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With the continuous growth of the air force, the German Army also achieved revolutionary changes in the post-war period.

In the last European war, the German Army almost single-handedly fought the three major powers of Britain, France and Russia, and won decisive victories on both the eastern and western fronts; If the Germans' victories against the Russians were considered to be inflicted, then their successes on the Western Front were quite valuable. Whether it was the border breakthrough in the early stage, the fierce battle on the Marne, or the infiltration offensive in the later stage, the armored troops who were not afraid of guns and bullets played a vital role in it; Under the cover of these steel behemoths, Germany once occupied more than a fifth of France's vast territory, and even Paris was once again in the hands of the conquerors after 42 years.

Due to the great role played by the armored forces in the war, the relevant German departments have never relaxed their improvement and research. After the end of the war, the German Army made a detailed summary report on the tank and assault gun table: the traditional army generals led by Moltke the Younger believed that this weapon could withstand bullets, cross trenches, and hit enemy fire, and was the most ideal tool to provide cover for infantry. In the future, the development of German tanks should be carried out in this direction: the defense and firepower of the tank will be given priority, and the speed and travel can be appropriately weakened, as long as it can run faster than the infantry, it is acceptable.

Regarding this conservative line of thought based on the experience of victory, Qingying immediately raised objections. He noted. The greatest significance of the tank is that for the first time, the three elements of firepower, armor, and mobility have been perfectly integrated in land weapons. It is theoretically possible to perform all the tasks of artillery, infantry and cavalry at the same time, on a basis that the terrain allows. In the previous infiltration offensive battles. The German soldiers suffered heavy losses when they broke through the line because they could not withstand bullets like tanks; Due to the limitations of human body functions, the German soldiers were unable to make a large-scale outflanking maneuver in time after that, so that the French army was either able to withdraw from the battlefield in time, or meet with the reinforcements that came later, creating a defensive line that the German army could not break through at the end of the crossbow. If the German Panzel I tank could double its speed and reduce its failure rate by two-thirds, then it would be a complete substitute for the infantry breakthrough in the later campaigns, and it would definitely be better than the flesh-and-blood infantry. As a matter of fact. The low mobility of tanks during the Great War was a helpless situation limited by the technology of the times, and it was not possible to determine the purpose of tanks based on this.

In the face of Qing Ying's stern counterattack, the German generals realized that the other party was also the imperial commander who had made outstanding achievements on the battlefield: in addition to Xinglu, who had been feasting on the Eastern Front, the most fruitful battle in the German army was the 5th Army commanded by this young man, and he had enough say in the military field. Going back further, the tank was invented under the leadership of Qing Ying's philosophy, and if it weren't for his request, the German Army would have to wait until it would have been received!

As the number one force on the European continent and even in the whole world, the German Army, which led the revolutionary trend of mechanized warfare, has never been as conservative and rigid as its counterparts in other countries. Their ability to absorb new things is unquestionable. After a period of deduction, the German generals finally accepted Qingying's point of view. Technicians from companies such as Krupp and Mercedes-Benz immediately changed their research direction. Devoted his efforts to the development of balanced vehicles. At the same time, Qingying also put forward several guiding opinions for the development of German tanks in the future, which later became the core norms that German engineers always adhered to.

First of all, the most important condition for a tank is that it is reliable and durable, and can be mass-produced due to its simple structure. Although the performance of the German King Tiger tank in World War II was incomparable, the excessive tonnage also brought it the tragic characteristics of being riddled with many diseases: in the less than one-year service life of this tank, the number of non-combat losses caused by malfunctions was even more than the number destroyed by the enemy on the battlefield, which has to be said to be a serious mistake of the German army in the selection of war weapons. In many cases, the terrifying tanks that have been built with a lot of manpower and material resources are forced to be abandoned on the battlefield due to various irreparable failures, and the waste of resources is frighteningly high, not to mention that the total production of this product is less than 500 vehicles!

When the basic problems of reliability and durability and inexpensiveness were solved, the tank really came down to the trade-off of its specific performance. And between firepower, mobility, and protection, Qingying undoubtedly put firepower first: after all, the tank is a core weapon that can be called the mainstay, and its primary mission is to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy. In addition, once encountering a powerful tank with better performance than yourself, a weak vehicle with strong firepower can also have a fight: if a single ordinary Sherman encounters a Tiger tank, then the crew members can hardly resist except praying to God, and if it is a Firefly with a 17-pounder gun, then everyone will meet in a narrow way, and it is entirely possible for a 35-ton dwarf to destroy a 57-ton rich man!

Unlike the situation of naval warships, there are two ways to increase the firepower of tanks: one is to choose a gun with a small caliber and a large barrel length, and the other is to increase the caliber like a warship. The reason for this is that a small tank is no bigger than a huge ship, and its interior has long been crammed with people and all kinds of machinery; Therefore, as long as there is an artillery shell that effectively penetrates it, then the tank with severe destruction of the internal organization is almost no different from scrap metal, and has little to do with the explosive power of the shell after armor piercing. In addition, the shells of small-caliber guns are lighter and smaller, which not only facilitates rapid reloading, but also allows for more ammunition reserve in limited load weight and hull space, thereby increasing the tank's sustained combat capability. Historically, German tanks have followed this path, and the 75mm L70 gun of the Panther and the 88mm L71 gun of the King Tiger are typical representatives; And thanks to these advantages. German tanks were also often able to achieve an ace record of more than one enemy in battle. In the Battle of Malinovo, the rapid-fire advantage of German tanks was brought into full play.

However. Small-caliber long-barreled guns have a fatal drawback, that is, they are expensive to build and have a longer production cycle! This attribute, which contradicts mass production, directly makes Qingying ignore all the advantages it has before, and makes the designer throw this solution into the wastebasket. Another drawback of small-caliber artillery is the lack of lethality of its grenades against unarmored targets, which also reduces the power of tanks in group combat. In contrast, although large-caliber guns with slightly inferior barrel lengths are inferior to their small-caliber high-caliber counterparts in terms of weight and rate of fire, they are enough to cover up all the defects based on the fact that they can be mass-produced; In light of this. It is imperative that tanks and warships become larger. As for the problem that over-caliber artillery will divert ammunition and then affect the rate of fire, Qingying has also taken certain precautions; Taking into account the historical situation of the IS-2, the Qing Ying limited the caliber of the tank gun to 105 mm. Before the advent of automatic ammunition carriers, this human-accessible caliber artillery was enough to meet most combat needs.

Secondly, the tanks need to achieve sufficient maneuverability and ensure unimpeded radio communication with each other. In a way, this is the key reason why the scum of No. I and No. II was able to sweep through Western Europe in history; Although their combat performance was far inferior to that of the British and French tanks, they were superior in coordination and coordination, which was why the No. III tank was able to roll forward in the face of the T-34 crisis. Since Germany on this plane no longer has a shortage of oil, it is enough to ensure maneuvering when using diesel engines as power; In order to control the weight and price of the tank. Qingying made rear-mounted requirements for the engine and gearbox of the tank. The introduction of radios is much less difficult, as long as there is a little space in the design process.

At last. It's the defense capability of the tank. After all, the mass-produced armor torrent is fully capable of withstanding more losses, and the defense is almost completely within the acceptable range. Based on the experience of later generations, Qingying had no doubt about the need to use large-angle inclined armor on the front of the tank in order to achieve ideal protection with as little armor weight as possible. As for the reduction of the internal space brought about by the use of inclined armor, it was not in Qingying's consideration at all: the military and the battlefield have never been as casual and elegant as inviting guests to dinner, as long as the members can make do with it, it is enough for a tank.

Under the guidance of these ideas, the lineup of Germany's armored forces has changed fundamentally compared to history. In 1927, a tank, known as the Panzel IV, entered service with the German Army: it weighed 23 tons, was armed with a 75-mm L30 gun and two machine guns, was powered by a 350-horsepower diesel engine, was capable of achieving road speeds of 43 km/h and had a range of nearly 300 km. Combined with its 40 mm 60-degree tilt frontal protection, this tank already has the potential to be converted to a better option than the historic No. 4 tank. The cost of the tank was also quite low, with a unit price of only 75,000 marks (this denomination value), which allowed the tank to be mass-produced rapidly, replacing the old Panzel III tank and becoming the core force of the German armored forces in just a few years.

According to the experience of later generations, this tank can be used as cannon fodder after modification. However, the research and development of weapons has always been incapable of being satisfied with the status quo and resting on its laurels, and if this is the case, the other side will be able to preemptively surpass it. Just when the Type IV tank was mass-produced, the German Army issued a tender for a new tank. (My novel "Reborn Second Empire" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, and there will also be a 100% lucky draw gift for everyone!) Open WeChat now, click on the "+" sign in the upper right corner to "add friends", search for the official account "qdread" and follow, hurry up! (To be continued......)

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