Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

In the heart of the Red Empire, a group of people in the Kremlin in Moscow discuss the war situation in Europe.

The flames of war have burned throughout Europe, and such an opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not only can I explore the combat effectiveness of various European countries, but I can also learn lessons from each battle and use them for my own use.

The most important of them is the German tactics and combat effectiveness.

After twenty years of hard work, Germany has become formidable.

"It seems that France's surrender is only a matter of time." Once France surrenders and Germany fully integrates France's powerful industrial system, Germany will be the real European hegemon.

However, such a powerful European hegemon was also a considerable threat to the Soviet Union and was not in the interests of the Soviet Union.

If possible, the Soviet Union should nip this threat in its infancy as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, the Soviet Union cannot take action now. The reason is certainly not the "Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact" signed between the Soviet Union and Germany. The so-called agreements and treaties are worthless to the Soviets, and they can be torn up at any time as long as they are in the interests of the Soviet Union.

What the Soviets did not dare to act rashly was the purge campaign still raging in the country. During the last Polish war, Stalin was furious because of the deception of Yezhov and Voroshilov. It also caused the purge movement that had just come to an end to revive again, burning more fiercely than before. The whole country is in chaos, and I'm afraid this situation will continue for a few months. How can I think of attacking others? If others don't take the opportunity to attack them, they will burn incense.

More importantly, Stalin was waiting for a powerful tank.

This matter starts from the Spanish Civil War a few years ago.

In this war, the Soviets sent a newly formed tank force to participate in the war, providing a total of 331 light tanks. These tanks are mainly T-26, with a small amount of BT-5. The T-26 is modeled after the British "Vickers" 7-ton tank. It uses Soviet-designed turrets and 45mm artillery and other weapons. It is mainly used to support infantry operations. The BT-5 is a fast tank using the American "Christie" suspension system and is mainly used for reconnaissance.

Although these light tanks are excellent in terms of mobility, unfortunately their protective performance is simply terrible. When faced with field artillery, anti-tank artillery, and even anti-tank guns, the armor of these light tanks is still easily penetrated.

When the T-26 tanks first fought in Spain, three of them were destroyed by combat artillery and infantry weapons. In another battle, a unit of the International Column equipped with 40 tanks suffered heavy losses under artillery fire. There was once a 37mm anti-tank gun hidden in a church that destroyed more than 12 T-26 tanks! 30% to 40% of the battle losses of the International Column's tanks were caused by combat anti-aircraft guns.

After the war, Pavlov, the head of the Soviet Army Advisory Group, believed. "Tanks can only achieve good combat results if they work closely with infantry. The large-scale use of tanks in combat is theoretically unfeasible. Because if tanks do not have infantry support, all tanks will be exposed to the firepower of enemy anti-tank guns. Down."

Pavlov's views deeply influenced Stalin. From then on, the Soviet army began to completely deny the "great depth" combat theory proposed by Marshal Tukhachevsky and the idea of ​​adopting mechanized troops centered on tanks. At the same time, all the mechanized armies formed over the past 32 years were disbanded, and tanks were assigned to infantry as support weapons. The development of the Soviet mechanized forces returned to the starting point.

It was not until the Battle of Poland broke out and the German armored forces swept across Europe that Stalin woke up from his dream. He hurriedly reorganized the mechanized forces and ordered the development of a sufficiently powerful tank.

"Great Comrade Stalin, your convoy is ready." At this time, Stalin's secretary came in and reported respectfully.

"Okay, let's end today's meeting here. Let's go take a look at the latest works from the Kirov Factory." Stalin said as he stood up and walked out, looking particularly ambitious.

He cannot help but be excited because he will go to the Kubinka tank training base near Moscow to review the latest KV heavy tank produced by the Kirov factory.

Amid everyone's expectations, the convoy arrived at the Kubinka tank training base outside Moscow. When Stalin got out of the car, he saw a tall and powerful new tank parked not far away.

"Great leader Comrade Stalin, this is our latest heavy tank, code-named KV-1. It can be said to represent the crystallization of Soviet technology. Its performance is enough to crush the German Jackal tank." Ye who followed Stalin Moreyev introduced enthusiastically. (Originally, the KV-1 was jointly developed by Kotin and Yemoreev, but Kotin was Voroshilov’s son-in-law and was implicated. He is now digging potatoes in Siberia. As for the codename of this tank, KV-1 (Voroshilov) I won’t change it, so as not to look confused.)

When they were designing, they had already targeted the German Jackal tank. Although the Germans have always regarded this tank as the most confidential equipment, it is absolutely impossible to keep it completely secret when used extensively on the battlefield. They gathered data from all aspects and conducted further research on this basis to form a complete suppression. This is the job of the Kirov Design Bureau.

"The penetration depth of the armor-piercing projectiles it is equipped with can reach up to 77mm (flat fire at close range), which is enough to penetrate the 55mm frontal armor of the Germans at medium distances." The thickness of the frontal armor of the German Jackal tank is 55mm, which seems to be easily penetrated; However, the armor slope of the Jackal tank is 55 degrees, and based on the equivalent sloped armor calculation, the front horizontal thickness reaches 95 mm.

"Its armor is very strong. The frontal armor is 75mm thick (with a slight slope). General tank guns cannot penetrate it from the middle distance. Its side armor and back armor can also resist the strikes of a variety of artillery."

In 1940, a Soviet tank platoon equipped with KV-1 tanks participated in the battle to break through the main positions in Finland. During the battle, not a single KV-1 tank was penetrated. In the early days of the Soviet-German War, in the battle between the Soviet army and the German army, not to mention the No. 2 and No. 3 tanks; even the early models of the No. 4 were helpless against it.

In 1941, during the Battle of La Seniai shortly after the Barbarossa Plan began, the KV heavy tanks of the Soviet Second Tank Division encountered German armored forces. The 37mm caliber shells of the German tanks were actually hit by the thick armor of the Soviet tanks. It rebounded and exploded among the surrounding German infantry groups, surprising the German tank crews. The German army had to change direction and go behind the Soviet tank to destroy the KV.

During this battle, a KV heavy tank sneaked behind the German lines. On June 24, this tank was disguised as seemingly abandoned and ambushed on the supply line of the German 6th Armored Division. When a German convoy loaded with fuel and ammunition passed by, the KV heavy tank suddenly opened fire and destroyed 12 German transport vehicles in succession. The severely damaged German army was in panic, and finally deployed a 50mm anti-tank gun to attack the KV, but the KV was not afraid of the stage and destroyed it with just one shell.

Then, the Germans tried to attack the Soviet tank with a more powerful 88mm anti-aircraft gun 700 meters away, but before the gun could be pulled into place, it was discovered and destroyed by KV. That night, German soldiers tried to sneak up on the Soviet tank and blow it up with explosive charges. When they were about to start the operation, a gunfire occurred and the operation failed.

What shocked the German army was that just one Soviet tank actually withstood the advance of the entire German armored division for 24 hours. The Germans could not sit still. The next morning, German Army General Erhard Laus organized a joint attack with infantry and artillery. The KV tank finally failed to withstand it. Finally, the German soldier Schutson climbed on top of the tank and threw the grenade into the tank. All members of the Soviet KV tank crew were killed.

Seeing Stalin nodding frequently with satisfaction, Yemoreyev continued to speak respectfully. "Comrade Stalin, we are still designing a more powerful KV-2 type, which will enter trial production soon."

"That's great." Stalin beamed with joy, commended Yemoreyev and all the workers at the Kirov factory, and ordered that this tank be mass-produced and equipped with troops as soon as possible.