"Understood! Please rest assured that the General Staff will definitely do what you ask! ”

Niel in a slightly high-pitched tone of Jerome. Bonaparte assured.

"By the way, there are also tactics of the army and the battle of large corps, which should also be studied more!

Don't always think about using the existing tactical system, our era is different from the era of the First Empire!

Therefore, the tactics of the large corps and the formation of the army during the Napoleonic period can only be used as a reference, and cannot be blindly copied.

However, the skirmish lines used in the early days of the First Republic can be used as a reference.

How you use it is up to you!

Of course, not only the tactics of the Napoleonic period, but also the Algerian security war, and even the Crimean War can only be used as a reference...... "Jérôme. Bonaparte babbled to Niel, who at the moment wanted to pour all the content of his mind into Niel's head.

If only the military command on the battlefield is discussed, Jérôme. Bonaparte's abilities were no match for Niel.

Not to mention Niel, even a staff officer with a year or two of command experience is better than Jérôme. Bonaparte was much stronger.

However, when it comes to the prediction of future wars and the development of the army, even the German god of war next door is not as good as Moltke the Elder.

At least at present, the old Moltke is still in the stage of exploring the reserve system and military stations, and the real maturity of the old Moltke's theory in history is after the Austro-Prussian War.

And Jérôme. Bonaparte is equivalent to standing on the shoulders of generals from now to the next 100 years and discussing the idea of building an army.

Although some ideas may not be applicable to the present, for a good military commander, Jérôme . Some of Bonaparte's ideas can be borrowed.

Like Neel now, he was listening intently to Jérôme. Bonaparte spoke eloquently, then stretched out his hand and presented his own opinion.

Nière believed that if the French army used a straggler tactical group similar to that of the First Republic, it would inevitably make the entire battlefield extremely chaotic, which would not be conducive to the command of the army.

On the other hand, if the army were to attack in battalion tactical clusters, the French firepower would be further strengthened, and each brigade should be equipped with a thousand shovels and axes, so that the army could move from offensive to defensive mode.

Niel's cautious tactical system made Jérôme. Bonaparte felt that he was not facing a general bathed in the glory of the First Reich, but rather Marshal Petain, the hero of the Battle of Verdun of World War I.

During the First World War, Petain was the only general in France who believed that France should be on the defensive.

Marshal Petain's advice turned out to be correct, and the First World War France really should have a war of defensive counterattacks.

However. It was the 50s of the 19th century, the numerical, industrial gap between France and Germany was not obvious, and the theory of defensive counterattack did not apply at all to the current version.

However, considering that Niel himself was born as an engineer, it is not surprising that he was able to say words about defensive counterattacks.

"General Niel, skirmishers do have the potential to throw the army into chaos, so we should choose to give our subordinate troops more decision-making power so that they can decide for themselves what they should and shouldn't do! Of course, the Chief of the General Staff also wants to strengthen his control over the army! "Jérôme. Bonaparte offered his opinion to Niel, "The movement of large numbers of small troops from all directions, combined with the rate of fire of the new rifles, can create a kind of overwhelming momentum!"

I believe that any army will have fear in its heart when it sees this!

What's more, we also have artillery as a big killer, concentrated artillery moves with the troops, uses artillery to attack the enemy, weakens the enemy's morale, and then uses the infantry all over the mountains to form a semi-encirclement of it......

And I have commissioned Chasebo to develop a new type of weapon for the army, which is a rifle made up of multiple barrels......

This rifle will be used at the forefront to follow the infantry to harvest the enemy.

So that we don't have to worry about the lack of firepower! ”

Jérôme. Bonaparte continued to talk, and Nière gradually gave up what he had insisted on.

"Of course, I very much agree with what you just said about each brigade being equipped with a thousand shovels and axes!

We must learn not only how to attack, but also how to have to defend!

However, the army's existing shovels and axes are not very good in terms of strength and appearance! , I will ask the industrial group to design a new type of sapper shovel for the army, and when the time comes, you only need to place an order! "Jérôme. Bonaparte then said a word to Niel.

Niel, who does not know the truth, thinks that Jérôme. Bonaparte did this for the benefit of his company, and he hurried to Jérôme. Bonaparte expressed his loyalty and said that as long as the sapper shovel was designed, the army would already purchase it as soon as possible

Immediately afterwards, Jérôme. When Bonaparte and Niel again talked about the role of the telegraph, Jérôme. Bonaparte proposed that each division should be equipped with a telegraph company, and the role of this telegraph company was to receive telegrams and telegraph lines. (Wired telegrams, each telegram is followed by a telegram line)

Niel believed that they only needed to have a fixed telegraph station at the point of view, so that they could also use the advantage of cavalry to make contact.

"What if our army is in an enemy village." Jérôme. Bonaparte asked rhetorically, "There is no ready-made telegraph station there!" ”

"This ......" Niel thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement with Jérôme. Bonaparte's idea.

……

Despite the fact that Jérôme. Bonaparte and Nière had some disagreements on some of the above issues, but on the question of cavalry, Jérôme. Bonaparte and Niel are rare in agreement.

That is, to reduce the number of cavalry units as much as possible, especially the number of heavy cavalry units.

The First Battle of Crimea had completely made it clear that the cavalry units had completely changed from the main force to the auxiliary left function in the war.

The French army today consists of 12 regiments of heavy cavalry, 20 regiments of basic cavalry, 21 regiments of light cavalry, and 7 African cavalry regiments.

The total number of cavalry is about 86,000, and maintaining such a large cavalry force is also a significant expense.

"Your Majesty, I am ready to cut off half of the 12 regiments of heavy cavalry, and all the 20 regiments of the backbone cavalry! Of the remaining 21 regiments of light cavalry, only 15 were retained, but their equipment had to be in accordance with the specifications of the reconnaissance cavalry.

Seven African Cavalry regiments remained in place. Niel told Jérôme about his ideas for reform. Bonaparte listened.

Jérôme. Bonaparte silently counted in his mind the number of cavalry that Niel had cut down.

If you really want to do what Niel said, of the 86,000 cavalry troops, there are about 40,000 left.

Among them, the African Cavalry Regiment occupies 10,000 people. (The African Cavalry Regiment belonged to the colonial army, and Niel chose to keep the African Cavalry Regiment because of the need for mobility in North Africa)

"Niel, do you know how much hatred you will be met with by the nobles for doing this!" Jérôme. Bonaparte said to Nielle with a serious expression.

In the French cavalry troops, the heavy cavalry and the backbone cavalry (dragoons and lancers) have always been a gathering place for the children of the nobility, and Niel's stab to the cavalry unit directly exposed most of the children of the nobility to professional risks.

Once the plan is implemented, Niel will have to be scolded to death by those unemployed noble children, and in the extreme, I am afraid that he will come directly to ask for Niel's orders!

A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Niel's mouth. Bonaparte replied: "Your Majesty, of course I understand! ”

Then, Niel's goal gradually became firm, "However, Your Majesty, we can only make our army look new if we resolutely carry out military reforms!"

Isn't it? If we stop at the first time we encounter difficulties, then there is no way to talk about reform! ”

Jérôme. After listening to Niel's firm answer, Bonaparte also smiled at the corner of his mouth, and encouraged Niel: "You are right! If we stop at the first setback, then there will be no reform!

On the issue of cavalry troops, I will give you the greatest support!

You can do it boldly! ”

"Yes!" Niel replied in a sonorous tone.

Subsequently, Jérôme. Bonaparte and Niel discussed other issues.

Before you know it, it's around 5 p.m.

Jérôme. The conversation between Bonaparte and Nière continued until, after the knock on the door, Jérôme. Bonaparte and Nière then broke away from the conversation.

Jérôme at the moment. Bona looked out the window at the darkening sky, a look of surprise on his face.

Sit in Jérôme. Seeing this, Niel, who was beside Bonaparte, hurriedly asked, "What's the matter?" ”

A staff officer's voice came from outside the room, and he told Niel that Basilio, the head of the Palazzo du Ileri, had come to inquire about Jérôme on the orders of Empress Augusta. When will His Majesty the Emperor Bonaparte return to the Palazzo Douinlery.

"You go and tell Basilio, just say I'll be back in a while!" Jérôme. Bonaparte said to the staff officer outside the door.

"Yes!" The staff officer replied and turned to leave.

After the staff officers left, Jérôme. Bonaparte decided to put an end to this conversation, and he said to Niel, "Done! It's not too early! It's time for me to leave, too! You have to sort it out, and you can take advantage of this time to digest the content of our conversation!

The reform of the armed forces cannot be delayed, and we may be left far behind if we are one step late! ”

"Understood!" Nière's tone was firm to Jérôme. Bonaparte said.

Under the farewell of the Chief of the General Staff of Niel, Jérôme. Bonaparte left the General Staff in a horse-drawn carriage.

Jérôme. Shortly after Bonaparte's departure, Nière again convened members of the General Staff for a two-hour meeting.

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