While the German Navy is stepping up preparations for war, the German Army is also stepping up preparations for war. Compared with the mature artillery and engineer equipment, the armored forces, which are relatively unfamiliar to the Germans, are now beginning to step up their planning. Originally, there was an opinion among the German Army that

They directly copied and improved the tank equipment of the Chinese Army and made do with it. But then the Germans discovered that this design was not actually suitable for Germany.

First of all, the first problem is that the Chinese Army did not have high requirements for stability and travel when designing these tanks. The reason is very simple. Whether the Chinese Army starts to break through the Russian positions on the left and right wings of the Nerchinsk Fortress or implements an outflank from the rear.

In fact, the required travel is not very large. And even if it breaks, it will be fine. You can pull it back and repair it slowly. But

Germany is different. What Germany needs is to continuously break through the Russian positions with strategic depth of more than 100 kilometers and conduct mobile warfare on the vast plains of Eastern Europe. The requirements for travel are much greater than those of the Chinese Army, and stability? Can you imagine?

What is the result of a sudden strike on a tank in the Russian wilderness? The result is that more than 90% of it will be discarded.

This is almost unbearable for the German army, which is relatively short of resources! Therefore, Germany must put the stability of the journey and the speed in a more important position, because if the speed is too slow, whether it is support or attack, it will not be possible.

It is a bit difficult. And these things are ultimately limited by a very important thing, and that is the tank engine!

Historically, tanks in World War I only had gasoline engines and not diesel engines. Diesel injection technology was only available in 1922. As for the tanks in World War I, how can I say it? The speed is really slow, and the stroke and stability are also quite difficult. For example, the British

Type 1 tank, this heavy-duty tank is equipped with 2 short-barreled 57mm guns, 4 machine guns and 8 crew members.

It reaches 28 tons, but only a gasoline engine with an output of 77 kilowatts is used! The maximum speed is only 6km per hour, and the range does not exceed 50km. In addition, the breakdown rate is as high as nearly half, well, this thing can only be used for

The battle line was broken. In the later period, the maximum power engine equipped by the British for its follow-up tanks was only 92 kilowatts.

Similarly, the German tanks also encountered power difficulties. The German 7V tank. This big tank is equipped with a 57mm gun and 6 machine guns, and requires 18 crew members. It can also only move slowly.

Steel Fortress, he is equipped with 2 Daimler 4-cylinder upright water-cooled steam engines

The power of each oil engine is 735 kilowatts. Originally, the Germans planned to build a 147 kilowatt engine, but time did not allow, so they made do with two low-power engines. Theoretically, it can reach 8 to 10km.

hour. But this speed is obviously still very slow.

"What we need is cavalry that can quickly charge and tear apart the opponent rather than mobile fortresses! Deploying too many weapons on a tank is inconsistent with the situation. They may break down halfway before entering the battlefield.

.We also have to use precious battlefields to send them back, which is simply a waste." Everything can be used as Baihua at the beginning.

Let a hundred schools of thought contend to describe it, and the same is true for tanks. Think of the early overhead track design. Armored fortresses, multi-turret religious cults, etc. can be said to have appeared. Multi-turret tanks even went into battle in the early days of World War II. So in Germany,

The design of multi-turret tanks also appeared. But the German Army knew what it needed, and this bulky guy did not pass the test.

"Since the Franco-Prussian War, we have had to face two-front wars. And our army has also had to face wars under two different circumstances. One is fighting against well-equipped British and French armies in narrow Western Europe, and the other is

It was to fight mobile warfare with the Russians on the far eastern front in a vast land. This led to

We need different equipment. On the Western Front, we need weapons with as much range as possible and as much power as possible, and use them to destroy both defensive lines and armored vehicles. On the Eastern Front, what we need is speed and passability. Russia is muddy.

The land and the biting cold wind are more terrifying than their army." Little Maoqi said.

For this reason, the German Army specifically made reference to the situation on the two fronts when designing their steel behemoth. The battlefield weight of the Eastern Front against the Russian army was as light as possible. Speed, travel and stability were emphasized, as well as reliability.

Maintenance. The main battle tank they designed for the Eastern Front has a tonnage of only 15 tons and is expected to be equipped with a 100-kilowatt engine. The maximum road speed is 20km per hour. For off-road use,

That depends on the situation. The maximum range is estimated to be 100km. It has a 50mm cannon and is equipped with two machine guns. One is mounted on the top of the turret and the other is mounted on the front of the vehicle. There is also a 40mm cannon on the front of the vehicle.

Sloping armor. At the same time, the front of the turret is 50mm thick. The side armor of the vehicle body is 30mm. The entire tank is operated by four people. The Germans named this tank the Lynx tank.

In order to match this tank, the Germans also specially improved a half-track vehicle for use as an infantry fighting vehicle. These can only be used for defense, but they can carry a squad of personnel on the battlefield and will be accompanied by tanks for attack. Under normal circumstances

This half-track infantry fighting vehicle called the Weasel is equipped with only two machine guns, or a 37mm cannon. When necessary, it can also be equipped with an 82mm mortar for use as a self-propelled artillery.[

As for self-propelled artillery? The Germans are too lazy to build new sites. The mortars and infantry guns use the sites of half-track vehicles, while the short-barreled howitzers use the sites of Lynx tanks. The principle is to satisfy as many requirements as possible

Productivity takes care of performance. The Germans emphasized quantity first during the war on the Eastern Front, followed by mobility and reliability, and finally quality.

As for the tanks on the Western Front, the Germans must pay attention to the turtle style. In addition, they are fighting on the mainland, so they are easier to maintain and maintain. The enemies they face are French heavily armed troops, so the Germans will fight

The weight of the vehicle was enlarged to 18 tons, and the turret was abandoned in order to accommodate a 75mm cannon as powerful as possible. This tank is planned to use a 140-kilowatt engine and has a thick front armor.

It will reach more than 50mm, and is relatively low in stature. A long 75mm cannon is like a lance. Although there is no turret, there is a thick hemispherical protrusion, which can give the artillery the largest possible shooting angle. The thick

Armor and sharp artillery are the Germans' definition of this tank. In the end, this tank named Rhino became the most reliable anti-assault weapon of the German Army on the Western Front.

In addition to these three main tanks, the Germans also developed a situation tank similar to Renault. The front armor is only 10mm and the crew is only two people. The weapon is also a machine gun or a 37mm short cannon, and at the same time, it has a frontal armor.

There is also a shooting hole for the driver to shoot with a submachine gun. The total weight of this tank is only more than 6 tons. It can even be thrown onto a larger truck. Ah, send it

The engine is only 32 kilowatts. As a professional anti-infantry weapon, it was named the Weasel light tank by the Germans. It was used to make up for the lack of Lynx tanks and could also be used to deal with guerrillas. When Napoleon attacked Russia

, the Russian Cossack cavalry took advantage of their mobility and caused a lot of trouble for the French. And the Germans obviously did not intend to repeat this sad history!

In addition to these mass-produced beasts, the Russians have also designed several tanks that are not very large in production but have a variety of uses. For example, the fire-breathing tank is used for street fighting. This tank is equipped with a range of

A flamethrower of about 50 meters. The whole body is equipped with armor. It is not fast but it is durable. Another self-propelled artillery called the Wasp has a heavy infantry cannon installed on the body of the Lynx.

. Its function is to deal with those solid support points in the Russian army's fortress area. Similar to the Wasp, there is also a heavy mortar. It is also based on the chassis of the Lynx tank, with an open combat compartment on it.

A heavy mortar was placed. The only difference is that it can shoot directly with the Vespa self-propelled gun and is more powerful. It also costs more and has less production, while the latter is a mass-produced product.

Combat vehicles with armor and tracks are called front-line combat vehicles in the German army, which means that they are used as a front-line assault force. Since there are first-line combat vehicles, there will also be second-line combat vehicles responsible for support.

These tanks have almost no armor, and their design concepts are very close to those of the Chinese mainland.

Army truck guns. These tanks will be based on standard heavy-duty trucks, equipped with various howitzers or cannons. Tanks equipped with howitzers will serve as mobile artillery to provide support for the front line, while those equipped with cannons are generally deployed on

On the Western Front, as a supplement to the Rhino tank destroyer, it is used for mobile defense.

In order to ensure that these expensive steel behemoths can function as well as possible in the muddy land of the Eastern Front, the meticulous Germans also specially designed some special trailers and repair vehicles to promptly repair the war machines that suffered various malfunctions or were hit.

car. In addition, the Germans also used this as a basis to come up with some equipment that seemed strange at the time, such as

For example, mechanized bridge erecting vehicles and mine clearing vehicles. Of course, there are not many professional mine clearing vehicles. Most of them add a huge mine clearing roller to the front of the tank. They use a rolling method to clear mines, while another special type

The mine-sweeper truck is somewhat similar to the later-generation road roller. Due to the travel problem, this type of road roller-type mine-sweeper truck is more used in road mine clearing.

"One thing we need to remember is that although the armored forces are powerful, we cannot put everything on armored vehicles. Our industry is not strong enough. And we face too many enemies. What is more important is that we

Resources are relatively scarce, especially oil. The armored force is limited by many aspects such as power, so the situation is still unclear at the moment. I hope everyone will not give up on the construction of conventional forces." Finally, Xiao Maoqi emphasized again and again.
Chapter completed!