My client Li Yunlong

"How to counter tank mines?"

"This is easy. Just add an anti-tank chain roller kit in front of the tank."

"Every tank can be retrofitted with it. The interface is right on the armor, and it is very convenient. The roller kit directly uses the transmission wheel to output power. When the tank moves, the roller can sweep the mines in front of it."

"Except for the impact on the frontal field of view of the tank and the artillery firing range, there is no major impact on other aspects."

In the front-line command post of Ze County, the technical officer answered Ding Wei's question directly.

"Anti-tank chain rollers?"

Ding Wei was stunned.

Although the superiors organized training for the officers, Ding Wei was the most hardworking one among them. Even because of his relationship with Li Yunlong, the instructors gave him special treatment and individual tutoring at night.

But due to time constraints, he has only learned half of the course so far.

So Captain Ding didn’t know about the existence of anti-tank rollers.

"Yes, every tank has one."

“But there are not many on the front line, and it will take two days to install them.”

The technical officer replied.

He took out the anti-mine chain roller kit and showed it to Ding Wei.

"it is good!"

Looking at the drawings, Ding Wei suddenly understood.

He just said it.

Anti-tank mines are such troublesome weapons, but it is unreasonable that tanks were not equipped to deal with them when they were first designed.

So there is this.

The roller with several-meter-long iron chains extending five or six meters forward will roll when the tank starts, swinging the iron chains and hitting the ground continuously. The pressure is comparable to that of the tank tracks.

Naturally, it can trigger the explosion of anti-tank mines.

The explosion is not very destructive to the chain, and the chain roller can even be used repeatedly.

"Immediately refit one-third of the tanks of the front-line troops."

Ding Wei ordered.

Although the Japanese have laid a large number of anti-tank mines, they cannot modify all tanks. After all, the roller kit will affect the artillery's firing range and the driver's field of vision.

However, the anti-tank mine problem on the front line can be solved by simply adding a roller chain kit to some of the vehicles.

"Yes!"

The technician went to arrange it immediately.

"Tsk tsk, the technique is really good."

Ding Wei couldn't help but sigh,
He had a stronger motivation to study military knowledge seriously, otherwise he would not be able to command the troops.

···
At noon that day.

Tank Logistics Center located in Nanzhen.

"Damn it."

"What a bastard."

"Feeding on dog food."

An Eighth Route Army officer, covered in oil, was cursing and swearing without a single nice word coming out of his mouth. Around him were tanks and simple maintenance centers.

The Eighth Route Army logistics soldiers are busy in these centers.

Disassembling the engine, maintaining, replacing the engine, repairing the gearbox, repairing the chassis, replacing the turret... The front-line troops' devastating massacre of the Japanese was due to the hard work of the logistics soldiers in the rear.

but···

"Damn it."

After looking around, the logistics officer saw tanks being sent back from the front line for overhaul. He could no longer bear it and immediately started cursing:
"Damn it, we're still newbies!"

Yes.

The army’s tank logistics group is now here, and it was established less than half a year ago.

Only half a year,

They are still a group of new recruits when they are placed abroad.

Moreover, most of them were just a group of ordinary people who had little contact with machinery and equipment. Among the logistics and maintenance troops, only about one-third had some mechanical basics, and the rest were mechanical novices who had changed careers.

And what kind of people are they responsible for maintaining?
Not to mention the Sherman, this thing is quite easy to maintain - relatively speaking. Of course, it is far inferior to the Taihang truck and is not even on the same level.

To make a simple comparison, even for Sherman, who started maintaining Taihang trucks last year and has more than one year of experience in mechanical logistics maintenance, and who has previous experience in mechanical maintenance, it takes a whole day to replace the engine.

But Taihang truck only needs two hours.

Moreover, the latter only needs half the staff of the former.

But, in all-round comparison, Sherman is really pretty good.

After all, there are a lot of other guys in the repair center nowadays.

Tiger, Panther, KV2, and more than a dozen multi-turret monsters - I don't know where Captain Li got these weird stuff from, they are all awesome.

The staggered road wheels and complex internal structure of the Tiger and Panther tanks are a logistical nightmare. A major overhaul requires a team of three full days. This is still repair by replacement, and any parts that can be replaced will be replaced, and subsequent maintenance will be carried out.

Luckily they had enough spare parts.

If all the repairs are done, faults eliminated, and spare parts consumption reduced, one tank will be enough to keep their team busy for a week.

Of course, if there are master chefs from independent groups, even for these novices like them, a little more than a day would be enough - technical masters are different.

It’s a pity that there are not enough master chefs, so they can only rely on themselves.

Although a big reason is that their logistics maintenance team lacks skills and proficiency, the structural design of the Tiger and Leopard is the more important reason.

As for KV2, don't even mention it.

If the Tiger and Leopard are still normal tanks, then the KV2 is simply the worst of the worst, with all kinds of weird mechanical designs and even unstable state. After the troops killed the Japanese officers' observation group, they brought back four of them, and none of them has been repaired to date.

It shows the general situation.

The technical leader from the independent regiment even said directly that the mechanical design was too poor and the combat effectiveness was too low. It was okay if they didn't do the repairs themselves. They couldn't learn much knowledge and could just let the troops practice. As for the multiple turrets...

The logistics officer looked at the five multi-turret tanks nearby.

Sighed deeply.

Other tanks are just awesome.

This thing is garbage.

Not as good as kv2.

At least they still have a 152mm heavy artillery, which can be used as a self-propelled artillery, but these things, no, these are garbage. One tank has three turrets, ranging from small-caliber 37 guns to a maximum of 76 caliber guns, and complex internal mechanical structures, resulting in a failure rate that is actually similar to that of KV2.

What's the use?
It is said to be a land battleship with powerful firepower.

Actually it is a land coffin!

Are you trying to help the Japanese gain victory?
These pieces of junk were only used once before the front line rejected them all. The front line said that three of them combined were not as good as a Sherman.
As for logistics, they are too lazy to repair it.

Why fix this crap?
No one uses it anyway.

Rubbish··
After a few complaints and curses, the anger brought about by the busyness quickly dissipated. Looking at the five multi-turret tanks piled up in the corner, the officer suddenly smiled.

It is a happy smile.

He is also a veteran of the Red Army.

Walk through the meadows and climb over the snow-capped mountains.

I experienced the most difficult period in the army.

Although he can curse now and call these tanks rubbish, if the troops had obtained such a tank, even two years ago, the division commander would probably have treated it as a treasure.

"Forget it, let's fix it when we have time."

He thought so.

···
"Yo."

"Anti-tank concrete pile."

Ze County,

frontline position,

Ding Wei arrived at the front line in a Sherman tank.

It has to be said that although the Sherman's combat effectiveness is far inferior to that of the Panther, and even its maneuverability is inferior, it has one very good feature: there is enough internal space to accommodate many people.

Suitable as a command vehicle.

At this time, Ding Wei came out from the top, holding up a 16x observation telescope and looking at the Japanese position in the distance, with a surprised tone and expression.

He saw a lot of cement anti-tank piles in front of the Japanese position.

Although he was not very familiar with mine-clearing chain rollers, he was certainly very clear about anti-tank piles - this was the most basic knowledge in the infantry textbooks and the most suitable fortifications to deal with tanks.

However, although the Japanese were bullied by tanks for several months, they never took them out.

Because the Japanese didn't have enough cement.

Unexpectedly, after four months and the loss of more than 100,000 troops, it was finally taken out.

"not bad."

Ding Wei just felt satisfied.

That's how it should be.

The superior's meaning is very clear.

Train, train!
Take this opportunity to train the troops' mechanized capabilities, use these old and backward tanks to train the troops' mechanized combat capabilities, and cultivate mechanized talents for the troops.

Otherwise, why would there be such a huge technological gap between these tanks and Taihang trucks?

Today, the mechanized combat capability of the troops has been improved.
It’s time for the Japs to come up with something real.

The intensity is definitely not enough to further enhance the combat capability of the troops.

"pity··"

Afterwards, Captain Ding smacked his lips with some regret.

The Japs don't have anti-tank artillery yet, otherwise the troops could further enhance their combat capabilities. How to deal with anti-tank artillery is a training subject for the tank troops, and the army's tank crews are already very skilled at it.

But the Japs really don’t have this thing.

Naturally, tactics cannot be tested in actual combat.

"These anti-tank stakes..."

Different from Ding Wei's perspective, the chief of staff who came with him sounded worried:
“Will it cause…?”

"There is no problem."

Ding Wei raised his head and spoke with confidence.

Defense is defense after all.

The tank is the king of land warfare, combining firepower, mobility, and defense.

The Ardennes Forest appendix and the Maginot Line, which still exists intact today, prove that mobility is also the core combat capability of tanks, and it is even a combat capability that has been overlooked by people for a long time.

The Japanese obviously ignored this point.

They have completely failed to learn the lessons their so-called allies have learned.

The placement of these tank piles is simply stupid. In the past, they were built wherever the army's tanks attacked from. Do they really think that tanks should advance and attack along the main roads?

No way.

No way?
"A bunch of idiots."

Ding Wei said with disdain.

The form of warfare will evolve with the advancement of technology. This is a recognized fact in today's military. Therefore, whether it is officers or grassroots soldiers and commanders, they must learn, learn and explore without stopping.

Otherwise, they would be like France, clinging to the experience of the last European war and being destroyed in less than two months. (End of this chapter)