The first thousand three hundred and forty-eight chapters rely on two legs
Based on the feedback and tactical requirements of the frontline cavalry, the Ordnance Department of the Privy Council has put forward several requirements for cavalry-specific fast transport vehicles!
One is the need to ensure speed, the second is the need for excellent passability, and the third is the need to ensure a certain load capacity.
Because this kind of fast transport vehicle is prepared to be assigned to a cavalry unit riding two horses or three horses alone, and this kind of cavalry can maneuver very quickly over short and medium distances, such as within a hundred kilometers.
It is basically impossible for ordinary military four-wheeled transport vehicles to keep up, so it is necessary to design a new type of fast transport vehicle.
After putting forward a series of indicators, the Ordnance Department issued a tender to dozens of domestic companies currently engaged in carriage design and manufacturing. However, the Ordnance Department did not expect these carriage companies to come up with any good designs;
At the Royal Institute of Technology.
The result was indeed the same. Dozens of carriage companies put forward all kinds of messy plans, but in the end the military chose the design plan provided by the Ordnance Department.
The design plan is very simple, that is, to reduce the size and weight of existing military transport vehicles, optimize the shock absorption performance, and provide both four-wheel and two-wheel designs.
Although the four-wheeled heavy-duty carriages of the military today have a load capacity of 1.5 tons, there will naturally be no problem if such heavy carriages are driven on official roads in good condition. However, if
It is impossible to follow the troops to maneuver in the wild, especially if you want to keep up with the rapid maneuvering speed of the cavalry.
You know, Kang Changning's cavalry troops all ride alone with two horses to protect their base. Some cavalry troops even ride three horses alone. Their attack speed is very fast. If they carry out long-distance attacks without considering logistics, the daily
The thrust speed can reach more than 45 kilometers.
In more extreme cases, it can even reach fifty or even sixty kilometers per day. However, this will have a great impact on the combat effectiveness of the troops. If they run too fast, the horses will be worn out and the troops will have a large number of horses.
Of the non-combat attrition, it would be good to have half of the cavalry on the battlefield.
Kang Changning's cavalry troops could cover more than 45 kilometers a day, so the new fast transport vehicles also needed to reach this speed.
In addition to the crucial speed, because the cavalry's marching road cannot always be an official road, and there are even no official roads in the wilderness, the new vehicle must also have very good passability and be able to run with the cavalry in the wilderness.
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The speed is fast, the passability is good, the load capacity must be maintained at a certain level, and more importantly, in accordance with the military's stingy tradition, the cost must be low.
The military, especially the Army, is famous for being stingy. In order not to spend money to buy the military rations needed to maintain the troops, now even the main field troops are reclaiming wasteland in their garrison, farming, raising pigs and chickens.
Things like ducks, cows and sheep.
When purchasing ordnance, the South China Arms Company last year upgraded and modified the existing flintlock guns and used more advanced steel to make barrels. This barrel is less likely to explode and has a longer lifespan.
The troops who tested the equipment responded well, and many senior military officials said the gun was good.
Just when the South China Arms Company thought the Army was going to make large-scale purchases, it turned out that the Army didn't even want a single shot!
When asked why, the person in charge of the Army Ordnance Department said one word directly: "It's too expensive!"
It turns out that after repeated tests and calculations, people from the Army came to the conclusion that there is no obvious difference in performance between new guns and old guns. In terms of lifetime cost, although new guns are cheaper, the purchase price is
It was a little higher, and after a comprehensive calculation, they found that if they used an old gun, the lifetime cost would be a little lower!
Just because of such a small cost, the Army refused to serve this new gun without hesitation!
Of course, the more critical thing is that this new gun does not bring any obvious improvement in combat performance. The barrel has a longer lifespan and has little impact on actual combat.
As a result, the Guards were equipped with muskets with barrels made of new materials, but the Army was useless. This also made the South China Arms Company very depressed. They could only use it after the manufacturing costs were reduced.
The Army purchased it.
The same is true for military equipment such as horse carriages. The military is very sensitive to price and requires it to be kept under a certain price.
The military's requirement of being cheap and easy to use is naturally impossible to achieve. It can only make certain trade-offs. However, under the trade-offs of the new fast carriage, the final trade-off chosen by the military is to retain speed and passability.
, sacrificing load capacity and cost, especially the increase in cost, I don’t care much about it.
This is not something the Army wants to do, but it has no choice. If it cannot achieve speed and passability, no matter how cheap the carriage is, it will be useless. It can only use expensive things.
However, even for this newly established fast transport carriage, it is actually very difficult to keep up with the long-distance maneuvering speed of Kang Changning's cavalry troops.
But then again, in fact, the marching speed of Kang Changning's troops is nothing compared to that of the Tatars. When the Tatars were in the Battle of Hetao, their main force could basically maintain their speed during long-distance rapid marches.
At a speed of more than 60 kilometers per day, in extreme cases, it can even run 70 or 80 kilometers a day.
Why? Nothing else. People just have a lot of horses. A cavalryman with three horses is the minimum standard. Some people even fight with five, six or even seven or eight horses.
During the march, the horses were alternately mounted, while the combat horses were not ridden at all times to conserve their strength, so they were able to cover dozens of kilometers a day and still maintain combat effectiveness.
The cavalry of the Tang Army did not have such a luxury. Even the main cavalry could only ride two horses alone. A few heavy armored cavalry could ride three horses alone. The vast majority of ordinary cavalry, especially divisional cavalry units,
Basically, they ride alone on a single horse. When marching, the cavalry leads the horse on foot.
Unlike the Tatars, who have many horses, they can directly take turns to march on horseback!
It's just that even though the marching speed of Kang Changning's troops is not as high as that of the Tatars, it is impossible for the infantry, artillery, and baggage troops to keep up with Kang Changning's attack speed. This new type of rapid transportation troops must be available to barely manage.
Keep up.
According to marching standards, in plain areas with good roads, the infantry, artillery and ordinary cavalry units under Fang Xitong's direct command can walk about twenty kilometers a day, while the heavy baggage troops and heavy artillery troops carrying a large amount of supplies have to travel even slower.
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In other words, it is impossible for ordinary baggage troops to keep up with Kang Changning's troops' long-distance march speed of more than 40 kilometers per day. Even if Kang Changning's troops do not always march at such a long speed, it is impossible to keep up.
If you run for just a few days, you can cover one or two hundred kilometers.
With a distance of one or two hundred kilometers, if the baggage troops cannot keep up and the cavalry troops themselves do not carry enough supplies, then the trouble will be big.
Therefore, the cavalry unit needs a new type of fast transport unit composed of fast transport vehicles, in order to be able to keep up with the rapid maneuvers of these elite cavalry!
The vehicle is smaller and lighter, the wheels are wider, and the new springs bring better shock absorption capabilities so that they can quickly pass through complex terrain.
Although this kind of vehicle does not carry much cargo, the transportation cost increases significantly.
However, in the case of two horses pulling, the speed is relatively fast when the road is good, and it can continue to maneuver on complicated roads, or even if there is no road. If it encounters a more complicated situation,
The terrain can also be dragged by temporarily adding horses or manpower.
Lightweight is an important feature of new rapid transportation vehicles.
With these fast transport vehicles, Kang Changning can carry more supplies while maintaining rapid maneuverability.
Of course, it is only these three cavalry regiments that need fast transport vehicles to follow and provide supplies, because only they have the ability to run long distances and at high speeds.
As for the ordinary divisional cavalry units, because they ride alone on a single horse, they do not need any fast transport vehicles to follow them, because they are not very fast, so they can move well with ordinary baggage units.
In fact, the biggest difference between a cavalry unit riding one horse and a cavalry unit riding three horses alone is in their marching ability. After arriving at the battlefield, they each mounted their war horses. Their short-distance tactical maneuverability and charge combat capabilities on the battlefield, and
There won't be any obvious difference.
However, the gap between the two sides' marching abilities is huge, and sometimes, marching ability is also an important manifestation of the army's combat effectiveness.
When it comes to marching long distances, the speed of a cavalry unit riding a single horse is roughly the same as that of an infantry unit, and there is no obvious difference.
According to the relevant regulations of the Tang Army, when marching on plain terrain and with good roads, the standard marching distance is twenty kilometers per day and six hours of walking per day. This regulation applies to infantry units, five-pound and nine-pound field troops.
, all single-horse cavalry units and ordinary baggage, engineer and other troops. (Excluding heavy field artillery, siege artillery and other heavy artillery units, heavy baggage troops, heavy pontoons, engineers and other special units)
In other words, the long-distance marching speed of a cavalryman riding a single horse and an ordinary infantryman are the same, and there is no obvious difference.
Because regardless of the speed of the horse itself, when these single-horse cavalry units march long distances, the cavalry has to lead the horse on foot. In other words, there is actually no difference between cavalry and infantry marching. They both have to rely on