Adrian's decision to develop a new tank was partly due to the impact of the Battle of the Somme in World War I, in which the British sent the Mark I tank, which shook the German lines considerably. Therefore, in order to ensure the realization of President Adrian's vision, the General Staff of the Bundeswehr put forward the technical requirements for its own tanks, formulated the design of the tank, and demanded that it be tested in real combat.

In fact, when the war broke out on the eastern and western fronts, Germany's research and development of armored weapons had already begun, although it was still relatively backward in terms of the number of production and the role it played. However, the momentum of its active research and development is very strong, and some valuable experience has also been obtained.

In order to achieve new combat missions and better win unpredictable wars in the future, the nascent German Federal Government has begun to advance from weapons and equipment to personnel training since the establishment of power in Hanover.

A tank unit camp in western Germany was bustling with activity, with a steady stream of recruits from all over the country. As the war continues to this day, everyone is no stranger to tanks, and its advantages and disadvantages are obvious when fighting large-scale light infantry battles, but those who have had direct contact with it or have been trained have their own opinions.

Benjamin? Sheridan, a graduate of the Berlin Military Garrison School, is currently a sergeant major. Yárvis? Laurie, who enlisted in the army in 1913 and fought on the Eastern Front, was wounded several times and awarded the Iron Cross twice, and is now a sergeant, the two men met by chance at the tank training base and soon became good friends. Just arrived here and felt fresh about everything. Yárvis? Laurie suggested going around the camp to see what was different between the west and the east of Germany. Sheridan says it's a good idea, and it's a good idea to have a sauerkraut stewed pig's trotters by the way.

The two were talking and laughing, and Sheridan suddenly pointed to a row of tanks in the playground and said, "Laurie, look, this is the 'tank friend' that we may get along with day and night in the future?" Look at this guy looking dumbfounded, this shouldn't be the tank we're going to fight with, it shouldn't. ”

Laurie was not sure, and said, "I can't tell, you see the protruding section at the top, it's incredible, I hope the British and French tanks won't be so accurate, otherwise...... That's too bad. ”

It didn't matter what they looked like, the two of them forgot all about going around the camp and eating sauerkraut stewed pig's trotters, especially Laurie, who seemed to have to figure it out: "And why are these tanks just one gun?" I've heard that the British have more than one gun in their tanks! Yes, it seems to be two cannons. You see, we've lost a lot of ground in this aura. ”

Although Sheridan and Laurie were relatively unfamiliar with tanks, they had long heard from the commanders that British and French tanks were showing off their might in the Somme, and that kind of momentum was not the same thing.

Several of the instructors were giving another tank gun, and they heard their conversation and thought it was interesting, and did not stop their discussion, and as for the questions, perhaps in the near future the lads would accept an answer.

The training base is surrounded by mountains and mountains, and several wide simple dirt roads extend in all directions to the base, and on the highest hill to the east there is a small concrete house in the shape of a bunker, on which people are constantly waving two small flags, one red and one green. Through the ridge of the mountain, you can feel the dust raised on the other side of the mountain, and that may be the place where the tank shoots. Another group of new students got out of the car, and before they put down their backpacks, they began to look around, full of curiosity about everything here. But they didn't seem to like the tank in front of them, weird, a little disappointed, they hadn't thought about it before they joined the army, but now they can't help but think about it.

There are still many old students not far away, and the complaints and questions of the new students have been in the hearts of all the students who have just come to the training base, which is very normal, and they will not be surprised after a long time, and the veterans just laugh, because this situation is not only for these new recruits, but also for them at the beginning.

Tobias? Priestley, a student at the University of Munich, is also a new cadet who has just enlisted in the army, and he reported for duty two days ago. At this moment, sitting alone on the lawn of the training ground, he has not yet adapted to life here, it is the first time to leave his family and hometown, he does not know if he will be a good soldier, a good tank soldier. "The children of the interior are less knowledgeable" is the phrase he hears the most, and in the past two days, the people of Berlin, Bremen and Rostock have often said that, yes, the children of the interior are obviously not as naughty as the children of Berlin, and he has to think about how to get along with these people in the future.

Sheridan and Laurie looked around, and suddenly realized that they were too naïve, the training base surrounded by mountains was like a small isolated kingdom, not to mention going out for a meal of pig's trotters stewed sauerkraut, even going out was not easy.

Several rows of two-story cement concrete barracks are located at the foot of the mountains, and a large playground in front of the barracks has been hardened to make a lighting field, and the rest of the barracks is excavated earth, and in some places there is not even time to loosen the grass, which may also be caused by the rolling of tank tracks. There is a clear spring flowing from the mountains, flowing through the playground, and the sound of the spring water is like a piece of music that can never be played compared to the roar of the motor, and the students often linger after training.

Not every new cadet felt that the German tanks would be more vulnerable than the British, and most of the new cadets showed a keen interest in the II tank and were looking forward to becoming the pilots or crew members of these iron guys as soon as possible, and they even asked the instructors when the official course would begin, as if they couldn't wait.

After the training of new trainees in light weapons and queues, a boring cultural class is also indispensable, and the trainees should first understand the construction, performance and combat use of tanks, as well as a lot of safety knowledge. The course is divided into several majors, such as vehicle commander, driving, bomb transport, gun handling, minor fault handling and other subjects; Each subject is studied in a class and each performs its own duties.

The instructor told the trainees that only after passing the actual operation assessment can they be regarded as a real tank soldier, but a truly qualified tank soldier must go through hard training and have achieved good command, driving, obstacle crossing, strike, and coordination, then he can be regarded as a qualified tank soldier.

Next, enter the train group training, which is also the integration and cooperation of students in several major professional subjects.

Toby? Raleigh and Ralph? Craigie belonged to the same infantry company, and they had all seen the British tanks on the Western Front, and the sight of the indomitable and unstoppable sight left a deep impression on him to this day. In the same way, they also admired the majesty of their country's armed transport vehicles, and presumably the tanks would be even more invincible. It was a pity that they did not catch up with the selection of the armored division, but as soon as the news of the country's recruitment of tank soldiers came out, the two of them immediately signed up with confidence. The receiving unit looked at the recommendation letter of the original unit, and after a not cumbersome physical examination, it was considered to have passed successfully.

Raleigh and Craigie felt very strange to the tank in front of them, and the fiery passion seemed to be poured with cold water. Can a tank like this beat others? Now that the professional studies are passed, all that remains is physical and endurance training, Ralph? Craigie looked embarrassed.

Raleigh knew what was going on in Craigie's heart, but he had the same emotions himself. However, since they have all reached this point, it is definitely inappropriate to retreat. Raleigh patted Craigie on the shoulder: "Maybe it's just training, Craigie, maybe it's not this kind of tank on the battlefield." ”

Soon they were placed in an iron box by the instructor, and in addition to them, there were three new trainees.

The instructor held his hands behind his back, his expression was very serious, and he never dragged his words into words: "Okay boys, assemble!" Attention! Very good! Please take a break. First of all, I have to congratulate you, because through your hard work, you are now officially a tank soldier of the German Federal States. From now on, you are a group, a collective! Whether you can become a qualified tank crew or not will test your perseverance, and it will also completely depend on the run-in of your entire team members. Okay, now read out your biographies separately. ”

Benjamin? Sheridan, born in 1889, graduated from the Berlin Military Non-commissioned Officer School as a sergeant. In 1918, he applied to join the 501st Tank Battalion as a tank commander.

Tobias? Priestley, born in 1894, a student at the University of Munich, sergeant, applied to join the 501st Tank Battalion in 1918 as a correspondent.

Ralph? Craigie, born in 1892, assembly line worker, joined the Western Front in 1914 with the rank of corporal, and applied to join the tank battalion in 1918 as a tank gunner.

Yárvis? Laurie, born in 1893, enlisted in the army in 1913, fought on the Eastern Front, was wounded many times, was awarded the Iron Cross twice, was promoted to sergeant, and served as a tank loader.

Toby? Raleigh, born in 1887, was a bus driver, enlisted in the army in 1915, fought on the Western Front, was awarded an Iron Cross, was promoted to corporal, and served as a tank driver.

The instructor read everyone's resumes according to the script, pointed to the iron bump behind him and said: "In the next few days, you need to unite and cooperate inside, eat, drink and Lazar, and you must not come out until the end of the training, if you can persevere, he is yours." If you can't hold on, leave, it's as simple as that. Well, lads, good luck guys! ”