Imperial Elite

Chapter 67 How could the Teutons be so wicked!

Before seeing the photos, Joe thought that with this level of technology, the Teutons could at most produce a high-quality replica of the Hound tank, and possibly even a less advanced one.

Due to limitations in materials and manufacturing precision, the suspension structure used in the Hound tank can only be increased to a maximum weight of ten tons.

With the constraints of a ten-ton vehicle body, the addition of a turret, a cannon, and vehicle armor meant that the final products were essentially the same.

However, what Qiao Wanwan did not expect was that the Teutonic people's thinking could not be predicted by common sense.

If the tank being built by the Teutons in this slightly blurry photo, which shows the photographer clearly in a state of panic, is real, then Joe can only think that the Teutons' understanding of tanks was far too radical.

Using the height of the worker next to the tank in the photo as a reference, the tank is about the height of a two-story building. It also uses the same over-the-top tracks and rigid suspension as the Royal Fist tank to solve the tank's weight problem.

While this method might make the tank crew curse, it also means that the tank can be equipped with thicker armor and larger cannons.

In fact, the Teutons did exactly that with the tank in the photo.

Proportionally speaking, this tank is equipped with at least a 70mm or larger cannon.

Furthermore, the Teutons mounted the cannon in a large turret that looked somewhat similar to the turret of a Hound tank.

However, perhaps for the sake of originality, or perhaps because the turret designers were from the navy, the designers of this tank did not adopt a single-gun design, but instead crammed two cannons into this turret.

If Joe's eyesight is not the problem, this tank is basically a Royal Fist tank chassis with an enlarged Hound tank turret mounted on it, and then two cannons crammed into the turret.

Even theoretically speaking, due to the immaturity of the technology, heavy tanks of this era would more or less have some reliability issues.

Especially with such a huge tank, it will almost certainly put a lot of pressure on the logistics personnel in terms of trouble-free operation and maintenance.

But putting aside these minor issues that troubled the Teutonic logistics personnel, if such a thing appeared on the battlefield, the crew facing this tank would indeed feel considerable pressure.

After all, judging from those two thick and long gun barrels, the effective range of this vehicle is obviously farther than that of the Hound and except for the Royal Fist MK-5 tank.

Perhaps only the MK-3 assault gun version can match this tank in terms of caliber and range.

Heaven knows how the Teutons created such a behemoth. Perhaps they simply mounted a turret onto the chassis of a Royal Fist tank from the past? Otherwise, there's no way to explain how the Teutons managed to create such a massive machine in such a short time.

However, what truly made Joe exclaim "Holy crap!" was the second photo sent back by overseas agents, even more so than the heavy tanks.

In the photo, it is unclear whether the Teutons modified the chassis of some heavy vehicle, or whether this type of wheeled half-track vehicle was originally in the Teutons' laboratory.

In short, the Teutons created an armored personnel carrier that seemed to have decent off-road capabilities. Judging from the semi-open cargo compartment, it could definitely carry at least a squad of infantry. Furthermore, the small cannon on the roof indicated that it also had some offensive capabilities.

Although this thing wasn't as conspicuous as the heavy tank in the first photo, Joe knew that the Teutonic Stormtroopers were already very skilled in combat. If the Teutonics then equipped these Stormtroopers with transport vehicles that had some anti-tank capabilities, it would be even more impressive.

Joe couldn't even imagine what these Stormtroopers could accomplish on the battlefield.

After all, although heavy tanks look imposing and powerful, unless the Teutons dig up some alien technology from the ground, they will definitely not be fast. At the same time, their huge fuel consumption makes it difficult for them to quickly penetrate trenches.

But these things that look like armored personnel carriers are different.

Joe could almost imagine how many holes the Teutons would poke in the front lines after they created these crawling messes.

Even if they didn't use this thing to create a thousand holes in the front line, just using that little cannon on the roof to conduct guerrilla warfare and ambushing tanks everywhere with the low-profile vehicle would be unbearable for them.

Damn it! How could these Teutons be so wicked!

After thanking Sir Cumming for the intelligence he had provided, before Sir Cumming could even begin to be modest and say things like "it's what we should do,"

Joe patted Sir Cumming on the shoulder, indicating that the heavy tank was good enough, and he wouldn't insist on it if they couldn't find too much information about it, but this...

Waving the photo of the armored personnel carrier in his hand, Joe said to Sir Cumming, "I want to know everything about this vehicle, from its exact dimensions to its off-road speed, fuel consumption, and even its clearance period, and most importantly, what exactly is that cannon on its roof? Could you do that trouble for that agent to get this information?"

Upon hearing Joe's request, Sir Cumming's expression clearly showed his difficulty.

Sir Cumming stated that these projects are currently top secret in Teutonic Knights, and it was already quite remarkable that the agents were able to take these photos by chance. As for further information, the Overseas Intelligence Service can only do its best and cannot guarantee that it will be able to obtain more detailed information.

Before Sir Cumming could finish his self-inflicted armor-wearing speech, Joe reached out and grabbed Sir Cumming's hand.

"Thank you so much, Your Excellency Camin! Your effective intelligence work has greatly reduced the casualties of our lads on the front lines and has also allowed us to prepare for the Teutonics' equipment. If nothing unexpected happens, the kind of thing that happened at Bourges will never happen again. This is all thanks to you and the hard work of your agents. I believe you will definitely achieve results."

After showering Sir Cumming with praise, Joe immediately took the photos to confront the War Department.

Although Joe is the chief of armored operations and, currently, is arguably the most knowledgeable person about armored warfare.

However, the War Department officials strongly resisted Joe's request to add an infantry battalion to the Guards Armored Training Regiment.

You have an armored regiment. What are you going to do with infantry if you don't want tanks? If word gets out and others see us stuffing infantry into our tank units, they'll think we've fallen so low that we can't even muster enough tanks for an armored regiment. Can you bear the loss of face for the Empire?

Why do tanks need infantry cover? There are already so many infantrymen on the front lines to support you. Why do you insist on having your own infantry units?

No way! No way! A tank regiment should consist of tanks. Here are three tank battalions, so just take them and don't complain!

If all else fails, we can arrange a self-propelled artillery company if you want, but there's absolutely no room for negotiation when it comes to including an infantry battalion!

Joe had tried everything to persuade the officials in the War Department, but he couldn't convince them to give him any infantry positions.

But now you see, the Teutons are doing it too. Gentlemen of the War Department, you don't want to fall behind the Teutons, do you?
With the Teutonic aid, Joe felt he should be able to secure infantry organization this time, at least a mechanized, or at least motorized, infantry battalion for his Guards Armored Training Regiment.

And damn it, the Teutons have started making armored personnel carriers. If we don't want these Teutonic cockroaches to breach our defenses, shouldn't we also increase our research on armored personnel carriers?

Thinking about this made Joe furious again.

With the Battle of Paris as a model, Joe believed that the infantry fighting vehicle designs he had sent back should attract the attention of the War Department. After all, who doesn't like new toys?

However, the reality was not like that. The officials in the Army Department supported Joe's idea of ​​upgrading the tanks, but they did not support infantry fighting vehicles, or what are now considered armored personnel carriers.

The officials in the Army Department, however, were not very interested.

According to the old men in the Army, this thing is inferior to tanks in terms of off-road capability, combat power, and protection. Apart from being able to transport infantry, it has almost no advantages over tanks.

Why would I buy this kind of thing instead of more tanks?

Joe also tried to explain it by reasoning things like coordinated operations, but it didn't work very well.

Then, just as Joe was scratching his head, Catherine cleared up his doubts.

Although Catherine's position in the Quartermaster Department was not high in the past, through the documents she handled, she learned just how much pressure the government was under in order to sustain the war.

As Joe's secretary, Catherine had also seen Joe's report, or rather, apart from Joe's outline, the rest of the report was handwritten by Catherine.

Therefore, Catherine believes that there is only one reason why the War Department will not approve the project or make the purchase: the War Department does not want to buy such expensive equipment, which does not have the immediate effect of improving the combat effectiveness of the troops like tanks.

After all, although the army is also procuring armored vehicles, the number of those vehicles procured is extremely small, and they are mostly shipped to the Middle East for use in the conflict with Sudan. Armored vehicles are rarely used by the army on the western front.

So unless Joe can solve the money problem, Catherine thinks the chances of the War Department purchasing this equipment are slim. Even if the War Department is persuaded, the Quartermaster Department may not necessarily make a unified purchase of this equipment.

Now that's great, Joe has a reason that will definitely pass: the Teutons have it, so I need to have it too!
Of course, this is in addition to considerations of troop combat effectiveness.

Another reason why Joe pushed for the armored personnel carrier project was that Britannia did not prohibit officers from engaging in business, nor did it prohibit officers from serving as consultants in joint research with enterprises.

On the bright side, soldiers naturally know what they want, which reduces the likelihood that after equipment is developed, the troops will say, "What is this thing? We don't need it."

On the bright side, however, people like Joe, who have some ideas, can make a fortune from these projects and subsequent orders.

The American soldiers, who arrived in Britannia with nothing but their clothes, began acclimatization training.

A serious problem was presented to these American troops, who had almost no decent experience and whose previous training was basically at the level of being shot in a line.

Whom should they learn from, and what should they learn?

Although the Gauls' performance so far has been somewhat hard to judge, their army is still hailed as the best in the Old World. Learning infantry and artillery tactics from them is certainly a good idea, right?
Originally, the US military also wanted to learn from the Gauls in terms of armor, but because Joe's performance in Paris was too outstanding, the US did not hesitate to cancel its original order for the latest FT tanks from the Gauls, and instead pulled out a check and told the Britannians, "Give me some tanks, the best ones."

The Bonitania wartime cabinet was almost in tears at this. It had been a long and arduous war; finally, they were seeing a return on their investment.

Then the Bonitania wartime cabinet prepared to fleece the rich man.

Give these Americaners the Royal Fist MK-5 tanks that Joe didn't want.

However, these Citizens who had read the newspapers said, "Although we don't understand tanks, we understand Joe. So we only need Joe's Hound tanks. We can ask for a small number of Royal Fist tanks to train tank crews, but we won't ask for more."

The Citizens, who can mobilize 200,000 people in a month and then buy equipment on-site, are certainly not short of money.

So when Joe saw the US order for Hound tanks, even though he only got a small slice of the pie from tank production, he felt that all his previous efforts in building factories and patents had been wasted. Government military procurement projects were definitely the most profitable.

This order was so large that Joe had a fleeting thought of selling all the tanks of the Guards Armored Training Corps to the Americans.

However, considering that his life depended on these tanks, Joe ultimately did not let money blind him.

If these equipment projects are approved and deployed, would I have a chance to persuade the US to purchase them as well?

At that time, won't I still have tons of gold coins?!

Although Joe wanted to trick the rich and gullible Americans into buying new equipment, he didn't actually want to deal with them.

On the one hand, these Americans from the New World were clearly untouched by civilization, displaying a "riding high on the crest of success, doing whatever I want" attitude.

When Joe first met these Citizens, many of them took out their cameras and wanted to take photos with him, and some even wanted him to sign autographs for them.

This treatment, as if Joe were some kind of actor, made Joe very uncomfortable.

If it were just excessive enthusiasm, that would be fine, but these guys clearly aren't very good at talking.

As a former colony that fought a war of independence against Bonitania, the relationship between Bonitania and the United States is somewhat complicated.

After all, back when the United States was in revolution due to tax resistance, Gaul, adhering to the principle that it would help anyone who caused trouble for Bunitania, sent the Marquis of Lafayette to cause trouble for Bunitania.

As for the outcome of that minor skirmish back then...

This is evident from the fact that Bonitania now has to pay money to acquire weapons, equipment, and raw materials from the New World.

Normally, something that happened over a hundred years ago would just be forgotten. But the reason these American expeditionary forces arrived in Bonitania was that they shouted, "Lafayette! Here we come!"

While gratitude is a good thing and is touching, shouting it in Bonitania shows a lack of consideration for others' feelings.

In particular, in order to suppress independence, Bunitania hired a number of troops from Hesse, now Teutonic, to go to the New World.

In short, although Joe didn't feel much belonging to Brittany except for his bank account and family, he still couldn't help but feel the sensation of being greeted with "Lafayette! We're here!"

If lower-ranking officers were overly enthusiastic and spoke without thinking, then the senior officers of the American Expeditionary Force went to the other extreme.

These people were more arrogant than the most arrogant nobleman Joe had ever met.

Joe had no idea what these arrogant guys, who came here acting like they were saviors, were so proud of.

After all, these greenhorns had nothing but enthusiasm and uniforms, and were utterly useless. Joe felt that any armored company could easily outrun an entire division.

However, despite the many grievances against these Americans, their generosity in spending on military procurement makes up for all the above shortcomings.

Joe was even willing to patiently persuade these Americans to spend money on armored personnel carriers.

With the simple idea that everyone should have good things, Joe, using the photos provided by Sir Cumming, quickly instructed Kaiser to write a report that fully exaggerated the danger of this armored vehicle, which was capable of off-road driving and equipped with artillery that could threaten tanks, as well as the danger posed by heavy tanks.

Basically, to put it simply, the Teutons are strong and invincible. If they don't procure similar equipment, the army will be unable to defeat them no matter how hard they try, and will be crushed by the world's best Teutonic technology.

Looking at the report that Catherine's hands were numb from typing, Joe nodded in satisfaction, then said, "Thanks for your hard work, I'll treat you to dinner another day." After that, Joe took the report and photos and went to confront the officials in the Department of War.

While Joe was confronting his grandfathers in the Army Department, Holtz was receiving training at a training facility somewhere in Bavaria, the Teutonic Empire, on how to use an armored personnel carrier equipped with a 37mm anti-tank gun and machine gun.

Although they ultimately failed to capture Paris, Holz was awarded the Iron Cross First Class for his bravery during the Battle of Paris.

Meanwhile, Holtz's original Storm Assault Team suffered heavy losses, with his platoon almost wiped out, and his unit was directly disbanded.

Therefore, Holtz and the original commando personnel were transferred to form a brand new unit, the armored hussars company.

Because of the problems exposed by the hussars in the Battle of Paris, both the General Staff and the Teutonic Emperor realized that the era of cavalry was completely over.

However, out of respect for the history of these two long-established hussar units and in commemoration of Prince Joachim, the General Staff decided to refer to Erich's report and form a completely new assault force based on the hussar units and the Stormtroopers who were decimated in the Battle of Paris.

This force must be as mobile and agile as hussars, and also as capable as stormtroopers, able to quickly break through the lines and tackle the toughest challenges.

So the Teutons set their sights on the armored trucks, which were reclaimed from the battlefield and were heavily modified from wartime equipment by the Bunitans.

Although these trucks were obviously crude, the infantrymen being chased and attacked by these armed trucks did not see it that way.

Especially since, while being chased and attacked by trucks, several Britannian thugs could jump out of these trucks and beat them up, not even giving them a chance to throw cluster grenades or stuff bombs into their hands, it was really too cruel.

Therefore, the logistics department of the Teutonic General Staff felt that tank development was too difficult, but it shouldn't be too difficult for me to tinker with some armored trucks.

Of course, ordinary trucks would definitely run into problems when dealing with the harsh environment of the western front, which is full of trenches.

However, Daimler had just successfully developed half-track trucks before the war, and these trucks are now being used as artillery tractors in the military.

So since the chassis is readily available, modifying the body is a quick and easy task.

In addition, after suffering a devastating defeat at the hands of Bunitania tanks on the Somme in 1916, the Teutons began developing anti-tank equipment that could be delivered to the front-line troops.

At this time, the project yielded results, and the 37mm anti-tank gun, which could be pushed and fired by two soldiers, and its matching armor-piercing shells officially went into production.

The Teutons simply combined the two things together, gave it the project code name 'Special Motor Vehicle' or SDKFZ, and developed this armed truck, which was then handed over to the troops that were being reorganized into armored hussars for training and testing.

Holtz, whose face was scarred by a chunk of flesh bitten off by the Gauls, thought that if they had this thing during the Battle of Paris, they would have taken Paris long ago. Holtz, who could terrify a bunch of children with just a glance, thought that if they had this thing during the Battle of Paris, they would have taken Paris long ago.

What on earth are the R&D department people doing? Why do they always pull out such good stuff only after they've been beaten up?

Of course, Holz was even more dissatisfied with his company commander, Hans, than with the research and development department.

Before being assigned to this armored hussar company, Holtz had already heard the legend of Company Commander Hans, who had received the Royal Order of Hohenzollern. The legend began when Hans led a squad into Paris on the very first night and hoisted the Teutonic flag on the Eiffel Tower, and he was the only survivor in Prince Joachim's hussar company.

Holz believed that Hans, the company commander with such a background, must be a hero with strong shoulders and a powerful chest.

However, the reality was quite different; Hans appeared to be an unreliable playboy.

Although those from the hussars all had this kind of temperament to some extent, Holtz, who had undergone rigorous training and been tested in battle, couldn't stand the fact that his company commander would lead them astray during every training session.

However, the Teutonic Army had a rule that subordinates could not question their superiors. So even though Hans got lost eleven times in ten training sessions, Holtz resolutely carried out Hans's orders and secretly vowed that when he actually went to the battlefield, he would definitely carry a map and compass and follow the plan himself.

Otherwise, Holz thought that if Hans continued to get lost, they could get lost all the way to Germania.

Of course, before that, Holtz was prepared to be a good boy and continue to complete the training courses under Hans's command, so as to master how to use these armored vehicles with their tongue-twisting names, the SDKFZ-1917, as soon as possible.

Looking at the anti-tank guns mounted on the roof, Holtz couldn't wait to use them to open some Bunitania cans.

While the Bunitas and Teutons were busy acquiring new equipment and the Americans were spending lavishly, the situation was not so good for the Lusians on the eastern front.

While the Lusians couldn't defeat the Teutons on the eastern front, they were still able to gain some advantage against a dualistic empire like Osmarca, which was composed of multiple ethnic groups. They were even more adept at beating up the Sultanate.

Despite being educated in various ways by the Teutons in the Old World, they were still able to gain considerable advantages when facing the Sultanate and the Osmarca Empire.

If it weren't for the Teutons' repeated attacks on the Eastern Front whenever they gained an advantage in the south, causing the Lucian Third Army to lack supplies, they might have already captured Constantinople.

Even when the morale of other troops on the Eastern Front collapsed, the Third Army, which was less than 50 kilometers away from Constantinople, the city the world had longed for, remained in high spirits. The entire army was filled with the spirit that even though His Majesty had abdicated, they were still determined to take this city that they had longed for for centuries for Greater Lucia.

However, at this point, neither the provisional government nor the left-wing government had lost interest in taking over this city that the world longed for.

Under the Teutonic attack, a huge gap was torn in Lucia's already fragile western defenses. The Teutonic vanguard had entered Minsk and Kiev, while another force was advancing toward St. Petersburg at an incredible speed.

This significant disadvantage on the battlefield led to renewed division and turmoil within Lucia.

Many Cossacks in the west began to have doubts about the Russian community, even though they were an important part of Russia, and the first Rus' state was the Principality of Kiev-Rus.

However, these Cossacks still believed that there was no future in following the Rus' of Russia. They lived further west and were clearly more civilized and enlightened than these eastern barbarians. Now that the Tsar was gone and the Russian Empire was no more, they should break away and establish a new country.

Even if he were to follow the Teutons?!

Look at the Teutons, winning every single game, even the Gallic army, the best army in the Old World, couldn't defeat them.

Look at Lucia...sigh...look at her, look at you...look at Old Li next door...

Maybe we should just stop living like this?
Similar to these separatist forces in the west, the left-wing government, which originally did not want to continue the war, intensified its anti-war propaganda when it suffered a crushing defeat, demanding that the provisional government negotiate peace with the Teutons and withdraw from the war.

However, the provisional government, having staked everything, was now clearly like the Tsars of the past, unable to stop the war because it had invested too much. Otherwise, the very people they had mobilized to fight and die for Lucia would have turned around and killed them first.

Therefore, the provisional government, which was already in a difficult situation, could only grit its teeth and persevere.

If they can hold out until the Bunitarians and Gauls on the western front, along with the newly arrived American troops, launch a counterattack, then there is still hope for a turnaround.

The only problem is that the left-wing government clearly doesn't want to wait any longer, or rather, with the loss of a large amount of western territory again, the already serious food problem has become even more severe.

The 60% food shortage in St. Petersburg and Moscow forced the left-wing government to take action.

If Lucia cannot withdraw from the war and rebuild order as soon as possible, then a complete collapse awaits her.

As workers and naval personnel in St. Petersburg began to mobilize, the provisional government sensed something was amiss.

Although they had contributed greatly to overthrowing the Tsar's rule, the Tsar only wanted his own money, while the left wing wanted their lives.

Despite the turmoil already looming, the provisional government secretly arranged for the organizer of the women's death camp, a female warrior deeply trusted by the Tsar, to escort the Tsar's family, who were under house arrest, out of Lucia into exile.

At the same time, the assault battalion and women's death squad, which were resting near St. Petersburg, were summoned into the city to prevent the worst-case scenario from occurring.

Upon discovering that the provisional government was mobilizing troops, the naval soldiers immediately placed the officers under house arrest and seized the cruiser Aurora in the harbor.

They then steered the boat into the inland waterway and began shelling the Winter Palace, where the provisional government was located.

Meanwhile, the guard, composed of left-wing workers and soldiers, began to attempt to disarm the assault battalions and women's death battalions and seize the Winter Palace.

Faced with the guards' attempt to disarm them and attack the provisional government, the members of the assault battalion and the women's death battalion felt betrayed, and a brutal battle broke out in St. Petersburg.

Despite having an overwhelming numerical advantage and naval support, the insurgents took a day to capture St. Petersburg. They then announced the dissolution of the provisional government, and the left-wing government is now the only legitimate government in Russia. They will strive for peace and food.

However, after the left-wing government issued this declaration, the Third Army, which had been fighting on the southern front, immediately became unhappy.

If it weren't for you useless fools, we would have already fulfilled the long-cherished wish of the successive Tsars of Lucia and seized that city that the world longs for.

Now that we've paid such a high price and are finally able to see the spire of the city the world longs for, you're telling us to stop the war?!

Fuck you! What kind of bullshit government is this! I'm the government now!

With the Duke, who commanded the Third Army, declaring that they did not recognize the legitimacy of the Lusian Left Government and publicly announcing the establishment of the Duchy of Southern Lucia, they prepared to continue fulfilling the Lusian alliance and seize the city the world desired.

The once vast Lusian Empire immediately crumbled into pieces. Nobles with ideas in various regions either declared independence or began to protect each other. Royalists prepared to find and welcome back the Tsar, while revolutionaries prepared to establish a republic, respond to the call of the left-wing government, and some even claimed that the greatest female Tsar in Lusian history was Teutonic, so after the Tsar stepped down, the Teutons were the true Lusian orthodoxy and were ready to surrender to the Teutons.

For a time, the whole of Lucia was plunged into a state of vibrant life and flourishing of all things.

While the Lusians were busy with their internal strife, the Teutonic Emperor and his generals were celebrating their victory in the Germanic General Staff.

With the threat on the eastern front eliminated, they can now strike hard on the western front.

However, before shifting their focus to the western front, the Teutonic Emperor ordered them to capture St. Petersburg and destroy the last influential Lucia regime.

"Let the Lucias kill each other! They should have expected this outcome when they declared war on us!"

While the Teutons celebrated, the Bunitas and Gauls were stunned.

Everyone knows that the Lucias are being attacked, but this has been a common occurrence for them throughout history, and they have always managed to survive. This time should be no exception.

But why couldn't they hold on this time?
The thought that millions of Teutons on the Eastern Front might be released and sent to the Western Front made even His Majesty George feel numb.

(End of this chapter)