Chapter 531 Castle (8)
However, no one blamed Voroshilov too much. The reality is like this. There is nothing to worry about. In the face of the choice between quality and quantity, quantity always comes first. What's more, the Marshal has actually come up with solutions in other places - the T-34/85 and IS-1 have not yet been able to be mass-produced smoothly, and experimental models such as KV-1S\KV-13\KV-85 have successively failed, proving that After being no match for the Tiger, he launched the T-43 with great fanfare.
75% of the parts of T-43 and T-34 are common, and two major improvements have been made. One is to increase the size of the turret and increase the thickness of the turret frontal armor to 90mm. The frontal armor of the car body is 75mm/55mm. The second is the improved transmission and suspension system. Even if the weight of the whole vehicle increases to 34.1 tons, its maneuverability can still reach the level of T-34. Because the structure has not changed too much, its stability is much stronger than other new heavy tanks.
Voroshilov used the saved armor steel to ensure the production of T-43. Theoretically speaking, if the T-43 and the No. 4 H-type were to compete alone, the former would have a greater advantage, because the 75mm/55-degree inclination angle is far stronger than the 80mm vertical armor of the No. 4 tank. The 75mm gun on the No. 4 can Before breaking through the T-43 frontal armor, the T-43's 76.2mm tank gun can first penetrate the No. 4 armor.
When facing the Tiger, the T-43 also provides better defense. If the Tiger does not use tungsten core armor-piercing bullets to deal with the T-43's frontal armor at least 1,500 meters away, it will have great difficulty. Because front-line tank soldiers usually add some tracks or steel plates removed from damaged tanks to the frontal armor, these irregular defensive measures not only increase the ricochet coefficient but also strengthen the defensive capabilities.
The T-43 is very similar to the T-34 in appearance, and it is easy to misidentify it without looking carefully, which makes tactical strategies possible at certain times. However, the T-43's sighting equipment is not powerful enough, and these advantages have to be discounted, but it still has at least some advantages over the No. 4, and is much stronger than the crudely made T-34. In terms of tank allocation, the Guards tank units will give priority to T-43s with good quality and performance, and other ordinary units will be equipped with T-34s.
In addition to the T-43, Voroshilov's other major contribution was the accelerated launch of two anti-tank destroyers, the SU-122 and SU-85, while decisively discontinuing the SU-76. Faced with the real threat of the Tiger and the fact that the new heavy tanks were not effective for a while, the Soviet military industry department, which was in a hurry and sought medical treatment, followed the ideas of the German Stalker and Raider and came up with new tank destroyers, among which the SU-122 Both the SU-85 and the SU-85 can cause fatal damage to the Tiger under certain conditions, and the production difficulty is much lower than that of heavy tanks. Even if this emergency product has some flaws and shortcomings, as long as it can be used and effective, Comrade Stalin will always invest in it. With appreciative eyes.
What's more, a tank destroyer without a turret significantly reduces production requirements, and its fuel consumption is slightly smaller than that of the T-34. It seems that the number of tanks and armored vehicles in the Red Army's front-line troops has not declined so fast. In internal estimates, it is usually Tanks and destroyers are estimated together - in the German army, destroyers and anti-tank guns are considered artillery firepower, while in the Soviet army, destroyers are considered armored power.
This is not self-deception, because offensive operations and defensive operations are two completely different concepts. The same technical weapons play different roles in different environments. More than 70% of the Tiger tanks destroyed in the past three months were these new anti-tanks. The results of the destroyer.
"How should we defend against this possible Caspian Sea landing?" Seeing that everyone was a little dumbfounded, Stalin asked calmly, "Of course, let alone methods like increasing the army by 250,000 people. With so many troops, we can directly push Wouldn’t it be better to go to the front line and attack?”
Everyone was suddenly speechless.
"The General Staff has considered three methods: first, deploy airborne troops to the front line and carry out tit-for-tat tactical attacks; second, do everything possible to strengthen the front-line defense on the northern shore of the Caspian Sea, lay mines, build semi-permanent fortifications, and deploy more Small and medium-sized warships and gunboats will join coastal patrols; third, increase the allocation of aviation forces and use the air force to weaken and delay the opponent's offensive. However, these methods are relatively negative. After comprehensive consideration, I came up with some new ideas."
Vasilevsky's eyes were bright: "Let's just put these enemies up and fight! They have the advantage at the head of the Libian Beach. Instead of just dealing with it, it's better to put these enemies under the city of Stalingrad and try to concentrate 5 -6 times the strength to concentrate on destroying them. However, if we do this, we can only take a defensive position in other directions."
Zhukov agreed with this assumption. If Rommel's 100,000 men and 1,000 tanks really came, he felt that at least one front army needed to be concentrated in order to encircle and annihilate them. The advantage of encircling and annihilating this part of the German army than encircling and annihilating the German army on other battlefields is that the enemy supplies It must pass through the long line of the Caspian Sea. Once it is effectively cut off, it cannot be supported by German air power alone, and the German heavily equipped troops who have lost their logistical supplies will soon be vulnerable. This is the "reflection" that the two people came up with after thinking hard. "Towards" plan.
The opposite of the "reverse" plan is the "forward" plan. This is actually a continuation of the very unsuccessful Operation Uranus: Let the heavily armed German army consume its offensive power under the city of Stalingrad, gradually using human lives, barricade fortifications, and urban street fighting. Weaken the German offensive power, support it until the muddy period in autumn, and then invest a large number of reserves to counterattack. Compared with the reverse plan, the forward plan is much more powerful. We may consider encircling and annihilating 300,000 to 500,000 German troops, that is, 3- 4 group armies, the Red Army needs to use more than 2 million troops for this purpose. Not only must it mobilize all the mobile forces in the Stalingrad Theater, it must also mobilize all the mobile forces in the Moscow Theater. Even at the most critical time, even the main force of the Far East Military District must be mobilized. Also pull it over.
In comparison, the forward plan is more satisfactory, and the whole thing has been rehearsed in the Moscow Defense Battle. Zhukov believes that even if the German army guesses the forward plan, it is impossible to give up the attack - Stalingrad is so important and obvious, he will not Thinking that the enemy will give up for fear of loss. What the two sides competed for was speed - whether the German army would attack Stalingrad first or the Red Army's heavily armed group would surround the German offensive troops first.
In his vision, the forward plan would involve a very grand scene. In addition to the 2 million troops needed for encirclement and annihilation in the later stage, he would have to prepare at least 1.5-2 million troops for defense in the early stage. Taking into account the successive losses and additions, the entire campaign process required The Red Army must have more than 4 million people to cope with it. It is completely in a decisive battle situation, and it is a strategic decisive battle under a weak situation.
Zhukov, who had served as the commander of the Kiev Military District, had different ideas from most people. He did not believe that the German army would eventually fight a decisive battle by attacking Moscow. The reason was very simple. The German army had an advantage in the southern theater than in the central theater: it was a vast area. , the terrain is flat, which is conducive to the maximum effectiveness of armored forces; after the German army completely controls the Black Sea, the axis can maintain supplies through sea and railway channels, which is far more convenient than the central theater; in terms of climate, the southern line gets hotter earlier than the central one. It gets cold later and there are fewer extreme low temperatures, which are all factors that are conducive to large corps operations and supplies; fighting in the southern theater can also get cooperation and assistance from Romania, Ukraine, Caucasus nationalists, Iran, Turkey, etc., which is also very important and key.
If he were Manstein, he would prefer to fight a decisive battle on the southern front instead of chewing the hard nut of Moscow.
He had no psychological burden on the strategic decisive battle between Soviet Union and Germany, and even vaguely looked forward to it. It's not that he thinks he is sure of victory. He has repeatedly calculated many times that in the strategic decisive battle now, the Red Army's winning rate will not exceed 20%, but he believes that the current situation of maintaining this painless situation cannot be delayed any longer. This will lead to the destruction of the entire Russian nation.
Deep in the center, he can see far more than the average person: the Soviet Union's grain output has dropped to one-third of the pre-war level, its oil output is only 40%, and other industrial capabilities are only about one-third if combined. If the German army's high exchange ratio tactics continue, the Soviet Union will end up being suffocated.
Although he could not see the civil affairs report from the rear, he knew that the situation was very bad: the newly reclaimed wasteland would not be able to provide food until autumn, the elderly who had lost the ability to work had refused to eat and had to leave food to the young people at home; the newborn baby died in infancy. The rate is said to be more than a quarter, mainly due to malnutrition caused by hunger; factories are filled with child laborers around the age of 12, some even in their early 10s - an age that should be receiving education in school. He was firmly opposed to the recruitment of purely female soldiers at first, but he could not resist Comrade Stalin, who had gone crazy. In the end, he could only agree against his will!
For food, Comrade Stalin not only dispatched Budyonny's cavalry to China to seize grain and livestock, but also conducted private transactions with Japan. Even so, the food obtained was only a drop in the bucket, and his reputation was very bad! Zhukov knew clearly that these grains obtained by any means would never be left to the civilians in the rear. They had only one purpose-military rations!
Germany's statement about high exchange ratio tactics is no longer speculation or fantasy. The information transmitted by the intelligence system shows that the enemy has instilled this idea into every officer's head and has been resolutely implemented.
Just as the turmoil period came in April, the German armored group, which had the advantage and still had room to spare, suddenly stopped attacking and actively disengaged, even giving the poor Caucasus Front some breathing room. Most people in the base camp believed that the German army was too stupid to reach, but Zhukov felt a chill down his spine: This was a sign that the German head of state and senior generals had full confidence and proactive advantages. They were not trying to occupy this or that place, but they were trying to destroy the Russians' strength in an open and honest manner. .