Rise From Eight Hundred

Tang Dao stayed in Tianjin for a full month.

In addition to negotiating various commercial contract frameworks with Laura, Rostav of Krupp also had greater ambitions.

Especially when Tang Dao told him that he still had several tons of gold reserves, Rostav even considered how much a battleship was worth in US dollars.

There was no way, Tang Dao was so handsome when he waved a check, so handsome that he had no friends.

So, Tang Dao's schedule for this month was basically a pattern.

After getting up in the big villa belonging to Krupp Company in Tianjin, he received important telegrams from various departments of the regiment through the secret radio and responded. In the afternoon, he either drank tea with Rostav or chatted with Laura.

And at night, it was basically Tang Dao's time alone. He would do various physical and reaction training in a training room specially prepared for him in the villa, and then read a book.

This may also be the most regular period of time since Tang Dao came to this world.

Rostav has lobbied Tang Dao several times. Warships and airplanes are definitely not useful for Tang Dao at this stage, but tanks can be used.

The Japanese army's own tanks are not good, and they have not obtained any decent anti-tank weapons. What threat can the four 37mm rapid-fire guns equipped at the infantry regiment level pose to the main battle tanks currently equipped by the German Empire?

But Tang Tuanzuo is not a big complainer. Although the anti-Japanese war situation behind enemy lines is very good now, that is the result of the Japanese army's deliberate contraction.

The Japanese are holding back a big move!

That kind of big iron lump can only be used on the plains of southern Hebei, and it cannot be used in the mountains at all. Moreover, this thing is not a cannon. It can be dismantled and reassembled. Without enough technicians and equipment, once it is dismantled, it will be a pile of iron.

It is not that Tang Dao does not have a demand for armored forces, but the 20-ton main battle tanks of the German Empire and the Bear Empire are actually not suitable for the current battlefield behind enemy lines.

Unable to bear the annoyance, Rostav finally proposed to buy a TKS tank called "cockroach" used by the Polish military that the German Empire had conquered.

"Oh! God! How can you look down on the disgusting little cockroaches of the Poles? Are you really not going to consider the Type 3 tank equipped by my Imperial Army? I can say responsibly that the 50mm front armor of the Type 3 tank is definitely not something the Japanese can resist." Rostav held his head and found it difficult to understand Tang Dao's choice.

Is the Polish TKS tank called a tank?

The armor thickness is only 10 mm, the body is 58 meters long, 78 meters wide, and 32 meters high. The ordinary model is equipped with a 92mm machine gun, and the enhanced model is only equipped with a 20mm machine gun.

That should not be called a tank, not even an armored vehicle, at most a machine gun carrier.

According to Rostav, an arms dealer, this low-cost, aesthetically pleasing and oppressive little car is a dung transport tool made by farmers. The Imperial Army that fought against it called it a cockroach, which is the most appropriate name.

"Little cockroach? Mr. Rostav, don't forget that it was such a little cockroach that killed a heavy tank platoon of your empire with only three tanks in the Battle of Warsaw in September!" Tang Dao glanced at Rostav with some amusement.

Rostav's face flushed red, but he couldn't refute it.

Because that was the fact.

In the battle on September 18, three TKS tanks ambushed an imperial tank platoon with three Type 3 tanks.

Lieutenant Albrecht von Ratibor, an imperial noble who served as the commander, died on the spot. All three Type 3 tanks were destroyed, while three TKS tanks smaller than the Japanese Type 94 tanks were intact.

Just like Tang Dao later advised Brigade Commander Cheng, there is no best, only the most suitable.

The TKS, an ultra-light tank called "cockroach" by the German Empire Army, is basically a turkey if it encounters an anti-tank gun. It is useless if it is hit by a shell. Even the 7mm heavy machine gun currently equipped by the Fourth Regiment can penetrate it at a distance of 400 meters.

But the premise is to hit it.

The biggest advantage of this small tank that is less than a person's height is that it is flexible enough. Once it gets into the bushes, you can't find it unless you get closer.

The reason why the Polish sergeant commander was able to kill three German Empire tanks without any damage was not only because of the proper application of tactics, using the principle that the small car is easy to turn around, and flexibly maneuvering and using the 20mm machine gun to penetrate the fragile side armor of the No. 3 tank in one fell swoop, but also because the TKS tank is small and short, and the 50mm main gun of the No. 3 tank can't shoot it at all.

War is not about sex, and it is not just about being big and hard. Sometimes being smaller and shooting faster can also be a headache.

Moreover, for the current four-line regiment, the firepower of the 20mm machine gun is very strong. It can break armor and fortifications, and can also break the determination of the opponent's infantry charge in a bloody way by interrupting a person, but the biggest disadvantage is that it is too heavy.

With a gun body of more than 200 kilograms plus various accessories, a 20mm machine gun requires six pack horses and at least 12 soldiers to serve.

If there is a TKS small tank, it has tracks that can go up mountains and down rivers. The small body does not have much demand for roads. As long as there is a road that can be used for horse-drawn carriages, it is not used for armored combat. It is purely used as a 20mm machine gun carrier platform. Isn’t it also quite useful?

The fuel issue is easy to handle. The most important negotiation between Tang Dao and Laura this time is not for importing the production lines of the steel plant and cement plant, but for the production line of the refinery.

The small oil field in the northwest produces crude oil. The inability to refine crude oil has led to the government purchasing it at a very low price, which not only lost a lot of economic income, but also failed to provide the front-line troops with the necessary gasoline and diesel.

It didn't matter before. The three infantry divisions of the 80th Army were pure infantry divisions. The ones with wheels were basically wheelbarrows. Even the division commanders marched on horses for long distances and on their own two legs for short distances.

But now it's different. The commander Wang Xiaoqiang now rides a three-wheeled motorcycle captured from the Japanese army. The division and brigade levels already have trucks. It's not enough to rely on robbing the Japanese for fuel. Besides, the Japanese army is now hiding in the city and it's not easy to rob.

The safest way is to rely on yourself, so Tang Dao spent one million US dollars to buy a refinery production line from Laura, and also paid a full 300,000 US dollars for transportation.

According to the current annual output of 20,000 barrels of the small oil field, as long as this small refinery can reach the production capacity of refining 30 barrels of crude oil per day, it can not only meet the needs of all front-line troops, but also sell to the mountain city to increase the fiscal revenue of An County.

"But when Poland surrendered to the Empire, a batch of equipment was destroyed. There are only a few vehicles left now." Rostav tried to recall the data list sent to him by the company headquarters.

This broken tank is really too inconspicuous, and he, a data control, can't remember it.

"No matter how many, sell them all to me, I will give you 50,000 US dollars for each one! But I ask that the engine be replaced and a 75-horsepower Maybach engine be used for me. In addition, all TKS, remove the 92 machine guns, and install 20mm machine guns for me! And, help me install external brackets and shields for the installation of 7mm heavy machine guns. At that time, I will give you the modification drawings." Tang Dao waved his hand and directly opened a sky-high price.

"Wait, I'll check it out!" Rostav's voice trembled and jumped into the secret room in his office like a rabbit.

The next moment, Rostav's wailing came from the secret room.

40, why only 40! If those idiots in the Imperial Army had been more efficient and seized 100, wouldn't that be a business of 5 million US dollars?

But for the current business of 2 million US dollars, after deducting the freight and the money handed over to the military, there is still a net profit of 1.5 million, which is enough to catch up with the profit value of selling a whole division's equipment.

As for the minor modifications proposed by Tang Dao, it is nothing more than welding a bracket and a bullet box on the rear of the tank so that a heavy machine gunner can shoot at the air and the ground on this low-rise tank.

Anyway, the TKS tank is ugly and bad enough, so I don't care about these.

If Rostav knew that Tang Dao also added a tail groove on the "cockroach" tank to tow the Bofors 75 mountain gun or 150 howitzer, he would definitely admire his own aesthetic of Tang Tuanzuo.

What's beautiful or not, it's the most advanced appearance if it can be used.

Tang Dao knew that in the future desert war, the rockets modified by the guerrillas in Gaza City with gas tanks and steel pipes were ugly, but they were powerful enough to blow the regular army armed to the teeth to pieces.

Otherwise, with Tang Tuanzuo's temper, knowing that the little cockroach was captured by the German Empire Army and had basically no cost, he would still offer an irresistible price of 50,000 US dollars.

You know, at this time, a Bofors 75mm mountain gun was only 60,000 US dollars, a 150 howitzer was only 80,000, and even the Sherman tank of the American cowboys only cost 30,000 US dollars.

In fact, only Tang Dao, who was inspired by Rostav's hard sales, knew that if he missed this village, he would miss that shop.

The original 46-horsepower gasoline engine of the little cockroach can drive its small body of only two tons to run wildly on the road at a speed of 40 kilometers per hour. Now it is equipped with a 76-horsepower Maybach engine produced by Mercedes-Benz, and it is no problem to pull a small mountain gun weighing only 650 kilograms to climb a slope.

How to transport the 150-ton howitzer weighing more than 4 tons that Krupp will soon transport from the ocean has always been a pain point for Tang Dao.

Although that big guy has two wheels, it is too heavy. The Western army uses professional transport trucks, which cannot be pushed up the hill by a large number of people.

Now with the little cockroach, it has solved one of Tang Dao's worries. If one is not enough, then another one will be added. If it is still not enough, then a few more will be added.

This little cockroach with machine guns and climbing ability is simply tailor-made for the current four-line regiment, and can become a versatile one.

Moreover, Tang Dao knew that when the German Empire officially launched an attack on the Gallic Rooster in May 1940, the Japanese would also attack Southeast Asia, and the relationship between the two countries would enter a honeymoon period. By then, even if Krupp wanted to make money again, it would probably stop providing sales due to pressure from the government.

"Deliver before March, cash on delivery!" Tang Dao waved a check for millions of US dollars and asked a Krupp munitions factory to rush work for him 24 hours a day and modify it according to Tang Dao's requirements.

No one expected that the future battlefield of the North China Plain would usher in the most ugly but excellent armed trailer.

The little cockroach with a 7mm anti-aircraft machine gun and a flat-fire 20mm machine gun is a nightmare for Japanese infantry. Its mobility is not only better than that of the Japanese Type 94 tank, but its firepower is also much stronger. If you send a Type 89 main battle tank to deal with it, it will not confront you head-on. The 35-meter vehicle height makes it difficult for the Type 89 tank's 57mm short-barreled gun to aim at it.

And if this tank uses the terrain to jump to a position 400 meters to the side of the tank, the Type 89 tank's flank armor of only more than 20 mm is not as good as the German Empire Type 3 tank!

It is even more nonsense to use pure infantry to deal with it. Armored forces have never existed alone, and are often accompanied by infantry.

After Tang Tuanzuo creatively incorporated the No. 1 artillery team, which would be called the prototype of the Four-Line Regiment Tank Battalion in the future, into the baggage battalion, the baggage battalion was specially equipped with 3 infantry platoons of 100 people to cooperate with the 3 squads of the No. 1 artillery team.

Director Zhuang Da, who served as the commander of the baggage battalion, became the most powerful unit commander of the Four-Line Regiment except for the artillery battalion.

That was something Director Zhuang Da, who always regarded himself as the general manager of the Four-Line Regiment, never expected.

It is said that when Director Zhuang Da, who was already mature enough, heard that the commander of the regiment handed over 36 tanks named "Bee" to the baggage battalion, he touched the cold steel plate of the tank at night and two lines of hot tears flowed freely.

Although he was far away from the war due to different divisions of labor, in fact, this former battalion commander of the Songjiang Security Regiment never forgot the night in the west city of Songjiang.

His blood has never been extinguished since it was ignited by the war at that moment.

If it is said that Tang Tuanzuo, who ordered the ugliest small tank here, was aesthetically rotten, then the two Japanese Type B divisions in southeastern Shanxi have completely entered a state of lying down and rotten. As long as the Chinese side does not attempt to attack the important transportation highway of the Handan-Changcheng Line and the counties along the line, the two divisions of nearly 50,000 Japanese troops will shrink to the county and not move.

However, in October, the 50,000 Japanese troops who had been playing rotten finally stood up.

That was because a certain unit of the 921st Division that stayed in southeastern Shanxi was really too "excessive". In less than 15 days, it ambushed the Japanese transport convoy three times in a row, robbed all the supplies transported to the front line by the Japanese army, burned the trucks, and killed nearly 800 Japanese baggage soldiers.

No matter how cowardly the two Type B divisions were, they had to show their presence under Duo Tianjun's furious military order!

Under the personal command of Lieutenant General Naotsugu Sakai, the 108th Division dispatched two infantry regiments and two artillery battalions and rushed all the way to Wuxiang.

Here, the main forces of the 683rd Brigade, the 771st Regiment and the New 1st Regiment, had just arrived at the position to fight the enemy, and the 109th Division also sent two infantry regiments to the headquarters of the 80th Army Group, playing a trick of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west.

At that time, the 921st Division had already left southeastern Shanxi and moved to Xingtai. The main force of the 583rd Brigade had already arrived in eastern and northern Hebei. Half of the main force of the 683rd Brigade was also in northwestern Shanxi, preparing to integrate its troops there and guide the anti-Japanese struggle behind enemy lines in the four bases of northwestern Shanxi, southern Hebei, eastern Hebei, and northern Hebei.

To put it bluntly, in October 193, the military strength in southeastern Shanxi was the most empty.

Fortunately, although Tang Dao had already focused on southern Hebei, he never said that he would leave the base in southeastern Shanxi alone.

The remaining 4 infantry companies, 1 guard company, two recruit companies, and two artillery companies, led by Lei Xiong, reinforced the headquarters of the 80th Army Group. With the cooperation of the 80th Army Group Headquarters Defense Corps, the approximately 3,000 troops deployed pressed the 7,000 people of the 109th Division's sneak attack to the ground and beat them up.

Only then did they repel the retaliatory attack carefully planned by the two Japanese Type B divisions.

That was the only record that the 108th and 109th divisions could show off in 1939. If it weren't for the fact that the Japanese army still had 140,000 troops on the Zhongtiao Mountain front and the Yellow River defense line, just looking at the performance of the two divisions, one would have thought that they were surrounded by the Chinese army and struggling to survive in the county town!

Apart from the county town and the 200-kilometer-long Handan-Changji Highway, the rest of the mountains in southeastern Shanxi belonged to the Chinese army. The main strategy of the Japanese and puppet troops was to defend and endure.

In fact, not only the two Japanese army lieutenant generals in southeastern Shanxi were frustrated, but Yoshio Shinozuka in southern Hebei was not much better.

After the midsummer battle on the plain where they were beaten to a pulp despite their full output, the 10th Division also learned its lesson and rarely went out of the city at the squadron level to go deep into the countryside.

The infantry battalion level did go out of the city several times with the cooperation of at least one puppet infantry battalion, but the farthest was only 7 kilometers away from the city. As soon as they saw the smoke coming out of the Chinese village, they immediately withdrew their troops back to the city without waiting for the main Chinese forces to gather.

To put it bluntly, the 10th Division just wanted to show its presence in the occupied area. As for how you Chinese play in the countryside, I just came to take a look, just a look!

In this way, until Tang Tuanzuo returned from Tianjin, the Chinese and Japanese armies in southeastern Shanxi and southern Hebei maintained a peaceful situation of "you are good, I am good!"

But Tang Dao felt that the storm was coming through the sudden increase in vigilance in Tianjin in those days, and even the Japanese army's frequent attempts to attack the concession.

Duo Tianjun, there is a great possibility that you will do something before you are transferred!

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PS: A preview, my daughter's new book "Border Wanderer" will be on the shelves after 12 noon tomorrow, the fourth day of the Chinese New Year. I hope my brothers can support it. Fengyue thanks!