The scorching sun scorched the whole earth, and the hot air mixed with the dampness unique to the southern state of Louisiana, wrapped the whole body tightly, and the sweat flowed like rain from all parts of the body to the boots. Colonel George Patton, commander of the 7th Cavalry Regiment with a steel helmet, was now on horseback and leading his men to follow the M2 light tanks of the 7th Mechanized Cavalry Brigade Panzer Regiment - detouring to the flank of the 4th Blue Army.

"Those goddamn bitches!" The colonel cursed loudly on horseback. The terrible exercise had sparked his memories and interest in tanks during the European War, and it was precisely because of the problems that had actually occurred that he began to reject the views of cavalry and armored troops by Rear Admiral John Knowles Hull, the chief of cavalry, and some of Washington's bigwigs, and even less like the current formation, which is a mixture of cavalry and armor, such as the current 7th Mechanized Cavalry Brigade.

In the army, everyone knew that the colonel had swear words on his lips at all times, because his swearing at this time did not attract the attention of his subordinates, everyone was sick from the sun, and the commander of the mechanized cavalry brigade, Brigadier General Daniel von Wallis, was standing in the turret of an M2A1 tank - a new tank with a 37mm gun of fifty-six times the diameter - he was holding a telescope, as if following the light tanks rushing ahead.

At this time, the barbed wire fence in front of the Blue infantry position in the distance was quickly destroyed by the tank, and as soon as the tank crossed the trench, it rampaged through the Blue Army's position, constantly destroying the enemy infantry with machine guns. At the same time, bags of flour thrown by the defending infantry rained down on the tanks like hailstones, and 37mm anti-tank guns also opened fire one after another. Or judging that some infantry has been killed, the scene becomes chaotic.

In the midst of this injurious chaos. Colonel Patton's 7th Cavalry Regiment was rushing into enemy positions along the road broken by the tanks, and the cavalry knives that were straight forward shone brightly in the sun, and soon, the infantry who had just thrown the flour bags alive were all killed, and the flank of the Blue Army was broken through by the 7th Mechanized Cavalry Brigade.

“NICE！” Brigadier General Hull, the cavalry commander who was observing the battle from another angle, happily lowered his binoculars and smiled at Brigadier General Marshall, Deputy Secretary of the Army, Brigadier General McNair, Commander of the Army Headquarters, and Colonel von Hill of the German Army, who were standing on the side: "Gentlemen. This is mechanized cavalry! We cannot be misled into replacing horses with untested machines that have proven useful. Of course, we must not forget the tank, or the combat vehicle as the Chinese say, it has strong firepower, good defense and strategic mobility; At the same time, there are also a number of disadvantages: unreliability of machinery, dependence on fixed supply lines, and requirements for special terrain. But if you combine these two......"

Brigadier General Hull, the commander of the cavalry, seemed to forget the heat at this time, and proudly stretched out his hand to the battlefield ahead: "...... Then it's all perfect! It, the 7th Mechanized Cavalry Brigade has both the flexibility and tactical mobility of cavalry, as well as the firepower and good protection of tanks, and there is nothing more perfect than such a combination. ”

"Uh-huh." Brigadier General Marshall coped noncommittally. He did not say whether it was good or bad, but German Army Colonel von Hill, who had been invited to watch the exercise, was in close conversation with Major Albert Weidemeyer, who was next to him. It's just that they speak German, and no one else understands what they're talking about.

"I think we should go ahead and have a look." Brigadier General Marshall turned his head to look at Major Weidemeyer, who was talking to the Germans, and then muttered to McNair, who was beside him, that this exercise was mainly to test the combat capability of the infantry division after the evolution from the Cube Division to the Triangle Division, or to verify the configuration of the division's artillery, and the battle of the mechanized cavalry was just an additional program.

"What is he talking about?" Heading to the land of the Blues' position, Marshall deliberately called Major Weidemeyer to the front. He was curious to know what Colonel von Hill had to say about the 7th Mechanized Cavalry Brigade's battle.

"It's just terrible." Major Weidemeyer had been loyal to Marshall ever since he was drawn into his office. The Germans' assessment was not good although. But he still has to give honest feedback. "The colonel thinks that the mixed formation of armored forces and cavalry is simply terrible. Rather than this, it is better to simply cancel the cavalry. Turn infantry into chariot cavalry - let the infantry be mounted on the chariot and get off the vehicle to fight if needed, just as the Chinese did twenty years ago. ”

"Cancel the cavalry ......" Marshall shook his head and smiled bitterly when he thought of the proud expression of Brigadier General Hull, the director of the cavalry. As an ancient army, the position of the cavalry unit of the US Army is unshakable. Unlike the Chinese Army or the Japanese Army, there is no cavalry tradition. That's why. The army is not cavalry but infantry, and the armored corps is simply unplaced.

-- the Infantry Commander believes that tanks should be incorporated into infantry divisions to support infantry combat; The cavalry commander believed that armored troops were mechanized cavalry, with more firepower and armor, but with vulnerabilities and limitations that cavalry did not have. So, mixing them together is the best way to solve these problems, which is actually the reason why they prefer light tanks over medium tanks, and their strategy is to use tanks as heavy cavalry, hoping that they can strike quickly.

However, in the past examples, even if we do not mention the world's first real armored warfare -- the beautiful encirclement and annihilation of the Russian Siberian Army in Manchuria in 1914 by the armored division of the Chinese Reconstruction Army, the armored division of the Chinese expeditionary force and the German armored division during the last European war are the two classic examples that shocked the world, the armored division is not just a mechanized upgrade of the cavalry division. Unfortunately, however, there is very little information about the Battle of Verdun, and twenty years after the Battle of Paris, the Germans talk more about what the war would have been like if Marshal Léo Wilhelm had not been assassinated, and the French did not want to mention the history of Paris occupied by the Germans, and they optimistically forgot all about it and remembered only the glory of Versailles.

Maybe next year there will be another such exercise to test the real armored division, Brigadier General Marshall muttered to himself. After that, he asked Weidemeyer again: "What other points does the colonel have?" ”

"The colonel also thinks that our tanks are just too bad." Major Weidemeyer had no end in his words. "Especially artillery and armor. In the case of Spain, he believed that 30mm armor was clearly not enough. The RPG bazooka sold to the Spanish warring sides by the Chinese arms smuggling company Wo Shui could penetrate this armor in an instant......"

The 'Ahh Fart Strike' bazooka reappears in English and becomes 'RPG', although its real name is no longer Rochet. Propelled.Grenade, but at least the daimyo is back. This weapon is claimed to be capable of destroying all armoured combat vehicles in the world, and those who oppose the theory of armor victory immediately use it as a weapon, arguing that tanks or tanks can only be used as auxiliary weapons for infantry. It simply cannot become an independent service. In particular, after the Chinese Army announced that it would gradually abolish armored divisions, this argument has basically become the mainstream in military circles of various countries.

Indeed, a new weapon weighing only thirteen pounds and measuring only 60 mm could break through three inches of homogeneous steel at a distance of one hundred and fifty yards, and four inches of homogeneous steel at a distance of one hundred and fifty yards. This is tantamount to a death sentence for tanks - no amount of armor thickness can match the armor-piercing power of bazookas. And once the thickness of the tank's armor is increased to more than 100mm, then with the current engine technology, the tank will become a crawler. In addition, a bazooka costs only thirty Asian dollars, or about fifteen dollars, while an M2 medium tank costs more than thirty thousand dollars, which can buy two thousand bazookas. It is clear to any sane person that it is better to equip tanks than to equip infantry with bazookas.

"And what do they think of RPGs?" Marshall's third question was one of his greatest concerns.

"Basically divided into two factions, most of the officers of the mechanized troops insisted on the importance of the independent formation of tank units. They believed that in a rapid attack in the open area, the infantry, even with a certain amount of RPG rocket launchers, would only destroy part of the vehicles, and more tanks would break through the enemy lines and go straight to the rear, as did Chancellor Goering's wife. Weidemeyer said.

"Is that the Chinese duchess?" Marshall thought of the mixed-race yellow woman who had fascinated Goering.

"Yes, General." Weidemeyer nodded, having had the privilege of meeting and admiring this legendary lady when he was studying in Germany.

"Didn't she get some valuable news from the Chinese?" Inside the bumpy car, Marshall lights a cigarette. One was also handed to Weidemeyer. At a time when the entire army was thoroughly admiring the French, he needed Weidemeyer to tell him something new. Especially the current situation of the German Army, which is of great help to him in the urgent work at the moment, such as the establishment of the triangular division, which basically copied the structure of the German infantry division, rather than the French infantry division.

"I don't think the colonel is clear about that." Weidemeyer replied regretfully. Like Marshall, he knew that war would break out in the next few months. Japan and the United States have been in a state of readiness since the Japanese Government handed over the Marshall issue to the League of Nations last year - after the Marines occupied Kwajalein Atoll last July. The Marines searched for a female heel, which was carefully identified as part of Miss Earhart's leather shoe. It is not difficult to deduce from this that Miss Earhart was brutally murdered by the Japanese, and her body was completely hidden.

"That's a shame." The car has stopped. Marshall muttered before getting out of the car.

"General, most of the tanks were destroyed by the infantry." As soon as Marshall appeared, Brigadier General Wallis, the commander of the cavalry brigade, stepped forward to report to him the bad news, which he should have told Brigadier General McNair, the commander of the Army Headquarters who had disembarked first. Brigadier General McNair, who came from the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade, was drawn from the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade, and he was shrewd, capable, and insightful, and the best candidate for the formation of a new army, but his only drawback was that he was somewhat deaf.

"All destroyed?" Marshall repeated, "It seems that we underestimated the power of infantry anti-tank weapons." ”

"Yes, General." Brigadier General Wallis's face was heavy, he had high expectations for the 1st Mechanized Cavalry Regiment, "especially those flour bags, they destroyed almost all the tanks, but the infantry was not satisfied, they thought that if they used RPGs, they could safely destroy the tanks from a few hundred meters away......"

"I see, Daniel." Marshall lifted the brigadier general's shoulder, and he felt an indescribable disappointment. After that, he walked up to Brigadier General McNair and said loudly: "What do you think? ”

"What?" McNair apparently didn't notice Marshall coming, and turned his good ear sideways to hear him.

"I said, what do you think?" Marshall said again, louder and his hand pointing at the tanks that had been judged to have been destroyed.

"Everything sucks!" Brigadier General McNair shook his head, the man in charge of the U.S. Army's establishment and wartime doctrine during World War II, who had also lost faith in the tank forces. "The tank needs thicker armor, but then it will be too heavy. I think we should also copy the kind of weapon of the Chinese, preferably by buying patents for its production. ”

"It's impossible," Marshall replied to Brigadier General's latter suggestion, "and we can only imitate." ”

"That's as soon as possible!" After a long while, Brigadier General McNair advised, "I have heard that the League of Nations is about to publish its findings. He said and laughed, "This time it is said to be true." ”

"Hehe......" McNair laughed, and Marshall laughed too. Since the Japanese Government referred the Marshall issue to the League of Nations last July, the League of Nations, aware of the importance of the matter, has sent a huge investigation team, which has repeatedly investigated the matter three times, but has so far not made a final report - everyone knows that the United States Navy will never withdraw from Kwajalein Atoll or other islands and reefs in the Marshall until Miss Earhart's body is found, and the Japanese have always believed that the United States occupation of Marshall is a conspiracy, and that it is not for the order of their Emperor that the entire population should wait for the ruling of the League of Nations, The war has already begun. To that end, giving the United States enough time to find the body and then turn it into an ordinary murder is on the minds of most people around the world.

The chairman of the League of Nations is a Frenchman, and he knows very well that peace in Europe benefits from the guarantees of China and Japan, and once a war breaks out in the Pacific, China is very likely to be involved in the war, and as soon as China is involved in the war, then Germany, which has no one to suppress, will completely tear up the Treaty of Versailles and start a war again, which every European country does not want to see. It can be said that the peace of the whole world is on the Marshall Investigation Report, but this report has been delayed for nearly a year, can it be delayed any longer? (To be continued.) )