Meteorology has always been one of the main factors affecting wars, second only to geography in the past wars.

Although with the advancement of technology, the impact of meteorology on war has been decreasing, today's technical means still cannot completely eliminate the impact of bad weather. In fact, the more advanced the weapons are, the more likely they are to be disturbed by meteorology, and even cannot be used normally due to bad weather.

For example, during the Posa Bay War, sandstorms reduced the efficiency of the coalition's air strikes by more than 60%, and seriously restricted the scope of use of laser-guided munitions.

Of course, the impact of severe cold is also prominent.

Although after learning from the lessons of the Second Global War, all countries attached great importance to combat capabilities in high-latitude areas. For example, Xiluosha insisted on equipping gas turbines for the T-80 series main battle tanks, which has a lot to do with the better cold start performance of the gas turbine and is more suitable for working in severe cold environments, due to technical limitations, the combat efficiency of armored troops in severe cold environments is still not much better.

Not to mention anything else, except for a few models of main battle tanks, all other tanks use diesel engines.

Besides, the huge fuel consumption of gas turbines offsets the benefits of cold start performance because it does not require a hot car.

In addition, the impact of severe cold does not mean that good equipment can be ignored.

For example, the impact of snow on road and railway traffic cannot be ignored, and in severe cases it will cause traffic lines to be paralyzed.

That's why after the first heavy snow fell in early October, the situation on the mainland battlefield gradually stabilized.

Whether it is the offensive or the defensive side, they are preparing for the upcoming winter, such as providing clothes to protect the cold and installing heating equipment for the barracks.

Of course, the impact of weather has not only bad sides, but also good sides.

Looking at the entire battlefield, meteorological factors are actually more beneficial to the empire.

The reason is that the Imperial Army can use the meteorological changes in each battlefield to fight the time difference, so as to solve the problem caused by insufficient troops, at least significantly alleviate the problem.

Don’t forget that no matter what the situation is, the empire faces the problem of fighting on two fronts or even multi-fronts.

Even on the ground battlefield, you have to face strong enemies from multiple directions.

But the problem is that even if you can obtain sufficient military expenditure from the two houses of discussion, it is impossible to maintain a standing military force that can win the global war in peacetime.

In other words, during the war, we will definitely encounter the problem of insufficient troops before completing military mobilization.

It is obviously unrealistic to expect to solve the problem of insufficient troops through war mobilization.

This is why the overall strategy of the empire was mainly defensive in the early stage, and through defense, it was time to complete military mobilization.

However, this is not all.

Using meteorology closely related to geography is also one of the main means of response.

The key here is actually the continental battlefield facing the Western Continental Group and the southern subcontinental battlefield facing the Fanluo Kingdom, which has huge differences in meteorological differences.

The mainland battlefield is in the huge hinterland, and is a typical high-latitude area, characterized by very cold winters.

Relatively speaking, the southern subcontinent belongs to the tropical monsoon, and the temperature changes in one year are not obvious. The main seasonal sign is rainfall.

The key is that the winter on the mainland battlefield is highly consistent with the dry season on the southern subcontinent.

Generally speaking, the dry season in the southern subcontinent is from October to May of each year.

Because precipitation decreases and river water levels decrease, in the Gangala plain with dense river networks, it is more suitable for large corps combat in the dry season.

Strictly speaking, large-scale combat operations can only be launched during the dry season.

With the arrival of the rainy season, especially with several consecutive heavy rains, the water level of the river skyrocketed, and no matter how powerful the troops are, they will definitely be difficult to move forward.

That's why the two previous Southern Subcontinental Wars started at the end of the year and ended a few months later, before the rainy season arrived.

If you want to say it, it is because of this that the Pakistan Railway authorities will be so relaxed.

After all, compared with the previous two Southern Subcontinental wars, the situation of the two sides at the strategic level has reversed due to the support of the Liangxia Empire. According to the judgment of the Pakistan Railway authorities, the Van Luo Kingdom was limited by the overall military strength and may not dare to launch an attack in October, which had just arrived in the dry season. For longer-term considerations, especially in the defensive operations after the failure of the offense, it is more likely to schedule the attack to be launched at the end of the year, or even at the beginning of next year, to ensure that in the overall situation, the abundant precipitation in the rainy season can be relied on the abundant precipitation in the rainy season to block the attack of the Eastern Alliance. Even if you cannot defend Decheng, you will have a great confidence in defending the crucial Gangaro Plain.

If you want to say something, even Ding Zhennan has a similar view.

Of course, for the Imperial Army, the winter on the continental battlefield is basically synchronized with the dry season on the southern subcontinental battlefield, which is definitely a strategic advantage.

It is not wrong to say that it is "time".

Simply put, starting from October, the Imperial Army can send its main force to the southern subcontinent and use second-line troops to guard the defense line on the mainland battlefield. As long as it can conduct rapid battlefield transportation, it can send the main force back to the mainland battlefield in a few months.

It can be seen that in addition to the necessary rest and rest, the main force can actually fight on both sides.

The key here is how to quickly transfer between the two main battlefields.

But from the perspective of transfer, the ideal way is to reduce the transportation volume as much as possible, mainly by air-carrying personnel and light equipment.

To this end, it is necessary to reserve a set of main combat equipment in each direction, such as tanks and combat vehicles.

Only in this way can only transfer personnel. After the personnel are in place, they can immediately obtain the required main combat equipment and then quickly form combat capabilities.

As for combat supplies that mainly focus on ammunition, it is a secondary issue.

After all, there will be no storage of ammunition during peacetime, and the empire's ammunition factories are all in the core areas of the local area. Therefore, whether they are sent to the mainland battlefield or to the southern subcontinent battlefield, they have to be transported by railway, and the empire has long built a railway network as a standard.

The problem is that the main combat equipment.

Not to mention that the Imperial Army's status has been declining, even if it has not been reduced, it is impossible to purchase main combat equipment twice as much as the actual demand in peacetime.

Funding is a huge problem.

Take the main battle tank for example. On the mainland battlefield, at least 8,000 vehicles are theoretically needed to withstand the fierce attack of the Western Land Group in the early stages of the war. Although the demand for the southern subcontinent is lower, it also requires 5,000 vehicles. In addition to combat demand in other directions, the total demand is between 15,000 and 18,000 vehicles. The key is that this is still the lowest demand, while the actual demand is more than 20,000 vehicles.

Obviously, it is impossible to purchase 20,000 ZT-99 main battle tanks.

The reason is also very simple. According to the 30 years of service, an average of 700 vehicles are purchased each year. The Imperial Army can only purchase up to 300 vehicles with the funds for purchasing main battle tanks every year. If 700 vehicles are forcibly purchased, there will be no money to purchase other main battle equipment.

In addition, the service time of the main battle tank may not reach 30 years, for example, the service time between the ZT-80 and the ZT-99 is only 24 years apart.

That's why the Imperial Army's main battle tanks have always been between 8,000 and 9,000.

Because it is impossible to purchase enough main combat equipment, the Imperial Army can only think of other ways, such as trying to extend the service time of main combat equipment.

In addition, these "semi-retired" main combat equipment are stored in frontier bases in a sealed manner.

Let’s compare the main battle tanks. Except for the aid and sold to friendly countries, all retired ZT-80s have been dealt with necessary treatment and placed in several frontier bases in the northwest and southern theaters. In the north of Pakistan, there are 600 underground warehouses in the Baisha Base on the west of Iborg. Just a simple treatment is required, these tanks can be put into service and delivered to combat troops for use.

600 tanks can be equipped with 2 mechanized infantry divisions or 4 mechanized infantry brigades.

The same is true for other main combat equipment.

In addition, most of the sealed retired equipment is stored in the southern war zone, while the active main combat equipment is mainly assigned to the Northwest war zone.

Of course, the reason is easy to understand.

The Northwest War Zone faces the Xilu Group directly. Whether it is the T-Man Army or the Xiluosha Army, they all have very advanced main combat equipment. For example, the T-80 and the "Leopard" 2 series main combat tanks are also very sufficient, and their combat power cannot be underestimated and must be dealt with carefully.

Relatively speaking, the Van Luo Army is significantly worse.

Although the Van Luo Army has millions of regular troops, millions of reserves and militias, and can mobilize tens of millions or even more combat personnel during wartime, in terms of main equipment, the Van Luo Army is a veritable Wanguo Card and is not as good as the Pakistan Railway Army in many aspects.

Still use the main battle tank to say things.

The main battle tanks of the Vanro Army were divided into two factions, Xiluosha and Nuland.

The former represents about 2,000 T-72s, of which 500 are imported directly, and the other 1,000 are imported parts and then assembled in the local tank factory. The remaining 500 are produced according to licenses and are still being produced at a rate of 300 vehicles per year.

The combat power of these tanks is just that.

Although according to reliable information, some of the 500 vehicles imported directly were the B-type used by Xiluosha, which was significantly different from the monkey versions exported, and their performance did not shrink, but the other 1,500 vehicles must be all monkey versions, and their performance is far less than that of Xiluosha’s models used by Xiluosha.

The key point is that the Van Luo Army certainly did not obtain the new armor-piercing bomb.

If an outlet armor-piercing bomb is used, even if the tank gun does not shrink, its power cannot be guaranteed.

On the side of Posa Bay, the T-72 of the Iraqi army was unable to penetrate the front armor of the ZT-99B at the usual combat distance. According to the tests conducted by the Imperial Army, even if the combat distance is shortened to 500 meters, it would take enough luck. The T-72 of the Iraqi army could use an export-type armor-piercing projectile to penetrate the front armor of the ZT-99B. Facing the thicker front armor-faced armor-piercing projectile, the export-type armor-piercing projectile could not penetrate the full range.

Of course, the biggest advantage of the T-72 is that it is cheap.

Otherwise, it would not have been possible to become the main battle tank with the largest number of equipment in the Van Luo Army.

As for the latter, in addition to the hundreds of M1A1s imported directly from the Republic of Newland, the "Arjun" based on the M1, designed according to the national conditions of the Vanro Kingdom, and improved according to the standards of M1A1, and the "Arjun" 2, whose combat capability has been greatly enhanced.

However, these three main battle tanks are not large.

There have always been different statements on how many M1A1s the Van Luo Army has equipped.

Shortly after the M1 was launched, the Van Roh Army introduced a batch from the Republic of Newland, but the actual number of acceptances was much smaller than the number of contracts, less than 100 vehicles.

The reason is also very simple. After formal equipment, the Van Luo Army discovered that its 105mm rifled gun was relatively low and it was impossible to destroy enemy tanks within a regular combat distance. Even if the latest armor-piercing bombs were purchased, it could not deal with the new tanks encountered during service.

For this reason, all the subsequent batches were replaced with M1A1 equipped with 120mm smoothbore gun.

Based on this, the Van Luo Army's M1A1 has only a maximum of 500 vehicles.

The problem is here.

According to the equipment list released by the Van Luo Army, the M1s received were upgraded and transformed before, and their combat effectiveness reached the level of M1A1. However, information shows that the Van Luo Army sold these M1s back to the Newland Army and stored them in a military base rented to Newland. Later, it was upgraded and transformed, and then sold them to the Van Luo Army at an extremely low price according to the three-hand equipment, and the number was more than the original resale.

The key is that the Van Luo Army refused to accept it, but it had already been produced and transported to the Van Luo Kingdom, about 300 M1 vehicles.

According to this calculation, the Van Luo Army's M1A1s have more than 800.

There are not many "Arjun" based on M1. Strictly speaking, there is no mass production at all, that is, the performance of this type of tank is really poor.

Not to mention anything else, the protection provided by the combat weight of more than 60 tons has not reached 60% of the M1.

That's why the Van Luo Army only symbolically purchased dozens of vehicles.

As for the "Arjun" 2 after the major reform, its performance has indeed been greatly improved. For example, the use of a 120mm smoothbore gun has also reached the M1 level. Unfortunately, the cost is ridiculously high, even more expensive than the imported M1A1, which the Van Luo Army cannot afford.

Although the Van Luo Army had long announced that it would purchase 3,000 Arjun 2s to replace almost all imported tanks including the T-72, by the outbreak of the war, the production of Arjun 2 was less than 100, and due to the power system limitation, the production speed could not be faster.
To be continued...