Chapter 714 Army Reform

After temporarily arranging the population issue, the Army Department soon reported a new issue, which is the reform of the current army organization.

Speaking of the army organization of Australasia, it was initially determined more than 20 years ago when the relationship with Germany was relatively close.

The army organization at that time was developed together with German experts. There were certain changes in the German organization, but generally speaking, it was still quite similar to the German organization.

Such an army organization has evolved over more than 20 years and is no longer suitable for the current situation.

First of all, the emergence of tanks has changed the way of fighting wars, and mobility is becoming more and more important for the army.

One of the purposes of the Australasia army reform is to mechanize the army, at least to greatly improve the mobility of the army.

The second is the evolution of aircraft, which currently has strong combat effectiveness. The current air force can pose a huge threat to ground forces, just like the Australasia Air Force bombed the US army before.

A powerful army must have sufficient air defense capabilities, at least to have a certain resistance when facing enemy aircraft.

In the proposal of the Army Department, each division should add at least one anti-aircraft battalion, and each battalion should be equipped with at least 12 27mm anti-aircraft guns and 8 improved MA-107 Maxim heavy machine guns.

In order to properly transport these anti-aircraft weapons, the anti-aircraft battalion alone needs at least 27 military transport vehicles, of which 20 are used to transport artillery and machine guns, and the remaining 7 are used to transport soldiers and other equipment of the anti-aircraft battalion.

Fortunately, the generals of the army did not arrange the air defense organization below the regiment level. Otherwise, the huge changes in the organization reform and the large amount of weapons and equipment that need to be purchased would be enough to give Arthur a headache.

Of course, if there is an anti-aircraft battalion, there must be an anti-tank battalion. The anti-tank battalion will be equipped with 22 50mm II anti-tank guns, and the number of military transport vehicles required has increased to 40.

For the divisional artillery regiment, all artillery with a caliber below 75mm will be delegated to the infantry, and the artillery regiment will only retain large artillery with a caliber above 75mm.

In the reorganization plan, the artillery regiment's firepower equipment will become 24 75mm semi-automatic artillery, 12 105mm semi-automatic artillery, 8 127mm howitzers and 5 155mm howitzers.

The highest firepower of the divisional artillery regiment is 5 155mm howitzers. As for larger caliber artillery, the required logistics and transportation capabilities are not borne by the divisional artillery regiment.

In addition to the artillery regiment, the divisional forces also have cavalry regiments. Of course, if the changes in the organizational reform plan are made, the new cavalry regiment should be called the divisional mobile regiment.

The mobile regiment will change from a complete cavalry organization to a mixed organization of cavalry and mechanized troops.

The cavalry organization has been reduced to a cavalry company, and the mobile regiment also has a mechanized transport company and a tank company.

This aspect is enough to see the ambition of the army. If such an armament reform is realized, all ordinary conventional divisions will become mixed divisions, and the combat firepower of each division will be greatly improved.

Of course, this is also a great test of Australasia's logistical capabilities, as well as its ability to store various strategic materials.

With a large number of tanks, transport vehicles and other machinery equipped to the troops, the fuel consumption alone is an astronomical figure.

If Australasia did not control the Persian Gulf territory, and other regions also had abundant oil reserves, such a structure would be a burden for Australasia.

In addition to reforming the division's direct troops, this armament reform also made certain changes to each infantry regiment.

According to the previous Australasia organization, each infantry division has three infantry regiments, one artillery regiment and one cavalry regiment.

This organization system will not change, but there are still significant changes to the organization within the infantry regiment.

The artillery company under the regiment was improved to a mixed artillery battalion. Because the artillery regiment directly under the division has transferred all small-caliber artillery to the infantry unit, the artillery company of the infantry regiment has more artillery to expand the organization.

Although it is an artillery battalion, the artillery battalion of the infantry regiment is more small-caliber artillery. The most famous one is the CA-1-37mm machine gun, which is one of the most outstanding designs in the development of Australasian artillery. At present, there is no small-caliber artillery that can replace it.

The terrifying firing rate of nearly 80 rounds per minute alone determines that such machine guns can play a huge role on the battlefield.

Even if the lethality is not as strong as that of large-caliber artillery, the artillery coverage that covers the sky is enough to scare any army team.

Compared with the artillery company, the cavalry company has not changed much. After all, the importance of cavalry in some areas is still greater than that of tanks and trucks.

After all, it is only the end of 1928, and it will take a long time for various mechanized equipment to completely replace cavalry.

The combat capability of cavalry in many mountainous areas is still better than that of tanks. After all, tanks are not omnipotent in this era, and the failure rate of tanks is also very high.

Moreover, the number of tanks and trucks has been increased in the division-level combat units, and the cavalry company of the regiment-level combat unit will naturally not change.

Regarding the more basic army organization, after modification, it is as follows:

The squad leader, a machine gun group of 3 to 4 people, the deputy squad leader and five ordinary soldiers form an infantry squad of 10 to 11 people.

The number of machine gun groups will change to some extent. The number of heavy machine gun groups will be a little more, and the number of medium and light machine gun groups will be a little less.

The infantry platoon has a total of 50 people: four infantry squads (calculated as a full complement of 11 people), 2 platoon leaders and deputy platoon leaders, 2 signal soldiers, and 2 platoon soldiers.

The infantry company has a total of 196 people: three infantry platoons, 6 signal soldiers, 17 logistics soldiers, 12 company headquarters, and 11 fire support squads.

The infantry battalion has a total of 775 people: three infantry companies, 52 battalion headquarters (including officers, communications, and logistics), 80 fire support reinforcement platoons, and 55 battalion-affiliated mixed transport platoons.

Thanks to such a large organization, the number of each infantry regiment has exceeded 3,000, with three infantry battalions, a mixed artillery battalion, and a cavalry company.

The total number of a mixed division with three infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, a mixed mobile regiment, an anti-tank battalion, and an air defense battalion is nearly 17,000.

This total number of people has increased by about 1,000 compared to before the reorganization, but the firepower of each division is definitely more than just increasing by 1,000 people.

According to the estimated results given by the military, the combat effectiveness of the same division before and after the reorganization is at least 30% different.

However, looking at the budget proposed in the armament reform, Arthur smiled bitterly again, and then he understood why the military people were so nervous when they mentioned this report.

According to the military report, the reorganization budget for each division is at least 1.9 million Australian dollars. Australasia has a total of 12 infantry divisions, and the reorganization cost of these 12 infantry divisions is at least 22 million Australian dollars.

This is not over yet. How can the reorganization of the army only target infantry divisions? There are certain changes in cavalry divisions, artillery divisions and even tank divisions.

The organization of the cavalry division basically increases the number of artillery, machine guns, etc., which is also an increase in firepower.

The changes in artillery are relatively large. Artillery also reduced the number of small-caliber artillery and greatly increased the number of artillery with a caliber of 75 mm and above.

After all, the infantry units of small-caliber artillery have been equipped, so there is no need for the artillery divisions specializing in artillery to waste firepower.

The biggest change in the artillery division must be the M1-105mm self-propelled artillery that Arthur was amazed at.

Self-propelled artillery is different from automatic artillery. Automatic artillery is the way artillery is fired, while self-propelled artillery is the way artillery moves.

The so-called self-propelled artillery, the simplest concept is to add a tank base to the artillery, so that the artillery has the ability to move autonomously.

And this so-called M1 artillery is naturally the result of a long period of research by the Royal Arsenal.

Why is the caliber of the M1 artillery set at 105mm? Naturally, it is because the 105mm artillery has its unique role.

First of all, the larger the caliber of the artillery, the larger the volume and weight of the shells. This also determines that a larger caliber of artillery is often not a good thing, because too large shells are very troublesome to transport.

But the smaller the caliber of the artillery, the less destructive power and lethality it can cause. How to find a balance in the caliber of the artillery, which can not only cause a lot of casualties to the enemy, but also satisfy the logistics department, is a major problem for military factories to improve.

The lethality of 105mm caliber artillery far exceeds that of 75mm, but the weight of the artillery is not as heavy as that of 155mm artillery.

To put it bluntly, the 105mm artillery is to find a balance between 75mm and 155mm to meet the two needs of lethality and logistics.

Of course, after a long period of development, the lethality of 105mm artillery is naturally beyond doubt.

One of the major functions of self-propelled artillery is its mobility. On the premise of meeting mobility, 105mm artillery is already the most lethal choice.

If the caliber is larger, there will be some problems in the transportation and firing process of the artillery. Besides, if it is really a fortress attack, there will naturally be artillery with a larger caliber.

The biggest role of the M1 artillery is to use mobility to catch the enemy off guard, and the current caliber is completely sufficient.

Fortunately, the number of cavalry divisions, artillery divisions and tank divisions is not too large, and the cost of reorganizing these armies is estimated to be around 8 million Australian dollars.

This also means that this military reform will cost at least 30 million Australian dollars, and the maintenance cost of the army will increase significantly in the future.

After thinking again and again, Arthur decided to carry out this military reform.

First of all, the improvement of military firepower is a good thing, there is no doubt about it.

Secondly, the economic situation in Australasia is still good, and it is not a problem to bear an additional few million Australian dollars in military expenses every year.

Secondly, although the United States has been defeated, it does not mean that the world situation will usher in peace.

If the United States falls, Britain will eventually usher in new challengers. This is something that no country can change, and the world situation will always have new changes.

There are still many countries that can threaten Britain at present, including France in Europe and island countries in Asia.

Of course, in order to be prepared for danger in times of peace, the British may also regard Australasia as a potential competitor.

However, for the time being, the British should not give up the alliance with Australasia. After all, Australasia is geographically far away from Europe, and its influence on European countries is not that great.

As long as Australasia's naval control is within a range acceptable to the British, Anglo-Australian relations should not deteriorate in the short term.

It is worth noting that after the Americans fell, the only naval powers left were Britain, Australia, and France.

Australasia's research on battleships has basically stopped, and its aircraft carriers are at a similar level to the British.

It is precisely because of this that the biggest threat to the British is not Australasia, but the island country that once built the strongest battleship.

Yes, this is not a joke.

The islanders have different ambitions, and the number of their warships definitely exceeds the provisions of the naval limitation treaty.

However, at that time, the British were all focused on confronting the United States, and they turned a blind eye to the island countries' occasional behavior that exceeded the provisions of the naval limitation treaty.

But now that the Americans have been dealt with, the British naturally have no concerns.

For the British, everything can be tolerated, but it cannot tolerate someone who wants to threaten itself in terms of the navy.

It is foreseeable that after completely dealing with the division of the United States, the British should turn their attention back to the world situation.

Of course, according to the British's balancing policy, there is a greater probability that the relationship between Australasia and the island countries will be destroyed, forcing Australasia to compete with the island countries.

There is even a high probability of this. For the British, the struggle between the island countries and Australasia can solve two potential threats.

In this way, the British only need to focus on the situation in Europe to completely secure the throne of world hegemony.

As for countries in other regions, there is no threat to Britain for the time being.

After all, in addition to Europe, Asia and Oceania, the only country with powerful countries is North America.

Of course, in a few months, North America may not count.

Arthur does not believe that the British will give up the opportunity to divide the United States, not to mention that the United States was independent from Britain before.

Even if it is impossible to eat up all the territory of the United States, according to the British's balancing policy, it is certain to support several American countries.

But this is a good thing for Arthur. At least Arthur's plan to support the new United States can be implemented, and he can also eat an extra bite of meat in Central America.

In fact, according to the new military establishment, the number of troops in Australasia will increase again.

Previously, each infantry division had only 60,000 people, and the new infantry division has increased to about 70,000 people.

The number of other artillery and cavalry divisions has also changed to a certain extent, which also makes it possible for the total number of Australasia's troops to exceed 270,000 after the establishment reform.

The army establishment of 270,000 people is enough for Australasia. After all, in the absence of war, too many army establishments are a huge burden on the finances.

However, while maintaining the army establishment of 270,000 people, it is also necessary to pay attention to the training of reserve soldiers.

Military training for college students and some male citizens of appropriate age is very necessary, and this will become a topic that all male citizens in Australasia cannot avoid.

Of course, even William, the heir to the throne, is no exception.

Arthur is already selecting the army for William to serve. He will conceal his identity and go to the army selected by Arthur to serve, and spend at least two years in the army with his own abilities.

This is also a test for the future heir to the throne. After all, if you can't even handle the relationship with the soldiers, how can you handle the relationship with those cunning officials?

These officials looked honest when Arthur was still alive, but when the country changed to a new owner, various faces will gradually emerge.

A qualified heir to the throne must not only be excellent in politics, but also be trusted by the soldiers, at least make the soldiers feel good and willing to be loyal to the royal family.

In fact, according to the tradition of a country that values ​​the navy, the crown prince will most likely choose to serve in the navy.

Just like the United Kingdom, if the British crown prince serves in the army, he will most likely choose to serve in the Royal Navy.

After all, it is the Royal Navy that maintains Britain's hegemony, and the combat effectiveness of the British Army can only be said to be barely qualified.

However, for Arthur, Arthur's greatest hope is that William can serve in the army.

At least in the short term, the navy of Australasia will not develop much. Except for the construction of a few aircraft carriers, there will not be much change in the main battleships.

After all, it is still necessary to maintain relations with the British, at least before the outbreak of World War II.

Arthur didn't want to be the protagonist in World War II, or the kind that was too much of a villain.

Of course, to be more sinister, Arthur certainly hoped that the war would break out as it did in history.

Because the current situation has changed greatly compared to history, at least there will not be a complete United States to help Europe win the war.

This also means that if Germany triggers World War II, only Britain, France, and Russia will be left to resist Germany in the early stage.

These three powers have more or less huge problems, which also means that if they want to resist the German attack, Britain, France, and Russia must shed more blood.

This situation is a good thing for Australasia, because Arthur can take advantage of such an opportunity to gain more benefits.

For example, the Strait of Malacca that Arthur has been thinking about, the British will definitely not give it up unless there is a special crisis.

Of course, if India is threatened in the future, the British will definitely be willing to give up any territory except the mainland and India.

After all, India is the brightest pearl on the crown of the British Empire. If this pearl is gone, the crown of the British Empire will also be gone.

Well, this is really not a joke.

The throne of the British Empire comes from the Indian Empire. If India is gone, the British monarch will only be the king.

Of course, from the fact that all British monarchs have been called kings or queens, it can be seen that not many countries are willing to accept this crown of the United Kingdom except the British.

Europe attaches much more importance to legal principles than other regions. If there is no orthodox legal inheritance, even if it is the first great power, the throne will not be recognized by other countries.

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