Iron Cross

"Marshal Keitel, Keitel..." It wasn't until Hoffman shouted three times that the wandering marshal realized what he was doing and hurriedly stood up.

Hoffman had already noticed Keitel who was in a distracted state, and specifically asked by name: "I see you are thinking about being distracted. Does the High Command have different opinions on this?"

"Ah...no...no no no...my head of state, I mean." Keitel's stuttering appearance amused a large group of people, and even Speer couldn't help laughing. "What I want to express is, since the Panther and the Tiger have so much in common, why do we still produce the No. 5 tank whose defensive performance lags behind the Tiger tank? Can't we go all out to produce the Tiger?"

As soon as these words came out, they resonated with many people present: The Führer and Speer have always emphasized production capacity, and the Weapons Bureau also has this intention. Since the direction is the same, why not just produce all Tigers? Stimulated by the T-34 and KV series tanks on the Eastern Front, the Army has been pinning its hopes on the subsequent large-scale production of the No. 5 and No. 6 tanks, hoping that the new tanks will have both quality advantages and large quantity scale. But Hoffman knew clearly that this optimistic ideal had never been realized. Although the Panther and Tiger greatly overwhelmed the old and tough No. 4 tank in terms of performance, their quantity and production capacity were the greatest shortcomings. plate. Not to mention compared with the T34 and M4 Sherman, which have the highest output of 50,000 units, the total number of the Soviet KV series and IS series overwhelmed the number of Hawparos. If not, No. 4 would not have to continue fighting until 1945 - it's not that the Third Reich didn't want more tigers and leopards, it just couldn't meet the needs of the frontline troops.

"I think I can answer this question." Speer stood up and said calmly, "After the implementation of the tank rearmament plan, the high command drew up the first draft of the 1943 armored division, hoping to increase the number of tanks equipped by each division from the current average. The 160-180 vehicles per division were increased to about 250 vehicles, and the SS also proposed to expand several new divisions. In addition to the demands made by the Finns, Italians, Romanians, Hungarians, etc., the Ministry of Armament received The cumulative supplementary demand is approximately more than 1,200 vehicles per month. If we still need to complete the reorganization of several Panzergrenadier divisions required by the headquarters to be upgraded to armored divisions, plus my promise to update all No. 2 and No. 3 tanks. For the Panzer 4 plan, this number may need to be added to 500 vehicles, but our production capacity is far from keeping up. Before coming, I asked the four companies, Porsche, Henschel, MAN and Mercedes-Benz, if they would. According to the original design, the monthly output of No. 5 will not exceed 500 vehicles, and the output of No. 6 may only reach 200 vehicles. If all Tigers are converted to production, I can guarantee that the number of armored divisions on the Eastern Front next year will only be half of this year. Of course, General We can bet that with the new tank equipment we can complete the mission with half the armored divisions..."

This data was immediately confirmed by the Sixth Division of the Weapons Bureau. According to them, even if the "three shifts" are implemented, 80% of the plan proposed by Minister Speer can be completed. If production is carried out according to the simplified design of the head of state, , this number may be higher.

Everyone gasped, and the staff officers of the headquarters were stunned. Keitel was even more stunned and speechless: He originally thought that Speer's words might be exaggerated, but he did not expect that the Weapons Bureau's estimate was higher than the Armament Bureau's estimate. The Ministry was even less optimistic. He did not dare to take Speer's bet. If the armored divisions on the eastern front were reduced by half, the commanders of the army groups would have to unite and shoot him.

"Therefore, the production of the No. 4 tank cannot be weakened, but also needs to continue to be strengthened." Hoffman changed the topic and arranged the production tasks of the No. 4 tank. "The front line responded very well to the additional 30mm armor on the front of the G-type tank. , also has a positive attitude towards the newly tested 48-caliber 75mm tank gun, and recommends that the Weapons Bureau continue to improve and realize the production of new models next month.” In one sentence, the head of state advanced the H-type, the best of the No. 4 tanks, by 5 months. Released in March, the improved Type 4 H will adopt 75mmKwK

40L/48 tank gun, the front armor is thickened to 80mm, and the tonnage reaches 25 tons - almost the limit of improvement of the No. 4 tank.

Krupp's factory in Magdeburg is the main production force of the No. 4 tank, but its production potential has not been fully realized. In addition, although the factories in Womag and Nibelungen are also involved in production, they all thought it would It quickly switched to production of new No. 5 and No. 6 tanks, but the enthusiasm was not high. Although Hoffmann did not finalize whether Henschel or Porsche would undertake the production of the Tiger at the meeting, he believed that Dr. Porsche could understand the hint behind it: when it comes to modifying the design, Henschel needs to spend far less energy. As for Porsche, even though the Weapons Bureau announced that there will be a final comparison in November, from the inside and outside of the words, Porsche's design has obviously failed. In order to take care of Porsche's face, and to appease the technocrats of the Sixth Weapons Bureau, he said: "Doctor, I hope that the Nibelungen factory can increase the production intensity of the No. 4 tank, and the monthly output must be at least 400. Above, this order will last until at least 1944."

Porsche nodded sadly. He was a smart man and would not foolishly ask questions like "Will the war last until after 1944?" In his heart, he had accepted the reality that the Tiger bid had failed. The only thing that was gratifying was that the Führer In the name of past friendship, Porsche was given a large order quantity. Although this was only the improved No. 4, the quantity was quite large.

This sentence gave everyone at the scene a big impact. This was the first time the head of state expressed his position on the protracted war in public. In the past, everyone heard propaganda that as long as they gave the Russians another fatal blow, the war would soon begin. The tone that will end. Although this argument preached by Goebbels has been said too many times and not many people believe it, but hearing the Führer personally say that the war will not last until at least 1944, everyone's minds inevitably become heavy.

Colonel Tomale plucked up the courage and asked timidly: "Führer, do you mean that the war will continue for a long time?"

"Yes, the Americans' participation in the war gave Stalin and Churchill, these two bastards, a shot in the arm, but it was just a desperate struggle." Hoffman glanced around the venue with piercing eyes, trying to encourage them. "But I believe that the final victory must belong to the glorious National Socialism and the German people."

"To ensure the ultimate victory, the production quantity of tanks must be increased. The monthly output of 2,000 tanks required by the Ministry of Armament must be reached. In the future, tank production will be simplified to three types, including 1,000 No. 4 tanks, 750 Leopard tanks, and 250 Tiger tanks. Other deformed vehicles are separately considered. Before the mass production of new tanks, each production line will give priority to assisting the Ministry of Armament in completing the update of the old model and the supplementary production of No. 4. "Hoffman frowned and gave Keitel the order, "The headquarters should carry out the 1943 model. The armored division organization is adjusted: an armored division should have 2 armored regiments and 1 heavy armored battalion. One regiment is equipped with No. 4 tanks, one regiment is equipped with Panthers, and the heavy armored battalion is composed entirely of Tiger tanks. The grenadier division should have at least one armored battalion equipped with Panzer IV tanks, and no new armored divisions will be considered until these additions are completed."

Keitel was overjoyed. The suggestion made by the Führer was even better than the high command had hoped. He glanced at Speer secretly - he should be the one suffering now.

Perhaps infected by the atmosphere of the meeting, Dr. Kurt Arnold, the Henschel factory representative who had been silent and silent, suddenly raised his hand and spoke: "Dear Head of State, since we need to consider improving productivity, would you consider converting the Tiger tank to The nickel alloy armor production process is changed from cold-rolled forging to casting? Although the strength properties of cold-rolled forged steel are 6-8% higher, the cast hull and turret are obviously easier to produce. "

This is a difficult question to choose. The Weapons Bureau has rejected this suggestion after several discussions. After careful consideration, Hoffman finally said: "The Panther tank should use the casting process to increase production, but the Tiger tank is to compete for the battlefield." The number of those who control and suppress the opponent's tanks is small and must be maintained at the highest level and still remain cold-rolled and forged.”

The meeting was coming to an end. Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, Colonel Tomale originally wanted to continue to seek the opinions of the head of state on the design ideas of the follow-up heavy tank (the original "King Tiger"). Hoffman just started, Keitel Suddenly, he received a telegram from his adjutant. After taking a look at it, he frowned and his face became very ugly. He then handed the telegram to Speer. The latter's expression was even more exaggerated than Keitel's, and he was so angry that he almost wanted to file a lawsuit. When he stood up, seeing that his posture was not right, Colonel Tomale hurriedly announced the adjournment of the meeting, ignoring that Hoffman was still on the stage.