The northern part of the Sea of Azov, on the southern outskirts of the city of Donetsk.

After inspecting the Romanian Third Army and the Russian Expeditionary Force, Chen Dao and Field Marshal Heinrich parted ways.

Because in the future blue plan, the generals of Army Group C will operate in two directions, one from the Crimean Peninsula and the other from the northern shore of the Sea of Azov.

Field Marshal Heinrich and the army group headquarters remained on the Crimean Peninsula, while Chen Dao was stationed in the city of Donetsk with his subordinates and part of the staff officers of the army group headquarters to command the troops from the northern part of the Sea of Azov.

The day after arriving in the city of Donetsk, Chen Dao welcomed a guest from afar, Marshal Badogrio, Chief of the General Staff of the Italian Army.

Marshal Badoglio stayed at Chen Dao's headquarters for a day, discussed some details of the "Blue Plan" with Chen Dao, and when he left, he extended an invitation to Chen Dao to visit the headquarters of the Italian Eighth Army the next day.

When the invitation was issued, Marshal Badogglio deliberately emphasized that before coming to the Eastern Front, Mussolini repeatedly told him to invite Chen Dao to appreciate the light, so that he could feel the enthusiasm of the Italians before the big war, and then he could fight side by side with the Italian warriors to defeat the enemy.

Marshal Badogrio's invitation was very sincere, not to mention Mussolini's advice, if he didn't go, it would definitely be a sign of low emotional intelligence.

Although he didn't really want to deal with the Italians, Chen Dao still went as promised.

The headquarters of the Italian Eighth Army was located in Konsomosk, southeast of Donetsk, and it was close to 9 a.m. when Chen Dao arrived.

Marshal Badogglio and Colonel-General Messer, commander of the Eighth Army, extended a warm welcome to Chen Dao's arrival.

After a few pleasantries, Marshal Badogglio said: "It's just nine o'clock, and there is still some time before lunch. We have a small ceremony to be held in the south of the town, and we invite General Rosen to come with us to watch it. ”

Chen Dao asked curiously, "What ceremony?" Honours? Or a military parade? ”

Marshal Badogglio smiled, a chill flashing in his narrowed eyes.

"No, it's the reception of the new equipment. When a big battle was about to be fought, Mussolini's leader was very concerned about the officers and men of the Eighth Army, and specially told the military industry department to hurry up and finally complete the production of a large amount of new equipment before the battle began, send it to the front line in time, and hand it over to the soldiers for use. The main task of my visit was to deliver the new equipment to the soldiers, and at the same time to make the soldiers feel that Mussolini's leaders cared about them. ”

Chen Dao noticed the strange gaze of Marshal Badoglio, and said in his heart that Mussolini, the skinhead, had finally been fooled.

Chen Dao has already figured out the routine of dealing with Mussolini, and it is definitely indispensable to deal with a guy like Mussolini who has too much vanity and is arrogant and can't listen to persuasion.

Every time he met with Mussolini, Chen Dao always spared no effort to mock Mussolini, saying that Mussolini used garbage equipment for the Italian army that even the Russians could not look up to.

With this junk equipment, the Italian Army could only do the job of guarding the prisoner of war camp at best.

After the ridicule, it is a slap in the face with reality.

At the end of last year, taking advantage of Mussolini's visit to Germany, Chen Dao specially invited him to the weapons test site.

At the test site, Germany displayed tanks such as No. 4, as well as captured and KV-2 and other war monsters.

Next to a series of Soviet-German war monsters are the wreckage of Italian tanks that Chen Dao specially had people bring back from the front line.

Compared with the war monsters of the Soviet Union and Germany, the Italian M14-41 tank and L3-35 tank weighed only a dozen tons, and some even less than ten tons, and the crispy chariots covered with rivets looked ridiculous like toys.

Even the strongest tank of the Italian Army, the P26-40 heavy tank, was criticized by Chen Dao as incomplete.

A guy with a total combat weight of more than twenty tons, at most a medium tank, pretending to be heavy.

Look, look, that's a real heavy tank.

After Mussolini returned home, he learned from the pain and immediately called Marshal Badogglio and the personnel of the military industry department to scold him, and then ordered the relevant departments to produce a batch of high-precision weapons for the front-line troops before the summer offensive in 1943, so as to get back the face that had been trampled under the feet of the Germans.

In a flash, several months passed, and before the start of the summer offensive, the Italian military industry finally handed over a satisfactory answer.

Knowing that the Eighth Army would fight alongside Chen Dao, Mussolini ordered Marshal Badogglio to personally rush to the Eastern Front to show Chen Dao the masterpieces of the Italian military industry.

Chen Dao was excited in his heart for the success of the Radical Method, but his face was full of excitement.

"What kind of new weapon, can it compare to the T-34 of the Russians?"

"We have a lot of new weapons, General Rosen, just look at it." Marshal Badoglio said with a sneer.

The group arrived at the southern outskirts of Konsomosk, and as soon as Chen got off the bus, he saw a row of chariots parked on the grass.

"General Rosen, let's take a look at our new tank, the P30-43 medium tank, which is an upgraded version of the P26-40 tank. With a total combat weight of 33 tons, the front hull armor was upgraded from 50 mm to 80 mm, and the side rear armor was upgraded from 40 mm to 50 mm compared to the P26-40 tank. The turret front armor has also been upgraded from 50 mm to 100 mm, and the commander's observation tower has been added. ”

Chen Dao looked the P30-43 medium tank up and down, nodded and said, "It turned out to be an upgraded version of the P26-40 tank, no wonder it looks very similar." The caliber of the tank gun of this tank does not seem to have changed, and the barrel has become longer? I'm right. ”

"General Rosen has a good eye for the P30-43 medium tank using a 75MML46 tank gun, which can penetrate the front armor of the T-34 tank at a distance of a thousand meters. Moreover, we are planning to upgrade it to the 90MML53 gun. ”

Chen Dao nodded and said: "Judging from the data, this tank has the ability to fight with the T-34, but how many such tanks are there?" How much is the monthly output? ”

"At present, two battalions have been equipped, and most of the parts of this tank and the P26-40 tank can be used, and the monthly production has exceeded 50 units."

With a monthly output of more than 50 and already equipped with two battalions, Chen Dao subconsciously rolled his eyes.

Patience, patience, no matter how to say that the Italians are also working hard, and they cannot be discouraged.

"Very good, very good, I think the Russians will soon suffer in front of it. What kind of weapon is this, assault guns? Chen Dao's gaze turned to another weapon.

This weapon looks a lot like the German Assault Gun III, and next to it is a vehicle that is seven points similar to the German Assault Howitzer III.

"This is our Ansaldo assault gun, called the M43DA75L46 assault gun, which we adapted from the chassis of the M15-42 tank, which weighs only 15 tons, but has 100 mm thick front armor, and its gun can easily penetrate the T-34 tank," said Marshal Badogglio. ”

"This weapon is just right to support the infantry, your infantry division is too vulnerable. Still, the question remains, what is the number of such weapons? ”

"Quantity····· Let's take a look at this weapon first," Marshal Badoglio did not answer directly, but continued pointing to the chariot next to it that resembled the No. 3 assault howitzer: "This weapon is called the M43DA105L25 assault gun, and it is also improved from the chassis of the M15-42 tank, and it is equipped with a multiplier gun, which is specially designed to destroy various fire points. ”

Aren't these two tanks copycats of the No. 3 assault gun and the No. 3 assault howitzer?

Why don't you directly introduce the German production line? In this way, weapons and ammunition can also be used.

Marshal Badoglio's voice followed.

"These two assault guns together are just enough to equip one company, 14 vehicles."

Chen Dao had lost interest in speaking at this time, on a battlefield where tanks were calculated in hundreds and thousands, what were 14 vehicles enough for?

"There are still two companies on the way, and they will be able to get to the battlefield in time for the start of the battle."

In any case, it is a good start, and it must be encouraged, and it must be encouraged.

Chen Dao said with a smile: "I am sincerely proud of your country's military industry, what kind of weapons are those two combat vehicles?" Looks like a self-propelled gun. ”

"Yes," said Marshal Badoglio, pointing to a vehicle with a rear-mounted convertible turret and an elongated barrel, "this is a self-propelled anti-tank gun of the S90/53 type, which we modified from the chassis of the M14-41 tank. According to the feedback of the front-line soldiers, our 90MML53 anti-aircraft gun is very effective against tanks, so we installed this anti-aircraft gun on the tank chassis to strengthen its mobility. In the future battlefield, I think that whatever is a heavy tank of the Russians, when it encounters it, it will turn into a pile of scrap metal. ”

Isn't this a copy of the German "Scorpio" self-propelled cannon? Italians are really a big copycat country.

Chen Dao felt that the copyright of German weapons should be protected, and anyone who copied it had to pay royalties, even if it was an ally.

Marshal Badoglio saw Chen Dao's gaze and turned to the last chariot.

"This is a modification of us using the chassis of the P26-40 tank, the M43 type DA149-40 self-propelled howitzer produced by the Ansaldo company. Equipped with a howitzer of 149 mm caliber, it can accompany the operation of the armored division and provide timely fire support. ”

Seeing Chen Dao's eyes flickering, Marshal Badogglio took the initiative to say: "The number of these two weapons is very small, mainly because of the difficulty of transportation, after all, it is too far away from the Italian mainland. ”

"yes, our supply lines are too long. Mr. Marshal, would you like to hear my opinion on these weapons? ”

"Of course, for an expert like you, we certainly need your advice." Marshal Badoglio said.

"We are about to launch an offensive soon, and I suggest that after you return home, immediately form three anti-aircraft artillery divisions, each division has three regiments, each regiment has three battalions, and each battalion is equipped with one company of light, medium and heavy anti-aircraft guns, of which the number of 90-mm anti-aircraft guns in the heavy anti-aircraft artillery company is at least 8, and it would be great if there were more.

After the three divisions were formed, they were assigned one to each of the Eighth Army's infantry corps, mountain infantry corps, and motorized corps. Second, don't you have three assault gun companies? When the three companies arrived, they were formed into a battalion, which was reinforced to the motorized corps, and if more assault artillery units arrived, they were reinforced to the mountain infantry corps and then to the infantry corps. You have three weeks to do the above. You tell Mussolini that the Eighth Army is going to do what Hannibal did······ No, it's a Caesar-like expedition, full of hardships and crises. With these advanced weapons, the boys of the Eighth Army have a higher chance of coming back alive.

Also, you told Mussolini that if the Eighth Army could not face the Russians alone because of weapons, I would lead my troops to save them, so Mussolini leaders must rest assured. ”

After Chen Dao finished speaking, he ignored Marshal Badogrio, who had an ugly face, and pointed to the four tanks parked in the distance and said, "There are four Russian tanks parked there, are you going to shoot targets?" Now it's time to get started. ”

"Yes, we're going to show the power of these weapons to your face." Marshal Badoglio said.

"Good, I can't wait." After Chen Dao finished speaking, he asked for a telescope and looked into the distance.

The P30-43 medium tank, the first to do a target shooting demonstration, had just started and had not yet reached the firing position, when Chen Dao suddenly shouted to Marshal Badogglio beside him: "Stop, marshal, let your men stop." ”

Seeing that Chen Dao's emotions were very excited, Marshal Badoglio hurriedly asked people to stop the tank.

Chen Dao pointed to the four tanks in the distance and asked, "General Messer, where did you get those four tanks?" ”

"Captured from the Russians, of course." Admiral Messer said.

"I mean, did you tow these four tanks here, or did you drive them here?"

Seeing that Admiral Messer did not react, Chen Dao continued: "What I want to ask is whether these four tanks are intact and can be used in battle. ”

Admiral Messer said: "This is a special selection of our captured Russian tanks, so that the new recruits can see with their own eyes what the Russian tanks look like, and not panic on the battlefield." All four tanks are able to move, but the ammunition has already been unloaded. ”

"I see, it's great, give me these four tanks, I'm in dire need of Russian tanks right now. How many Russian tanks do you have, give me everything you can use, I have an urgent need. ”

Half an hour later, Lieutenant General Vlasov received a telegram from Chen Dao and immediately sent people to the headquarters of the Italian Eighth Army, where there were 7 T-34s, 3 KV-1 and 1 KV-2 tanks to receive.

······

63 km northwest of Moscow, there is a small town called Kubinka.

While Chen Dao and Marshal Badoglio watched the new weaponry, the town of Kubinka was heavily guarded, with heavily armed NKVD fighters in blue uniforms patrolling everywhere.

Accompanied by a group of high-ranking officials, Stalin visited the Kubinka Tank Experimental Plant to personally test the power of the new Soviet tank.

After the group arrived at the rostrum at the test site, Lieutenant General Yakov Fedorenko, head of the Department of Automobile and Armored Tanks, personally explained to Stalin.

Pointing to a picture of a tank hanging on the blackboard from three perspectives: frontal, side, and top-down, Lieutenant General Fedorenko said: "This is the most powerful E-40 tank that the Germans had on the battlefield in last year's war, and we originally called it the X-tank."

Neither the 76.2-mm tank gun on the tank, nor our 85-mm anti-aircraft gun, could penetrate its armor from the front, and even the side armor required an 85-mm anti-aircraft gun from a suitable angle to penetrate it.

To deal with it, we can only use 122mm or 152mm howitzers. Last year, the enemy used these tanks in separate groups in heavy tank battalions. As the war continues, the number of such tanks will increase in the enemy's troops, and it is likely that they will become the main force in the enemy's armored divisions, replacing the enemy's tank No. 4. Therefore, we must design a new tank that can threaten this tank. ”

Stalin nodded: "I already know this, but fortunately we captured some E-40 tanks and mastered the detailed indicators of this tank, so that we can design new tanks with a clear goal." ”

"Yes, Comrade General Secretary, fortunately, comrades at the front captured some of these tanks, which gave us a clear goal," said Lieutenant General Fedorenko. Just, you look here. ”

Stalin looked at the picture of a tank pointed to by Fedorenko, but this tank was drawn, different from the previous one.

Although it was only a set of lines, Stalin was able to see that the tank had a very sci-fi shape, especially the turret.

"According to the feedback of comrades at the front, the enemy used a more powerful tank in winter, which we have not captured so far, but according to the description of comrades who witnessed this tank, we drew the shape of this tank. Since there is no physical object, we can only deduce that this tank is equipped with a tank gun of at least 100 mm caliber, and the armor of the tank must be stronger than that of the E-40 tank, especially the front armor, which should be able to increase the thickness by a fifth or even a quarter.

In order to deal with this new tank, as well as the main E-40 tank of the Germans, we have designed the following weapons to deal with them, and I invite the General Secretary to come here. ”

Stalin and others followed Fedorenko to a low-bodied, turretless chariot armed with an oversized cannon.

"This is our self-propelled anti-tank gun modified from the chassis of the KV-85 heavy tank, called SU-152, which is armed with millimeter guns, and in front of this gun, I think both the German E-40 and the new tank are as fragile as toys."

"Now only the big guys of 152 mm caliber can deal with the German tanks, and with it, combined with our SU-122 that we are using, at least in terms of tank performance, we have the strength to fight. Just, how many of them are there? Stalin said.

"We have now formed eleven separate self-propelled anti-tank regiments, each armed with 12 SU-152s, and many more are being formed, the total number of which is already more than 150," Fedorenko said. ”

"The SU-122 alone is not enough, we need more of these weapons to defend our country." Stalin said, "Since there is 5, there is no need to continue production, let it be discontinued, and all the chassis will be taken to the production of the SU-152. ”

Fedorenko and Lieutenant General Rokossovsky beside him looked at each other.

The KV-85 tank was an improvement on the KV-1 tank, modified with an 85 mm caliber tank gun, also known as the KV-1S heavy tank.

The original purpose of the production of this tank was to be able to play a transitional role before the development of a new heavy tank.

Now, the new heavy tank has not yet been officially produced, and Stalin is going to discontinue the production of the KV-85, is there any prejudice of the General Secretary against the KV-85?

Stalin seemed to sense the thoughts of the two, and continued: "The comrades at the front line have reported that it is useless to say that heavy tanks cannot defeat the enemy, and they cannot outrun the enemy, so let's just stop production and use it to produce SU-152 that can beat the enemy." ”

"Comrade General Secretary, when breaking through the enemy's positions, we still need heavy tanks to withstand enemy shells······"

"Aren't there new heavy tanks there? In this way, the KV-85 will be produced until the end of this month, and then the production of the SU-152 will be switched to the SU-152, and it will not be too late, the number of KV-85s we have in our hands now can temporarily sustain a period of war attrition. When the consumption is almost over, it is time for the production of new heavy tanks to come up. ”

"However, General Secretary, mass production of new heavy tanks has not yet begun." Fedorenko said.

"Isn't there already a prototype car now? I have seen the design indicators of this tank, as long as the tank you produce can meet the design indicators, it will definitely be more powerful than the KV-85, I believe in your ability, Comrade Kotin. ”

Stalin's comrade Kotin was Major General of Engineering and Technology, Joseph Kotin, who was responsible for the design and improvement of tanks.5 All of which were his masterpieces, and now he was ordered to make progress in the study of new heavy tanks, produced three prototypes, and specially invited Stalin to the site for inspection.

"The prototype of the newly developed IS-1 heavy tank is there, which basically meets the indicators we designed, and the firepower is comparable to that of the KV-85, but the maneuverability and armor are stronger than the KV-85. I am convinced that this weapon will be able to give the Germans a hard blow. Major General Kotin said.

"But don't you feel powerless with our 85mm guns against the enemy's E-40 and that mysterious tank?" Stalin asked.

"I know that the IS-1 heavy tank is also a transitional tank, and we are working on a tank of the same series called the IS-2, equipped with a 122-mm tank gun."

"122 mm caliber should be enough, even with a high-explosive shell, it can make the enemy feel pain, and large-caliber artillery is the most correct choice. This is IS-1, what are those two? ”

"That's our newly modified weapons, the T-34-85 tank with an 85-mm gun, based on the chassis of the T-85 tank, and the SU-85 tank destroyer, with which our comrades can suppress the enemy's tank No. 4 and No. 3 assault guns." Fedorenko said.

Hearing that it was another 85-mm gun, Stalin retracted his gaze.

"Comrade Kotin, first show me the power of the two tanks of the 52."

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