Chapter 2429: One Chassis, Two Models

Not only Malashenko's car, but also the IS6 heavy tanks guarding the surroundings were firing at full speed to block the enemy's armored units that were trying to approach for support.

The self-propelled artillery units, which were a little slower but could still keep up with the main force in terms of overall speed, had already entered the battlefield, entered their positions, and were ready to fire.

Those huge ISU-152A self-propelled artillery were the vanguards at the forefront, and were more mobile and swift than the old artillery of the previous generation, that is, the ISU-152, which was modified from the chassis of the IS2 heavy tank.

These armored behemoths holding up the 152mm Justice cannon were extremely tall. It was precisely because of this large 152 howitzer that its fixed welded and stacked fighting room on the body was destined to be unusually wide and conspicuous, far better than the IS6 heavy tank built on the same model of body chassis, and the battlefield recognition was quite high.

The Germans on the battlefield were not blind. These "tall and mighty" armored behemoths had just entered the battlefield and had not had time to officially participate in the battle. They were spotted by the sharp-eyed Germans and included in the shooting range.

Relying on the first-hand advantage of entering the battlefield and stopping the enemy first, the German armored vehicles with various lengths of 75 and 88 were the first to open fire.

These turretless armies, which were not composed of tanks, but were composed of Panzer IV tank destroyers, Jagdpanther tank destroyers, and a large number of tridents, did have a fairly good firepower output in general. They were low-profile, had a small frontal area, high concealment, and good defense. At least the ordinary Red Army tank troops would have a headache when encountering such bastards.

But that was limited to the ordinary Red Army tank troops, and it was well known that the leader division was not ordinary. Those German sticks who thought that the leader division belonged to the "ordinary" definition had long been sent to two places by Malashenko and his comrades: another world or a prisoner-of-war camp.

The German army, which is short-sighted, is not sure what these armored monsters that look like IS6 but have no turrets and carry a huge cannon of unknown caliber, but definitely larger than the 122 heirloom, are. At least they have never seen them before, let alone fight with them to get familiar with their performance.

To be precise, at the moment when the mass production of the second batch of standard IS6 heavy tanks has been fully launched, the front-line troops with huge demand for the replacement of heavy tanks are basically eager to receive new vehicles.

The full orders and the notice of expediting production from the equipment department almost filled up Comrade Kokin's desk drawer.

Even though the expansion of the factory and the addition of production lines for the IS6 heavy tanks are already in progress, and certain results have been achieved to increase production capacity.

But the current production speed still cannot catch up with the peak speed of the previous production of IS2 heavy tanks. The more powerful IS6 heavy tank is certainly simple to build and takes less time. The turret is cast in one piece, and the body armor can be easily made by cutting and welding a few large steel plates.

But this is only relative.

Yes, it is time-saving and labor-saving compared to the previous generation of the Guards' special IS4 heavy tank and the new generation of the Guards' special vehicle IS7, but it is completely different from the old IS2 heavy tank. It is definitely time-consuming and labor-intensive.

More powerful performance comes at a price. Under the premise of similar technology but heavier and more expensive, it is impossible to expect the IS6 to be built faster than the IS2. After all, it is a new heavy tank with a more complicated defense configuration than the IS2 in order to enhance protection.

It is reasonable that the construction time is longer. If the performance is stronger, the materials are more, the process is similar, and the cost is higher, but the construction time is shorter, then it is really called "Slavs use external plug-ins". If the Germans on the opposite side have this ability, it is not impossible to give you twice the number of zoo valuables.

So in this case, don't expect the IS6, which has huge demand on the front line, takes time to build, and has a lower production than the IS2, to free up a lot of spare chassis for you to make ISU-152A.

Large-caliber heavy self-propelled artillery is very important, but it has lower-level substitutes that can be used. The 152 towed howitzer, or even the small guns such as SU-100, SU-85, and SU-76, can be used as a makeshift, anyway, the functional positioning is somewhat overlapping and similar.

If there are difficulties, just overcome them. Who can have no difficulties in wartime?

But if you want to talk about the importance of heavy tanks, I'm sorry, this is really irreplaceable.

These big guys are indispensable for sieges and breakthroughs in key strategic locations, and medium tank units can indeed accomplish the task.

However, the actual combat feedback after the front-line troops successively received IS6 showed that if medium tank units were deployed to replace heavy tank units in similar large-scale offensive battles, and T3485 or even the latest T43 was used to replace IS6 to do the work, the former's loss rate was basically three times or even more than the latter.

In terms of available motorization hours, mean time between failures, maintenance difficulty, full-fuel strategic mileage, and overall equipment availability, IS6 is indeed inferior to T3485 and T43.

The IS6 is heavy at 50 tons, far exceeding the weight of the previous generation IS2, so it has to bear the negative impact of these problems, but this still cannot change its role in the battle of siege and capture of strongholds, and it cannot change its popularity among the front-line tank soldiers.

The importance and priority of heavy tanks are definitely higher than self-propelled artillery.

With ISU-152A, you can more smoothly cover IS6 to capture cities and strongholds, and even without ISU-152A, you can still do it, but it is a little more troublesome. But if you don’t have IS6, even if you have ISU-152A, you will face a huge number of problems.

How to charge the key defense section of the German stick? How to block the enemy’s heavy armored forces’ counterattack?

There will be a huge number of derivative problems in offensive and defensive operations. In terms of performance, the IS6, which is close to the prototype of the three elements of "mobility, protection, and firepower" of the main battle tanks of later generations, is so excellent and irreplaceable.

It is so good that even if the front-line tank troops are willing to wait for the ISU-152A and receive it later, they will specifically ask for the IS6 heavy tank built on the same chassis first.

Speaking of which, some commanders of the Guards tank divisions, of course not including big guys like Malashenko who can "optionally choose equipment", have actually encountered a difficult choice.

The number of IS6 chassis replaced for your division is fixed. Given the title of the Guards, you can have a certain right of choice. Do you want these chassis quotas to be used to build IS6? Or to build ISU-152A? If you can't get it this month, you can place a pre-order first, and maybe it will be delivered according to your intention next month.

Such multiple-choice questions have made many Guards division commanders scratch their heads and feel very entangled.

It is impossible to replace all the new equipment at once. The quota is so limited. It is up to you to choose which car you want. It is impossible to replace all the IS6 and ISU-152A at once. These two cars have a first-come-first-served order. As for how to distribute and what to prioritize to improve combat effectiveness the fastest, that is your own business. Just think about it and then draft an intention form and report it. The people in the equipment department cannot give you guidance.

But most of the division commanders did choose the IS6 heavy tank instead of the ISU-152A in the end.

After all, the former can fight hard battles, and the latter can only make you fight more comfortably. If you say that you can't break through the position and the German armored forces that you can't beat, to be honest, even if you change to ISU-152A, it is probably nonsense. You can't beat it down, and you can't beat it.

But it's different with the IS6, which can really produce a qualitative change. What equipment did the famous leader division rely on to sweep across the world and stuff the shit that the Germans beat out of their sphincters? What built up that fierceness? Comrades who have studied the history of the leader division, tactics and tactics, and the organization of the troops, and have the internal reference materials of the Red Army, the Guards Division commanders basically know it.

As for how to choose in the end, it is basically unnecessary to say more, and everyone can make the corresponding choices in their hearts.

As for the bold words such as "Only children make choices, I want them all", just think about it, and don't think too much.

After all, your name is not Malashenko, right?