novelraw Chapter 631 U.S. Military Market Research
Chapter 631 U.S. Military Market Research
Shire stayed in the small town for an additional two days under the pretense of tracking tank development.
In reality, the technical challenges of the two tank improvements Shire proposed were minimal; they were straightforward concepts that did not require deep discussion.
As for the dual-stable fire control system, it was intended for long-term planning and could not be implemented immediately.
During these two days, Shire spent more time discussing his business with Dejoka, mainly focusing on the development of American arms factories.
That afternoon, Shire just returned to the office building from the tank research department when Dejoka handed him a document from Joseph in the United States.
"Joseph has set up the factory in New York," Dejoka remarked, "He believes that it is the most suitable production site."
Shire took the document and nodded in agreement.
This decision was evidently correct; the Western Front battlefield was the transportation target, and New York was not only the nearest but also the largest and most convenient port to France.
In the future, when the U.S. military joins the war, it will also need to deploy its forces to the Western Front and transport equipment to France.
Therefore, we should not place the factory in the center of the United States just because we are doing business with the U.S. and want to equip their military.
(The above image is a map of the world’s main shipping routes. The red line marks the segment connecting New York to the French Western Front route. The entire route takes only 7 to 10 days, with New York being the largest, busiest, and the most critical port for American reinforcements to the Western Front.)
"The United States is indeed a good place to set up factories," Dejoka sighed, "It has cheap resources, affordable labor, and complete infrastructure."
Shire smiled lightly at the data in the document; these factors are quite contrary to modern America, where modern Americans are not as hardworking and enduring as they were during this era.
At this time, Dejoka turned the conversation: "But our business isn’t going very smoothly."
"Not very smoothly?" Shire looked up at Dejoka, "In what way is it not going smoothly?"
"Everything." Dejoka moved closer, flipping through the document until he pointed to the data on one page: "This is the price and purchase volume Joseph sent, along with his market research targeting the American military. He believes the outcome isn’t optimistic."
Shire saw that all the equipment was purchased at the minimum procurement volume, with unit prices just a few dollars or a dozen dollars higher—nearly no profit was made.
Shire wondered why, even though the U.S. military had no war pressure yet, many types of equipment they lacked should be urgently needed. Why had they purchased so little?
For example, the Galland Rifle, which overwhelmingly outperformed the Springfield Rifle currently used by the U.S. military.
Additionally, the "Saint-Étienne 2" light machine gun and mortars—the U.S. military had nothing in these areas, yet the monthly procurement volume was only a few hundred units/pieces respectively.
Thinking a bit more, Shire seemed to realize the reason.
At this moment, the entire U.S. military had only 130,000 troops. To them, purchasing a few hundred machine guns and mortars each month already seemed like a lot, since they could equip all 130,000 troops in a few months without urgency.
However, after examining Joseph’s market research report on the American military, Shire understood this was only part of the reason.
The U.S. military was actually preparing for war.
The military must prepare at all times, training and upgrading equipment with the goal of participation even if they don’t expect to join the war.
The low procurement volume was due to the persistent skepticism from the U.S. Congress regarding Shire’s equipment.
A congressman’s evaluation of the Galland Rifle:
"This rifle’s rate of fire is too fast. Since it is issued to every soldier, it means that each soldier’s ammunition consumption will increase."
"But now both Britain and France are experiencing ammunition shortages. If war breaks out, equipping troops with such a high rate-of-fire rifle will undoubtedly place more strain on our already fragile supply lines."
"The most critical issue is that for the price of one Galland Rifle, we could purchase three Springfield Rifles to equip three soldiers. The simultaneous shooting by three soldiers would make up for the Springfield’s rate-of-fire deficiency."
(Note: The Galland Rifle costs around 85 US dollars; the Springfield Rifle only costs about 28 US dollars.)
Senators’ evaluation of the "Saint-Étienne 2" light machine gun:
"We do not think this is necessary equipment."
"Because we don’t see any advantage of this machine gun compared to the Maxim Machine Gun."
"Although the Maxim Machine Gun is heavy, it has a faster rate of fire. The Germans have already proven its value on the River Somme battlefield!"
Evaluation of the mortar:
"It is a clumsy and ridiculous weapon."
"Simple, ugly, and most importantly, lacking power and range."
"Why don’t we just purchase an infantry gun? Does it outperform an infantry gun?"
...
Shire smiled lightly, closed the document, and handed it back to Dejoka.
Dejoka took the document and looked at Shire with a hint of surprise: "You don’t seem worried at all?"
Dejoka felt increasingly unable to understand Shire, even though he was his son.
"No, Father." Shire responded confidently, with a tone full of assurance: "We don’t need to worry, the situation will change. It’s just that the time hasn’t come yet. Let Joseph keep expanding production capacity!"
"Alright." Dejoka responded with some helplessness; he was almost certain it was a losing venture.
Shire thought for a while and realized that the United States was deliberately resisting his arms factory.
Those words seemed to come from congressmen who didn’t understand the military and had no combat experience, speaking grandly.
But in reality...
They weren’t that foolish; they could easily send a few people to the Western Front to ask soldiers who’ve fought about the equipment’s effectiveness.
So why were there these ridiculous answers and statements?
The fundamental reason was the American arms industries behind those congressmen—they didn’t want Shire’s equipment to seize their original military market.
Thus, despite knowing the facts, they relied on their power and speech rights to suppress the truth.
Originally, Shire intended to wait quietly for the United States to join the war and send troops to the Western Front. The battlefield would give the U.S. military a sharp slap and expose the lies woven by the congressmen.
But on reconsideration:
Until the lie was exposed, the U.S. military would continue to purchase Springfield Rifles in bulk for a considerable time. Even in times of expansion, the government would invest in urgently increasing Springfield Rifle production rather than Galland’s.
This would significantly reduce his potential earnings.
No, Americans must recognize the value of the Galland Rifle before that happens.
Thinking this, Shire said to Dejoka: "We can release a batch of Galland Rifles to the civilian market at half price."
"Half price?" Dejoka looked at Shire in astonishment: "You’re crazy, Shire, that doesn’t even cover the cost!"