A drizzle swept in, bringing a steep spring chill to Berlin in April 1936.

"The British began to get involved in Spanish affairs. According to the news transmitted back from the battlefield by the Italian volunteers, they encountered a team with extremely strong combat effectiveness, and a small detachment of more than 100 people on the other side could make it impossible for their nearly 1,000-strong full-strength combat battalion to take a step forward. It has been confirmed that these units are fluent in English, as confirmed by several recent prisoners of war. ”

In the main hall of the Berlin Imperial Palace, Ludendorff, Chief of the Army General Staff, is reporting the current situation to Qing Ying; Although he is already full of gorgeous hair, he still has bright eyes and a voice full of anger when he is properly recuperated. Because of the precedent of Hindenburg's old and strong, the 71-year-old Ludendorff continued to be active in the highest stage that a German professional officer could attain, with the rank of active field marshal. With his inherent talent and strength, the German Army has re-emerged in recent years, and there is a faint tendency to return to the first branch of the German army.

In addition to this, large quantities of French equipment began to flow into the hands of the Spanish Republican Army, and although there is still no evidence that the French army is also fighting alongside the Republican Army, the support of the Parisian government for the Spanish Republican Government is also clear. For this reason, the Italians complained to us all day about the strength of the enemy's army, and frequently urged the Empire to participate in their civil war intervention in Spain. Speaking of this, Ludendorff's always unsmiling face also showed a rare hint of disdain, "These Italians are really a herd of female deer that can only eat grass, and even the slightly agile hare can't be caught. They should really be extremely glad for the deep antagonism between Germany and France and the lack of time to be distracted. Because of any continental European power. They can knock them to the ground with just one fist. ”

"The British also realized the importance of Spain. After all, there is only one stable and pro-British Madrid government. In order to ensure that Gibraltar remained in their hands today, when the empire dominated the European continent, and that the Austro-Hungarian and Italian fleets, which were enough to break the strategic pattern of the Atlantic, would always be blockaded in the Mediterranean. Qingying looked out the window at the vast sky washed by the rain, and said slowly, "And in this way, we have the most sufficient reason for war." Britain brutally interfered in Spain's internal affairs, and France's expansionist ambitions became apparent with aid to the Spanish republican government. As long as the media has an ideal guide for public opinion, we will be able to carry out this preventive war in an all-round way. Twenty-two years ago, in order to avoid suffering even greater losses. After defeating Russia in the East, he chose to negotiate peace with Britain and France; And today, we are going to hold in our hands everything that we didn't get in the last war. ”

"The German Army will always be the most trustworthy sword in the hands of His Majesty." Ludendorff straightened his chest slightly, and said with a calm and confident voice. Ever since Qing Ying threw out the idea of preparing for war at an imperial meeting last year, the General Staff, which had long been hungry and thirsty for France, was roaring like chicken blood, and within a few months, a plan for carrying out offensive operations on the Western Front was placed on Qing Ying's desk. Although the general strategic outline is not much different from the Schlieffen plan of that year, the specific implementation rules are very different: the vehicles for transporting ammunition and supplies have changed from horse-drawn carts to millions of roaring heavy trucks, and the artillery units supporting the follow-up have also been moved to the chassis of the combat vehicles, breaking away from the traditional pattern of animals pulling and pushing people.

Along with the massive upgrade of the subsequent models of the IV, the early models of the IV that had previously been equipped with the troops were also transformed into various variants: the Type IV tank destroyer equipped with a 105mm L52 long-barreled gun, and the Type IV assault gun with a 128mm L24 heavy howitzer. The Ball Lightning, equipped with a quadruple 20mm anti-aircraft gun, and a flamethrower, became a Spitfire tank. Compared with the above types of deformed vehicles, the most produced on the chassis of the No. IV tank are the "Wild Bee" and "Grizzly Bear" self-propelled guns. The former was armed with a 150mm L42 cannon dismantled from a decommissioned old battleship of the Navy. With a terrifying range of more than 20km; The latter is equipped with a 170mm L30 howitzer and is used against the enemy hidden in fortifications at a slightly closer range. The two types of self-propelled guns work together to accomplish most of the tasks on the battlefield. At the beginning of the design of the IV tank, Qingying required it to have a sufficiently reliable suspension system, and now the advantages of this factor are reflected. Even with so many weapon types and the weight of the vehicle has jumped from the initial 23 tons to the level of 27~30 tons, its suspension can still adapt well to the situation after weight gain. Thanks to their inexpensive nature, these massively equipped self-propelled guns undoubtedly greatly improved the mobility of the German army's support firepower, making it fully capable of following the troops to carry out rapid transfers.

In addition to this, the mobility of the German infantry was greatly improved. With the advent of the era of the internal combustion engine, troop carriers and two-seater motorcycles began to be equipped in large quantities, and a number of German infantry divisions were transformed into motorized and rapidly mobile clusters. Compared to traditional infantry that relies on two feet, this motorized infantry is undoubtedly several levels more mobile: as long as they have enough fuel, they can move forward without worrying about fatigue. As for the fully mechanized armored forces, there is no need to say more about their mobility. Whether it's the mass-produced IV Medium Tank, which serves as the main core, or the Tiger Heavy Tank, which breaks through the enemy's strong defenses and reserves the technology of the main battle tank, they all have superior speed and range.

Therefore, once there was another war between Germany and France, the German army's tactics would be completely different. As long as the forces were concentrated to form a breakthrough in the French lines, the German mobile forces would be like a flood bursting in the depths; Mechanized corps, which is not afraid of fatigue, can easily carry out a large-depth encirclement and outflanking of the enemy's troops, and finally achieve decisive encirclement and annihilation. In the summer of 1913, Crook's First Army was detached from heavy artillery support and logistical supplies during the high-intensity march, and at the same time dragged down the body of his soldiers, and finally led to the abortion of the Schlieffen plan; And today, this qiē mistake will no longer exist, let alone the German army can still be supported by the overwhelming number of fighters in the sky!

"Your Excellency, I am not suspicious of the glorious Royal Army. It's just that decades later, we still need to follow the canon of Count Schlieffen, which may create a feeling that there is no successor to the Imperial Army. Moreover, we have used this tactic once before, and the French will inevitably be on guard, which will not be conducive to our quick resolution of the resistance on the European continent and the search for the core strategy of landing on the British. Looking at the confident Ludendorff, Qingying woke up from the side, "I mean, can we implement another set of strategies to end our war on the European continent as quickly as possible by surprise?" ”

Ludendorff's eyes flashed with surprise, and he said, "Your Majesty, my First Quartermaster's Minister, Lieutenant General Manstein, has the same opinion as you, and he is considering making changes to our existing plans and seeking the possibility of a breakthrough from the Ardennes in southern Belgium. To be sure, this is a very bold and invasive idea, but whether the Ardennes Mountains can achieve a breakthrough in large armies, especially heavy armored forces, is still a difficult unknown. After upgrading, our IV tank has reached a full combat weight of 30 tons, and the Tiger tank is close to 54 tons, which is clearly better suited to the main enemy forces in the flat north of France, and into the Ardennes jungle is not their forte. ”

Listening to Ludendorff's words, Qingying couldn't help but secretly slander in his heart, even the 70-ton Tiger King can cross the jungle in the Ardennes counterattack, not to mention the V-shaped tank that currently weighs less than 80% of the former. He collected his thoughts, and then slowly spoke: "In the last battle, I commanded the Fifth Army to fight in the southern Ardennes. Although the hills are steep and the jungle is dense, the rocky texture is calm and solid, and it is possible to open up a road for large armies to pass through guò. The French troops who attacked the headquarters of Tionville at the beginning were diving out of the Ardennes, and they not only had a large number of cavalry, but also 75mm infantry guns. I believe that we should make a detailed argument on whether the armoured forces can pass through the Guò Ardennes, and if this idea can be realized, it will certainly play a decisive role in the development of the war situation. ”

Ludendorff's heart froze, and he nodded yes. The man in front of him was not only the emperor in charge of the empire, but also a commander with outstanding military achievements back then, and his personal experience is undoubtedly of great reference value. He was thinking about whether to find Guderian, a recognized expert in the field of armored forces, to study and discuss, but he heard Qingying speak again: "In addition, the army will also start relevant exercises and preparations for cross-sea landing operations. In the age of mechanization, the French could not hold on to our attack for long, and after the French were defeated, one of the most important tasks of the army was to land on the British. Compared with the blitzkrieg that has developed in recent years, the landing operation is a strange blank for the Imperial Army; We must be prepared in advance so that we can deal with the various resistance tactics that the British may adopt. ”

"Rest assured Caesar that the Army has made detailed plans for the landing, and will only launch an attack when the Navy and Air Force fulfill their promises." Ludendorff regained his previous composure and confidence, and said with a smile, "In a month, we will conduct a landing exercise in the Baltic Sea, and your majesty will be able to come at that time." (To be continued......)

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