Chapter 367 The Winter War (18)

After the initial failures, the Soviet high command began to adjust their deployments and prepare for the upcoming new offensive.

General Semyon Timoshenko was appointed as the new Defense Commissioner of the Soviet Union and the commander of the Finnish battlefield. He had previously served as the commander of the North Caucasus, Kiev, and Kharkov military districts, with extensive experience. Meanwhile, Kirill Meretskov was demoted to the commander of the 7th Army on the Karelian Isthmus, and the forces were reorganized into the 7th and 13th armies.

Timoshenko assured Stalin that he could take the main defense line of Finland—the Mannerheim Line—but it would not be easy and would involve sacrificing many soldiers. Stalin promised that he would not be held responsible for casualties. Furthermore, he promised to provide Timoshenko with a super-duper killer weapon to assist him in capturing the Mannerheim Line.

And so, after 10 days of rest, the Soviet army launched another offensive.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom."

With a tremendous roar, the entire ground began to tremble.

"Oh my God!! What is that?!" Finnish soldiers on the Mannerheim Line stared in astonishment at the slowly approaching "iron behemoth" on the opposite side. Many thought they were seeing things and subconsciously rubbed their eyes.

But after rubbing their eyes, they realized that it wasn't an illusion; it was a real, bona fide iron behemoth. Its appearance resembled that of a tank, with a hull below and a turret on top; unlike ordinary tanks, however, its size was several times larger!

The width of the entire tank looked to be about four meters, and the height was also around four meters! The track at the bottom was also more than one meter wide! Although the side couldn't be seen now, it wasn't difficult to imagine that, based on this proportion, the length wouldn't be short either!

How heavy would such a giant be? Definitely over a hundred tons!

In the observation post of the Mannerheim Line, there was also a cry of astonishment. A Finnish officer with a pale face tremulously asked, "Major Hans, do you know what that is?" Because of the position of the observation post, they could already see that the length of the tank was at least ten meters! Such a colossal object must be terrifying to anyone who sees it.

Hans also looked shocked and shook his head. "Never heard of it, never seen it. We'd better report it quickly!"

The people in the Finnish command headquarters were shocked when they received the report. The Soviets had deployed a tank that appeared to weigh at least two hundred tons?

Model didn't dare to delay and quickly sent a telegram to the German high command to explain the situation, while Rundstedt immediately came to find Yannick. "Your Highness, the Soviets have sent a super-tank to attack the Mannerheim Line. According to reports from the front-line soldiers, the width and height of the hull are at least four meters, and the length is at least ten meters. The whole vehicle looks like it weighs two hundred tons." After reporting, he muttered incredulously, "Isn't this too exaggerated? Could they have mistaken it?!"

Wilhelm raised an eyebrow slightly. "Oh, they actually made it?"

Seeing Wilhelm's reaction, Rundstedt immediately felt relieved. "It seems Your Highness already knows? The Soviets really made a two-hundred-ton tank?"

Wilhelm chuckled. "Not only do I know, but it was also designed by Dr. Porsche at my request and handed over to Soviet agents. Looks like Stalin quite likes it."

Rundstedt's mouth fell open in surprise. "Ah?"

"It's really a headache for them. How did they manage to transport that thing to the battlefield?" After sighing, Wilhelm noticed the marshal's strange expression and casually reassured him. "Rest assured, Marshal. If it were really that effective, would I still give it to them? Whether that thing can even get close to the Finnish defenses is uncertain."

The development of the Ratte tank in the original timeline originated from intelligence gathered by the German intelligence department.

40 years ago, according to information from the German intelligence department stationed in the Soviet Union, the Soviets were secretly developing a super-heavy tank weighing 100 tons. The tank's armor was extremely thick and sturdy, rendering any anti-tank weapons ineffective against it. The caliber of the gun reached an astonishing 150mm, and the Soviets planned to deploy these behemoths to some key strategic areas in the future.

This tank was the Soviet T-39 tank.

According to the plan, the T-39 weighed a total of 90 tons, with two secondary turrets (referred to as turret No. 3 and No. 4) placed side by side at the front of the hull, and two main turrets (referred to as turret No. 1 and No. 2) placed front and rear at the rear of the hull.

The T-39 had three design options. The first option was to install a 152mm gun in turret No. 1, with each of the remaining three turrets equipped with a 45mm gun, and each turret also fitted with a machine gun. The second option was to install two 107mm guns in parallel in turrets No. 1 and No. 2, with turret No. 3 and No. 4 equipped with a 45mm gun and a machine gun each. The third option was to install a 152mm gun in turret No. 1, a twin-mounted 107mm gun in turret No. 2, and a 45mm gun and machine gun in turrets No. 3 and No. 4. Interestingly, to facilitate off-road climbing and crossing obstacles, the T-39 was also equipped with a set of small auxiliary track structures at the front of the hull.

The design plans for the T-39 were too impractical; even in modern times, it would be difficult to control a vehicle with so many weapons and 75mm armor within 100 tons. Until the end of World War II, the T-39 tank was never put into actual production.

Upon receiving this intelligence, the small mustachioed man immediately tasked the renowned weapons designer Ferdinand Porsche to design a super-tank.

In May 1942, Dr. Porsche collaborated with the chief designer at Krupp to develop this "super-tank." By March 1943, the prototype of the super-tank that met the requirements of the German high command was officially completed. For convenience, two prototype vehicles were produced for comparison purposes. However, these two vehicles ended up being the final production quantity of this heavy tank.

Regarding the naming of the tank, the initial name was "Mammut (Mammoth)," which was later changed to "Mäuschen (Little Mouse)." It wasn't until February 1943 that the final official name "Maus (Mouse)" was officially decided. The reason for naming it "Maus" was to confuse the Soviet intelligence department, making them think it was a harmless light tank.

Initially, neither of the two prototype vehicles had installed official turrets; they only used mock turrets for simulated experiments. It wasn't until June 1944 that real turrets were installed on the tank chassis. The tank was operated by a crew of six, weighing an astonishing 188 tons in total. With a length of 10.09 meters, a width of 3.67 meters, and a height of 3.7 meters, the overall appearance of the vehicle resembled a sturdy movable fortress.

In October 1944, the two prototype vehicles arrived at the Porsche test track in Böblingen, a suburb of Berlin, for testing. Vehicle No. 1 encountered almost no issues, but Vehicle No. 2 experienced an accident where the diesel engine crankshaft broke, leading to the vehicle being temporarily stored at the test site for repairs. On December 23, 1944, Prototype Vehicle No. 1 of the Maus tank successfully completed its running tests, ready for deployment in actual combat.

The German army at this time deployed the Maus tank on the battlefield with the aim of showcasing its capabilities, attempting to reverse the declining war situation for Germany, but such naive thinking only resulted in a merciless "slap in the face." In early 1945, the Soviet Red Army launched a relentless offensive into German territory, and the German army was already too overwhelmed to focus on the fate of these two behemoths. In March, the newly replaced engine was officially installed in Prototype Vehicle No. 2, but it was already too late.

During the final Battle of Berlin, the Maus tank, which was preparing to be deployed, broke down due to malfunctions and had to be blown up. However, because its armor was too thick, it wasn't completely destroyed. The wreckage was taken back by the Soviets for further research and was later exhibited in a museum in the Soviet Union.