Of course, the ability of Luxembourg and Bismarck is also the main reason why Rommel asked the two of them to come, these two people are really capable of commanding, Rommel and the two of them have been together for a long time, and they are good friends with each other, of course, they know their talents and personalities very well.

Rommel's second telegram was sent to Krupp, in fact, Rommel did not know that Krupp had been invited by the Gestapo to go to the Führer, and Rommel had already gone around the Grim Reaper, and if it were not for his loyalty, Hitler would not have treated him so magnanimously.

Rommel's telegram was very simple, that is, he asked Krupp to buy a regiment of No. 4 tanks (3 tank battalions, 72 tanks each, 2 tanks at the regimental headquarters, a total of 218 tanks), it stands to reason that the lightly armored division that was only reorganized has only two tank battalions, but Rommel can get tanks, why not one more tank battalion! There are more than 12,000 people in the 7th Armored Division, are you afraid that no one will come to open tanks?

In addition, Rommel asked Krupp to buy twenty 88-mm anti-aircraft guns from his company, plus four 88-mm anti-aircraft guns from the Seventh Panzer Division itself, which was just enough to form a large-caliber anti-aircraft artillery battalion.

Of course, Rommel, the traverser, knew that the 88-mm gun could be used to fight tanks, but the eight-ton anti-aircraft gun was too inconvenient to move, and Rommel planned to mount these 88-mm anti-aircraft guns on the chassis of tank No. 3.

This modification was actually not too difficult, the 88-mm anti-aircraft gun was divided into four parts in total, the cannon weighed two tons, the shield weighed two tons, the pillars weighed two tons, and the tripod weighed two tons. The tripod was removed during the modification, and then the turret of the No. 3 tank was removed, the steel plate on the upper part of the hull was cut off, and then the pillars of the 88 gun were welded to the chassis of the No. 3 tank.

Can an 88-mm anti-tank gun of such a modification withstand huge recoil? In fact, it is also possible, for example, the "Wild Bee" self-propelled gun, which is modified from the chassis of the No. 3 tank, and the Wild Bee self-propelled gun uses a 150 mm caliber howitzer.

Of course, the recoil distance of such an 88-mm anti-tank gun may be a bit large, and for the stability of the shot, it is necessary to install a herringbone retractable bracket in the tail of the 88-mm anti-tank, which will definitely make the artillery a little more troublesome, but it is much stronger than the 88-mm anti-aircraft gun, which is impossible to move.

Rommel also asked Krupp to buy 20 105 howitzers and 500 trucks, and the original establishment of the 7th Panzer Division was more than 500 trucks, but half of the trucks were missing, and all the German troops were like this, so Rommel had to use his connections to build trucks.

As for the movement of the 105 howitzer, Rommel wanted to convert those No. 2 tanks into "Wasp" self-propelled guns, at this time Germany had not yet produced Wasp self-propelled guns, because the Wasp self-propelled guns were modified from the decommissioned No. 2 tank chassis, and Germany at this time did not have a decommissioned No. 2 tank to use.

These weapons modified by Rommel are certainly not aesthetically pleasing, and there are certainly problems, but their effects are certainly very obvious. Rommel doesn't ask for anything else now, as long as these weapons he has modified can be used and there are no major problems.

……

Luxembourg and Bismarck soon arrived at the station of the 7th Panzer Division by plane, and Rommel, who had become a single dog, no longer had to write letters to Lucy, but took his soldiers to train every day, whether it was infantry, tank or signal troops, everyone had to participate in the training, even Rommel, the division commander.

Rommel's view is to be with his soldiers at all times, and Luxembourg and Bismarck are indeed very good at training, both of them are traditional Wehrmacht officers, who have been in the army for more than a decade, and they have a deep understanding of how to train soldiers in discipline and tactics.

In terms of training soldiers, Rommel gave them tremendous support and trust, and after a month of training, the tactical accomplishment and discipline of all the officers and men of the 7th Panzer Division have changed greatly, and the kind of laziness and casualness can no longer be seen.

Then the actual combat training began, and the 7th Panzer Division now only had 60 tanks in the old fashion, so the tanks did not stop, and Rommel trained three times more tank troops than before.

The training was in full swing, such as blitzkrieg with tank attack, defensive battle without tank cooperation, trench warfare with infantry, etc., and everyone in the 7th Panzer Division was tired like a dog every day, including Rommel.

The wind of war is getting closer and closer, and the walls "sweat more in peacetime, and shed less blood in wartime." The slogan is a constant reminder to everyone in the 7th Panzer Division that everyone is working hard to improve their tactical skills for the coming war.

Historically, Hitler was going to send Rommel a deputy division commander named Funk, because Rommel took the initiative to ask for Luxembourg and Bismarck, so Hitler did not send a deputy division commander to Rommel, and Rommel took the initiative to apply for Bismarck to be appointed as a deputy division commander and commander of the Seventh Infantry Brigade, but Hitler sent Rommel a chief of staff named Hans.

At the beginning of January 1940, 218 No. 4 tanks, 20 88-mm anti-aircraft guns, 24 105-mm howitzers, and 500 trucks donated by Krupp to the 7th Panzer Division were finally delivered to Rommel. These heavy weapons could make other panzer divisions bleed from their noses, but they were donated by Krupp, Germany's largest arms dealer, and they couldn't help it.

Rommel was out of charge with the training, and he handed it over directly to Luxembourg and Bismarck. Rommel with the men of the repair battalion began the work of reworking 88 anti-aircraft guns and 105 howitzers.

For the sake of safety, Rommel took the lead in transforming the chassis of tank No. 3 and the 88 anti-aircraft gun into a self-propelled 88-mm anti-tank vehicle, and as a result, the entire anti-tank vehicle was more than two meters away from the back seat of the anti-tank vehicle after one shot.

Rommel had to remove a herringbone bracket for a 105 howitzer, and then install this herringbone bracket on the rear of the 88 mm anti-tank vehicle, so as to completely solve the problem of excessive backseat distance.

Of course, there are also disadvantages to this point, such as opening the herringbone bracket before firing, and after the shooting, the herringbone bracket should be put away, and the tail of the herringbone bracket should be hooked with an iron chain welded to the car body. The 88-mm anti-tank vehicle with the "tail" was thus born in the hands of Rommel.

UGLY IS UGLY, BUT AFTER TESTING, IT WAS FOUND THAT SUCH AN ANTI-TANK VEHICLE IS REALLY FANTASTIC, BECAUSE OF THE ACCURACY OF 88 MM ROCKET ARTILLERY, AT A DISTANCE OF ONE THOUSAND METERS, THE 88 ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUN CAN HIT AN 80 * 80CM WHITE TARGET FIVE TIMES IN A ROW. (Absolutely true, this is historically documented, and the accuracy of German artillery was by no means boasted.) ）

Rommel then began to organize the modification of the 105-mm execution howitzer, both of which are not produced in Germany now! Therefore, Rommel's idea was very novel, and his officers and soldiers all admired Rommel after seeing the 88mm anti-tank vehicle that Rommel had modified.

……