Iron Cross

Hoffman felt that this was the most refreshing moment in his one-month journey through time. Not only did he hear the good news from Guderian's report, which reversed the outcome of the Battle of El Alamein, but he also finally enjoyed the first steak he had longed for since his journey through time. Even though he was the most powerful head of state in the world and received tens of millions of marks in royalties a year, he could not eat a steak because of the original owner's "vegetarianism". He had been drooling over the food on other people's plates for a month. Today, he finally tasted his long-cherished wish, and it felt so delicious.

Hoffman felt that his body was gradually getting better. After getting rid of the unlearned doctor, he resolutely got rid of those drugs that needed frequent injections, various types, unclear reasons, and even intangible effects. He did not feel any discomfort in his body, and even his stomach problems miraculously improved. This was really a good sign. He strengthened his physical exercise. In addition to walking, which he had always insisted on, he now also added jogging. Usually, his chief adjutant, Lieutenant Colonel Darges, and the commander of the personal guard, Major Genscher, would run with him, and his favorite German shepherd, Blondie, would jump around excitedly beside him. This habit was retained even when he went out for inspections. Under his leadership, many people around the head of state began to strengthen their physical exercise, and even the staff officers of the Supreme Command were infected. In the words of Admiral Jodl, only when running did these staff officers who often sat in the office and "aged like old men in their 50s and 60s" finally regain their vigor and vitality when they just joined the army.

Now the marshals and generals under his command are no longer afraid to dine with the head of state, because the head of state did not know when to change his habit of making long and eloquent speeches, and only stopped occasionally to chat for a while when it came to a specific issue. This was not only not offensive, but more cordial. Hoffman's attitude during the discussion was also gentle enough, and he could patiently listen to various different opinions, and rarely shouted criticism even if he disagreed. He no longer tabooed generals drinking in front of him. Many people heard that Speer, Keitel, Zeitzler and other big figures could drink when dining with the head of state. Not only that, the head of state would also offer them half a glass of Bordeaux wine. Now, the personal attendants and servants privately judge whether a person is favored by two signs: first, whether he can accompany the head of state for dinner; second, whether he can drink during small-scale dinners - it would be perfect if the head of state could accompany him to drink a little or offer him half a glass.

Everything is changing for the better, except that the secretaries, especially the female secretaries, have more complaints about the head of state, because Hoffman suddenly increased the requirements for data collection and analysis. The army, materials, and production constitute the three pillars of the report. He often fiddled with maps while calculating reports. The secretaries wished they were from the mathematics or statistics department at this time, because they often found it difficult to react and remember what the head of state needed. Lieutenant Colonel Darges was still very good at it, but he had too much work to do and it was difficult to take care of it.

Until one day Hoffman complained about this to Speer, who blinked and said, "Führer, I have a suitable candidate to recommend, and you know her."

"Who?"

"Helen, the radar guide I met at the air defense command center last time."

"Her..." Hoffman only remembered the name at this time, showing an embarrassed look, "Last time I promised her to promote female officers, you see I was so busy that I forgot."

"You can talk to her." Speer suddenly revealed a hint of ambiguity in his tone, "This enviable lady is now famous and is a role model for young women in the empire. If she can work with the Führer, she will probably faint with joy."

At this point, we have to admire Goebbels's insight. Just based on Hoffman's speech at the air defense center and the photo of Helen and several senior officials, he keenly realized that this was an excellent publicity opportunity. With the full efforts of newspapers, radio stations and broadcasts, Helen was portrayed as "an outstanding representative of the new generation of women who actively devoted themselves to the cause of the empire", and various honorary halos and titles were thrown at her head without hesitation. As for the "female officer" words that made Keitel and others nervous, the shrewd Goebbels cleverly avoided and downplayed them - he felt that this would cause unnecessary disputes, and it would be best not to increase the antagonism between the head of state and the officer corps when the subsequent impact of the treasonous group had not completely dissipated.

Goebbels' propaganda soon succeeded. Helen's deeds inspired a large number of young women to sign up for the volunteer team, with a number of tens of thousands, usually with a high school education. This made the Air Force Chief of Staff General Jeschonnek very happy. The training of new personnel is now operated in three shifts, and it is expected that there will be no shortage of personnel after the completion of the new air defense command center.

Hoffman nodded. "I think so. This lady has good math skills—better than the rest of us. You know, my female secretaries are all pretty good at writing reports or doing other things, but they have a natural fear of data and tables. Often, even if they understand, they can't do it, so they have to ask Dargus or me to calculate it. I feel that my math skills have improved a lot recently, and maybe I'm qualified to be a math teacher in a middle school."

Speer laughed loudly at the Führer's self-mockery. His mood has obviously been good recently: after the purge of the treasonous group, the domestic situation has finally stabilized. Those who resisted the general mobilization overtly and covertly no longer dare to go against him. Regarding economic adjustment and industrial Manufacturing has been advancing steadily, and the production level of important military products has increased significantly. Taking the No. 4 G-type tank as an example, it was only 20 days after the war, and the production level was already equivalent to the previous two months. A steady stream of new tanks were sent to the Eastern Front to replace the old No. 2 tanks. He is confident that the replacement of all No. 2 and No. 3 tanks will be completed before the end of the year while ensuring the supply of all battle damage. The tungsten ore exploration mentioned by the head of state last time has also achieved results. The exploration team has discovered a vein whose reserves and grade exceed any known tungsten ore in Europe. While he is planning to mine it, he is more determined in the promise given to him by Hoffman. The reliability of the resource map is determined to be fully explored as soon as possible.

"There is something else I need to report to you." Speer smiled. "General Guderian telegraphed that Russian T-34 tanks performed well in North Africa and hoped that we would increase the shipment. I have ordered the Kharkov tank The Russian production line was relocated near Skoda to continue production, and at the same time it took on the task of repairing the damaged T-34. In addition, as you mentioned to me, the original captured 38T tank was modified to be equipped with a 76.2mm anti-tank gun. The design has also been verified, and the technology has been verified. Bureau experts said that this will be a low-cost anti-tank destroyer, which is more meaningful than the 38T tank. I am ready to put it into production. At present, the vehicle chassis and artillery are all ready-made and can be mass-produced on the assembly line. The only thing missing is one A resounding name.”

"It can be called a Stalker tank destroyer." Hoffman calmly gave him the historical name. "We must be good at breaking the conventional thinking and make effective use of the captured trophies. The T-34 is a good example. , the Stalker will also be such a product. Send all the improved T-34s captured on the Russian front to Guderian."

"As you wish, Führer."

"That's right." Hoffman inadvertently remembered another thing, "Have you communicated to the scholars what I told you last time about the use of vacuum tube technology to produce computing tools?"

"We communicated, and luckily we found Konrad Zuse, the best computer expert in the empire at present. He is actually a self-taught expert." Zuse is an East Prussian with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. degree, he was originally responsible for calculations of aircraft strength analysis at an aircraft manufacturer in Berlin, and the only auxiliary tool available was a slide rule. His desire to build a computer became increasingly strong. Unable to get any funding from universities or government agencies, he could only work alone with his tenacious perseverance and a few friends to collect money, and finally completed the electromagnetic computer Z-3 in 1941. This machine uses a total of 2,600 relays to realize binary number program control through punched paper tape input. It can achieve an operation speed of 3 to 4 additions per second, or complete a multiplication operation in 3 to 5 seconds - this Although it is not as fast as Eniak, it is still of epoch-making significance considering the time.

As soon as he mentioned this, Speer became very energetic and showed special admiration in his eyes: "Führer, your genius and creativity are often astonishing. I will share with Mr. Zuse your method of using tube technology to develop electronic computers. Once, he immediately said that this was a genius idea and that he had been struggling to find something better than a relay to achieve this. He was willing to serve the Empire as long as he was given enough funds and space. "

"This is actually not my idea, it is the idea of ​​the Americans. They are using this invention for ballistic calculations." Hoffman smiled slightly, "I have always believed that we will never lag behind in any field of invention and creation. ”

"He proposed a funding of 500,000 marks and a need for 10 people to serve as research assistants, and I am ready to meet his needs."

"I will allocate 2 million marks to him in my personal name. I will continue to support him in the future, provided that I am given 30% of the product patent rights - I may be able to rely on this machine to support my retirement when I retire." Hoffmann did not hesitate. Increased efforts, "Let him work with experts who study radar and communications. They also have to deal with electronic tubes, and maybe they can also produce additional scientific sparks. As for the equipment and personnel needed in the manufacturing process, he will provide them." You are responsible for coordinating the solution. I hope to see a new finished product in half a year, with technical indicators - for example, it can complete 1,000 additions per second. "

"1,000 times?" Speer was a little surprised. "Isn't that too much? Maybe you shouldn't put so much pressure on him."

"Believe me, he can do it. I have bet my pension on him." Hoffman laughed. "Mr. Zuse may not even know the importance of his invention to the future."