Re: Blood and Iron

Two of the Russian Tsar’s daughters had accepted his offer to take a look at the Russian Army’s newest prototype. It was a domestically manufactured tank design based upon observations made in the field.

Like everyone else, there were many things being copied from the German design that were very forward thinking, obviously within their own manufacturing capabilities. And eavesdropping on this conversation had been the Tsar’s only son, who was equally as interested in the venture.

Because of this, the Tsar and three of his children took an armored motorcade to the factory where the prototype was currently laying dormant. The three children, the oldest of which was actually now an adult, gazed in awe at what they saw.

The Russian tank prototype was a far better design than the allied Mk II. For starters, there were plenty of Russian Engineers in the field deployed alongside German soldiers. They were given a far greater capacity to observe the German tanks and how they functioned.

Copying a torsion bar suspension was actually quite easy, as it was ironically enough the most easy to produce of all the major tank suspension types. And oddly enough, had not really begun to see serviced until the latter half of the second world war.

Ease of manufacture, and requiring far less rare earth metals to manufacture it was ideal for the Russian Industry, which was lacking compared to that of the German Reich. In addition to this, the armored hull was sloped and welded. Which was a vast improvement over the Allied Mk II, which had a semi-sloped design and was made of thin riveted steel plates.

While not as advanced as the rolled homogenous armor in used by the Germans, it was most certainly a tank capable of sustaining fire and dealing deadly blows. Lessons also learned by the Germans was the introduction of a rotating turret.

Due to the commonality of ammunition being mandatory, Russian and Austro-Hungarian arms developed resembled that used by the Germans in many ways. As such, the main gun on the turret was a 5cm gun that largely resembled the Soviet 45 mm anti-tank gun M1932 from Bruno’s past life.

In fact, the overall design and shape of this new light tank resembled the Soviet T-50 Light Tank in many ways. And when the Tsar’s children laid eyes on it, they were astonished. The first domestically produced tank was a major sign of Russia’s increased prestige on the global stage.

Currently, only three nations had managed to field a tank. The Germans had both the most advanced tank in the field, and the highest number of them. While the French and British had combined their resources to field their own domestically produced armored vehicles.

Tanks were the modern symbol of a major power. Such weapons changed with the era. Just ten years prior, Dreadnought Battleships were such an icon. But as times had swiftly changed, and the nature of warfare with it.

The world began to realize if you did not have tanks, or at least the ability to defeat them, then you might as well just yield to whatever demands were imposed on you by the enemy when they came knocking.

Without a doubt, the Russian T-16 as they were calling it, was a vast improvement over the Allied Mk II, and while not quite as grand as the Panzer I Bruno was currently fielding, it would be able to provide extensive support to the Russian Infantry, and hopefully prove Russia was not holding the Germans back in this war.

After all, the Tsar wanted to prove to Bruno that Russia was more than capable of being his home, if he so chose to do so. And thus he was quite confident as he spoke of the device and the plans to mass produce it.

"We won’t be able to produce as many as the Germans have fielded thus far, nor is it as grand as a vehicle. I’m not sure entirely how they manage it, but I have no doubt their armor is of a better quality than ours.

Even so, I would bet a fortune on one of these being able to take out two allied tanks before it is obliterated! Luckily for us, our production rate should be able to keep up with such demands. What do you all think? Have our engineers done a good job producing a tank?"

It was not like the children of the Tsar knew anything about tank design or warfare. But even so, gazing upon the armored vehicle, they couldn’t help but admire its production. This meant that Russia was starting to overcome its status as a Backwater in Europe, and perhaps might very well contend with the greatest of the world’s powers in due time.

Thus, Olga was the first to speak as she confirmed her thoughts on the tank to her father.

"I must admit, I may not know much about the subject, but even I can’t tell such a thing will be a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Our troops will be glad to know they have armor supporting their advance! And I am sure it will be a enormous boost to morale! Congratulations, father!"

Boosting Morale wasn’t exactly necessary for the Central Powers. They had won all the major battles of the war so far, and had already taken half of the initial Allied Powers out of the war. The men who were in the Russian Army were actually eager to march on Rome and force the Italians to kneel before the crown. Your journey continues on

As for Nicholas, he was just happy that the Tank he had designed seemed formidable in the eyes of his children. He had learned much of rulership over the past ten years to compensate for his inadequate upbringing.

And now, he could finally consider himself among the world’s foremost most powerful men. Or so he hoped this was what Russia’s new tank meant. Either way, its performance had yet to be determined. But the Tsar was hopeful, and so were his children. And that was all that mattered to the House of Romanov for the time being.

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