Wang Zhong swept his gaze across all the students and noticed nobody dared to raise their hand.
So he encouraged them, “You must dare to acknowledge the enemy’s strengths and learn from them, turning their advantages into our own. We should adopt a policy of taking the best and leaving the rest in this matter, keeping the essence and discarding the dross!”
“Come, let’s talk about the strengths of the enemy tanks in detail! If you don’t speak up, I will. But by doing so, you will miss the chance to impress me!”
Maslo Boyev immediately raised his hand, “Let me do it!”
Wang Zhong: “Go ahead!”
Maslo: “The enemy has a separate commander’s turret, and although the viewports are very small, they offer much better visibility than our side viewports, with the commander having a 360-degree field of vision, while our viewports have significant blind spots.”
Wang Zhong nodded, “Anything else?”
Maslo: “Their gun sights are advanced. As long as you know the dimensions of the target, you can quickly estimate the distance. Also, the magnification is satisfying.”
Wang Zhong: “What else?”
Maslo: “They have radios! But this was not demonstrated in the exercise, as we all have radios as well.”
Wang Zhong: “That’s good, radios give the enemy a huge advantage. Anything else?”
Maslo drew a blank: “Anything else? Uh…”
Wang Zhong: “The combat room is spacious, with good ergonomics. Prosen tank operators don’t need to wear collision helmets; they drive tanks wearing peak caps and sailor hats. Moreover, the relatively spacious interior also significantly increases the chance of crew survival after the tank is penetrated.”
Of course, the Mark III is actually quite narrow. It’s the Mark IV that is truly spacious, which is why a series of variants of the Mark IV continued to be used until the Panther was mass-produced, and there was a factory still producing the Mark IV.
The students looked at each other because Ante’s tank design had never taken ergonomics and comfort into consideration before.
Wang Zhong spoke loudly, “Do not underestimate the improvement in survival due to a more spacious interior.
“Our design philosophy still follows the old approach of the shooting army, treating soldiers as cannon fodder. We need to change this.
“Tank operators, like pilots, are a technical branch. Good tank operators are extremely valuable, and we must do everything possible to ensure the survival of excellent tank operators. At the same time, each tank operator should be familiar with all combat positions, so that during battle, we can quickly refill the ranks of undermanned tanks.”
Wang Zhong looked over the students and said loudly, “If we were to lose more than ten thousand tanks like we did in the first three weeks of the war again, it would be a crime against the Ante people! More than ten thousand tanks mean that so many tank operators were needlessly lost!
“This must be stopped. All commanders should learn to use tanks as a precious resource, not to waste them carelessly!”
Wang Zhong paused, his gaze moving from face to face, “You are the future tank commanders, and I have a requirement for you here: when you are on the front lines, the exchange rate with enemy tanks must reach one to one. That is to say, for every crew loss, you must take down at least one enemy crew as well!”
Someone shouted, “Then wouldn’t it be fine if every tank just rammed into an enemy tank?”
Many students laughed along, but a large number of them, including Maslo, did not.
Wang Zhong: “Maslo, tell the others why this approach won’t work”.
Maslo glanced at those who had just heckled and said, “Because if the enemy really is equipped with guns that can penetrate T34s, you’ll be destroyed on your way to ramming them, with very few actually reaching ramming distance.”
Immediately someone said skeptically, “There’s no way the enemy could quickly equip guns that can penetrate T34s!”
Wang Zhong: “Maybe they already have. Never underestimate your enemy; otherwise, you’ll be the one to pay the price.”
If Wang Zhong himself wasn’t the one who played the biggest role in repelling Prosen, the words he just said would have been enough to get him sent to prison dozens of times.
Seeing those dissenting students had no more to argue, he looked to Maslo: “Next, let’s discuss how to achieve a one-to-one exchange rate under current equipment conditions.”
Maslo: “Isn’t it enough to refer to your combat examples? The Orachi tank ambush battle is all over the newspapers. Wherever you go, you can see newsreaders recounting your victories to the illiterate elderly, even the old ladies in Ye Fort who don’t understand military affairs can say a few words about it!”
Wang Zhong: “The military academy is under closed management, how would you know about the situation in Ye Fort?”
Bayev was stumped, “This…”
Wang Zhong: “Priest! What’s the punishment for slipping out of school?”
Vasily interjected smugly, “Cleaning the latrines!”
He seemed quite happy saying that.
The Priest replied, “Indeed, cleaning the latrines can be the punishment. Maslo Boyev, if you honestly confess to leaving the school, you will only have to clean for one week. But if you are dishonest or intentionally hide details, it will become three weeks.”
Maslo Boyev’s entire face scrunched up.
Wang Zhong, like Vasily, could not help but laugh, but he immediately squared his expression, “Let’s continue discussing tanks. Yes, ambush warfare is a method, and so are tank dugouts. The approach that Boyev took just now during the confrontation, with each tank watching its own sector, is also feasible.
“However, these techniques are not suitable for offense. If we are to conduct an offensive operation and the enemy is on the defensive, how do we achieve a one-to-one exchange rate with enemy tanks?”
“Your tank operators have mostly received only six months of training, during which the time spent driving a tank is 60 hours. On the other hand, the enemy has mostly trained for a year and spent over 600 hours in a tank.”
Just as Wang Zhong finished speaking, someone from Maslo Bayev’s group below said, “Isn’t six months of training unrealistic? There’s such a big shortage of tank operators now!”
…Even the students at the military academy know how bad the situation is now.
Wang Zhong, “Let’s just go with six months. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re driving a T35 or a T26 for those sixty hours. Answer me, how do you maintain a 1-to-1 exchange ratio under these circumstances?”
Everyone looked at each other, at a loss for words.
Wang Zhong clambered onto the G-type No. 3 tank—this tank had been captured by his troops, and naturally, he had climbed over it before and knew it well.
He patted the turret of the G-type No. 3, “Moreover, the enemy has also switched to better tanks, which, like the T34, have sloped armor. They even weigh more than the T34, meaning they have better armor than the T34.
“At the same time, it’s equipped with an 88mm anti-tank gun that can hit your tank with precision from a distance of 1500 meters.”
Bayev shouted, “That’s too much of a premise! Is there even a way to fight?”
Wang Zhong, “It’s possible to fight because the battlefield isn’t about solving problems. If you face this kind of situation on the battlefield, the best response is not to attack, but to leave it to the artillery.
The target of the artillery fire should not be the enemy’s tank group but the accompanying infantry and various support units that provide support for the tanks, such as repair workshops, field towing vehicles, fuel trucks, ammunition trucks…”
“Cut off the infantry, and they can use smoke bombs and incendiary bombs to destroy tanks. If you destroy the repair workshops, the enemy’s tanks will be unable to be repaired. Look at how many broken tanks there are on the training ground; tanks are very prone to breakdown!”
After Wang Zhong finished, the students all turned to look at the broken No. 3 and T34 tanks on the training ground.
Bayev, “But didn’t you say we need to achieve a 1-to-1 ratio in tank combat?”
Wang Zhong, “Yes. I use tanks to bully infantry without anti-tank firepower. Once their logistics are destroyed, the enemy will have to abandon their broken tanks and run away in a sorry state. How is that not a 1-to-1 ratio?”
“Moreover, even in an offensive, if we bypass the enemy armored forces and capture key positions they must retake, such as the high ground controlling highways.
“If we quickly dig tank fortifications on the high ground and allocate our firepower well, won’t it be the enemy’s tank forces’ turn to attack us?”
The students immediately started whispering to each other.
Bayev looked at Wang Zhong with eyes full of admiration.
Wang Zhong continued, “There are no constant tactics in war, just as there are no unchanging forms of water. The art of war is the art of change. Those who only know how to fight conventional battles are ultimately second-rate soldiers.”
Bayev exclaimed with admiration, “You truly are a magician of the battlefield!”
Wang Zhong, “I’m not worthy of such praise.”
It was true he didn’t consider himself worthy because in “Legend of the Galactic Heroes,” the man known as the magician of the battlefield didn’t have a good ending.
Since Wang Zhong had reached this point, he might as well explain his method for constructing tank fortifications to those specializing in tank command.
“While there’s still time, let me tell you how to set up a solid tank defense position and how to dig a perfect tank fortification—”
…
Subsequently, Wang Zhong began to give a lecture on the training ground. These days he had been occupied with outwitting the Federation, hardly having time to teach classes at the military academy.
Now that word had spread about his lecture, all the school officers who had returned from the battlefield immediately flooded to the training ground as soon as their lessons on advanced theoretical knowledge ended.
Students from various specialties who were undergoing normal teaching also ran over after their classes ended.
Originally, Wang Zhong had only intended to provide special instruction for the students majoring in tank command, but it turned into a communal meal that the whole school partook in.
The entire training ground was packed with people, and Professor Vasily even brought over a microphone and set it up for Wang Zhong to address the whole school.
So Wang Zhong had no choice but to share his experience commanding the elite mechanized infantry, without holding anything back—and compared to August, his understanding of war had advanced even further, making this talk even more detailed than the seminar in August.
He continued speaking until it turned dark.
Wang Zhong, “Okay, it’s getting late. I’ll compile these contents into a booklet and distribute them to you later, no, to the whole army! That’s all for today! Dismissed!”
Become Wang Zhong’s number one fervent fan, Bayev shouted, “Class isn’t over yet, General! You have to dismiss us for us to leave!”
Wang Zhong glanced at Bayev and then at Vasily, thinking the number of shit-stirrers had increased!
Sighing, he picked up the microphone and said to everyone at the school, “Class dismissed! Dismissed!”
Everyone applauded heartily, the clapping echoing like the rolling thunder of spring.
At this time, there were less than twelve hours until the Western Front Army’s assault.