Imperial Elite

Chapter 28 Nobody knows more about tanks than me

After Marshal Haig left, the members of the Land Battleship Committee and the engineers from Fokker looked at Joe with a mixture of ingratiation and embarrassment.

Given the current situation, any carbon-based life form with even a modicum of common sense would know that Joe's upcoming report would certainly not contain anything pleasant.

As a junior officer, even with high-ranking medals, the likelihood of Joe's report being taken seriously was basically the same as the possibility of him going to a bar and marrying a duchess—essentially a theoretical possibility, much like space travel.

However, once Marshal Haig ordered Joe to submit the report, the likelihood of it being taken seriously became as certain as the likelihood of an old Londoner going bald in middle age.

This is awkward.

As any designer knows, the most painful thing in the world is when you're ready to finalize a design and pop in the champagne to celebrate, someone stands up and says, "Your design is no good. There are problems here, there, and there that need to be changed." This kind of talk is basically like saying a phrase that starts with the letters M and F.

Not picking up a brick and smearing it in someone's face on the spot is already a sign of good manners.

Moreover, the members of the Land Battleship Committee and the engineers of Fokker, as the tendering party and manufacturer, do not need to go to the battlefield. We just designed the vehicle like this. You can use it or not, and if you don't want to use it, there are plenty of other people who will.

However, if Marshal Haig had endorsed it, this plan would definitely need to be drastically revised.

If the plan needs major changes, working overtime is a minor issue. What's more important is that if the accountability mechanism is activated and people from above come to investigate step by step, they'll find out why you designed it this way here and what your purpose was in designing it that way there.

What if my little tricks in choosing the supply chain are discovered?
So, amidst the awkwardness, the members of the Land Battleship Committee and the engineers from Fokker all had a look in their eyes that seemed to say, "Hey, can we reconcile?"

At this time, in this place, after all that has happened, if Joe were asked if they could reconcile, he would obviously just chuckle and pretend not to hear the committee members and engineers' attempts to persuade him to stay, and go back to his tent to write his report.

Writing reports has always been a soul-crushing task.

However, for Joe, who now sits at his typewriter and drafting table, with a bunch of "old" drafting supplies such as T-squares and compasses lying around him, writing reports is a joy.

It wasn't that Joe's soul had been worn down by the war, but rather that Joe keenly realized this was an opportunity.

Just like back then, Joe seized the opportunity to meet his boss, and worked hard to promote himself and his inventions during the meeting, which made his boss, the old nobleman who had fought in the Southern Dark Continent, willing to invest in him, thus successfully becoming a capitalist.

This time, Field Marshal Haig asked Joe to write a report. It seemed that Field Marshal Haig was willing to listen to the opinions of the grassroots, or it could be Field Marshal Haig's dissatisfaction with the Land Battleship Committee and Fokker Corporation for almost roasting him in a tank.

However, if I were to demonstrate my understanding of tanks and my foresight, wouldn't I have the opportunity to be transferred back to the mainland to participate in tank research and development?

What if it's just a consultant who doesn't even have the authority to sign off on design proposals?
At this time and in this place, is there anyone who knows more about tanks than me?
Of course, Joe wasn't the only one who realized this; the members of the Land Battleship Committee, as well as the engineers at Fokker, also realized it.

So during this time, they kept looking for opportunities to get close to Joe and get him to listen to their explanations.

For this kind of behavior—like a dead baby needing milk, snot running into its mouth and knowing to shake it off, or knowing to buy stocks when they go up—Joe says, "You didn't stand by me when I was down on my luck, but who do you think you are now that I'm back? Get lost!"

He immediately ordered the crew to kick out the guys who came looking for him with two dozen bottles of red wine.

In addition to the members of the Land Battleship Committee and the engineers from Fokker, the crew members of the heavy machine gun regiment also realized this.

So they came to Joe and said, "Look, we can now make tea on the tank, but the stove isn't working very well. Can you find a way to modify it? Also, the chair isn't very comfortable. Can you fix it? Since we can make tea now, do you think we could add another stove so we can fry some fries?"

Qiao could ruthlessly kick out those committee members and engineers, but with these comrades, he could only say, "I'll do my best, I'll do my best, but whether or not it's approved by the higher-ups is their business. If it's not on the tanks in the future, you can't blame me, brothers."

Of course, these comrades weren't just offering strange suggestions. The best advice Joe received came from Cecil, who had already woken up when Joe went to visit him in the hospital.

Lying in his hospital bed, Cecil, with tears in his eyes, grasped Joe's hand and said, "I don't care about anything else. I'll give you my typewriter, but you must include in your report that they tear down that stupid observation tower!"

Joe nodded at Cecil's tearful eyes, saying, "It's just a reconnaissance tower, isn't it? My report will definitely say it's a stupid design."

As for Cecil's finely crafted typewriter... Joe naturally accepted it.

After replacing his old, eight-handed typewriter with Cecil's finest typewriter, Joe's report writing speed increased dramatically, and even his drawing speed improved considerably.

Tanks are simply products of trade-offs between the impossible triangle of firepower, mobility, and protection, and the impossible triangle of ergonomics, reliability, and manufacturability.

By adjusting these two impossible triangles, different tanks can be obtained.

Just like emphasizing firepower and protection, without considering manufacturability, adding a lot of human-machine interface features can produce a Tiger King.

If we completely sacrifice productivity to increase firepower and protection, we can get a rat.

Conversely, if firepower and protection are sacrificed in favor of mobility and productivity, then a leader's CV-33 light tank can be obtained.

In short, compared to those designers who turned tanks into towering mobile gas chambers, Joe felt it was time to showcase the fruits of his years of honing his skills in Slavic hypotension treatment games.

While summarizing the shortcomings of the current Royal Fist MK-1 tank, Joe also took the time to design his own tank.

Of course, while it's called designing tanks, it actually draws on successful designs from the past.

First, things like side turrets and hull-mounted main guns, which waste tonnage and are not very useful due to a lack of firing arc, should be eliminated. With a lighter hull, it can run faster even without increasing engine output.

Then, the engine, which was located in the center of the vehicle, was moved to the rear of the vehicle, and a firewall was used to separate the engine from the passenger compartment, which significantly improved the environment of the passenger compartment.

After compressing the vehicle's dimensions and adding a standard turret with a commander's observation cupola, it transformed from a strange, abstract creation into a prototype of a modern tank.

As for the original springless wheel suspension on the tank, it also needs to be changed. Although Joe is not particularly familiar with suspension systems, he is full of questions about things like fluids and electrical systems.

However, Joe still had a general idea of ​​what a simple, easy-to-use, and reliable torsion bar suspension was. So he also attached a diagram of a simple torsion bar suspension system.

Of course, once a decent foundation is in place, the firepower of a tank, as a war machine, is also very important.

Considering the potential challenges from Teutonic tanks and the need to reliably destroy things like trenches and bunkers, Joe chose the six-pounder cannon previously used on the side turret for the turret.

Although this thing has a diameter of only 57 millimeters, by the standards of the Slavic hypotension treatment game, its weight would not exceed 2.0.

But in today's terms, this would be a 10.0 weight artillery piece.

After modifying the vehicle, Joe reduced the crew to five and added a hull-mounted machine gun, which appeared to be operated by a communications officer, and a coaxial machine gun on the turret.

Joe got a car that, no matter how he looked at it, seemed to have strange proportions and resembled a boxy shape similar to the number three and number four.

Unfortunately, as an engineer, Joe knew a little about exterior design, but he didn't really know much about it.

Of course, to enhance his persuasiveness, Joe also included some simple tank tactics in his report.

After all, equipment should serve tactics, and now all equipment is intended to break through trench warfare.

That simple combination of infantry and tank tactics should be convincing enough, right...?

In addition, Marshal Haig told Joe, "Don't rush, write slowly, but be quick!" Joe felt that he had done enough and would submit it first, since they would definitely come to him if they didn't understand anything.

With this in mind, Joe handed over his thick stack of reports, which looked like they could be bulletproof, along with tank design drawings, expecting his superiors to be amazed and rush to his aid.

However, Joe waited and waited, week after week, and nothing happened.

Even the engine of the Lucky Bella, which had burned out, was replaced, and the big hole in the roof was repaired. Joe did not receive any orders from above to explain his design.

However, the newspapers that arrived from the rear carried Joe's story. The reporters praised Joe as a modern-day Lancelot, who, in his Lucky Bella, repeatedly charged the Teutonic defenses seven times, completely breaking through them and capturing a Teutonic general.

Seeing that their Gallic allies were in dire straits, they launched two more attacks despite their own shortage of ammunition and fuel, rescuing their desperate Gallic allies from the Teutonic attack.

In short, if the protagonist of this report wasn't Joe, and if it didn't include a photo of Joe when he was awarded the medal, Joe would have been quite willing to read this report as science fiction.

It would be even better if Joe's old friend wasn't sleeping while he was reading the newspaper.

But since this matter has been reported in the newspapers, the higher-ups should know about it, and they should have reacted by now...

Then, even after the company commander said, "Now that your vehicle is repaired, get ready to continue fighting on the front lines. Those infantrymen are fighting very hard, and we must support them as much as possible," there was still no feedback from above.

Joe felt as if he were communicating with a superior who suffered from delusions.

With this indignant feeling that they were urging me to submit a report, and then not giving me any feedback after I submitted it, then my report was submitted for nothing!, Joe jumped onto the Lucky Bella.

Damn it, looks like I need to make something of myself!

In fact, Joe's report was not ignored. On the contrary, after being reviewed and signed by Field Marshal Haig, Joe's report and drawings were sent directly to the wartime cabinet, which then went into an uproar.

As a famous war hero, Joe also gained some fame in his home country. After all, he was in the newspapers three times in three months without suffering any injuries, and even became the first person to capture the Teutonic General during the war.

In addition, His Majesty liked this person very much, so the members of the War Cabinet also had a certain impression of Joe.

Therefore, after the report and design drawings signed by Marshal Haig were submitted, the War Cabinet reviewed them immediately.

Then the war cabinet realized, "Joe is right! This is exactly the kind of weapon we need right now!"
See, that's why they call others war heroes!

They've already figured out tactics after just one battle!

This report is valuable, and the design drawings are useful. Let's send them to the Army and the Land Battleship Committee for discussion.

After the wartime cabinet sent the report and design drawings, the War Department had no objections. After all, Joe's report did not have any objections to the Army. He only suggested in the appendix that infantry be attached to armored units so that the combat effectiveness could be greatly improved after the infantry and tanks were combined.

During the war, let alone experimental formations, even combat regulations and drills were revised every six months for minor revisions and every year for major revisions.

After receiving feedback from the front lines, setting up a new experimental setup is not a big deal.

However, this timing is not ideal.

His Majesty George was pleased after seeing Joe's report. In his delight, he declared that these tanks should no longer fight under the name of the Heavy Machine Gun Regiment, but should be renamed the Royal Tank Regiment. He would return and expand the regiment after the Somme campaign.

In addition, due to the brutal fighting on the Somme, the newly deployed army suffered heavy losses, and the army now needs more soldiers to fill the gaps.

But now the war has entered its second year, and those who have any sense of shame or must have a sense of shame have almost all joined the army. What remains are some die-hards who have various exemptions or are completely shameless.

So after a simple legal process, Brittania is now under mandatory military service, and all eligible men must fulfill their duty to the Empire and serve His Majesty the King!
Then, when the War Department began mandatory conscription, just like Joe had wanted to go to the logistics or artillery units, those who had originally received exemptions and had quite a bit of money expressed their opinions.

This armored unit sounds good. Can I join the armored unit?
In contrast to the Army Ministry, which is currently struggling with who should be assigned to the armored forces, the Land Battleship Committee, after receiving the report and design drawings forwarded by the wartime cabinet, simply stated, "Due to time constraints, shortage of raw materials, the workers' skill level and production equipment are already in place, the detailed design of the new tank requires a long time, and the modification has not been thoroughly studied. Therefore, I refuse!"

(End of this chapter)