Chapter 380: Marine Brigade

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

After the assessment began, the soldiers of the 1st Battalion were first inspected under Wesley’s lead. Basic formation, shooting, fighting, obstacle running, and so on. Then, the subject of armed crossing began.

“This is an armed ferry carrying thirty kilograms of equipment. It swims at least five kilometers and is in the sea.” Wesley did not participate but explained. After all, this is not a traditional subject.

“Is that necessary?” the president asked.

“Of course there are. For example, if we land on an island, we may not have a good landing place. Then the first batch of soldiers will need to sneak in this way, especially at night. The effect of a brigade of six battalions landing on the island is imaginable. After landing, we will start to fight, clean up small areas and then expand. At this time, our fleet is transporting the army to the island, so everything will be much easier. In addition, we can sneak behind the enemy. These are all new tactics.”

“Not bad, not bad. It’s indeed very good,” Pan Xing said happily. As a soldier, he still had good taste.

“So shouldn’t it be assigned to the Navy?” William Benson suggested again.

“That’s impossible,” Pershing shouted. They were about to start arguing again, but Wesley stopped them.

“You two don’t have to quarrel. My battalion should not have a fixed ownership. After all, the landing needs to be coordinated with the Navy, and then there will be a land battle. It is still in the experimental stage. We will study this problem in the future. After all, we still need some special equipment, such as landing boats and landing ships.”

“What’s that?” everyone asked curiously.

“It’s a dedicated landing ship, specially used for landing. I already have a gun for this. If I pass this assessment, I will place an order to start production and then use it for training.”

“New model ships, huh?” William Benson asked.

“That’s right. I’ve now designed some auxiliary ships, such as medical ships, amphibious landing ships, landing craft, and so on. These are very useful auxiliary ships that provide reliable protection for the Navy and landing forces, but it’s not time to build them yet. For now, we need to meet the needs of our two main fleets and then reproduce them.”

“So how many main ships do you think we need in total?” the president asked.

“First of all, we don’t have to send out the navy in this war. The British should lose more of their navy. This is good for us. If we can develop like the Pacific in the early stages of the war, then eight battleships will be enough, because there are also heavy cruisers to help, which is enough to deter the Pacific. After World War I, the British will inevitably raise the issue of limiting the development of the navies of various countries. They can’t afford to consume them.”

“That makes sense, provided the war lasts for a long time.”

“Do you know in a few months? At present, Britain’s strategic reserves can only support it for a few months. Soon, a large number of orders will come. However, it is necessary to organize production. We must not let the Parliament guys mess around and directly negotiate with the country’s model.”

The president looked at Wesley and asked, “So how many orders are you going to get?”

“I don’t need it. What they need are rifles and bullets that I can’t produce, so I just concentrate on preparing for the Army. And my transportation company will get the business.” Wesley smiled.

“No wonder you set up such a big transportation company and rented ports in England and France.” Everyone suddenly realized that this major is going to make a fortune in war, and he has a lot of companies. He will make money, especially steel.

The president looked at Wesley and asked, “So where do we cut into things in Asia?”

“Green Island,” Wesley said directly. “This place is occupied by Germany, but they lost this place completely as soon as the battle began. Japan is bound to jump out, and China has no ability to fight back. At this time, we can participate as a neutral country and ask to take charge of this place. We can organize a squadron here first. I can speed up the progress of the shipyard. At that time, four battleships and four heavy cruisers will be enough to deter Japan, Ben, and Britain. It doesn’t matter if France joins.”

“Is our warship really that powerful?” the president asked.

“Yes, first of all, we have a complete advantage in the engagement distance. Although the 305mm main gun is not the largest caliber now, its diameter is the longest, especially the agreed fire control system. The hit rate is also very high. We can completely hang the opponent and fight, and at the same time, we can maintain a high-speed navigation during the engagement. The power of the new armor-piercing bullets has been tested. Japan is no match for them. If they dare to start a war, then directly destroy their fleet and surround their homeland.”

How hateful. Did this young major cripple Japan? The president hesitated and asked again, “What about the British attitude?”

“England? What kind of attitude can they have? They can’t even take care of themselves now, and do they dare to go to war with us? It’s not worth it for Japan, especially in a few months, they will come directly to us to beg us to sell them things. After the war, we may not be able to get much profit. Britain will inevitably restrict our development with France and Russia, so it’s our best time during the war. You know that Germany has a lot of islands in the Pacific. If we get these, we can totally build a defense barrier.”

This sentence was the most attractive. As the president, he considered a lot, especially the importance of a sea barrier to the United States. “The results of this assessment are very good, but I can only give you the rank of colonel and you are responsible for forming the 1st Marine Brigade. There will be an increase in the number of troops in half a year. I hope you can contribute then.”

“Yes, Mr. President.” The results of the assessment were what everyone saw. This was the most advanced unit in the United States at the moment, so it was not excessive at all. The U.S. Army began a formal expansion plan. An army division was officially replaced by 12,500 people. In addition to the three divisions of the experiment, 75 more divisions were directly added. All of them were required to be filled, and Wesley received a large number of orders.

Fortunately, he had already begun to stock up and did not have to rush to expand production. Instead, he produced according to the plan in an orderly manner. At the same time, the production of battleships accelerated and heavy cruisers were delivered to the navy for training.

The Navy, on the other hand, once again placed orders for heavy patrol at the other shipyards. At the same time, they requested that production be sped up and everything be prepared for war. Wesley’s language was once again confirmed. Japan Ben declared war on Germany and made a request for Green Island.