Chapter 646 Heavy Thunderstorm Thirty-Four
"boom……"
The muzzle of a huge KV-1 tank flashed with fire, and the body retreated slightly, offsetting the recoil of the F-34 tank gun.
"Bang!"
Almost at the same time, a white spot appeared on the 80mm armored steel plate placed on a cement base 500 meters in front of the firing KV-1 tank.
"Not penetrated!"
German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, who was wearing a brown military uniform, put down the telescope in his hand, turned to Hessmann beside him and said: "Marshal Reich, the Soviets seem to have developed a large and useless tank."
"In fact, it's not that bad. The KV-1 is a good tank. If you can replace it with a Soviet 85mm anti-aircraft gun, it will still cause a lot of trouble."
Hitler smiled: "But in the Battle of Warsaw, the Soviets can't count on the T-34 and KV-1 equipped with 85mm anti-aircraft guns, so we will win."
The T-34, KV-1 and KV-2 tanks that Model sent back to Berlin have been sent to the weapons testing site in Zossen. After Hitler heard the news, he happily took Hersmann to Zossen with him, wanting to see the style of Soviet tanks.
However, after watching the shooting demonstrations of T-34 and KV-1, Hitler despised the Soviets a little.
Such a big tank is actually equipped with a gun that can't even penetrate an 80mm steel plate. What is the use of this tank? Isn't it waste?
But Hessmann didn't see it that way, because he knew that the T-34/76 and KV-1/76 were just the beginning. After Comrade Stalin suffered from the No. 4 H tank and the "Tiger" and "Panther", tanks and tank destroyers equipped with 85mm, 100mm or even 122mm will be developed.
Moreover, the bodies of the T-34 and KV-1 are quite large, and they are fully equipped with 85mm caliber tank guns, and the Soviet Union also happens to have such a gun. If nothing else, the T-34/85 and KV-1/85 will appear once the mud season is over next spring.
Therefore, as the leader of the German Wehrmacht, Defense Minister Hersmann must take precautions and prepare some weapons for the Wehrmacht that can deal with T-34/85, KV-1/85 and IS series heavy tanks/tank destroyers.
Oh, this weapon already exists. The "Tiger" tanks and "Panther" tanks, which are disliked by many armored commanders, are the trump cards for dealing with Soviet heavy tanks/tank destroyers.
However, the feedback from the front is not unreasonable. "Tiger" and "Panther" tanks are now facing problems such as insufficient mobility, insufficient reliability and excessive firepower output.
These two tanks are too heavy compared to the roads in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. They are not the old tanks like the No. 4 that have long been "cooked". The reliability of the equipment is very problematic.
Moreover, the accessories of the "Tiger" and "Panther" tanks are not universal for the Panzer 4 and Panzer 3 assault guns. If an armored division is equipped with a part of "Tiger" and "Panther", then the armored division's mobility and logistics will have problems.
Therefore, in his report to the General Staff, Guderian proposed that the "Tiger" tanks be separately organized into a "heavy armored battalion" (this is more reasonable than configuring two tanks in a heavy armored battalion) to execute key areas. breakthrough mission.
At the same time, the production of the "Panther" tank was temporarily suspended and replaced by the Panzer 4 tank destroyer based on the Panzer 4 H tank chassis equipped with the KwK42L/70 gun. If the resources used to produce the "Panther" tank are invested in the No. 4 tank destroyer, we will definitely be able to obtain a satisfactory number.
Unlike Germany, which lacked oil in history, Germany, which now controls the large oil fields in the Middle East, has more and more oil that can be used, so it can build a sea of tanks like the Soviet Union.
In this case, the time-consuming and labor-intensive "Panther" and "Tiger" are of course not as popular as the fast and cost-effective No. 4 tank destroyer - the "Panther" that is still in the trial production stage requires 30,000 It takes 30,000 man-hours to produce one car. After mass production, it will take at least 20,000 man-hours to build one.
The Type 4 H tank only requires 5,000 man-hours. Since the Type 4 tank destroyer does not have a turret, 3,000 man-hours are definitely enough. In this way, the man-hour required to produce one "Panther" tank can produce at least six Panzer IV tank destroyers. The effect of six Panzer IV tank destroyers on the battlefield is definitely more than that of one Panther. If the more than 6,000 Panther series tanks in history are turned into 36,000 Panzer IV tank destroyers and Panzer IV H tanks, Germany's chances of winning will definitely be greater... The prerequisite is of course enough fuel and raw materials, but this is not a problem for Germany now.
Moreover, because the Type 4 tank destroyer uses a large number of accessories from the Type 4 H tank, there will be no logistical support problems after integrating them into the armored forces. As long as the No. 4 tank destroyer is equipped with the KwK42L/70 artillery, it can have firepower similar to the "Panther" tank. When combined with the No. 4 H type, it is enough to defeat the Soviet heavy tanks that have appeared or will appear in the future. .
Therefore, after discussing with Chief of the General Staff Kesselring, First Munitions Director Halder, Director of Armored Forces Kleist, Director of the General Administration of Armament Speer and others, Hessmann has agreed to develop the site and equipment based on the Type 4 H tank. Tank destroyer with KwK42L/70 gun.
In addition, Guderian's proposal to temporarily suspend production of the "Panther" tank was also approved by Hersman and others. Because the Type 4 H tank now seems to be enough to deal with Soviet tanks, there is no need to replace them with "Panther".
However, using a medium-sized tank like the "Panther" as a "heavy tank" encounters the problem of conflict with the role of the "Tiger" tank. There is absolutely no need for Germany to equip two types of heavy tanks at the same time, and it is indeed inappropriate to equip a battalion-level combat unit with two types of tanks - this is originally an experimental organization, not an actual combat organization.
Therefore, the 9 heavy armored battalions that have been established and the 6 heavy armored battalions that are being formed will gradually replace the "Panther" tanks with "Tiger" tanks, and the number of heavy tank companies will also be increased from 2 to 4. indivual.
However, Hessmann did not intend to give up the "Panther", a very excellent medium tank, but ordered MAN and Daimler-Benz to improve the "Panther" tank (the Panther tank was exposed during battlefield trials) many questions). At the same time, it is required to develop the Panther 2 tank based on the Panther tank as part of the E series tanks (E50), and this tank will become Germany's ultimate land killer in this world war!
…
After returning to the Chancellery in Berlin from the weapons testing site in Zossen, Hitler suddenly asked Hersmann, "Will Stalin lose confidence in the offensive because his tanks are useless? Maybe the Battle of Warsaw has not even started yet." it's over."
"This is impossible," Hessmann smiled and shook his head. He pointed to a large map marked with unit numbers and front lines of both sides and told Hitler, "The calm now is the calm before the storm! Stalin is taking advantage of this. For a period of time, more troops were driven across the Bug River... According to the Air Force's reconnaissance, the Soviet army had built more than ten pontoon bridges on the Bug River. Thousands of trucks passed over it every day, transporting large quantities of materials and personnel.
The General Staff estimates that 1.5 million to 2 million Red Army troops have crossed the Bug River. Most of them will be used to attack Warsaw, and the remaining troops will be used to guard our Northern Army Group in the Baltic direction and to encircle Lviv. "
"More than a million people will be used to attack Warsaw?" Hitler gasped. This is not a small number. "How many people do we have in Warsaw?"
"There will be 300,000 people soon," Hersman said. "The 10th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division and the Hungarian Mechanized Army are rushing to Warsaw."
Like another time and place, present-day Hungary, or more accurately the Kingdom of Croatia-Hungary, is also the most loyal follower of the German Third Reich. After the Soviet Union declared war on Germany, the Kingdom of Croatia and Hungary immediately followed suit and declared war on the Soviet Union. Reinforcements were also sent to the Germans. There were two armies in total, the Hungarian 8th Army and the Hungarian Mechanized Army.
Among them, the Hungarian 8th Army was sent to Krakow and entered the combat sequence of the 17th Army belonging to Army Group Center. The Hungarian Mechanized Army was sent to Warsaw and joined the 6th Army's combat sequence.
"Hungarian Mechanized Army?" Hitler shook his head, seeming not to trust the Hungarians' combat effectiveness.
"Leader, this is an elite unit, trained by our German instructors." Hersman introduced, "The tanks equipped are manufactured by the Hungarian Manfred Weiss Company (this is a large Hungarian consortium whose products are from The performance of the Turan 1 tank and the 105mm Zlini 2 assault gun produced by Tanks and Artillery to Pork Cans is still very good.”
Under the leadership of Hersmann, German arms companies are now quite willing to share technology with various European axis countries. The Kingdom of Croatia-Hungary, ruled by the Habsburg dynasty, was an important target of German technical assistance. Both the Turan 1 tank and the Zlini assault gun were designed and manufactured with the help of German companies. Among them, the Turan 1 tank borrowed many technologies from the Panzer 3 tank, and its performance was similar to that of the Panzer 3 tank, but its firepower was slightly weaker, with only one 40mm anti-tank gun.
The Zliny 2 assault gun is an assault gun developed on the territory of the Turan tank. It is equipped with a 105mm 20.5 times caliber howitzer. It is a very sharp anti-infantry weapon.