Imperial Overlord

Only those who have actually served in the army can understand what a correct phrase is to sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in wartime.

In the same 20 years without a war, the German Wehrmacht was able to sweep Poland in 1939 and then kill France in 1940, all relying on its well-trained skeleton of 100,000 Wehrmacht.

The family that Seeckert left to Hitler has never been known to the world, so people always talk about the German army killing the Quartet in 1940, but few people know about the Weimar Republic in 1920.

The war was never started by one person, nor was it planned by a few evil-minded demons. It was conceived in an era, and it is impossible to blame everyone.

If it wasn't at the end of the First World War, when several countries were fighting with each other, and the war was not thoroughly fought, how could the Second World War break out?

If the United States had not pursued an isolationist policy, tolerated Nazi and Japanese militarism, and raised tigers, the Second World War might not have easily erupted and expanded.

At this time, the German soldiers on the entire Eastern Front were practicing, and the armored battalion where Wittmann was located could be regarded as the most elite new tank unit trained by Germany.

The original plan was for their armored battalion to go to the Balkans to gain experience, but because of the tight trains and the advance of the 12th Army's war plan, Wittmann's crew did not appear in the Balkans in the end.

Leaning his arms against the door of the convertible, Wittmann swayed slightly as the car jolted. The roads in Poland are not bad, but unfortunately there is no place near the armored defense area.

In the distance, you can still see the No. 4 tank that has just been transported to the vicinity. In the past, these new equipment can be said to be a surprise that the tank troops are looking forward to.

But now, with the service of the Panther tank, only the second-line armored forces will give priority to equipping this kind of tank that is on the verge of elimination.

In fact, the old version of the Panzer 4 is better in workmanship than the Panther. However, the gap in the performance of the main new update makes the Panther tank more popular with tank soldiers.

"No. 4 short tube?" Looking at the No. 4 tank parked at the edge of the forest in the distance, Carl Wegener, who is very sensitive to artillery, frowned and muttered in a low voice.

According to the operational order of the Führer, Germany has basically stopped production of the No. 4 tank with a 75mm caliber short-barreled gun a month ago.

Therefore, 80% of the short-barreled No. 4 tanks seen now are second-hand goods that have been eliminated from the more elite tank forces.

Under Li Le's suggestion, the Army is replacing the most important tank units with new Leopard tanks, which was unimaginable in the previous equipment update plan.

Originally, the new weapons of the German army were often given priority to the newly formed troops. This habit of not knowing whether it is good or bad has continued in the war.

In other words, some elite tank crews have been forced to use their earlier No. 3 or No. 4 tanks for a long time. Even if they are updated, they are all improved versions of the two tanks.

The more advanced Panther and Tiger tanks are often equipped with newly established independent tank battalions or SS troops.

The advantage of this arrangement is that the old troops can maintain their familiarity with the weapons, while the new troops receive training on new weapons and can master their weapons and equipment faster.

However, with the development of the war and the continuous updating and progress of weapons and equipment, the disadvantages of the elite troops of the National Defense Forces' delay in obtaining new weapons have gradually become manifested.

Because of this, Li Le, the fake head of state, decided to take advantage of this precious opportunity when there was no war on the Eastern Front to equip the elite German armored forces with tanks with sufficiently advanced performance.

The purpose of this arrangement is mainly to protect the valuable German tank crews with practical combat experience as much as possible through the popularization of new tanks.

"The painting hasn't been changed, it was eliminated from the 7th Armored Division..." Glancing at the No. 4 tanks in the distance, the mechanic Ekhov easily identified the previous ownership of the old equipment.

The logo of the 7th Panzer Division is a Y-shaped symbol, which was previously commanded by the famous Desert Fox Admiral Rommel.

This division once splendid in the attack on France, and now it is assigned to the Eastern Front, and it is also the elite of the elite.

Thinking that the 7th Armored Division must have been issued new tanks, so it was ordered to eliminate a batch of No. 4 tanks to the newly formed troops.

In the history of the German army, a total of 38 armored divisions were formed, but now the number of armored units that Li Le wants to build is far more than this number.

At this moment, the number of armored divisions that the German army is expanding, including Rommel's African Corps, has extended to 30, that is to say, they are already more than in history.

If you count the five SS armored divisions led by Li Le, the "Adolf? , the German army now has 35 armored divisions.

These units were divided, including five armored divisions deployed in France, at least three of which were prepared to attack Britain.

Including the most elite armored division of the Fuhrer's Guard Flag Team, although this armored division has just been formed, it is equipped with more than 50 Leopard tanks, which may be the army with the most such tanks in the entire army.

Among the remaining units, there is also an armored division in the Balkans, two armored divisions and a mechanized infantry division in North Africa.

After being spread out in this way, if you count the two armored divisions that are on leave in the country, the German army can be assembled on the Eastern Front, a total of 28 armored divisions.

This number is already much more than in history. Today, each of the 28 armored divisions has an average of 120 tanks of various types, which shows that the German army has more than 3,360 tanks of various types at this moment.

This figure is already close to the total number of German tanks on the Eastern Front when Operation Barbarossa began in June 1941.

Although about half of this number are 38T tanks that Li Le dislikes, the No. 3 and No. 4 short-barreled tanks, and the more pitiful No. 2 tanks.

But for the German army, this is already a great achievement. They originally only had more than 2,000 tanks, and most of them were outdated models.

You must know that there are still 7 months before June 1941. During these 7 months, the German army can at least increase the number of tanks in its hands to 5,000.

Over time, the proportion of equipment occupied by backward models will be further compressed. By the middle of next year, the No. 4 tanks and Panther tanks in the hands of the German army will become the backbone.

According to speculative calculations, there will be more than 2,000 Panther tanks at that time, and No. 4 will exceed 2,000. The remaining tanks will be filled by No. 3, No. 2 and 38T.

Those eliminated tanks will not be scrapped. They will be converted into self-propelled guns to maximize the mobility of the artillery.

These artillerymen will act as vehicles when necessary, sharing some of the transportation pressure of carrying oil. In order to allow their armored units to run farther, the senior German generals have racked their brains.

"I heard that there are still a lot of No. 1 tanks that have been eliminated, and they have been sent to the armored training school and used by the second-line troops in the rear." Ekhov, the electromechanical operator, was well informed and continued.

Many second-line tank units are using outdated No. 1 and some 38T tanks. Although these tanks are old and cannot continue to fight in the front line, they are still good in the second line.

For example, the two armoured divisions stationed in the mainland are still making do with the sad No. 1 tank... and a newly formed "armoured division" in France uses captured French B1s and the like. arms.

They need to use these enemy weapons or outdated weapons to learn tank command and driving skills as much as possible to form preliminary combat effectiveness.

These troops will then receive new tanks as their own equipment and go to the front line with new equipment to join the battle.

The old equipment they used to train with remains local to provide training support for the next expanded armored division.

"A few months ago, our No. 4 tank was a good thing everyone was rushing to ask for!" Wittmann said with emotion.

Originally, he was the commander of the German armored reconnaissance unit, and he saw with his own eyes how majestic the No. 4 and No. 3 tanks were on the battlefield.

Those enemy targets that the armored reconnaissance vehicle he commanded at that time could not kill, the No. 3 tank and the No. 4 tank were not afraid, and would rumble past him to destroy those terrible enemies.

"Yeah, but now, we have a Panther tank~www.wuxiaspot.com~ and I heard that the production speed of the Panther tank is much faster than the original No. 4 tank." The driver of the car, Duke, also joined the conversation. among.

When he mentioned the Panther tank, he was full of good feelings. After the tank was used to driving, he liked the sense of security sitting behind the thick steel plate.

You know, there is sloping armor with a thickness of 100 mm in front of him, which is much thicker than the front armor and rear armor of the No. 4 tank combined.

If it can be calculated by simple addition and subtraction, if you want to penetrate his Panther tank from the front, you must have the power to penetrate the No. 4 tank.

"Hopefully, we will have enough Panther tanks by the time the war begins!" Homan, who had not spoken, but who was bulky and seemed a little cramped in the co-pilot seat, joined the conversation.

Because he is so tall, he can only sit in the passenger seat to avoid crowding in the rear. This is also the reason why Wittmann is sitting in the back row by the door, but there are three people crowded here!

"God bless, I hope the Führer can send us more Panther tanks!" Nodding in agreement, Karl Wegner, who was still looking at the tanks in the distance, nodded.