readx; Chapter 474

Confide on the gunboat

On June 20, 1885, the front page of the British newspaper The Times published for the first time the news that China and the United States were going to hold war negotiations in Chicago, and the British Empire would participate in the negotiations as a third-party mediator. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Subsequently, this news quickly spread throughout the world with the reprinting of major newspapers in various countries.

At this time, the people of European countries, who had been tortured by the serious economic crisis, remembered that the war between the Americans and the Chinese had been fought for nearly three years.

However, this news is only to add some after-dinner conversation to those who are destitute in the economic crisis. Because whether it is the United States or the Chinese People's Army in Nanyang, in this era of underdeveloped information, it is too far away from their lives. Far less urgent than the immediate problem of food and clothing.

Moreover, even those who followed the war preferred to read in the newspapers about the battle between Russia and the Ottomans, or the war between Britain and Egypt, because these countries were not far from them and they were more familiar.

Perhaps, only the high-level leaders of various countries will set their eyes on the distant American continent and pay attention to who the hegemony of the Americas will ultimately belong to after three years of fighting!

"Rumble......!"

The roar of the brisk steam engine drove the river gunboat, with a displacement of more than 100 tons, to quickly advance upstream along the wide Mississippi River.

The five-star naval flag hoisted on the bow of the ship, and the solemn expressions of the surroundings. The yellow-skinned guards who were on guard duty all indicated that this was a gunboat belonging to the Huo Jiajun's American River Fleet.

But at this moment, in the cabin of this gunboat, there are several Englishmen in Western uniforms.

"Mr. Colonel. As an observer of the British Empire's war in the Americas, what do you think of the combat effectiveness of the squadron? Before participating in this negotiation, I would like to hear your opinions!" Henry Campbell Bannerman, looking out from the porthole at the Chinese soldier who was on duty with a serious expression on duty, asked indifferently.

He was also the representative of the British Empire in the Sino-US negotiations.

"Dear Sir Bannerman, the Chinese soldiers are very strong in combat, both in terms of individual combat ability. Or teamwork, they're all very strong. If you have to compare, then among the army soldiers of all countries of the world. Perhaps only the disciplined German soldiers could surpass them!" John Brown pondered for a moment, then expressed his opinion succinctly and quickly.

As a war observer sent to the United States by the British War Office, during the nearly three-year Sino-American War. John Brown witnessed first-hand the fighting power of Chinese soldiers. In particular, John Brown was very impressed by their indomitable will to fight, their powerful weaponry, and their excellent tactical command.

completely subverted the image of the Oriental soldier with braids, smoking a big cigarette, and a thin body in his mind.

"Oh!"

After hearing his words, Bannerman looked at him in surprise.

Unexpectedly, as a senior officer of the British Imperial Army, John Brown actually gave such a high evaluation to the squadron.

"Mr. Colonel. As an officer of the British Imperial Army, do you think that the combat effectiveness of the Chinese soldiers is stronger than that of the Imperial Army?"

"Yes, sir! Don't talk about Chinese soldiers. Even the American soldiers, who have been fighting with the Chinese for three years now, are stronger than the current British Army. John Brown nodded firmly.

Looking at the look of surprise on Bannerman's face, John Brown gritted his teeth, still firmly said: "Respect Sir Bannerman, God testifies, as an upright citizen of the British Empire and a devout Christian, I will not lie, even a word!"

Hearing this, Henry Campbell Bannerman's face changed. In the West, doubting a person's beliefs is enough to provoke serious violence. No one is going to make a joke about it.

"Can you elaborate on that, Colonel?" said Bannerman's face this time with a much more solemn expression.

"Willing to help, Jazz!" said John Brown, with a look of excitement on his face.

After seeing with his own eyes the almost endless new weapons between the Chinese Army and the U.S. Army, as well as the combat methods of the armies of various countries in this era, John Brown realized that the strategy and tactics adhered to by the British Army were already behind the times.

If we can't make changes in time, we will have to suffer heavy casualties if we encounter Chinese or American troops on the battlefield in the future.

Therefore, he sent telegrams to the War Department more than once, bringing back to China the notes on his experience in observing the Sino-American war, hoping to completely reform the combat methods of the Imperial Army.

Unfortunately, the old guard within the British Army was too strong and too stubborn. No matter how hard he tried, he didn't achieve anything. His telegrams and notes in the mail were all thrown into the trash as alarmist statements by senior officials within the British Army.

So, although John Brown was anxious about the decline of the British Army, he could not do anything about it.

After meeting Henry Campbell Banneman, who is also the First Minister of Ireland and the spokesman of the House of Commons, as well as the British negotiator and a very influential figure in British politics and the Liberal Party, John Brown had a desire to explain his military position in front of him.

And now his wish has finally come true.

"Sir, I have been in the United States for nearly three years and have witnessed almost all the wars between the Chinese and the United States. In the past three years, I have discovered that the way the Imperial Army fights has fallen far behind China and the United States!"

After seeing that Bannerman was indeed paying attention, John Brown was in a good mood and continued: "First of all, with the invention of the repeating machine gun and the popularization of artillery, the lethality of weapons to soldiers is rapidly increasing, so in order to save themselves to the greatest extent and break through the enemy's defensive line, both China and the United States have now abandoned the ancient platoon guns, and have chosen a straggler tactic to advance on the front!"

"This type of warfare requires the distance between soldiers to be very wide, so as to ensure that casualties are minimized when the enemy's machine guns, or artillery and other heavy fire weapons come in. ”

"But, regrettably, in our British Army, the tactics of platoon guns are still in use, almost as old as the medieval past, and although the number of machine guns and artillery has increased, the old tactics have not been used to their fullest potential. Moreover, in the more important strategic and tactical aspects, there is not the slightest change within the Imperial Army! The stubbornness of the bureaucrats of the War Department is unbelievable!"

Speaking of this, John Brown's words reveal a strong resentment. Obviously, during this time, he was hit hard by the conservative British War Office.

Taking a deep breath, John Brown calmed his mind a little before continuing: "In addition to the above, the Imperial Army is far inferior to China and the United States in terms of the research and development and attention to new weapons. ”

"Taking the Yili War, which has just ended for more than a month, as an example, in this war, the ratio of troops invested by the two sides is 1:4, including 400,000 in the Chinese Army and 1.58 million in the US Army. ”

"However, for the investment of heavy weapons such as machine guns and artillery, the Chinese far surpass the Americans!"

"Although I don't have too accurate figures, after a long period of observation, I also came up with an approximate figure, of which the number of machine guns put into the Chinese should be nearly 3,500 and nearly 4,000 artillery pieces (John Brown also counted mortars), while the American figure is more than 1,500 machine guns and machine guns, and nearly 2,000 artillery pieces. ”

Hearing this, Henry Campbell Bannerman's face couldn't help but show shock.

When he was young, he also served in the Scottish Cavalry Regiment, and even participated in the British conquest of India, but at that time, his army was more than 100,000 people, and he could have hundreds of artillery pieces, which was already a very powerful artillery firepower.

But now, in just one battle of Yili on the battlefield between China and the United States, the two sides have invested nearly 6,000 artillery pieces, and I really don't know what kind of earth-shattering scene it is when so many artillery pieces roar.

"Now the armies of both China and the United States have realized the importance of powerful artillery firepower for the war, and even in the end of the Yili War, large-scale group artillery has begun to appear, and large-scale artillery battles have been carried out!"

Speaking of which, John Brown saw the last night of the Erie War, and the shells fired by the artillery of both sides were about to burn the sky. The roar of several thousand artillery pieces completely shocked the military observers of various European countries, including him.

At that time, after the end of the war, he had personally visited the battlefield of Erie, and at that time, the battlefield of confrontation between the two sides around Erie City had already become unsightly. A large number of craters almost leveled two or three meters in the hilly area that China and the United States had fought for half the night.

The entire hillside was littered with large and small craters and bloodstains. And the scene was like being hit by a meteorite. There is almost no trace of the original green mountains and green waters.

Standing on the bare hillside, looking at the lifeless black scorched earth in the distance, John Brown felt the horror of the war and made him determined to reform the British Army.

But when he thought of this, he was particularly angry at the intransigence within the British War Office. (To be continued.) )u