Munitions Empire

"Boom!" A shell smashed into the rudimentary position, and a soldier holding a K1 rifle patted the dust off his head and poked his head out to look at the distant enemy troops.

The opposing soldiers didn't seem to want to attack right away but instead were waiting for sufficient ammunition to bombard the target area into flat ground.

These bloom shells produced by Shireck were imitations of Great Tang Group's howitzer shells, albeit rougher.

After all, the chemical agents inside their fuze ignition devices were just first-generation products with little improvement.

Great Tang Group had always been improving its formulas, which led to the successive development of bullet and shell technology. They never stopped their progress, so the technology gap between them and conglomerates like Shireck didn't narrow but widened instead.

Of course, at the current stage, there wasn't enough generation gap between the two sides, so the firepower seemed to match closely, making the battle quite indecisive.

Another shell whistled past, hitting the hill behind these Leite soldiers and exploding loudly, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Unlike Great Tang Group's standard calibers of 75mm and 120mm, Shireck chose more aggressive calibers of 80mm and 130mm for their artillery. After all, there were no mandatory standards or regulations in this world, so they didn't follow the same caliber standards as Great Tang Group when it came to producing more experienced ordnance.

Additionally, for rifles, they also chose a slightly larger caliber than Great Tang Group's K1 needle-firing gun and used different bullets.

In short, nowadays, if one purchased Shireck's needle-firing guns, they would not consider accepting weapons like Great Tang Group's needle-firing guns anymore.

Both sides' weapons had formed different systems, and it seemed that most of the kingdoms buying needle guns and artillery from Shireck had strained relationships with the Tri-Kingdom Alliance supported by Great Tang Group.

The reason Shireck chose larger calibers was that their artillery production precision was still problematic, including the fuze of the shells and the power of the charges. These aspects seemed to lag behind Great Tang Group's standard products, so they had to rely on larger calibers to make up for the deficiencies.

This was similar to why most Soviet products were quite large: since the precision wasn't there, they compensated for lack of accuracy with increased size.

The C64 cannon of Great Tang Group, to be honest, was technically outdated, but it was still the mainstream equipment for various countries.

Similarly, in this war, both sides used rear-loading cannons extensively for the first time and switched all their infantry to breech-loading rifles, hence the Leite War was also known as the first breech-loading weapons battle.

However, at this moment, the most equipped and main artillery on the battlefield were still the retreat cannons—they were actually of average firing precision and required very professional shooting operations to maintain an acceptable level of accuracy.

So, although greatly outnumbered in terms of artillery, the Leite Kingdom's border defense forces clearly had superior artillery skills compared to the 'shrimp soldiers and crab generals' of the Kingdom of Germelin.

After all, these gunners were all graduates of the Great Tang Group's Military Academy, and while they might not measure up to the best, they were certainly more than sufficient compared to the rest.

Moreover, the performance of both sides' artillery was similar, so the artillery duel was truly protracted, which frustrated the commanders of both sides.

The troops of the Kingdom of Germelin were actually under pressure to attack; they needed to breach the border defenses of the Leite Kingdom before the reserves from deep within Leite territory could reach the battlefield. This was key to their victory.

For this purpose, they prepared 5 corps, a total of 7,500 troops! All these troops were equipped with Shireck Consortium's new needle-firing guns, and they were additionally reinforced with 70 breech-loading field cannons of 80mm caliber—a formidable force indeed.

At the same time, they had their own secret weapon, another 1,500 troops equipped with lever-action rifles secretly purchased from the Great Tang Group. These rifles had been covertly imported in batches from various countries.

However, there was actually not a large stockpile of ammunition for these weapons, so they might just barely support a few operations.

But this secretly assembled corps was also equipped with 10 of Shireck Consortium's "store treasures"—130mm caliber heavy field cannons.

These pieces performed almost similarly to Great Tang Group's C80 field cannon, but the shells were heavier, intensifying the lethality a bit. Stay connected via m-v l|e'm,p| y- r

At two and a half tons, it was heavier and harder to transport than Great Tang Group's C80 cannon, so it required more pack horses and additional logistical support units for supply.

Luckily, Great Tang Group had introduced the T-model automobile, which improved logistics for almost everyone, allowing this massive two-and-a-half-ton behemoth to be slowly moved to the front lines for battle.

Previously, such heavy artillery was typically used as fortress cannons and couldn't be mobilized with the troops.

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Compared to the products of the Great Tang Group, Shireck's artillery did not have a performance advantage. In fact, they lagged far behind. However, with sufficient ammunition supplies, the military of the Kingdom of Gemalin managed to overwhelm the border defense forces of the Leite Kingdom in terms of momentum.

"Boom!" Another shell fell near the trench, the dirt kicked up causing the soldiers hiding within to become somewhat panicked.

They had never fought a battle like this before, where there was no need to form neat square formations, only to hide in the trenches, lying in wait for the enemy to come over...

In reality, the Kingdom of Gemalin had already attempted two offensives, but aside from losing hundreds of men, they hadn't even reached the trenches of the Leite Kingdom.

For the new recruits, just hiding in the trenches and popping their heads out to pull the trigger on distant enemies the size of rice grains was far too friendly a setting.

Almost without risking their lives, they could repel the enemy, something unimaginable in the past decades.

However, the wars of this era still couldn't avoid casualties. A shell falling directly into a trench could immediately cause heavy losses.

Even if the trenches were meticulously dug in S or even Z-shaped extensions, there would still be unlucky soldiers standing right where a shell landed.

"Man down! Man down!" Finally, one more time, a shell scored a direct hit on a trench, instantly killing 3 Leite Kingdom soldiers and wounding at least 7 others.

An entire infantry squad was almost wiped out. People rushed from both sides, pulling out their comrades buried under loose soil to see if they were injured.

Not all units had the luxury of being accompanied by medical personnel; in this era, most armies relied on soldiers to transport the wounded. Those with light injuries walked back to the field hospitals themselves, while those with serious injuries were left on the battlefield, left to their own fate until after the battle when soldiers would bring them to the rear.

From this, it could be seen that the troop organization of the Great Tang Group was definitely ahead of its time. They had administrative staff, medics, and even specialized Engineer Corps and sniper detachments.

Because of this, an infantry regiment of the Great Tang Group could command 3 battalions, with a total manpower close to 2000. While the corps of other nations of this era still adhered to the standard 1500-man structure.

"My troops have suffered a bit too much, with over 100 soldiers injured or dead. Where are the reinforcements?" On a reverse slope far from the battlefield, inside a tent set up early on, the Leite Kingdom's commander pinched his chin and asked the young staff officer beside him.

After pondering for a few seconds, touching the dandelion ring on his finger, the staff officer replied, "Based on the number of losses, we should be able to hold out here for over a day."

"Then my corps will be crippled..." said the commander wincing, "By that time, we won't be able to participate in the subsequent operations."

"We've almost run out of the reserved ammunition. If we keep fighting, the artillery will go silent, and then the situation will get even worse," the officer said, annoyed, bringing up the issue of artillery again.

Their defensive line, having been targeted as a breakthrough point by the enemy, had been bombarded for a day and a night, and now everyone felt a sense of exhaustion.

"We still have machine guns," the staff officer reminded.

"Thank goodness you didn't let me deploy the machine gun squad to the front line! If we had revealed that card, the situation would be even more passive now," the corps commander said with an appreciative look, "Although this is your first time in actual combat, you've performed very well."

Hiding such a powerful weapon brought a bit of confidence to the commander's heart. He knew the power of machine guns, and revealing them during a decisive battle would likely cost the enemy dearly.

"Thank you for your praise, sir!" The young staff officer nodded slightly in thanks.

"It's not just praise! The defensive lines you helped build withstood the enemy's attacks, and you also arranged our corps' logistics and resource distribution without any confusion, everything in order..." The officer looked at the young man and said, "I plan to write a report and apply to His Majesty the King to officially create the position of staff officer in the military."

"You know, I'm just here for an internship," the young man said with a smile.

"After your internship, you'll have to find a job, right? Come work for me as chief of staff! Even the deputy corps commander will have to listen to you! How about that?"

"What else can I do? You call the shots," the young man said with a laugh, touching the ring on his finger again.

"Sir!" While the two were conversing, a captain parted the tent flap and entered, reporting, "A section of our position was hit by a shell, 3 dead, 7 injured."

"Ah... where on earth are the King's reinforcements?" The corps commander looked at the map again, muttering annoyedly.

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