Chapter 397: Tank sea is more cost-effective than blitzkrieg!
The advantage of the German armored forces in the early stages was that their tanks were equipped with radios, while the Soviet tanks relied on flag signals for command.

This is one of the important reasons why the Soviet army was suppressed and beaten in the early stage.

As the Soviet Army's equipment was updated, a large number of new recruits became veterans.

After the tactics were improved, the German army no longer had an advantage in the armored forces.

"Requesting large-caliber anti-tank guns?" Marshal Keitel said expressionlessly as he looked at the telegram sent to him.

"And a large amount of armor-piercing shells?"

"Yes, the 37mm anti-tank gun is simply incapable of penetrating Soviet tanks. Only the 50mm anti-tank gun can penetrate Soviet tanks, so the generals on the front line hope that we can provide more 50mm anti-tank guns, preferably 75mm anti-tank guns." said the adjutant.

Upon hearing this, Field Marshal Keitel remained expressionless and looked at the latest battle report.

I kept thinking about the true meaning of this telegram.

Especially the original T-34 tank was upgraded, which made him feel a little inexplicably irritated.

That damn guy, is everything he said true?

Do not!
It must not be true.

"What's the matter with the Soviet Union's new tanks?" Marshal Keitel asked after taking a deep breath.

"An improved version of the T-34 tank. A T-34 tank was captured at the front line, and the caliber of the main gun has been upgraded."

"Anything else?" Marshal Keitel asked again.

"The sloped armor has also been improved, so the front line will need larger caliber anti-tank guns." The adjutant continued.

"It is difficult for the existing anti-tank guns to penetrate the enemy. We must transfer the 50mm anti-tank guns to the company to squeeze them out."

Hearing this, Marshal Keitel sighed and said.

"The Soviet tanks are already very strong, not weaker than our Leopard tanks, or in other words, the current Soviet tanks have gradually weakened our advantages, and the Soviet tanks are shoddy, and the cost and output are far higher than ours."

"Before long, our Leopard tanks may be inferior to those of the enemy, especially in terms of quantity."

It is no wonder that Marshal Keitel was so sad. After comparing the data he had, he could clearly feel that the number and performance of Soviet tanks were constantly increasing.

If this continues, it will definitely not be good news for them.

The adjutant took a deep breath. The performance was not inferior to that of the Leopard tank, and its production capacity was even higher than theirs. This was simply a terrifying thing.

"Your Excellency Marshal, can't we pursue quantity?" the adjutant asked.

Hearing this, Marshal Keitel said bitterly.

"Quantity? Those engineers of the Empire? They only care about quality."

"Oh no, and a perfect look."

"What's the result? You know the data sent from the front. You know what the situation is like at the front. You should also know how many combat-capable tanks those armored divisions have. Most of them are out of service."

“Is this what you call quality?”

The adjutant didn't know what to say about Field Marshal Keitel's complaints.

"And now the gap between the enemy's weapons and ours is gradually narrowing. With the experience of war, their combat effectiveness will also be improved."

"In the end, it's a contest between national strengths."

Marshal Keitel couldn't help but sigh as he spoke.

Someone once suggested installing air conditioning on the Leopard tank, saying that it was too hot in the summer.

Isn't this nonsense?

This is a battlefield, and we are going to be sent to the front line to fight.

In the end, we still need to install air conditioning?
Is this to enjoy life?

Doesn't Keitel want to pursue quantity?
We can put aside issues like quality for now.

But those stubborn engineers didn't listen at all.

They believe that the tanks they produce are definitely the best tanks.

The result is that the logistics department has a headache.

In fact, there is another point that no matter how superior the performance is, there are flaws. Even a large number of ants can kill an elephant.

Unfortunately, these stubborn engineers didn't care at all.

"How many Panther tanks do we have? Five thousand a year?"

"And how many armored troops do we have?"

"On the other hand, the Soviet army is getting larger and larger. To be honest, I have a bad feeling about this." Marshal Keitel said with a wry smile.

"So next, we need a lot of training for armored soldiers."

The adjutant nodded and did not refute, because everyone knew that when the Soviet army had tens of thousands of tanks like theirs, they would definitely suffer a crushing defeat.

"Let General Guderian be responsible for training more armored troops."

"Yes."

"With the size of the Soviet army and the industrial strength of the United States, we are facing a very powerful enemy."

"What about us? What about our allies?"

"It's been holding us back."

"Marshal, Japan's navy is still very strong." The adjutant felt that he still had to say something good about the Japanese army.

"But their army is very weak." Field Marshal Keitel shook his head.

"So what if the navy is strong? If they lose once, they will never recover."

"To be honest, it is unwise to choose to ally with them."

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. Let Ribbentrop come over." Marshal Keitel waved his hand, indicating that he didn't want to continue talking about this matter.

"Yes." The adjutant responded quickly.

.........

On the other side, on the German Eastern Front, with the help of German ground crew, the engine of the fighter plane finally started.

After starting, the fighter did not take off immediately, but kept the engine idling for a few minutes.

Only after all the instruments in front of us were normal did we start taking off.

There is no other way. The weather is too cold. I have to let the engine idle for a few minutes and wait until the dashboard returns to normal before I can take off.

Once there is a problem with the dashboard, it needs to be checked.

Otherwise it would be irresponsible to the pilots.

After all, once it's launched, if any problems arise, it will be too late.

After the engine idled normally, the pilot began to taxi onto the runway and slowly took off.

Behind it, a number of fighter jets began to take off.

Their purpose is to provide support to the front line.

At this moment, the battle on the front line has reached its most intense moment.

The T-34 tanks rushed towards the German positions like a tide.

boom!
boom!
boom!
As the Soviet tanks continued to fire, the German positions were lost one after another.

However, the 50mm anti-tank gun was quite effective and could occasionally penetrate one or two Soviet tanks, thus preventing the enemy from being defeated.

But everyone could see that if the air force support did not arrive, defeat would not be far away.

At this moment, the soldiers on the German position continued to fire, shooting wildly at the Soviet tanks that were rushing up. At the same time, the Soviet tanks were also greeting them with even more intense fire.

boom!
A T34 tank hit an anti-tank artillery position with one shot.

The violent explosion instantly turned the anti-tank gun into scrap metal.

Several gunners were blown high into the air and then fell heavily to the ground.

The battle was extremely bloody and cruel.

"Where are the anti-tank guns? Why aren't they firing?" The German commander shouted loudly as he looked at the torrent of steel continuing to surge in from the distance.

As he shouted, the anti-tank gun roared again. "Sir, if you keep firing, the barrel will heat up and explode." The gunner couldn't help but remind him as he watched the barrel get hotter and hotter due to the continuous firing.

Even though it is winter now, if the fighting continues, the guns will start firing.

"Use snow to cool it down. It can't be damaged now. We still need it to continue resisting the Soviet army." said the gunner.

"Yes!"

At this moment, their combat results have maintained a fairly high hit rate, exceeding fifty percent.

This is already scary.

Moreover, they are very lucky and have not been discovered by the Soviet army on the opposite side yet.

An anti-tank artillery position not far from them had already been destroyed by a single shot from the opposing Soviet army.

There was even the body of a loader just a few meters away from them.

boom!
With the order, the artillery opened fire again.

The shell flew towards the distant target again, a T-34 tank, and was hit again.

A huge explosion sounded, and the crew members inside were killed again.

Unfortunately, the Soviet armored troops behind him acted as if they saw nothing and continued to charge forward without fear of life and death.

For them, it is glorious to fall on the way of charge.

The Soviet army's will to fight at the risk of their lives made the German troops on the defense line feel uneasy.

They already had a premonition that they could not hold their position today.

"Sir, there are too many tanks." Even the German volunteers had to admit that there were too many Soviet tanks on the opposite side.

They had too few anti-tank guns.

Unless you have equivalent tanks, you will be doomed to failure.

"Wait a little longer until the air force arrives and see if things will get better." The German officer took a look and said in a deep voice.

Although they suffered heavy casualties, there was nothing they could do; this was war.

On the other hand, the Soviet army on the opposite side used the human wave tactics on the sea of ​​tanks. It can be said that this tactic was very effective.

For them, things like blitzkrieg are too advanced.

It would be more practical to use a sea of ​​tanks.

At least, for now, the Soviet tactics are quite effective.

As long as their tanks are not afraid of death and rush forward in unison, they can break through the German positions.

It now appears that the situation on the battlefield is developing in their favor.

If the terrain had not restricted the deployment of so many tanks, the number of tanks capable of launching a frontal charge at once could have reached thousands.

"Damn, so many tanks, how long have they been accumulating them?"

"It is obvious that they are going to launch a counterattack in winter and completely destroy us."

"What about the Air Force?"

"Where are our armored forces?"

"Why don't you fight back?"

"Report, the armor-piercing bullets are all used up."

"Damn it, keep holding on."

"Yes."

The densely packed Soviet tanks, like an army of ants with no end in sight, charged towards the German positions in the distance.

The battle line was about to be breached.

"Report to the Marshal, we are less than 200 meters away from breaking through the German position. Our army will rush through the German defense line in one go."

"What are the casualties?" asked the Soviet commander Marshal Zhukov calmly.

"So far, the casualties are less than a hundred tanks, which is within our expectations."

If it were before, the casualties of one hundred tanks would definitely make the Soviet army feel sad for a long time, but for them now, it doesn’t matter at all.

Or rather, very little.

You should know that this time the Soviet army dispatched a total of 5,000 tanks of various types.

Not only that, tanks in the rear are also being produced continuously, and after a short training, they will be sent to the front line again.

In other words, he didn't have to worry about lack of tanks at all.

Marshal Zhukov strongly agreed with one point, that is, tanks are used for consumption, and as long as there are enough of them, they can completely consume the German army.

"Very good, continue the attack and don't be afraid of casualties. I need to defeat the German army completely." Zhukov nodded and felt much better.

If it was before, he might be cursing at this moment.

"Marshal, it looks like this time we should completely surround the German troops on the opposite side and wipe them out." The adjutant said with a smile.

"Don't be careless. The German fighters haven't appeared yet. This is a force that cannot be underestimated." Zhukov was not so optimistic. It was impossible to completely defeat the German army with a single counterattack.

They could only repeatedly consume the enemy's resources and completely wipe out the German army's elite troops.

By that time, the Soviet army could advance straight ahead.

So far, the effect is pretty good.

The reports and statistics of battle results from various fronts proved that his method was effective.

"Report, German fighter planes spotted." At this time, the signalman said quickly, holding a telegram.

Hearing this, Zhukov was not panicked at all, and even felt a little relieved.

German fighter planes were taken into consideration when the plan was made.

"Let our fighter jets take off immediately and engage the enemy."

"Yes."

After receiving his order, the fighter planes that had been prepared at the Soviet airport in the rear began to take off.

At this moment, German fighter planes have arrived over the battlefield.

"Dive in and destroy the Soviet tanks."

"Oh my god, so many tanks."

"That's just too many tanks."

"Damn, Soviet fighter planes."

.........

"Marshal, we should be thankful. If it weren't for the reminder from the man in the Far East, I'm afraid we would have to return all the positions we occupied this winter." Ribbentrop looked at Marshal Keitel and said seriously.

"Now we can prove that the intelligence he provided is true. Perhaps we should agree to his conditions."

Hearing this, Marshal Keitel sighed softly.

"These are the most core technologies of the empire. Do you know what they mean?"

Hearing this, Ribbentrop remained silent. He naturally knew what all this meant.

"Marshal, we must be clear about one thing. Once we lose the war, these so-called high technologies will become spoils of war for others."

"Compared to these technologies, the specific location of the tungsten mines is the most important. With these tungsten mines, we will have a large amount of armor-piercing shells. Even if the Soviet tanks double, our infantry will have the means to fight back."

The war has come to this point, and everyone knows that if they lose, they will really lose everything.

Instead of keeping these so-called high-tech things, it is better to exchange them for something more useful.

Hearing this, Marshal Keitel fell silent again, and then he sighed after a long time.

"You're right, but the chips given by the other party are too few. We need something more."

(End of this chapter)