Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 247: Returning to the Fatherland



Bruno had more luxuries than the men beneath his command. He was the highest rank a man could achieve in the German Army. Travelling from the front lines back to Berlin was not only a matter of personal luxury, but often times necessity.

As Montenegro, and Serbia both capitulated, and the troops which Bruno was in charge of largely began Gendarme operations while also simultaneously preparing for a war in a new theater. Bruno found himself with little to actually do. In fact, his expertise was actually needed back in the fatherland, checking to see if the preparations he had made in years past had finally been concluded.

For the most part, Bruno's involvement in creating military designs, taken, modified, and improved from his past life had been focused on the Army, as that was more or less the single most important part of the Great War, and was also his primary means of production.

But there were a few naval vessels Bruno had introduced to the world. Two were well known by now and had played a major role in the German Kaiserliche Marines' dominance over the seas. And that was both the Type XXI U-Boats, or at least the improved variant which Bruno introduced in this life.

And the WW2 Era destroyers, which escorted German commercial vessels, troop transports, and even accompanied larger fleets into battle. These two types of naval ships had proven, time and again, their worth.

But there was a third "invention" Bruno had developed in secrecy, as gaining approval for use by the Navy had proven to be difficult. In times past, Naval Infantry or Marines had more or less been limited.

The reality was that contested battles on the shores were rare in history, and because of this, the idea of spending the taxpayer's money to fund a fleet of landing craft designed for this very purpose was something that Bruno simply could not get approved no matter how hard he tried.

But... there was not exactly a law preventing private ownership of such vessels, perhaps even a fleet of them... After all, without weapons on board, landing craft were more or less no different from civilian ships.

With that said, weapons that could be mounted would be small scale, and easily retrofitted onto the ships, if need be, at most 37mm auto cannons. Because of this, Bruno decided to return to the German Reich to ensure that his fleet of "automobile transport vessels" was fully constructed and ready to set sail.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Yes... Bruno had shamelessly concealed the construction, commission, and ownership of naval landing craft as mere cargo ships designed to carry exclusively automobiles in large numbers. The reality was these ships could carry both men and armored vehicles on board. But nobody had ever really heard of such a thing, let alone expected these ships for such a unique purpose.

After all, until now, naval infantry had more often than not deployed via small wooden rowboats, which were easily mowed down by modern defenses. And even then, they usually did so without having an actual fight in mind when they reached the shores.

I mean the idea of a billionaire with exceptional ties to the military, would go out of his way to circumvent naval procurement channels via the private funding, construction, and commission of a personal fleet of dedicated landing craft was an absurd idea to say the least. Because of this, nobody really expected such a move, whether that be the German politicians or the enemies of the Reich. Thus, when Bruno arrived in his primary naval shipyards in Hamburg to check on the progress of his little side project, he was not the least bit surprised to see that there were dozens of ships in this single port waiting for him.

The engineers at Bruno's naval arms manufacturing company were quite happy to see their employer visiting, as the man in charge walked Bruno around the docks and explained how the ships had been perfected.

"As you can see here, the armor plating on these landing craft is thick, thick enough to stop even a 37mm pom pom from penetrating its armor. Although, if struck directly by artillery, it could prove troublesome.

As for the ships in question, they can carry about two Panzers each, or 200 men, depending on whether you are focused on armor or infantry. They have a range of approximately 350 kms with a speed of 17km/h fully loaded.

In addition to this, these ships can be quickly retrofitted with either a 20mm or 37mm auto- cannon that can be utilized as both anti-personnel, or anti-air defense. Due to the limited range, we have made modifications available to existing warships to allow their carry. As of right now, we have roughly 150 of these landing craft fully manufactured and awaiting deployment as you see fit. All we will need is Parliamentary approval to mount their armament and begin shipping them off to the Kaiserliche Marine for deployment."

Bruno had initially designed the ships on the LCM-8 from the Vietnam war of his past life. They were more or less an improvement upon existing designs used by the United States Marine Corps during the second world war a few decades earlier.

These ships continued to see service into the 21st century as well among a variety of the world's naval forces due to how efficient they were. And now that they were completed in this life a few decades prior than they should have been, Bruno could see why.

One of the monumental failures of the Allies in his past life when they invaded Gallipoli was the fact that they were on vessels that were easily blown out of the water. Many men died before they ever reached the shores.

But with these landing craft in place, that was not a worry. Because of this, Bruno patted the shoulder of the lead engineer of his naval arms corporation and congratulated him on his achievement.

"It is perfect as far as I can see. Make no mistake, convincing the Naval Board of Procurement to immediately authorize the use of these landing craft for the campaign I have planned will be an easy matter. You have no idea how many of our soldiers you have saved by bringing my vision into reality. Everyone who has made this a reality can expect a major bonus this year for their efforts."

Bruno's words were most welcome by not only the man he was speaking to, but all the employees at the shipyard. They may not be fighting on the battlefield, but logistics won wars, and producing military equipment was no easy task.

To be rewarded with a generous bonus was most certainly welcomed news, and would no doubt add to their motivation to continue their great work going forward.