The introduction of tanks in 1914 by the Germans, or at least the revelation of them, had prompted an arms race of the highest caliber. Every nation, including the Reich’s allies, were racing against time to field something viable to compete with the overwhelming supremacy the Germans still had on the battlefield.
And they had been for months now. Immediate solutions to a dire problem were seldom ideal. In fact, they were more often haphazardly felt together for the sake of fielding something, anything, to compete with the enemy’s overwhelming power.
And while nations like Britain and France were working hard to build some kind of inferior clone of the German Panzer I.
A design they had no captured examples to truly examine, and were primarily operating off of written reports taken from verbal statements by soldiers who survived their onslaught, as well as one or two hazy photographs.
Such a design would take time to build, as they had no functional knowledge of the engine powering the German Tanks, the torsion bar suspensions they made use of, or even the caliber of the main gun. No, all they really had was an overall shape of the hull, and a moveable turret concept to copy.
Even then, the exact sloped shape of the hull was not something precisely recorded, as reports from soldiers who did not quite understand what they were looking at varied. And as far as photographs were concerned, they were, as previously stated of lesser quality, and were few and far in between.
If anything, the other members of the central powers had a better understanding of how to properly manufacture tanks as they were constantly around the German armored vehicles. Sure, like the Allies they did not understand the internal components, but the hull and turret shape could be more easily replicated.
With all of this in mind, the Austro-Hungarians and Russians were rapidly pursuing the development of their own tanks at a similar pace as the allies. But at this point in time, anything that could be used to shield troops from a hail of bullets would be slapped together and tossed into the field.
Because of this, a tank that resembled the legendary Bob Semple Tank was slapped together by the British Forces for use in the Alpine theater as a temporary measure until a better tank could replace it.
For those who do not know what the Bob Semple Tank was, it was a tank designed by New Zealand during the second world war of Bruno’s past life that was more or less a square box of corrugated iron slapped together on a tractor base. This Tank had never seen combat in Bruno’s past life. And the one the British were using now wasn’t an exact copy.
There were obvious differences as this was not some haphazard attempt by civilians to defend their homeland. The armor was improved, or as much as it could be, insofar as it was still a rectangular box sitting on top of a tractor base.
But it was at least made out of proper tempered and hardened riveted steel. Which while inferior to the rolled homogenous armor used by Bruno’s Panzers, was vastly superior to the corrugated iron used on the Bob Semple Tank.
In addition to this, the weapons were not a variety of Vickers machine guns. But a single 37mm Maxim “Pom-Pom” embedded in the front. The gun was fixed and was not using a turret of any kind. Similar in some ways to the gun on the Jagdpanzer 38, which the Germans used during the second world war of Bruno’s past life.
Ultimately, these box shaped makeshift tanks had proven effective in the Alpine Theater, and the reason was simple: they soaked up the 7.92x57mm bullets fired by the Central Powers forces. And in doing so, allowed for the Allied infantry to break through no-man’s-land with far fewer casualties than they otherwise would have.
Currently, the Germans were more or less doing everything they could to take out these “tanks” and they did this by focusing artillery and mortar fire upon them. The thunder of guns echoed across the Alps as the Germans fired relentlessly upon the advancing allied host.
And more specifically, the Tanks which were rolling up the hills directly towards their line of defense. Many of these makeshift tanks, known as the Mk I were taken out, but more remained and were sheltering the Allied forces marching behind them.
In an act of desperation, Generalfeldmarschall Svetozar Boroević decided to swallow his pride, and get into contact with Bruno for advice on how to deal with this problem. Considering Bruno was advancing beyond the Bulgarian borders at the moment, it was not the easiest thing to do.
Sure, Bruno had spent exceptional funds investing in the talent and resources required to advance communications technology, but even so, getting a secure line of contact with the man wasn’t guaranteed.
Perhaps God was truly on the side of the central powers, because despite the random chance of getting Bruno on the other end of the line, the Austro-Hungarian General succeeded and was quick to ask Bruno for a solution to this problem he was facing.
After conversing for some time about the exact nature of the armored vehicles the Central Powers forces in the region were dealing with. Bruno posed a question that made his friend, and trusted ally feel like an idiot.
“And why exactly have you not mobilized the Flak guns in your employ for use against these armored vehicles? Their automatic fire is far more ideal for dealing with these pesky little things. And even the 20mm guns are more than enough to shred the armor of what you’re dealing with.”
The Austro-Hungarian paused as he stood there completely and utterly stupefied… The Flak Guns could be used against infantry and armor? Why had he never thought of that before? He immediately looked over at the nearby telegram operated and barked at the man to get those guns that had more or less been sitting idly by at the rear, into the front lines.
“Hey! Give the order to move the Flak Guns to the front to deal with the enemy advance! I want those tanks taken out ASAP. Do you understand?”
Naturally, the Generalfeldmarschall’s orders were adhered to without question. And soon enough, the Allies began to face the wrath of the German Reich who had until now kept their Flak Guns on standby to deal with enemy aircraft.
British, French, and Italian soldiers marched in tandem behind the makeshift tanks, which protected them from rifle and machine gun fire alike. Sure, now and then a mortar or artillery shell would strike within the general vicinity and reap the souls of those unfortunate enough to be caught in its blast radius.
But the reality was that such an advance was far safer than the alternative. At the rear of the Platoon marching behind the tanks, which were used more or less as shields on wheels, shields that were capable of laying down 20mm high explosive fire towards the enemy fortifications. They snickered and laughed at the helplessness of the enemy.
“It’s a pity the Germans did not feel the need to bring their tanks and Armored Cars to the Alps. I fear, as if talks about the effectiveness of their weapons have been entirely
exaggerated!”
Another soldier was quick to add his own thoughts to this topic as he two laughed at the gains they had made in recent days.
“Panzers? What a joke! The only reason they were so fearsome in the past is because they went against enemies who had no means of dealing with them! But now that we have tanks of our
own, the war is as good as won!”
Their overconfidence was truly representative of mankind and its folly. Because in the next moment the tank in front of them became torn apart by automatic fire from German 20mm flak guns, which concentrated their fire on all of the armored vehicles approaching them. The Tank was destroyed in a matter of seconds, the 20mm high explosive shells detonated and dealing massive damage to the riveted steel armor in the shape of a box. And in doing so, turning the crews inside into meat paste on the spot.
After having thoroughly obliterated the shield, which these defenseless infantry men were relying on for their advance, and so arrogantly proclaiming as the harbinger of their victory, they too were massacred without mercy by the German Flak Guns.
Whatever advances the Allied Powers had made into South Tyrol on this day had ended in complete and utter failure. As the Central Powers began their counter charge. Ready and willing to take back control of the land they had left behind in their previous failures.
And for successfully repelling the Allied advance into Austria, Generalfeldmarschall Svetozar would be rewarded with the Military Order of Maria Theresa. Which was among Austria’s highest honors to be awarded to Commissioned Officers.
Though the man would attempt to attribute the victory to Bruno, who gave him the idea of turning anti-aircraft weaponry against hostile ground forces. Bruno utterly refused to accept the victory. And even denied having anything to do with the idea. Something that would ultimately deepen the friendship between him and the Croatian General.