Chapter 405： Pick up

In Böblingen on the outskirts of Stuttgart, there is a large army reserve warehouse. Long before the Franco-Prussian War broke out, this was built by Prussia as an ammunition storage warehouse.

Due to the close proximity to the capture of France’s Alsace and Lorraine, the Berblingen Army Depot was further enlarged after the Franco-Prussian War. From the original only stocking ammunition, it became the three main war-ready warehouses close to the French border. Before the outbreak of the war, there were nearly 200,000 guns, more than 1,000 cannons, and nearly 100,000 tons of ammunition at the peak.

After the war, this was also designated by the Allied Powers as a weapon storage site after the German surrender. So the current weapons and ammunition here have reached a new peak, and nearly 400,000 German equipment have been placed here in different categories.

The main German rifle Mauser g98 can be seen everywhere in the warehouse, and the 1888 Committee rifle can also be seen from time to time. The g08 heavy machine guns that caused the Somme tragedy were piled up together, telling others about their magnificent military exploits. All kinds of cannons were also removed from key parts such as running bolts and sights, and placed neatly here. In order to guard the weapons and equipment here, a Canadian division was stationed in Berblingen.

On weekdays, the warehouse management staff here are relatively leisurely. Apart from the need to pay attention to the sampling of the materials by the representatives of the Allied Powers stationed here, there is nothing superfluous. It is a rare and good job.

But today's Berblingen seems a little unusual. Today a large number of senior officials from the Allied Powers came to this reserve warehouse. Proctor, the head of the German side who currently manages the warehouse, is explaining the current situation of the materials in the warehouse to these senior officials.

"The one we just passed by is the ammunition warehouse, which mainly stores 7.92 caliber pointed bullets."

As he spoke, he pointed to a huge warehouse in front of him, and continued to everyone: "In front of us is the artillery storage warehouse. This warehouse mainly stores large-scale artillery with a caliber of more than 100 mm."

Proctor's words aroused the interest of everyone present, and one of the generals spoke. "Then let's go in and take a look."

"I'm going to open the door now."

After Plock finished speaking, he waved his subordinates to open the warehouse in front.

Within two minutes, a group of people came to the door of the warehouse. The warehouse door has been opened, and from the door you can see the cannons covered with guns, and you can feel the breath of killing for a while.

"Then let's go in and take a look."

At the beginning, the general who asked for a visit asked everyone to go in and out.

"it is good."

"It should be."

A group of people answered and walked into the warehouse with him.

From their conversations, Plock had already discovered that among the senior officials of the Allied Powers, the opinions of this general were the mainstay. Through the identification of the military uniform logo on his body, it was found from memory that the general was from Romania. The reason is very simple. The medal on his chest carries the symbol of Sigmaringen, a sideline of the Hohenzollern family, and there is a medal with a pattern of a golden eagle with its head facing to the left and spreading wings. A golden Orthodox cross with a silver sword and scepter in each claw. This is the national emblem of Romania.

Proctor guessed right, this general was indeed Major General Salda, the former chief of staff of the Romanian Army Group Army. Of course, now Major General Salda cannot serve as the chief of staff of the Bulgarian Army that has long been disbanded. His current position is the head of the Romanian military mission in Germany. It is mainly responsible for liaison with the allied countries in Germany.

And this time Major General Salda came to the Army Depot in Berblingen, which indeed had its purpose.

A group of people looked at the neatly arranged artillery in the warehouse, and from time to time people took off their gowns. At this time, Major General Salda would come forward to check the status of the artillery carefully, and other senior officials of the Allied Powers would also come forward to evaluate the status of the artillery at this time.

Proctor, who accompanied him throughout the process, discovered a problem through the conversations of the generals of the Allied Powers. They were all artillery pieces, and the Romanian generals were able to show a lot of problems in the end, what gun wheels were damaged, the rims were badly worn, the sealing was not tight, there were small gaps, etc. The other officers of the Allied Powers did not affect their use, and they could replace this part. This was just a little reverie waiting for the rounds. It is as if two groups of people are doing business, one is lowering the price and the other is raising the price.

Everyone talked along the way to the back half of the warehouse. At this time, many large one-legged artillery pieces covered in overalls appeared in front of them.

Major General Salda pointed to one of the cannons of the same style and said, "Open the gun jacket."

With the gun jacket being uncovered, it was a K16 Krupp 150mm cannon.

At this time, the French representative, Colonel Ferrans, stepped forward and said: "This is a German k16 cannon. Although it is not comparable to our Schneider artillery, it is also a good oppressive long-range artillery."

Major General Zelda, who knows the artillery of various countries well, certainly knows that what Colonel Phil Lance said is the truth. The K16's range of up to 22 kilometers is indeed very surprising, but its total weight of up to 10870 kilograms also greatly affects its transportation. After all, during this period, there were no vehicles capable of transporting more than ten tons.

Major General Salda watched the K16 artillery for a while, then continued to walk inside. At this time, a much smaller artillery appeared in front of everyone. The bipod, which was relatively rare in this period, aroused his interest.

After people uncovered the cannon jacket, a new type of artillery appeared in front of everyone. This is the Lefh18 howitzer that was only recently equipped in Germany. As a German artillery familiar to future generations of military fans, the Lefh18 can be said to be famous, but it is not bad for the Major General Salda who belongs to this era. Currently recognized as the best 105 howitzer is the Schneider m1913 105 howitzer from France.

Dissatisfied?

Let's compare.

This German newly designed lefh18 105 howitzer. As the freshest 105 howitzer, its barrel has a caliber of 128 and a range of 105 meters. Its performance can be regarded as one of the best artillery of this era, but only one.

The Schneider m1913 105 howitzer also has a barrel caliber of l28, and its range reaches an astonishing 12,000 meters, which can be used as a main division-level support weapon in World War II (in fact, many countries used it during World War II).

Of course, some people will say that the improved version of lefh18 can reach 12 kilometers (l31 caliber) in the later period, but there is a more abnormal Schneider 1930 105 howitzer in the later period, which has an amazing range of 17 kilometers. (Although this cargo weighs 3810 kg, compared with its weight, no one can match its range, it is simply abnormal).

During the period from World War I to World War II, French artillery was indeed unique in the world in terms of small and medium (65-155 mm) caliber. With the same weight, he can achieve the longest range, and with the same range, he can achieve the lightest.

Major General Salda then looked at the situation in other warehouses, and basically the guns and artillery kept in it could continue to be used. That's right, Romania intends to purchase a portion of what it needs to supplement its own troops. All of this must be blamed on Edel, who came from later generations and suffered from fire-density phobia.

Although the firepower of Romania's main divisional level is pretty good, I am afraid of comparison in everything. Compared with the divisional powers (mainly the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom) generally equipped with a caliber of 100 mm or more, the majority of the divisional artillery in Romania is still 75 mm mountain guns, which is too far apart. Therefore, using war indemnities to purchase the artillery they need from Germany has also become its due.

Who made Germany defeated ~ www.novelhall.com ~ These weapons were compensated to the countries participating in the war. The United States, Britain and France are not short of German artillery, and their different calibers completely increase the logistical burden. And compared with the economic collapse of other countries, Romania currently has a lot of financial surplus. Romania, which uses the same weapons as Germany, came to pick up the ocean.

Therefore, after Major General Salda inspected the weapons and equipment in the German warehouse, Romania's list of these weapons was sent to the United States, Britain and France. As far as Britain and France are concerned, it is hoped that Romania will take away all these German weapons. The United States also has no access to German weapons because of the need for major disarmament after the war. Therefore, Romania's purchases were agreed, and a large amount of weapons and equipment were loaded and transported to Romania from various warehouses in Germany.

According to statistics after the incident, a total of nearly 400,000 g98 rifles, more than 5,000 g08 heavy machine guns, and more than 1,000 lefh18 and k16 cannons were shipped to Romania. With the addition of nearly 30,000 tons of other military materials such as gas masks, field telephones, and engineering shovel, Romania’s expenditure on these arms is about 140 million U.S. dollars. This still means that the Allied Powers are selling cheaply, otherwise, these arms and materials can reach 410 million US dollars based on the cost alone.

These military materials also greatly enhanced Romania's military strength and made a strong contribution to the subsequent confrontation with the Soviet Union.

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