Make France Great Again-Chapter 910 - 901: Showa Staff Officer in France!

"Your Majesty, there are a total of 193 bullet holes on the target!" Nier reported to Jerome Bonaparte with a trembling voice.

"So out of 230 bullets, 193 hit the target, and only 37 missed, right? Minister Vayan!" Jerome Bonaparte asked Minister Vayan with a gleeful smile and a teasing tone.

"That’s correct! Your Majesty!" Minister Vayan’s voice also trembled slightly.

At this moment, Minister Vayan’s mind was temporarily on standby; he couldn’t imagine the transformative change this shotgun would bring on the battlefield.

The fearless bayonet spirit previously upheld by the French Army would be utterly reduced to a joke under the firepower of this weapon.

"Minister Vayan!" Jerome Bonaparte sensed Minister Vayan’s fear and quickly followed up, "If every enemy battalion had two of these machine guns, could our existing tactical system breakthrough the firepower net deployed by the enemy?"

After hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s words, Minister Vayan involuntarily envisioned a scenario in his mind.

A regiment led by him, consisting of three battalions, acting as the attackers to capture the high ground occupied by Jerome Bonaparte.

At that moment, Jerome Bonaparte’s forces on the high ground were only one battalion strong, yet they possessed two machine guns.

The army led by General Vayan, organized in dense formations typical of French tactics, advanced towards the high ground occupied by Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte immediately ordered his only two machine guns to fire at General Vayan, the machine guns continuously spewing endless tongues of fire.

Under the harvesting of the machine guns, Vayan’s soldiers began to collapse.

...

"Minister Vayan, Vayan!!" Just as Minister Vayan was envisioning the merciless slaughter of his troops by machine guns, Jerome Bonaparte’s voice reached Minister Vayan’s ears.

Snapping back to reality, Vayan looked at Jerome Bonaparte with a hint of fear, and Jerome Bonaparte quickly replaced his expression with a gentle smile, asking calmly, "Minister Vayan, what do you think of this weapon?"

"Your Majesty, I find this weapon truly terrible!" Minister Vayan immediately responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte looked at Vayan in astonishment, unable to understand what exactly was unsatisfactory to Minister Vayan.

During a time when the Maxim heavy machine gun had not yet been invented, the "Gatling Gun" represented the pinnacle of rapid-fire weapons.

Besides Belgium’s Montini Machine Gun, there was no other weapon that could surpass the "Gatling Gun" in terms of rapid fire.

Historically, during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the French Army used Montini Machine Guns produced in Belgium.

However, the Montini Machine Gun could only surpass the "Gatling Gun" in rapid fire; in other aspects, the Montini Machine Gun was ruthlessly crushed by the "Gatling Gun."

Its most fatal flaw was the nearly half-ton weight and the precision so delicate that any damage to a single part would render the entire machine gun inoperable.

No one would want to push half-ton machinery to the front lines, let alone if any internal component of the Montini is slightly damaged, requiring the entire Montini Machine Gun to be brought back for complete repair.

Dragging half-ton weight off the battlefield posed its own challenge.

The Gatling Gun, by contrast, was significantly lighter than the Montini Machine Gun; even when adding the weight of the carriage, it was less than a third of the Montini Machine Gun.

Even if the Gatling Gun was damaged, soldiers could easily push it on the battlefield.

"In what aspect do you find it terrible?" Jerome Bonaparte curiously asked Minister Vayan, "I can have Alfonso Chasebo continue modifying it!"

Alfonso Chasebo showed a hint of agitation after being rejected, also asking, "Minister, where have I gone wrong? Please tell me, and I’ll change it immediately!"

After pondering for a moment, Minister Vayan replied to Jerome Bonaparte with a slightly aggrieved tone, "Your Majesty, I admit the weapon is excellent, but don’t you think the emergence of this weapon is exceedingly cruel?"

Jerome Bonaparte stared wide-eyed at Minister Vayan, utterly unable to believe that such words would come from a Minister of War.

Have I appointed a general or a Holy Mother?

Jerome Bonaparte couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.

"Minister Vayan, shouldn’t war aim to eliminate all enemy forces as swiftly as possible?" Jerome Bonaparte coldly addressed Vayan, "If you cannot understand this, then maybe you shouldn’t be the Minister of War!"

Seeing Jerome Bonaparte’s anger, Minister Vayan quickly explained, "Your Majesty, while I agree with swiftly eliminating enemy forces, I believe war should involve two armies facing off using bayonets in direct combat.

Cavalry and artillery are mere preludes to direct combat."

Minister Vayan paused briefly, pointed at the "Gatling Gun," and continued, "In my view, the emergence of this gun seriously violates the essence of war..."

The explanation of Minister Vayan, akin to Showa Staff Officer’s possession, made Jerome Bonaparte realize why the Gatling machine gun from the past was only recognized by mainstream armies (referring to England, France, Russia, Austria, and Germany) more than a decade after its invention.

Presumably, most people during this period believed that war was merely a confrontation between infantry and infantry bayonets.

A disruptive weapon like the Gatling Gun was destined to violate the "tradition" of warfare.

Weapons that defy tradition are bound to be openly or covertly resisted by the military.

[PS: The historical introduction of the Montini Machine Gun was also resisted by the French military. It was Napoleon III’s insistence that led to the army’s equipment with the Montini Machine Gun.

However, at that time, Napoleon III regarded the Montini Machine Gun as a decisive weapon, maintaining high confidentiality, and ordinary soldiers only came into contact with such weapons after the start of the Franco-Prussian War.

Moreover, the thinking behind the Montini Machine Gun also had errors at the time. The French military used the Montini Machine Gun as artillery, placing it at the rear of the troops.

As a result, after the Franco-Prussian War began, the Montini Machine Gun with a range of 400 yards and the Napoleon Bronze Cannon with a range of 3000 yards were greeted by the 4000-yard Krupp Cannon.

The Montini Machine Gun only made a brief appearance on the battlefield before it completely fell.]

"Minister Vayan, I disagree with your viewpoint!" Even before Jerome Bonaparte could speak, Chief of Staff Nier refuted, "The purpose of our war is not for the thrill of battle, but to eliminate as many opponents as possible!

If there’s a faster way to annihilate the enemy, why can’t we use it!"

"Relying excessively on weapons makes it seem like our army lacks combat will!" Minister Vayan quietly refuted Jerome Bonaparte.

"Minister Vayan, you must understand one thing, the outcome of a war is always determined by the people who use the weapons!" Jerome Bonaparte said solemnly to Minister Vayan, "The combat will of an army doesn’t depend on weapons. Strong weapons don’t necessarily mean weak combat will, and weak weapons don’t necessarily mean strong combat will!

In our battle on the Crimea Peninsula, Russia’s weapons were weaker compared to ours!

Their combat will was as fragile as their weapons, collapsing at the slightest clash!"

Pausing briefly, Jerome Bonaparte continued, "Nier, Vayan, remember, war is the last resort, and behind every war, there must be casualties. Every soldier’s death represents a family.

I hope you can cherish the lives of every soldier and officer under your command, for like you, they only have one life.

My purpose in equipping rifles and machine guns is also to reduce the deaths of our soldiers.

To minimize their sacrifices, I am willing to abandon the so-called original intent!

Do you understand?"

Minister Vayan showed a trace of shame on his face, quickly responding to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, I remember!"

"Now, Minister Vayan, do you have any remaining discontent?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Minister Vayan again.

Minister Vayan carefully examined the "Gatling Gun," then respectfully said to Alfonso Chasiepo, "Mr. Chasiepo, could you add a few more barrels?"

Alfonso Chasiepo thought for a moment, glanced at Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte nodded slightly, Alfonso Chasiepo turned to Minister Vayan and replied, "Minister, how many do you want to increase to?"

"How about 8 barrels?" Minister Vayan asked Alfonso Chasiepo.

"It’s possible! However, it will take some time!" Alfonso Chasiepo responded to Minister Vayan.

"I can wait!" Minister Vayan replied to Alfonso Chasiepo.

Subsequently, Nier also proposed an idea, hoping to improve the hub-style gun mount to a pivot-style gun mount, making the machine gun more convenient to harvest enemies.

"That is possible too, but it will also require some time!" Alfonso Chasiepo answered Chief of Staff Nier.

"Your Majesty, if Mr. Chasiepo can achieve these two points, we are willing to procure their equipment!" Minister Vayan said to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Chasiepo, how much time do you need to make improvements!" Jerome Bonaparte also asked Alfonso Chasiepo.

"Two... no, one and a half months! Your Majesty, I only need one and a half months!" Alfonso Chasiepo confidently replied to Jerome Bonaparte.

"I’ll give you one and a half months, during which time all personnel in the research center are at your disposal!

You must provide me with a satisfactory answer in one and a half months!"