"I told you that arming all infantry with assault rifles is the strategy that will make the Imperial Army the strongest!"
"What's the point of arming us with something we can't even supply properly!? The ammunition consumption of assault rifles is unacceptable for our country!"
Two army officers were arguing over the adoption of assault rifles. Leading the call for adopting assault rifles was Colonel Tomotake Takashima, the commander of the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment. Opposing the adoption of assault rifles was Colonel Masahiko Kawamura, the commander of the 2nd Guards Infantry Regiment. The origins of this debate date back to around 1908 when Lieutenant Colonel Kijirō Nambu, an artillery officer, completed the design of the assault rifle after more than two years of hard work.
Prototype Assault Rifle
- Caliber : 6,5 mm
- Barrel length : 520 mm
- Ammunition : Type 38 ammunition, 25 rounds
- Action : Gas-operated
- Length : 1.045 mm
- Mass : 4,5 kg
- Rate of fire : 450 rounds per minute
While Yōko had not directly intervened in this debate, the basic specifications of the prototype rifle were similar to the real-life Fedorov M1916. However, due to the extensive use of hot-pressed GFRP plates, it had a more rugged appearance like the AK-47, and its mechanism was based on the Type 38 machine gun, using gas-operated rather than short recoil, among other differences.
"This rifle... will change the way wars are fought."
In the future, these words would often be quoted as a testament to Nambu's confidence in this rifle. However, those who knew the circumstances at the time made blunt comments like, "This is probably a sarcastic remark about how the ammunition consumption is so high that it's much more expensive than conventional infantry rifles," or "Even with GFRP, they must have struggled a lot with reducing its weight and simplification of the structure. Otherwise, they wouldn't have said that."
Nevertheless, the completed prototype assault rifle was to be tested in Colonel Osako's former unit, the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment. At first, there were many malfunctions, and Nambu and his team had to work hard to address them. However, as the issues were gradually resolved, and the prototype assault rifle matured, its tremendous firepower began to captivate the soldiers. Even in exercises with other units, more and more soldiers chose to carry the prototype assault rifle instead of the standard Type 38 rifle.
"What kind of rifle is that you guys have? Not the Type 38, is it? Is it a new piece of equipment?"
"It's called an assault rifle."
"It's a bit heavier than the Type 38, but you can fire it in bursts like a machine gun."
"Seriously? That's amazing!"
The soldiers of the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment, entrusted with testing the assault rifle, were allowed to share basic information about it when asked by fellow Army soldiers. They wanted to introduce the soldiers to the fundamental differences from the previous rifles, gradually preparing them for the inevitable introduction of the new weapon. This way, they hoped to avoid the kind of heated argument that Colonel Kawamura was currently engaged in.
"Don't we have the Type 44 transport vehicle for that!?"
"Where in Japan today can we find the resources that many!?"
Kawamura had served as a senior staff officer in the 2nd Army Logistics Department during the Russo-Japanese War. He had been troubled by the massive demands for supplies coming from the front lines and the long-broken supply lines. This experience had become something of a trauma for him. Takashima, on the other hand, was complicating matters in his own way. He had become enamored with the performance of the prototype assault rifle and began advocating for equipping not only assault infantry but all soldiers with it. The debate escalated to the point where it was decided that the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment, equipped with the prototype assault rifles, and the 2nd Guards Infantry Regiment, equipped with the Type 38 rifles, would conduct joint exercises. The result of these exercises proved both arguments to be valid.
Indeed, the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment overwhelmingly defeated the 2nd Guards Infantry Regiment. In the simulated scenario of an offensive with infiltration tactics, the overwhelming firepower of the assault rifles left the 2nd Guards Infantry Regiment, armed with Type 38s, with no chance. However, at the same time, the ammunition consumption of the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment was several times higher than that of the 2nd Guards Infantry Regiment.
Despite continued improvements, the prototype assault rifle was officially adopted as the "Type 2 assault rifle" in 1913. However, it was only issued to assault infantry, and its deployment was limited to divisions that had already been motorized for logistics.
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So if you thought I would give them something like the Fedorov M1916, you are correct.
- Toshitsugu Utei