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East Africa 1930: An ORBAT Quest

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C_Z said:
We should esign our own tanks and SMGs! The latter, if we do it right, could be an export success (nobody's making a cheap SMG right now and if we have it ready by 1936 we might be able to market cheap guns to the Spanish republicans) and would help get our name out there. The former, because tank design is fun and British tanks of the period aren't great for what we need.
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I mean yeah it'd be a good idea to design our own domestic stuff, but I don't think we have the technological know how on how to do it all that well right now. Also the vickers six ton which we could probably get a license for, or simply try to recreate would be a decent tank for the early 30s. Though I'd honestly rather try to get copies of Japanese tanks since it'd probably be cheaper to get em licensed and we could could just up gun them as the years go by.
 
Rat King said:
I am all in favor of designing our own stuff, but we are also sadly broke.
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IMO, with respect to the SMGs, it's a bit of spending money to make money. I'm hoping that there's some conflicts that erupt in the latter half of the 1930s that involve countries that can't afford to purchase rifles ( ;) ) and we can sell cheap, mass-produced SMGs to them as an alternative that nobody else is really in a position to compete with us on. Licensed weapons, AIUI, generally have caveats about foreign sales (since the Japanese, Czechs, etc. won't want us cutting into their market too much), so again AIUI we'd need to do enough development work in-house that we don't have to fight claims of patent violations.

As for tanks, of course, but I can dream :p
 
I was going to say that the ban is on eating pork not using pigskin, but apparently pigskin is also haram. Today I learned and all that.

C_Z said:
Oh shit, I was just copying the IJA's boots without thinking. Uh... Can we edit that?
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Yeah, just edit the thing and notify people that it was edited.

Edit:
Related to the leather, would horse skin/donkey skin be a good substitute?
 
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I just struck out the pigskin and made no other edits. In hindsight, a very silly thing to gloss over, but I guess my brain was just on autopilot and didn't conflate it with the dietary restrictions.
 
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  • Voting
    • Scheduled vote count started by 4WheelSword on Feb 28, 2023 at 6:35 PM, finished with 32 posts and 11 votes.
    • [X] Plan: Well-Dressed Reewiinites
      -[X] Production Licensing: Machine Guns - Attempt to buy the rights to produce a machine gun design. Include a weapon available in 1931 as a Write-In. Some will be easily acquired, others will be immediately refused. (12-Month Investment. Initial production will be low-rate, and improve over time.)
      --[X] Write-in: ZB vz. 30, rechambered to fire 6.5x50mmSR Type 38 and simplified where possible (e.g., using the tangent sights from the Type 3 MG instead of the standard dial)
      ---[X] Write-in: Also ask ZB about those typewriters and light trucks they mentioned
      -[X] Restructure the Vet Office (free)
      -[X] New Uniform Standard - The current issued uniform barely qualifies and is only truly standardised amongst the officers and the cavalry. Order new, standardised uniforms and web gear for the whole army. (6-Month Investment)
      --[X] Uniform Jacket and shirt: The jacket/tunic with pockets should be made of khaki cotton. The cut can take inspiration from the British, Italians, and traditional dress. A cotton shirt of the same colour should be provided.
      --[X] Trousers: Same colour and material as the jacket, with shorts being available as a hot-weather variant.
      --[X] Headgear: 1) A beige/khaki field cap will be patterned after the Italian bustina and designed so that it may be worn under the helmet. 2) Helmets will be the Czech Přilba vz. 32 modified with fasteners to secure anti-insect netting. 3) The service cap will be a kofia, with embroidery to indicate service branch and rank. Officers get a fancy hat. All headgear will have Reewiin's national symbols applied and a coloured stripe indicating service branch.
      --[X] Footgear: Foot soldiers will use pigskin or cowhide ankle boots with brown puttees and several pairs of cotton socks. Cavalry will have riding boots, and officers can continue to use similar boots if desired via private purchase.
      --[X] Overcoat: Soldiers will be issued with an olive wool overcoat for use during the rainy/cool season.
      --[X] Raincoats: The Italian M29 camoflauge shelter half/poncho will be copied for general issue as protection against rain
      --[X] Web Gear: Leather belt with rubberized canvas ammo pouches, bayonet frog, gas mask pouch, entrenching tool scabbard, breadbag, and canteen holder. Canvas suspender straps to help ease the weight on the hips and carry equipment. Simple backpack should also be produced for issue to carry spare clothing, etc. Cavalry uniform should also include a sword scabbard / crossbelt as necessary. Bandoliers for the cavalry should also be issued in lieu of belt pouches.
      --[X] Gas Masks: Surplus from whoever has sufficient stocks, with preference given to the French ARS mask
      --[X] Entrenching Tool: Surplus from whoever has sufficient stocks of Linnemann-type spades and picks, with a 2:1 ratio of spades and picks.
      --[X] Protection Against Insects: Soldiers are to be supplied with an olive green mosquito net which fits over the M32 steel helmet (additionally acting as a camouflage net and a sun shade).
    Click to expand...
     
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    Turn 10 News, Rumours, & Updates: April-June 1932
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    • Turn 10 News, Rumours, & Updates: April-June 1932

    Project Development

    Ongoing Projects

    [X] Establish the Ordnance Office - Developing an arms industry from scratch will take time and effort. An Ordnance Office will allow us to delegate some of that work to specialists. (Constant Investment.)
    [X] Production Licensing: Machine Guns - Attempt to buy the rights to produce the ZB vz.30 in 6.5×50 mmSR. (12 Months Remain) ◻◻◻◻​
    [X] Establish the Carabinieri Oversight Office - No one really keeps an eye on the paramilitary police force that keeps watch over the nation. If the force is to be reformed and re-established in a new role, then oversight is needed at the very least. (Constant Investment.)
    [X] Organisational Reform: Police Force - While the Carabinieri is responsible for internal security, its position as a military force can compromise that. Each Region should have a specialist policing force subsidiary to its larger military formation. (6 Months Remain) ☑☑◻
    [X] Establish a Veterinary Oversight Office - Bringing hundreds of horses into Reewiin and establishing breeding programs will require extensive oversight, administrative effort, and coordination. (Constant Investment.)
    [X] New Uniform Standard - The current issued uniform barely qualifies and is only truly standardised amongst the officers and the cavalry. Order new, standardised uniforms and web gear for the whole army. (6 Months Remain) ◻◻

    Kismayo-Turkana Line:
    Progress, Kismayo-Marsabit: 92% (Est. completion June 1932)
    Progress, Marsabit-Turkana: 46% (Est. completion October 1933)

    Arisaka Rifles, Orders, and Production:
    Progress, Rifle Deliveries: 35% (Est. completion December 1932)
    Progress, Rifle Factory: 3 rifles per day

    Type 3 HMG Project:
    Progress, Reverse Engineering: 20% (Est. completion March 1933)

    April 1932

    International Headlines

    Berlin: Former Crown Prince Wilhelm endorses Adolf Hitler, breaking promises to stay out of politics.
    Berlin: Easter truce over! Germany beset by wave of political violence.
    Pittsburgh: Vitamin C isolated for the first time by American biochemist Charles Glen King.
    Szeged: Vitamin C isolated for the first time by Hungarian biochemist Albert Szent-Györgyi.
    Berlin: Documents seized in raids on Nazi headquarters, showing plans to incite civil war by forming a secret army, seizing munitions, and cutting water supplies, are presented by police to the government.
    Shanghai: Negotiations are held in the British consulate between Chinese and Japanese representatives over setting a timetable for Japanese withdrawal from China.
    United States: President Roosevelt gives speech stating that prosperity depends on plans "that build from the bottom up and not the top down"
    Potsdam: President of the Reichsbank and former Chancellor Hans Luther shot and wounded in Potsdam Station. Nazis blamed.
    Rome: The Grand Council Of Fascism passed a resolution calling for the cancellation of all war debt to encourage economic recovery.
    Berlin: Hindenburg elected President with a massive majority, a sharp contrast to March elections.
    Andes Mountains: Thousands flee the eruptions of fourteen volcanoes
    Berlin: German stock exchange opens for the first time in seven months.
    Auckland: Thousands of unemployed people clash with police in the Queen Street Riot. Shops are looted and many are injured in a day of violence.
    Berlin: President Hindenberg dissolves National Socialist paramilitary forces. Party leader Hitler responds, calling this 'last blow of despair', declares April 24th 'Retaliation day'.
    Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, formally abolishes slavery in the country. Surely this will end the trade for good!
    Delhi: Woman independence activist Sarojini Naidu arrested on train for violating orders to not attend Indian National Congress meeting..
    Munich: NSDAP makes major gains in local elections. Party leader Adolf Hitler proclaims popular mandate, demands right to form government in Prussia.
    Moscow: Kemal Attaturk and other Turkish officials visit the Soviet Union.
    Shanghai: Korean assassin Yun Bong-gil throws bomb at Japanese generals at ceremony honouring Emperor Hirohito's birthday. General Yoshinori Shirakawa badly wounded, ambassador Mamoru Shigemitsu permanently maimed.

    May 1932

    International Headlines

    Tallinn: Estonia, Soviet Union signs non-aggression pact.
    Stockholm: Prostitute found dead, drained of blood, in Atlas area. Is another vampire serial killer on the loose?
    Tokyo: Japan, China sign cease fire.
    Paris: President Paul Doumer shot and killed by Russian emigre. Albert François Lebrun new president.
    Wellington: 4,000 relief workers march in protest of Unemployment Amendment Act.
    East Amwell: Lindbergh baby's found dead!
    Mexico City: Mexico breaks off diplomatic relations with Peru.
    Tokyo: Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi assassinated by 18-man group in his own home! His family and visiting American moving pictures star Charlie Chaplin were unharmed. Members of the 18-man group also threw grenades at the residence of Minister of the Interior Nobuaki Makino, the conservative Rikken Seiyukai's party headquarters, the Bank of Japan, and six electrical substations. While turning themselves in, members of the group threw grenades and shot at the Tokyo police station. The 18 terrorists have turned themselves in to the military police. Tokyo police have mobilised 10,000 officers to guard the nation's capital against further attacks.
    Bombay: 88 dead after four-day race riot between Hindus, Muslims, intervening British troops.
    Havana: Hundreds jailed for plot against government!
    Vienna: President appoints Fatherland Front politician Engelbert Dollfuss, replacing Karl Buresch as Chancellor of Austria.
    Culmore: A women's first! Aviatrix Amelia Airheart completes transatlantic solo flight.
    Tokyo: Emperor Hirohito appoints Saitō Makoto as new Prime Minister.
    Roma: Italy, Turkey extend non-aggression pact by 5 years.
    Athens: Alexandros Papanastasiou new prime minister of Greece.
    Washington: 40,000 unemployed soldiers, wives, march on capital, demanding early payment of military bonuses.
    Berlin: Heinrich Bruning resigns as Chancellor: Hindenburg appoints Franz von Papen as replacement.
    Belgrade: Four arrested after bomb spree: King of Yugoslavia targeted by attacks.
    China: Japan agrees to withdraw troops from Shanghai.

    June 1932

    International Headlines

    Paris: Édouard Herriot new prime minister of France.
    Berlin: Papen set to lose confidence vote: Hindenburg dissolves parliament.
    Roma: Anarchist assassin attempts, fails to kill Italian prime minister Mussolini. The radical was executed following his arrest.
    Santiago: Juan Esteban Montero steps down as President of Chile. Revolutionary junta proclaims Socialist Republic of Chile.
    Panama City: Harmodio Arias Madrid elected president of Panama in general election.
    Athens: Eleftherios Venizelos prime minister of Greece following general election..
    London: Lord Rothermere: no safer political prophecy than that the Hohenzollerns would retake the throne of Germany within eighteen months.
    Havana: 3 arrested after bomb thrown at president's motorcar.
    Damascus: Muhammad Ali al-Abid appointed first president of Syria.
    Berlin: Hindenburg lifts ban on NSDAP militant wing.
    Asunción: Paraguay's fort Carlos A. López, in the contested Chaco region, captured and razed by Bolivian army!
    New York: Parade held in honour of aviatrix Amelia Airheart's transatlantic flight.
    Bangkok: Military group seizes Siamese capital city, demands constitution. King Rama VII meets with, pardons coup leaders, grants constitution.
    Washington: President Herbert Hoover proposes massive reduction in global expenditure, reducing militaries by a third and abolishing guns, tanks and bombers.
    Munich: NSDAP leader Hitler publishes letter demanding the imposition of martial law throughout Germany, citing dangers of communism.

    Local Rumours

    It's been overheard from the local IJN presence that the wave of terrorism and assassinations on May 15th was committed by Japanese army and navy personnel.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Turn 11 Vote: July 1932
  • Threadmarks

    • Turn 11 Vote: July 1932

    Project Development

    Ongoing Projects

    [X] Establish the Ordnance Office - Developing an arms industry from scratch will take time and effort. An Ordnance Office will allow us to delegate some of that work to specialists. (Constant Investment.)
    [X] Production Licensing: Machine Guns - Attempt to buy the rights to produce the ZB vz.30 in 6.5×50 mmSR. (9 Months Remain) ☑◻◻◻
    [X] Establish the Carabinieri Oversight Office - No one really keeps an eye on the paramilitary police force that keeps watch over the nation. If the force is to be reformed and re-established in a new role, then oversight is needed at the very least. (Constant Investment.)
    [X] New Uniform Standard - The current issued uniform barely qualifies and is only truly standardised amongst the officers and the cavalry. Order new, standardised uniforms and web gear for the whole army. (3 Months Remain) ☑◻

    Completed Projects

    [X] Organisational Reform: Police Force - While the Carabinieri is responsible for internal security, its position as a military force can compromise that. Each Region should have a specialist policing force subsidiary to its larger military formation. (Complete!) ☑☑☑
    [X] Establish a Veterinary Oversight Office - Bringing hundreds of horses into Reewiin and establishing breeding programs will require extensive oversight, administrative effort, and coordination. (Downsized!)

    Kismayo-Turkana Line:
    Progress, Kismayo-Marsabit: 100% (Est. completion June 1932)
    Progress, Marsabit-Turkana: 52% (Est. completion October 1933)

    Arisaka Rifles, Orders, and Production:
    Progress, Rifle Deliveries: 50% (Est. completion December 1932)
    Progress, Rifle Factory: 3 rifles per day

    Type 3 HMG Project:
    Progress, Reverse Engineering: 60% (Est. completion March 1933)

    Reports

    Report From the Commission For Purchase Of Military Equipment In Czechoslovakia
    Negotiations are ongoing with the Zbrojovka Brno company of Czechoslovakia for the purchase of a licence and tooling for the production of their model 1930 light machine gun. It will be rechambered in the 6.5 mm Arisaka calibre and manufactured in Reewiin. They seem positive towards this prospect, though our representatives stated that it would be easier to secure an order if they could give ZB a solid estimate for how many weapons they'll receive royalties for in the immediate future.

    Further inquiries with ZB have resulted in the delivery of a demonstration model of a typewriter to the Council secretarial staff. Since it only types Latin letters, it's not very useful for most of our purposes, but our correspondence with Europeans now looks very slick when we take it to the telegraph office to be sent. They have also offered their Z 9 ½-ton truck, which competed in the Monte Carlo Rally last year. They have further suggested that if we want to purchase any larger vehicles, we should deal with their Czechoslovak colleagues at Tatra. While in Brno, our representatives also acquired a licence for the vz.32 helmet from the manufacturers Gottleib Brothers and Brauchbar.

    How many ZB vz.30s are we intending to build?
    [ ] Enough to equip every platoon with two in a weapons squad.
    [ ] Enough to equip every squad with one.
    [ ] Enough to double the size of the army and equip every squad with one.
    [ ] Enough to triple the size of the army and equip every platoon with two.
    [ ] Write in

    Defence Council Investment - July 1932

    The Defence Council currently has one investment point available to be spent on the Carabinieri.

    Industry and Logistics

    Armaments
    [ ] Weapon Testing: Machine Guns - The Ordnance Office will buy a handful of machine guns from around the world and test them until they break. Afterwards, they will make recommendations to the Defence Council on the topic of machine gun licensing. (6-Month Investment. Recommendations will be made at the end of this process.)

    [ ] Production Licensing: Machine Guns - Attempt to buy the rights to produce a machine gun design. Include a weapon available in 1931 as a Write-In. Some will be easily acquired, others will be immediately refused. (12-Month Investment. Initial production will be low-rate, and improve over time.)

    [ ] Increase Funding: Type 3 - By funnelling additional investment towards the Type 3 project, it may be possible to have a prototype ready faster. (6-Month Investment.)

    [ ] Restructure the Ordnance Office - Reduce staffing in the Ordnance Office to retain oversight of programs in progress and free up capital for investment elsewhere. This does not cost an investment point and can be done at any time. (3-Month Investment.)

    Breeding and Working
    [ ] Equine Acquisition: Purchase Arabians - Buy Arabian horses for service en masse from Egypt. They will be monogender, and we will not be able to maintain the line if they're used for breeding stock. They also may not be resistant to AHS/ASS. (3-Month Investment. Sufficient mass of horses should be available in as little as one year.)

    [ ] Equine Acquisition: Stud Farms - Buy a small number of Arabian studs from the United States. These will make good breeding stock for future programmes. (3-Month Investment. A breeding programme can begin within the year.)

    [ ] Government Action: Push for Equine Conscription - While pastoralism is not exactly a major industry in Reewiin, there are a large number of animals that could be put to wartime use, were they assessed in a proper census. (6-Month Investment. Implementation will occur at the government's pace.)

    [ ] NEW! Restructure the Veterinary Oversight Office - To reduce operational costs the Veterinary Oversight Office has been shrunk significantly. Funding and personnel would allow the Office to perform specialised tasks. (3 Months, Constant Investment)

    Lanes, Trains, and Automobiles
    [ ] Road Expansion: Somali Coast - Build some metalled roads connecting major towns and cities. (6-Month Investment. Construction will begin during this time.)

    [ ] Road Expansion: Inland Networks - Improve the unimproved road network to be more extensive and less vulnerable to flooding in the wet season. (6-Month Investment. Construction will begin during this time.)

    Doctrine and Organisation

    DCIRRO
    [ ] Establish the Information Review Team - This group will be tasked with drafting reports on various arms of the internal structure of Reewiin. (12-Month Investment. Will enable additional work in this specific area, including write-in Information Review requests.)

    [ ] Information Review: Government - Determine what the civilian government wants out of their armed forces. (3-Month Investment.)

    [ ] Analysis: Ethiopia - Long-term analysis of the optimal army to defend Reewiin against our eternal enemy, Ethiopia. (6-Month Investment.)

    [ ] Analysis: Britain - Long-term analysis of the optimal army to defend Reewiin against our eternal enemy, Britain. (6-Month Investment.)

    [ ] Analysis: Italy - Long-term analysis of the optimal army to defend Reewiin against our eternal enemy, Italy. (6-Month Investment.)

    [ ] Analysis: The Foreigners Have Some Good Ideas - Send observation teams overseas to take the best ideas from foreign nations. (6-Month Investment.)

    Reforming the Carabinieri
    [ ] Organisational Reform: Wilderness Rangers - The Carabinieri is responsible for massive tracts of rural land. A specialist ranger unit trained in long-distance patrol and survival would be useful to the force as a whole. (9-Month Investment.)

    [ ] Reinforce the Somali Border - Diverting funds to the North-Eastern border will better protect against any future Italian aggression. (12-Month Investment.)

    [ ] Reinforce the Ethiopian Border - Diverting funds to the North-Western border will better protect against any future Ethiopian aggression. (12-Month Investment.)

    [ ] Reinforce the Kenyan Border - Diverting funds to the Southern border will better protect against any future British aggression. (12-Month Investment.)

    [ ] Restructure the Carabinieri Office - Reduce staffing in the Carabinieri Office to retain oversight of programs in progress and free up capital for investment elsewhere. This does not cost an investment point and can be done at any time. (3-Month Investment.)

    Reforming the Army
    [ ] Manoeuvre Training - The Army Review has determined that Reewiin's standing military is not currently fit for the task. Field manoeuvres will begin to improve this. (6-Month Investment.)
    [ ] Optional: Request Japanese support for this program, improving impacts and benefiting from IJN institutional knowledge.
    [ ] Optional: Request Japanese support for this program, improving impacts and benefiting from IJA institutional knowledge.

    [ ] Rifle Training - With an average of twenty rounds per man per year, marksmanship is of very poor quality. Regular range training will begin to improve this. (6-Month Investment.)
    [ ] Optional: Request Japanese support for this program, improving impacts and benefiting from IJN institutional knowledge.
    [ ] Optional: Request Japanese support for this program, improving impacts and benefiting from IJA institutional knowledge.

    [ ] Cavalry Training - The Cavalry are loath to conduct operations en-masse, leaving them poorly equipped for the field. Deployments into central Reewiin will begin to improve this. (6-Month Investment.)
    [ ] Optional: Request Japanese support for this program, improving impacts and benefiting from IJA institutional knowledge.

    [ ] Enlarge the Officers Corps - The Army of Reewiin lacks many things, one of which is small officers. While this is not a significant issue at the high level, it leaves the junior officers seriously overworked. Beginning a major drive to recruit and train new officers will shift this issue towards the positive. (12-Month Investment.)

    [ ] Enlarge the Army - Currently Reewiin maintains a standing Army of 6,000 men organised into five effective battalions. There are several options for enlarging this, select one or more:
    [ ] Establish a more formal reservist force from those claiming their pension.
    [ ] Increase recruitment - Write in the desired force size.
    [ ] Write in.

    [ ] New Uniform Standard - The current issued uniform barely qualifies and is only truly standardised amongst the officers and the cavalry. Order new, standardised uniforms and web gear for the whole army. (6-Month Investment)
    [ ] Write-in: What do you order?

    [ ] Confine Idle Soldiers to Barracks - We can't have the Army tarnishing its image by gambling and causing trouble on the streets! Confining the soldiers to their barracks when they don't have leave will keep them from being a nuisance. (3-Month Investment).

    [ ] Give Council Position to Army Liaison - By letting an Army liaison vote on Council matters, we can reassure the Army that their concerns are given due weight. (3-Month Investment).

    A New Ship
    [ ] Form a Naval Service: Carabinieri Maritime Policing Unit - The Kutulo could most easily be subsumed into the Carabinieri, since they already have a boat section for policing Lake Turkana. (3-Month Investment.)

    [ ] Form a Naval Service: Reewiin Army Navy - The Kutulo could be put into service under the oversight of the new Army HQ, allowing easy acquisition of trained officers and NCOs, although not necessarily ones trained in maritime warfare. (6-Month Investment.)

    [ ] Form a Naval Service: Reewiin Navy - The Kutulo could form the nucleus of a true, independent navy for Reewiin, raised mainly from Reewiinite merchant sailors and fishermen. (9-Month Investment.)


    You are more than welcome to ask questions about what is acceptable as a write-in vote.
    There will be a 6-hour moratorium on voting to encourage discussion. The vote will close in three days.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • So our economy is still not looking very good so we likely can't pick an option that's too expensive for our machine guns. I say we pick the platoon option
     
    We do want to expand at some point, though.

    So we need some slack.

    Also, refresh my memory, do we have three or four squads to a platoon right now?
     
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    I'd say at least one per squad. I dunno how much more than that would cost. but it'd at least let us take make an expansion without going below one per platoon… I think that's implied how it works?
     
    So, some napkin math.

    We currently have 54 infantry platoons in the army. Each platoon has three rifle squads of 18 (a number we will want to work on eventually, but) for a totoal of 162 squads in the army.

    We probably also want a small reserve of machine guns as replacements and for training purposes.

    At current strength: 162 machine guns to give every squad one.

    At some point we want to add another three battalions, to get all of our regiments up to the same strength.

    That's another 81 guns. So total would be 243, plus reserve guns and training guns.

    To double that strength, we'd need to buy about 500 guns.

    For triple the strength 750.
     
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