Chapter 267 Super Heavy Tank
In the early morning of Berlin, Wilhelm Street was covered with snow.
A night of heavy snow made the snow on the street as smooth as a mirror or a cream cake, with a few sparse tire tracks and a few footprints as lace in between.
In Falkenhayn's General Staff meeting room, military representatives and representatives of the 7th Transportation Department were arguing endlessly, and the atmosphere seemed even hotter than the dry wood burning in the fireplace.
When the discussion became heated, they even wanted to challenge for a duel to decide the winner.
The focus of the debate is the direction of tank development.
The military representative was Major General Fein. As the commander of the A7V tank unit, he had the most practical experience in armored warfare.
At this time, Major General Fein was shouting at the opposite side with a red face and thick neck:
"We risk our lives on the battlefield to fight the enemy."
"We watched helplessly as the 'Charter A1' tank destroyed the A7V, and the A7V was powerless to fight back."
"We knew then that this was the tank we wanted, and only this kind of tank could win!"
"This is experience gained with blood and lives. It is hard to imagine that you still think your design direction is correct!"
…
Sitting opposite him was Major General Luca, the representative of the 7th Transportation Department.
The full name of the 7th Transportation Department is "7th United Front Department Transportation Division". It is responsible for the management and design of military vehicles, including tanks.
The A7V tank was sent to the battlefield in less than a month under the command of Major General Luca.
Although the A7V tank was defeated, Major General Luca's position in tank development and design remains unshakable.
Major General Luca looked directly into Finn's aggressive gaze and answered in a resounding voice:
"You are right, General. A7V did lose the battle. But have you ever thought about why A7V lost?"
"Maybe it's not because it's too big, but precisely because it's not big enough!"
"If our tanks are big enough to have guns on every side, will we still be in a situation where we were circled by the 'Char A1' and couldn't aim at it?"
"Please tell me how 'Char A1' will defeat us!"
…
Major General Fein could not refute it. After all, if a tank was covered with cannons like a hedgehog, a light tank like the "Charter A1" would inevitably suffer a devastating blow once it approached.
Major General Fein seemed to sense that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell why.
He could only answer:
"The question is how soon can we get a tank like this?"
"Before we get it, are we going to use a crude anti-tank rifle to deal with the 'Char A1'?"
"The French are already mass-producing the 'Charter A1'. Soon they will appear on the battlefield in large numbers, while our super-heavy tanks are still in the factory."
…
Major General Luca was also unable to refute Major General Finn, because the super-heavy tank would take at least several months or even longer to be completed, and the battle situation on the front line did not seem to be able to wait that long.
His answer was:
"We don't necessarily have to produce tanks to fight the enemy's tanks."
"There are many ways to deal with it. Its frontal armor is only about 20MM."
"We can consider using artillery, or increasing the caliber of anti-tank rifles, or even developing new types of grenades!"
…
Falkenhayn sat at the head seat at the long table, his chin resting on his hand and his brows furrowed as he listened silently to the argument between the two factions.
Both factions have their own reasons, and it is difficult to tell who is right.
From the perspective of current urgency, light tanks should be developed, but in the long run, super-heavy tanks seem to be the trend. It is like a warship, a battleship dominates with its large tonnage, heavy armor and large-caliber naval guns.
This would seem to mean that light tanks are destined to be eliminated, so why not just do it in one go?
After thinking for a moment, Falkenhayn said, "Gentlemen!"
The two factions that were arguing fiercely slowly stopped, but their eyes were still full of unwillingness, and their minds continued to ponder the words for the next debate.
Falkenhayn glanced down, intending to put an end to this meaningless argument:
"I have never commanded a tank, nor have I designed a tank. I am just an amateur in front of you."
"So I can't give you advice, let alone convince you."
"But I do know one thing..."
Falkenhayn stood up and spoke slowly, his voice low: "Charr chose a tank like the 'Charr A1', and he has not made a mistake so far, never, ever!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.
This is indeed the case. Every choice made by Charles was correct. From the original tank to the "Mark I" and then to the "Charr A1", each tank dealt a heavy blow to the German army.
Major General Fein understood what Falkenham meant, or was inspired by Falkenham's words, he excitedly replied:
"I agree with the Chief of the General Staff. We can refer to the tank development process of France."
"In addition to Charles' tanks, France also has Schneider's 'Saint-Chamond' and CA-1 tanks. They are similar to our A7V tanks, with larger bodies and guns."
"But Charles insisted on using machine guns, and eventually only a 37MM cannon was installed on the 'Charter A1' tank."
"At the same time, this small cannon is more used against tanks. Tanks fighting on the front line are still more active with machine guns."
"Why is this happening? Do you think Charles is a fool? Doesn't he know to make the tank bigger and stuff everything in it?"
Major General Fein's words completely stumped the people from the 7th Transportation Department.
More than a dozen people, including Major General Luca, were speechless, and many even began to doubt their own ideas.
Because Charles is a benchmark, Germany will follow whatever he does and there will basically be no problems.
From this perspective, I must be wrong.
Then, the atmosphere in the conference room eased, and the people in the 7th Transportation Department seriously considered whether they should abandon the super-heavy tank and turn to designing a light tank.
At this time, a staff officer hurried into the conference room, handed a document to Falkenhayn and whispered a few words.
Falkenhayn's face changed slightly, and he immediately opened the document and looked through it. His expression became complicated, sometimes surprised and sometimes confused.
The two groups were confused and looked at the Chief of General Staff at the same time.
After a long while, Falkenhayn heaved a long sigh, leaned back in his chair, waved the document in his hand, and said:
"Gentlemen, this is the design of Charles' new tank."
"You may not believe it, this is a super heavy tank."
"Heavier and bigger than any tank we thought of!"
Everyone changed color when they heard this.
Especially Major General Finn, he knew that the development direction of tanks would shift to super-heavy tanks!
Major General Luca was somewhat proud, because it meant that there was nothing wrong with the direction he was considering, and Charles gave him the strongest support with practical actions!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
