Greece to roman road

"If you can really figure out the technology of the hybrid assembly line, all the products in your factory will greatly reduce the production cost. Even if the Greek automobile market is far less huge than that of the United States, your machinery factory will also usher in a period of rapid growth. It’s time for development”

"At the very least, it won't be like now, where the entire machinery factory barely survives and relies on bank loans to survive."

Seeing that Andros was obviously moved, Constantine also winked at Giannis, and the knowing Giannis said understandingly: "I think His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is right. Mr. Andros, your company produced the products in the last war. Military equipment has played a great role, especially armored vehicles and off-road motorcycles, and their combat effects have attracted the attention of many officers."

"The Greek Army is looking forward to more technical equipment cooperation with your company. If the scale of the machinery factory cannot be expanded, it will also affect the military cooperation between our army and your company."

In the Second Balkan War, the trench warfare adopted by the Greek army had surprisingly good defensive effects. During the fierce offensive of the Bulgarian Army in the early stages of the war, it helped the Greek Army to firmly hold the defense line. On the contrary, it caused damage to the attacking Bulgarian Army. Heavy casualties.

After noticing the power of trench warfare, how to break through the enemy's trench defenses became a research topic for the Greek Army.

In the development of the military situation, the offensive and defensive sides competed with each other, one and the other, throughout the beginning and end.

Now that the Greek army has discovered the strong shield of trench warfare, how to use spears to break through this shield made by the Greek army itself has become a headache for the officers of the Greek army.

During the Second Balkan War, the actions of the Bulgarian Army proved that using only the flesh and blood of soldiers to launch an attack on the enemy's tightly defended trench fortifications, even if there were heavy casualties, the probability of failure was high.

In order to solve this problem, the armored vehicles already equipped in the Greek Army attracted the ideas of Greek officers. Many officers believed that the way to break through the trenches was to use large-scale armored forces to concentrate on breaking through the enemy's trenches.

The armored vehicles currently equipped by the Greek Army are the product of cooperation between the machinery factory and the Greek Army.

Heavy-duty trucks were imported from foreign countries, and then the machinery factory added steel plates and modified them according to the requirements of the Greek Army. This is the so-called armored vehicle currently equipped by the Greek Army.

Even though the war is over, the Greek Army's technical personnel and the machinery factory are still cooperating intermittently.

As the Minister of Arms of the Greek Army, Giannis naturally hopes that Andros's machinery factory can quickly expand its scale.

"Prime Minister Venizelos is encouraging factories in industrial zones to move to Thessaloniki, which will become a new industrial zone in Greece. There are already a large number of factories that are about to move there. Your machinery factory just takes advantage of this opportunity. Raising a sum of funds from the capital market will coincide with the construction of a new factory in Thessaloniki. By the way, we will also build a new factory to research and build hybrid assembly line technology. This is an excellent opportunity." Seeing Andros already moved, Junshi Tandin struck the railroad while it was hot.

After hesitating for a moment, it was probably the bright prospect Constantine painted that really convinced Andros, and he finally made a decision: "I don't know much about capital, and there are still several machinery companies. I also need to discuss with shareholders about the shares, and it will take me some time to think about it.”

Having said that, Andros changed the subject: "Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Minister Giannis are here today, it is just a good time to inspect the products of our machinery factory and the military. I will personally explain it to you two."

After that, he led everyone into the car again and set off to the secret testing site.

Meservey District is a place on the edge of the Piraeus Industrial Zone. It is relatively remote and has a small population. It is an ordinary small town that is very common in Greece.

However, what is different here is that 23 kilometers outside this town, there is a forbidden land belonging to the army.

The area covering an area of ​​100 square kilometers is tightly surrounded by layers of barbed wire. There are three blockades in the blockade that is only three kilometers deep, and in the middle of these blockades is a dense minefield filled with landmines.

A very eye-catching warning sign saying "Military Important Area, No Entry to Idiots, etc." is hung on the barbed wire fence, as well as the occasional heavily armed patrol soldiers near the blockade, adding a sense of mystery to the place.

Cars are driving on the quiet path that leads in. Whenever they pass a blockade, they need to stop and accept inspection and interrogation by the guards. Two rows of towering lookout posts are set up on both sides of the checkpoint.

Looking up, the soldiers in the lookout post, even when the convoy was being monitored, were clearly aiming their weapons at the visitors without any carelessness.

Next to the sentry, there is a firepower point built with sacks. The Maxim machine gun set up on the simple chest made of sacks is clearly visible.

The firepower range of the two Maxim machine guns can tightly block the entire road, and in the middle of the road is a horse support supported by logs to prevent vehicles from crossing the border.

Hidden behind several blockades is the core area of ​​this area.

Everything makes this place look like a secret military base.

This is a weapons testing site set up by the Greek Army in an industrial area.

The level of confidentiality itself is not particularly high, and it is not considered a secret.

The reason for this heavily guarded appearance may be that some special weapons and equipment need to be tested in this place close to the industrial area, but it is not convenient for ordinary people to notice.

We chose to build a weapons testing ground here because it is near Greece's largest industrial area. Almost all of Greece's current domestic military industries are concentrated nearby.

For example, the Greek Steel Factory in the industrial zone provides most of the artillery for the Greek army. The 75mm rapid-fire cannon currently equipped by the Greek army is the proud work of the steel factory. It is undoubtedly the most important military factory in Greece at present.

The weapons testing ground is located here, and the military technology in the industrial zone is also used for live ammunition experiments.

When the convoy drove into the towering gray cement wall, it was clear that there was a fully equipped and large-area training ground. Rows of buildings were looming, and people in military uniforms were coming and going here.

It looks no different from an ordinary military camp.

The continuous "click-click" gunshots coming from the distance and the deafening explosions coming from the distance all revealed the specialness of this place.

The person in charge of the testing site was not notified in advance of the arrival of Constantine and his entourage.

Therefore, no one in the entire testing ground was mentally prepared for the sudden arrival of His Highness the Crown Prince. Everyone was attracted by the sight of a mighty motorcade entering the testing ground.

Because it arrived suddenly, all the staff in the test site were carrying out their work at hand in an orderly manner.

Constantine did not intend to summon everyone to make any public speech, so Andros simply asked the person in charge of the testing site who hurried over about the work progress, and informed them that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the General Staff would Inspect the results of their work and let him accompany the group on a tour of the weapons testing site.

Now that he's here, Constantine naturally won't just take a casual look. Today's itinerary is to take a closer look inside this venue.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, this is the armored vehicle we are testing, used to try to break through the trench exploration." A major technical officer in charge of the testing explained to the group at Andros's signal.

In the open and uneven testing ground, Constantine saw the most important object of the trip, but it was completely different from the so-called tanks or armored vehicles he imagined.

The strange-looking vehicle in front of me would not be thought of as a military weapon just from its appearance.

This iron lump is not as good as the motorcycle that is running back and forth in the proving ground in the distance with its engine roaring and conducting long-distance cross-country tests, which is more attractive to Constantine and his group.

"Is this what you call a tracked armored vehicle? Just a square iron box like 20, Andros?" Constantine looked at Andros and Giannis with a puzzled look on his face and asked.

Speaking of tanks, even if their appearance does not look like the T34, Tiger, M4 and other classic World War II tanks that are well-known in later generations, they should still look like the Marki and A7V tanks that just appeared in World War I.

However, what Constantine saw in front of him was a so-called new weapon, a tracked armored vehicle, which was tested to break through trenches. It was a square iron box with sharp edges and corners, and it looked very ugly.

Constantine guessed that it was probably easier to process this way.

The only thing that is special is that it is a box with a tractor's running gear. Although Andros calls it an armored vehicle, in Constantine's view, this is a crawler tractor with a four-wheel drive simply installed on it. Square iron box.

Although Constantine also knew that it was impossible to expect the current Greek Army to wisely develop a technology verification pile with the prototype of a future mature tank, Constantine still felt a little disappointed when he saw such an armored crawler tractor.

"Your Royal Highness, this is just a test vehicle, used to test and verify its ability to drive in the wild. Therefore, it does not have weapons installed, but in fact, a rotating weapons tower can be installed in the middle of its body, just like the top of an armored car. Like a machine gun," Giannis quickly explained from the sidelines.

Most of the Greek Army's current armored vehicles are modified from trucks, and no specialized models have been designed, and the Greek Army does not have that capability.

Because the truck has a good load-carrying capacity and a large space for modification, heavy steel plates and weapons can be installed on the body. The engine and cab of the truck are at the front, and the spacious space at the back can be used to install a cylindrical steel armor. Protected weapons tower.

Obviously, the armored vehicle in front of him was equipped with the same machine gun rotating mount as the armored vehicle, instead of the tank rotating turret that Constantine had in mind.

"Because of the tracked walking method, the vehicle is very heavy. Therefore, our technicians considered trying to equip it with a 37mm field gun instead of the machine gun we currently install on the top of the armored vehicle."

"Due to the small caliber, its recoil will not have a big impact on the vehicle, and on both sides of the vehicle body, we can install battleship-like gun holes and install machine guns, so that they can be used to deal with enemy infantry."

"The armor on the body is 15 mm thick and can completely withstand rifle and ordinary machine gun bullets."

"This is equivalent to a battleship that can move on land. It has tough armor and fierce firepower. It can cover our infantry attacks and provide them with direct artillery support." Giannis is obviously looking forward to this weapon. It is also believed that this weapon can greatly enhance the Greek Army's ability to break through enemy defense lines.

Constantine was noncommittal about this design and experimental idea.

Historically, the British were the first to develop tanks, which were led by naval thinking.

Therefore, the British initially hoped to build the tank into a land cruiser and equipped the tank with a large number of artillery and machine guns in order to obtain a mobile steel fortress with no dead spots for firepower, crush barbed wire fences, and break through enemy trenches.

In order to achieve this combat purpose, British tanks arranged firepower symmetrically on both sides of the body. The further development of this idea is the multi-turret tank.

However, such a design will obviously lead to a sharp increase in the number of tank crews. After all, each weapon requires a dedicated person to operate it.

This will inevitably lead to crowded space in the car and poor living environment for the passengers. These are not the biggest problems.

The biggest problem is that a large number of crew members and weapons are piled on a tank, which results in increased volume and weight, slow travel speed, poor machine reliability, high cost, and weak armor.

What's even more exaggerated is that paying such a high price has not been of much use. The combat capability of the tank has not only not increased, but has declined.

Just because you equip a tank with two cannons and four machine guns, it will not make it stronger than one with only one cannon and one machine gun. A smaller tank with higher maneuverability will actually have stronger combat capabilities and can easily be deployed on the battlefield. on survival.

"Let's not think about the weapons for now. How is the walking effect? ​​Let's see if this thing moves first." Constantine decided not to dampen the enthusiasm of Giannis and Andros.

Let’s first see how well this thing drives.

But looking at the appearance and structure of this thing, Constantine didn't have much hope.

As expected by Constantine, the driving ability of this iron box is really unsatisfactory: the power provided by the installed 70-horsepower gasoline engine is quite sufficient, but sufficient power at this time is not a good thing.

Because the unarmed iron box tractor only weighs 10 tons, its 70 horsepower allows it to drive at a speed of nine kilometers per hour.

This speed doesn't seem very fast, but it seems a bit too fast in the bumpy test field. The road wheels rigidly connected to the car body have no buffering effect. Watching this thing bouncing around on the field, you can imagine what's going on inside. The feeling of the passengers was that their gastric juices were about to burst out.

This is not over yet. After the iron box crossed the 2-meter trench, just when Giannis was satisfied that the trench could not block this mobile fortress, something embarrassing happened. A step less than half a meter high blocked the move. Looking at the path of this thing, the steps made of cement and the tracks made of metal rub against each other and make a harsh sound, which makes people frown.

Although the iron box kept shaking left and right in front of the steps, it just couldn't go up.

After stopping for a long time, there was just a click, and the track on the right side broke and fell off, and the iron box immediately fell down.

Giannis' face suddenly fell when he saw this scene.

If you can't climb such a height difference, how can you talk about crossing the enemy's defense line?

Nowadays, the height of the trench parapets built by the Greek Army is more than one meter.

"Call the driver over." Constantine said coldly.

His face was calm, but the people accompanying him were all worried, fearing that His Highness the Crown Prince would get angry.

Giannis was worried that such an unsuccessful demonstration would make Constantine kill the project in one fell swoop, and his face would be as black as the bottom of a pot.

The driver who was called over hurriedly ran to Constantine and saluted His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He straightened up and looked uneasy.