The Third Reich: The Return of the King

Chapter 278

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These two countries were very worried that Hans would get together with Italy, because if Italy and Hans formed an alliance, then the territories of the two countries would be connected together to form a barrier from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, directly blocking Gaul and the British Empire in Western Europe.

The reason why the British Empire wanted to break up the Allies during World War I was because if these three countries colluded together, it would block their way to expand their sphere of influence to the east. As long as Italy defected, the plan of German Emperor William II would completely fail. Therefore, from a strategic point of view, Italy is still very important to Europe!

“The latest news is that the Italians have returned South Tyrol to Hans. It seems that the two countries are really going to form an alliance!”

MI6 got the latest intelligence about Hans and Italy as soon as possible. After getting this intelligence, they attached great importance to it and immediately reported the news to the Prime Minister of the British Empire.

“Are you sure?”

After hearing this news, the Prime Minister of the Sun Never Sets was a little worried. If Italy and Hans formed an alliance, it would become very difficult for them to suppress Hans or deal with Italy in the future. So this news was definitely one of the news that the Sun Never Sets least wanted to hear!

“I’m not sure yet, but the South Tyrol issue should be settled. I think, since the Italians are willing to pay such a huge price, their relationship will definitely be greatly improved!”

The Prime Minister nodded. This inference made sense. The Italians were willing to use South Tyrol as a bargaining chip to make a deal with Hans, which meant that they must have received a lot in return from Hans. Otherwise, only a fool would be willing to make this deal!

“Ah, cut!”

Mussolini, who was inspecting the famous military factory Krupp in Hans, suddenly sneezed.

He rubbed his nose and muttered in his heart, is someone scolding him?

But soon he put the matter behind him, because his eyes were completely attracted by this artillery of Krupp!

SFH150 howitzer!

This artillery is a new type of artillery that was finalized and produced by the German army in 1920. Because it uses a new production technology, the performance of this artillery has been greatly improved.

After Mussolini finished the negotiation with Mainz, Mainz arranged for him to visit Krupp and Mauser factories to facilitate him to choose the weapons and equipment he needs!

For the German army, except for the latest tanks and two general-purpose machine guns, as well as the Gustav cannon and the navy’s two confidential Bismarck-class battleships, other weapons can basically be sold!

Therefore, brand-new weapons such as the SFH150 howitzer were also taken out as items for sale at this time!

“What is the range of this artillery?”

Mussolini himself was a soldier, so he was very fond of artillery, the king of war.

This artillery has a large caliber, sufficient charge, and great power. It is one of the favorite weapons of the army soldiers. If they can get the assistance of this weapon in the battle, then their attack will be more effective and the battle will be easier and more enjoyable.

However, the caliber, power and accuracy are only part of the test of the performance of a piece of artillery. There are other parameters that need to be considered, such as reliability, failure rate and range.

“There are two types of this artillery, one is a 32-caliber 150-meter howitzer with a range of 15 kilometers, and the other is a 40-caliber with a range of 28 kilometers!”

Gustav Krupp knew that this was a big customer, so he personally came out to entertain Mussolini, and Mussolini also knew that this guy was Mainz’s brother-in-law, so he was very polite to Taf.

At this time, after hearing Gustav’s introduction, Mussolini’s eyes immediately straightened!

“28 kilometers, are you sure you’re right?”

28 kilometers, this is already a super long-range artillery, right?

Shouldn’t the range of ordinary howitzers be only 13-18 kilometers?

This thing actually has a range of nearly 30 kilometers, isn’t this too exaggerated?

“That’s right. In fact, this artillery is a howitzer, which is between a cannon and a howitzer. Because the barrel is relatively long, the initial velocity of this artillery is very fast, the trajectory is relatively straight, and the range is also very long!”

Gustav introduced very proudly. In fact, the howitzer is much more complicated than what he introduced.

Although both howitzers and cannons are artillery, their combat methods are completely different.

Cannons generally increase the amount of powder in the shells, lower the muzzle height, and shoot at a relatively small angle.

In this case, the trajectory of the cannon is very low, so it can directly shoot at close targets.

In World War I and World War II, the anti-tank guns of various countries basically belonged to this type. They used a straighter trajectory and could directly knock down the enemy tanks crawling on the ground, while howitzers could not do this.

Compared with cannons, howitzers have smaller firing charges, but a large shooting angle, and the maximum design angle can even reach 45 degrees!

At this angle, after the shells are fired, the trajectory is relatively curved, and the angle at which the shells fall is also relatively large, so it can effectively cover the enemy’s trenches.

Therefore, howitzers with a shorter range and a larger angle are generally used as accompanying support firepower for front-line troops, performing tactical support mission.

Since the cannon has a long range, it can perform long-range fire support and can also directly attack enemy bunkers and fortifications.

The two types of artillery are different and their combat methods are completely different.

In order to meet the combat needs of the front line, all countries are generally equipped with these two types of artillery, which makes the types of artillery in the army extremely complicated. The existence of various artillery such as howitzers, cannons, mortars, recoilless guns, etc. has greatly increased the burden of logistics!

In this case, Hans took the lead in developing the world’s first modern howitzer in 1915. This artillery perfectly solves the problem between cannons and howitzers!

She can freely carry out crab roe according to different combat missions. When using large-sized propellant and small shooting angles, its ballistic characteristics are close to those of cannons and can be used as cannons!

When she uses small-sized propellant and large shooting angles, the ballistic characteristics are close to those of howitzers, and the effectiveness of howitzers can be exerted!

Therefore, this type of artillery solves the work of two types of artillery and greatly reduces the burden and pressure of military logistics!

The SFH was originally just a howitzer, but Gustav did not want to abandon the howitzers they had produced during World War I, so he boldly applied to Mainz, hoping to get the military’s support so that they could continue to develop howitzers.

This request was naturally agreed by Mainz, so after some modifications to the existing SFH150 howitzer, a brand new howitzer appeared in front of Mussolini!

“This type of artillery can not only strike at the logistical facilities behind the enemy’s front line, but also destroy the bunkers and fortifications on the enemy’s front line. It’s like spending one cent to get two things. It’s definitely worth it if you buy it back!”

Gustav saw that Mussolini seemed to have something, so he quickly started to promote it.

Mussolini was indeed tempted!

Italy’s own military industry was not well developed, and their army lacked heavy artillery, which was divided into howitzers and cannons. If he was asked to buy two types, Italy’s finances might not be able to afford it. At this time, Hans solved the problem of two types of artillery with one type of artillery. How could he not buy such a good thing?

“”Okay, I want this thing, 1,000 guns first!”

Soon, the news that the Italians were buying arms in Hans spread throughout Europe, and after hearing this news, all European countries were deeply uneasy!

They may not feel anything when countries expand their military forces at sea, but once someone expands their military forces in the army and prepares for war, everyone will be a little uneasy!_Read the ununderlined version of the novel, please download