Battle of the Third Reich: The 399th regular meeting

"To sum up, it is the data we currently have. I think this issue should be discussed in this meeting." After Keitel greeted Xu Jun who was sitting at the end of the conference table, he sat down Back to my seat.

"I did not understand what is called a technical reason. This month I have five light infantry divisions in my hand to reorganize into light mechanized infantry divisions. The equipment I get now is not enough to even arm a regiment. If so If I go down, I will not be able to complete the task according to the original schedule."

Model is reorganizing troops in southern Bavaria these days. He returned to Berlin to report on his duties this time, just in time for the weekly meeting of the command headquarters. Xu Jun wanted to ask about the situation of the troops below, so he allowed him to attend the meeting.

"The technical reason is that our output is far behind the current needs. In this regard, the manufacturer has not been able to come up with a reasonable explanation." Yodel said while holding a pen on the meeting record book. What is written.

"I already know about this problem, and Thoth currently has nothing to do. This is not a question of money or resources. Now the factory's production capacity has reached its peak, and it takes time to expand the production line. We must be between the production of machine tools and weapons. Find a balance point. Moreover, the training of workers also requires a process. It is impossible to find someone from the street to come back. He will build a tank with a machine tool." Xu Jun spread his hand and shrugged his shoulders and said there was no way.

He is also troubled by these problems. German weapon design is too exquisite, which often requires two to three times as many man-hours as other countries for the same weapon. At present, he has begun to think of ways to simplify the processing process, but this is only a symptom. , But it can't cure this.

The problem with German weapon design and manufacturing is ultimately due to a poor word. At that time, Germany's local resources were insufficient, and most of the precious metal materials needed to manufacture weapons had to be imported from abroad, which led to an increase in production costs from the beginning, so every ton of materials had to be carefully calculated.

The military also requires the design of weapons to be as durable as possible due to cost considerations, so that the service life of most parts of German tanks is calibrated at 30 except for parts that are easy to wear. Over years.

It’s not that the Germans are being stupid. The starting point of these indicators is that if the service life of the parts is extended, the cost of replacement parts can be saved, without wasting precious military expenses. Unlike the local tyrant on the other side of the Atlantic or the giant bear in the north, Germany has so many metal materials in its hands that it can't be used up, and spare tanks and parts can pile up into mountains.

Because the cost of production materials is very high, the profit margin left to the manufacturer is not very large, so the manufacturer strives to make the equipment exquisite, and exchanges high costs for extra profits. Many are not necessary at all. The processing procedure of the weapon was squeezed into the manufacturing process, artificially increasing the processing difficulty of weapon production.

However, the weapons produced with this kind of meticulous craftsmanship are indeed very attractive. They match Hitler's temperament, so these precision weapons, which are almost used as handicrafts, are constantly being transported into the military sequence. in.

Xu Jun is very clear about these ills, but there is no way to improve them for a while. He has a lot of excellent designs in his hands, many of which are derived from the above set of ideas, so if you want to change this situation, you must adjust from the initial design concept.

Xu Jun can’t put too much energy on the improvement of the production process. He is going to pass this task to more professional people to be responsible. Speer’s tour tour has been completed for most of the time, and only left The last few locations. After he returns to Berlin, Xu Jun will have a detailed discussion with him. If this genius is really as capable as the original history, he will let him once again assume the position in history, first as Fritz Thoth. Then he tried to slowly replace the former.

To be honest, Todt is a good hand for repairing the earth, and Xu Jun is also a political ally. They belong to the group of people who kneeled quite early. Before Speer took over his position, he could only continue to let him manage the mess. Xu Jun intends to let him go to his old business when that time comes, and lead his Thoth organization to build a defensive line behind the northern German border.

Thinking of building a road, Xu Jun suddenly turned his face to look at Keitel.

"Has the reinforcement of roads and bridges along the Austrian border completed?"

"Uh? Oh, we are in full force. We lack sufficient manpower. I have already requested the Army Command to send a few more engineering regiments there, or they will be transferred to some labor regiments." Keitel replied respectfully.

"This will be a huge project. Not only at the border, our goal is to increase the carrying capacity of some domestic bridges to 40 to 50 tons, otherwise we will not be able to meet the next challenge. Our armor The troops have already encountered similar troubles on the front lines of France. At present, the maximum carrying capacity of most bridges in Europe is between 30 and 40 tons.

Although it is still possible to barely allow the passage of existing equipment, you have also seen the information, and the weight of the new artillery and tanks under development are already close to this upper limit. With the bearing capacity of existing bridges, accidents and dangers are likely to occur if a large amount of equipment passes.

We don’t need to reinforce all the roads and bridges in the country. We can first carry out reconstruction on several important transportation routes. I have ordered Rhein Steel to design the prefabricated parts of the bridge steel frame. By then, only engineers and soldiers will be required to combine and install them on the bridge that needs to be strengthened. "Xu Jun drew a sketch on the notebook, and then passed it to Brausic to see.

"It is a very good invention, my head of state." The commander-in-chief of the army nodded quickly in admiration.

"Okay, let’s look at the question raised by Keitel. We have 150,000 retired people this year, of which three-quarters will be converted into conscripts, and some experienced non-commissioned officers will be promoted to officers. , These tasks have been completed very well and have reached our pre-set goals.

This year’s enlistment quota has been used up, and now we must start preparing for the expansion of the army next year. You all know the pressure on the military industry. We have already started placing orders with manufacturers in the UK and France. However, they need to replenish a batch of professional equipment and molds, and they cannot immediately put into production for the time being.

The question before us is whether to complete the reorganization of the unit first, or to set aside some of the weapons to form a new unit. "Xu Jun looked at a group of generals and staff members present.

"My Führer." The speaker was Count Hans von Sponeck~IndoMTL.com~ The lieutenant general was injured when he entered Rotterdam, the Netherlands. After he recovered from his injury, Hitler was dead. He originally commanded The 22nd Infantry Division also changed its commander, and the earl has been idled in the army headquarters ever since.

Because he is familiar with the training and combat of airborne infantry, before the outbreak of the British campaign, he was transferred to the high command as a senior combat staff, responsible for providing combat advice in this area, plus his heroic performance in the Dutch campaign After the war, he got a Knight Iron Cross as he wished.

"Do you have any suggestions, General Sponeck." Xu Jun nodded.

"My head of state, I think we should reorganize the original troops first. These soldiers have rich combat experience and will soon be able to master the use of new equipment. The troops can quickly regain their combat effectiveness. As for the new troops, we can now With the framework built, the training of the soldiers can also be replaced with some other substitutes, just like what we did before.” Sponek replied.

After hearing the earl’s suggestion, several staff members who had the same idea nodded in agreement.

"At present, some technical equipment is mainly lacking, and ordinary infantry weapons are still sufficient."

"After twelve weeks of basic training, professional arms training can also be carried out, so that when you calculate the time, you can almost wait for the arrival of new equipment."

"Light infantry can do this, and mechanized infantry will have an additional armored vehicle cooperative combat project, which can be temporarily replaced by trucks."

The generals began to exchange opinions in a low voice.