German Red Prince

Page 141

“Punishing the relevant personnel is not enough to solve the problem.”

Thorne is going to reform the army this time, so how could he just let it go so easily? Simply punishing him and moving on from this matter won't be that easy.

"The Arthas Military District is a sensitive area of ​​the Kingdom. If it is handled too aggressively, it could easily cause a backlash. Therefore, this matter must be handled with caution."

"Moreover, although this was an accidental event, we must take it seriously. The kingdom hasn't seen anything like this in a long time, which indicates that there are some problems with our army. We must solve these problems in order to completely eradicate this issue."

After Thorne finished speaking, he took out the report he had collected. "This is the intelligence I have gathered about this incident. I hope it can help everyone better understand what happened."

Thorne produced reports collected by the Gestapo and the Stasi, which surprised many people present. They had only just learned of the news, and Thorne had already obtained the intelligence. The Alsace Military District was really lucky; if they had chosen to conceal it, they would probably have been dismissed and sent home by now.

"During the reign of King Charlemagne, our army had life commissars and discipline commissars. These positions were arranged by King Charlemagne to take care of the soldiers' daily lives and ideological work. Although life commissars and discipline commissars rarely participated in front-line combat, they did improve the soldiers' combat effectiveness in the army."

"Later, the kingdom was incorporated into the German Empire. In order to align with the German Empire's military system and simplify the army, the kingdom's army abolished the positions of life committee members and discipline committee members during the subsequent military reforms. Judging from this incident, this was a very wrong decision."

"This soldier's defection was due to problems in his personal life, coupled with reading propaganda books from the French Commune, which led to ideological errors and his decision to defect. These things could have been avoided."

"Therefore, I believe that the Rhine Kingdom's army should re-establish the life committee and discipline committee, and should establish a completely new position to lead the ideological development of the soldiers in the army."

"What are your thoughts, Prince Thorne?"

Now that the military has made a mistake, they can only lower their heads and admit it; otherwise, if it were to escalate, countless people would be in trouble.

"My suggestion is to establish the position of military discipline officer at all levels in the military, responsible for the ideological development of soldiers. The military discipline officer is responsible for leading the ideological work of the army, maintaining discipline, conducting ideological education, leading the troops to implement regulations, ensuring the unity and stability of the army, and thus improving the army's combat effectiveness."

"Military discipline officers must have firm beliefs and extremely high qualities, and work with military commanders of the same rank to organize and command combat, training and major missions, while also implementing political work."

These suggestions were all acceptable, but the idea of ​​political development within the military was difficult for some officers to accept. They felt it was strange to have politics mixed in with the military.

"Do you have any ulterior motives? King Charlemagne previously established life and discipline committees within the army to promptly implement the kingdom's policies. How were the army's combat effectiveness and military discipline then? Were there any mishaps? And now? If you could manage the army well, would the kingdom need to worry about these things?"

Thorne's remarks left the officers speechless. They were in the wrong to begin with, and besides, they had brought up King Charlemagne, so there was nothing more for them to say.

“I think Thorne makes a lot of sense. The kingdom’s army has serious problems with discipline and needs to be reformed. If no one here has any objections, let’s do as Thorne says.”

"Disciplinary Officer" was just a different title for Thorne. With this position, it would be much easier for him to appoint people in the army. The Party commands the gun, and loyal members of the Socialist Labor Party and the Communist Party of Germany could all become disciplinary officers in the future.

After all, this position will have a more prestigious name in the future: political commissar.

271. Tribal Caravan

The military discipline officer, a brand-new position, doesn't seem to have much use at the moment. It's just another person added to the army, so initially, not many people paid attention to it.

In the eyes of most people, the role of the military discipline officer seems to overlap with that of the staff officer. In addition to political tasks, the military discipline officer is also responsible for organizing combat information, providing data and suggestions, and assigning combat tasks. Therefore, many people believe that the establishment of the military discipline officer is not very necessary.

Of course, this is something Thorne is doing intentionally. The current military discipline officers' main function is to assist in military tasks, and their secondary function is to conduct ideological work among the soldiers.

One must eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time; overly radical reforms are likely to provoke the military's resentment.

Most of the current military discipline officers are still people from the military. Thorne plans to gradually infiltrate the military with some members of the Socialist Labor Party and the Communist Party of Germany, and then let them influence the soldiers in the future.

Moreover, the military discipline officer is involved not only with the military but also with two political parties, which requires further investigation.

Being a political commissar is not an easy job. You can't just put any kind of person into the army. To cultivate high-quality political workers, you need professional learning and training.

In short, the establishment of military discipline officers in the Kingdom of the Rhine did not attract much attention at the moment and was quickly forgotten. The border troops heading to Flanders-Wallon were ready to depart at any time, and the French Commune did not intend to escalate the matter of the soldier who escaped to France, so there was no further news about it.

After taking the photos, Rebin actually intended to publish them immediately. Such big news—German soldiers defecting to the French Commune, and even the soldiers on the other side choosing to leave—didn't this demonstrate the complete failure of the German system?

If this escalates, Germany will become a laughing stock on the international stage. This would be a huge victory for the French Commune and the socialist camp.

However, Duclos strictly controlled the news at the time. He had his own plans and did not want to escalate the matter. Later, the Alsace Military District tried to negotiate to take the soldier back, but Duclos ignored them. The soldier's defection demonstrated a very important point: the French Commune's political infiltration of Germany was effective.

The fact that this soldier dared to cross the barbed wire and run into the French Commune must have required a lot of internal struggle. The fact that he was carrying propaganda pamphlets that the Commune had distributed in the Alsace region shows that the Commune's political work had had some effect, so Duclos did not intend to escalate the incident.

If this were publicized, it would indeed be a victory for the French Commune, but its significance would be limited. An enraged Kingdom of the Rhine might overhaul the Alsace military district, which would make the subsequent work much more difficult.

So now both sides are in a very tacit understanding: the French Commune has not publicized the incident on a large scale, and the Kingdom of the Rhine has also chosen to minimize the impact of the incident as much as possible.

The deserter was released quickly after being questioned by the security department and went to his mother's side. Duclos instructed him not to let anyone disturb them. Since he had chosen to come to the French Commune, he should just live a good life from now on.

This incident seems to have changed something, yet it also seems to have changed nothing. In short, it didn't cause much of a stir, but it did have some impact in Africa.

Because the North African Legion was far from home, they couldn't know what was happening back home in a timely manner. The arrival of Yodl and his men was still very novel to the soldiers stationed in North Africa.

They had never heard of a military discipline officer before, and Paulus might not have let these people in if Yodl hadn't brought proof and Thorne's documents.

Yodl's life was quite remarkable. He distinguished himself in the war and was promoted several ranks within two years, becoming a captain.

However, due to injuries sustained on the battlefield, he chose to leave the army for a period of time after the war and became a doctor. But a few years later, he chose to rejoin the army and become a military instructor.

Yodl remained relatively low-key within the Rhine Kingdom's army, but he also had his own views on the army's discipline, believing that the army lacked discipline and that some officers were too arrogant and confident.

Because Yodl's military skills were indeed good, he became one of the first military discipline officers after passing the assessment. Thorne's reason for sending him to work in North Africa was also very simple: wasn't this the bald guy from "The Three of Us"?

He will be the Director of the Operations Bureau of the Supreme Command in the future, so his abilities should not be a problem. He can work well with Paulus to help Thorne stabilize North Africa.

In grassroots units, military discipline officers must be assigned. Because they are newcomers, these officers cannot immediately guide the work of the army; they need a period of learning and adjustment.

The soldiers quickly lost interest. Although North Africa was boring, there was plenty to do. They were more concerned about what the kingdom had sent them than the new officers.

What excited the soldiers this time was that the kingdom sent them brand-new weapons, the latest submachine guns.

After the design drawings were submitted, Vollmer quickly made the corresponding improvements, and the first batch of the latest submachine guns was soon produced. These guns were then shipped to North Africa on cargo ships.

Besides the harsh living conditions, North Africa is also dangerous. There are many bandits roaming the desert. Because of a previous agreement, the Rhine Kingdom was to come and protect the caravan trade in Cyrenaica when it was mining oil there.

This trade route from North Africa to Central Africa was fraught with danger, and it became even more chaotic now that the Ottomans and France were at war.

It was only during his time in North Africa that Brück realized that the hardships he had endured while patrolling the border were nothing compared to this place, which was practically paradise. At least there, he could take a shower every day.

In North Africa, where water is extremely scarce, even taking a bath is a luxury, and people can only live a meager existence. What they hope for most now is the monthly supply wagons from the kingdom and the caravans that deliver water from the oasis.

The Rhine Kingdom's legions were stationed in the desert. At first, the surrounding tribes were somewhat resistant, but after a period of contact, the nearby tribes also began to trade with the legions.

Much of the trade between the Legion and nearby tribes was barter. Some seemingly insignificant industrial products were often very popular among those tribes. These trade caravans would take the industrial products they had obtained to other tribes to continue trading and earn more income. Over time, the oases near the North African Legion became increasingly bustling.

Brück was very interested in the new weapons that the kingdom had brought over, because the North African Legion still used mostly bolt-action rifles, which were not very effective against the fast-moving bandits. Now that they had the new weapons, things should be much better. It was also their turn to carry out a mission this time, to protect several caravans trading with the tribes in the south.

Regoye also chose to participate in this mission. As a journalist, he also needed to go to the front line to understand the daily tasks of the Afrika Korps. Grabbing his camera, Regoye followed the troops onto the covered wagon.

Brück was also seeing what caravan trade was like for the first time; he had never felt the awe from listening to his comrades talk about it.

The caravan was a large and impressive group of over a hundred people, with wagons filled with all sorts of goods. After the army responsible for protecting this trade had assembled, the leader rang a bell, and the caravan slowly headed into the depths of the desert.

272. Unarmored armored grenadiers

Since the blueprints provided by Thorne were already complete and had been modified by predecessors, they were ready for direct production. Therefore, Vollmer only made some minor improvements and modifications, and put the magazines into production according to Thorne's previous requirements.

The PPS-43 is not as delicate as the submachine guns currently used by the Kingdom. It could be produced even in resource-scarce conditions like the Siege of Leningrad, let alone in the current Kingdom of the Rhine.

To further simplify the manufacturing process, Thorne provided Vollmer with blueprints for two submachine guns from the Soviet Union and Finland. Although the two guns were very similar, Vollmer, adhering to the principle of striving for excellence, still made serious improvements and developments, and finalized the design of the Kingdom's latest MP-28 submachine gun.

The MP-28's structure was already very simple, and after Vollmer's modifications, it became even simpler. The parts could be directly stamped out. With such a simple construction, the military factory was almost incredulous when they first took over – could this really be a submachine gun? Had the Kingdom's military spending decreased so much? To manufacture this kind of submachine gun?

At that time, the submachine gun was still considered the "king of individual weapons." How many trenches could one kill with a submachine gun? Moreover, a portion of the submachine guns were supplied to the Storm Commando Team, and these submachine guns were produced and processed with greater precision.

The submachine gun in the blueprints is an aesthetic disaster; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it "industrial garbage." With such a simple structure, is it really possible to produce a submachine gun without any problems?

This latest submachine gun from the Kingdom has been met with skepticism since its inception. Unlike previous generations of submachine guns, it wasn't born with a silver spoon in its mouth, and every step of its production was closely watched. However, despite the skepticism, the workers at the military factory still have a very positive opinion of this submachine gun.

The MP-28 is almost entirely made of stamped parts. This process saves a lot of time, as they no longer have to spend a lot of time working on a single part. The time it used to take to produce one submachine gun can now be used by skilled workers to produce five. And in the future, that number will probably be even greater.

The first batch of newly produced MP-28s were packed up and loaded onto cargo ships as soon as they rolled off the production line. The first batch of the newest submachine guns was not delivered to the Storm Commando to replace the old equipment, but was sent to North Africa to equip the peacekeeping forces there.

This decision sparked some discussion within the military, with the strongest reaction coming from the Storm Commando. They hadn't quite believed the rumors that had been circulating, but as time went on, they started to feel uneasy.

In the past, if the kingdom were to change its equipment, they would be the first to receive it. The peacekeeping troops in North Africa were on missions abroad, so it was not a problem to provide them with the first batch of equipment. However, these soldiers were still somewhat upset.

The Storm Commando is the most elite unit in the Kingdom's army. These elites have their own pride, but in recent years, they have received less and less attention. The Kingdom is now focusing its attention on armored forces, and the honor of the Storm Commando may soon be buried in the yellow sand and become history.

The military reforms are currently underway, and the atmosphere within the army is becoming increasingly restless. Many Storm Commando soldiers have started complaining, clamoring to submit reports to higher authorities and demand that the military go to the government for an explanation, asking what those people are really thinking.

The military is currently suppressing the issue of the Storm Commando soldiers. They just had an incident, and the defection of soldiers hasn't been resolved yet. If they run out and cause trouble again, isn't there enough trouble already?

The military is currently too busy putting out fires everywhere, so they can only cover it up for now and let the soldiers calm down before dealing with it later. However, these soldiers are clearly not going to sit still. If the military doesn't solve the problem, they will go find it themselves.

Thorne is of course unaware of these events, and he could never have imagined that a submachine gun would cause such a huge chain reaction. Thorne is currently focusing all his energy on the kingdom's armored forces.

The Kingdom's Panzer II tank has also entered production. At this time, this tank should not have many rivals in the whole of Europe. Thorne's original intention in designing the Panzer II tank was to transition from the 1920s to the 1930s. The Kingdom's tank still needs to be improved and researched.

It wasn't yet the 1930s, and the technology wasn't mature enough. The process of designing tanks was also too complicated. Now that the Panzer II was in production, Thorne didn't plan to focus on that for the time being. He started to pay attention to Rommel's armored grenadiers.

Rommel's armored grenadiers in the past only had that title; they were still carrying G98 rifles. What armored infantry was so shabby?

Thanks to Thorne's efforts, things are at least passable now. Grenadiers can be equipped with submachine guns, making it easier for them to coordinate with tanks and ensuring firepower and speed for their advance.

The most well-equipped unit in the Rhine Army is probably Guderian's armored forces. The new weapons that the kingdom has been investing in researching recently have been prioritized for Guderian's armored forces. Guderian's armored forces are currently the most advanced units in the kingdom. The second most advanced unit is Rommel's armored grenadiers.

The Rhine Kingdom's armored grenadiers have now become mobile and equipped with a large number of trucks, but Thorne still feels something is missing.

Now, a new batch of rising stars has emerged among the officers of the Kingdom of the Rhine, with an average age of around forty: Guderian, Model, Rommel, and Paulus, who was recently dispatched to North Africa. These people are rising like rockets.

It is extremely difficult for officers to get promoted during peacetime; it often takes several years to advance even one rank. However, these officers were promoted several ranks in less than a year.

At this rate of promotion, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would become a marshal in twenty years. That would be the prime age for an officer, and everyone could basically guess who the next generation of officers would be to shoulder the responsibilities of the kingdom.

“Your Highness Thorne, our armored grenadiers have been replenished and adjusted during this period, and I think they should soon be as you expect.”

Rommel reported to Thorne on the recent situation of the armored grenadiers. Guderian was replacing his Panzer II tanks with the Panzer I tanks that had been replaced, and the grenadiers were being equipped with them.

These agile and lightweight tanks are actually more suitable for equipping them. After all, although these tanks may seem fragile and thin-skinned to those behemoths, they are a nightmare for ordinary infantry. In the absence of effective anti-tank weapons, one tank, along with a dozen armored grenadiers, could probably chase down and fight hundreds of enemy soldiers.

Thorne looked at the troops in front of him. They seemed to be doing well now, but they were still lacking something. In terms of individual weapons, they were only equipped with submachine guns and lacked effective anti-tank weapons. These were things that still needed to be improved.

After Thorne scanned the area twice more, he finally discovered the problem: Armored Grenadiers didn't even have an armored vehicle. What kind of armored grenadiers were they?

The equipment consisted mostly of trucks, which were virtually harmless when moving around; they were practically sitting ducks.

This unit also needs armored vehicles to be considered a true armored grenadier.

273. Group fight incident

Despite repeated orders from the military command to officers to keep the restless soldiers in check and prevent them from causing trouble, these measures have not been very effective.

As the most elite military branch in the Kingdom of Rhine's army, the Storm Assault Team undergoes extremely rigorous daily training. These soldiers are battle-hardened veterans selected from various armies, and while enjoying various honors, they also bear their responsibilities.

As usual, after training, they returned to camp. The new equipment from the Kingdom of Rhine was finally being replaced for these people, but they didn't seem very happy after seeing the weapons.

This gun doesn't even deserve to be called a submachine gun! Isn't that ridiculous? I thought we could get them some better guns, but this is all we get? They actually want to use the same submachine guns as other troops.

The Stormtroopers are the most elite branch of the Army, which indicates the special nature of this branch. Their equipment is always more advanced than that of other branches.

Take submachine guns for example. Other units used to be equipped with submachine guns as well. Although the models were the same, the ones equipped for the Storm Commando were always better.

Their weapons were all manufactured separately, with more refined processing, and some even had engravings on them; this was an honor they deserved.

And now? Looking at those "water pipe submachine guns," these all-metal submachine guns are very rudimentary. Compared to what they have in their hands now, they are simply toys made in a small workshop.

"Commander, is this the kingdom's newest weapon?"

Some people couldn't believe it; this submachine gun looked like something used in emergency situations during wartime, like an old relic taken from a kingdom's warehouse.

Surely you can't say you spent ages researching and all you came up with was this thing? When did the kingdom become so poor?

"Yes, these are the latest submachine guns developed and produced by the Kingdom. They are now being distributed to our Storm Commando for replacement."

"Take these weapons back and distribute them to your companies as soon as possible."

Hearing the battalion commander say this, the company commanders below looked troubled, as this was not something they could simply say.

In the past, it would have been much easier; all the weapons could be replaced within a day. The replacement speed was fast back then because the weapons were better. But now, it's hard to say.

"If there are problems or difficulties, we should try our best to overcome them. Although this new submachine gun doesn't look very good, the fact that the Kingdom was able to develop it and distribute it to the military shows that this new submachine gun is definitely superior to the ones we use now."

It is impossible to satisfy all the demands of the government and soldiers for weapons.

For the government, the cheaper the weapons, the better; they would love to produce weapons that are free. But for ordinary soldiers, war is not fought by government officials. Weapons are their means of survival; if something goes wrong, they could lose their lives. Therefore, the more sophisticated the weapons, the better.

The company commanders were worried that these weapons looked too rudimentary. If they were to modify them according to the original design, they shouldn't have ended up with this kind of submachine gun.

"Don't let the appearance of this gun negate its performance. Other units have no objections to it being issued to them. I don't want any problems to arise here. The military headquarters has already issued orders to all units. There must be no accidents during this period."

As the battalion commander, he certainly didn't know the specifics of what had happened in the army, but he did know that the military headquarters had repeatedly issued orders requiring all unit commanders to restrain their troops and maintain discipline.

Since the battalion commander had said so, the company commanders below had no choice but to obey the order, collect their weapons, and return to their units.

"Johannes, have you heard? It seems the kingdom is going to disband us."

Having just finished training, the soldiers were resting in the camp when Metz took out a cigarette and offered it to Johannes, and they started chatting.

There have been a lot of rumors lately, and now even the soldiers in the Storm Commando are starting to discuss whether the kingdom is going to abandon them.