Chapter 78 Military Reform (Please subscribe!)
March 3, 1901, outside Sydney.
This was originally a desolate valley, but after simple transformation, it turned into a large-scale simple military camp.
After more than a month of deployment, most of the Australian garrison has arrived here, and they will begin a long period of adaptation training.
Adapting the existing army is something that Arthur has already decided on. However, due to various delays, it has been postponed until now.
The existing Australian army consists of the original colonial army and Arthur's Guards.
Arthur's Guards have a total of 4,000 people, all from the Royal Guards Corps of the British Empire. They are well-equipped and have strong combat capabilities.
The remaining colonial troops were the garrison of Australia's colonial period. After Australia's independence, they were handed over to Arthur for management, and Arthur divided them into the Department of Defense.
These colonial armies totaled 6,000 people and were recruited from mainland Australia.
One characteristic of this army is that, except for the more senior officers, all other non-commissioned officers and soldiers are composed of Australians.
It is precisely for this reason that both the weapons, equipment and wages of this army are jointly funded by the original six colonies, and the corresponding weapons and equipment will naturally be inferior.
In fact, it's not just weapons and equipment. Whether it's the soldiers' combat literacy or military discipline, they are worse than the regular army of the British Empire, let alone compared with Arthur's Guards.
These soldiers are barely qualified to guard Australia, but if they want to actually participate in the war, they may only become cannon fodder and give away their lives.
Therefore, it is necessary to carry out a reform in the army. Select soldiers with real potential to become elites, equip them with new weapons, train in military discipline, and build a new, powerful army.
After all, the Guards are Arthur's last trump card. Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for the Guards to go on the battlefield.
In order to better promote the reform of the army, Guards Commander Chris Perry will work with Defense Secretary Kent to jointly supervise and train these soldiers.
As for the soldiers' instructors, they are naturally composed of elite soldiers and officers from the Guards.
These Guards soldiers were all outstanding soldiers selected from the British Empire's native army, and Arthur could rest assured of their ability and loyalty.
The first part of the training plan is to select soldiers who are physically strong and mentally agile.
Because Australia has no officer training system and institutions, and there is no war to strengthen the capabilities of these officers.
Then there is only one stupid way to solve it, which is to select people with flexible minds and strong bodies and train them to train the future commanders of this army.
Since the commander of the Australian army has returned to England, the army is now under the control of Minister Kent.
And Minister Kent is Arthur's loyal subordinate, so there will naturally be no objection to this military reform.
As for the fact that this reform might cause some military officers to lose their official positions, Arthur would not care.
If you don't have the ability, doesn't commanding an army harm everyone?
As the saying goes, a general is in charge of a raging army. Whether they are generals or officers, the new army must undergo strict selection and training to ensure that they are loyal enough and have sufficient abilities before they can officially take office. So, under the watchful eyes of Arthur, Minister Kent, and General Chris Perry, the army of six thousand people began the first round of training, physical training.
The training plan of Minister Kent and General Chris is to cultivate and train these 6,000 soldiers as new recruits. During the entire training process, outstanding soldiers with potential are selected and trained. These people will be the future officers of the army. reserve.
The remaining soldiers, after going through rounds of physical and disciplinary training, and receiving a few days of ideological education, can officially become new Australian soldiers.
These trained soldiers will be reorganized into the 1st Australian Defense Division.
The future 1st National Defense Division will be the template and instructor for Australia's future military expansion, as well as the most powerful representative of the standing army.
Although various trainings are relatively demanding, Arthur is not stingy in terms of logistical supplies.
In this era, a large number of soldiers cannot eat meat more than once a year. That is to say, only in European countries with relatively developed economies can their soldiers eat richer meals every meal.
The Australian army has beef and mutton for three meals a day. Although each person is limited to only two hundred grams, which is less than half a catty, the total amount for lunch and dinner is more than one catty.
There is no way, as a big country in the livestock industry, Australia does not lack in meat.
Although the livestock industry has not yet developed to the extent that it was in later generations, it already has a large number of herders and livestock areas. The export of beef and mutton alone can bring tens of thousands of pounds of income to Australia every year.
While the army was training hard, Minister Kent also contacted Butler Hunter and ordered a batch of new weapons and equipment from the military factory.
Because although the weapons previously armed by the Australian army were all produced in Britain, they were of various types. The most powerful Lee-Enfield rifle equipment did not even have one-fifth of the equipment, which was slightly shabby in front of the Guards.
After this military reorganization is completed, all Australian armies will be uniformly equipped with Lee-Enfield rifles, and Australia's own military factories will be responsible for logistics management, instead of importing them from the United Kingdom as before.
And the army will also be equipped with the most powerful MA-96 Maxim machine gun and CA-1 machine gun. Even after the arrival of German artillery technical assistance, when the military factory can start producing large-caliber artillery, the army will order some large-caliber artillery. caliber artillery.
Arthur's purpose is simple, that is, to build Australia into a military power with the simultaneous development of the sea, land and air forces.
Although the Air Force has not yet been born, the Navy has only maintained a small scale due to various reasons.
But this does not hinder the pace of building the army now. After arming the entire army to the teeth, the Australian army will also become a powerful force in the world.
In terms of training, Minister Kent is not sloppy either. In addition to six thousand Lee-Enfield rifles, over ten million rounds of ammunition were ordered.
In addition to physical strength and discipline training, this group of soldiers also needs to undergo frequent target training that only industrially powerful countries are entitled to.
Sharpshooters are fed bullets one by one. This is Minister Kent's idea, using such a clumsy but effective method to quickly improve the shooting accuracy of these soldiers.
Third update, please support! I feel a little uncomfortable today, with a sore throat and phlegm. I don’t know what’s going on, but it does affect my coding status. There are two more updates and I will try my best to finish them tonight. I beg for support!
(End of chapter)