The decisive battle against the Third Reich

Soon ten "Tiger" tanks were transported to Kharkov... The reason why it was so fast was because ten "Tiger" tanks happened to be transported to Poltava to be deployed to the front line, Kruger The marshal only had to divert the train to Kharkov.

"Is there a training ground?" Hitler asked Manstein.

"Of course, Your Excellency the Head of State!" Manstein replied: "Kharkov has been used as a battlefield several times. We can easily find a place similar to the Soviet defense line!"

"Very good!" Hitler said: "Then can we let the 'tiger' out of the cage?"

"No, no, Your Excellency the Führer!" Marshal Kruger said: "How many more hours do we need?"

"How many hours?" Hitler couldn't help but be confused.

It would be understandable if it takes some time to prepare, but a few hours...

"Yes!" Marshal Kruger replied: "That's right. The body of the 'Tiger' is too wide, and it will be difficult to transport it through the tunnel by train. Therefore, during transportation, it is necessary to remove the outer two rows of road wheels and replace them with Temporarily specially made narrow tracks, and then replaced and debugged after getting off the car at the destination!”

Hitler couldn't help being stunned when he heard this, but he nodded: "Of course there is a price to pay for the super firepower and defense. I believe it is worth waiting for!"

"With all due respect, Your Majesty the Head of State!" Qin Chuan said: "But this also means there are more dangers and more difficult deployments!"

Kruger objected: "No, we have enough time to prepare before the war!"

"Marshal Kruger!" Qin Chuan replied: "What if the enemy has fighter planes staring at our train station? But the 'Tiger' needs several hours to change the tracks before it can move. This is a good opportunity for enemy fighters. Target!"

"But we have air superiority!" Kruger said, "We don't need to worry about that!"

"Oh, yes!" Manstein said: "So, in addition to intense fights with enemy aircraft in the air or covering ground troops, our pilots also have to come back to take care of the train station behind!"

Kruger couldn't help but be speechless, because everyone knew that the German air supremacy had been restricted by the numerical superiority of Soviet fighter planes.

Therefore, if in a tense combat situation, fighters that are already at a numerical disadvantage are required to come back from time to time to protect the "Tiger" for disassembly, and it takes a few hours at any time... that is obviously unrealistic.

"Our embarrassment is..." Qin Chuan continued: "We don't know where to transport the Tiger. If it is too close to the front line, it will be threatened by the enemy's air force because of this shortcoming of unloading. , if it is too far away from the front line, although it is safer, it means that we have to drive the 'Tiger' to the front line!"

This might not be a big deal if the tank was driven hundreds of kilometers to the front line at other times, but in the Soviet Union covered in ice and snow in winter and it was a 56-ton "Tiger"... it would be a nightmare.

But Field Marshal Kruger still argued: "These are not big problems, because we can solve them before the war, for example now!"

This issue will be put aside for the time being, because Hitler did not say anything. He obviously would not give up the opportunity to let this new tank show its glory on the battlefield because of this shortcoming.

After waiting in the headquarters for more than two hours, the signal soldier finally received the news that everything was ready.

So the group of people took a car and rushed to the training ground.

The training ground was temporarily designated by Manstein. For the convenience of the training, it was located in an open space not far from the train station. During the two hours of riding the "Tiger" to install the tracks and road wheels, Manstein had people simply deploy several machine gun fortifications made of sandbags and two simple civil engineering fortifications in the training ground. They even pulled the wreckage of several T34 tanks as targets.

A row of ten "Tiger" tanks parked quietly on this side of the exercise ground, majestic and calm, like a row of tigers waiting to rush to the enemy's position, just as Kruger said , they will "move forward bravely" and "be invincible".

This was the first time Qin Chuan saw the legendary "Tiger Style", the real "Tiger Style". With its powerful firepower and superior defense, it has become a legend among World War II tanks. It has even become a representative of German tanks and an insurmountable monument.

"It's simply a work of art, isn't it?" A confident smile appeared on Hitler's face: "I can't wait to see how it performs!"

As he spoke, Hitler walked around a "Tiger", nodding his head from time to time to express satisfaction.

At this moment, Qin Chuan suddenly understood why Hitler in history insisted on launching the Battle of Kursk despite the opposition of Guderian, Manstein and other famous generals... At this time, Hitler was no longer thinking about strategy, tactics or It was due to factors such as politics. In his mind, it was more of a dream, a dream of driving this indestructible tank all the way to Moscow and even rolling the entire Soviet Union under its tracks.

Because he has a dream, he will ignore many of the shortcomings of "Tiger Style" and will only see its advantages... just like a first love lover will always automatically ignore the shortcomings of the other party.

Manstein walked to Qin Chuan and whispered: "Lieutenant Colonel, are you confident? This is not a difficult exercise!"

"I know, Your Majesty Marshal!" Qin Chuan replied: "But that's not what I'm worried about!"

What Qinchuan was worried about was that even if the exercise failed, Hitler would still insist on putting the "Tiger" into the battlefield to launch an attack.

"Let's get started!" Hitler gave the order to start after shaking hands with several commanders and encouraging them.

"Yes, Your Excellency the Head of State!"

The tank crew quickly and skillfully jumped on the tank and got into the cockpit... Those who were selected as "Tiger" tank crews were the top members of the German tank crew, especially the early "Tiger" When there were very few, it was definitely the best of the best.

Then, the 600-horsepower Maybach engine began to roar, and a burst of "powerful" smoke came out of the exhaust pipe. With the sound of "clucking" tracks, ten "Tiger" vehicles slowly drove to the preset positions in the exercise field.

A man who looked like an armored major was nervously directing the Tigers through a walkie-talkie outside the exercise venue, asking them to line up in an attacking wedge and move forward.

However, this did not seem to require his command, because the tank soldiers knew what they should do, and even the speed was not too hasty to adapt to the following infantry in the rear.