6 – Episode 6 Preparations for Victory (2)
As I promoted the growth of the Imperial Air Force, I also got involved in tank development.
The courtiers found a talented automobile designer through inquiries, a man named Joseph Palmer. Joseph Palmer, a healthy-looking man in his forties who arrived at the Constantine Palace, had the confidence and composure unique to a self-made entrepreneur.
“Are you the designer, Joseph Palmer?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Palmer visited the palace without feeling intimidated, even while adding the customary phrase of respect. Confidence exuded from his composed expression.
Palmer sensed that the reason for his summons thus far was to order a special vehicle for the Hohenchollein royal family.
Of course, this thought was not entirely incorrect.
Except for the fact that the desired vehicle was for combat.
“So, this is what His Majesty desires. Can it be made?”
I showed a picture of the tank from the 1911 demonstration in Austria, asking Palmer.
Palmer’s expression momentarily displayed confusion. It was a strange vehicle that seemed to have armored plates on top of a car, with machine guns and cannons mounted on them. After staring at the picture for a while, Palmer asked with a perplexed face.
“Your Majesty, what… on earth is this?”
“Ah, that is called a tank. It is an excellent combat vehicle designed to alleviate the stalemate on the front lines.”
Palmer was momentarily speechless, but then started examining the picture.
The concept of a tank as a weapon was actually quite simple.
The “first” tank ever invented was simply a car with armored plates. It was a typical infantry support weapon that protected attackers from machine gun attacks and helped them breakthrough enemy lines.
Most tank developers didn’t come up with models that went much further than this. It was the Russians who came up with a more progressive design, with cannons mounted on armored plates that could move.
Except for the products of the most outstanding tank developer, Gunther Bustin, it was a case of having the same dish with different ingredients.
But I was different.
I knew of a tank design that was more advanced than Gunther Bustin’s. It had the endless tracks and chassis of a tractor that allowed it to traverse rough terrain, the Christie suspension system that ensured mobility, a reliable car engine, a turret with a single rotating gun like that of a warship, a machine gun mounted inside, and concentrated armor on the front. It had a weight that didn’t disrupt the balance of offense and defense.
The concept itself was simple, but countless trial and errors were needed to bring it all together. Of course, the tank I showed Gunther Bustin was a much simplified “product.”
Palmer expressed his views as a designer.
“There are many technical challenges to be solved. Especially, some of the concepts you mentioned, Your Majesty, require substantial trial and error for verification.”
“Hmm.”
“The costs will not be insignificant. It’s hard to guarantee without testing the technology, but I think it would cost more than 10 million gold marks to produce a prototype.”
10 million gold marks?
The amount I knew of 10 million gold marks was beyond imagination. Before the war, 1kg of gold was 2,790 gold marks, so 10 million gold marks would be equivalent to 3.58 tons of gold.
No matter how much it was a prototype, it was outrageously expensive when calculated like this.
In some ways, it might have been cheaper to make machine guns, cannons, and develop and mass-produce anti-tank guns than to make such a pile of money.
But the Chamhojeon without tanks was hell itself. If you didn’t want to engage in a war of attrition with high casualties and heavy material losses, tanks were not a choice but a necessity. And no matter how expensive an item was, the price would go down once it entered the mass production stage.
“I don’t think making a vehicle would be easy. It will probably take quite a long time. But I don’t think it’s impossible. If a great general who has made excellent cars is in charge, half of it is already done, isn’t it? We will leave the mass production work to the major companies, so please just make the models necessary for technology verification.”
“You will need sufficient budget, time, and manpower.”
Palmer’s words were something that can often be heard from professionals. He was talking about the need for time and budget. I wasn’t a heartless employer like a zero-sum employer.
“No matter how much it costs or how many people it takes, you can spend as much as you need. You don’t have to worry about time anymore. From now on, you are the Chief Technical Designer for the War Vehicles Department, responsible for researching new vehicles for the Army Vehicle Transport Division.”
It was best to disguise it in a way that the other person couldn’t suspect. Haven’t they said that you should hide the tree in the forest?
“On paper, you will be under the jurisdiction of the War Department, but report directly to the Chief of Staff. Everything will be supported by Lieutenant Colonel Jeckt here.”
Hans von Jeckt, born in 1866, was an expert in personnel and organizational management, who maximized the potential of the defense forces even in the face of the adversity of the German army being reduced to 100,000 by the Versailles Treaty. I believed that Jeckt could effectively manage any discord that might arise in the project.
“The future of the Empire rests on your shoulders.”
If the war dragged on too long and a revolution occurred, generals could come with their resignations to protect their positions.
I didn’t want to see that sight. I couldn’t tolerate just repeating the cycle in this tiresome world.
Tanks were the winning means to avoid that fate.
“I will definitely bring back results that will not embarrass Your Majesty.”
“That promise is enough.”
From the time when the Kaiser was in power until Hitler came to power in 1933, Germany was a technological powerhouse that held one-fourth of the world’s technological patents.
As one scholar put it, the 20th century could have been the century of Germany. If it weren’t for those two idiots, Paul and Bul, that is.
I believed that Germany’s technological prowess would yield results.
*
Kaiser Wilhelm Institute (KWI) in Berlin, German Empire.
In the late 19th century, as the Second Industrial Revolution took off, there was fierce scientific and technological competition among the great powers. German scientists convinced the government that national support was necessary to not fall behind in this fight, and their efforts bore fruit in 1911.
The Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science (KWG) was born.
As an institution for promoting science, the society established the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry, as well as the Institute for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry. The president of the society was Ernst Otto Beckmann, a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences.
The fact that a chemist held the position of president of the society showed that the Imperial government had high expectations, especially in the field of chemistry. In fact, the achievements of the Institute for Chemistry were superior compared to its major competitors, such as Britain or the United States. If Paul and Bul had any accomplishments, it was this Kaiser Wilhelm Institute.
With the outbreak of war, most of the institutes had to close their doors, but I instructed the cabinet to support the society and the institutes. It wasn’t just because of Paul and Bul’s only achievements; they were worth the continued investment.
“This is the real heart of the German Empire.”
As I got out of the car, Dr. Fritz Jacob Haber, who served as a war scientific advisor, appeared. Just being a member of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute was enough to make him a remarkable scientist, but that alone couldn’t fully explain his importance.
In actual history, Haber developed chemical weapons that terrified the Western Front and provided Germany, which was on the brink of a naval blockade, with a means to supply nitric acid in large quantities, making them fight for four years. The famous “Haber process” that broke the Melas trap was also his achievement. If it weren’t for the war, he would have received the Nobel Prize for saving billions of humanity.
After Napoleon, it was said that one person couldn’t change the world with their own power, but the chemist in front of me was a man who could say it without awkwardness.
“We were all surprised when we received the notice that Your Majesty would be visiting.”
“The journey took away precious time.”
Leaving the attendants behind, I walked side by side with Dr. Haber towards the premises of the institute. Inside the institute, there were various departments such as physical chemistry, organic chemistry, electrochemistry, physiology, and experimentation.
While walking, I could see giants in the field of science, such as Fritz Strassmann, Otto Hahn, Carl Neuberg, August von Wassermann, Richard Martin Willstätter, and Albert Einstein.
Among them, there was a prominent name.
Albert Einstein.
The greatest intellect humanity had ever produced.
Even if it were the 1930s, they would have set up a separate research institute and conducted nuclear fission research, but now they didn’t have the money or time for that.
Even if they made nuclear weapons, what use would it be if they couldn’t make strategic bombers to carry them?
“That’s a bit disappointing.”
It was a fact that I had Einstein in my hands, but couldn’t make nuclear weapons.
Well, that’s something to do later.
Perhaps because the atmosphere of the research institute was open, I saw several female scientists like Lise Meitner.
As I moved my steps, I asked about the practicality of chemical weapons. It might sound like a story that doesn’t suit someone who saved humanity with nitrogen fertilizer, but Haber was also the father of German chemical weapons.
From Noble mtl dot com
Haber answered with a somewhat serious expression.
“The weapon Your Majesty mentioned has many problems. Chlorine and mustard gas, which are tested as weapons, are more dangerous substances than potassium cyanide used by Britain in the Crimean War, and they are too influenced by the direction of the wind. Theoretically, it is an excellent weapon, but in the actual weaponization phase, many obstacles are expected. It will take at least six months to refine it into a usable weapon.”
“It doesn’t matter. Take your time and improve it in a way that guarantees the safety of the user.”
“I will do my best, Your Majesty.”
Considering diplomatic reputation, it was right not to make chemical weapons. Mustard gas, a prohibited weapon under international law, would only bring criticism if made.
However, we couldn’t give up on the development of chemical weapons. Asymmetric weapons had to be possessed even if they were not used in the first place.
During World War II, Japan did not use the biological and chemical weapons produced by Unit 731 against the United States because they were afraid of retaliation from their overwhelming chemical weapons. On the other hand, they sprayed gas and bacteria until they were worn out against China, which had no retaliatory power. If there was no coercion, it was the same as giving the opponent a card that they could use at will.
In the end, just as the Cold War era saw the United States and the Soviet Union balance each other with mutually assured destruction, chemical weapons were essential for us.
In fact, people think that Germany was the first to use chemical weapons, but France was the first to use them in actual combat.
In actual history, France had the power to release chlorine gas as soon as World War I broke out.
“It’s not like they’ll clumsily present themselves as moral or gentlemanly and won’t develop it on their side.”
Realistically, the negotiating countries were one step ahead of Germany in the development of chemical weapons.
Britain had been using mustard gas since the mid-19th century, and France had far more cases of actual combat use than Germany.
In the laboratory, various experiments were being conducted, providing more spectacle than I had expected.
“Isn’t this just a can? I heard they’re also researching beverages. Is it for storing drinks?”
Harber laughed as I picked up the can.
“No, Your Highness. It’s a container for holding gas, developed by the technical engineers. But after hearing your suggestion, it seems like it would be fine for storing beverages.”
Of course, Harber’s words were a joke.
Given Harber’s heavy responsibilities, I couldn’t keep him around for idle chatter, so the visit to the research facility ended in just two hours.
After confirming the state of the German scientific community in preparation for the exhibition, I directed the car towards the Parliament House.