It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 239 | 10 Billion Yuan Subsidy!
Although there were existing ports, the Royal Navy, despite its strength, was unable to deploy a large force to the Americas in a short period of time due to the threat of air raids and low unloading efficiency.

The world is material; this is the objective reality, and no amount of subjective interpretation can change it.

Therefore, some people dismissively said, "America has a vast territory and ample strategic depth, and its army has one or two million people. Even if it were a million pigs, the Russians couldn't easily kill them all."

The sweltering conference hall was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Shang Ke's eyes widened slightly, and he almost stood up in a panic.

No, no, no, please don't open the champagne halfway through the game, that's just bad luck.

Pigs run around aimlessly, but people—armies—are organized groups. When faced with uncontrollable routs or a collapse in morale, they can truly suffer a complete defeat and even surrender en masse.

So Shank disregarded the appropriateness of the situation and hurriedly interjected, "Gentlemen, to be fair, the ability of tank units to suppress infantry units is obvious to all, and the morale blow they cause is also very serious. There are four or five examples of (infantry divisions) surrendering after being scattered on the battlefield of Mariana."

He took a breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead to the corners of his eyes, and then emphasized, "The Russians have fought two wars of annihilation, after all. They may be arrogant, but they have plenty of experience. I think we still need to carefully consider and study how they will use their limited forces."

Lieutenant General Yu Lindong is a tall, bald man who looks fierce and has a domineering style, but he is actually a very nice person.

Upon hearing Shang Ke's words, Yu Lindong stated frankly: "According to the tactics used in European warfare, the vast plains are ideal for tank units, making it inevitable to concentrate tank units for long-distance, deep penetrations."

The dean, of course, also attended the meeting. Looking at the huge map, he explained: "Strategically, (Ivan Ross's army) will definitely split into two routes: attack the Great Lakes industrial area to the west to dismantle military production capacity, and attack the major East Coast cities of Philadelphia and New York, as well as Washington, to the south to occupy the economic and political centers."

After saying that, the dean pondered and said, "The actual tactical issues are all the same, the US military's current organizational capabilities are very poor, and it is very lacking in anti-tank guns. I am personally very pessimistic."

Qian Changxuan, commander of the Tank Training Division, nodded and said with the same pessimism, "Yes, the positions of the US infantry divisions are like tofu to the Russian tank groups; they will crumble at the slightest impact."

Someone interjected, "There must be a way. Based on exercise experience, minefields can effectively hinder armored vehicle units. We can lay more mines, right?"

"Isn't that nonsense?" Qian Changxuan said irritably, "It's all flat plains! Hundreds of kilometers of flat land! How can we lay minefields with sufficient density? At most, we can do some around major cities and along major transportation routes."

Everyone was engaged in a lively discussion.

Shang Ke glanced at the dean diagonally in front of him, then at the chief of staff in the upper seat, and finally seized the opportunity to propose: "Time waits for no one. The safety of the Americas is still very important. I suggest that we immediately prepare an aid plan and prioritize the delivery of urgently needed anti-tank guns and various anti-tank weapons to the United States!"

While it is wrong to focus solely on weaponry, the significance of weapons and equipment cannot be ignored.

Undoubtedly, the tactical disadvantage caused by the lack of effective anti-tank weapons will further exacerbate the already poor combat effectiveness of the US military.

In other words, the US military, despite its superior weaponry, has often performed poorly. If it cannot even maintain this advantage, it is hard to say how the war will turn out.

Both countries have been inactive for many years, but the Great Unified Federation's reaction speed is clearly much faster, while the United States, isolated outside the Old World, is far too slow to react.

Last month, the Rock Island Arsenal successfully began manufacturing the M3 37mm anti-tank gun, while the Unified Federal Military-Industrial Complex had already begun mass production of the 65mm anti-tank gun developed for the T-34.

Regardless of the fact that the 37mm anti-tank gun is barely capable of even hitting the side armor of the T-34, it's more of a stepping stone than nothing; at least it makes a sound. The problem is that the US military doesn't even have enough of these stepping stones. The manufacturing speed hasn't been improved, and production is insufficient. Currently, most infantry divisions have only been allocated a dozen or so.

The Rock Island Arsenal is located in Illinois, and as a result, the Illinois National Guard was equipped with thirty or forty of them because the governor ordered some to be withheld.

In comparison, the Marine Corps, which has stronger combat capabilities, was only allocated a mere few doors.

In short, Shang Ke's proposal was approved by everyone, and surprisingly no one objected, so the military aid plan was quickly put on the agenda.

Besides this, when Shang Ke went to the toilet halfway through, he had a flash of inspiration and came up with a new idea.

Is there anything the US military can quickly and in large quantities acquire, and that can be used to attack tanks?
Got it! The Italian cannon!
As is well known, the United States of America has two founding fathers. Besides the one who cut down the cherry tree, the other founding father ended up on the guillotine he designed.

America has long maintained good diplomatic relations with Marianne, and the Statue of Liberty was a gift from her.

During the European war, the American army manufactured a large number of "Italian cannons," and more than 3,000 of them are still in stock today.

The so-called 'Italian cannon' is a rumor. In fact, it is the Mle1897 75mm field gun developed by Schneider Electric Company of the Republic of Marianna, commonly known as 'Miss 75'. It is the world's first artillery piece designed with a recoil mechanism and a rate of fire of up to 15 rounds per minute.

This gun has a barrel length of 36 calibers, a muzzle velocity of 530 m/s, and a relatively flat trajectory. Historically, the German army captured many of them and converted them into Pak38/97 anti-tank guns after the 'T-34 crisis'.

Although this antique 75mm field gun could not penetrate the T-34 with armor-piercing rounds, its ballistic performance was indeed good, making it very suitable for firing high-explosive anti-tank rounds.

【Picture】

Due to its own interference, the Unified Federal Military-Industrial Complex made rapid and significant progress in the technology of hollow-charge armor-piercing projectiles, truly leading the way by a wide margin.

Given the urgency of the situation, we first granted technology authorization and simultaneously assisted in the contract manufacturing of hundreds of thousands of armor-piercing rounds to alleviate the immediate crisis.

Pinduoduo's 10 Billion Yuan Subsidy Program is now live!

Back in the meeting room, Shang Ke seized an opportunity to quickly explain his proposal, which was well received and praised.

The meeting lasted much longer than most people expected, from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m., with servants constantly coming and going to serve tea and water and bring snacks to satisfy their hunger.

One agenda item after another... the final consensus reached was:
First, the American army will likely suffer losses at first, but they should be able to hold out.

Second, an emergency mutual assistance treaty was concluded between the two countries so that the American side could confidently transfer its Pacific Fleet to the Atlantic to merge with the US fleet.

Third, immediately provide America with much-needed tank defense guns and anti-tank grenades.

Fourth, to avoid the worst-case scenario, preparations were made to form an expeditionary force to go to the United States to participate in the war in a "time of extreme urgency".

(End of this chapter)