Although in terms of caliber, the German Gustav train gun is not the best in the world. However, its overall volume is indeed unsurpassed.

With a range of more than 30 kilometers, this 800-millimeter cannon is definitely a real behemoth in land weapons.

Soon after the real Hitler came to power, Germany was carefully preparing for a new war. The Defence Force, which used to deal with two-sided threats, has begun to expand to address all threats in an all-round way.

In order to break through the Maginot Line, which had been constructed by the French, Hitler decided to order Krupp to study super-heavy artillery.

The Army's ordnance department put forward design requirements, the range of this heavy artillery should be more than 32 kilometers, and the power of the shells should be able to penetrate 1 meter thick steel plate or 2.5 meters thick reinforced concrete wall.

After accepting the task, the Krupp Arsenal studied all the field artillery, railway artillery, and fortress artillery at that time, and concluded that the existing weapons could not meet the requirements.

Relying on the technology of the time, it was necessary at least 700 mm caliber giant artillery to destroy the thick fortifications of the Maginot Line.

So in March 1936, Hitler personally inspected the Krupp Arsenal and decided to make a trial production of an 800 mm gun.

These were all done before Li Le's crossing, so all of this could not be reversed. The Gustav cannon was still produced by historical inertia and became the secret weapon of the Third Reich.

It's just that this secret weapon has not yet been fully produced, and its cannon has not yet been installed on the body of the train, so it cannot be used in combat yet.

According to the historical progress, it was finally completed in early 1942, and Li Le and Quartermaster Speer would also attend its acceptance ceremony as planned.

As for the naming of this giant cannon, Li Le still likes its original name "Gustav".

It is also one of the best souvenirs of the Krupp artillery family, which proved itself to be at the top of its industry in World War II.

The metallurgical industry of a country that could support the manufacture of an 800-millimeter-caliber, 32-meter-long Giant Star barrel in 1936 is a miracle in itself.

Of course, the price is absolutely miraculous: it was purchased by the military for 7 million marks.

The total length of the gun in combat condition is 53 meters, the height is 12 meters, and the total weight is 1488 tons. After arriving at the position, the base was hoisted with two giant cranes, and then the gun carriage, gun barrel and loading mechanism were installed, and all the work was completed by more than 1,400 people under the command of a major general for three weeks.

In order to transport the artillery to the test site, three giant transport trains with special structures were designed.

The bridges along the route could not bear such a heavy weight, and the train had to go around long detours.

In Li Le's view, the non-universal particularity of these strange things is also completely in line with the design language of German weapons and equipment - they feel strange if they are not strange.

With such a huge artillery, in order to prevent bombing by Soviet aircraft, it is necessary to deploy anti-aircraft artillery units and alert aircraft around the position.

Now that Germany is in control of absolute air supremacy, it is better to say that once the air force falls into a situation of balance or disadvantage, this thing is a huge target.

In order to ensure the absolute safety of the expensive weapons, a large number of infantry, patrol officers and police dogs were mobilized to patrol day and night within 10 kilometers of the perimeter.

As soon as enemy planes are detected, they are immediately covered by smoke screens by chemical troops. The total number of people participating in command, operation and security has reached more than 4,000.

Of course, the rewards for such hard work are truly impressive: its shells weigh an appalling 7.1 tons each, a high-explosive shell weighs 4.8 tons, and the firing charge weighs about 1.8 to 2 tons.

Although the test launch has not yet begun, just looking at the data on paper, this guy can be regarded as one of the most terrifying war machines of mankind before the advent of nuclear weapons.

A single shell can blow up craters larger than a football field, and its destructive effect is absolutely top-notch.

It is a pity that it was itself tailor-made to attack the Maginot Line, which has been destroyed for a year and a half, and it has not yet been built......

Born at the wrong time, it can challenge Sevastopol, the most spectacular fortress defense group in human history, in the future, but it is not yet finished.

The old railroad soldier mentioned the cannon king Gustav, but he only saw Gustav's magnificent car body from a distance, and did not see the cannon itself.

But even so, he has already been on the railroad soldier William? Herman was envious. He hadn't seen a K5 railroad gun yet, let alone a bigger Gustav than the K5?

"However, what is this going to do in a hurry to transport the K5 to the north......" The old railroad soldier muttered, a little puzzled.

Unbeknownst to him, Germany was already secretly massing its forces in preparation for a larger offensive against Leningrad.

Li Le is a time-traveler, he is not an antiquarian Hitler. He did not have much grudge against Leningrad, nor did he have any intention of destroying Leningrad.

As a prophet from later generations, he had to quickly capture Leningrad and establish an effective maritime transit point in the north.

With this transit point, he can ease the pressure of land transportation by sea, easily sending a fifth or more of his supplies to Moscow.

Only in this way will he be able to sustain the attrition of attacking Moscow, where he will fight an undying war with the Soviet Union.

Li Le is not a fool, he knows too much inside information about the Soviet Union. For example, he knew that the Moscow metro had already been built, and the entire city had full-fledged air defense fortifications.

Relying on these underground fortifications, street fighting in the Soviet Union was bloodier and more brutal than that in Smolensk.

The Germans could not easily capture Moscow with a quick blitzkrieg. It will become a battlefield, a hell of constant attrition between the two armies.

How to end the battle there as soon as possible is the remaining problem for Li Le. He did not have time to spend on Stalin in Moscow, he was going to do everything he could to take there quickly.

Only by taking it there will he be able to go south when the spring of next year comes, to liberate Ukraine and seize Stalingrad on the Volga.

Therefore, Li Le gathered all the forces that could be gathered and sent them to the northern front.

For example, the Waffen-SS Adolf, who had just been replaced from the territory of England? Panzer Division of Hitler's Guard Banner.

Paul, for example? Hausser commanded the Reich Panzer Division, which was already well known within the Army.

They replaced the Leopard tanks in Germany, armed to the teeth, and along the railway line, they menacingly approached the line of defense of Marshal Voroshilov.