#Kleinerpanzer

[dragonkid11]

"The Little Panzer that Could!"/"The Deadliest Tricycle”

The Kleinerpanzer originated as the KT-89, an artillery tractor and militarization of a Recht AG light farming tractor, the KT-89’s ability to rapidly reposition batteries was vital to Macchi’s successes. As the war turned, there was a pressing need for as much armour as possible, KT-89s were rapidly rebuilt as the AM-95, given new engines and a thin armoured shell, and were used as patrol vehicles and mobile gun positions. They were especially effective in accompanying infantry assaults, parking behind recently seized trenches to blunt counter-attacks, but these actions grew less and less successful as the war dragged on. 

As the war turned against them, a desperate United Western Federation deliberately opened the sluice gates holding back the ocean to slow the enemy’s advance in southern Dorand. It was into this environment the Riesenräder was first deployed. Originally designed in 1579 but considered impractical, the design was resurrected six years later along the Southern Front. With its elevated crew compartment and enormous wheels, the vehicle seemed perfectly suited to wading through the waters and launching attacks on isolated enemy camps in the region. However, its unreliability, tendency to bog down in mud from high ground pressure, and relatively thin armour meant it was far less threatening to prepared enemy forces.