In fact, the pioneers in this area were the British, and long before the Great War, the Royal Navy clearly believed that amphibious operations should be commanded by a large warship.

However, they also realized that such a part-time job was actually inappropriate, first of all, because of the important status of large warships, if there was an enemy situation on the sea, then she would be in a dilemma, whether to stay in place and continue to command or follow the fleet to meet the enemy?

In addition, the battleship's war room has limited space, which cannot accommodate too many people and equipment, and it will be too crowded and chaotic if a group of army staff officers are to be crammed in.

Therefore, the British envisioned the construction of a first-class "command ship", but because of the severe war situation, they could not afford to start construction, and it was not until 42 years that the merchant ship was requisitioned for reconstruction.

Later, a U.S. Navy rear admiral was deeply impressed by the British's command ship during his inspection, and after returning home, he promoted the design and construction of his country's amphibious command ship.

The final result was the Appalachian-class amphibious command ship, which was rebuilt on the basis of the C2 standard freighter.

However, because this type of ship is too low-key, far less interesting than the tall and mighty battleships and aircraft carriers, its presence is not high, and even military history enthusiasts may not have heard of it.

Naturally, Zhou Changfeng was also unclear, so he purely listed his needs based on his own ideas and the Yimeng Mountain that he had been on before the crossing.

For this reason, he made a special trip to find Yang Zhen, the person in charge of the workshop that year.

As the founder of the Ming naval landing operation, Yang Zhen was also promoted to rear admiral last year, in addition to the years of hard work, there is also no lack of strategizing credit - the Ming army's attack plan against Java Island also has several links he participated in.

"Is it because the capital ship's war room is not enough?"

"Yes, the area of dozens of square meters is really not enough, and the people of the navy and the army are crowded together, and the scene is very chaotic." Zhou Changfeng replied.

"This really cannot be ignored, every second counts in wartime, and a small delay in decision-making can lead to a catastrophe." The thoughtful Yang Zhen then said: "The rebuild will inevitably be in time, and I don't know if there is a ship that can be refitted at the moment." ”

The two talked for a long time and discussed the distribution of personnel functions little by little.

After that, Zhou Changfeng also contacted the Navy Department of the Ministry of War, and asked them to check which suitable ship types are suitable for use as command ships.

The standard displacement is between 6,000 and 8,000 tons, and the maximum speed is at least 20 knots, preferably in the dual-use type - so that the hull will be stronger and more resistant to sinking.

His and Yang Zhen's suggestions still carried a lot of weight, and the military department quickly replied.

At present, there are B64 freighters, B83 freighters, Thai Yuan-class ocean-going passenger ships, and Jizhou-class high-speed transport ships.

The Ming Dynasty has a regular number of civilian ships, B represents a cargo ship, six represents a standard displacement of 6,000 tons, and four represents the fourth.

The navy will also order a small number of freighters, after all, it cannot be expected to requisition civilian ships after the war. Although the ships ordered by the Navy were identical in appearance to civilian freighters, they were all strengthened according to the requirements.

For example, the B64 freighter has added a number of watertight compartments, and the original three-expansion coal-fired boiler has been replaced by an oil-coal mixed boiler, which has significantly improved its sinking resistance and speed.

In the Kota Bharu landing, the first ship lost by the Ming army, the Captain Lin, was a B64 freighter.

Zhou Changfeng felt that it was most appropriate to take the Jizhou-class high-speed transport ship to rebuild, but the Ming Navy's demand for high-speed transport ships was too great, and each one was precious and important, so I am afraid it was not cost-effective.

The tentative plan was to rebuild the B-83 freighter on the basis of the B-83 freighter, add deck horizontal armor, and add armor to the upper, left and right sides of the main operating compartments to protect the important command personnel.

By design, such an amphibious command ship would have three main compartments and a series of auxiliary compartments:

An operational command room where the staff officers and commanders of the army, navy, and air force involved in the landing operation will gather to direct the operation around a huge sand table, map, and plotter;

An operational intelligence room used to receive, summarize and analyze the information sent by all parties, complete the processing as quickly as possible, and provide it to staff officers and commanders for judgment and decision-making;

An operational control room, which is responsible for continuously following the situation of the land, sea and air forces in real time, urging, supervising and evaluating the situation of various battlefields and battles, and has the ability to guide its own air force;

In addition, there are also auxiliary cabins, such as the radio monitoring room, which is responsible for searching, capturing and locating enemy radio communications by means of radio direction finding, triangulation and other technical means.

There is also an aviation reconnaissance and judgment room, which is responsible for analyzing the aerial photos taken by the aircraft; The cartography room is responsible for drawing and revising battlefield maps; The printing room is responsible for printing temporary pamphlets such as war briefings and battle guides.

Of course, the naval masters did not want to waste any extra space on such an expensive ship because of the large number of electronic equipment on board, and the masters wanted to live a nourishing life even if they were fighting.

So the command ship can also carry about 350 officers and men of the Army and Marine Corps, and there are a few strange things.

a cinema with two screening rooms and a total capacity of 60 people; a nursing home that can provide massage, cupping, acupuncture and other services; A large cold storage for stocking large quantities of fresh fruits, vegetables and wine.

"It's easy to go from thrift to luxury, and it's difficult to go from luxury to thrift, but I haven't had a hard life in the end."

Zhou Changfeng couldn't help but sigh like this, he could only say that the thoughts of today's Ming people are deviated from those of a traveler like him, and in the final analysis, the subconscious is still the mentality of a great power, and he is used to being arrogant.

If the U.S. Army is a young master soldier, then the Ming Army may be regarded as a master soldier.

The Nanyang campaign for several months went smoothly on the whole, but many problems were still exposed in the actual battle.

There are organizational aspects, there are personnel aspects, and there are weapons aspects.

The more critical organizational problem is that the general level of middle-level officers is average, and the performance of generals at the regiment and brigade levels is relatively poor, and they are slow to respond and hesitant to make decisions due to various factors.

Relatively speaking, the performance of the infantry detachments of the Ming army was much better, the non-commissioned officers and junior officers were quite good, and the combat situation at the squad, platoon, company, and battalion levels was often in an advantageous position.

The senior officers are also okay, at least Zhou can't find much fault.

In one sentence, it is a first-class lieutenant, a second-rate lieutenant general, and a third-rate lieutenant colonel.

The reason for this phenomenon is that there is a certain fault in the officer training model of the Ming army.

There are two main sources for junior officers: one is to sign up for admission to the Armament Academy after high school studies, and become a second lieutenant or lieutenant after completing professional studies; Second, non-commissioned officers who have served for many years have the opportunity to be selected into the officer training class, and after completing their studies, they become alternate officers, usually warrant officers, and then formally awarded the rank of second lieutenant after a period of assessment.

Therefore, the military quality of non-commissioned officers and junior officers is basically good and solid.

However, it is somewhat unreasonable to go up further, because after an officer is promoted to lieutenant colonel or colonel step by step, he does not need, or it is not mandatory, to complete the training and study of the command of brigade and regimental units.

The vast majority of people only go to the school for a few months, and you can even imagine that some of them must have just clocked in!

However, after passing the hurdle of middle-level officers, brigadier generals and major generals have to go to the staff university for further study, and the overall situation is relatively strict, so after studying, senior officers at least have qualified command skills.

Zhou Changfeng had served as a staff officer of the synthetic battalion for a period of time before crossing over, and he had enough skills in his own right, and then he slipped away to Spain to sharpen the entire battle.

This kind of experience is the only one in the world, only a genius tactician can compare, and how many geniuses among the millions of Ming troops have been discovered?

On the other hand, the rank of lieutenant colonel and colonel is the highest military rank that can be mixed up by the sons and daughters of the great Ming lords who have no ability and are purely based on relationships.

Further up, if you don't have two brushes, you will never be a general, and probably no one dares to vouch for such a gentleman today.

On the Western Front of the previous Malayan campaign, the lieutenant colonel of the logistics unit who left his baggage team and fled in panic after being attacked by air raids is a typical example.

He was also lucky, Qiu Peisheng had already ordered him to be arrested and waiting to be released, and whether he was shot or not was a matter of one sentence. Thanks to the smooth offensive of the Ming army, there was no disadvantage, otherwise it would definitely not be able to escape the fate of being killed.

In view of the series of problems that have been exposed, the military department has preliminarily determined remedial measures after many discussions and discussions.

At present, the war has not started, and the overall stability is stable, no matter how many lieutenant colonels and colonels hurry up and make up for classes!

May 26, 6:19 a.m., Arras.

The torrential rain that had lasted for most of the day finally stopped, and the air was filled with fresh air.

The smell of blood and charring from the corpses of soldiers and the wreckage of tanks in the field was also washed away by the rain.

A dozen British soldiers are marching in search formation through a wreckage area of nine II and III tanks, strewn with debris and parts strewn across the mud.

"Will the Germans still come?"

"They've failed, and I don't think they'll come back."

"I don't think so, and they might try again."

The German 21st Motorized Infantry Division's hasty arrival was unsuccessful, and the downpour hampered air support, so the British troops who carried out the counterattack were able to participate in the battle in large parts.

Now that Arras had fallen under British control, the German 4th Panzer Division and the 21st Motorized Infantry Division, which were the vanguard, were thus separated from the large forces of Army Group Koblenz.

The British 1st Panzer Division, 6th Infantry Division, and 15th Scottish Infantry Division were ordered to do everything in their power to delay the movement of the German army.

Now, 400,000 Anglo-French troops and the remnants of Dutch and Belgian troops are retreating westward, and the huge ranks stretch for tens of kilometers.

Because of the changes in the Battle of Arras, the German vanguard that had fallen into the enemy position had to stop and hold on to the position, which also made it unnecessary for the Anglo-French army to retreat via Calais or Dunkirk.

In the wreckage of the Type III C tank No. 410, Sergeant Johannes Boulter felt as if he had a nonsensical dream, and now consciousness has finally returned.

Immediately afterwards he felt the pain and cold sensation coming over him, and he quickly realized what was happening.

They came to counterattack, but the French tanks were so strong that the 37mm armor-piercing bullets hit like arrows on the armor and flew off.

Later, his car was also hit by a Soma S35 tank, and the 47mm armor-piercing shell pierced the armor of the Type III C without suspense, killing the driver and radio operator.

He, the gunner, and the loader were all seriously wounded and fell into a coma on the spot, but the latter two did not survive after all.

Johannes felt wet, unsure of rain or blood, and felt cold from blood loss. He rummaged for a long time, and finally found a first-aid kit, bandaged the most conspicuous wounds, and left the rest of the minor injuries out of his mind.

He could hear the voices of the British soldiers outside, and he could see them through the observation windows around the commander's tower.

Surrender or flee?

Johannes hesitated for a moment, and suddenly saw a soldier on a motorcycle a hundred meters away coming this way, looking like a herald?

He immediately decided to take the opportunity to escape, and after removing the MP38 submachine gun hanging from the back, he gently pushed open the hatch.

By this time, the dozen or so patrolling British soldiers had already gone away.

As the hapless herald passed by, Johannes was struck and leaned out of the conning tower to shoot at him.

In the sound of "click-click" gunfire, the herald and the motorcycle overturned in the mud, and the puddles of colored oil were splashed.

Johannes felt his heart beat to his throat, and he jumped off the turret, falling into the mud for not being able to stand still.

But at this time, he didn't have time to hesitate, he rushed over and picked up the motorcycle, turned over and sat on it, twisted it to the end, and rushed out on this two-wheeled motorcycle made by the Birmingham company.

The nearby British soldiers were stunned and began to shoot continuously, and bullets whizzed past Johannes.

He looked ahead, intent on leaving the hell and joining up with his allies.

After a while, due to excessive blood loss and short-term bursts, he only felt that his eyes were darkened, his vision narrowed, and his little strength was about to be drained.

At that moment, a familiar muffled engine sound lifted his spirits.

A few seconds later, an Sdkfz221 four-wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicle drove out of the woods next to it.

Johannes, who couldn't hold on any longer, let go of the car and fell directly to the mud after getting out of the car.

The corporal in the armored car hurriedly jumped down from above and picked up the exhausted commander.

"We ...... Our counterattack failed...... What's next? ”

The corporal took Johannes to the car and brought him a piece of chocolate to eat.

"Repel them, of course, Comrade Commander." "The main force of the group army is ready to attack, and we must also cooperate from the rear, driving away these British Yankees one after the other!"

As he spoke, the corporal of the reconnaissance company pointed to the sky.

The rain stopped, the sky was bright, and the formation of hundreds of German fighters slowly passed by, which was spectacular.

Farther southeast, three infantry divisions of Army Group Koblenz had completed the campaign, and from two directions they were flanking the British forces holding there, and little Arras was doomed to be destroyed by the fierce offensive and defensive battles on both sides.

(End of chapter)