Iron Cross

German tanks are famous for their achievements and have been fully tested on the battlefield. The later modifications of the No. 4 tank were gradually inferior to the later modifications of the Sherman. When the Allies launched the Dumbo and Firefly based on the Sherman, the No. 4 was simply unable to resist. However, because the German army, which mainly used the No. 4, always won, and the German army only used the captured Sherman as a service tank, it seemed that even the No. 4 was slightly better than the Sherman in the eyes of various countries, let alone the T-34.

What if the Centurion has good technical performance? How can it fool others to buy it when it has no chance to prove itself in actual combat? The newly built Centurion is definitely not mature yet, but the price is the most expensive. Unless the British are willing to sell it at a loss, Speer believes that they can only produce and sell it by themselves. With the size and strength of the British Army, how much equipment can be equipped with open supply? Are the British still planning to restore the strength of their fleet? Therefore, he was not optimistic about the Centurion, and even planned to send Tiger 2, Leopard 2, and Tiger 3 to challenge the British, so that the British would give up...

Hoffman's attitude was slightly more positive than Speer's. He believed that there was no problem in joint development with the British. Not only the Centurion, but also the L7 tank gun and 3V bomber, which were still in the bidding stage, could be included in the scope of joint development. However, Germany would never allow Britain to start a separate standard. Otherwise, how could European defense integration be achieved? Among the major European countries, Italy's equipment system is highly consistent with Germany, and France and Western Russia have also expressed clear intentions. If Britain sets a different system, it will aggravate the centrifugal tendency of various countries. This precedent must not be set.

In order to achieve the goal of defense unification, Hoffman not only expressed the need for joint development, but also planned to form a joint military-industrial complex. He told Keitel that if the French were not very willing to pay the 14 billion mark technology transfer fee, then it would be okay to transfer French military-industrial shares. Dassault, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen, Schneider and other companies immediately came into view. Like Italy's military-industrial enterprises, Germany did not seek a controlling position, but would rely on capital power to connect them together. After the integration of coal, steel, electricity and transportation, the next stage is the integration of military industry, automobiles, shipbuilding, etc.

According to Hoffman's idea, including British Rolls-Royce, Vickers, Armstrong and other companies, all belong to the scope of the European military-industrial complex. In the future, the cost of military equipment research and development will become more and more expensive, and the number and scale of equipment will drop sharply compared to now. A missile will cost millions of marks. If there is no joint development and extensive equipment, a single country cannot afford it, let alone promote it comprehensively.

Joint development and equipment also have the benefit of peace - the tanks, planes, cannons, missiles, and warships equipped by everyone are the same stuff, and the performance is well known to each other, so how can war be fought?

To encourage competition, 3-4 companies should be set up in each field. For example, Germany originally relied on the Mercedes-Benz DB series for aircraft engines, but it didn't work in this way or that way. After the BMW series was developed, Mercedes-Benz became much more honest. Now Maybach has also begun to show signs of this. Relying on the success of HL230\\HL234, it thinks that the world can't be played without it. It is humming and groaning on the new generation of tank engines - the national socialists dare to do this, so how can they fly to the sky in the democratic era?

Hoffman plans to cultivate competitors to prevent his Maybach from being too arrogant - the Armaments Department has issued a letter of intent for the bidding of a new generation of 1,000 horsepower diesel tank engines, and companies from various countries, including MAN, have expressed great interest.

Hoffman's initial investment in the jet lightning bomber was intended to lead the United States astray and develop strategic jets, but the Americans were not led astray. The B-36 intercontinental bomber still uses 6 piston engines and is being developed as soon as possible. However, the British, due to the reality that heavy bombers such as Lancaster, Manchester, and Halifax were repeatedly intercepted by German jets, started bidding for jet heavy bombers earlier than in history, and launched 6 potential targets at once.

Regarding the British's attitude that they have not been completely convinced, Hoffman believes that on the one hand, it is the inertia of the Anglo-German War. The two sides fought for nearly 5 years, and the British sacrificed much more than France and the cost was also high. It is impossible to completely forget it in just 2-3 months. Even if the British gave up in the end because they really couldn't support it, it does not mean that they will immediately recognize Germany as a friend; on the other hand, it is because the United States is still barely supporting it, and the British have not changed their nature of acting as a troublemaker in Europe, and they still want to fish in troubled waters on both sides of the Atlantic to get some benefits.

So he wanted to freeze the British for the time being. Anyway, 150,000 German troops had begun to land in Britain one after another, and more than 3 million British troops were gradually demobilized. He was not worried about what tricks the British could play.

Because of the humming and whining until Iceland was occupied and the coup of Churchill, the war finally stopped, which took a lot of time. In addition, powerful figures such as Pound and Cunningham died one after another, and there were not enough prestigious people. The position of commander of the European Combined Fleet originally arranged by Hoffman for the British finally fell to Marshal. The first deputy commander was the Italian Iaginso, and the British could only be the second deputy commander now.

Black Cat and Attlee were not very satisfied with this, but they really couldn't say anything. Now Somerville is the most experienced person in the Royal Navy in theory, but unfortunately he is still serving the Churchill regime in the United States. In terms of prestige, qualifications, and achievements, no one can compare with Marshal.

On the issue of South Africa, Britain still turned to Germany - although London repeatedly expressed the hope that South Africa would lay down its arms and cease the war, and said that the specific terms were easily negotiable, the Americans were unmoved and resolutely refused. Bradley hoped to rely on The fortification system he built would dampen the morale of the German army, and perhaps it would be too late to discuss an armistice at that time.

Seeing that the V3 missile was ready, but no one was seen launching it, someone asked: "We have the missile, why haven't the launch personnel arrived at the scene yet?"

"Don't worry, they are in the air and will be here soon!"

"In the air?" Everyone looked up subconsciously and found that there was no sign of anyone landing. Just as they were wondering, the sound of propellers breaking through the air was heard.

Some people watched in stunned silence as aircraft that completely subverted their cognition passed overhead and stopped steadily on the grass around the launch site. As soon as they stopped, missile soldiers wearing gas masks filed out and quickly headed towards Run to the launch zone.

Of course, some people just nodded slightly and showed less shock than others: Helicopters are not an incredible thing. In the late 1930s, France, Germany, the United States and the Soviet Union all had successful helicopter test flights. Hannah Leitch It was also publicly displayed at the Berlin Stadium before the war, but no one put it into practical use. In terms of helicopter research and development level, at least the United States has unique advantages. But they were murmuring in their hearts. Judging from the performance of the German army's large-scale operation today, the German helicopters should have been put into practical use.

"This is the Fa-423 helicopter equipped by our army. In addition to the pilot, each helicopter can accommodate 16 additional fully armed infantrymen to perform vertical take-off and landing operations... Germany, as the first country in the world to experiment with helicopters, has always been a leader in this field. , the model you see has 2 engines, a maximum flight speed of more than 220 kilometers per hour, a cruising range of more than 300 kilometers, a maximum ceiling of more than 5,000 meters, and can carry more than 1.6 tons of cargo or soldiers... transporting, It has significant advantages in areas such as rescue and emergency supply of materials, and its vertical take-off and landing capabilities that do not rely on standard runways can be most effective in mountain operations.”

Seeing that the Dragon had landed safely, Hoffman turned his head, just as Marshal Guderian and General Paulus came from outside to sit down - they took two helicopters to land on the top of the air defense tower, and then entered the observation hall from above .

Seeing the slightly excited expressions of the two, Hoffman raised his hand and made a "?" sign with his fingers. Guderian gave a thumbs up, while Paulus gave an exaggerated thumbs up. Then he nodded to his head with his fingertips. Hoffman nodded knowingly, saying nothing.

Before the missile soldiers rushed to the scene by helicopter, a confidential subject drill was conducted in other venues - special forces used helicopters to conduct infiltration operations behind enemy lines. This subject could only be watched by a very small number of senior German military officials and was not open to the allies for the time being.

Hoffman's question mark was to ask about the results of the exercise. Guderian's thumbs up said it was great, completely beyond imagination and subverting cognition. Paulus's final point to his head meant "I understand this routine. As a red team, I understand." Chief of Staff, I have to think carefully about how to restrain this tactic."

Under Hoffman's guidance and inspiration, the 1st and 2nd German Air Cavalry Assault Battalions, directly under the Supreme Command, have been formed to provide guidance on special operations such as "infiltration", "beheading", "hijacking" and "camouflage" All ideas are also distributed, allowing commanders to figure out how to use them on their own - Hoffman is not from the special forces and can only talk about concepts. The specific practice must be explored by the subordinates themselves.

In addition to the publicly unveiled Fa-423, they have better equipment:

The first is the Fa-466 medium-sized transport aircraft. The original model Fa-266 Hornet is just a variation of the Dragon helicopter. The sketches that Hoffman drew for the designers are completely different - dual rotors are used in tandem to overcome the mutual airflow. Interference, the rear rotor is higher than the front rotor. Except for the change in rotor deployment, the rest of the power system and control system are similar to the Fa-423.

This sketch is regarded as a display of the genius of the head of state, but there is no genius in Hoffman. This is clearly the appearance of the CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter that the Americans fiddled with in later generations. It is nothing more than a designer's use. It's just the German way of showing them off.