It would be a good thing to have an engine with higher horsepower output available.
But the bad news is that this new diesel engine cannot be expected in the short term. Guderian had previously known about this improved engine plan led by Porsche.
To be honest, when will this diesel engine solution for tanks, which was only approved this year and has never been involved before, be used? Guderian feels that it is great news that it can be equipped with troops next year.
It is a foregone conclusion that the early batch of Tiger II heavy tanks will be able to maneuver their hips. Guderian still clearly remembers the head of state's furious roar at the meeting demanding that the Tiger II heavy tanks must be officially put into production this month.
The superiority of Russian heavy tanks has made the head of state who has seen too much such news intolerable. Who knows how those Russian heavy tanks can still maintain the speed of upgrading while maintaining their existing equipment advantages?
Peak.
Guderian himself found this unbelievable, and could not understand where the Russians' powerful and continuous development power came from.
The visit to the Porsche version of the Tiger II tank prototype has come to an end. In terms of firepower, the main gun is actually the vehicle-mounted version of the pak43 88mm anti-tank gun. Guderian is already familiar with the performance of this powerful anti-tank gun.
, and didn’t waste too much time on this.
Henschel's Tiger II tank prototype is progressing faster and has been transported to the training ground for actual performance testing. Guderian just visited the actual vehicle performance of the prototype yesterday, and there were many other people with the head of state.
Senior officials together.
The very satisfied head of state nodded frequently at the test site. Looking at the captured T34 that was smashed into a sieve by two cannons, he showed an ecstatic smile. The German tanks conquered the Russians as if they were chatting and laughing within a short distance. All the Russians
Even your shabby tractor will bow before the muzzle of the Tiger II tank.
Guderian was embarrassed to displease the Führer, but what he saw was the poor maneuverability of the Henschel prototype. When climbing a hill, he even tried to reverse and accelerate twice before finally rushing straight up and over the hill.
Crossing the slope, her slow movements were like that of an old woman crossing the street in Berlin, grunting and struggling so hard that Guderian shook his head secretly.
Disappointed that the Porsche version of the prototype was also not much different, the unhappy Guderian ended his trip to the Nibelungen factory. He was worried about the Tiger II heavy tank and the future of the German armored forces.
Worry is all written on his face.
Seeing Guderian back in the car so depressed and worried, the adjutant sitting in the front passenger seat also felt uncomfortable. He was also a professional armored soldier and could sympathize with Guderian's mood.
He felt that he should do something for the general now, at least change his bad expression.
"At least there is good news from Man Company, General. The improved Panther II tank is excellent enough and can fully meet the actual needs of frontline troops. You think so too, don't you?"
Guderian could tell that this was a young man deliberately choosing things that would make him happy and talking about them specifically, but this still could not change the Tiger II tank's tendency to "add more noodles to water, and more water to noodles". The more outrageous the facts.
The armor that was constantly being piled up in order to withstand the enemy's powerful anti-armor firepower brought an increasingly heavy tonnage burden. This increase in speed, which was even more exaggerated than blowing up a balloon, was really unacceptable to Guderian.
"The Russians' heavy tanks are updated too fast. Now we are completely led by the enemy. What new tanks the Russians launch, we have just found a way to deal with the last heavy tank. Such a situation It's already in front of our eyes, but some people just pretend not to see it and still indulge in their own imaginations."
Guderian was usually a relatively taciturn person who liked to talk less and do more. Even to the people closest to him, he rarely said too many useless words.
It was rare for Guderian to open up his chat box and express his true feelings, so the young adjutant was naturally willing to be a loyal listener.
"I even have a premonition, a very strong premonition! The Tiger II heavy tank is still not enough to face the situation on the battlefield. I bet the Russians must be actively developing more powerful heavy tanks now. Do you remember before? The battlefield witness report we received? I think this is proof, at least there are bad omens."
Of course the young adjutant who was his personal assistant knew what Guderian was referring to.
On the battlefield of Prokhorovka, which had just concluded and ended disastrously, a piece of bad news came that was shocking but could not be confirmed.
More than one soldier or officer claimed that they encountered a very powerful new Russian heavy tank during the battle.
This kind of tank is rare and hard to come across, but once encountered on the battlefield, it will definitely herald the worst battle to come.
Because seeing this kind of tank means that you have encountered the most elite heavy tank unit of the Russians. Those Russians fought to the end, were brave and fierce, and would never surrender. They were all die-hard die-hards who believed in Stalin! The battle with them was simply unbearable. It is like a concrete manifestation of the bloody hell of Stalingrad, which can remind people of the unbearable nightmare.
Similar rumors were widely circulated among soldiers on the front line, especially among the SS troops on the southern battlefield.
After putting together the known oral accounts, it can be basically concluded that this is a type of appearance that is more similar to the "smashed T34" rather than the "Stalin 1\2" that has been confirmed to be mass-produced and installed. new heavy tank.
The three indicators of firepower, protection, and mobility are all perfect. The Russians seem to have really found a good key point to balance the three elements. Even the most powerful Ferdinand-type heavy tank destroyer seems to be difficult to damage it.
Unfortunately, the frontline troops did not capture one of these rumored new tanks. Instead, they returned in defeat with Prokhorovka being killed. All the information is only the oral accounts of eyewitnesses, some of which are unprofessional. The SS infantry who were not proficient in armored vehicles even described it as a "giant T34" because it looked too much like it!
As the saying goes, if there is no wind, there will be no waves. If something goes wrong, there will be monsters.
Guderian felt that so many eyewitness testimonies of soldiers on the front line could never be fabricated. One person could be wrong, and two, three or even ten people could be wrong.
But when the total number of surviving soldiers and even officers, which can amount to an entire battalion, all say that they have seen this terrifying monster, it would be a real fool's behavior to refuse to admit the objective facts.
Guderian was extremely eager to learn more key information about this rumored tank. Not knowing the specific performance of the opponent's equipment was the most terrifying information asymmetry on the battlefield. Just like the German army before Operation Barbarossa, it was completely
I didn’t know that the weird-looking T34 could be so scary.
Guderian flew all the way back to Berlin with a heavy heart and complicated thoughts, preparing to report the results of his trip to the head of state. He had just returned to his office and had not had time to sit down and take a breath.
The adjutant who had just parted shortly after getting off the bus once again appeared in front of Guderian with an unknown stranger, who knocked on the door of Guderian's office.
"General, emergency! The latest news about the enemy's new heavy tank has been confirmed!"