Mediterranean Hegemony Road

120mm cannon, imported from France, year of production or service: 1878/1916

Diameter: 120mm

Barrel length: 27/20.3 times caliber

High and low firing range: 0 degrees ~ +30 degrees

Horizontal range: 0 degrees

Projectile weight: (18~20)kg

Muzzle Velocity: (265~613)(570?)m/sec Weight: 3740/3750~3850/2700kg Maximum Range: 124000m

155mm cannon imported from France, year of production or service: 1877/1916

Diameter: 155mm

Barrel length: 27 times the caliber

High and low range: -26 degrees ~ +26 degrees

Horizontal range: 0 degrees

Projectile weight: (40~43.6)kg

Muzzle Velocity: 561(517?)m/sec

Weight: (5700~6500)kg

Maximum range: 12700m

No wonder why the artillery, Ferdinand used the French!

The reason is very simple. Even at the end of the 19th century when the technical blockade was not strict, the export of heavy artillery was strictly controlled by the foreign powers, and it would not be exported on a large scale under normal circumstances!

In the international environment at that time, there were only two countries that could export to Bulgaria on a large scale, Russia and France!

In fact, the 1877-style 87mm field gun co-operated by the Russians and the Germans also performed very well, but his caliber was too close to that of Miss 75, the difference in rate of fire was too great, and the overall performance was much worse. In history, Miss 75 But in WWII!

As for other Russian artillery, either they were not born, or their performance was not as good as that of the French, and the artillery that could serve until World War I was an absolute world leader in 1897!

As for imitation, the Bulgarian arsenal has also done it before. Due to the high cost, it cannot be mass-produced, so it can only be bought!

In order to solve the lack of melee firepower, Ferdinand even had the idea of ​​a mortar! The technology of the Bulgarian arsenal can not pass the test, but it is made. Just like the birth of mortars in history, accidents are prone to occur, which seriously threatens the safety of artillerymen! Due to its performance and instability, it was rejected by the military!

Finally, at Ferdinand's insistence, an old-fashioned 47mm naval mortar was refitted on a gun mount with wheels, and a long-tailed shell was fired at a high angle of elevation.

The total bomb mass is 11.5kg, the range is 50-400m, and the firing angle is 45°-65°. This primitive mortar has to be reluctantly accepted by the military!

The main reason is that the military thought it was good to use it against machine guns, so it was accepted! Because of its low cost and simple production technology, General Popov, who was an infantryman, took a fancy to it and equipped it to the infantry battalion!

Seeing this result, Ferdinand didn't know whether to cry or laugh. The famous mortar of later generations was disliked by the artillery as soon as it came out, but the infantry took a fancy to it!

Well, for artillerymen, this old-fashioned 47mm naval mortar has low power, short range, and even a slow rate of fire. It is far inferior to the Bulgarian 1895 75mm field gun. In their opinion, it is simply useless!

Well, Ferdinand's military level is only limited to mouth cannons, so let's put aside whether the equipment is reasonable or not. After all, it is the end of the 19th century, and the opponent is a chicken, so let the army do it by itself!

After listening to the initial introduction by the chief of staff, everyone didn't have a big reaction! The military has long known that the civilian group has self-knowledge and does not dare to interfere indiscriminately!

Ferdinand nodded, drew a circle on the map, and continued to ask: "If we want to take all of Istanbul, Macedonia, Kosovo, Thrace, and most of Albania this time, we will drive Turkey out of Europe. go,

What is the difficulty of starting purely from a military point of view? "

Chief of Staff Petrov said in embarrassment: "Other areas are easy to handle, but in the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, the Turks have deployed a large number of shore artillery, which will cause serious damage to our army. threaten!

If we can't solve these shore artillery, even if we capture Constantinople, we can only be passively beaten! "

After a moment of silence, Ferdinand said: "If you want to solve the Turks' shore artillery, unless you can land in Asia Minor, I am afraid that it cannot be completely eliminated!

If we also use a large number of large-caliber artillery, more powerful than the firepower deployed by the Ottoman Empire, to bombard the Turks, is it feasible? "

Petrov thought for a while and said, "It is theoretically feasible to use artillery against artillery, as long as the firepower has an advantage, it is still possible to destroy most of the shore artillery on the opposite side at any cost!

After all, most of the shore artillery deployed by the Ottoman Empire is aimed at the strait, and the threat on land is not considered, and the defense capability is not very strong!

If the navy can bear a certain amount of losses, it can still rush into the Sea of ​​Marma. As long as the navy of the Ottoman Empire is defeated, the Turks have to admit defeat!

But it is difficult for us to get so many large-caliber artillery in a short period of time? Our five heavy artillery regiments alone may not be able to suppress the Turks! "

Ferdinand nodded, he knew that the Black Sea Strait was not so easy to get through!

Don't you see the First World War in history, the Allies fell into a stalemate on the Western Front, and in order to make a breakthrough on the moving line, they launched the Battle of Dardanelles.

On the Allied side, 500,000 soldiers crossed the ocean to the Gallipoli Peninsula. After nearly eleven months of fighting, which cost about 53,000 dead and 96,937 wounded, still lost!

In order to open up the Black Sea Strait, the Russians have also launched many Russian-Turkish wars for hundreds of years, all of which have been unsuccessful!

But the Russians did not give up! It's not that the hairy bear has water in its head!

But the Russian Empire has most of the maritime transportation, which is through the Black Sea Strait, and has to fight!

Thinking of this, Ferdinand's mood suddenly relaxed, and he said with a smile: "We can't take it out, but the Russians have it. I guess they are waiting for us to come to the door?"

Don't underestimate the Russians because of Russia's poor performance in the "Russian-Japanese War" and "World War I"!

Ferdinand knew very well that Nicholas II was definitely not the "idiot", "authoritarian, stubborn" described in the textbooks, on the contrary, he was very smart and a reformer!

It is a pity that Nicholas II was a failed reformer in history, and the external expansion in order to transfer internal contradictions just happened to fail!

What Ferdinand can think of, the Russians can't do without! In fact, if it was not restricted by national strength, the Bulgarian staff would have come up with a perfect plan!

...

When discussing in Bulgaria, the Russian government in St. Petersburg was also very concerned about the direction of the war.

Nicholas II looked at the battle report and said with a smile: "It seems that the Turks have really fallen. It's been so long, and they haven't even got a decent record!"

Everyone burst into laughter. Russia and Turkey are a pair of old enemies. Seeing the bad luck of the enemy, they have no reason to be unhappy!

"Are the Bulgarians coming soon? Ferdinand's patience is so good, doesn't he worry that the Greeks will be defeated and face the Ottoman army alone?" asked Nicholas II again.

The Minister of War said respectfully: "Your Majesty the Great Tsar, this war came too suddenly, and the Bulgarians still need time to prepare!

And the Greeks and the Turks have been at war for less than ten days. If the Greeks are defeated so quickly, it will not help much to join them!

The Bulgarians are now planning to let the Greeks delay their mobilization and consume the strength of the Turks by the way. If the Greeks lose, there will be one less opponent to compete for the spoils! "

The Admiralty smiled and said, "I'm afraid it's more than that! Our attitude is the key to Bulgaria's decision!

After all, as long as they capture Constantinople and let our navy enter the Sea of ​​Marmara to defeat the Ottoman Empire navy, the Ottoman army in the Balkans will become rootless, and defeat is a matter of time! "