"General Brom, you are not an army officer and may lack knowledge of the current form of warfare. In fact, even many veteran army generals still think like the French 20 years ago. Faced with Fang Yan's strange eyes, Guderian spoke as if in defense, but the pride in his heart was so strong that as soon as he was halfway through his words, he turned into a group of ridicule with the attributes of a map cannon.

"In today's land warfare, only mechanized armored troops are the key to victory. It has a powerful assault power and unrivaled mobility, combining attributes that have been coveted by all generals since ancient times, and all the infantry can do is to finish up and encircle and annihilate the divided enemy. Therefore, it is the right way to do everything possible to strengthen the combat capability of the armored forces. However, the conservative majority in the Army is still in the majority, and their stupid preference for infantry is bound to weaken the combat power of the armored corps, and I must not sit idly by and watch this happen. ”

Goodry paused, and a little ridicule reappeared: "In fact, even General Manstein, who created a new concept of operations on the Western Front, has not fully adapted to the new field of armored warfare. His whimsical enthusiasm for the development of assault guns, an alternative weapon to support the infantry, is a laughable ab. Assault guns only have a slight advantage in terms of cost and man-hours, and the requirements for personnel quality, logistics, and maintenance are no less than those of tanks. Our army has not even been able to fully mechanize armored divisions, and the number of equipment of each tank regiment has not reached the ideal state, and now it is necessary to assign 1 assault gun battalion to each infantry division? ”

Fang Yan was stunned when he heard this. He looked at the army general in front of him in a daze, and he couldn't recover from the shock for a long time.

In Fang Yan's impression, the assault gun was clearly a very successful creation of the German Army: the cheap No. 3 assault gun destroyed nearly three times the Allied tanks damaged by itself, and the later Stalker had an amazing cost performance, and was even named "Hitler's last hope". How is it that in Guderian's eyes, assault guns have completely become a burden to drag the armored troops back?

Although Fang Yan wanted to ask a question on this issue, considering that his poor army knowledge was not enough to have a professional discussion with the other party. In order to avoid boredoming Guderian, Fang Yan had to keep this doubt in his abdomen.

However, in the matter of equipment recovery, Fang Yan was not prepared to teach him privately according to Guderian's wishes. There is no other reason, what Fang Yan really wants to befriend is the top level of the army with great real power and political influence, although Guderian, a general of the Mesozoic Generation, has risen extremely quickly, and this promotion to general due to merit has been a sure thing, but it is still dwarfed by the bigwigs who are still in power today. If this leaves a pimple in the hearts of Brauchitsch and others, it is really not the result that Fang Yan wants to face.

"I understand your consideration. In fact, in the Navy, I've been facing similar problems to you. Many high-ranking generals still want to have a Jutland-style artillery duel with the enemy, and even today, when the carrier-based air force has achieved such a brilliant victory, they still stubbornly believe that battleships are the indispensable main force, and are ready to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build a large scale after the war. ”

Fang Yan's tone was sincere, and the emotions that originated from his heart immediately made Guderian agree with him, and he nodded in response. However, after a while, Fang Yan's tone changed and said, "However, this time, I suggest that you still let the Army Command come forward. ”

"While you may not believe it, I can assert that Britain will never make peace with us anytime soon. As a result, the Italians could not occupy Egypt as easily as expected, and even if their fleet ruled the Mediterranean, they would need to use their land forces to seize the territory in front of them. Fang Yan looked at the middle-aged general in front of him seriously and said, "And this is an army that is not ready for war at all, and there is a serious shortage of weapons and ammunition of all types. Once they enter Africa, these shortcomings will be exposed, and we will have a good opportunity to deal with the captured supplies. ”

Guderian stared at Fang Yan's bright eyes, a mixture of doubt and confusion in the depths of his pupils. He had already understood the young man's words, that is, the weak chicken of Italy would never be able to eat Egypt and reach out to the Middle East. As long as the fighting time is a little longer, the Italian army will be short of weapons and materials, and then the opportunity for the German army to make a fortune will come.

You must know that in this Western Front campaign, France, Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands are definitely more dedicated and diligent logistics and transportation teams than President Jiang. Almost all of their belongings for the war fell into the hands of the Germans. In the northern encirclement of the first phase of the campaign alone, the Germans easily captured 4,000 artillery pieces, 50,000 machine guns, and more than 500,000 tons of munitions and ammunition.

When the Italian army's offensive on the front line was blocked and there was an urgent need for munitions, these things would definitely not be sold. In this way, even if Guderian does not engage in the small act of eating alone in private, he can still get the benefits he wants from this total dividend.

As for whether Italy can successfully defeat the local British army in Egypt, Guderian believes that it is very questionable. After all, the previous battle of the Italian army on the Franco-Italian border was too jaw-dropping - the 34 best main divisions, facing 6 second-rate garrison divisions with serious shortage of personnel and equipment, fought for 12 days but could not take a single step forward in the latter's defensive line! Even if the Alpine terrain is difficult and easy to defend, this is too much of an achievement. If the British insisted on resisting, it would be difficult for the Italians to eat it with their rotten teeth.

It's just that why does Britain continue to fight? They clearly have no chance of victory, and their military inferiority cannot be described as hopeless. However, remembering Fang Yan's accurate analysis of the situation in the countries of Southeast Europe before, Guderian couldn't help but hesitate a little. It is obviously impossible for a man who can sort out the intricacies of the Balkan relations so clearly on the British question suddenly go insane, and he must have had an opinion that he cannot understand to make such a certain conclusion.

Fang Yan saw Guderian's hesitation, and said with a smile: "Your Excellency, you don't have to worry about this. Because now only Italy can take over these French tanks, and if they need this, they can only be frustrated in North Africa, otherwise there is no need to buy a large number of foreign tanks. At that time, they will certainly need more than tanks. Therefore, once this deal is launched, it will inevitably be the Army Command that will take the lead. Otherwise, even if I convince my uncle to agree to you completely, it will be useless to face a customer who has no needs. ”

Guderian was stunned when he heard this. Before he could think carefully about how to fight for the benefits of the armored troops, Fang Yan had already proposed: "And what you have to do is to reach an agreement with the army headquarters in advance, which materials will be sold to the infantry, and which weapons will be sold to the armored forces." I can apply to my uncle and get the least discount on the part of the armor that the armor earns. Guderian nodded repeatedly, and after a moment, he suddenly reacted, glared angrily, and said, "What? Do you still want to take a cut on the trade? Jonas, are you still worthy of being a soldier in Germany?! ”

Facing the blitzkrieg hero who suddenly exploded, Fang Yan also glared back: "This is clearly the institutional decree of the empire. In the past, all the proceeds of foreign trade carried out by the government were originally owned by the government. The weapons in this foreign trade were seized by the army and belong to special materials, so the army can apply to use the proceeds of the sale for its own use, but the Ministry of Economic Affairs cannot help the army for free. Doesn't there be a cost for these materials in the process of transportation, delivery, and settlement? If the army does not want to, it is entirely possible to complete this deal with the Italians on its own. ”

Guderian stared at Fang Yan deadly, his fierce gaze piercing his eyes like a sharp knife. However, Fang Yan, who had long been in the midst of a lot of battles with Hitler, Raeder and other top core leaders, was already immune to this level of threat, and just looked at the other side for a long time. Fang Yan knew that in the face of Guderian, who had a strong and flamboyant personality, blindly giving in and accommodating would only make the other party more and more disrespectful of himself. And Fang Yan didn't mean to be Guderian's junior brother at all, and the appropriate toughness when necessary could make him look awe-inspiring.

As for the outcome of this incident, Fang Yan was sure that Guderian would definitely give in. Because Guderian's hope was to exchange his captured supplies for his own standard weapons, nothing else made sense. And if the army traded with Italy on its own, it would only get some foreign exchange and raw materials, and if it wanted to turn them into physical goods, it would have to go through the Ministry of Economy, which was in charge of military production. At that time, the Army, which was at a standstill with the Ministry of Economy, had small shoes to wear. What's more, the German Army still lacks the door and foundation for direct trading with Italy, and if it really leaves the Ministry of Economy alone, I am afraid that the price after the first round of negotiations will be far lower than their psychological estimates!

As Fang Yan expected, the expression on Guderian's face changed, and a little bitterness gradually emerged in the indignation. He found that he had no way to deal with this powerful department, and trying to befriend it was almost the only option. Fortunately, he also knew the young nephew of His Excellency the Minister of Economy, and the good relations between the two sides would allow him to be treated more favorably than others.

Seeing that Guderian had a tendency to compromise, Fang Yan also knew how to accept it when he saw it, and Zhengse said: "As a friend, I will naturally do my best to help and not let you suffer in this transaction." As for me personally, do you think I will take this opportunity to embezzle commissions? Speaking of this, Fang Yan was also a little helpless. I was really helping Guderian this time, and if I didn't come forward, I was afraid that Uncle Cheap would take a lot of oil and water in the process of handling the transaction. In these years there are few times when the conscience is discovered!