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"In the last war, our assault forces were divided into two types: the lightly armed commandos, which were highly mobile, found the weak points of the enemy's positions to break through and outflank them in depth, and the heavy assault units, which were equipped with a large number of offensive weapons, used as anvils to clear the strong strongholds that the previous light assault units had bypassed. However, as the French stronghold had already been fortified over a long period of fortification, our heavy assault teams would still suffer considerable losses in the process. In addition, light assault units, due to insufficient firepower and lack of cover, often infiltrated enemy lines with heavy casualties. Therefore, we also need a group of fierce ligers with heavy armor and claws to open the way for the wolves of the Type IV tanks. Ludendorff, who served as the 1st Quartermaster, responded to his old comrade-in-arms Hindenburg after an army exercise.

"While the Air Force Commanders assure us that their planes will clear a ground obstacle for us, we cannot rely entirely on others to achieve our strategic goals. In addition, the sorties of Air Force fighters will also be limited by night and weather, which will also make it impossible for them to fully cover us. In the face of Ludendorff's needs, Hindenburg, who has always relied on him, has always expressed the same attitude. In fact, Hindenburg has another unspoken idea, that is, the rapid development of the air force, which has squeezed out too much of the funds belonging to the army. If it is said that the cheap single-engine aircraft represented by the BF-109, Hindenburg can also accept its mass production. Then the twin-engine medium and four-engine heavy bombers under development. It was unbearable for Hindenburg, as a representative of the traditional officer corps. Even the most conservative estimates. The price of a double-engine medium bomb is 4 times that of a single-engine fighter, and when these guys come out and put it into mass production, how many marks can the army still get?

Under these circumstances, the German Army must also come up with some cutting-edge projects in order to get a sufficient share of the officer corps in future defense orders. Ludendorff's summary of the exercise caters to this need. Seeing the bidding plan handed over by the army, Qingying, who commanded the center, did not know this little ninety-nine of the officer corps, but he also readily agreed to the other party's request. After all, the imperial power in his hands was based on the loyalty of the officer corps to the Prussian crown. Now that Sickert's air force has been cut off enough of the power that belongs to the chief of the General Staff, it is necessary to return some sweetness to the Army.

In 1927, the development of a new heavy assault vehicle began to be carried out, along with the improvement and upgrading of the Type IV tank in service. In order to avoid the German Army from falling into the same mistake as the Tiger King in history, Qingying also provided his own opinion on the course: although the tank is mainly based on battlefield breakthroughs, and the requirements for armored defense are put in the first place, the necessary mobility and key mass production must also be taken into account. In addition, the total combat weight of this type of tank must not exceed 50 tons, and it is best to control it to 45 tons, because excessive tonnage will not only affect mass production. The engine and suspension system, which worked for a long time in an overloaded environment, would inevitably cause frequent tank failures, becoming a tragedy that was beautiful on paper but unsatisfactory in reality.

At the same time that German engineers are working day and night on technical research. Time passed like flowing water through Qingying's fingers. At the end of 1928, because Elena had completely hung herself from Alexei's tree, Qingying, who was full of bitterness, could only endure the pain and agreed to the marriage contract between her and Alexei. Looking at the young Biyu who stood in front of him hand in hand and saluted happily, Qingying finally got a little comfort in the gloom: in addition to the factor of hemophilia, Alexei, who was the best choice in appearance and identity, was also his ideal son-in-law. What's more, this free love itself also has a strong political element, and he can achieve the most ideal control of the German East through the hands of Guò, the orphan of the Romanov dynasty. Now he only hopes that Alexei, whose life has returned to ordinary people, will not give birth to a sick patient like him with his daughter.

Shortly after the end of the year, the statistics of the German economy were presented to Schacht. Thanks to the German government's response to the crisis, a massive depression did not unfold in Germany: last year's national income reached 183.7 billion marks, still up 2 percent from the previous year. The large-scale completion of roads and other infrastructure has still stimulated Germany's domestic demand in this worldwide economic crisis, and is the core source of Germany's economic growth. Seeing this situation, Qingying's worries about the country were finally completely put aside, although the process was somewhat tortuous, but it still barely achieved the expected result of staying out of this storm.

In 1929, the German economy, with the devaluation of the mark and the establishment of tariff barriers, continued to grow steadily. Austria-Hungary and Italy also benefited from Germany's customs union: as American and British goods were kept out of the country by high tariffs, their own enterprises were able to maintain a relatively high level of production, ensuring industrial output and controlling unemployment. Since the Ottomans had been completely controlled by German capital, their economy, which was in the same glory as Germany, was not severely attacked. The democratic world, led by the United States, is still struggling in the quagmire, and it is likely to sink deeper and deeper. The new president, Herbert? After Hoover took office on March 4, the U.S. economy still hasn't improved under his efforts, and the shrinking industrial output and national income have been increasing day by day. Britain fared a little better, with a large number of colonies as a buffer, they were able to maintain their industrial output, but unemployment remained high. France, like the United States, has been in a situation where worsening unemployment and poverty have contributed directly to the rapid rise of ultra-nationalist ideology in the country.

In the face of this situation, there were voices within the German military to launch a preventive war, advocating the use of troops against Britain and France at the present time, and then establishing Germany's absolute hegemony in Europe in one fell swoop. Qing Ying did not choose to accept this viewpoint: although the truth of the world today is only within the range of artillery, it must not be used against an imaginary enemy for no reason. After all, the ever-expanding "French People's Alliance" is still an opposition party, and from any point of view except the military level, declaring war on France at this time is absolutely undesirable.

In the waiting day after day, the faces around Qingying are also changing with irresistible momentum. At the beginning of 1930, Hindenburg, who was over eighty years old, submitted his resignation to Qingying, and Ludendorff finally survived his partner, who was nearly 20 years older than him, and was named the heir to the post of chief of the General Staff by Qingying, who had also passed away. In June of the same year, 54-year-old Erich? Raeder succeeded the ailing Zenkel as Secretary of State for the Navy, directly in charge of the construction and development of the German Navy; The most striking is the personnel change in the Air Force, and the 45-year-old Albert? Kesselring was chosen by Sickert, and with the latter's support, he became the hottest figure in the Air Force. As Sickert grew old, it was highly likely that Kesselring, who had come from a civilian background, would become the commander of the group before he was in his fifties.

In August 1930, the acceptance of the prototype of the new V-type tank finally began in a hidden exercise ground in East Prussia. Bidding tanks from Krupp, MAN, and Henschel began to rumble under the drive of diesel engines, and gradually carried out a number of tests such as off-road, hill climbing, wading, and long-distance maneuvering. In the eyes of the 1st Quartermaster Rondstedt, Major General Guderian of the Panzer Corps, and other relevant generals, the VK3801 tank of the Henschel company was the most outstanding: it broke down only twice during the entire test, and both were repaired by the crew members in a very short time. Although it has not yet installed the final turret, but uses a piece of cement of equal mass to simulate the pressure of the turret on the suspension system, its final combat heroism is already on the horizon!

Due to the excellent performance of the Henschel tank, the VK3801 was selected by the German Army without any suspense. Two months later, a full-body vehicle equipped with a turret appeared in front of Qing Ying, and once again attracted the attention of everyone present with its excellent stability. The tank was operated by five people, weighed 48 tons, and its main armament was an 88 mm L50 gun derived from naval guns, with a reserve of 60 rounds, which could penetrate 90 mm armor at an angle of 30 degrees at a distance of 1,000 meters. It has a stable 550 hp diesel engine that can reach a top speed of 37 km/h on the road, which allows it to accompany even the Type IV in outflanking and dividing enemy lines.

Thanks to the reduction in vehicle height due to the rear mounting of the engine and gearbox, this type of tank also achieved satisfactory results in terms of armor. Its front is 70 mm and 60 degrees tilted, which is absolutely sufficient protection for the next ten years. In order to resist direct attacks from anti-tank guns from the flanks during a battlefield breakthrough, the side armor of this type of tank has been rarely thickened to 75 mm better than the front armor, and it is arranged at a 20-degree inclination angle, and its actual protection power even exceeds the 82 mm side of the historical Tiger. Its turret has the same level of defense as the hull, and is also difficult to penetrate at regular engagement distances.

Although the firepower of this type of tank is slightly weak in Qingying's opinion, considering that the tanks will have a certain potential for modification, which is enough to upgrade the firepower in the future, Qingying will not be too nitpicky under the current technical conditions. And after the final production, the tank was also given a resounding name: Tiger. And this tank also became a symbol of German armored forces in future wars. (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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