Canteen System Assistance Notes

The Soviet Union and the Chinese Communist Party, with their forces dispersed and preoccupied with the wars against Germany and Japan, would have no intention of withdrawing their main forces to fight in Xinjiang Province as long as Guofu mobilized the Central Army and the Qing Ma Army for reinforcements. Xinjiang Province is now a key channel for the CCP to obtain foreign aid. To ensure that this channel is unobstructed, the CCP will inevitably be cautious and accept the fait accompli of its successful seizure of power!

Of course, inviting the Altay cavalry, which had long since transformed into a bandit armed force, would naturally be accompanied by the plundering behavior unique to the horse bandits in the Western Regions. It was also impossible for Usman to restrain the troops near Dihua and let the horse bandits and the tribal cavalry who came to plunder concentrate on their original mission. Compared with the huge profits after success, this little indulgence was naturally tolerable.

Therefore, the Eighth Route Army soldiers who arrived at Chaiwopu Military Station a day early because of the weather forecast did not encounter any undercurrents or deep-seated conspiracies: they simply encountered a wave of horse bandits chasing "fat sheep" and intending to unleash their animal desires!

But history has long proved that in front of regular and organized modern armies, these horse bandits who fight purely based on desire and animality are nothing! Even if they have a numerical advantage of nearly 3 times and have ferocious habits like wolves and tigers.

The garrison platoon and transport team backing the military station became stubborn rocks in the rapids, and the machine guns placed in the four corners became giant brushes that wiped out lives. Before sunset, more than 200 corpses were left on the battlefield, and the dismounted infantrymen advancing in waves turned into a "reverse wave"; the mortar in the center of the military station successfully blew away the bandit mortar that couldn't even measure the distance properly, leaving a pile of dead horse bandits in a radial pattern in the distance; and the two BA-10 armored vehicles modified with 14.5mm machine guns, along with several escort trucks, crushed a group of enemy bandits who intended to launch a flank attack.

The sight of completely crushing the offensive on both the combat and physical levels shattered the bandits, who only committed crimes in the northern border, again on the psychological level. The remaining enemy soldiers were horrified and abandoned the wounded and horses who were still screaming, fleeing desperately towards Dihua. The encirclement of more than a thousand people collapsed on its own.

But their nightmare is not over yet.

Disturbed by the darkness, the pursuing detachment did not advance any further, but they did report the location of the bandits' "Mazhuanzi"—their assembly point—to the military depot. In the wilderness near a water source, the soldiers turned off their headlights and raised the antenna of their vehicle radios to maintain contact with the rear.

Soon, they received a reply from the military depot. Amidst the seemingly ceaseless roar of the Western Regions, a strange, restless commotion seemed to linger. "One flare, base direction, mark 420, fire!"

Flashes of magnesium light exploded in the sky, illuminating the terrified cavalrymen on the ground. On the Gobi Desert, still shrouded in darkness, some turned their heads in confusion, some screamed in terror, and some ducked their bodies, sprinting towards their horses. But the soreness and fatigue of a long run followed by a short rest not only significantly sapped a rider's endurance, but also the horse's willingness to run. Despite the riders' shouts, whips, and even drawn daggers, a second flare dropped from the sky before the horses could stir.

It wasn't launched by the forward tracking team, but rather from the Avro Anson patrol plane in the sky!

Relying on radio positioning stations deployed within the Northwest Passage depot, these twin-engine patrol aircraft, capable of searching for submarines in the North Sea, could also, with the aid of radio equipment, conduct night flights over the desert sea, searching for bandits along the way. To address the Anson's limited payload and attack power, the Eighth Route Army came up with a very futuristic solution:

Let Anson take action with the Gunship!

"Da Kuan, we've spotted the target. The enemy is an exposed personnel target and will begin circling. 'Jiuye', 'Master', please take evasive action." "Jiuye received. Evasion has been initiated. Please pay attention to the navigation lights."

"Master has completed the evasion, please pay attention to the red strobe light."

The pilot's steady voice was transmitted from the throat transmitter to the radio station, and then converted into modulated radio waves and transmitted.

The "mbay" transport plane lowered its wings and began to circle around the illuminated area on the left.

This batch of secondhand aircraft, acquired from the British Middle East route, was slow and had a low effective ceiling, but it had a useful payload of over two tons, excellent hovering performance, and a crucial high wing. Now, its side doors had been cut open, and four "Shkas" aircraft machine guns with modified open-water jackets were installed, with a chain feed capable of supporting 10000 rounds per machine gun, and approximately 30 parachute-loaded flares.

The firing rate of 18,000 rounds per minute per gun was enough for her to maintain a fiery barrage of 7200 rounds per minute for nearly six minutes, and the range of more than 2,000 kilometers was enough for her to hunt down all enemies who lacked air defense to the ends of the earth! As the pilot reached the preset altitude and began to circle down the slope, the halo sight arranged on the left side of the cockpit had already firmly trapped the group of chaotic horse bandits.

"Da Kuan, start the attack."

Like the ripping of silk, the nighttime ammunition belt, with tracer content accounting for 33%, descended from the sky like a falling galaxy, descending from an endless sea of ​​stars, bringing unspeakable terror and destruction. The tracer barrage, looping every 0.5 seconds, danced across the hardened Gobi Desert, creating a scene reminiscent of a summer night in the wilderness—a dazzling moon gleaming high in the sky, emerald fireflies fluttering and dancing wildly on the ground.

At the same time, the enemy's life bloomed like fireworks.

Chapter 666: Sailing on the Sand Sea (V) Xinjiang Province Finalization

A beautiful bay-colored Mongolian horse was lying on the ground in agony. It was clearly too weak to stand up, or even to continue struggling. It could only gasp for breath, making a hissing sound. "Ah, what a good animal!"

Yu Weifu, armed with a "Ten-round" pistol, saw the horse's leg broken by a bullet and shook his head with a hint of regret. Under the current conditions, a broken leg in a horse is almost incurable. He could only call for the herders who had come to help, asking them to bring tools and kill the horse.

"What a pity! I followed the wrong master."

Yu Weiguo sighed and put away the sympathy in his heart.

It must be said that "wolf-breeding pig" Sheng Jinyong had chosen a very good time. On that day, the Eighth Route Army had no "standard transport team" within a hundred kilometers of Dihua in either direction, and there were no large garrisons nearby that could be quickly mobilized. While the Eighth Route Army could indeed order the nearest transport team to abandon its transport mission and quickly transform into a powerful motorized force for the assault, if they had already seized power by then, it would naturally be difficult for the Eighth Route Army to attack the Xinjiang Provincial Army, which had a legitimate cover.

Yes, the Eighth Route Army still hoped to avoid causing chaos in the Northwest Passage.

However, after Wang Shunfeng's convoy arrived at the Chaiwopu military station a day earlier and accidentally protected Yu Xiusong and his wife, the organization minister and political adviser of the Xinjiang Mechanized Brigade, the whole matter no longer needed to be resolved in such a violent way.

That night, after the thousand-strong bandit army was completely defeated and most were annihilated by the gunboat squadron, the siege of Chaiwopu Military Station was lifted. The sheltered Yu Xiusong arrived at the Mechanized Brigade's headquarters under the escort of the Eighth Route Army. He then apprehended Sheng Shijun, who was holding a warrant and attempting to seize power. He also released the detained Mechanized Brigade Chief of Staff Peng Huanshu, quickly calmed the remaining soldiers and officers, and stabilized the situation.

Immediately afterwards, Yu Xiusong, in the name of the Mechanized Brigade Command, issued a telegram stating that "Xinjiang Provincial Chairman and Border Defense Supervisor Sheng Jinyong was colluding with bandits, Dihua was attacked by a large number of bandits, and support from the Railway Protection Army was requested," thus defining the situation. "Alright, this is what I've been waiting for!"

Inside the Touhunhe Aircraft Factory, west of Dihua City, a square-faced man named Deng stood up. Following his command, temporary workers, janitors, and coaches from the workers' club rushed out of their dormitories and expertly distributed stylish, futuristic automatic rifles. The "tractors" previously parked in the factory's maintenance area also emerged from their warehouses, equipped with machine guns and supplied with ammunition.

In the blink of an eye, a highly capable, fully automated firepower special forces company was formed!

"The mechanized brigade will disperse the horse bandits surrounding our base, and we'll capture the bandit leader—everyone, let's move!"

At the same time, the pirate attack aircraft at the aircraft factory's own airport, as well as the gunship teams at Hami and Xingxing Gorge, also took off and "accepted the invitation" to join the ranks of suppressing the rebellion!

---——-—-

With the most difficult part of dealing with the bandits—gathering the enemy—the enemy themselves solved the problem, Usman's bandits and the main force of his tribal cavalry were strangled by the combined power of the air and ground forces, nearly shattering them. The rest of his troops also scattered, making it difficult to regroup. Usman, in turn, was pursued by another group of gunships, suffering heavy losses, with only one in ten of his men remaining. He himself was fortunate, managing to escape the encirclement and annihilation by dispersing with a few of his personal guards and a spare horse. However, after days of galloping across the Gobi Desert, Usman, now alone, exhausted his horse's power and tragically stumbled, falling flat on his face.

This legendary figure, who transformed from a rebel into a fierce gangster, broke his neck and lay paralyzed in the Gobi Desert, unable to move. When our search team finally followed his trail, they found only a completely dehydrated corpse.

The unrest in Dihua City was quickly quelled. The Eighth Route Army, entering the city legally and compliantly, quickly took over key departments like the city defense, broadcasting, radio, and police, quickly bringing the situation under control. Realizing the situation was hopeless, Sheng Jinyong didn't even have the chance to send a telegram claiming it was a misunderstanding. He could only flee the city, along with his core guards, through a secret passage within his mansion before the Eighth Route Army arrived.

Then.....

Then, at the exit, he spotted a group of Eighth Route Army soldiers, armed with strange guns and wearing sand-colored uniforms. Their rifles belched flames, instantly turning Sheng Jinyong's guards into a sieve. They pulled the trembling Sheng Jinyong from the tunnel like a groundhog scratching its butt. The leader pulled out a photo for comparison.

"That's right," the man said. "That's him."

Sheng Jinyong was tied up and escorted to a car. Regardless of the reason for his "forced party membership," Sheng Jinyong was about to face the dual sanctions of party discipline and national law, as well as the much-anticipated public trial. Before then, he naturally wouldn't have seen Deng Yuanzhao, the former CCP representative to Xinjiang and director of the 18th Group Army's Xinjiang Office, who was about to board a plane from Toutunhe, pretending to be flying from the border region to Xinjiang Province.

The May 519th Incident in Xinjiang Province ended in less than a week. It came and went quickly, but its impact lasted for a long time and was not small at all.

Aside from the Eighth Route Army, whose swift response, whether due to pre-planned action or sheer luck, was unbelievably the fastest to react, it was the Soviet Union. After Sheng Jinyong brought in the bandits and temporarily cut off the northwest passage, the Kremlin immediately expressed "grave concern."

When the Soviet representative in Xinjiang Province and military adviser to the Xinjiang Provincial Government, Ratov, shouted on the radio that "the damn bitch Sheng Jinyong has betrayed China and colluded with the Chiang government and bandits", the Soviet People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs at Kuznetsky Bridge quickly summoned Shao Lizi, the representative of Guofu in the Soviet Union, and lodged a stern protest against Guofu's unwarranted cutting off of the Northwest Passage.

In the days that followed, despite the initial resolution of the incident, Britain and the United States unexpectedly expressed "concern" about the incident. During the anti-fascist war, the Northwest Passage was not only China's primary channel for obtaining foreign aid, but also a crucial route for the Soviet Union to receive supplies for the Eighth Route Army's counter-revolutionary campaign. The severance of this aid route due to the ambitions of a single warlord was clearly unacceptable to the Allies.

The preserved fruit that always says "surprised its friends" actually did something that surprised its friends this time.

Now, the fruit and preserved newspapers that were originally accusing the Eighth Route Army of being "controlled by the Soviet Union, destroying the stability of Xinjiang Province, and disregarding the law" have suddenly become geese with their necks strangled. They can only flap their wings, kick around with their paws, and say things like "tyranny and violence are not conducive to the overall situation of the War of Resistance, and the change of governors must comply with procedural justice."

Afterwards, the Eighth Route Army safely released many democratic figures who were imprisoned by Sheng Jinyong. Among them was even Huang Jinxian, the head of the Xinjiang Provincial Party Committee of the Kuomintang. Director Huang was inexplicably arrested and imprisoned on the charge of "adultery". He suffered a lot of physical pain and was also blackmailed. Director Huang loudly denounced Sheng Jinyong in the newspaper for his perverse actions, conspiracy to rebel, condoning spies to spread white terror, brutally ruling people of all ethnic groups, and even being less reasonable than the Eighth Route Army.

At this point, the fruit preserves newspapers became unable to even fart, and only the Central Daily News, which had a solid backing, was still criticizing the Eighth Route Army from a distance, and in the process criticized Huang for being a shameless collaborator with the Communist Party.

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But this ultimately cannot change the reality that the situation in Xinjiang Province has changed.

The Eighth Route Army, which had been invited to assist in suppressing the rebellion but had not played a prominent role in the incident, finally seized the opportunity in Xinjiang, where the situation was complex, and successfully expelled Sheng Jinyong's forces, significantly reducing the bandit problem in Xinjiang. With the Railway Protection Army successfully controlling five cities in Xinjiang—Ili, Shule, Hami, Dihua, and Tarbagatai—the Xinjiang section of the Northwest Corridor was finally settled, preventing further unrest.

Afterward, the CCP was able to organize a Xinjiang-wide council in Dihua, bringing together representatives from all ethnic groups to discuss matters. They jointly elected Bao Erhan as council chairman, with Liu Wenlong acting as acting governor of Xinjiang Province. Meanwhile, although the CCP was temporarily unable to vigorously implement land reform throughout the Northwest Corridor due to the ongoing Sino-Japanese War, the four major red commercial organizations, Guanghua, Jiaotong, Yongchang, and Supply and Marketing, were able to enter Xinjiang Province under the protection of the Railway Protection Army.

They will subtly promote the cotton-sugar beet demonstration farm system, which was so effective in another time and space, and use non-violent means to vigorously promote the revolution and destruction of Xinjiang's traditional nomadic and crop-based economic systems, laying a solid foundation and making preparations for further clarifying social and ethnic relations and completing the revolution throughout Xinjiang after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

As the curtain fell in Xinjiang Province, the clock of World War II finally moved to the chapter of June 1942.

Chapter 667: The Axis Power (Part 1) The Nazi Beast

Kummersdorf testing ground, Brandenburg.

Mr. Heinrich Knipkamp, ​​a senior advisor and assistant to the director of the German Weapons Office, has been feeling down lately. The dark circles around his eyes have returned from long hours of overtime, and he's been relying on German mud coffee to stay awake. Knipkamp himself describes the taste of this coffee as "like a fish with its gallbladder ripped out," a truly unpalatable experience.

Fortunately, an engineer who had recently returned from testing Tiger heavy tanks at the front with the troops brought Mr. Knippkamp a large bag of Russian coffee candies. This bitter-sweet concoction finally turned coffee drinking from a painful, medicinal experience into something slightly more relaxing.

As for why he, a senior consultant, also has to work overtime...

Since April, frontline troops in the war against Russia, particularly Army Group South, have frequently requested more tanks from the rear, seemingly never having enough. By June, their demand for tanks had expanded to include tank destroyers, self-propelled artillery, and even weapon carriers. Although Mr. Knippkamp wasn't an officer in charge of logistics, the pressure, transmitted through layers of authority, kept the Imperial civil servants in the Weapons Department busy and scrambling.

However, at least I have achieved some results recently and can report to my superiors.

Most of the experiments at the Kummersdorf testing ground were stopped today. A number of rare test vehicles were cleaned up and lined up in a row, ready to welcome the Führer's inspection.

Among them are the "Tiger P" equipped with an electric transmission system, the headless Henschel Tiger chassis, captured Soviet T-34, T-35, KV-1, STZ transport vehicles, and even Dr. von Braun's %1-1 rocket. They are diverse and very beautiful.

However, today's protagonists weren't these lone tanks representing the testing and evaluation work. At the end of the formation, three striking new tanks stood in formation, their heads held high. One was a chassis test vehicle without a turret, while the other two were "full-state test" vehicles with turrets installed. In preparation for the review, these vehicles, with their considerable age, had been repeatedly overhauled and even repainted. Their crews, their service rifles slung across their backs, reviewed their lines beside the tanks. Many of the technical terms were long and convoluted, making them particularly easy to forget.

Heinrich Knippkamp watched with considerable satisfaction.

These three tanks are all "New Type 4" tanks produced by the Nibelungen Tank Factory!

Compared with other boxy German tanks in the test field, these new Type 4 tanks are very different in style. Instead, they are somewhat similar to the Russian tanks that were taken as trophies - their front armor has been completely redesigned, and the upper and lower parts have changed from being composed of basically vertical "square boxes" to a front body composed of armor plates with a 50% upper slope and a 45% lower slope, and the multi-angled turret has also been simplified into a structure that looks a bit like a "flattened matchbox".

At the suggestion of consultant Knippkamp, ​​Krupp, responsible for simplifying the turret design, ultimately retained the commander's seat in the command tower. At the cost of weight gain, the bottom and rear armor of the vehicle were artificially weakened.

This may not conform to the traditional "aesthetic" of German tanks, but Knippkamp, ​​who participated in the entire process of redesigning the tank and determining the process, knew that the frontal hull armor of this guy reached 60 mm, and the simplified turret achieved the protection standard of 80 mm/10° inclination. At the same time, side skirts and grille armor can be installed on the reserved fixing points as needed.

This level of protection is enough to block the Russian 76mm armor-piercing rounds, and can greatly reduce the damage caused to vehicles by handheld rocket launchers commonly used by infantry, thereby improving their survivability on the battlefield.

As for the tank's firepower, despite the redesigned turret, German designers retained the KwK4O 75mm gun, the same as the Panzer IV G. This gun was renowned for its long barrel and flat trajectory, firing armor-piercing rounds capable of penetrating the Soviet T-34's increased armor under normal combat conditions and threatening the front armor of the KV-1 heavy tank. However, due to the increased armor protection, the tank's maximum ammunition loadout was reduced from 81 to 68 rounds (55 in the hull, 3 in the turret, and an additional 10 rounds in the glove box behind the turret—primarily to meet the stated ammunition requirements of the armored command).

At the same time, due to the updated front armor, the curb weight of this Panzer IV reached 26.2 tons. To this end, the Nibelungen factory not only replaced it with new steel-rimmed small-diameter road wheels and wider "frost-line tracks", strengthened the suspension system, but also installed a speed limiter on the engine to 45 kilometers per hour - this was basically the upper limit of the Panzer IV's serviceability.

In order to make these adjustments, the Nibelungen plant even spent an extra three months to modify and customize the process and assembly line, and finally successfully completed the task. During that time, Knippkamp was on-site as a senior consultant to coordinate and finally let this hardworking "Imperial Horse" complete all the production line work as scheduled and roll off the production line smoothly.

As long as it passes the subsequent acceptance, this "PzKpfw lV Ausf.H" (Type 4 H) tank will be able to officially start large-scale production by the end of this year!

When it comes to seeing new tanks, the Führer with a mustache and Comrade Stalin are basically of the same temperament. They both like to do things themselves and come to observe the new weapons in person.

Soon, a line of Mercedes-Benz 77Os appeared from the far side of the road. Uniformed SS members formed a barrier on both sides of the road to welcome the Führer. As a senior advisor with considerable influence at the testing ground, Mr. Heinrich Knippkamp had the privilege of accompanying the Führer on a tour of various tanks and armored vehicles. After an inspection, accompanied by the Führer's escort, he began to explain the various tanks and armored vehicles to the mustache.

"My Führer, this is a Soviet KV tank captured by our brave soldiers on the front. Now, this stupid tank is no longer a problem for us.

"Oh, my Führer, this is our new 80mm high- and low-pressure anti-tank gun, the PAW-600. It's easy to produce and very low-cost... Yes, it does have some ties to the Russian gun. But the Russian gun doesn't have an automatic recoil, while ours does. We can also mount the gun on tracked and half-track chassis, giving us a very flexible 'anti-tank gun weapon carrier' at a very low cost."

"I admire your erudition. This vehicle is indeed from a protectorate of the Reich—it is the PzKphw.3& (6) nA produced by Škoda. This time, it is here to bid for our army's armored reconnaissance vehicle... My opinion of it? I think it is a very good chassis. My Führer, after improving it, perhaps we can get a very good light tank..."

The mustachioed Führer was in high spirits. He wagged his finger, tilted his chin up, and gazed at these tall, imposing steel toys, occasionally asking questions that were either off-the-beaten-path, tricky, or quite challenging. He was delighted by the Tiger tanks at the test site, commenting on their aesthetics. He was also particularly interested in the PAW-600 anti-tank gun mounted on the Raupenschlepper Ost (RSO) chassis.

After asking about the cost of the vehicle, he immediately said that it should be mass-produced;

He was very curious about the rocket weapons on the launch pad and asked several responsible experts many questions.

Finally, after a round of wandering, Xiao Huzi and his companions finally arrived in front of the three new Panzer IV tanks. The crew members responsible for testing them quickly adjusted their posture and saluted the Führer. Knippkamp hurriedly followed, ready to introduce this latest medium tank to the Führer.

"Son, let me see your submachine gun."

Unexpectedly, the mustache man stared at the crew member's pistol on his back. The guards on the side hurried forward, took the empty rifle from the radio operator's back, checked it several times, and then handed it to the Führer.

The man with the mustache took the gun and expertly unfolded the folding stock. He then tried to pull the bolt, snapping it into the "open" position, and looked around. Perhaps sensing that this "automatic carbine" engraved with the Mauser emblem and "MKB42" was different from any submachine gun he had seen before, the man with the mustache frowned and said nothing.

However, Hermann Grimmäyer, the Imperial Deputy and the man who never lost a bullet in the oil fields, raised an eyebrow. He took a weapon, inserted and unloaded the magazine, cocked the bolt, and played with it for a while. Then he turned to Mr. Niepkamp:

"Heinrich, is there a ready-made shooting range here?"

Chapter 668: Axis Force (Part 1+) Spray Can and Chimney

(Update, equipment chapter)

If we count the "stars" of Nazi Germany's small arms during World War II, the STG44, the world's first mass-produced "assault rifle" using an intermediate-power cartridge, would undoubtedly rank high on many people's lists. It effectively bridged the firepower gap between submachine guns, rifles, and machine guns, delivering deadly automatic fire with greater power at greater distances, giving infantry a significant advantage over enemy submachine guns and rifles at the distances where most combat took place. History has proven this approach correct—after World War II, the assault rifle proliferated worldwide, becoming the primary standard weapon for infantry.

However, in its original time and space, the renowned STG44 wasn't a perfect weapon. Germany was already in turmoil, severely disrupting the procurement of war weapons and the production of military equipment. With its design and production processes still underdeveloped, the STG44 was forced into production despite a stamping failure rate of over one-third of the receivers to meet the needs of frontline troops.

However, as the first country to research intermediate-power ammunition, Nazi Germany had already mastered the crucial prerequisites for developing assault rifles. In 1938, the German company Bolt Ammunition Company completed improvements to the Mauser rifle cartridge, releasing the 7.92mm short round. Meanwhile, in 1940, German diplomatic channels, through Vichy France, secured several Marlette AR2 deer hunting carbines (US-made, chambered in .220 or .300 deer hunting cartridges), prompting rapid research.

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There were a total of five rifles, two of which were obtained by the SS system and handed over to the Brno Arsenal in the Czech Republic under its control; later, the other three were transferred to the 37th Research and Development Department of the Mauser Arsenal and handed over to the light weapons expert Ludwig Folgrimler there for research.

This mature weapon that "looked strangely familiar" quickly attracted the attention of Nazi experts in the field of small arms - the roller-delayed locking, semi-rigid structure, relatively excellent accuracy and dirt-resistant performance brought by the closed barrel made them amazed, and they all said that the Americans could also make small arms.

Because the German Army was hostile to any automatic mode that required drilling a hole in the barrel, this locked, automatic mode, which did not require drilling, naturally gained favor with the German Army. So, despite feeling that something had been inexplicably stolen, the Czech Brno Arsenal and the Mauser Arsenal, with the support of the SS and the Army, began the process of domesticating this "American-made" weapon.

Nazi Germany had no objection to this practice of copying enemy weapons. After exchanging information, the two major arsenals quickly completed numerous improvements—modifying the chamber, barrel, and roller of the original deer-hunting round to accommodate Germany's own Mauser short rifle rounds, developing a 3-round magazine for the rifle, and developing corresponding carrying equipment. Soon, in the first half of 1942, the first batch of rifles rolled out of the factory and were distributed to frontline troops and testers at the proving grounds for testing.

At this point, the new "German-made G3" still had no name, only the codename MKBA2 and the emblems of the Mauser and Brno Arsenals. The Germans designed two models of this weapon: an infantry model with a wooden stock and a 16.5-inch barrel, and a carbine model with a folding metal stock. They inherited the 60-round-per-minute rate of fire of the American AR2 fully automatic hunting rifle, but discarded the expensive and comfortable walnut handguard of the American model in favor of a cheaper olive-drab Bakelite.

The new weapon quickly received rave reviews from both testing sites and frontline personnel. After a test firing, the "carbine" even received the approval of "Mr. Meyer" and the Führer, putting it on the fast track to mass production. It was finally completed in August 1942, temporarily receiving the codename "Kurzschusswaffe (Short Assault Weapon)-42," and was gradually distributed to troops in North Africa and on the Eastern Front.

Since then, the German army has continuously refined the production process of the K-42 assault rifle and continuously equipped its troops. In the hands of the Nazis, this weapon became a scythe of death that harvested lives, deeply shocking Allied soldiers and even in turn manipulating the development of small arms in the Soviet Union and the United States, with far-reaching consequences.

Allied officers and soldiers were so impressed by the Ks-42 assault rifle that they even nicknamed it the "spray can with a mustache." If you ask Nazi soldiers what small arms impressed them the most, the Germans who fought on the Eastern Front will surely give you the answer.

"Russian Iron Fist!"

After obtaining the idea, blueprints, and samples of the handheld anti-tank grenade launcher "Turtle Fist" from China, the Soviet Union organized its production. Due to its ridiculously low cost and intuitive use, even before the war, when the Soviet army was plagued by the chaos caused by the large-scale military expansion, a considerable number of "Turtle Fists" were distributed to the troops. Because of the "Turtle Fist"'s ability to launch explosives from a distance and allow infantry to threaten tanks, even though the Soviet army used it rather recklessly in the early stages of the war, it still caused great trouble to the German army.

The German army, fed up with the situation, gave the captured "turtle fist" the number "Panzerfaust-1" and directly equipped it with front-line infantry and grenadiers to bomb the Soviet army. On the other hand, it also sent samples back to the country for imitation.

Such a simple weapon was very easy to imitate for a serious industrial country like Germany. In early 1942, a large number of German-version Panzerfusts had already begun to be transported to the front line by rail. Except for the slightly different caliber of the super-caliber warhead, it was exactly the same as the Soviet version, and even the ammunition could be used interchangeably. However, the German Army Department was obviously not satisfied with such an easy-to-use and powerful weapon.

"The full version has a range of 120 meters, and the simplified version has a range of around 80 meters. This is too short! Furthermore, the over-caliber ammunition is too susceptible to crosswinds! Shooters are often suppressed by Soviet submachine guns, unable to fire a second round!" The German Army Ministry issued a new request: "Develop a recoilless rifle for individual soldiers, using the recoilless principle, firing ammunition of the same caliber through a rifled barrel, and with an effective range of over 400 meters!"

This task was given to the prestigious Krupp and Rheinmetall companies. These two arms companies, which had designed the LG4O recoilless gun, finally decided to abandon the original hemispherical powder cover and transverse breech design after absorbing the design of the Soviet armor-piercing shells and recoilless guns, and produced the first batch of sample guns in June 1942.

The Krupp and Rheinmetall guns were essentially identical, both utilizing a 75mm rifled barrel, new perforated rounds, and a Venturi jet for low-recoil firing. The only difference was that Krupp's tripod mounting incorporated a sophisticated elevation and directional mechanism, bringing the gun's combat weight to 120 kg. Rheinmetall, on the other hand, employed a simplified Soviet-style bipod. While this required manual aiming by the gunner, the bipod reduced the gun's combat weight to 20 kg, allowing it to be shoulder-fired without the bipod in an emergency.

Both new guns were deployed to the front lines in small numbers for testing in the second half of 42, and quickly became popular on the front lines. German troops on the front lines were often heavier and had a longer effective range. The Krupp version served as an alternative to infantry artillery, firing directly at Soviet tanks. The Rheinmetall version, with its lower muzzle velocity and lighter weight, served as a flexibly deployed "individual cannon" and participated in the operations of "tank hunter" teams.

Although the shooter's ears would always buzz when fired, and the shells would sometimes be interfered with by the grille and spaced armor, the effective range of about 400 meters and the vertical armor penetration depth of about 20 mm began to allow German anti-tank soldiers to pose a threat to Soviet heavy tanks outside the threat range of most Soviet automatic firepower.

So, when time passed to 1943, after the thermal insulation bushing and optical sight were improved, and the shooters were equipped with earplugs, the "y'schwere Panzer Blichse-4S" (heavy anti-tank gun) produced based on the Rhine prototype passed the acceptance and began mass production. The German army organized it into an independent anti-tank platoon and assigned it to the battalion-level heavy weapons company to carry out anti-tank and anti-hard target work.

The strange nickname "German Chimney" began to spread on the battlefield...