"Sir, why did you come to the front?" Major General Lu Zhiyuan, who was wearing an armored uniform, looked at Zhang Cheng who walked into his command car with some surprise.

"How's it going?" Zhang Cheng didn't say anything more, waved his hand and came to the front of the map to ask aloud.

"After the heavy shelling, the positions of the Russian army have been unstable, and it should be the paratroopers who raided Lian Koran to cut off their retreat, which caused huge pressure on the Russian army." Major General Lu Zhiyuan stretched out his hand and pointed to the map: "In twenty minutes, the Second Panzer Division will launch a general attack." According to reconnaissance, the Russian troops stationed in Astara lack anti-tank weapons. Although they are equipped with a lot of anti-tank guns and some small-caliber anti-tank guns, it is difficult for them to pose a mortal threat to our army's new tanks. ”

After a pause, Major General Lu Zhiyuan continued, "The Russian troops stationed in Astara don't have any armored forces, they are just an old-fashioned army that still adheres to trench tactics. Their positions may be able to resist the infantry, but they are nothing more than papier-mâché lines in front of the powerful armoured forces. ”

"Hmm." Zhang Cheng nodded, withdrew his gaze from the map, and glanced at Major General Lu Zhiyuan on the side. "In any case, the raid on the Zhoushan Islands by the Japanese naval aviation was definitely an extremely successful plan at the tactical level. They show their best side perfectly. They succeeded, and they became famous all over the world. ”

Zhang Cheng waved his hand to stop Major General Lu Zhiyuan, who opened his mouth and wanted to speak, pulled a chair from the side and sat down, and then said, "As for the raid, whoever is the winner in the end has the final say. War never believes in tears and does not need words. The only one left on the battlefield is the winner. You now have the opportunity to prove the power of the Ming Army's armored forces. ”

After taking out a cigarette from his trouser pocket and lighting it, and spitting out the smoke ring, Zhang Cheng narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Years of training and preparation." Don't let down those who expect from you. ”

"Yes!" Major General Lu Zhiyuan's expression was solemn, his body was straight, and he raised his hand and performed a standard military salute

Heavy tanks and self-propelled guns, which had been dragged for several years, finally rolled off the production line along with the latest Leopard tanks. The 2nd Armored Division was one of the first main armored units to be reequipped.

Just by looking at the name, you can tell that the prototype blueprint of the new Leopard tank is the famous Black Panther. Zhang Cheng designed this exceptionally excellent main battle tank after all the technologies were mature, and immediately began large-scale production after passing the army's review.

Of course, some of the prototype flaws that have already been exposed have been modified as much as possible. For example, a gasoline engine that is safer, more reliable, and has better performance. (I won't go into too much detail about the debate between diesel and gasoline engines.) This topic could go on for an entire chapter. Suffice it to say that throughout the World War II period, only the Soviet Union and Japan used diesel engines on tanks in all countries of the world. Mobility has been strengthened.

The much-criticized turret side armor was raised to the level of 70 mm special armor steel. In addition to this, the gearbox, gears, and the entire suspension system and load wheels, among others, have been modified. Although the prototype was the Panther, the actual combat vehicle produced was already very different from the Panther of the Germans.

The new Leopard was designed to replace the No. 4 tank, which was originally intended for transitional use. The body of this new tank is 7.03 meters long, 3.32 meters wide and 2.98 meters high. The engine is powered by a V12 petrol engine with a maximum of 850 hp. The maximum road speed is more than 52 km, and the off-road speed is more than 36 km. The maximum driving distance is 240 kilometers on the road and 160 kilometers off-road with a one-time refueling.

The five members of the crew are the commander, gunner, and loader. Drivers and mechanics. The artillery is a 75 mm caliber 70 times diameter long-barreled self-tightening gun that Zhang Cheng and a famous artillery factory invested heavily in research and development for several years before it was finally finalized. This powerful gun is enough to penetrate 160 mm thick armor at a distance of 1000 meters when using tungsten alloy armor-piercing shells. Its power was comparable to that of a 56-mm gun with a diameter of 88. This kind of artillery is powerful enough to destroy any active tank of various countries. Two MG42 machine guns, one front machine gun, one coaxial machine gun.

The adoption of a wide track of 660 mm provided the tank with better traction and cross-country ability. The thickness of the frontal armor, with a 55-degree inclined armor, was 86 mm, and the actual bullet resistance limit corresponded to 140 mm of vertical armor. The thickness of the armor at a 35-degree angle of inclination on the sides of the hull was 62 mm, and the actual bullet resistance limit was equivalent to 110 mm of vertical armor. The thickness of the rear armor of the hull was 52 mm. The thickness of the turret armor was 110 mm in the front, 70 mm in the sides and 42 mm in the rear.

The total combat weight of the Leopard tank exceeded 45 tons.

The construction process of the Leopard tank is cumbersome and technically demanding. The whole of the Ming Dynasty. In other words, in the whole world, only the new tank production factory built by Zhang Cheng with a huge investment can produce this kind of tank perfectly. Other factories are far inferior to Zhang Cheng in terms of man-hours and wear and tear, even after refitting the production line.

Due to the complexity of the process, the production of new tanks was limited. Since the start of production, the monthly production has been just over 200 units. Until the time of the war. The more than 1,000 new tanks delivered to the army were only enough to reequip the most elite armored divisions. And the 2nd Panzer Division was one of them.

In addition to the Leopard tanks, self-propelled guns, which were rolled off the production line almost at the same time, and heavy tanks of heavy tank battalions directly under the Panzer Division also entered active service.

It's not that Zhang Cheng doesn't want to produce it early, but even if you have the technology and drawings, you can only start construction on the premise that the subsystems can meet the performance indicators.

For example, new alloy armor, new high-caliber self-tightening cannons, high-horsepower engines, and various other subsystems, etc., etc., etc. In order to improve his skills, Zhang Cheng spent a lot of money. Fortunately, these technologies have finally matured and can be used.

There is nothing to say about self-propelled guns. It is directly to use the territory of the new Leopard tank, and then add a 155 mm caliber howitzer to modify it. The emergence of this kind of heavy support artillery with super mobility greatly strengthened the strength of the armored forces. And it is an absolute first in the world in this era.

The heavy tank battalion, which had been vacant since the beginning of the formation of the armored forces, could finally be replenished. Zhang Cheng used the famous Tiger tank as the prototype to design and build this new heavy tank, which is invincible in this era.

The design concept of the heavy tank, which was also named the Tiger by Zhang Cheng, was very simple, it was specially produced to fight enemy tanks. Unlike the Leopard tank, which combines tank attack and infantry support, the Tiger's main job is to fight tanks.

The Tiger also uses an 850 hp V12 petrol engine and is capable of driving at speeds of up to 42 km/h. The off-road speed is 27 km/h. It is possible to travel about 180 kilometers with a single refill. The artillery used a 56x diameter 88 mm gun. Armed with two machine guns at the same time. The car is 8.47 meters long, 3.68 meters wide and 3.01 meters high.

The thickness of the front armor of the Tiger tank is 100 mm, and the thickness of the side armor and tail is 80 mm. The thickness of the front armor of the turret was 102 mm, but the front armor of the turret was overlapped with the front of the gun shield, and the total thickness exceeded 200 mm. Theoretically, no artillery is capable of penetrating. The turret side and rear armor was 80 mm. Its firepower and defense are unmatched. This is especially true for turret armor with a cannon shield attached.

The Tiger tank has a crew of five and a total combat weight of a staggering 57 tons!

The 2nd Panzer Division, commanded by Major General Lu Zhiyuan, has more than 250 new tanks. The power of this attack is unimaginable for the Russian troops stationed in Astara.

To the left of Astara is the towering Caucasus Mountains, and to the right is the Caspian Sea. The coastal road and the railway line to Baku pass through this narrow seaside strip.

The means of defense of the Russian army are also obvious. Pick-up posts and large minefields on the front line, barbed wire trenches with heavy machine-gun bunkers and some strong permanent fortifications in the main defensive areas. Behind them were the reserve assembly areas and artillery positions.

Originally, there was no problem with this level of defense against a large number of infantry attacks. But when hundreds of tanks appeared, the defenders were blinded.

As early as before the sky was fully light, the heavy artillery division under Zhang Cheng's command carried out a fierce artillery bombardment from his position towards the defenders.

The most feared force of the Ming Army over the years is their powerful artillery unit. As the highest level of artillery units, the field heavy artillery division is already a strategic-level unit in the Ming Army.

Before the start of the war, there were only five heavy artillery divisions in the entire Ming Army and a sixth heavy artillery division in the process of being formed. This First Heavy Artillery Division under Zhang Cheng was specially authorized to him by Marshal Yang Zhuo himself, in order to strengthen his attack force and prevent him from suffering unnecessary setbacks. The other four heavy artillery divisions were all deployed on the Ural and Volga fronts.

Heavy artillery divisions except for garrison units. In addition to the transport and auxiliary forces, the main attacking force was the three heavy artillery regiments. It is armed with 24 howitzers of 203 mm caliber, 48 howitzers of 155 mm caliber, and 48 heavy cannons of 155 mm caliber. It's powerful enough to drive any defender mad.

Howitzer shells, for example, have to be loaded mechanically. The power of the high-explosive bomb is extremely powerful, and when it falls on the ground and explodes, the killing radius exceeds 80 meters. If such a shell hits a field fortification, at least one platoon of troops must be crossed out of the formation. The people in the fortifications were not killed by the explosion, but also by the huge shock wave.

Of course, if you compare it with the heavy artillery of the Navy, these are pediatrics. If the battleship's main gun hits the fortifications with one shot, basically a company will have to be reimbursed.

The artillery of the heavy artillery division, together with the artillery units of the armored division and the infantry division, carried out a fierce shelling for more than an hour, destroying the positions of the defenders like a typhoon. Dog's breakfast.

When the Russian troops who had escaped the shelling managed to survive until the artillery fire extended, the roar of the huge engine came from afar. At the same time, the floating earth and stones on the ground began to shake! (To be continued......)

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