"General Hindenburg, General Ludendorff, this is my proposal for a reform of the military system, you two take a look. If we can make our command system more flat, we will be able to improve the efficiency www.biquge.info of command. This will yield great benefits on the battlefield. Qin Tian said, and then handed a document to Hindenburg and Ludendorff.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff took the document and read it. Soon, from their faces, they saw a full shock.

Indeed, they did not expect that Qin Tian would actually propose a reform of the military system. Although, over the decades, from the Kingdom of Prussia to the German Empire, the military system of the army has changed from time to time. But it's basically just minor modifications, and it's not like Qin Tian, who directly cut down a certain level of units. If they knew that Qin Tian not only wanted to remove the unit of 'brigade', but even wanted to remove the unit of 'army', they would probably be even more shocked.

Admiral Hindenburg and Brigadier General Ludendorff, after reading Qin Tian's plan, were silent for a long time.

It was a moment before Hindenburg spoke.

"Your Highness, removing the unit of 'brigade' can indeed play a role in simplifying the command system. However, I am afraid that this will cause turmoil. It will also make many people unaccustomed to it. On top of that, it will reduce a lot of generals with the rank of brigadier general. I'm afraid this will make a lot of people unhappy. Hindenburg was a little worried. After all, if a brigade-level unit exists, there will be many more positions such as brigade commander, deputy brigade commander, brigade chief of staff, and so on. These are the ranks of brigadier general and colonel. After cutting down brigade-level units, where will these people go?

"General Hindenburg, we are only implementing this military system within the 8th Army Corps, and will not extend it to other corps. Even if it causes turmoil, we can completely suppress it. As for the placement of those brigade-level generals, we can completely transfer them to other departments. It's not that after the cutting of brigade-level units, these brigadier generals and colonels will not be needed, the commander of the artillery regiment, can be a brigadier general. The deputy division commander and the chief of staff of the division, who can also be brigadier generals. If you think about it, it shouldn't be much of a problem. Qin Tian said.

On this issue, he has already made up his mind, and he will not back down even if there are great difficulties.

"Although it is a little troublesome, after simplifying the command system, it is indeed of great benefit to the command and operation of the army. I thought, we can give it a try! Brigadier General Ludendorff said. Compared to Hindenburg, Ludendorff is younger and more aggressive.

Hindenburg hesitated for a moment, and then expressed another concern: "Your Highness, if we change the military system without authorization, I am afraid that this will cause dissatisfaction among the General Staff. Your Majesty, I don't know what the attitude is. ”

"There's the General Staff, don't worry too much. If Moltke is looking for trouble, I'll deal with it. As for my father, I'll explain it to him. Qin Tian said. Anyway, he and little Moltke are now incompatible, even if he doesn't do anything, little Moltke will find him trouble. Rather than this, it is better to follow his ideas. Anyway, now that Qin Tian's position as the crown prince has become more and more stable, naturally there is no need to be afraid of little Moltke.

As for Wilhelm II's attitude, Qin Tian was still confident that he would be able to convince him. After all, almost everything Qin Tian has done over the years has been successful. In such a situation, Wilhelm II would have believed him.

"Alright, Your Highness, then follow your plan!" Hindenburg nodded, he had already persuaded him, but Qin Tian was still stubborn, and he had no choice.

According to Qin Tian's plan, all units of the 8th Army Corps will be reorganized in accordance with the new military system.

A squad of 12 people, armed with ten rifles, a light machine gun and a sniper rifle, a grenadier canister. Three squads plus firearms squads and platoon headquarters for one platoon. The firearms squad also consisted of 12 people, armed with one heavy machine gun and one mortar. The platoon headquarters consists of a platoon commander, a hygienist, a communications soldier and two heralds. In this case, a platoon is 54 people.

Three infantry platoons plus a heavy weapons platoon and company headquarters. The heavy weapons platoon consisted of two light machine guns, three 60-mm mortars and one heavy machine gun, numbering 23 people. The company headquarters is composed of the chief and deputy company commanders, two guards, a communicator, a health officer, and two heralds, and the entire infantry company has a total of 193 people.

The infantry battalion consisted of three infantry companies, a battalion headquarters company, a heavy weapons company, and an infantry artillery company. In addition to the officers and men who make up the battalion headquarters, the battalion headquarters company also includes a reconnaissance platoon, a guard reconnaissance platoon. The heavy weapons company was armed with 6 81-mm medium mortars, 8 light machine guns and 3 heavy machine guns. An infantry artillery company, equipped with six Type 08 infantry guns (Type 92 infantry guns against the Japanese), with a total strength of 1,000 and 50 men.

The infantry regiment consisted of three infantry battalions, an artillery battalion, the regimental headquarters and the regimental direct units. The regimental headquarters includes civilian personnel of the regimental headquarters, guard companies, reconnaissance companies, etc. Other regimental units include a regimental mortar company equipped with six 107-mm heavy mortars. In addition, there is a logistics company, a health company, and so on. The artillery battalion is a field artillery battalion, divided into three field artillery companies, each equipped with six 75-mm field guns, and the strength of the regiment has reached more than 4,500 people.

Infantry divisions consist of three infantry regiments and an artillery regiment, as well as other divisional units. The units directly under the division include the division headquarters, reconnaissance battalion, guard battalion, baggage battalion, armored battalion (not included for the time being), and so on. The artillery regiment has three artillery battalions, two of which are 105-mm howitzer battalions, each equipped with 18 105-mm howitzers. The other battalion is a 150-mm heavy howitzer battalion equipped with 18 150-mm heavy howitzers. The total number of infantry divisions is more than 16,500.

The biggest difference between the new infantry division and the old infantry division before it is undoubtedly the increased machine-gun fire and artillery firepower. In particular, the artillery firepower has been greatly improved. The existing German infantry divisions were armed with 54 77-mm field guns and 18 105-mm howitzers. The restructured infantry division is armed with 54 75-mm field guns, 36 105-mm light howitzers and 18 150-mm heavy howitzers. The number of artillery pieces has almost doubled. The intensity of the firepower completely exceeded that of the previous infantry divisions by more than two times.

It can be said that after adding so many technical weapons, the new infantry division will be even more powerful in combat effectiveness as long as it has undergone training, at least much stronger than the previous combat effectiveness. If Qin Tian proposed to build the 8th Army Corps into the most powerful corps of the German Army, Hindenburg and Ludendorff did not quite believe it, then now, they completely believe it.