As for other Italian tanks, they were directly thrown into the arsenal, the turrets were dismantled, and they were converted into self-propelled artillery and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. The total number of this batch is more than 200 Italian tanks. The original extremely unreliable Fiat engines will be replaced. It was replaced with the engine used by the Soviet-made T26 tank, and at the same time, it was equipped with a French 105mm artillery or anti-aircraft weapon, and converted into a self-propelled artillery and anti-aircraft gun.
Yang Zhen always thought that the armor of the Soviet BT fast tanks and T-26 tanks was thin enough for the current battlefield. After the arrival of this batch of Italian-made so-called M-11 medium tanks and L-6 light tanks, , he discovered that the armor of these Italian tanks was almost the same as the Japanese Type 94 light tanks, which could only be regarded as armored vehicles at best.
Not to mention the Japanese Type 94 rapid-fire cannon and the new Type-1 rapid-fire cannon, even the 20mm infantry automatic cannon they are equipped with can easily destroy these tanks. Moreover, the engines of these tanks are extremely unreliable. The original design has structural defects. Due to recent limitations, these tanks cannot be improved.
Not to mention that the performance of its artillery was quite poor, and there were only a few artillery shells transferred with the vehicle. Because the turret capacity of these two tanks was limited, the British could not replace the two-pounder guns for them like the M.14 tanks, and captured them. The artillery used when the tank was transferred was still used when it was transferred over, but the shells used by these two tanks were extremely lacking.
Putting this kind of tanks on the battlefield is not fighting, it is simply going to die. In desperation, Yang Zhen would rather have a certain shortage of armored troops and wait for the Soviet Union's spoils. He did not dare to let these Italian tanks go to the battlefield, but threw them into the battlefield. Factory, one of the M13 tanks was equipped with a 100mm howitzer and converted into a self-propelled artillery, or used as a tank tractor.
The remaining large-head L-6 light tanks and M-11 tanks are equipped with twin 14mm anti-aircraft machine guns, or twin 23 anti-aircraft guns converted into self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons, but even so, these two tanks are The engine must be modified, otherwise the extra weight will be enough to make these tanks with weak hearts lie down.
The performance of these tanks was lagging behind, and there was almost no room for improvement. Yang Zhen would rather have his armored forces temporarily short of strength, and would rather take risks and wait for the trophies provided by the Soviets, rather than put these tanks into the front line as the main tanks. Use, but all changed to support equipment.
However, the Soviets did not let Yang Zhenque's tank troops wait too long. As the formation of the Moscow Battle came to an end, the Soviets, who had definitely won the victory, began to hand over them to the Anti-Japanese Alliance one after another. During the Moscow Battle, Captured German tanks, artillery and other weapons and equipment.
I don’t know what kind of thoughts these guys have, but they have already made their plans to go to the United States. With the end of the Moscow Battle, the Soviets handed over the seized equipment to the Anti-Japanese Alliance very quickly, and the battle entered the final preparations. During the stage, before the incident in which all U.S. equipment was seized by the Soviet Union and the turmoil caused by this incident, the Soviets had fulfilled all agreements.
Even at the end of December, when the battle to defend Moscow was still in its final stages, the first batch of 150,000 German helmets and 160 artillery pieces, as well as some small arms and ammunition handed over by the Soviets to the Anti-Japanese Alliance had already They are arriving one after another, but these artillery pieces are temporarily unable to be put into use due to lack of ammunition.
By the end of January, the Moscow Defense War came to an end. The Soviets, who were busy preparing to continue their counterattack, provided the Anti-Japanese Resistance Alliance with more than 100 German artillery pieces with a caliber of over 100 mm and 340 German tanks. As well as a batch of half-track armored personnel carriers and wheeled armored vehicles.
Although this batch of tanks is mainly based on Panzer III tanks, and there are even some Panzer II tanks and 38T tanks. The number of Panzer IV tanks is not large, less than a hundred, but Yang Zhen used this batch of German-made tanks to , before the launch of this campaign, the equipment organization of the armored forces was readjusted.
The mechanized infantry regiment of the 1st Armored Division used German-made half-track armored vehicles provided by the Soviets to replace most of the original transport trucks, while the 2nd Armored Division was mainly equipped with British, Italian and Soviet light tanks. In February, all tanks were replaced with German-made tanks.
After these German tanks arrived, the two tank regiments under the Second Armored Division, together with the German tanks transferred by the British in the early stage, each regiment was equipped with thirty Panzer IV tanks and sixty Panzer III tanks. The reconnaissance battalion directly under the division The BT fast tanks were changed to twenty German-made Panzer II tanks, and the BA armored vehicles were changed to German-made wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicles. However, because the half-track armored vehicles were mainly equipped with the 1st Armored Division, there were not many left. The division's mechanized infantry regiment still uses American-made trucks.
The Second Armored Brigade, whose equipment has never been fully equipped, received the T-26 tanks transferred from the Second Division and achieved the full complement of four battalions. The three independent tank regiments were equipped with some 38-T tanks and BT fast tanks, as for the third armored brigade, because they did not participate in the battle in this battle, Yang Zhen was not in a hurry to change their equipment.
After receiving more than 300 German tanks and a large number of armored vehicles handed over by the Soviets at one time, all the troops required for this operation have been fully staffed. At this time, Yang Zhen, who did not know that he would cause such a big disturbance in the future, still followed the plan. , preparing to replace this brigade with American-made tanks.
Although this plan ultimately came to nothing because the Soviets seized the first batch of tanks provided by the Americans to the Anti-Japanese War and used them for their own use, this matter was something that Yang Zhen, who was still implementing his plan step by step, was far from thinking about now. , he did not expect that the Soviets would really dare to take action at all costs after the two sides had signed the agreement.
Yang Zhen did not expect what happened next, but as the first batch of tanks provided by the British and the German tanks transferred by the Soviets arrived one after another, after his careful adjustments, at the launch stage of the campaign, the two armored vehicles scheduled to participate in the war were division, two independent armored brigades, and several independent tank battalions. All tank units have reached full strength. The fuel has arrived with the replenishment provided by the Americans, which is enough to support half a year's use.
Before the launch of the battle, not counting the two tank regiments provided to the advancing army, the number of tanks owned by the entire Anti-Japanese Alliance had reached thousands, ensuring the speed of breakthrough in this battle. Although the best-performing medium tanks among them , there are only 200 Soviet-made T-34 tanks and Panzer IV tanks, but they ensure sufficient assault means.
Not only did the Anti-Japanese Alliance rely on this batch of German goods provided by the Soviets to fill the gap in heavy equipment and replace old equipment that no longer met the actual needs of the battlefield, even the advancing army that was refitted and reorganized in the Northeast obviously followed suit. After all, by the time the battle started, all the French helmets were worn, and the Japanese equipment in hand was also replaced by German equipment.
The most regrettable thing is that the German artillery provided by the Soviets could not be put into use in a short time due to lack of shells. These German-made 105 and 150 howitzers, as well as 75mm infantry guns and a The Soviets transferred a total of less than 10,000 rounds of 150mm heavy infantry guns to the Soviet Union. This batch of artillery could not be put into use until the Anti-Japanese Alliance had not achieved production.
Compared with the rapid replenishment of the army, the aviation force's combat effectiveness adjustment was extremely slow. All the tactical bombers promised by the British had been transported to Vladivostok, but they were ordered to be transferred to Australia and India. The Anti-Japanese Alliance received all the aircraft, only Dozens of Tiger Moth trainer aircraft.
The fighter jets promised by the Americans and British were simply dropped. The combat aircraft promised by the Americans were transferred to the British on the North African battlefield, while the Hurricane fighter jets promised by the British last year were transferred to the Soviets. , at the most critical moment of battle preparations, the Anti-Japanese Alliance had not obtained even one of the most urgently needed tactical aircraft.
Not only did they not get the tactical support aircraft promised by the United States and Britain, but their only remaining Su-2 light tactical bombers were also forcibly replaced by the Soviets. In other words, in this battle of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, there were only aircraft that could provide tactical support. In addition to some American-made A-20 attack aircraft, there were only more than a hundred captured French fighter jets modified into attack aircraft.
From the arrival of these tanks to the Anti-Japanese Alliance, which represented the Anti-Japanese Alliance's official inclusion in the U.S. Lend-Lease Act, until the launch of the entire offensive in February 1942, all the American and British aircraft obtained by the Anti-Japanese Alliance were only thirty Tiger Moth training aircraft. And after the Pearl Harbor incident, more than 30 B-17 bombers and six B-10 bombers came from the Philippines.
But it’s no joke that these two aircraft used for strategic bombing are used for tactical support. As for the Tiger Moth trainer aircraft, it is indeed a junior trainer aircraft with excellent performance. 100% of British pilots are in It has grown up on this type of aircraft, but this is a training aircraft. Can it be used as an attack aircraft?
Yang Zhen finally understood why the greedy Soviets did not deduct part of the thirty Tiger Moth training aircraft from this batch of aircraft in accordance with their agreement with the Anti-Japanese Alliance. If the Soviets also took action, they would not be selective about food. It can't be upgraded, and for the Soviets, these junior trainer aircraft are of no use to them.
As for the American bombers, they flew directly from Southeast Asia to the Resistance Alliance via Chongqing. They had no way of passing through the Soviet Union. The Soviets had no chance to attack them even if they wanted to. Although these B-17 bombers arrived in the Northeast intact and randomly carried a large number of Parts and components, but Yang Zhen is not that generous to use this kind of aircraft for tactical support operations.
Yang Zhen was extremely unhappy about the fact that the United States and Britain had just signed the agreement and the writing had not yet been written, and the United States and Britain had unilaterally breached the agreement. He repeatedly warned Pearson and Brigadier General Ross that if the United States and Britain The tactical aircraft promised by the country could not arrive, and he would have to terminate the battle.
The two people who were humiliated by Yang Zhen found countless excuses, but Yang Zhen still couldn't accept this kind of three-party partnership to plot his own affairs. The British got the equipment they wanted, and the Soviets also got what they didn't like. Yes, but having better equipment is better than nothing. When it was the Anti-League's turn, they came up empty-handed.
This kind of situation where your bow is fully drawn, but the other side tells you that I'm sorry, the arrows I promised you are temporarily handed over to others because they need them, and it's not comfortable for anyone to return them. Regarding this situation, Pearson and Ross The two of them were also very embarrassed, but they couldn't make the decision in this kind of thing.
For these two people, they only have the right to supervise but not to make decisions. All the rights lie with the superiors. Whether the superiors abide by the agreement is something they cannot decide. Moreover, for these two people, their respective superiors have their own decisions. The reasons, and the reasons are very sufficient, at least in the eyes of their superiors, they are quite sufficient.
It's just that they can't decide who to send the aid to and which direction to send it to, but they can only bear the scapegoat. In desperation, these two unlucky guys can only shamelessly sit in Yang Zhen's headquarters. Urging the Anti-League to take action, Yang Zhen rolled his eyes.