MTL - Restart Spain-Chapter 4 military reform
It has been half a month since the end of the war, and there is no hustle and bustle during the war in Spain. The damage suffered by the war in the northern region is now being slowly repaired with the efforts of the government and local people.
And other regions of the country are slowly showing a stable appearance.
"Inform Arsenio, Giorgos, and Castro that the three generals are coming to the palace. I have something to talk to them about."
Alfonso instructed his servants to inform the three of them, his eyes turning to the map of Europe hanging in the hall.
At this time, European rivals were competing, the British Empire was in full swing, and gunboat diplomacy made most countries in the world terrified.
Although France next door was caught by surprise in the Franco-Prussian War a few years ago, its powerful army has become the second largest navy in the world and a strong competitor for British world hegemony.
Italy, the neighbor of the Mediterranean Sea, is also one of the great powers in Europe, and its strength on paper is even greater than that of Spain.
In 1875, the navy of various countries ranked 10th in the world with a total tonnage of 53,500 tons, the Italian Navy ranked sixth in the world with a total tonnage of 80,000 tons, and the British Royal Navy with a tonnage of 467,700 tons, surpassing the second. France and the United States combined, ranked first in the world.
In a short period of time, Spain is unable to catch up with the above-mentioned powers. The first and most important point is that Spain has no money.
Today's Spain is no longer the empire on which the sun never sets.
"Bounce"
There was a knock at the door, and Alfonso came back to his senses.
"Come in."
The door of the conference room was pushed open, and the three generals walked in one after another.
"Guian, Your Majesty." The three greeted with a military salute. They didn't know what the king wanted them to come for.
"Generals, after the last civil war, I believe you have recognized the inadequacy of the army, and this time I invite you to come and discuss these issues."
Alfonso paused and looked at the three people who looked at each other in dismay. The three of them showed embarrassment on their faces, but they didn't know how to refute them.
"How to solve these problems substantively is an urgent matter, so I think we should reform the military system, improve the quality of the soldiers, and strengthen the military equipment."
"I wonder what opinions the three have?"
After Alfonso finished speaking, he looked at the three.
Castro was the first to stand up. As a staunch centralist general, Castro negotiated with the Bourbon family in 1874 to allow Alfonso to successfully restore.
"Your Majesty, first of all, the number of the army is too bloated. During the Carlos rebellion, the number of the army once exceeded 300,000, and the surrendered soldiers of the Carlos faction also numbered 60,000, and the total number has reached an astonishing 360,000. Less than a third of military training, so I think the military should be thin first."
After Castro finished speaking, he looked at Arsenio and Giorgos. Corruption in the military is very serious now, and it is not uncommon for them to take empty pay and embezzle military funds.
And if there is a real layoff of the army, it will definitely move a lot of people's cakes, and this requires the support of the two powerful factions in the military.
"Your Majesty, the current situation in the army is rather bad. Corruption in the army must be strictly controlled. This is a subordinate's dereliction of duty," Arsenio unexpectedly said directly and bluntly about the current problems in the army.
Alfonso shook his head and said, "The domestic situation was bad before, so I can't blame you, but the top priority is to solve this problem."
After speaking, Alfonso pondered for a moment, tapped his finger on the table, and suddenly his eyes lit up and said, "The selection of supervisors from the army will begin tomorrow."
"The biggest role of the inspectors is to protect the rights and interests of grass-roots soldiers. If there is any corruption in the military or anyone who violates the interests of the military, as well as those who violate the interests of the military, they can file a complaint with the Ministry of Supervision."
The three generals were all bright, Alfonso continued.
"Another role of the inspectors is to supervise the discipline of the army. The inspectors are recruited and sent to the grassroots level to maintain military discipline and combat effectiveness at all times.
The inspectors also need to recruit a group of grass-roots officers who can read, and every week they need to teach the soldiers to read and popularize the idea of loyalty and patriotism. "
Alfonso combined the pickets of later generations with the intelligence of political commissars, and introduced the concept of monitoring soldiers, which retained the acceptable functions of many times, and removed the traffic management in the military. After all, there are no cars in the military now. , and what kind of traffic do you manage?
"I'll leave this to you, Arsenio." Alfonso assigned Arsenio to do this, and now only Arsenio has the ability to withstand the different voices in the army.
"It's Your Majesty, I will definitely do it myself to accomplish this." Arsenio replied with a military salute.
"Castro, you are in charge of the layoff of the army, and regarding the issue of the new army establishment, when I was studying in the UK, I studied the current army establishment in Germany.
We can't copy the German system. Although they are the world's No. 1 army, we have to find a development line that suits us. "
Castro responded, and then asked, "Your Majesty, how do you think we should reform the army?"
"First of all, my country's standing army should be kept between 150,000 and 200,000 people. The army should have 8 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry divisions, and a total of 10 divisions in total."
"An infantry division has 3 infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, a regiment consists of three battalions, a battalion of three companies, and a company of three squads"
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"An infantry company has about 245 people, an infantry battalion has about 1,000 people, and an infantry regiment has about 3,287 people. Together with logisticians and officers, a full division should have 16,000 people."
"A cavalry division consists of 4-6 cavalry regiments, a cavalry battalion, and a machine gun company
1 cavalry regiment consists of 4-6 cavalry companies
The number of a cavalry company is about 150, and the number of a cavalry division is about 6000. "
"This adaptation needs to reduce the army of 360,000 people at the end of the war to 140,000 people, and the soldiers who remain must be strong and elite. UU Reading www.uukanshu.com"
Alfonso finished planning the army and turned to look like Giorgos.
Giorgos was born in the navy and was once a top student at the British Naval School. After graduating, he served in the Spanish Navy for 11 years. Later, because of the local rebellion, he was transferred to the army as a centralist.
"Ghiorgos, the navy needs your control. Currently, the kingdom only has warships of less than 60,000 tons."
Although Giorgos also knows the current difficulties of the navy, as a Spaniard who loves the sea, the strength of the kingdom's navy has always been his ideal and goal.
"I need you to pay close attention to the training of the navy. After the initial recovery of our economy, the navy will plan to add several state-of-the-art warships, and the current navy officers and soldiers, you must ensure that they can be used as officers." Alfonso stared at Gio Ergos said in a low voice.
The navy is a behemoth that swallows gold. When it does not get foreign loans and the economy recovers, it cannot cultivate it.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Giorgos' face was firm, and the strength of the navy was his only belief.
"Above, after you go back, immediately designate a specific implementation plan and implement it as soon as possible."
With solemn faces, the three of them saluted and exited the conference room.
After the three of them exited, Alfonso held his forehead and looked at the various data presented on the table and couldn't help but ponder.
Spain's current internal problems are still very serious. The confrontation between the workers and the bourgeoisie, and the increasingly serious land annexation in rural areas, no matter who moves, it will trigger a series of social unrest.
Only with a strong army in hand can these stubborn diseases become pains.
And the surrounding powerful countries make the construction of this army even more urgent and precious...
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