Steel Soviet Union

The Germans planned to temporarily add special identification marks on the front and sides of the tanks to specifically distinguish themselves from the Japanese without arousing suspicion from the Japanese.

To put it simply, a striking blue flag is hung on the front and side of the tank as an identification mark.

Kentaro Aoki, who had deep faith in Staufener, believed his statement that "this is an effective way to strengthen the tactical coordination between the two armies."

I just thought that this was probably some kind of tactical arrangement that the Germans were going to implement, and I didn't think about the fact that the Germans were preparing to push themselves into a pit of fire.

After basically figuring out what the Germans planned to do, Varosha, who understood all the details of interest, nodded and raised his hand to indicate that the brief interrogation was over and the person could be taken away.

While sorting out the interrogation transcripts in his hands, he exchanged opinions with the chief of staff who was co-interrogating him.

"It seems that these German guys have thought it through quite well. Comrade Commander also asked us to try it in his call back."

"If these German guys can really succeed, 22 Tiger tanks will turn against the Japanese and suddenly attack these bandy-legged monkeys, which will probably be of great help to us. If we seize the opportunity If done properly, it may be possible to carry away the last remaining Japanese troops in one fell swoop and completely eliminate the Second Division on the spot.”

"Well, ideally, this is indeed the case, but we still need to be more vigilant. At present, we cannot rule out the possibility that the remnants of the Nazis and the Japanese army will join forces to carry out a conspiracy. Comrade Division Commander, we should be prepared to deal with such a situation."

After sorting out the documents and transcripts in his hands and stacking them together, Varosha immediately understood the new version of the combat plan and made the decision.

"Then it's settled. Let's convey orders to the combat units ahead and see if the Japanese are ready for a big surprise."

At the same time, on the other side, Stauffener, who had completed all preparations, had also begun to take action.

It was also thanks to the large number of instructors brought from Germany.

Stauffener, who gathered all his armored personnel together, with more than a hundred men, quickly assembled a crew of 22 Tiger tanks.

Well, not so much.

Heavy tank and armored personnel are themselves scarce talents in the German army.

Whether it is affiliated to the SS or the Wehrmacht, an independent heavy armored battalion must undergo a series of adaptive training and combat effectiveness integration between personnel and equipment after it is established and equipped with heavy tanks and before it goes to the battlefield. It is not about saying anything. Anyone can directly board a heavy tank and go into battle.

In addition, the number of heavy armored troops lost on the battlefield is increasing, and the German army itself, which is difficult to replace, is short of personnel. Naturally, it is impossible for the Japanese to take away all the more than 100 elite heavy armored troops at once, even if the Japanese take gold. It's not even possible to come and exchange it.

This is the number of people who can make up a full 22 heavy tank crews, which is already half of the ideal strength of a fully-equipped independent heavy armor battalion.

The Germans were probably crazy and stupid, so they let the Japanese take away half of the heavy armored battalion at this critical moment in mid-1944.

Therefore, only a small half of Stauffener's men are serious heavy armored soldiers, have driven Tigers or the latest King Tiger heavy tanks, and have relatively good actual combat experience and combat effectiveness.

As for the remaining half, laugh it off, they are all ordinary armored soldiers that the Germans used to stuff the Japanese to make up the numbers.

There are people who were born in the No. 4 game, some people who were born in the San Tuzi class, and those who were born in the Black Panther class. They are all considered to be relatively good leaders. The most outrageous thing is that there are a few buddies who were born in the No. 3 game.

By the middle of 1944, the German armored personnel who could continue to drive Panzer III tanks were even rarer than the heavy armored personnel.

It's just that the Germans never expected that the basic operations of the Japanese were tricked, but in the end it was Stauffen himself who wanted to "uprising before the formation".

Facing this group of armored soldiers with varying levels of skill, it makes one feel dizzy just by looking at them.

He was indeed an orthodox heavy armor battalion, and he was from the 502nd Battalion, the most capable. Stauffener, who was later transferred to other armored divisions to hold middle-level command positions, had no other choice.

The few orthodox heavy armored soldiers under his command can only be assigned to the most important and most professional and technical positions such as vehicle commanders and drivers.

Even for the gunners, who were equally important, there were not enough professionals, so we had to recruit the taller ones.

We pulled in a few armored soldiers who had served as gunners on the Panther and forced them into the Tiger to make do with it.

As for the less important positions of loaders and electromechanical personnel, they can only be filled with people casually, and as long as they are armored soldiers, they can get into the vehicle.

After piecing together here and there, we finally managed to get together 22 crews that we could even look at. All 110 armored personnel including myself were present.

Looking at his group of armored soldiers who could be called a "rabble", Stauffener felt desolate and couldn't help lamenting that the good old days when the German armored armies traveled all over Europe were gone forever and had become a thing of the past.

Now not only do the tanks have to use these inferior knockoffs made by the Japanese, but also the personnel cannot even be manned by half a decent heavy armor battalion.

We can only sew it up like this, like a collection of fragments that are forcibly pasted together with glue, and make do with the mentality of "some is better than nothing".

"Forget it, at least they are much stronger than those pig-headed Japanese. You can beat them no matter what, as long as you can defeat these bandy-legged monkeys."

Stauffener, who used "better than me" as an excuse, forced himself to comfort himself, highlighting the core essence of "I'm not afraid of me being bad, as long as the Japanese are worse than me, I can win."

There is no need for pre-war preaching that wastes time and may be harmful.

With a wave of his hand, Stauffener immediately ordered the expedition.

After secret meetings and private exchanges, a group of German armored soldiers who all knew what they were going to do on the battlefield immediately took orders and dispersed, got on the vehicle according to the prearranged vehicle crew organization, and set off.

Including Stauffenr himself, he also led his four crew members to select a Tiger tank that was in the best condition and had the blue identification flag hung on it.

I had just sat down in the commander's seat, fiddling with a familiar set of commander's equipment in front of me, making final adjustments and preparations before departure.

Stauffener himself had not said anything yet, but he heard the gunner who had just sat on the gun position in front of him quietly speak.

"It's unbelievable that now we actually have to fight for the Russians against the Japanese?! Damn it! This is not what I became a soldier for!"

"Don't worry, it has nothing to do with whether you like it or not, whatever you think. But at least it will allow you to survive. If you continue to follow those Japanese monkeys, you will only die."

"I've had enough of this damn war. I don't care about anything else. I just want to leave the battlefield as soon as possible and live a good life. I swear I will never enter a tank again for the rest of my life. I just want to find my family to accompany me." They live an ordinary life."

"As for me, I fought for nearly 10 years, but what did I get in the end? Nothing, and I even became a subjugated slave living in a foreign country. What a fucking waste of time and life! Fucking wash your hair. Man, go to hell!"

Listening to the surroundings, the other four crew members in the car finished their speeches one after another.

Stauffener, who had no complaints or anything special to say, just pressed the call button on the radio and gave an order.

"Attention, all crews, "Head Wolf" calls, communication check."

"Now move to the specified coordinate location according to the predetermined plan and start taking action."