"Your Highness, now that we are partners, I am eager to know how you plan to compete with Mauser and Rheinmetall in the realm of light weaponry. After all, the Mauser 1898 rifle is the standard infantry weapon of the German army," Gustav Krupp remarked with curiosity.
It is worth noting that Mauser and Rheinmetall hold a significant share of the light weapons market for the German army. Many companies have attempted to challenge their dominance, but none have succeeded. Even Krupp has struggled to compete in this sector.
"Of course, Mr. Krupp. I have always been transparent with my partners," Qin Tian replied with a smile. He understood that Gustav Krupp harbored doubts about whether the German Armaments Company could wrestle market share from Mauser and Rheinmetall, given the formidable competition in this field.
From his briefcase, Qin Tian produced a stack of design blueprints, showcasing the weaponry he had conceived, annotated with key specifications.
As Gustav Krupp examined the blueprints, he quickly became engrossed in the designs.
"I believe our army's squad firepower is currently inadequate. Although we have equipped the army with the MG08 heavy machine gun, it weighs a staggering 69 kilograms and requires multiple personnel to maneuver. It simply cannot accompany infantry into battle. Thus, our army needs a lighter, yet more potent squad-level firepower. The weapon you hold is what I call a light machine gun, or squad machine gun, designed to be integrated into infantry squads," Qin Tian explained.
The light machine gun designed by Qin Tian was, in essence, a derivative of the Czech model. While its performance was not the best among light machine guns, its simplicity and reliability had made it a favored choice in another timeline, where it was extensively adopted by the Chinese military and proved highly effective in the Sino-Japanese War. Given Germany's existing technology, producing a Czech-style machine gun would not pose significant challenges.
"Equipping every infantry squad with a machine gun? That would be an extraordinary increase in firepower!" Gustav Krupp gasped in astonishment.
"Indeed, equipping each infantry squad with a light machine gun is essential. Whether in offense or defense, overwhelming firepower allows us to inflict maximum casualties on the enemy at minimal cost," Qin Tian asserted.
He vividly recalled how, in another timeline, World War I devolved into trench warfare, where machine guns became devastatingly effective, particularly for the defending side, decimating enemy forces with chilling efficiency.
Gustav turned to the second page of the design. The blueprint depicted another machine gun, larger in size and even more formidable in appearance.
"This machine gun, which I refer to as a general-purpose machine gun, is significantly lighter than the MG08. Including its mount, it weighs less than a third of the MG08, yet its firepower surpasses that of the heavy machine gun. While it remains relatively heavy for infantry, a machine gun crew could certainly manage it, enabling substantial firepower during assaults," Qin Tian elaborated.
The general-purpose machine gun depicted was inspired by the later German MG34. Although its performance lagged slightly behind the MG42, the development conditions would be comparatively simpler.
Gustav Krupp nodded thoughtfully. If the German Armaments Company could successfully develop this general-purpose machine gun, replacing all MG08s would be entirely feasible, leading to enormous orders. If the squad-level machine gun were also adopted, equipping each infantry squad, the scale of orders would increase even further.
Though Gustav had not yet examined the subsequent designs, he was already convinced that with these two machine guns, the German Armaments Company would have no cause for concern regarding losses; profitability was a certainty.
The following designs featured two rifles: a semi-automatic rifle and a sniper rifle. While the Mauser 1898 was commendable, its rate of fire was too slow for future conflicts where fire density would be critical. Equipping infantry with semi-automatic rifles would greatly enhance their firepower, possibly securing overwhelming advantages in battle. The importance of a sniper rifle was equally evident; equipped snipers would become harbingers of death on the battlefield, targeting enemy officers and machine gunners with deadly precision.
Next were designs for mortars and grenade launchers. Although mortars had been recognized as vital infantry support weapons since the Russo-Japanese War, their development had been sluggish. Mortars posed a lethal threat to entrenched enemies. Qin Tian had designed three mortars: a 60mm light mortar, an 81mm medium mortar, and a 120mm heavy mortar, all based on later designs.
The grenade launcher, a smaller variant of the mortar, shared similar design principles but was lighter and less powerful, allowing a single soldier to carry multiple grenades. Qin Tian believed that equipping each infantry squad with a grenade launcher would significantly enhance their firepower.
Imagine, each infantry squad armed with a light machine gun, grenade launcher, semi-automatic rifle, and sniper rifle. The firepower of the German army's infantry would be formidable! In future conflicts, opposing armies would struggle to match the German army's overwhelming firepower, making victory far more attainable for them.
After reviewing these designs, Gustav Krupp's gaze towards Qin Tian was tinged with admiration. To him, Qin Tian was nothing short of a genius! He felt increasingly confident about the prospects of the German Armaments Company.