and two large arsenals in the mountainous area of Tianmu Mountain in Zhejiang Province were rushing to produce empty cartridges and artillery shells for exercises. These light weapons arsenals belong to Lian Feng and Qi Shunfa respectively.

The Ming Dynasty also had an arms company specializing in the manufacture of ammunition, but that was far away, either in the mountainous areas of Fujian or in the rear of the southwest. The factories of Lian Feng and Qi Shunfa happened to be in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, so they received orders for ammunition for this exercise. Lian Feng and Qi Shunfa each divided half of the order. With this relatively large order, Qi Shunfa's stock price is a little better, and it is no longer so ugly.

Xiang Xiaoqiang knows that empty cartridges are, to put it bluntly, bullets and shells without warheads. But this thing is not as familiar as a normal bullet after all. On the 25th, the first batch of empty bags of bombs arrived, and Wang Hexiang was leading people to inspect the goods in the Xiaoling Wei military camp. In order to give him a sensory impression, Hu Jiong, the commander of the guard company, specially accompanied Xiang Xiaoqiang to the shooting range of the Xiaoling Wei military camp and experienced the feeling of an empty bullet.

……

On the shooting range, Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at an empty cartridge of a rifle in his palm.

This bullet has only a cartridge case, no warhead. A small white object was stuffed into the neck of the shell, and Hu Jiong told him that it was a plug made of paper and cotton fibers to plug the propellant in the shell and prevent it from leaking out. The neck of the cartridge case has also been closed to make the mouth smaller and the fiber plug to be stuck. When fired, the fiber plug will completely burn and decompose within 3-5 meters of the general discharge. Therefore, even though it is empty, it cannot be fired at a person within five meters. Failure to do so may still result in casualties.

However, during the exercise, there was also little chance of firing at the enemy at such a close distance.

Xiang Xiaoqiang took the rifle loaded with empty cartridges, aimed at the distant target, and pulled the trigger.

"Smack!!

The muzzle of the gun flashed instantly, the gun body was raised up in his hand, and with a random "clang", the empty bullet case popped out and fell on the concrete ground under his feet, making a copper pleasant sound.

Very good, it feels no different from a normal bullet. The only difference is that there is not a single eye on the target in the distance.

But...... Xiang Xiaoqiang laughed in his heart: Even if it is a real bullet, as long as I hit it, there will be no bullet hole in the distant target......

Empty cartridges, which is why he dared to shoot a rifle in public.

Then, Xiang Xiaoqiang took another Thomson submachine gun loaded with empty cartridges. He first pulled out the magazine of 30 rounds and checked it in his hand.

"It's a lot lighter."

He turned his head and smiled at Hu Jiong.

Hu Jiong also smiled:

"Your Excellency is right, the main weight of the bullet is on the warhead. Now that it has been replaced with empty cartridges, the weight of the live magazine has been reduced by nearly half. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded, inserted the magazine, pulled the bolt, and said "Da Da Da" in the distance.

…… That's a lot of fun......

Xiang Xiaoqiang hadn't beaten Thomson much before. The only intimate contact was when I went to the North Qing to rob the train. But that time there was no firing. Now that I have experienced one, I feel that the large dazzling flames at the muzzle, the deafening gunshots, and the high-frequency strong vibrations in my hands are not comparable to the cheap L-36.

…… Old and beautiful things are good! If it's not too heavy and expensive, it's a really good thing.

……

Xiang Xiaoqiang took Hu Jiong to another shooting range a few hundred meters away. This is a machine-gun range, where Wang Hexiang and several officers are testing a batch of empty cartridges.

The two groups met and saluted, and saw to Xiaoqiang that there was a box of 7.97mm standard rifle cartridges on the ground. Of course, it's also an empty cartridge.

A machine gun squad stood guard next to a woodpecker machine gun with an aluminum machine gun magazine next to it. A chain of bullets protrudes from the magazine, attached to the machine gun magazine.

Xiang Xiaoqiang saw that none of the bullets on the bullet chain had warheads.

Wang Hexiang took out several boxes of ammunition from the box, spot-checked a few rounds in each box, deducted the fiber stopper, poured out the propellant, and then compared it with the propellant of ordinary bullets.

Sure enough, the propellant charge of a few rounds did not cut corners

The representative of the Lianfeng next to him stood aside, talking confidently and confidently, assuring that their empty ammunition was absolutely safe and would not cause any harm to people from a distance of 5 meters. Then he offered to stand 5 meters in front of the muzzle of the machine gun and personally help with the test.

Wang Hexiang hesitated a little and looked at Xiaoqiang. Xiang Xiaoqiang couldn't ask for it, and nodded his head in approval with a smile.

Wang Hexiang was helpless, so he had to whisper to the machine gun team:

"Hit where you're dressed, don't look at your face, don't look at your hands."

At a distance of five meters, even if it is not safe, the most important thing to do is to set the clothes on fire and will not hurt anyone.

The representative of the Lianfeng stood five meters in front of the muzzle of the gun, holding his head high. But he looked at the muzzle of the black hole in front of him, and he was still sweating nervously.

The machine gun team doubled the empty cartridge on the chain to make sure there was nothing wrong, then pressed the receiver and aimed it at the Blade.

Nodding to Xiaoqiang, the secondary shooter shouted:

"Hit!"

In the deafening cry of the "woodpecker", the huge flame of the muzzle of the gun jumped. Xiang Xiaoqiang blocked his ears and watched the scene of "guns sweeping the living" with enjoyment.

The guy from the Lianfeng stood straight in front of the muzzle, his eyes closed vigorously, his face pale, and he kept spitting. Several beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. Xiang Xiaoqiang estimated that this was also the first time in his life.

Alas, it's not easy to run a business! It's the same all the time.

Nearly a hundred rounds were fired before the gunfire stopped. Only then did the representative of the Lianfeng open his eyes, stumbling under his feet, and almost fell to the ground. But he still stood firm, and laughed in a trembling voice:

"Hehe, play more, it's such a short ......"

Xiang Xiaoqiang and Wang Hexiang hurriedly ran over to check. Not to mention, he really didn't have anything to do, but the white shirt on his chest was a little gray from the smoke of gunpowder, and there were no traces of burning from the tongue of fire and the residue of the high temperature.

Very good, this batch of empty cartridges is not bad, and it is very safe to use in exercises.

……

Xiang Xiaoqiang, together with Wang Hexiang and others, inspected the ongoing experiments at several shooting ranges. These experiments and training were carried out in preparation for the exercises a few days later. The main thing is to familiarize yourself with and explore some special rules and combat methods.

For example, on a training ground, two groups of soldiers were practicing the grenades sent by Qi Shun.

A group of soldiers was walking with guns in hand, pretending to walk, when a few grenades suddenly came out of the bushes on the side of the road.

"Lying down--"

As soon as a sergeant shouted, several grenades exploded in the middle of the queue, and a group of soldiers fell in response.

Xiang Xiaoqiang subconsciously squatted down, but saw that the grenades exploded loudly, just like firecrackers, and at the same time spewed out a few puffs of smoke, and there were no shock waves and fragments like real grenades.

Out of the bushes next to him came a junior officer wearing an armband, took a notebook, came to the fallen soldiers, looked at it a few times, wrote a few times in the notebook, and then said:

"Okay, you, you, you, and you, a few of you lie down in time, count yourself alive, get up. You and you, too close to the bombing point, are also considered dead. You and you, and you, count as serious injuries...... Well, the rest, all killed! ”

The soldiers laughed. Most of the "corpses" lying on the ground, giggling, took out a sign that said "Killed" and put it on, and lay on the ground.

Xiang Xiaoqiang and Wang Hexiang glanced at each other, both smiled and nodded with satisfaction.

……

A few more people drove in the car for a while, went to a larger training ground, and got out of the car next to an observation fortification.

It's almost like a real battlefield. The sky was filled with gunsmoke, and the sound of artillery was deafening. As soon as Xiang Xiaoqiang got out of the car, he was almost so shocked that he couldn't stand.

A "tank battle" is going on around.

This is mainly to test the feasibility of the artillery shells, aerial bombs, and methods of judging the results of the exercise. Any problems that arise now will be rectified in the next few days so that they can be used in the exercise.

The observation fortification was built on a small plateau, improvised with sandbags and planks, and camouflaged nets on top. The surrounding vision is better, Xiang Xiaoqiang took a steel helmet and put it on, then picked up the binoculars and watched the tank battle below.

Overhead, dive bombers roared down, dozens of tanks on the ground rushed forward in formation, machine guns in front of them kept firing, and the main guns fired from time to time.

Behind it were more open armored personnel carriers, and the steel helmets of the soldiers sitting inside could be seen shining.

On the other side's position, more than a dozen anti-tank guns lined up, firing one after another.

Xiang Xiaoqiang saw that whether it was a tank gun or an anti-tank gun, when firing was the same as on the battlefield, the fire was shining, the sound was shocking, and the smoke was wafting, but there was no sign of shells on the other side.

The results of this empty bomb exercise are really good.

There were several officers sitting at a small table next to him, some with binoculars to observe the battlefield, report the location and frequency of fire, and several others buried their heads in the rapid calculation of probabilities. One of the officers, wearing a radio headset, looked at the battlefield with a telescope and shouted from time to time:

"Blue 043, Blue 043, you have been shot, the vehicle is moderately damaged, the driver is killed, and the rest of the crew survives!"

"Blue 189, Blue 189, you have been shot, the vehicle is badly damaged, the pilot and the heading machine gunner are killed, and the rest of the crew is alive!"

"Red 025, Red 025, your group has been hit by 47 shells, the artillery is damaged, and the artillery team is all killed!"

"Red 310, Red 310, 47 mm high-explosive shells exploded 8 meters behind your right, and two of you were killed and one was seriously injured! The artillery is in good condition! ”

……

On the battlefield below, one or two tanks will stop, the roof will be lifted, and two or three crew members will come out, and then a smoke canister will be placed on the tank to make the tank "smoke billow", and at the same time a red cloth will be taken out and tied to the barrel to show damage.

From time to time, dive bombers roared down and dropped two or three "aerial bombs" above. Immediately after that, smoke rises from the point of impact. At this time, the officer next to him will hold a telescope and shout into the headset:

"Red 043, Red 043, 100 kg of bombs exploded 10 meters in front of your left, and your artillery and all the members of the artillery crew were killed! Your artillery and all the members of the artillery crew are killed! ……”

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked curiously through the binoculars, and sure enough, next to the anti-tank gun, several artillerymen tied red ribbons to the cannon to indicate damage, and then each took out a sign of "killed" and hung it on his chest and lay down.

Xiang Xiaoqiang asked:

"What bombs were dropped by dive bombers? It looks like it's small! ”

Wang Hexiang also wore a steel helmet and held a telescope and said:

"My lord, it's a special drill bomb, the size is relatively small, only about one kilogram, in fact, it's mainly a smoke canister, mainly a ...... that marks the bomb point."

"A kilogram? The real aerial bomb is at least a few tens of kilograms, so that when dropped from a high altitude, one kilogram and a hundred kilograms, the flight trajectory and the landing point must be very different, is this fair? ”

王鹤翔 says:

"I can't help it, my lord. In normal training, I use the same weight as the real ammunition, but I definitely can't use it during exercises. Otherwise, hundreds of pounds of things fall from a high altitude, not to mention falling into a pile of people, or on a tank, and it will also be stoned to death. Only small cigarette cans can be used. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang says:

"It's only a kilogram, and falling from a high altitude can kill people!"

Wang Hexiang shook his head and said:

"Then there is no way...... It can only be said that this kind of small bomb cannot destroy the tank, and it happens that the chance of hitting a person's head is very small. Of course, it also depends on the timely dodge of the soldiers on the ground. This also has the advantage: even during the exercise, the soldiers can maintain a sense of fear of dive bombers, and when they see the planes rushing down, they are afraid of hitting themselves and will flee in all directions. This also greatly enhances the degree of simulation. …… There will be accidental casualties in any exercise. ”

Wang Hexiang paused, then pointed to the rack dive bomber in the sky farther away, and said:

"Your Excellency, please see, there is a bomb throwing training ground over there. There, the exercise referee team will repeatedly compare the deviation of the impact point of the normal size training bullet and the one-kilogram exercise projectile, and they will quickly come up with a rough normal deviation range, and then during the exercise, they will add this normal deviation range, and it will be fine.

"For example, if the same pilot usually drops a 100-kilogram trainer bomb with a deviation of 10 meters, and a 1-kilogram exercise bomb usually deviates from 30 meters, then the middle 20 meters is the usual deviation range of the two bombs. During the exercise, if one kilogram of drill bomb falls 30 meters around the tank, the exercise referee will determine that the bomb fell 10 meters around the tank. That's it. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded, understood.

……

A dozen tanks below, supported by dive bombers, lost only four before rushing to enemy artillery positions. At this time, in the armored car behind the tank, a large number of infantry jumped down, rushed forward with submachine guns and cats, shouting and firing. In the defender's trench, two Maxim machine guns spat tongues of fire. The non-commissioned officers wearing armbands in the attacking infantry kept shouting and pointing fingers. It means whoever was killed by a machine gun, hurry up and lie down. Whoever was wounded also lay down and waited for rescue.

Hundreds of submachine gun soldiers rushed into the trenches and opened fire into the air with submachine guns. Because the distance in the trench was less than five meters, it had to be replaced by firing into the sky. At this time, under the absolute firepower superiority of the opponent, the defending soldiers with rifles in the trenches were very conscious, and they all lay down without the referee's words.

"Alright," shouted the officer next to him, "the red position has been conquered, now stop, I'll announce the damage on both sides!" ”

……

"My lord," Wang Hexiang said with a smile on the way back, "what do you think of this kind of training?" ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang was very satisfied, nodded and smiled:

"Good, better than I thought. In this case, the degree of realism is still very high. …… To a certain extent, this exercise is an answer to your Majesty and to Ming. It's also a lesson for a lot of people. Our Ming Dynasty's air superiority, mechanization, and motorized superiority will be reflected in this exercise. In the past few days, we have been training hard, practicing at the June 1st Fortress, and performing a miniature version of the blitzkrieg for everyone to see. ”

Wang Hexiang was stunned:

"My lord, blitzkrieg?"

"Well, it's a spike."

Wang Hexiang: "Spike? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang: "......"