Film and Television: Starting from the Journey to Guandong

Chapter 151

It is also wrong to say that the U.S. does not have heavy tanks. The M26 "Pershing" tank is a heavy tank developed by the U.S. to target the German "Tiger" tanks. It established a solid foundation for the U.S. military in the latter stages of the Second Station and the Korean War. illustrious military exploits.

In terms of naming, the M26 tank continues the previous habit of naming tanks such as the M3 Lee and M4 Sherman after American generals. Its name "Pershing" comes from the name of Army General John Pershing during World War I. He is also a famous American general. Mentor to Eisenhower, Patton and others.

As the final form of the development of the T-20 series of tanks, the Pershing tank was supposed to be put into actual use in the middle of World War II and help the U.S. Army complete the replacement of the M4 Sherman tank. However, due to some problems encountered during its development, this tank The development seemed very long, and in the end it only caught up with the tail end of World War II, and only appeared in a few battles on the European battlefield.

But even so, the M26 tank was considered by the famous historian RPHunnicutt after the war to be the second most powerful tank in World War II after the German "Panther" tank because of its powerful firepower, excellent defense capabilities and maneuverability in actual combat. tank.

In the half century after the war, the backbone of the U.S. armored forces was composed of respective tanks developed from the M26.

Since the "Tiger" tank first appeared on the battlefield in 1942, it has been known for its thick armor and ferocious firepower.

At that time, the tanks of the Allied armored forces had no way to deal with it: the US M4 tank could only have a chance to penetrate its frontal armor within 100 meters. However, what is more likely to happen on the battlefield is that it is hit by a "Tiger" while driving. Take away with one shot from 1600 meters away;

At that time, the Soviet IS-2 tank, which had the most powerful firepower among Allied tanks, even experienced the embarrassing situation of shells being bounced off the front armor of the "Tiger" during a head-on confrontation with the "Tiger" (within 100 meters).

This made the Allied troops panic for a while. Allied soldiers called the "Tiger" the "fearful Tiger". Some soldiers even suffered from "Tiger tank phobia", as long as they saw this kind of tank appearing on the battlefield. Soldiers may flee on the battlefield. When this phobia develops to a later stage, soldiers will be very uneasy when they see tanks similar to the "Tiger".

Such a huge technological gap was unacceptable to the Chinese people, and they quickly started a heavy tank research and development project for the "Tiger" tank.

In 1942, the T-7 tank equipped with the latest T-90 26mm tank gun appeared. However, although the performance of this tank in tests was sufficient to deal with the German "Panther" tanks of the same period, it was not as effective as the "Tiger" tank. "We are still at a disadvantage against tanks.

A year later, the US military began a series of modifications to the T-26, and its improved model, the T-26E3, became the later M26 "Pershing" tank.

Compared with the previous M4 tank of the US military, the shape of this new heavy tank is relatively low, very close to the shape of a modern tank, and the tank gun firepower and armor strength it is installed are qualitatively higher than other tanks of the US military. leap.

The Ford GAF ​​gasoline engine installed on the "Pershing" tank with an output of 370kW brings it far more mobility than the "Tiger" tank. Its top speed can reach 48km per hour, which will not be less than 20km even on the wild battlefield. .

Although its overall performance does not have an excessive advantage when compared with the "Tiger" tank, it relies on its large production quantity, balance with no obvious shortcomings, and does not require medium-tank coordination like other Allied heavy tanks. Its independent combat capability has given it a certain advantage in a head-on confrontation with the "Tiger".

In addition, in actual combat, the "Pershing" tank also often uses a high-low matching method similar to the German "Panther" and Panzer IV tanks to cooperate with tanks with relatively poor performance such as the M4 to obtain greater battlefield gains.

In addition to the 370kW Ford GAF ​​liquid-cooled gasoline engine just mentioned, the "Pershing" tank also adopts other more advanced designs:

This kind of tank has a hydromechanical transmission device, that is, a layout in which a hydraulic torque converter is installed and the positions of the driving wheel and inducer wheel are exchanged, so that the transmission device can automatically change the distance within a certain range. In addition, the tank's The operating device has only one joystick that can be used for shifting and steering, which greatly reduces the driver's burden;

The suspension device adopts the form of independent torsion bar suspension and is equipped with four hydraulic shock absorbers (located at the first, second, fourth and sixth road wheels respectively). In order to realize automatic adjustment of track tightness, the designers also A compensation mechanism is installed inside the first road wheel;

The power unit of the "Pershing" tank is located at the rear of the vehicle body. Devices including the planetary reducer, gearbox, and dual differential steering gear are all installed in a box that is fixed with the engine crankcase.

However, because the country's homeland is too far away from the main battlefields of tank operations in World War II, the development of many types of tanks in the country was carried out without feedback on the needs of frontline soldiers and a lack of experience. This resulted in technicians being unable to develop many tanks. Many difficulties were encountered in the process.

Moreover, the testing of tank prototypes is also conducted without the needs of the front line. This leads to a high probability that U.S. tanks will be rejected by the military equipment committee. This also greatly slows down the speed of American tanks from the factory to the battlefield.

Take the "Pershing" tank as an example. It already took shape in 1943 and did not officially arrive on the battlefield until January 1945. At this time, there were only four months left before the Soviet Red Army planted the red flag on the Reichstag in Berlin. It was almost It lost the opportunity to compete with the "Tiger" tank, and some minor mechanical failures in its design had not been resolved until the Korean War.

The main body of the M26 tank adopts a welded structure, which is slightly better than the "Tiger" and "Leopard" tanks in terms of overall armor protection, but the advantage is not very great.

The frontal armor of the "Pershing" tank is at least 4% thicker than the M120 Sherman tank, reaching 47mm. The front part of the vehicle body uses 101mm armor with an inclination of 150 degrees, which is equivalent to about mm of vertical armor.

In fact, the actual strength is greater due to the tilt effect. The armor in this area is better than the 100mm vertical armor of the "Tiger" and has the same strength as the 55-degree 85mm tilted armor of the "Panther";

For the protection of the turret, the "Pershing" tank uses a 114mm arc-shaped gun mantlet. This type of gun mantlet is basically the same as the 140mm vertical gun mantlet of the "Tiger" and the 110mm curved mantlet of the "Panther". At the same level, except for the facing part, there is a strength bonus brought by the arc.

Therefore, the overall armor performance of the "Pershing" tank is slightly stronger than that of the "Tiger".

Such strong armor strength makes the M26 tank basically ineffective against Kwk-36 and Kwk-42 main gun attacks from a thousand meters away. However, it will be a bit difficult to face the Kwk-43 that was later improved by the Germans. .

The large number of machine-heavy light tanks that Nazi Germany equipped on the front line had almost no ability to resist when facing the M26. Unless there was a huge difference in numbers and the gun mantlet of the Pershing tank was successfully destroyed, they would be like "iron cans". People slaughter.

In addition to the frontal armor, the M26's side armor defense capabilities are also very good. Its 76mm thickness is twice that of the M4 Sherman tank.

Although the thickness of the side armor of the "Tiger" tank reaches an astonishing 82mm, due to the taller body of the Tiger tank, some parts above the tracks are not covered by armor, and the thickness of the staggered load-bearing track system is only 60mm, so it is Compared with the tightly wrapped side armor of the "Pershing", the "Tiger" tank is still slightly inferior, not to mention the 50mm armor of the "Panther" tank's mid-tank level.

The M26 tank's very reliable side armor also allows it to have a larger enemy sector than other tanks on the battlefield, allowing it to navigate the ever-changing battlefield with ease.

The main gun of the "Pershing" tank is the M3-L/50 90mm tank gun. This large-caliber weapon has a higher penetration capability than the "Tiger" Kwk-36 when equipped with armor-piercing projectiles.

Compared with the Kwk-42 main gun of the "Panther" tank, the 90mm gun of the "Pershing" has more advantages when facing the sloped armor of enemy tanks and attacking enemy bunkers.

In addition, the M26 turret has another biggest advantage, which is that its rotation speed is very fast. The rotation speed of 18 seconds/revolution is almost the same even when compared with the Sherman tank, which is famous for its rotation speed. You must know that the "Tiger" "It takes 60 seconds for a tank's turret to make one revolution.

This means that on a battlefield where every second is precious, the "Pershing" tank will react much faster to threats than the "Tiger" tank, and will have a greater advantage in gaining the upper hand.

In actual combat, the "Pershing" has the ability to destroy the "Tiger" tank outside its effective attack range. Only when the distance between the two sides is reduced to less than 500 meters can they be evenly matched.

In February 1945, the first batch of "Pershing" tanks arrived at the front line. In the initial battle, both sides won and lost each other (the first loss of Pershing tanks came from a sneak attack by "Tiger" tanks). What truly proved the strength of "Pershing" was a battle that took place in the southern suburbs of Berlin:

A "Pershing" tank fired three shots in a row, destroying a "Tiger" and a "Leopard" 800 meters away. Although the war was nearing the end, this news still made the US armor The morale of the troops was boosted.

Generally speaking, as a tank specifically designed for the "Tiger", the "Pershing" has basically completed its mission. Although the 42-ton body is still slightly thin when facing the "King Tiger", it is not as good as the "Tiger King". "Compared with slightly better combat performance, it can basically crush medium tanks like the German Panzer IV.

The only shortcoming is that it appears too late. If it had appeared earlier, it might have changed the outcome of many battles.

After the second station, the design layout of the "Pershing" tank ran through the tank design ideas of the US military, and its shadow can be seen on American tanks for the next half century.

It can be said that the "Pershing" tank plays a role in connecting the past and the future in the history of modern tank development, and its power layout is a valuable asset.

1945年1月，首批20辆T26E3潘兴运抵安特卫普，第3装甲师和第9装甲师各领取了10辆，车组在一个月内经过层层筛选和严格训练。

Starting from February 2, Pershings from the 25rd Armored Division and the 3th Armored Division went into battle, and each had its own victory or defeat in battles with Tiger, Panther and other tanks.

潘兴的首个损失发生在2月26日，第3装甲师第33装甲团F连一辆名为“火球”的T26E3坦克在把守埃尔斯多夫附近的路口时遭到一辆虎式坦克的近距离伏击。

The Tiger fired three times in total, and the first shot penetrated the gun mantlet, killing the gunner and loader;

The second shot hit the barrel, causing damage to the barrel;

The third shot passed over the right side of the turret and blew off the conning tower hatch.

After the Tiger succeeded in the sneak attack, it tried to reverse and evacuate, but was abandoned because it got stuck in the rubble. The "Fireball" returned to the battlefield in March after repairs.

3月6日，第3装甲师进入科隆，当第32装甲团接近科隆大教堂时，一辆埋伏的豹式坦克击毁了F连的一辆M4A1谢尔曼。

The T26E3 Pershing of Company E participated in the pursuit. At a distance of 110 meters, Pershing took the lead in firing, hitting the Panther turret and the side three times in total, detonating the ammunition and burning the entire vehicle.

On the same day, two Pershings from Company D and Company G destroyed a Tiger tank and a Panzer IV respectively.

However, a Pershing of Company H of the 33rd Armored Regiment was hit by a Rhino tank destroyer in Nigel, a small town near Cologne, and was burned down. The crew escaped safely.

第9装甲师的T26E3潘兴在强渡莱茵河的行动中表现突出，并为夺取鲁登道夫大桥的步兵提供火力支援，阻止了德军工兵炸毁大桥，仅有一辆第9装甲师的M26在渡过鲁尔河时被两发150毫米榴弹击伤行走机构而瘫痪。

除了这20辆潘兴之外，在整场战争中还有一辆属于第3装甲师的T26E4-1超级潘兴加装了从豹式坦克的首上切割下来的钢板作为附加装甲。

Regarding the Pacific battlefield, in March 1945, the United States reported that 3 Pershings (which had been designated as M12 tanks at this time) were shipped to the Pacific to prepare for the Battle of Okinawa.

However, due to delays, when these Pershing tanks arrived in Naha, it was already July 7. The war in Okinawa had long ended, and Pershing was unable to catch up with the war against Japan.

Due to its late appearance, Japanese intelligence agencies knew nothing about the existence of the M26 tank.

A total of 1436 Pershings were produced by the end of the war, of which 310 were deployed on the battlefield.

After the war, the U.S. armored forces were reorganized. All M26 tanks continued to serve in the U.S. military and were improved to the M26A1. The main improvement points were the replacement of the M3A1 tank gun with a barrel smoke exhauster and a muzzle brake, as well as a gun with enhanced barrel stability. shelf.

M26真正有所发挥要等到1950年7月大量M26运抵南棒后，到1950年底运至战场的M26共有309辆，该坦克在面对北棒人民军的T-34/85坦克有压倒性优势，因此成员将T-34/85蔑称为沙丁鱼罐头。

After the Peninsula War entered the counter-offensive phase in November 1950, battles between tanks decreased sharply. Although there were T-11/34 and IS-85 tanks receiving assistance from Mao Xiong, there were few opportunities for combat.

此时M26先天动力不足的毛病在地型起伏的丘陵区便十分麻烦，因此1951年后M26在战场上的角色便被紧急配发上战场的M46巴顿坦克与M4A3谢尔曼所取代，任务仅剩第二线支援与M46的训练用。

After the war, all M26 tanks were shipped to Neon for scrap. You must know that these tanks are still in usable condition and even have unloaded fuel and ammunition.

In April 1945, the U.S. 4rd Armored Division had invaded Germany. On April 3, this armored division, which had fought its way from the Normandy beaches, had captured Paderborn, one of the training bases for the German armored forces, and attacked Germany. Dessau advances in depth.

On April 4, the Welburn Task Force of this division was very lucky to receive a new tank-the T7E26 "Super Pershing".

The Pershing tank was developed by the US military to deal with the Tiger tank, while the Super Pershing was developed to restrain the King Tiger tank. Its main gun was replaced by a T15E1 long-barreled 90mm tank gun, with a shell speed as high as 1173.48 meters per second. It can penetrate 1000mm armor with an inclination of 30 degrees at a distance of 215 meters.

In addition, its tracks are very wide, allowing it to negotiate rugged terrain with agility.

The tank is operated by the Materia crew of the 3st Company of the 33rd Tank Regiment of the 1rd Armored Division. The tank commander, Sergeant Joseph Matria, has been fighting in Western Europe for 9 months. He does not like the turret. In the narrow space, he likes to open the hatch cover during combat - although it is more dangerous, his ability to observe the surrounding situation is also enhanced.

The gunner, Corporal John Owen, was only 19 years old and a recruit who graduated from tank school in 1944. However, during the military school, he happened to participate in Pershing tank training and had certain experience.

On April 4, Task Force Welborn crossed the Saale River and headed towards the interior of Germany. When they arrived near Dessau, their superiors ordered the Materia convoy to deal with the German stragglers harassing the U.S. convoy. , after the huge Super Pershing appeared, several grenades and white phosphorus bombs hit the opponent and fled.

On April 4, the 21rd Armored Division besieged Dessau from four directions, with Task Force Hogan attacking from the west, Task Force Bolst and Task Force Auer attacking from the southwest, and Task Force Welborn attacking from the west. The task force attacked from the south. According to reconnaissance, Dessau was defended by cadets from the Wehrmacht Combat Engineer School and some SS troops.

Task Force Welburn's attack route was blocked by a solid anti-tank roadblock. Neither the US tank crew nor the mechanized infantry of the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment had the tools to break the obstacle. They had to use artillery shells to blast away the obstacle, which cost a lot of money. After a lot of effort, the U.S. infantry formed a fan-shaped battle formation and carefully searched the streets of the town.

After the U.S. tanks broke through the roadblock, Matria's T26E4 was deployed in a hidden location near the intersection. The U.S. military expected that the German defenders would be infantry, so it loaded a grenade.

Soon after, there was a roar that was completely different from that of American tanks - German tanks! Matria saw a German King Tiger tank a few hundred meters away.

When Materia, an experienced veteran, saw it was the King Tiger, he ordered the crew to stay hidden and move closer before attacking.

Unexpectedly, Tiger King discovered it first. Tiger King fired first at about 550 meters. Fortunately, the opponent may have been too impatient and missed the first shot.

Gunner John Owen reacted immediately and quickly fired the grenade from the barrel. The grenade bounced off the King Tiger and exploded in the air.

Irving shouted to his loader: "Load armor-piercing rounds!" Before firing, the Pershing tank shook violently - it was hit by something again, but until the end of the battle, the U.S. military did not know whether it was hit by German tanks or anti-aircraft guns. The tank gun was still hit by the rocket launcher, but it couldn't have been hit by the King Tiger. Otherwise, the Pershing tank should have been penetrated at this time.

Owen carefully observed the battlefield situation. The King Tiger was still advancing. However, the German tank crew may not have noticed that there was a gravel field ahead. Therefore, the German tank bumped along with the ups and downs of the terrain, and inadvertently turned the side of the turret. exposed.

The King Tiger's frontal armor is up to 180 mm, but its side armor is only 80 mm.

Pershing decisively seized and destroyed it, aiming at the side of the King Tiger turret and firing an armor-piercing projectile.

The huge explosion even blew open the target's turret, killing German armored personnel.

This duel lasted only 20 seconds. After a short and tense battle, the US Super Pershing tank won.

The next morning, this Pershing was deployed in the center of Dessau to assist the US infantry in repelling a German counterattack.

During this battle, the US military encountered another Tiger tank.

German artillery shells even passed between Pershing's tracks!

There was also a Panther tank that tried to detour from the rear of the Matria crew, but the U.S. military discovered this tank in advance. The Pershing tank started and changed its position. Instead, it came to the side of the Panther. Pershing shot it Damaging the Panther's drive wheels and left suspension, the second shot penetrated the Panther's weak side armor (45 mm), igniting its fuel and ammunition.

Soon, the Panther tank burst into flames. This huge fire blocked the road and was later towed away by the US military.

But within a few seconds, another German tank appeared. Just as Irving was about to fire, the enemy got off the tank and surrendered. It turned out that they had run out of ammunition.

The Battle of Dessau lasted until April 4 and was the last battle of the Pershing tank in World War II.

The U.S. 3rd Armored Division greatly publicized the battle after the battle. The fact that the Super Pershing tank could destroy the King Tiger, the most powerful mass-produced tank of the German army, was obviously an exciting feat.

However, later, as historical materials were made public, many historical researchers and netizens questioned the German tank model - it is difficult to find the loss record of this King Tiger in the German historical materials.

In addition, the U.S. military during World War II really couldn't distinguish the types of tanks on the battlefield, so some people have suggested that this Tiger King may actually be a Panther tank with a similar appearance to the Tiger King, or a four-wheel tank with tracks as additional defense. tank.

In fact, the Ugly Army's strength was not strong in the early stage of the second station, and this was still due to geographical issues.

Their most powerful weapon is logistics. In the second European battlefield, there were German divisions that were wiped out, British divisions that were wiped out, and the Mao Xiong Division that was wiped out.

However, there has never been a US military division that has been completely wiped out. It seems that it is an impossible task to completely wipe out a US military force.

In the second station, the greatest result achieved by the German army was probably the annihilation of the 422nd and 423rd regiments of the US Army in the Ardennes Counterattack.

In the view of the German army, the US military was far stronger than the Soviet army.

But the strong point lies in logistics, not frontal strength.

Whether a unit can continue to fight for a long time actually depends to a large extent on what kind of logistical assistance a unit can get, especially during the second station period, the opening battle of modern war.

Logistics supplies have become a top priority for whether an army can win or even survive. In World War II, the country that did the best logistical supply work was undoubtedly the Ugly Country.

At that time, the ugly country had the highest war potential in the world.

Although the country only accounts for 7.1% of the capitalist world's area and 6.5% of its population, its total industrial output in 1937 accounted for 41.1% of the capitalist world's.

Nearly half of the mechanical products in the market of capitalist countries.

One-third of the coal, two-thirds of the oil, and two-fifths of the steel and pig iron are all supplied by the United States.

The United States also occupies two-fifths of the capitalist world's power generation capacity, producing about 40% of the electricity.

In the last three years before the second leg, China supplied four major food crops to the world, including wheat, corn, barley and oats.

The country also became the world's largest food exporter at that time, and the country occupied about one-third of the railway network and two-thirds of the total number of cars in the capitalist world. It also brought these to the country. The ability to coordinate resources to any corner of the country.

Especially after "Order No. 9082" was issued, the U.S. Army's logistics command organization carried out a systematic and comprehensive reform in 1942.

In fact, the US military also encountered supply difficulties during the Philippine Campaign. At that time, the US military did not lack ammunition, but it was seriously short of medicine and food.

These problems have been solved after the reform.

Since then, Chou State has established a specialized logistics force and a logistics force headquarters.

Lieutenant General Somerville was the first commander of this logistics force headquarters, but in fact, it was Chief of Staff Marshall who was responsible for overall planning of the country's logistics work.

In addition, subordinate units of the US military, including the Army Aviation, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Marine Corps, also have separate logistics organizations.

This is very rare in other countries during the second stop.

After the U.S. military landed in Europe, the U.S. military also set up a dedicated automobile transport brigade unit responsible for logistics work, as well as the famous "Red Ball Express" plan.

In addition, the U.S. military also used air transportation on a large scale to supply the front line for the first time, and the Hump Route was a product of it.

The U.S. military's strong logistics capabilities even gave the U.S. military the spare capacity to airdrop "turkey dinners" to U.S. troops on the front lines on Thanksgiving Day in 1944.

This is a real turkey dinner, which shows how wealthy the US military was at that time.

After all, from the turkey itself to the tinfoil used to keep it warm, every detail is a reflection of the strong logistics capabilities of the US military.

On the other hand, the Soviet army can be said to be completely behind the US military in terms of logistical supplies.

The Soviet army’s logistics sources mainly come from five directions:

1. Supplies produced by its own military factories are uniformly deployed by the Soviet Supreme Command. However, due to the industrial chaos in Woolly Bear during the war, these supplies could not always be distributed to the frontline troops.

2. Raise troops locally and use local supplies to supply the troops.

This is also the most common way of supply for the Soviet army during wartime. Because the road conditions in Mao Xiong are so bad, many Soviet logistics supplies often cannot keep up with the speed of the frontline troops.

3. Captured trophies, these materials are generally used directly by Soviet troops.

After the Soviet army entered the counterattack stage, this method gradually began to appear.

4. Material support provided by local people. This point is actually somewhat vague to the second point.

The main defining point is whether the local people are willing to "take the initiative to provide supplies." But in wartime, this definition point is often very vague.

5. Support provided by the Lend-Lease Acts of Britain and the United States.

From here we can also see that the Soviet army has "a lot of ways" to supply, but this in itself actually means that the Soviet army's logistics work is not in place, so the frontline troops need to "fend for themselves."

Because the road conditions in the Soviet Union were so poor, the Soviet army's logistics often even relied on human transportation and animal power transportation. To put it bluntly, it means people push horses.

During the war, the Soviet Union's defense expenditure accounted for more than half of the country's total revenue. Compared with the ugly country, this was actually a little insufficient.

The Mao Xiong just can't do it and carry out the war with ease.

Relatively speaking, from rifles to rations, the Mao Xiong soldiers are basically inferior to the US military.

The Soviet army's individual soldier equipment in World War II was quite complex. Sometimes even the same unit in the same squad had very different equipment.

Because many Soviet soldiers will use captured equipment, some Soviet soldiers even have all their equipment except military uniforms taken from the Germans.

If there must be a standard, then simply take the Soviet-armed Polish People's Army as an example.

In addition to the basic military uniforms and helmets, the Polish People's Army's additional equipment is only a "Bobosha" submachine gun, a belt, a pistol holster and a pistol, as well as a compass and a telescope.

In fact, such equipment is already considered very good in the Soviet Union.

But the Ugly Army's individual equipment is relatively much more.

This is especially true after the U.S. military launched the Normandy landing, because at this time, the U.S. military had already gained sufficient logistics experience in the Philippine Campaign and the Pacific War.

In addition to basic military uniforms and weapons, U.S. soldiers are also equipped with gas masks, morphine syringes, poison gas detection armbands, engineer shovels, and M7 carrying bags. This backpack can not only be used to hold things, but also help soldiers float in the water.

In addition, there is an M1928 canvas bag, an M1910 water bottle holder, and an M1942 medical bag.

In addition, there are many ammunition bags, miscellaneous bags, etc.

These materials not only greatly ensure the survivability of soldiers, but also effectively improve the morale and defense capabilities of soldiers. These have greatly improved the overall combat effectiveness of the US military itself.

In contrast, it was difficult for the Soviet Union to obtain these "equipment blessings."

At the same time, the US military also attaches great importance to the spiritual world of soldiers.

The US military even launched a special "military supply version of books".

The categories are quite diverse, ranging from "The Great Gatsby" to "There Was a Murderer at Harvard University" and "Benjamin Franklin".

It can be said that these military-supplied books include suspense, biographies, modern classics, classical novels, and even comics and comedy books.

Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is the most popular military edition book. This book tells a lively and lovely childhood story of a child.

Perhaps it is these books that help the grassroots soldiers of the US military to maintain themselves and their rational thinking on the battlefield under heavy gunfire, and help the US soldiers not to collapse.

While the Soviet army was rolling in the snow, the American soldiers could comfortably sip tea and read in warm sleeping bags in foxholes. These people seemed more like they were here for an "outing".

On the other hand, because the U.S. Army landed in Western Europe very late, the U.S. military during the Normandy landings often had a very high degree of training completion.

This is actually reflected in the classic film and television drama "Band of Brothers". Before going to the battlefield, new recruits from the Ugly Kingdom often need to undergo several months of training in order to adapt to life in the army and the battlefield.

Although American soldiers will definitely have some discomfort when they first go to the battlefield, they are definitely much better than Soviet citizens who were hastily recruited. because

The great defeat of the Soviet army in the early stages of the war also led to the Soviet army recruiting a large number of civilians into the army in the early stages of the war.

However, due to the tense situation on the front line, these soldiers are often pushed to the front line without any training.

These Soviet soldiers may have been citizens of Kiev or Moscow one day, but became soldiers the next day. In fact, this is also a certain "tradition" of the Soviet army.

During the Winter War, the Finnish army once used a Soviet soldier as a "propaganda model". This Soviet soldier was actually an ordinary citizen before going to the battlefield.

He was dragged into the army just because he wanted to go to a store in the city to buy a pair of shoes for his wife.

Until the soldier was captured by the Finns, he was still holding the pair of shoes tightly in his hand.

He didn't know where he was at all, and he didn't know his identity at all.

Fortunately, the Finns did not make things difficult for him and even gave him a new pair of shoes.

But the German troops on the Soviet-German battlefield were far more cruel than the Finnish troops.

The Soviet army, filled with a large number of new recruits, naturally had very low combat effectiveness in the eyes of the Germans.

People are like rice and steel. Without logistical supplies, ammunition and fuel, modern war is impossible.

The Ugly people have obviously grasped the essence of war in advance!

In this regard, other countries are completely lagging behind. If I have to say which country can compete with the Chinese in terms of logistics, I am afraid that the only one is the Germans.

1944年7月，德国工业达到了战争年代发展的最高峰。头半年工厂生产了16，000多架飞机、8，300辆重型和中型坦克及强击炮。

Uncle Xi squeezed out the last bit of strength from the country and people in an attempt to delay its inevitable defeat.

It carried out mobilization after mobilization, causing great damage to the German nation.

The German army had 324 divisions and 5 brigades at that time.

Most of its most combat-effective regiments are still deployed on the Soviet-German battlefield.

Fighting against our army on the Soviet-German battlefield were 179 full divisions and 5 brigades of the German army, and 49 divisions and 12 brigades of the slave countries.

These forces total 430 million men, with 59 artillery and mortars, 000 tanks and assault guns, and nearly 7 combat aircraft.

The Soviet combat forces totaled approximately 660 million officers and soldiers. Each front had 98 artillery and mortars, 100

tanks and self-propelled artillery, 12 aircraft.

Let’s not talk about how much supplies a reorganized division consumes. Let’s start step by step, starting with an infantry squad.

一个10人步兵班的武器配置：班长装备有1把9毫米MP40冲锋枪，配有6只32发弹匣；

机枪手装备1挺7.92毫米MG-34/42通用机枪，此外，机枪手还配有1把9毫米鲁格P-08或瓦尔特P-38手枪，备弹50发。

机枪副手身背1-2根备用枪管，4只50发机枪弹鼓，以及1只300发的弹药箱，也配备1把9毫米鲁格P-08或瓦尔特P-38手枪和50发子弹用来自卫。

弹药手由班里的某个普通步兵兼职，携带2个300发弹药箱，同时携带1把7.92毫米毛瑟98K步枪作为武器，配备60发步枪弹。

The deputy squad leader, like other soldiers, carries a 7.92mm Mauser 98K rifle, and each of them carries 60 rounds of rifle ammunition.

二站时德军的基本配赋量：饼干250克、罐头肉200克、罐头蔬菜150克、咖啡25克、盐25克，

野战配赋量：面包750克、肉375克、蔬菜250克、咖啡25克、茶3克、糖20克、盐25克。

The total for a day in the field is about 1.5 kilograms and 3 meals.

It is assumed that drinking water is taken locally and does not occupy rear transportation.

In addition, the soldier also has 2 grenades (perhaps Type 24 wooden handle grenade or Type 39 egg grenade), which will be strengthened by the Iron Fist recoilless gun in the later stage.

So, calculate how much supplies this infantry squad needs to consume in a day.

Before calculating, you need to understand a logistics term: quota and base.

The above-mentioned dietary standards are "quotas", which refer to the rations that a soldier should obtain per day. However, during combat, the standards are quite unstable due to the influence of the environment, so this dietary quota refers to "should" rather than "fixed".

The base number generally refers to the daily consumption of weapons and ammunition.

Normally, the ammunition carried by each person in the infantry squad is the ammunition for that day, that is, a base number; when the artillery marches, considering that it is far away from the supply line, it may march with several base ammunition.

Infantrymen will also carry extra ammunition when traveling long distances away from the supply depot (for example, the German infantryman above has 60 rounds of ammunition, but his marching belt can carry 90 rounds of ammunition, and he will carry more shotguns in his backpack).

The base number refers to the daily consumption of weapons and ammunition calculated through statistics. For example, the base number of a 122-meter gun during the Vietnam War was 80 rounds of ammunition.

However, in reality, a day is likely to consume far more than so many bullets and artillery shells. Therefore, before a large-scale battle breaks out, several basic ammunition will be stuffed in the garrison holes and ammunition depots in the position to prepare for consumption.

The date of a major battle is calculated on a daily or even monthly basis, so dozens of basic ammunition will be stored in the rear area and transported to the front at any time.

Therefore, generally speaking, the Germans will build supply depots dozens of kilometers away from the battlefield. Division-level supply depots are a few kilometers away from the front line. Battalion-level supply depots will begin to take ammunition from there and transport it to the front line.

(End of this chapter)