55 – New Weapon
The Kumelsdorf Weapons Testing Ground was an important facility for the German army, which began operations in 1875 when it was connected to the forest by the Royal Prussian Railway. It was mainly used for experimenting with new artillery, such as the advanced cannons that were supplied to the German army. We chose this place as the testing ground for the newly developed tanks because it was easy to maintain secrecy.
I sat with the generals at the observation deck in the testing ground and admired the “tank model” that Joseph Palmer had created in collaboration with Kroup. They had covered a car with canvas panels and replaced the standard 75mm cannon used by the German army with a much smaller 60mm cannon. They also mounted machine guns on both sides.
There was hardly any room inside, making it difficult for a person to operate properly, but it looked convincing on the surface. Of course, it was far from the practical level of tank that I desired. It was not unreasonable that Joseph Palmer’s work was not making progress. Nevertheless, it was a much better product than the Russo-Balt armored car or the French Peugeot armored car, which couldn’t even get close to the tank.
Bang!
As the canvas tank raced forward and fired a shell, the attendees had serious expressions. The concept of withstanding machine gun fire and charging into enemy lines, pouring shells and bullets, was enough to demonstrate the tremendous potential of this weapon.
Although they didn’t hit the target with the shell, no one expected this makeshift contraption to hit the target in one shot, so no one voiced disappointment.
The canvas tank, which had approached the target closely, fired the machine gun and then stepped on the target and climbed over it. Field Marshal Falkenhayn, who was watching this spectacle with me, expressed his astonishment.
“Is that the tank Your Majesty ordered?”
“It falls far short of being a tank, but conceptually, yes.”
“If our army were to possess such a device in large numbers, breaking through the front lines would be no problem at all. In my opinion, it looks like a usable device right now, but Your Majesty doesn’t seem satisfied.”
“It’s because such a device would have little impact on the battlefield.”
“Is that so? Even with a device like that? If we replace the canvas with steel plates.”
“Then it would become excessively slow. And it wouldn’t be able to break through with the car’s wheels.”
Even without that, at the current stage, the tank couldn’t withstand direct hits from the infantry’s machine guns, let alone fragments from missed shells.
Falkenhayn had lost his appetite.
“As Your Majesty said, it is not suitable for immediate deployment on the battlefield.”
Gustav, who had been listening to our conversation from the side, chimed in. It might seem strange for the CEO of a private company to participate in conversations between the imperial military leadership and the Kaiser, but as the head of a company that was almost equivalent to Krupp, a powerful military-industrial complex closely tied to the military, there was no problem.
Krupp, of course, had not always been like that.
In the early 19th century, they were a typical manufacturing company that led Germany’s industrialization with coal and steel industries. The company became the face of the military-industrial complex in the mid-19th century when it was selected as a Prussian military supplier.
From then on, Krupp supplied various types of cannons needed by the Prussian-German Empire and began to play a significant role in the global arms market.
After the German Empire passed the Fleet Act and embarked on an active global policy, they even ventured into the shipbuilding industry, supplying a large number of warships to the Imperial Navy and constructing submarines.
It was not an exaggeration to say that Krupp supported Germany’s military power both on land and at sea. Because of this importance, the Imperial government had a great interest in Krupp.
The peak of this was the inheritance case of Bertha, the heiress of Krupp.
When Friedrich Krupp, who had made Krupp’s defense industry a matter of German security, died and the fate of the company was entrusted to Bertha Krupp, a 16-year-old young heiress, the Empire immediately intervened.
The Kaiser himself actively sought a husband for Bertha. In this way, Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, who received the title and the fortune of Krupp, became the head of the massive conglomerate Krupp and continued to cooperate with the Empire.
Because of this personal background, the relationship between Gustav and the Kaiser was quite close, and they could have sensitive conversations without any problems.
“Mr. Chairman, how long would it take to produce tanks suitable for the battlefield? Can it be done within six months?”
Falkenhain asked Gustav.
“I don’t know exactly. This is entirely the responsibility of the chief tank designer. If it’s about the necessary artillery for tanks, I can answer right away that it’s possible.”
Falkenhain stroked his beard in response to Gustav’s answer.
Meanwhile, the canvas tank, which had completed one rotation, was running towards the target again. But then something went wrong, and its speed slowed down before it came to a stop. The driver and gunner of the canvas tank got out and waved towards them.
Seeing the situation, the technicians who had been observing from the observation deck started to rush down. Joseph Palmer, who had been observing the experiment with us, also moved frustratedly.
“It seems that the engine is under too much strain when the weight is increased. I thought it could handle that weight without any problems.”
“It would be a problem if a weapon that relies on reliability spreads like this.”
In the previous round, tanks from Britain and France with engines that were not much better were able to roll smoothly even with thicker armor plates. To be fair, there were still many vehicles that could only move about 2km before breaking down, but they were better than that.
“To meet Your Majesty’s demands, we need to increase the engine output enough to withstand several times the weight of that.”
“What about marine engines if car engines don’t work?”
Gustav spoke to Palmer as they sat facing each other, seemingly having heard about the engine problem.
Of course, they were trying to solve the deficiencies by purchasing technology from American and British car companies as much as possible. It would be great if they could solve it with German technology, but unfortunately, the German automotive industry was far behind the Anglo-American industry. It was ambitious to expect advanced technology to come out immediately when they were already lagging behind in the size of the automotive market. Now they had to be self-sufficient in technology.
“I guess we’ll have to solve it with time and money.”
It was always the case that the results were proportional to the resources invested.
“That’s true.”
“Since we’re on the subject, I wish Chairman Gustav had prepared separate artillery to load onto the tanks.”
“What? Wasn’t it enough to just attach a firing mechanism to the existing artillery and mount it?”
Gustav asked with a puzzled expression.
Gustav’s thinking wasn’t strange. Many tanks during World War I, the interwar period, and even the early stages of World War II were like that.
But the main gun of a tank had a completely different nature and focus from the artillery focused on anti-personnel lethality. The tank gun had to prioritize fast muzzle velocity and accuracy.
“That’s not enough.”
I explained the conditions I thought were necessary for a tank gun. I emphasized the fact that the enemy could eventually imitate our tanks and develop their own tanks. Gustav nodded in agreement after listening to my argument.
“To increase muzzle velocity and accuracy, we ultimately have to increase the length of the barrel. If that’s the condition, then it’s technically feasible to mount a 75mm gun.”
75mm was the caliber commonly used by the German artillery. It was not an exaggeration to say that Krupp was the most familiar and confident in this field.
“Is that so?”
Gustav enthusiastically explained the advantages of the 75mm gun when his area of expertise was mentioned. After listening to his story, it seemed like I understood why he favored the 75mm gun. Considering that the later Nazi German army used 75mm guns for tank artillery until they were worn out, the direction itself seemed right.
By the time Gustav’s story was so ingrained in my mind that I thought I could get a doctorate in artillery, the technicians gathered in the canvas tank area sent an X-shaped gesture.
It was a gesture indicating that it was completely spread out and difficult to move.
The generals, disappointed, stood up from their seats.
Everyone wanted to take a closer look at that new weapon and imagine its potential in their heads.
But for a proper tank to appear on the battlefield, it would take at least a few more years. And it would take time to build the motorized units that would support them. Even if such units were created, the logistical units that would support them would have to rely on horses and mules.
“Those damn things won’t eat oil and rubber for free.”
Thinking about it, the genetics obtained from Romania made my heart feel warm. Making gasoline from oil, making synthetic rubber, isn’t that enough?
Rubber, isn’t it?
It took 8 months to develop it during World War II, so I thought it would be difficult with today’s technology.
But rubber wasn’t a big concern because there was a certain amount of stockpile. If there was a shortage, we could import it through the Netherlands.
The problem is time.
Because the “timetable” was pushed up more than expected, I wasn’t sure if we could deploy tanks when the Western Front began. Even the prototypes haven’t come out yet, can we mass-produce them within half a year?
If not, we’ll have to resort to “chemical weapons”.
It seemed like the German Empire was destined to use chemical weapons. Gas masks and poison gas. It’s the identity of World War I.
Watching the generals discussing, I began to consider the option of chemical weapons.