Speaking of this, Yang Zhen shook his head and said, "As for the Soviets, the most important military-industrial base has been lost. The rest of the arsenals were busy moving west, and coupled with the huge attrition on the Soviet-German battlefield, there was a greater need for American equipment. And compared to the British, they need more than just pure equipment. Equipment, military raw materials, and almost all of them are unwanted. ”

"It's true that the Americans have a strong military production capacity, but no matter how strong their production capacity is. Nor can it meet its own needs for military expansion, and once it is engaged in war. In the face of huge equipment consumption, it can meet the equipment required by all the participating countries indefinitely. ”

And the strategic priorities of the Americans were destined to make them take care of the needs of Britain and the Soviet Union first when providing equipment. Although the Germans, lacking an effective navy and incapable of attacking the American mainland, could not accept the German occupation of all of Europe. And at the moment, the Japanese, who are not even capable of eating China in one bite, pose a threat to the Americans, but it is far less great than that of the Germans. ”

"In this way, it is difficult for the Americans to give us assistance in terms of quantity on paper. It's one thing for the Americans to say yes, but it's another thing to actually do it. In addition, the Soviet Union and Great Britain, in order to meet their own huge war consumption, will definitely use their brains on the assistance of the United States to our supplies and equipment. ”

"It's one thing to get an agreement, but it's another thing to actually put it into practice. And in the strategic pattern of the United States, we ourselves are just a pawn used to contain the Japanese. In terms of securing US aid materials and equipment, our weakest link can be said to have wolves in front and tigers in the back. The old chief, white paper, black letters, many times is just a piece of waste paper. ”

"The Soviets now have a request for us, at least on the surface, and they don't dare to be too manipulative, but it is basically impossible not to make trouble in secret. That's why I made it up with them in advance and signed an agreement directly. Let them act with some scruples. ”

"Give them some benefits to ensure that most of the supplies we need can arrive smoothly, even if it is the money we pay to buy the road. Although it is also a kind of helplessness, it is much better than us quarreling with them every once in a while, the materials are detained at both ends for three days, and all kinds of machinery and equipment, military raw materials, and weapons and equipment are missing halfway. ”

"And the British may not be overt about us. But if you don't play any tricks during the whole war, I won't believe it. Because their own production and upgrading capabilities simply cannot keep up with the huge consumption in the war, the demand for American aid is still very large. ”

"American-made light weapons, they are dismissive. The performance of their own Bren light machine guns and Vickers heavy machine guns was no worse than that of American-made machine guns. Even the performance of the Bren light machine gun was above that of the Browning light machine gun, and what they lacked was heavy weapons such as tanks and tactical aircraft. ”

"But I don't think they're too bad on the plane, and even if there is a deficit, the Americans can fully satisfy them. But tanks are different, in the face of the German army's superiority in tactics and tank performance, the amount of consumption will be unusually large. ”

"The performance and production capacity of the British tanks are just the same thing, although they are much better than our bare boards, but compared with the three countries of the Soviet Union and Germany, they are too far behind, and they are better than the Italians and the Japanese. Against the German tanks, their own production capacity, as well as the performance of the tanks, were difficult to meet. ”

"The production and design of heavy weapons, the complexity and the consumption of raw materials, are far from being comparable with light weapons. In the case that the tanks of the British could not meet the needs either in terms of performance or the number of productions. If the British want to fill this gap, they can only keep their eyes on the American goods, at least in terms of firepower, which can compete with the German tanks for the time being. ”

"The huge attrition on the battlefield made the British who could not bear it definitely find a way to fill their gaps. Judging from the fact that after the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, the British provided tanks and aircraft equipment to the British at the first time, and the speed was far faster than the reaction of the United States. Let them go to the population of the USSR to prey for food, it is basically impossible. ”

"Old chief, the British will provide us with a batch of tanks and planes. But they provide planes and tanks, which are probably second-hand goods that they have eliminated themselves and are no longer able to do on the European battlefield. They did this not only to show the Americans that they were determined to stand on the same page with their allies, but also because of their own strategic interests. ”

"More importantly, they want to use these second-hand goods to replace the new equipment that the Americans have given us, and make up for the gaps and deficiencies in their own hands. Old chief, political commissar, look at it. Don't look at the signing of the agreement now, but the number of American tanks we can get next year will definitely not meet the standards of the agreement. And the British, who clearly lack their own production capacity, will definitely supply us, a considerable number of tanks. ”

"Why is this happening? The reason is simple, as the German army's new tanks continue to appear, their so-called Matilda II tanks and Crusader cruiser tanks have become more and more inadequate. Even in the face of the German No. 4 tank, their latest Churchill infantry tank and Valentine infantry tank could not meet the needs. ”

"And the tanks of the Americans, but they still have to supply the Soviet Union and us, it is impossible to get them first. The Soviets, who also had to face the threat of new German tanks, the British would not use their brains. Because the more German troops the Soviets dragged on the battlefield, the more advantageous it was for the British. ”

"In such a situation, how can the British meet their needs when the number and performance of their new tanks are insufficient? There is only one way to solve the problem, and that is to get as many American-made tanks as possible. The Soviets couldn't do anything with them, so we were their best targets. ”

"The Americans' tanks, albeit the same, have a gap in performance with the Germans. But American-made tanks have one advantage, and that is the leather. Moreover, the power of the 75-mm howitzer on the American M Type 3 medium tank is also much greater than that of the 40-mm two-pounder gun on the British tank. ”

"Old chief, political commissar, look at it. At least in the next two years, I'm afraid we won't get too many American-made tanks. The Americans will give us tanks no matter how many they are, but I'm afraid that most of the ones that end up in our hands will end up being British tanks. And the Americans, out of strategic considerations, were not too opposed to the approach of the British. ”

"Anyway, for them, as long as the quantity roughly meets the requirements of the agreement. Then whether it is a British tank or an American product for us, they will not care too much. Therefore, we must have a mental preparation in advance. In the next two years, the amount of equipment we get may be insufficient, and it will be difficult for us to be satisfied with the performance. ”

Yang Zhen's explanation was very clear, and the old man pondered for a while before saying: "Judging from your words, you are very dissatisfied with the performance of those British tanks and tactical aircraft. So do you still need this batch of equipment they provide? That said, are you okay with those UK alternatives? ”

The old man's doubts, Yang Zhen smiled and said, "Old chief, why not?" The tanks of the British were indeed unable to deal with the Germans in Europe. But against the Japanese, those thin-skinned, and even most of them can only be counted as armored vehicles, it will be enough in the last two years. ”

"The British Matilda II tank, although it was 24 kilometers flat on the ground, was 13 kilometers off-road a little slower, and the 40 mm two-pounder gun was also a little less powerful. However, the maximum armor of 78 mm has a thick bottom, and the structure is also quite leathery. The 40-mm two-pounder gun struggled against the German No. 4 tank, but it was enough against the Japanese Type 97 tank. ”

"As for the Crusader cruiser tank, it was fast and extremely capable of cross-country. And the so-called thin armor, which was aimed at the German tanks. Against the Japanese tanks, their armor was barely usable. As for the failure of the engine, it was in the harsh terrain of the desert in the desert region of North Africa. When we come here, the mountains and rivers are beautiful, and there is no yellow sand in the sky, so there should be no more such problems. ”

"As the number of U.S. tanks produced grows and the U.S. military completes the expansion, the number of U.S. tanks will gradually increase. Coupled with the fact that we started production ourselves, I think that we will have enough new equipment before the new tanks developed by the Japanese army appear. After all, the focus of the Japanese resource investment is still in the navy, and the production rate of army equipment is much slower. ”

"The reason why I asked the Soviets and the United States and Britain to provide their captured German tanks was because we could have a stable replacement once the Japanese army developed a new and more powerful tank until we had a sufficient amount of American-made equipment and our own tank production to meet our needs.

"Now the quality of the tanks of the Japanese army is average, but they have their own design and production capabilities. Who can guarantee that they will not develop a new tank within the time frame? Moreover, in terms of armor and firepower, the German No. 4 tank is not comparable to the latest M No. 4 medium tank, even if the United States has just completed its development. As long as these German tanks are in place, even if the Japanese army develops new tanks, we have nothing to worry about. ”

"It's just that the structure of German tanks is somewhat complicated, and the requirements for our technical conditions are relatively high, which are not as solid and durable as American tanks, and the source of parts and components is more difficult. If it was more than firepower, the German tanks were even more far away from the American goods. And not as tall as the American tank, it is a live target on the battlefield. ”

"Also, old chief, you should not be talking about you but about us. The equipment and materials provided by the United States and Britain are not only for us, but for our entire army, including all our fraternal troops. ”

"Without the central and Kannai troops, and the large number of talents mobilized for us under their own rather difficult circumstances, we would not have been able to get to where we are today. We all got this equipment together, not just one alone. We have no reason, let alone a monopoly on it. ”

"Old chief, we are a family, why bother with what is far and near? These things we are engaged in are for our whole army. Otherwise, we ourselves, where we have such a good appetite, can digest such a large batch of equipment? The first batch of tanks aided by the United States and Britain, in addition to complementing the expansion of our own armored forces, we have decided to form two tank regiments for the advance army. ”

"The reason why I haven't told you before is because the results of the negotiations have not come down, and we are not sure how much we can get. Now that it's settled, I can tell you about it. However, in view of the current situation of the Advance Army and the internal units of the Guan, we still consider that the establishment of armored units for the Advance Army should not be too large, and that it should still be based on a flexible and mobile structure. ”