March 17, 1925, is destined to go down in history along with March 17, three years earlier. Three years ago on this day, when the March Revolution broke out in Germany, the ensuing division of Germany and the westward expansion of the Soviet Union completely smashed the Versailles system in the world and brought the flames of war back to Europe. After that, a series of changes in Europe led to the conclusion of the Franco-German, Sino-Italian Four-Power Treaty, which was transmitted to Asia, and smashed the already unreliable Sino-Japanese-Soviet non-war treaty.

Now, three years later, Berlin is once again in the spotlight. German Chancellor Adolf. Hitler, Chairman of the Central Committee Chang Ruiqing, and British Foreign Secretary Austin. Chamberlain gathered at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin's Tiergarten to sign their respective names on a treaty called the "Anti-Third International Pact" (Moscow Commentary).

Unlike the previous situation in which Chang Ruiqing, Hitler and Fuller negotiated at Bellevue Palace, the British Empire finally chose to join the treaty openly, rather than sneakily hiding behind the scenes. It seems that the secret negotiations between Britain and the Soviet Union must have failed! However, Britain's obligations under the treaty were different from those of China and Germany, and there was no obligation to participate in the attack on the Soviet Union, as long as China and Germany provided logistical and technical assistance. The question of how the spoils of war were to be divided after the destruction of the Soviet Union was not mentioned in the Anti-Third International Pact. It seems that London did not really believe that China and Germany were capable of destroying the Soviet behemoth.

However, the other two parties to the original five-nation treaty, France and Italy, had no intention of acceding to the Anti-Third International Agreement. The French clearly had no interest in attacking, and in their opinion it was all right to put Germany in front and the USSR to consume. Anyway, their colonies in Asia and Africa were not yet threatened by the world revolution and could not provoke the Soviet Union.

As for the Italians, they simply replaced themselves with Sovietophobia, and finally a little blood instigated by Mussolini. Tell the Soviet Red Army to be defeated at once. Mussolini's regime was also in jeopardy because of the defeat, and every day large numbers of protesters gathered in front of the Palazzo Venezia in Rome, chanting slogans demanding Mussolini's resignation. Even within the fascist party, there are people who are plotting to dismantle Mussolini's platform. Fortunately, Mussolini had been prepared to mobilize a large number of blackshirts loyal to him from northern Italy into Rome, and successively removed a large number of unreliable Italian army generals. also relied on his three-inch incorruptible tongue to convince the Italian king Vittorio. Emanuele III continued to support the regime of the fascist party. Although the regime was secured, Mussolini, the dictator, was reduced to a lame duck, and I wonder if there was any hope of leading Italy to help Hitler?

Due to the absence of two helpers, France and Italy. International public opinion, however, is generally not very optimistic about the future of the Anti-Third International Agreement. Upon learning of the signing of this treaty between China, Britain, and Germany, the Soviet government immediately took-for-tat measures, announcing that it would invite the Chairman of the Japanese People's Committee, Katayama, the Chairman of the Polish People's Council, Menzhinski, and the President of the Persian Republic, Reza. Khan visited Moscow to discuss the conclusion of an alliance against the Anti-Third International Pact.

The U.S. government has not publicly commented on the treaty. It was only proposed to the British: the negotiations on naval armaments in London had to be attended by representatives of the USSR and Japan. Otherwise, the United States will postpone the negotiations. It seems that the US government is also not optimistic about this newly baked Berlin-London-Nanjing axis.

Chang Ruiqing, on the other hand, did not immediately go to London to participate in naval arms negotiations after the signing of the Anti-Third International Agreement, which could not have been held until the Soviet and Japanese representatives arrived. But Chang Ruiqing was not idle. The day after the agreement was signed, he was invited by Hitler to visit the Eprat test site in Swabia, southwest Germany. However, instead of looking at the earthquake weapons tests that always failed, there was a breakthrough in the development of the Stalker tank, which was designed by Chang Ruiqing during his visit to Germany in 1923.

On March 19, on a makeshift cement stand in the Eprat test site, at least a dozen people wearing the uniforms of the Chinese and German Wehrmacht and dozens of people in straight suits stood. In front of the grandstand is a large proving ground with a ring of hard-ground tracks. In the middle of the runway is a large muddy pond, which is probably the terrain that army units hate to encounter when marching and fighting. Most of the officers of the Chinese delegation to Europe, senior officers of the German Ministry of Defense, the Armored Forces Command, the Ordnance Procurement Bureau, as well as representatives and designers of several large industrial groups gathered here. Everyone was whispering to each other about the "Stalker Project" that was currently their biggest concern.

Back in June 1923. Soon after Chang Ruiqing's first visit to Germany, large European industrial enterprises, including Daimler-Benz (merged by Daimler and Mercedes-Benz at the end of 1924, more than a year earlier than in history), MAN Company, Krupp Iron and Steel Complex, Rheinmetall Company, Bavarian Machine-Building Plant, Schneider Company, Renault Company, Fiat Company, and Skoda Company, received a notice jointly issued by the weapons procurement departments of France, Germany, China and Italy, asking them to design a combat vehicle with a total weight of no more than 18 tons. With frontal armor of more than 60 mm and a height of no more than 2.2 meters, it can be equipped with a 75mm caliber and 48 times the diameter cannon of the turretless tank directly on the front of the body. Since it was a notice jointly issued by France, Germany, China and Italy, all the European machinery manufacturing and arms companies that received the notice knew the weight of it, and no one was willing to let such a huge order slip through their fingers, so they all worked hard and prepared to do a big job.

In just one year and nine months, five models and a total of 15 prototypes of the "Stalker" tank were sent to the Aplat test base for test runs. The five models of the "Stalker" tanks were supplied by a consortium of five large European companies, of which the "Stalker I" was developed by Daimler. Jointly designed and manufactured by Mercedes-Benz and Rheinmetall; "Stalker II" is jointly designed and manufactured by MAN and Krupp Steel United; The Stalker III was designed and manufactured by the German Bavarian Maschinenbau and the Czechoslovak company Skoda (which, by the way, is now a German protectorate). The Sudetenland was also directly incorporated into the territory of the German Empire); "Stalker No. 4" is provided by the French fire giant led by Schneider and Renault; And "Stalker V" is the masterpiece of the Italians.

"There are actually five models of Stalkers!"

Chang Ruiqing and the German Armored Corps Director Kemas. Hoffmann sat side by side in the first row of the stands, surrounded by Jiang Baili, Pan Wenzhao and others, as well as the father of the German armored corps in another time and space. The current Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht Panzer Corps, Colonel Guderian, as well as some members of the entourage. Seeing a long tank prototype parked on the runway not far away without artillery, like a large iron box, Chang Ruiqing couldn't help but sigh.

"It's all your credit, Chairman." Sitting on the right side of Chang Ruiqing, Max. Hoffman, who had been a military adviser in China for a year, was familiar with Chang Ruiqing and understood some Chinese. At this time, he leaned into Chang Ruiqing's ear and whispered to him in English.

"My credit?" Chang Ruiqing smiled slightly: "So speaking of which, do you also think that this low-cost combat vehicle will be the nemesis of the Soviet tank sea?" ”

"Isn't it?" Max. Hoffman shrugged his shoulders, "This is clearly a tank for tanks. In the future, every German infantry division will have a battalion of Stalkers, and I think the Chinese infantry divisions will also be equipped with Stalker tanks, right? ”

"Well, the Stalker is indeed used to fight tanks." Chang Ruiqing paused slightly, and couldn't help but ask, "General Hoffman." Didn't you Wehrmacht think about following the example of the Soviet Red Army in organizing armored divisions? ”

"Panzer Division?" Max. Hoffman gestured to Guderian beside him. "Mr. Guderian has been calling on us to form an armored division, but since the beginning of last year, the results of a series of military exercises of the Wehrmacht have shown that this kind of Stalker tank with extremely strong anti-tank combat capability can only be used in the company of a large number of infantry. According to the Soviet tank corps, such a tank without a rotating turret and with a slow speed could easily be destroyed by tanks or infantry that went around the flanks. ”

"yes." Guderian also nodded, "If you want to form an armored division, the performance of the Stalker tank is a little inapplicable. It was designed to provide anti-tank fire for infantry divisions. So the speed is very slow, and the maximum mileage is relatively short. So I built yì after the Stalker tank was finalized. Consideration should be given to the design and manufacture of tanks, armored vehicles suitable for the formation of armored forces. If we were to defeat the USSR in ten years, we would not be able to do it with a bunch of infantry divisions equipped with dozens of Stalkers! We need an infantry tank, a tank specifically designed to deal with tanks, not the Pursuer, according to a rotating turret that can attack in all directions, and both tanks must have great mobility......"

"General Guderian is advocating the Panzer Division again, right?" Just as Guderian was gushing about his ideas for armored warfare, a German-speaking voice sounded behind them.

Hearing someone talking behind him, Chang Ruiqing, Hoffmann, and Guderian all turned back at the same time. Hitler was standing behind them with a smile and a moan, and the German chancellor was surrounded by a bunch of middle-aged men in sophisticated suits and elegant manners.

"Mr. Prime Minister." The two German generals got up and saluted Hitler, but it was not the hand-raising salute that Chang Ruiqing saw on TV in later generations, but the standard military salute, and they did not shout: "Hi! Hitler. slogan. It seems that although Hitler came to power almost ten years earlier in this time and space, his authority is far less than that of the "Führer" in history. After all, Germany is ruled by the Wehrmacht and the Nazi Party, and the Wehrmacht has standard-bearer leaders like Hindenburg and Ludendorff.

Chang Ruiqing smiled and stretched out his hand to shake Hitler's hand, and greeted him in stiff German: "Your Excellency, Chancellor." ”

"Oh! Marshal. Let me introduce you to a few friends. Hitler pointed to the bosses of several large German companies around him and said with a smile: "This is Franz Anderson, the general manager of Bavarian Maschinenbfak AG. Joseph. Pap, this is Daimler. Mercedes-Benz Technical Director Ferdinand. Mr. Polscher, Chairman of the Board of Directors of MAN & Co. Mr. Reusch, this is Gustav of the Krupp company. Mr. Krupp......"

It turned out that Hitler was followed by the heads of some large German companies. Just when Chang Ruiqing politely shook hands with them one by one, Jiang Baili, the Chinese ambassador to Germany, quietly leaned into Chang Ruiqing's ear and whispered: "Chairman." A test run was held a month ago, and today this test run is for you, and the Germans are bound to win the Chinese market. ”

Chang Ruiqing nodded slightly, he had already gotten the information about what Jiang Baili said. The tender for the Stalker tank was nominally a fair competition, but in reality it was impossible for the governments of France, Germany and Italy to give orders to foreign companies, so the outcome of the tender was almost decided. The French will certainly buy the Schneider and Renault "Stalker IV", and the Italian Army will buy the Fiat "Stalker V". As for the orders of the Germans, they certainly fell into their own companies. Only Chinese companies did not participate in the bidding, and China has a huge demand for this tank, so it has naturally become the main target of the competition between France, Germany and Italy. And Hitler was on the field this time. With the head of a large German company, he came to sell tanks to Chang Ruiqing.

After Chang Ruiqing chatted with Hitler and the group of German businessmen for about half an hour, field tests of the five models of the Stalker tank officially began. Since the four arms procurement departments of China, Germany, France and Italy have put forward very detailed and clear requirements for the performance of the Stalker tank when they put forward the bidding, all the vehicles involved in the test are similar. The price is also not much different. Which one has the better product? It can only be decided by guò field and near-actual combat tests. And it's peacetime, and heavy equipment like tanks often takes years of trial and error and refinement before they are finalized. However, today's test is the most important of all tests, and it is likely to bring orders for thousands, if not tens of thousands, of tanks for the companies participating in the bidding!

Today's test is an off-road test, and in fact, the main gun that will be used for this Stalker tank has not yet been designed, so the fifteen vehicles that participated in the test are not equipped with guns, but only have a water tank-like body. Each of the five models of the Stalker that took part in the test had three identical prototypes, all now parked in the mud about 3,000 meters from the concrete stands. Lined up like soldiers on parade.

A red flare rises. All the tanks began to start. Since it was not the first time that so many vehicles had been tested at the same time, there was not the slightest confusion in the scene. In less than a minute, all the vehicles were up and starting to rumble forward.

"On the far right is the No. 1 model, Daimler. Prototype car designed by Mercedes-Benz and Rheinmetall. The car measures 6.38 meters, 2.63 meters, 2.17 meters in height, 420 millimeters above the ground, weighs 15.95 tons, has a crew of four, and is powered by a Daimler-Benz six-cylinder 150 hp gasoline engine with reed suspension suspension. Jiang Baili was still by Chang Ruiqing's side at this time and began to make a cameo appearance to explain the scene.

"The body of the No. 1 model is all made of pressed hot-rolled steel plates, with an all-welded structure, and not a single rivet can be found on the outside of the entire body. The front upper surface of the hull is 55mm thick with 60-degree inclined armor, and the front lower surface is made with 55mm thick 40-degree inclined armor, which improves the armor's protection ability on a large extent. The body is thick, the side rear armor is also 20mm thick, and the inclination angles of the upper and lower bodies are 40 degrees and 15 degrees respectively. The hatches above and at the tail of the body are rolled steel sheets with a thickness of 8 mm. ”

After a pause, Jiang Baili continued: "In the first round of testing of the weapons procurement departments of France, Germany and Italy a month ago, this No. 1 car was favored by the German Wehrmacht Ordnance Bureau, and it is estimated that it will be equipped with a large number of German troops in the future. ”

"It's good, but how much does it cost?"

"The current offer is 85,000 Reichsmarks, or 85,000 Chinese dollars, per vehicle."

"The price is fair." Chang Ruiqing nodded slightly, and then turned his gaze to the three Stalker No. 2 that were driving, this model seemed to have more horsepower than the No. 1 car, and the driving speed was slightly faster.

"It was jointly launched by MAN company and Krupp Steel, this model is larger than the Hunter 1, the length, width and height are 6.5 meters, 2.8 meters, 2.2 meters, the total combat weight is 16.8 tons, and the other performance is close to the same number of cars, the biggest attraction is the use of a 200 horsepower diesel engine designed by MAN company, so the speed is also faster. However, the price is more expensive, 100,000 Reichsmarks.

In addition, the Stalker III, jointly launched by the Bavarian Maschinenbfak and the Czechoslovak Skoda company, is the cheapest of the five Stalkers, with an asking price of only 65,000 Reichsmarks. Of course, the performance is also the worst, and the all-welded structure is not used, so in the case of slightly inferior armor thickness to the first and second cars, the estimated combat weight is as high as 18.8 tons, and the body size is also larger. (To be continued.) )