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Achtung Panzer! (2)

T-34.

A masterpiece medium tank created by the Soviet Union during World War II.

During Operation Barbarossa, the appearance of the T-34 was such a huge shock to the German army that it was rolling Czech-made light tanks and Panzer 3 equipped with a 50mm main gun on the first line, to the point where it was called the 'T-34 shock'.

While the 76mm main gun mounted on the T-34 was capable of penetrating German tanks within the standard engagement distance with a single blow, the German army's typical anti-tank weapons were unable to penetrate the T-34's 45mm sloped armor and were capable of piercing the sides and rear at close range. Only by firing at was it possible to destroy the T-34.

There were many cases where large-diameter field guns or 88mm anti-aircraft guns were hastily brought in from the rear to destroy a T-34 that appeared on the front line.

Although the T-34's qualitative advantage was broken in late 1942 with the introduction of the 4th Panzer, the 3rd Assault Gun, and the anti-tank self-propelled gun equipped with a long-barreled 75mm main gun, the T-34 served as the undisputed main force of the Soviet armored forces until the end of the war. Even decades after the end of World War II, it continued to appear on battlefields around the world, showing off its majesty.

As it turned out that German tanks were much more powerful than expected, Stalin turned his attention to the T-34 and KV, which had just entered mass production. Now the Red Army had only two tanks to lean on.

"But Comrade Secretary, the T-34 is a tank with many problems."

When Stalin mentioned the T-34, Kulik immediately showed signs of discomfort. Stalin asked, not knowing what Kulik was thinking.

"What do you mean, there are a lot of problems with the T-34?"

"First of all, the T-34 is larger and heavier than the BT high-speed tank, so it has slow mobility and frequent breakdowns. "It would be better for you to stop mass production of the T-34 and design a new tank."

"Well, the BT high-speed tank is a light tank, and the T-34 is a medium tank, so it's not natural. Even if it breaks down frequently, just fix it."

Stalin cut Kulik off and glared at him harshly.

"And if mass production of the T-34 is stopped and the Germans invade in the meantime, what will you do then? Do you know how long it will take for the development of a new tank to be completed? Have you ever thought that you are too complacent?"

"Hmm, I'm sorry, Comrade Secretary General. "My thoughts were short."

"I'm glad you understood quickly."

Kulik, who read the meaning in Stalin's gaze, quickly retreated and chose to bow his head.

In fact, the reason Kulik opposed the production of the T-34 was not because of the problems with the T-34, but because Likhachev, the boss of Mikhail Koshkin, who designed the T-34, was his rival.

Out of a simple matter of pride, Kulik interfered with the development of the T-34 at every turn, and Koshkin, who was under constant stress due to Kulik's excessive interference and arguments, died from overwork at the age of 42.

Nevertheless, Kulik, far from feeling guilty, was dissatisfied with the T-34 being produced.

But whatever Kulik's own thoughts were, once Stalin made up his mind, that was it. In the Soviet Union, Stalin's orders were absolute, and whatever instructions he gave had to be followed unconditionally.

If you don't want to 'evaporate' the next day without any rats or birds noticing.

"what… . Still, it is true that there are a lot of unresolved problems with the T-34. I will leave the development of the new medium tank to Comrade Kulik. "Please try hard."

"Thank you, Comrade Secretary General! "We will definitely create the best tank that will live up to Comrade Secretary General's expectations!"

Kulik repeatedly bowed his head as if he were wearing silver.

Stalin carefully studied the report sent from the Kharkov Plant Design Department without even paying attention to Kulik.

The front of the T-34's hull is made up of 45mm sloped armor, giving it an actual defensive power of up to 90mm of vertical armor, and the 40mm sloped armor on the sides has a defensive power of up to 50mm of vertical armor.

Looking at overall defense, the T-34 had an advantage over the Panzer IV, and it also had decent mobility with a top speed of 53 km/h and a range of 250 km.

"The problem is firepower… ."

The defense and mobility are flawless, but I was concerned about the firepower.

The maximum penetration power of the 76mm L-11 tank gun mounted on the T-34 is 70mm at 500m and 76mm at 100m, which is superior to a 45mm tank gun, but it still feels inadequate against the 4th tank.

There was nothing he couldn't fight if he took advantage of the T-34's excellent mobility to rush into the enemy's flank and fire, but this method was also not satisfactory to Stalin.

You should be able to defeat the enemy with a single blow from the front, but does it make sense to say that you can only do so by aiming from the side?

The KV heavy tank was also not free from firepower problems.

The KV-1 heavy tank mass-produced in 1939 was equipped with the L-11 tank gun, the same as the T-34, but when criticism was raised about what would happen if a heavy tank had the same firepower as a medium tank, the 76mm 39 caliber F-32 was installed starting from mid-1940. It was equipped with a tank gun.

Although firepower was better than before, it was clearly a problem that there was no significant difference in firepower between heavy tanks and medium tanks.

There is a KV-2 equipped with a 152mm field gun, but due to its weight of 53 tons, its speed is slow and passage through bridges is limited, causing many difficulties in operation.

Despite numerous shortcomings, the firepower of the 152mm could not be given up, so it was continuously produced, but it was impossible to entrust the role of the T-34 and KV-1 to the KV-2.

"Comrade Tymoshenko."

"Please ask, Comrade Secretary General."

"Please direct all efforts to mass produce the T-34, KV-1, and KV-2. Also, please instruct us to expedite the development of new tank guns to be mounted on the T-34 and KV-1 as quickly as possible. "As soon as development is completed, we conduct testing and install it as soon as the results are available."

"All right. "I will give you instructions right away."

***

October 6, 1940

New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany

"The Soviet Union is focusing on developing tanks… . "It's not something to be trifled with."

Seeing Stalin and his technicians being roasted every day, it seems like he's getting quite upset. Well, after seeing our tanks in action, it will be difficult to sleep with your legs stretched out.

The Soviet Union was put on alert after hearing about the activities of German tanks.

Mass production and development of thinly armored light tanks such as the T-26 and BT-7 have been discontinued, and almost all factories are said to be being remodeled to produce T-34 and KV tanks.

It was not impossible to understand why Stalin was making such a fuss.

Germany invaded the Soviet Union while fighting a war with Britain over Europe and in the Mediterranean, and now that Britain has made peace, they probably think that we might attack them at any moment.

That is why we are working hard to prepare for war from now on.

Actually, I have no intention of invading the Soviet Union. If it had been the real Hitler, he would have been busy preparing for Barbarossa by now, but since I knew the outcome of Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union, I had no intention of attacking the Soviet Union.

If things continue like this, it will be a success, so why would I take such a gamble just because I'm crazy?

Oh, I'm sure many people are wondering how I know such advanced information that even the real Hitler didn't know.

The answer is simple. Just as the Soviet Union infiltrated spies into Germany, we also infiltrated spies into the Soviet Union.

For your information, I don't know if you know that some of the spies we infiltrated into the Soviet Union used to work for the Soviet Union.

How is that possible? Using future knowledge, we can accomplish quite a few things. For example, the names and identities of spies active in Germany.

Richard Sorge, Olga Chekova, Johann Wenzel, Haro Schulz Wojsen, Adam Kukoff and many others.

They were all spies who diligently spread various information within Germany to the Soviet Union, and their activities greatly helped the Soviet Union achieve victory over Germany.

As soon as I became chancellor, I first identified spies operating in Germany.

Sorge and Chekova were the first to be arrested in 1933, and the rest of the spies were arrested or pursued by the Gestapo before 1939.

When one person was captured and tortured, that person would list other collaborators, and when those on the list were arrested and tortured, new names would appear.

The spies arrested in this way were forced by the Gestapo to choose between cooperation and loyalty, and many of them chose cooperation.

There is no need to tell you what happened to the spies who refused to cooperate.

Those who became double spies kept in touch with the Soviet authorities and provided us with information such as Altoran, and so that the Soviet Union would not be suspicious, a few of the less sophisticated spies were assigned the role of surveillance and spreading counterinformation.

Thanks to this, the Soviet Union has not realized until now that the spy network it had set up in Germany had long ago been taken over by the Gestapo.

You may have succeeded in fooling Hitler and the Nazis in real history, but you can't fool my eyes from the future, this is it.

"Mr. President? "Is something good happening?"

Oops. It looks like you laughed too loudly. Even though he is the President in name, he must appear solemn.

"It makes me laugh when I think of the Soviets who are being deceived by us. "Anyway, the Soviet Union is busy developing tanks, so we can't just sit back and relax."

Right now, the 4th Panzer has a performance advantage over the Soviet Union's T-34 and KV-1, but if it is complacent, it may be overtaken at any time.

World War II was a time when technological advancements made during the six years of war were faster than during the 20 years of the interwar period.

No country in the world has neglected its preparations for war and had good results.

War is like a test, so if you don't want to regret it later, you have to prepare in advance.

"General Guderian. When will the development of Panther and Tiger be completed?"

"Prototype testing is currently underway, so it is expected that full-scale mass production will probably begin around winter."

"Good, very good."

It was decided to stop production of Panzer 4 sequentially once Panther and Tiger were on track for mass production.

The factory is still operating at full capacity because it still needs to meet orders, but I think production will stop completely within a year.

This is a break assuming nothing happens in the meantime.

The Soviet Union was not the only country eager to develop tanks.

Afbear's report stated that Britain, which had enjoyed the popularity of the tank in France, and the United States across the Atlantic were also accelerating the development of tanks.

Britain was shocked that its much-vaunted Matilda tank had become a pile of unused scrap metal and began developing a new tank to replace the Matilda, while the United States also poured money into tank development and made a fuss.

As a result, the M3 Lee medium tank, which would have appeared in March 1941, appeared in October 1940. At this rate, the M4 Sherman will be released next summer.

And, even in the Far East, a new tank appeared on the battlefield.

***

October 7, 1940

Henan Province, China

"hungry."

"You just ate, right?"

Wang Fei, a 43-year-old corporal, scolded Lu Er, a child soldier who was squatting in the corner of the trench and muttering. Ruer answered.

"The only rice I had was two boiled potatoes. "Are you full from that?"

"I keep saying I'm hungry, so I get hungrier." If you're really hungry, you can even chew tree branches. "I can't eat it, but it will appease my hunger."

Wang Fei, who was relatively old for a corporal rank, used to chew tree branches and grass roots from a young age to relieve hunger.

It was tasteless and my jaw felt numb, but miraculously, I stopped feeling hungry when I chewed the twig.

Even as he got older, he often chewed tree branches to forget his hunger or relieve boredom.

The place he passed was littered with tattered tree branches and grass roots.

"I wish I could eat dumplings until my stomach explodes."

Ruer sighed as the ground fell. dumpling. Dumplings filled with pork and chives were Ruer's favorite food.

Every time Lu Er's birthday came, his parents steamed a potful of dumplings for their child. My mouth watered as I thought about the steaming dumplings.

"What do you want to eat most?"

"Why are you asking that again?"

Wang Fei, who had refrained from talking about food to control his hunger, became slightly annoyed when Lu'er kept talking about food. However, Lu Er, unaware that Wang Fei was annoyed, asked innocently.

"Because I'm curious?"

Wang Fei couldn't help but chuckle at Lu'er's answer. He said.

"Map tofu."

"Mabo tofu? "What is that?"

"No, you don't know mapo tofu? "How old are you?"

"I'm 14 years old."

"Huh, a 14-year-old doesn't know mapo tofu. "There are things like this in the world."

Wang Fei, from Sichuan Province, loved mapo tofu so much that he ate it at least once a week.

However, for Ruer, who was born and raised in Tianjin, mapo tofu was the first dish he had ever heard of.

"Dry the diced tofu well, fry it in oil, and stir-fry it with finely minced beef and vegetables in tofu paste and red pepper oil. Spicy food is the best as a side dish for rice, but eating it with Kaoliang wine is amazing."

"I want to eat a lot of egg fried rice."

Xiaoping, who was dozing off sitting next to Wang Fei, suddenly joined the conversation.

"My wife always added finely chopped garlic and red pepper seeds to her egg fried rice.

He said he always ate it like this at his house. "Egg fried rice is delicious enough just by adding salt, pepper, and eggs, but I couldn't understand it at all."

"Let's stop talking about food. "I'm hungrier."

Since we had to wait another 5 hours for dinner, it was a big deal if we were already hungry.

Until then, I was trying to close my eyes to sleep or take a nap, but I heard the sound of rolling tracks and the shouts of the Japanese soldiers.

"The enemy, the enemy!"

"Fuck, I heard you've been quiet for the past few days!"

Five days ago, the Japanese army attempted an attack by mobilizing a tank company, but encountered strong resistance from the National Revolutionary Army and were defeated with numerous casualties.

The superiors predicted that the Japanese army, which suffered heavy damage in the battle, would take ten days to recover, but the Japanese army attacked again five days later.

In this attack, the Japanese army deployed a new tank. Veterans with extensive experience on the battlefield noticed that the newly introduced Japanese tanks were significantly different from those they had seen before.

"What is that guy? They look very different from the ones I saw before. "It's much bigger."

"You little bastards. "I'm afraid they're evil spirits, so they make all sorts of ugly things."

The new tank deployed by the Japanese military was the 'Type 3 Tank', produced based on the blueprints of the 3rd Panzer, which had been obtained by handing over naval technology and torpedo designs to Germany.

According to the design, the front of the car body was only 30mm and the sides were only 15mm, but there was an idea to strengthen the armor instead of slightly reducing the speed, and as a result, the defense was greatly strengthened to 50mm on the front of the car and 30mm on the sides. The main gun was the Type 98 tank gun, which was an improved version of the Type 94 tank gun mounted on the Hago.

As the tank approached, the PaK 36 fired a flash from its main gun. It was a confrontation between a German-made anti-tank gun and a tank made from German blueprints.

Because the sight was damaged by artillery fire five days ago, the shell missed the tank and landed in the wrong place. Japanese infantrymen ran to avoid armor-piercing shells hitting the ground.

The gunner fired a second shell, but this time it missed. It was only on the third time that it succeeded in hitting the target, but it ricocheted due to the angle of incidence.

The Japanese tank also identified the location of the anti-tank gun and opened fire on its main gun.

As the anti-tank guns were hit, the National Revolutionary Army had to fight against the Japanese tanks with rifles and machine guns. Nine Type 3 tanks climbed the hill, destroying machine gun emplacements with grenades.

-Too-ta-ta-ta-ta!

"Oh my god, Ruel!"

When Lu Er was knocked out by the co-axial machine gun of the Type 3 tank, Wang Fei approached. When Wang Fei approached, Lu Er was no longer of this world.

Because he was hit squarely in the face by a machine gun, half of his face was blown off, and broken bones and torn muscles flowed out in a mess.

Lu Er died, but Wang Fei could not easily let Lu Er go. The turret of the Type 3 tank rotated and took aim at Wang Fei, who was sitting quietly in the trench.

"Wang Fei! "What are you doing, you bastard!?"

Xiaoping shouted as he ran away with the machine gun and ammunition. However, no sooner had he shouted than a spark burst out from the tank's muzzle, shattering the body of Wang Fei, who was holding Lu'er.