Expedition to Europe

In fact, the Marine Corps had already participated in the war against Siam, but the Marine Corps did not really fly the flag at that time, and it was not really a real appearance.

Qin Zhiyuan's exercise this time mainly had two purposes. The first was to check the cooperation ability between the various arms, and the other was to send out certain signals to confuse Britain and the United States.

After Lan Fang launched its own "Surabhai-class" aircraft carrier, Britain and the United States paid great attention to it. Although the Cam Ranh Bay Shipyard was strictly guarded, the construction progress was constantly known by the all-pervasive British and American agents.

Qin Zhiyuan's exercise this time was to let Britain and the United States return to the "correct" path of the invincibility of battleships.

As for deterring the Philippines, Qin Zhiyuan really didn't mean to do that. Strictly speaking, the Philippines was not qualified, and MacArthur took himself too seriously.

Since the exercise has multiple purposes, the preparation work must be particularly meticulous. Qin Zhiyuan summoned relevant military generals to announce the purpose of this exercise and arrange the content of the exercise.

After listening to Qin Zhiyuan's plan, Xie Rundong, the captain of the "Sishui" aircraft carrier who had been appointed, immediately began to lament: "I knew that this time we would be sandbags again--"

In fact, the "confuse" operation has a long history. Since the appearance of torpedo planes, the Lan Fang Navy has conducted many exercises before. On the one hand, it is to examine the air force's attack capabilities against warships, and on the other hand, it is to improve the fleet's air defense.

Lan Fang needs the sharpest sword and the strongest shield.

What makes Xie Rundong very unhappy is that in the previous exercises, the aircraft carrier commanded by Xie Rundong was strictly restricted. The number of carrier-based aircraft takeoffs and the attack capabilities of torpedo planes per unit time were strictly limited to a certain range. This is to adapt to the increasingly thick armor and increasingly powerful air defense capabilities of future battleships.

However, this is a tragedy for Xie Rundong. It is obvious that two torpedo squadrons can sink the battleship, but the exercise command insisted on judging it as four, and there are no four torpedo squadrons on the aircraft carrier commanded by Xie Rundong, which requires the torpedo plane to have higher penetration and survivability.

The original intention of the exercise command was good, but due to the current performance of torpedo planes, some aspects are indeed not strong enough, so Xie Rundong was beaten like a "sandbag" many times in previous exercises.

Fortunately, the aircraft carrier has another advantage, that is, compared with the battleship, the aircraft carrier is faster, and it can always run away if it can't beat it.

However, this problem is not static. The aircraft carrier currently equipped by Lan Fang has a smaller tonnage, and the largest is only 20,000 tons. After the boiler modification, the speed is indeed faster, but the tonnage of the new "Sishui-class" aircraft carrier has reached 35,000 tons. At that time, the speed will drop accordingly. Although it is still faster than the battleship, it can no longer run faster than the destroyer.

Because of the existence of the flight deck, any shell landing on the flight deck will make the aircraft carrier lose its combat effectiveness within a certain period of time.

"Hahahaha, Old Xie, I told you a long time ago that aircraft carriers have no future. Come back as soon as possible. I will give you a new corps-class battleship." Navy Minister Antonio is a firm supporter of the "big ship and big gun" doctrine and will not give up any opportunity to promote his "battleship decisive theory".

The current direction of naval development is still a bit confusing. Although Qin Zhiyuan advocates the development of aircraft carriers, there is no unified understanding even within Lan Fang. In the Lan Fang Navy, a considerable number of naval generals believe that aircraft carriers are not as good as battleships. Antonio thinks so, so does Tan Xueheng, commander of the Vladivostok Fleet, and even Xie Rundong's chief of staff Cheng Peide.

"Hehe, one day you will realize the combat effectiveness of aircraft carriers. I don't want your corps-level. I have the Surabaya. When the time comes, the Surabaya can carry three torpedo plane formations. One wave can make your corps-level disappear." Xie Rundong firmly refused to be tempted by Antonio.

"Haha, let's wait and see." Antonio's mouth was still hard.

Although he was hard-mouthed, Antonio knew very well that aircraft carriers were the future development direction, and battleships would eventually become a historical product. Several previous exercises of the Lan Fang Navy had confirmed this. If the exercise command had not deliberately suppressed the combat effectiveness of Xie Rundong's task force, both the Cam Ranh Bay Fleet and the Vladivostok Fleet would have been defeated in the previous exercises.

Here we have to talk about the current naval organization of Lan Fang. The Lan Fang Navy has a total of three fleets, namely the Cam Ranh Bay Fleet with Cam Ranh Bay Naval Port as its home port, the Vladivostok Fleet with Vladivostok Naval Port as its home port, and the task force led by Xie Rundong.

The flagship of the Cam Ranh Bay Fleet is the "France", which is also Qin Zhiyuan's ship, but the most powerful warship of the Cam Ranh Bay Fleet is the "Lan Fang", which is converted from the "Mutsu" battleship captured in the war against Japan. The Cam Ranh Bay Fleet also has nearly 20 other warships, which is the most powerful fleet of Lan Fang at present.

The flagship of the Vladivostok Fleet is the "Vladivostok". Although the home port is the Vladivostok military port, most of the time, the Vladivostok Fleet is docked at Ningbei Port, which is the former Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula. This is the best military port in the north of Lan Fang and the only ice-free port all year round.

The reason why the Vladivostok Fleet often docks at Ningbei Port is for Alaska. Less than a thousand kilometers northwest of Ningbei Port is the state of Alaska in the United States.

Finally, there is the task force led by Xie Rundong. The only four aircraft carriers currently in Lanfang are all in Xie Rundong's task force. According to the plan, in the next five years, these four aircraft carriers will be mothballed and replaced. There are four "Sishui-class" aircraft carriers.

In the current combat sequence of the Lanfang Navy, the Cam Ranh Bay Fleet is undoubtedly the first choice, followed by the Vladivostok Fleet, and finally Xie Rundong's task force fleet.

However, after the "Sishui-class" is put into service, Xie Rundong's task force will become the first choice. At that time, Xie Rundong's fleet will also be strengthened, and Qin Zhiyuan will supplement Xie Rundong's task force with two newly commissioned "Legion-class" battleships. , to ensure the combat effectiveness of the task force.

By then, the layout of Lanfang's three fleets will become Cam Ranh Bay Fleet and Vladivostok Fleet each have three battleships, as well as two mothballed aircraft carriers, while Xie Rundong's task force will have two of the latest "legion" ships. -class battleships and four newly commissioned "Sishui-class" battleships, becoming Lanfang's most powerful fleet.

Considering the advanced level of "Legion-class" battleships and "Sishui-class" aircraft carriers, it is estimated that within ten years, Lanfang will not need to design updated battleships. If there is another war, it will be enough as long as he has the right to start construction of these two models.

Especially the "Sishui-class" battleship. In another time and space, the "Kitty Hawk-class" prototype of the "Sishui-class" would not appear until the 1960s. It is the last generation of conventionally powered aircraft carriers, and its survivability is conceivable.

"The task force is indeed going to lose this time, but it won't be so ugly. Because with the addition of the Marine Corps, you will even gain advantages in some local areas." Qin Zhiyuan can't cool Xie Rundong's heart, and he will to some extent. Give some comfort.

"Your Majesty, I still believe that the Marine Corps should be placed under the name of the Army." Chen Kangjian, who was in attendance, immediately started to make trouble.

The naval exercise does not have anything to do with the Army, but Chen Kangjian is such a character who always wants to have a hand in everything. The naval exercise does require the coordination of the Army. When he got the opportunity, Chen Kangjian immediately jumped out and intervened.

"Get out!" Commander-in-Chief of the Marine Corps, Griffith, was not angry and cursed him with just one word.

Read the original article in Liu#9@书/吧!

Chen Kangjian was so thick-skinned that he didn't take it seriously at all: "Oh, Lao Ge, your temper has gotten worse now that you have become the commander-in-chief - what's the matter? Don't you want to work in the same tank as us?"

That being said, the only thing that eats the food in the same trough is the horse.

Griffith didn't answer at all, but Chen Kangjian got more and more enthusiastic the more you answered.

Qin Zhiyuan didn't talk nonsense to Chen Kangjian and knocked on the table as a warning. Chen Kangjian immediately started drinking tea as if nothing was wrong.

It's true that one thing brings down another thing.

"In order to make the exercise more relevant to wartime conditions, the water area and content of the exercise will not be announced now. Each unit must be ready for battle at any time. If something goes wrong with that unit, don't say it was unforeseen." Qin Zhiyuan disagreed. Nonsense, it went straight to the 21st century.

Qin Zhiyuan's words immediately made all the generals dumbfounded. If they don't announce the water area or the exercise projects, how should they prepare for this? You can't tighten the string every day, otherwise it will break sooner or later.

Qin Zhiyuan obviously didn't think so, and his next words made the generals feel like they were in an ice cellar: "Our army is going to fight, so we must be ready for battle at any time. Once a war breaks out, the enemy will not give us time to prepare, so all The troops must be ready and available as soon as they are called. This is a drill, but it is also a practical test. Next, we will have to change the equipment on a large scale. Your duties are likely to be adjusted, so I hope you will be more vigilant. , don’t make the mistake of yourself.”

In the next two years, Lanfang's new battleships and aircraft carriers will be put into service one after another. At the same time, new models of destroyers and submarines will also appear. The thinking of some naval generals is not adapted to the development of the navy. Sooner or later, they will have to leave the front line and retreat to the second line. Qin Zhiyuan Get vaccinated in advance.

Perhaps because they heard Qin Zhiyuan's determination, Xie Rundong and Antonio did not dare to hesitate. Everyone was taking notes seriously, and even Chen Kangjian was immersed in writing as fast as he could.

"The Army and Air Force must also be prepared. You will also have exercises next. If any of your troops falls behind, don't blame me for transferring you to teach at Imperial University -" Qin Zhiyuan was a warning.

Imperial University, this is the Imperial University in Yecheng, and it is also the highest institution of higher education in Lanfang. It is a comprehensive university that covers almost all disciplines.