Some stream of consciousness.
Round 2.
Good boots. I mean really good boots not just cheap indestructible ones.
1. That is the problem. If it is the best boot there is and still pinches and raises blisters then it is no good. Socks.
Pistol. Why? Other than concealed for special purposes they have no place. So get rid of them.
2. Morale. Put a round into Private Ima Coward to motivate the other petty criminals who have a bad case of the shirks in the middle of a firefight.
So the default personal weapon is the SMG. Use 9x25 to make it a true 200m + weapon. MP34, ZK383 but with double feed lips.
3. A hot 9/19 is good enough. Otherwise you might as well build a REMF rifle.
Long arms standardise on 7.5x54mm French. ZB26 and ZB53 (or keep Vickers) for LMG/MMG. Arrange ZB26 production such that the platoon is stuffed with them i.e. as many of them as the SMG men can carry magazines for them.
4. Keep what works (.303 rimmed) or 30.06. New rounds take at least 3 years to a decade to proof. Hello; Mr. Browning? Consult FN in 1935 for a belt fed, QBC BAR.
Update SMLE and new production No4 to 7.5x54mm for reserve stocks and TA.
5. See 4..
There is nothing in the PIAT that is not amenable to early use. HEAT heads can follow but the warhead with simple HE (or squash head) will do the job early on and is fireable from enclose spaces and in indirect fire. Anti tank rifles are one trick ponies.
6. Antimaterial rifles have a use. PIAT not invented yet. AT mines.
Replace the ankle gaiters with short puttees.
7. Mud catchers. Creepy crawlies like to live there, too. Better supply anti-bug powder.
Did I mention good boots?
8. Might want to refer to 1.
9. Camel back water bottle.
The intended succession from 2 pounder through 6 pounder to 17 pounder would have been fine except for the (understandable) invasion scare so the plan was fine for A/T guns, had the delay been avoided.
10. Triple purpose gun and mount. APX 4.7cm/50 = AT/AAA/DFA Not as good as an 8.8cm/50 but it will fill a huge hole in the BA OOB/TOE.
Stop messing about with webbing set add ons. Make a proper rucksack to be worn over the webbing and discarded separately and fast.
11. Fanny pack.
A Gurkha acquaintance long ago queried why have a bayonet when a Kuhkri does all the field jobs far better and kills people better too. A better back up to the default SMG.
12. Can you mount it on a rifle?
The 2 inch mortar was good but the 3inch heavy and short ranged so that needs attention.
13. Japanese kneel mortar or French 5 cm. Use the French 8.1 cm. Use the US 10.7 cm.
Easy to say better radios but the technology of the day makes their use something of a skilled black art just to keep the ..**! things on tune. Just a smidgeon too early pre war to expect a simple reliable intra battalion lightweight set down to platoon level. But enforcing better radio discipline at higher levels would actually have more effect looking at the successes of German signals intelligence. Tactical radio contact with air forces from the ground requires a whole sea change in RAF doctrine which is not going to happen and a whole other thread.
14. Consult the USN/USMC and buy RCA sets. Except for Dowding and maybe Park, jail the Gentlemen's Flying Club high command and start over with competent wing commanders and build a proper air staff. Consult the USAAC. As bad as they are, at least they have one and it actually lesson learned.
From a morale point of view give the troops a decent hat when not wearing a helmet. One that looks good and stays on the head. The beret has a good track record.
15. Burn the Beret and issue Campaign hats, bush hats or cowboy hats.
The Battledress was excellent for it's day as was the basic webbing.
16. Durable terrain matched camo and blended fabrics. Shorts for hot weather campaign conditions and BUG POWDER.
17. See 1. and do not forget the bug spray.
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Mostly agree. (Except you forgot about boots.
)
1. Consult Viet Minh.
I'd disagree slightly with the MP34; something closer to the M3 ("Grease gun") would be ideal, IMO. (Can the Thompson be re-engineered for production by stamping? Or is a clean sheet, effectively the same thing, a better idea?)
2, REMF rifle, select fire. Get Winchester involved early and often.
I don't see the Brits changing over to a foreign caliber, especially a French one. A switch to a rimless .303 Short (.303x1.5"), maybe?
3. The
7×57mm Mauser is the cartridge of choice for a foreign caliber. I wish the US had adopted it to make some of the WWI problems it encountered with the Springfield go away.
.300 H&H Magnum or
.280 Ross (Probably not a good idea (NAGI) based on the incompetents associated with it?)
Can the PIAT double as an RPG? That is, use the spigot to launch a rocket to 10-20m (beyond the backblast)? Too complicated?
4. What backblast? Also how does one introduce
variable pressure chamber charging into the BOMB which contains the launch charge and the spigot, without blowing the Private Fumbles operator and the spigot mortar up?
I'd seriously consider selling the 2pdrs to the Chinese & using the money to finance production of 6pdrs.
5. Thou shalt consult thy friends across the Channel and co-produce lots of 3 pounders in order for Jerry to snuff it.
Radio tech was pretty "cutting edge" at the time, but rugged, compact, simple, reliable sets could be made, as the Walkie-Talkie proved. Why couldn't the Brits do it? Better radio discipline, & better use of even double-talk codes, to confuse German tactical sigint, was essential; Rommel got enormous benefit from Brit talkativeness.
6. No comment. But any nation that sits under a permanent rain cloud, and
cannot produce a decent wet weather truck may have some issues with electronics?
For specialist troops, a beret is good. For regulars, who will spend a lot of time in rain & sun (which paras seem less likely to), something closer to the digger hat, or the Stetson, seems preferable: wide brim to keep off rain & sun, durable (canvas?), lightweight (troops are already carrying a crapload of gear, & shipping replacements isn't a trivial weight issue).
7. Burn the berets. If they want to feel special and boost their morale, issue bush hats.
Maybe better uniform materials? Something that won't rot in jungle conditions? (Is a mix of nylon or rayon with cotton too sophisticated for the '30s?)
8. Cold Weather | werd.com Thou shalt lesson learn!
I do think the German helmet design is a good one, for better neck protection. Can better materials be used?
9. "I shot the Sergeant by mistake!"
"Claim it was the helmet, Fumbles."
"They'll never buy it."
"Yes, they will. With that silly pot on his head and that mustache, he looks like one of them in the dark."
"Should have stuck with the Brodie."
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"Not guilty by reason of the defendant's known congenital stupidity."
"See? I told you."
Is a quilted nylon "flak" vest asking too much?
10. Yes. Heat burden.
And yes, better boots.
Something with a (thin) steel sole insert against
punji stakes (& mines?)? A material that won't fall apart in a matter of days (weeks?).
11. Consult 1.. and BUG POWDER.
