At the suggestion of Zhang Chi and Ramsden, it didn't take long for Montgomery to agree to reorganize the new 1st Division into an armored division. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

In fact, Montgomery had no other choice, although he was a little unconvinced by the Chinese Expeditionary Force and even wanted to compare the British First Armored Division with the Chinese Expeditionary Force, but he actually knew very well in his heart that although the British First Armored Division was a long-established armored division, it did not have many commendable achievements.

This is not to blame for the 1st Panzer Division, but for the serious mistakes in the tactical thinking of the British and Allied forces in the entire use of tanks, which is one of the reasons why the German "blitzkrieg" was able to sweep across the European continent for a period of time...... This is actually a kind of relentless pressure on the right tactics against the wrong tactics.

The British 1st Panzer Division was the product of this erroneous tactical thinking, that is, it was called an armored division, but in fact it was an infantry division...... They slowed down the tanks to serve the infantry, not to speed up the infantry to support the tanks.

Therefore, if you want this unit to make achievements on the battlefield, I am afraid that it should be faced with the Italian army and the M13 tanks that are seriously backward in their hands!

In fact, the biggest weakness of the Italian army is not the equipment, but the lack of self-knowledge...... Hell-bent on reviving the glory of the Roman Empire, the so-called "New Roman Empire," they attacked the British colony of Egypt with a seemingly formidable army.

I say "seemingly" here because its lineup is indeed quite eye-catching, with more than 100,000 people and more than 500 tanks, while the British garrison in Egypt at that time, including colonial troops, was only 50,000.

The problem is that the Italian army is almost an unorganized and untrained militia, and they deal with the natives of Africa well, but their loose discipline is not an army...... This is only because Italians always like to be pompous and romantic, and they are good at imagining everything beautifully. To use a Chinese phrase, it is to have a high eye and a low hand.

So, rather than the defensive functions of the barracks, such as trenches, mines, and barbed wire, the Italian officers and soldiers valued the "officers' club", which allowed them to listen to a good music, dance a gorgeous dance, taste a cold Frascati white wine served in high-quality glassware, and, if possible, even want to play a good football game in the desert.

As a result, there was an unmanned gap in the Italian army's defensive line for dozens of kilometers, but no one noticed it...... When Hitler heard about this, he couldn't help but exclaim: "How did they do it? A gap of tens of kilometers ?! ”

This gap was 24 kilometers apart between the two Italian strongholds near the village of Sidi Bara, and this 24-kilometer stretch of the area was undefended or even unpatrolled, and it was from this gap that the British Commonwealth troops later broke through the Italian defenses...... In fact, this should not be called a "breakthrough" at all, but a march.

This is perhaps the most successful "breakthrough" in the history of the British army's "Matilda" tank warfare, which has a speed of only a dozen kilometers per hour.

Zhang Chi is now forming an armored division, of course, he can't use the Italian army as a model, it won't just add a few jokes to the battlefield.

At the same time, it is not possible to learn from the British armored divisions...... Because the formation of the armored divisions of the British army was a mistake in itself.

In addition, although this armored division uses American-style equipment, it also cannot learn from the American armored division...... The US military is better at naval and air operations and amphibious landing operations, and the European theater has even had to hand over command to the British army for no other reason than an extreme lack of combat experience and command experience.

It can even be said that a considerable part of the armored division of the US army at this time was learning the erroneous tactical thinking of the British armored division...... An armored division has only one battalion of medium tanks, and the rest are a large number of light tank Stuarts, and there are only 38 anti-tank guns.

(Note: It was not until the end of 43 that the proportion of medium tanks in the US armored divisions was significantly increased)

Therefore, Zhang Chi decided to organize the armored division to use the German armored division as a template.

"You actually plan to use the German Panzer Division as a model?" Montgomery couldn't help but be stunned when he heard the news: "You know, it's the enemy's formation!" ”

"What's wrong with the enemy's formation?" Zhang Chi replied: "The actual combat has proved that the armored division of the Germans is very suitable for tank group operations, and it is precisely for this purpose that we reorganized the new division into an armored division!" ”

"No, I don't agree!" Montgomery replied: "This may affect the morale of our troops, because it means that we have thrown in the towel in tactical thinking!" ”

Zhang Chi couldn't help but feel funny, the actual combat has long proved this, but the British are still fighting to the death for the sake of face.

From this, Zhang Chi also knew that the British officers were not unaware of their tank tactics, but that they were unwilling to admit the decline and weakness of the "British Empire".

"General!" Ramsden again sided with Zhang Chi this time: "If it is not according to the establishment of German armored divisions, then according to which country's armored divisions?" United Kingdom? United States? Or the USSR? ”

Hearing this, Montgomery couldn't help but be stunned, it didn't seem to be suitable. On the contrary, the speed of the American "Sherman" tank and the German No. 3 tank is basically the same, the former has a speed of 38 kilometers per hour, and the latter has a speed of 40 kilometers.

"Okay!" Montgomery finally relented: "I can only let you try, can't I?" ”

As a result, the detailed establishment of the German Panzer Division was quickly placed on the table.

After reading it with a big sigh, Zhang Chi thought that his choice was right...... After all, the German army is a veteran of tank group operations in this era, and the armored division has all kinds of air defense, anti-tank, assault, etc., and what makes Zhang Chi deeply impressed is that the German armored division also has a supplementary battalion.

This supplementary battalion is simply a supplementary soldier, but it is a little different from the supplementary army.

To put it simply, the reinforcements from the rear are first incorporated into the supplementary battalions, and there are special instructors in the battalions to train these supplementary soldiers, and sometimes even veterans who want to be added to the troops have to enter the supplementary battalions.

The purpose of this is very simple, that is, to provide the necessary training for these soldiers who will be added to the unit to fight, so that they can understand the history of the unit, the style of operation, and the main responsibilities of the unit after entering the unit.

Its effect is obvious, and it can allow the supplementary troops to have a stage of adaptation and familiarization, so that they will not be replenished into the regular troops to carry out high-intensity operations as soon as they come up.

This will not only facilitate the coordination between the supplementary soldiers and the veterans, but also facilitate the use of the supplementary troops...... Replenishments can survive on the battlefield for longer.