Film and Television: Starting from the Journey to Guandong

Chapter 120 Tank (1w)

In 1921, the U.S. Ordnance Department began a tender for semi-automatic rifles.

In addition to Garland, other competitors at the time included Belletti and Thompson Design.

In addition, John Douglas Pedersen also began to develop a semi-automatic rifle with a caliber smaller than .30 with funding from the Ordnance Department.

Pedersen ultimately chose a .276 (7mm) bullet.

Smaller calibers make guns smaller and lighter, reduce recoil, and allow soldiers to carry more ammunition.

Fast forward to 1925, Pedersen successfully developed a prototype gun.

The prototype gun uses a 10-round magazine and a fixed magazine. The magazine will be inserted into the magazine as a whole. When the bullet is empty, it will be ejected directly.

This system will be borrowed from the Garand and integrated into the M1 Garand rifle.

Its semi-automatic device uses the delayed recoil principle and can be understood as a large Ruger pistol.

In 1925, the .30-06 cartridge received an improvement.

Although the new M1 bullet is dimensionally consistent with the previous design, its pressure curve is completely inconsistent with the old model.

The new charge burns more slowly, not enough for a primer to power a semi-automatic.

At the same time, the primer begins to be attached to the bullet.

The Garand's primer-stroke system relies on a primer to be semi-automatic, and now the primer is not only insufficient to drive the device, but is fixed to the bullet.

The primer-stroke design was officially scrapped, and Garand had to redesign a semi-automatic system.

The bullets used in modern small weapons are all fixed-load ammunition, which generally include five parts: warhead, propellant, primer, device for fixing the primer and cartridge case.

Regardless, the bidding continues as planned.

Bertetti's design was initially eliminated, while Thompson's design was compared to Garand's primer-stroke design in 1926.

Both were quickly pointed out flaws and requested corrections for retesting.

But at this time, the Ordnance Committee already believed that the advantages of Pedersen's design were extremely obvious. They asked Garland to submit a model using .276 bullets to compete with Pedersen's. The original .30-caliber semi-automatic rifle It is only recommended to make one for testing.

After testing, Garland redesigned a rifle, which was named T1 and T3 according to the caliber.

Unlike the previous primer stroke, which was a slanted one, the design adopts a more traditional air guide stroke design.

There is a section of gas tube at the end of the barrel. After the bullet is fired, the expanded gas enters and pushes the piston to achieve semi-automatic operation.

In 1928, the War Department held an open tender.

The War Department required that all designs be semi-automatic rifles chambered for the .276 cartridge, and emphasized that the rifles should be simple, rugged, and easy to produce.

The designers were told that the tender would "probably" be held on July 1929, 7, and that the requirements would be essentially the same as those tested in 1.

A total of 7 designs participated in the competition, but in the end Garand's design was considered superior: it had fewer parts, was lighter, simpler, easier to manufacture, did not require lubricating the bullet... and so on.

However, this design is not without its problems. Bore locking failure, misfire and gas system failure still occur from time to time.

In addition, the War Department also reviewed the decision to use the .276 bullet.

After conducting experiments on live sheep, they found that medium-caliber bullets were more lethal at long distances, while small-caliber bullets performed better at short distances.

Based on the uncertainty of future warfare, the committee recommended resuming design work on the .30-caliber Garand.

However, at first, the committee was reluctant to abandon the .276 caliber, but one general strongly opposed this view. He believed that the .276 caliber rifle was garbage.

This general was MacArthur. He was serving as the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army at the time, and every word he said was particularly weighty.

Out of distrust in the penetrating power of small calibers, he did not accept the organizing committee's suggestions and forced the .30-caliber rifle to be planned as a key project.

Amid the chaos, Garland began work on improvements to the .30 design at Springfield Arsenal.

Historically, these improved rifles were tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground in March 1932 and performed quite well.

丑国陆军向春田兵工厂订购了80支T1E2步枪，这些实验型步枪每一支造价1831美元，但工程师估计量产版本得成本可以降至64美元。

During the production process, these rifles were designated as "Ugly Chinese Semi-Automatic Rifles, .1933, M30" on August 1, [-].

In October 1935, infantry and cavalry testing concluded that the M1 rifle was recommended as a replacement for the M1903 Springfield rifle.

On January 1936, 1, the M9 Garand entered active service as standard equipment.

Due to many unauthorized changes made by the factory to optimize production, the early Garand had many problems: for example, if the seventh bullet in the magazine was on the right side, the magazine would not be ejected smoothly;
The magazine ejects directly with one round left.

But these problems were solved after restoring Garand's original design.

Due to the difficulty of installing a bayonet and reliability issues, the muzzle gas device was also replaced by a more traditional gas system.

After these revisions, the barrel length of the Garand was increased to 24 inches and the weight increased to 8.3 kilograms.

Like most new weapons, early production of the Garand was slow.

The first mass-produced Garand left the production line in September 1937 at a rate of ten per day. The production speed did not begin to increase significantly until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

The production rate reached 1939 pieces a day in September 100, and reached 1940 pieces a day in January 200.

As the United States joined the war at the end of 1941, Garland's legend began.

After Xiao Benzi's undeclared fight, the US Army equipped with Garand soon began to exchange fire with Xiao Benzi's soldiers.

In the Mediterranean theater, Ugly soldiers equipped with Garand landed in North Africa during Operation Torch.

Since then, Garland has hardly missed any battle in which the Ugly Army participated.

If you want to evaluate Garland's performance, Major General Julian J. Hatcher is undoubtedly the best candidate.

Not only was he involved in the development of the Garand and .30-06 bullets, but as a general from the Ordnance Department, Major General Hatcher's job was to evaluate the combat effectiveness of the weapons.

Hatcher pointed out that the Ordnance Department had received praise for the Garand rifle as early as the Philippine Campaign, and General MacArthur was extremely satisfied with the Garand.

Unfortunately, advanced small arms cannot change the situation of the war.

After Xiaobenzi dominated the air and sea, they quickly occupied the entire Philippines.

It is worth mentioning that the Army tried to imitate the Garand later in the war and named it a Type [-] rifle.

Although the gun did not enter active service, this also illustrates the influence of the Garand design.

Compared with the U.S. Army's auxiliary role in the North African Campaign, the U.S. Army and Marine Corps' battles in the Guadalcanal Island Battle starting in 1942 made Garand's advantages more obvious.

As the Army moved further toward semi-automatic rifles, the Marine Corps expressed doubts about the Garand's reliability.

A series of tests conducted by the Marine Corps in November 1940 showed that the reliability of the M11 Springfield rifle was much higher than that of the M1903 Garand rifle.

Even with the best performance among the semi-automatic rifles tested, the Garand still had more than seven times as many malfunctions (370) as the Springfield (53).

Therefore, while the Army began to equip the latest semi-automatic rifles, the Marine Corps still carried the weapons of their fathers.

Actual combat has proven that the Garand's reliability meets the requirements for amphibious operations.

Lieutenant Colonel John George, one of the first Army officers to land on Guadalcanal, witnessed the Marine Corps' changing attitude toward Garland.

During a joint patrol between the Army and the Marine Corps, he discovered that a member of the Marine Corps Special Operations Group (the first station special forces in the United States to participate in the Second Division) had been following an Army sergeant.

When asked why, the Marine replied simply:

"You will probably die in the first ambush, but I will definitely throw away this damn Springfield and get your gun before you fall to the ground!"

There is no doubt that for close combat in the jungle, semi-automatic has obvious advantages over bolt-action.

Finally, the Marine Corps officially placed Garland on active duty in late 1941.

By the time of the Battle of Iwo Jima, the Marine Corps had already begun to switch to Garand.

While the Marine Corps was fighting in the Pacific Islands, the Army was planning to land in Europe, opening up the second battlefield the Soviet Union had been demanding.

Finally, the landing operation named "Operation Overlord" began. The 82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division were responsible for taking the lead in airborne landings and seizing important strategic strongholds in the rear of the German army.

As a full-size rifle, the Garand's weight poses certain problems.

James Gavin, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, commented:

"Considering the reloading status of paratroopers, jumping out of the aircraft is probably the most dangerous moment. (Paratroopers need to carry) a loaded Garand, 156 rounds of rifle bullets, a pistol and three magazines that match it , a sapper shovel, a knife, a water bottle, a first aid kit, about four grenades, spare food, some maps and a raincoat.”

At the same time, he also pointed out that the paratroopers need to place the Garand on the side of the reserve parachute when parachuting - with the muzzle facing the face and the butt between the two knees. The paratrooper will remove the rifle from the reserve after the main parachute successfully opens. Pull out after the parachute to ensure that the rifle does not affect the landing.

Obviously, this set of doctrines is very troublesome, but it allows paratroopers to fight after landing, which is a great progress for the Allied airborne operations.

Although the Garand is the standard rifle of the U.S. Army, its use is not limited to the U.S. armed forces.

The British obtained a Garand in 1939 and named it YSL.

Of course, this name has nothing to do with a famous contemporary brand. It is just the abbreviation of the Yankee self-loading rifle.

The British finally decided that under the current war situation, switching to Garand was not the best choice.

Thirty-eight thousand Garands were also transported to Britain under Lend-Lease, but most were distributed to the Home Guard, the fourth-line force.

This also led to a very ironic situation, in which the British Army found that their small arms were not even as advanced as those of the Home Guard, which was composed of the old, young, sick and disabled.

With the surrender of Germany and Xiaobenzi one after another, the World War came to an end, but Jinzi in the north of the Koryo Peninsula decided to launch an attack on Lizi in the south, and the Koryo War broke out.

As an ally of the Bang Nation, the Ugly Army also began to fight, and Garland was also thrown into the battle.

Just like World War II, the Ugly Army was extremely satisfied with Garland.

Of all the Army's weapons, the Garand is the most resistant to extreme cold weather, with neither ice nor frost unduly affecting the weapon's reliability.

But Garand is not without its problems. Her distinctive "ding" not only reminds the user to reload, but it is also said to attract the enemy's attention.

As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. The consequences of Garland's iconic "ding" were first recorded in the Pacific Battlefield.

Royer F. Dunlap mentioned in his book that the sound similar to that of a microwave oven will be made when the magazine is ejected. He personally believes that many U.S. soldiers have paid their lives because of this sound.

Xiaobenzi will jump out of the bunker and attack after hearing the sound, but the Ugly soldiers are reloading at this time, so they cannot react in time.

He mentioned that Aberdeen Proving Ground tried to develop a plastic magazine, and ordinary soldiers would use the magazine to hit their helmets to simulate the sound to lure small books.

This rumor intensified during the Korean War. Wayne Stephen from the 2nd Army Division said:

"One of the flaws of the M1 is the noise it makes when the magazine is ejected after the last round is fired. The Chinese know what this sound means and will charge at you if they get close enough."

Despite all the testimony, the consequences of Garland's "preemptive warning" may not have been as deadly as they suggest.

The main reasons can be divided into 3 reasons.

其一在于战场上的噪音等级完全可以掩盖住加兰德的退弹声：近距离的枪声约为145分贝、手榴弹爆炸约为165分贝、迫击炮的爆炸声约为190分贝，2000磅炸弹爆炸的声音则超过了200分贝。

All soldiers without hearing protection will be affected to varying degrees, and at least the tinnitus will stay with them for a long time.

In fact, they would be thankful if they could hear their commander's orders and carry them out.

Secondly, unlike Call of Duty, Infantry doesn't act alone. Well-trained infantrymen will operate in small squads and will not fire simultaneously when extreme firepower is not required.

So when an infantryman needs to change ammunition, his team members can completely cover him to change ammunition.

Finally, even if you hear a ding not far away with your superhuman hearing, and the unlucky guy is still a solo guy, you still won't have much chance to kill him.

Thanks to the user-friendly design, the Garand's magazines can be stored on a belt, and reloading doesn't take long.

For a less skilled person, reloading can be completed in 3 to 4 seconds - this means that only when the two sides are very close, the opponent may get an opportunity.

And the solutions mentioned above are also full of flaws.

There are no extant examples of the plastic magazine, and there is no documentation to prove its existence; according to contemporary Garand users, the sound of the magazine hitting the helmet is also very different from the "ding".

Historical limitations exist in any tool, and Garland cannot avoid this problem.

The lack of a magazine and fully automatic firing function really makes it more and more outdated, not to mention the ammunition also has quite a problem.

As the war progressed and small-caliber intermediate-power rounds became the standard of the new era, the Garand attempted to keep pace with the times in the form of the M14, but Stoner's AR-15 system proved its historical superiority.

But the M1 Garand rifle is still the best rifle in World War II.

With the strong logistical support of the Ugly State, semi-automatic rifles greatly increased the firepower density of the Ugly Infantry Squad.

The Garand was designed with simplicity and reliability as its purpose. Not only did the Garand arm the entire country's armed forces with a large amount of output, it also made her an extremely reliable weapon.

The general loved her, the officers admired her, and the soldiers loved her. It is no exaggeration to say that the "greatest tool of war" truly belongs to this semi-automatic rifle used to insult the dignity of the country.

People often compare the Mauser 98k to the M1 Garand.

In fact, the current main battle weapon of Zhu Chuanren's team is Mauser. As the pinnacle of bolt-action rifles, Mauser's combat effectiveness and advantages are undoubted, but it is obviously unfair to compare with semi-automatic rifles. This is equivalent to using a classic car and a later generation 2.0 cool turbocharger ratio to accelerate. There is no such comparison and it is not a product of the same era at all.

Putting it on the real battlefield, first of all, the German army's favorite small weapon on the battlefield is the M1 carbine.

Because the German army itself does not have equipment with similar performance.

After the captured Ugly Army weapons are handed over, the carbines are always the first to be snatched away.

The favorite of the Ugly Army is the German pistol. Everyone will use every opportunity to try to capture one and keep it for themselves as trophies and souvenirs.

In World War II, the Ugly Army's light weapons were generally over-equipped. There was no need to use enemy weapons, and discipline did not encourage the casual use of non-standard weapons in combat.

In terms of combat performance, there is no doubt that semi-automatic rifles > bolt-action rifles.

However, the advantages of the Garand rifle are not enough to compete with the MG34/42 machine gun of the German class.

In battles below the platoon level, the Ugly Army is often at a disadvantage.

When necessary, the Garand rifle's burst rate of fire in a very short time is very impressive, far better than a bolt-action rifle;
However, the advantage in sustained rate of fire is not that outstanding. Without a heavy barrel and effective heat dissipation means, the sustained firing rate of a rifle generally does not exceed 15 rounds per minute.

In addition, many people believe that the Garand, which has a faster rate of fire, is more suitable as a weapon for close combat. This certainly makes sense, but in actual combat it is not as obvious as imagined - like the Ugly Army's previous rifles, the Garand The rifle is large and heavy, has a center of gravity further forward, uses a very small sight hole, and the recoil of the .30-06 caliber is also very large.

Garand is often complained about his lack of flexibility in extremely close encounters, and is not necessarily guaranteed to be able to fire first and make follow-up shots in time.

Moreover, when approaching within 30 meters, whether it is a Chinese or a German, they will definitely throw the grenade first. Luck and morale tend to run out before grenades.

If we only talk about it here, it seems that Garand has no generational difference with bolt-action rifles. However, on the contrary, for ordinary shooters (rifleman who have undergone basic training), the advantages of semi-automatic are huge, and they are far more effective in actual combat. Not only reflected in the rate of fire:
First of all, semi-automatic rifles greatly improve the shooter's confidence and indirectly improve shooting accuracy.

Because you realize that even if you miss a shot, you can immediately make up for it, using a semi-automatic shooter can fire more calmly and decisively.

However, bolt-action shooters are more likely to be hesitant and nervous when faced with challenging targets, leading to a vicious cycle due to psychological reasons;
Second, semi-automatic rifles provide a more consistent aiming picture and situational awareness.

Semi-automatic shooters do not need to lower their heads or be distracted to operate the gun after shooting. They can observe the shooting results and track the target more effectively. It is also easier to make corrections for shooting and pay attention to other targets.

And by cocking more quickly after each shot, semi-automatic rifles also tend to capture shorter firing windows;

Third, the shooting action of a semi-automatic rifle is simple, and the shooter is less likely to be suppressed and interrupted under fire.

Semi-automatic only needs to complete the simple cycle of "aim and shoot", and just mechanically pull the trigger to keep shooting (in fact, when there is a clear target and extreme tension, the shooter will sometimes avoid ducking due to conditioned reflexes) and tunnel vision, subconsciously continuing to shoot until empty).

In contrast, a bolt-action rifle requires a conscious loading action, and it is easier to give up shooting when there is a pause, and its loading action will also be deformed due to panic.

Not only in real-life combat, but also in game performance under time pressure.

Even with the same total number of projectiles, the hit rate of bolt-action is often worse than that of semi-automatic. Especially when the distance is farther, the performance of bolt-action is worse.

In addition, because shooting is simple and does not require manual loading, the Garand has a more practical ability to shoot on the move.

"Marching Fire" is a tactic that the ugly army has practiced extensively in the second station.

As for the "ding" sound when Garand's clip pops out, it is already an old joke.

Unlike the dubbing in movies and games, the sound itself when the clip is ejected is very small. It is almost inaudible under the cover of gunshots. Only the sound of the clip landing on the hard ground is more obvious.

There is an experiment. If you attack a Garand shooter from a grenade distance after hearing the missing clip fall to the ground, the shooter will be able to take out the missing clip from the equipment, complete the loading and continue shooting in less than ten steps on average:
This premise is still to deal with an ugly rifleman who is alone on the hard concrete ground.

So far, no first-hand records of the German, Japanese or Italian troops have mentioned any tactical application of the Garand's leaking clip sound.

Compared with other semi-automatic rifles of the same period, the Garand's leaky clip was pre-installed at the factory and did not need to be pressed. It was a consumable that could not be lost. It was fast and easy to load, and there was no obvious difference in the amount of ammunition. It was the most practical method of supplying ammunition at the time. .

Closer to home, Zhu Chuanren's powerful escort team and powerful weapons contact network made Yang Taiyong very wary.

Of course, he was not worried that Zhu Chuanren wanted to start an uprising. If he had wanted to do this, he would have done it long ago. Why wait until now when he has not stationed troops?
When he got up the next morning, after having breakfast, Yang Taiyong persuaded him again. Zhu Chuanren's answer was the same as yesterday. If he was required to do anything in business, he would definitely do it, but for other things, he would have to consider it.

Zhu Chuanren's little fox-like naughty behavior made Yang Taiyong confused and made him feel powerless.

As for why Zhu Chuanren updated weapons and equipment from time to time, first of all, this was his hobby in his previous life. If he had the opportunity in this life, of course he would play with the weapons that fascinated him in his previous life.

Moreover, as a small chaebol, he can only play with light weapons. Let him play with aircraft, cannons, warships, etc. He will be killed before he can buy them.

However, he had a good relationship with Zhang Huzi before. Before Zhang Huzi became a vegetative state, he was often addicted to heavy weapons.

Speaking of which, I have to praise Zhang Huzi again. During his time in charge of the Northeast, he indeed made certain contributions to the Northeast.

In the eyes of many people, most of the warlords during the Republic of China were backward. However, under the governance of Zhang Huzi, the Northeast was not necessarily strong in other aspects, but its military strength was actually very strong.

To say that Zhang Zuolin’s military strength was strong during his reign is not groundless. It can be fully justified by data.

At its peak, the Feng Army under Zhang Huzi had more than 50 troops and governed 7 group armies, 3 naval fleets and 5 air force air groups (China's navy and air force were very weak at that time).

张胡子的陆军士兵人手一支国内最先进的辽13式步枪，甚至有些甲种师的士兵拿着的还是捷克式ZH-29式半自动步枪，同时奉军每个甲种师都配置了一个炮兵营，拥有日38式75毫米野炮、日14式105毫米加农炮、日41式75毫米山炮等多种型号的火炮。

In addition, the Fengjun Army at that time also had a heavy artillery regiment that was rare in China at that time, including Liao-14 and Liao-19 heavy howitzers and other heavy artillery.

There are artillery brigades of varying numbers. Each brigade has about 3 artillery regiments, and a company has about 4 mountain guns or 6 mortars.

Moreover, Fengjun also has a tank force. Zhang Huzhu has 36 French-made Renault FT-17 light tanks to support the platoon.

Zhang Huzi and Fengjun's navy and air force were the strongest in the country. At that time, most warlord troops in the Republic of China could not guarantee a gun per man, and Zhang Huzi's troops were no longer limited to possessing guns.

Strong military strength is inseparable from the development of military industry enterprises. At that time, the Northeast region had a complete military industry system, and successively established Fengtian Ordnance Factory, Dongsan Province Ordnance Factory, Fengtian Grain and Forage Factory, Fengtian Clothing Factory, Northeast Aviation Factory, Fengtian Mortar Factory, etc. Military business.

At that time, the arsenal in the Northeast was also the largest in the country, and it was ahead of other regions in terms of production scale and technology.

At its peak, the arsenals in the three northeastern provinces could produce more than 4000 rifles, 40 light machine guns, 100 heavy machine guns, and 80 mortars per month. The annual output was 150 artillery pieces such as field guns and mountain cannons, and more than 20 rounds of artillery shells. , with a daily production of 40 rounds of ammunition. During the Republic of China, the Northeast had such a terrifying weapon manufacturing speed, which was really unexpected.

In addition to the extremely strong production of army weapons, the Northeast region was also able to manufacture air force equipment at that time. You must know that most of China's aircraft were imported from foreign countries, and the leading rights in maintenance and repair were in the hands of foreigners.

With the support of Zhang Huzi, the Northeast Aviation Factory was established.

That’s it for airplanes, the key is tanks.

After one station, people began to pay attention to the power of the tank, thinking that it was the best weapon to overcome the trench system and carry out attacks, so the tank developed rapidly.

Tanks from Britain, Germany, the United States and other countries during this period usually weighed 16.5-56 tons, had a front deck thickness of 30-102 mm, a speed of 25-55 kilometers per hour, a maximum range of 100-225 kilometers, and were equipped with one gun , 1-1 machine guns. Among them, Germany's T-V (Leopard) and TVT (Tiger) tanks are the best-performing tanks in the world, far exceeding those of other countries.

Soviet Russia, which originally had no manufacturing capabilities, began trial production in 1921 and began equipping troops in 1927. By 1939, it was able to produce KB tanks and T-34 tanks with better performance.

The KB-1 tank weighs 47.5 tons, has a front armor thickness of 75-100 mm, a top speed of 35 kilometers per hour, a maximum range of 420 kilometers, and is equipped with 1 artillery and 2 machine guns.

In addition, amphibious tanks also appeared during this period, and armored transport vehicles, armored trains and armored vehicles also developed rapidly.

Zhu Chuanren helped Zhang Huzi get the Renault FT-17 for him.

In April 1917, French General Robert Neville was commanding the battle at Berry Orbac. The Schneider CA-4 light assault tank in the hands of the French army had weak armor, fragile protection and poor mobility. The losses on the battlefield were heavy.

As a result, Colonel Estienne, the designer of the CA-1 tank, began to fully support the development of a more technologically advanced tank, and then this task was handed over to Renault Automobile Company.

In this way, a revolutionary light tank in the long history of history was born. This is the Renault FT-17 light tank.

Previously, Louis Renault, the boss of Renault Automobile Company, had refused to participate in any tank-related production projects, but after a long conversation with his old friend Colonel Estienne, he realized that the new tank would be better than the existing CA- 1 and Saint-Chamont tanks have broader development prospects.

So Renault changed his mind and began planning to get involved in this challenging field.

According to the design, the Renault FT-17 will be significantly slimmer and lighter, with faster driving speed, better maneuverability, and stronger adaptability to complex terrain. At the same time, production and maintenance costs will be appropriately reduced for mass production.

At that time, because the British army used heavy tanks in the Battle of the Somme and was very successful, the French were still hesitant about whether to equip a large number of light tanks or a small number of heavy tanks in the future.

Later, it was Colonel Stian who took the lead. With his unremitting efforts, France decided to sign large-scale production orders for FT-1917 tanks with Renault twice in April and June 4. The first batch of 6 units rolled off the production line. , officially equipped with the French army in March 17. Before the armistice of World War I, a total of 84 tanks of this type were produced.

The FT-17 has a total combat weight of 6.5 tons. It uses a Holt light tractor as the chassis, which can effectively cope with the test of various terrains. In order to meet the actual needs of climbing over trenches, the FT-17 has also been strengthened at the rear of the tank.

The tank has a specific power of 5 horsepower per ton, a rear-engine layout, and a top speed of 5 miles (8 kilometers) per hour.

As the world's first tank with a rotating turret, the FT-17's main weapon is a 37mm cannon or a Hotchkiss machine gun.

The FT-17 has a crew of 2, consisting of the driver and the commander/gunner. During actual driving, due to the noise inside the tank, the two people are basically unable to communicate verbally, so the commander often pedals on his back. , head and shoulders manner to convey different commands to the driver.

Although it is small in size and has few weapons and equipment, compared to those heavy steel behemoths that weigh dozens of tons, the FT-17 still performs well in combat.

Some FT-17s followed the troops and participated in basically all the battles on the Western Front (about 4356 battles), and a total of 746 FT-17s were destroyed.

In addition to France, the American troops who came all the way to participate in World War I were also equipped with these tanks and had service experience under Patton.

In 1940, when the German army invaded France, the French army was still equipped with about 1560 FT-17s. With the fall of France, most of them were captured by the German army and used as fixed firepower points or rear town security work.

The French "Renault FT" is the tank with the largest number and the best performance in one stop;

The production of tanks did not stop with the end of the war. By 1921, 3728 tanks had been produced.

At the same time, the French army also began to dislike the mobility of the Renault FT tank, because the top speed in the wild was only 12 kilometers per hour. In order to replace this "shabby" guy, Renault redesigned a new type of tank called the "Renault NC" tank".

The rapid aging of the Renault FT tank has caused Renault a headache, and new financial revenue has also limited their research and development progress.

Although Renault's main business is cars and trucks, they also received a large amount of military order revenue during the war. The end of the war meant a decrease in orders, so they no longer pinned their hopes on the 3940 Renault FTs that have not yet been completed. tank.

On the other hand, some countries in the world are still at war, and Renault is targeting business opportunities in the hope of reselling its remaining tanks to new war needs.

However, the French military blocked Renault's export intention and ordered: Either complete the remaining tank orders at a lower price, or continue to develop more advanced tanks.

Another fatal problem is that the maneuverability of the Renault FT tank is particularly poor;
Trucks are used for larger moves.

After testing, the engine of the Renault FT tank will overheat as long as the speed is too high, causing failure. Because the tank uses a semi-rigid suspension, even replacing a high-power engine will not help.

In addition, the track reliability of the Renault FT tank is extremely low, with a lifespan of only 150 to 200 kilometers. The above problems are also stumbling blocks for Renault's development of new tanks.

Originally, Zhu Chuanren wanted Zhang Huzi to buy the German A7V. After all, it was a heavy tank and its combat effectiveness was not on the same level as that of a light tank.

But due to various reasons, including the price and the fact that the Germans were too busy, the purchase was not successful, and Zhu Chuanren was still very upset.

In the early days of the First Station, the German army encountered British, French, and Russian armored vehicles on the east and west fronts. Only then did they reluctantly do some research in this field, and basically there was no result.

The Germans' rigid attitude toward armored fighting vehicles has never changed.

Under such prejudice-filled circumstances, when British tanks appeared on the Somme front line on September 1916, 9, the psychological shock caused to the German army is conceivable.

In fact, unlike the military's indifferent attitude, German engineers have never given up their efforts in the development of tracked combat vehicles.

In February 1914, the German Army Technical Communication Test Committee received a vehicle design from Dr. Friedrich Goebbels—although it was not a true tracked vehicle.

Another engineer, Hugo Bremer, went further than Goebbels. In October 1916, he tried to modify tracks and road wheels for a Daimler car so that it could travel on muddy roads.

This prototype car was also sent to the military, and the latter's attitude was equally specious.

Now, when British tanks made their first public appearance on the battlefield and severely defeated the German infantry, the German high command had to change its attitude and began to urgently need Germany's own tanks.

On October 1916, 10, under the chairmanship of General Friedrich, a joint meeting was held in Berlin to discuss the possibility of producing "original tanks" as soon as possible based on the current situation of German industry.

The host said that this will also become the latest part of the "Hindenburg Plan" aimed at achieving a comprehensive acceleration of military industrial production.

However, as the German national economy has been fully dragged down by the war, German industrialists have little interest in developing new weapons.

Despite the lukewarm response from the military industry, the joint meeting eventually established the so-called "A7V Committee."

"A7V", which later became the name of the new tank, is the abbreviation of "No. 7 Traffic Department" in German.

Like the British "tank", this was also a name given to confuse the enemy.

After pulling Bremer and Goebbels' designs out of the wastebasket, Daimler, a leader in the field of motorized vehicles, finally agreed to join the A7V project.

Like the British, the German designers also planned to start with the ugly Holt crawler tractor;
At that time, this tractor was the most ideal tank chassis.

The Germans were unable to purchase it directly from the United States, so they managed to get one from their ally, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Daimler designer Eugen Link was responsible for improving its suspension system to suit the needs of combat machines.

In December 1916, Dr. Joseph Vollmer, the general manager of the A12V project, handed over the first design drawing.

He admitted that although the A7V enjoys a speed advantage due to its two engines compared with British tanks, it is expected that its ability to cross trenches may be slightly inferior.

He went on to say that if all went well, the first prototype could be completed by May 1917.

At this time, the military was already very impatient. When the trial production work was still in the paper stage, they issued an order for 100 vehicles.

However, the seemingly smooth progress encountered various delays at this time.

The first is competition from peers.

It turned out that just as the 7th Transport Division project was being launched, the 2nd Division, which was also under the jurisdiction of the Prussian War Office, also adopted the same Holt tractor chassis and developed an armored transport vehicle for the infantry.

Moreover, Department 2 moved quickly, and the first actual vehicle demonstration was scheduled to be held in March 1917.

The display was of a very high standard, and high-level figures who were passionate about "mechanization" were present.

Unfortunately, under the watchful eyes of Field Marshal Hindenburg and General Ludendorff, the hastily constructed transport showed poor passing ability—even with its minimum load.

This unpleasant episode dramatically reduced the generals' enthusiasm for tanks. Ludendorff seemed to have easily forgotten what he had said: "Fast-moving tanks increase the effectiveness of surprise attacks in grain fields."

The rigid attitude that was once popular among the German army once again took hold, and the order for A7V tanks suddenly increased to 10 tanks!
(End of this chapter)