Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 151



Only Krnovel

#151

“Damn. So this is why I have to get rid of all these rotten bastards.”

When Hitler heard about the situation on the Eastern Front, he frowned and raised his voice.

Hitler had originally had negative feelings toward generals from the Junkers, but after the last assassination, his feelings became even worse.

The reason he was complaining in such a nervous manner this time was none other than the telegram that Manstein had sent from the Eastern Front.

Manstein, who made his name known as the planner of Operation Sickle at the beginning of World War II, was a highly regarded figure by Hitler, but he was not a trusted subordinate.

“Retreat? Retreat? Are you in your right mind right now? What the heck···.”

Hitler, who was reading Manstein’s report, immediately shouted in anger.

“Tell them not to make you laugh and to hold their ground.”

“yes.”

“Oh, and by the way, I heard that Manstein is in poor health.”

“yes?”

In response to the question from the Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht, Keitel, Hitler responded in a feminine tone.

“I think it’s because you’re sick that you have trouble thinking and leading normally.”

Although it seemed on the surface that Hitler was concerned about his health, the implications of his remarks were clear.

“Confirmation···.”

“Do I really need to confirm that? The situation on the front lines is so urgent that I can’t leave the commander’s position empty. Who would want that?”

In response to Hitler’s question, instead of recommending someone directly, Keitel said:

“If His Excellency the President has the foresight, he will be able to choose an excellent successor. Would I dare to imitate the President’s foresight?”

Some people looked uncomfortable at his words and actions that clearly showed why he was called Hitler’s henchman, Rachaitel. However, the moment Hitler raised his head with a satisfied expression, their faces disappeared.

“Hmm. Should I send the model back to the East? By the way, what about the West? Didn’t you say they’re blocking the British’s operations very effectively?”

A large-scale purge that occurred immediately following the Black Orchestra’s assassination operation.

Because of this, the German army on the Western Front was devastated, and the one who was dispatched to clean it up was Walter Model.

And the last report was that the model, living up to its reputation as a lion of defense, had gathered together a ragtag group of men and successfully defended against a decisive attack by the British army.

As a result, the German leadership, including Hitler, believed that unlike the Eastern Front, there was no need to worry about the Western Front.

“Why is that?”

Hitler was struck by Keitel’s hesitation instead of answering his question quickly.

“They say that the US military joined in. Because of that···.”

“What’s the reason for that!”

“It seems difficult to maintain the defensive line, so we are retreating···.”

“what!!!”

Before he could finish speaking, an old man burst out in anger.

“Are you saying that there are no people in this country who do their jobs properly? Wherever I go, if I don’t personally take care of it, nothing gets done properly. Ha. Damn it.”

Hitler, who had until recently been happy to praise Walter Model’s abilities and to promote him as Manstein’s replacement, now poured out criticisms of him.

And there was someone who took advantage of Hitler’s change and raised his voice, and that was none other than Himmler.

“The problem is that there are still too many rats in the West. The Netherlands in particular seems to need a thorough cleaning.”

Himmler mentioned the Dutch people resisting in various ways, including through railway strikes, and Hitler’s face turned red with excitement when he heard the story.

“Oh, how could that happen? We have been treated so well since we are both Germans.”

It was such an audacity that the Dutch would have been shocked to the point of vomiting blood. And that wasn’t the end of Hitler’s crazy remarks.

“If I can’t have it, shouldn’t they not be able to have it either?”

“yes?”

“What’s important now isn’t the sloppy wetlands.”

What was important to Germany at the time was not the West but the East.

Especially Nikopol.

Mines near Nikopol, Ukraine, provided nearly 30 percent of the raw materials needed for weapons production.

“If you can’t hold out, tell them to retreat. If you just pull back the front line a little, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a model, right?”

“yes yes.”

“But this time, you should handle things properly and step down. Don’t do something sloppy like you did in Paris.”

Hitler kept threatening, mentioning how he had clearly ordered them to burn everything down and reduce it to ashes, but had failed to even set fire to it properly, leaving the entire city in the hands of the Allied forces.

“That area is damp and it’ll be hard to start a fire, and it’ll be perfect if we just blow up all those damned levees. Oh, and cut off all food and fuel going into the Netherlands from this time on.”

“ah!”

Some eyes widened at Hitler’s last words.

It was still midwinter. If you cut off the fuel… However, some of the others kept exclaiming in admiration when they heard His Excellency the President.

“This way, the Allied bastards will be left with a useless piece of land flooded with beggars to fill it up.”

“They are people who claim to be champions of humanity, so they will have a hard time moving around properly until they rescue all the starving beggars.”

What would happen if the supply line was opened? The number of mouths to feed would increase several times.

Those who have yet to experience the true spirit of the Celestial Empire have begun to activate their happiness circuits to full capacity.

And at that moment, there was a person who was just as excited and jumping for joy as Hitler, and that was none other than Montgomery.

“Professional? What’s the content?”

Montgomery, who had thought that the message he had received yesterday and the day before would be about why the advance was so slow and whether the operation could be successful, trembled with anger at losing the message his adjutant had handed him.

“Well, they are keeping it a secret from the press, but I heard that His Majesty the King visited the headquarters. After a private meeting with General MacArthur, he appealed to the US military to participate in the operation.”

Montgomery, who heard the untold story, felt as if the sky had turned yellow.

“What on earth has the Prime Minister and the cabinet been doing···.”

George VI was not the type to stay quiet in the palace. After the war broke out, he enjoyed traveling around the front lines to visit soldiers at the front.

However, he was not the type of person to directly intervene in military operations in this way.

He was the kind of person who, better than anyone else, practiced the adage that a king reigns but does not rule.

“What on earth did you hear···.”

Montgomery took several long sighs to calm his mind, then looked at the map and opened his mouth.

“So where do all these Yankee bastards come from?”

Montgomery’s aides watched his question closely, as they naturally assumed he would support them.

“It moves on its own···.”

“what?”

Even the story that Patton was at the forefront made Montgomery’s face turn red as if he was going to burst.

##

While some people were blushing and feverish, there were others who seemed relaxed, none other than the American soldiers.

“General Patton’s advance is quite fast.”

“Are you worried about being attacked from the side?”

“According to the reconnaissance results of the air force, everything is fine so far.”

I was able to feel once again the reward of raising Patton with so much love and care.

This time, McNair was also sincere in supporting Patton. No, he was sincere last time too, but then… In any case, unlike when Paris was recaptured, this time their relationship was not bad.

But unfortunately this time it seemed like another guy was out to blow McNair’s blood pressure.

“The German army’s movements are strange?”

“It seems like they’re preparing to retreat, but I guess···.”

What, have they ever retreated quietly? Weren’t they the ones who would rather burn Paris to the ground than let it be taken away?

This time it was the same.

Not only did they destroy all the useful ports, they also did not hesitate to commit the heinous act of bursting the dykes that the Dutch had painstakingly built for centuries.

But these were all minor issues that were expected.

“If this is the case, the bigger problem will be after the Netherlands is recaptured. Food supplies···.”

The Germans blocked all food and fuel supplies entering the Netherlands.

As a result, McNair was forced to feed not only his army but also a country.

“this person···.”

Looking at McNair, who was unable to continue speaking due to his surging anger, the entire commanding staff, including myself, solemnly wished him well.

“You’ll have a hard time. You’re the only person I can trust.”

I tapped McNair on the shoulder and checked his expression, and his eyes were red…

After a while, McNair came to his senses and asked for help with a serious expression.

“There is no shortage of food brought in from the home country. However, it is not easy to properly distribute it throughout the Netherlands, where roads, railways and other infrastructure are in ruins.”

McNair’s concern that the number of deaths would rapidly increase in the already cold winter if people went hungry was not wrong.

But I had a solution.

“Let the Air Force guys do it.”

“yes?”

“We have the right to provide anyway. And what’s important now is speed, right?”

When will we be able to fix the damaged roads and deliver them by truck?

“But the number of parachutes···.”

“Where’s the parachute for that? Just lower the altitude.”

In the history of the original, there was a shortage of parachutes, so they did a lot of experiments to find an altitude where it was okay to just drop food. Fortunately, this time, there was no need to waste time on experiments.

I remember the results that came out then.

“Let’s put the groceries in a small bag and double wrap them in a large bag and throw them from about 150 meters away.”

McNair was taken aback by the strangely specific instructions.

“Let’s try an experiment first.”

“Well, okay.”

After asking the Air Force and confirming the feasibility, I became even more embarrassed.

And at the same time, my respect for General MacArthur, who was my senior and superior, also grew.

Later, Patton’s reaction to McNair, who was trying to resolve his embarrassment at the time, was as follows:

‘You only found out then? I found out in 1918. Tsk, tsk.’

It is also said that McNair’s misunderstanding about the telegram Patton sent during the Paris Race was also resolved after 14 years.

Anyway, while McNair was rolling around to rescue the starving Dutch, Patton managed to reach Arnhem before the Tommy guys.

Patton’s 7th Army, which crossed the Rhine River through Rennen, succeeded in relieving the British 1st Airborne Division, which was surrounded at Arnhem.

And then, in reverse, they started to advance south to the point where the 30th Army Corps was advancing, striking the back of the heads of the German forces fighting in Nijmegen.

Thus, Operation Market Garden achieves its objectives very successfully.

January 27, 1944.

It was the sixth day since Operation Market Garden began and the third day since the US troops were deployed to the battlefield.

And back at Allied headquarters, Montgomery opened up to reporters, still not quite grasping the topic.

“Some say that this operation was a joint operation between our military and the US military and that it was very successful, but this is incorrect. This operation was originally a solo operation by our British military. However, the US military entered the battlefield without prior consultation.”

“Are you saying that the US military’s intervention was not agreed upon in advance?”

“Yes. We were notified unilaterally 24 hours after the US troops were deployed to the battlefield.”

I nodded in agreement with Montgomery’s attack.

“Oh, it is true that it took a long time to convey the fact that our troops were being deployed to the British army.”

“What on earth is the reason?”

“Why did that happen?”

“It couldn’t be helped. It was a special thing, even for a British Army signal officer, Lord Dove.”

“Is this Dove Ball?”

“Yes. I don’t know how it happened, but the British army used pigeons as communication equipment in this operation.”

Well, it’s not like Montgomery’s unit did that, but the British did, right?

Montgomery, who couldn’t bring himself to say anything because the facts were already well known, changed the subject.

“Ahem. That aside, why on earth did you interfere with our solo operation? Aren’t you trying to take away our British expertise!”

Montgomery’s statement that the Americans initially withdrew from the British military’s independent operation, thinking it would fail, but then intervened and took credit when it seemed likely to succeed, seemed to be correct in its appearance.

First of all, it had not yet been made public that George VI had come to me and asked for my help.

Why don’t you make it public?

Why should I tell you that?

With Queen Wilhelmina soon to abdicate, public support for the royal family was needed more than ever.

But George VI was different.

For him, who was still young, the abdication was a distant future, and he already had the full support of the people while fighting the war.

But what would I gain by exposing his shameful and degrading actions of appealing to the enemy of another country?

George VI may be called a great king with a spirit of love for the people, but wouldn’t I be a bad person who couldn’t protect the honor of such a great person?

So the story of my meeting with George VI was something that should not have come out of my mouth.

That’s why I controlled it so that it would never be leaked to the media.

And Montgomery knew this well.

Another thing is the belief that the British people who know the facts will never damage the honor of the King.

‘Surely the king would not reveal the fact that he had been begging a foreign army, and an American general at that, without any shame.’

That is why Montgomery spoke as he pleased, ignoring the fact that it was we, the American soldiers, who played the biggest role in the success of this operation and that the operation might have failed without our intervention.

But Montgomery didn’t know it, but I had plenty of ways to beat the bastard up without selling out George VI.

I can still hear the devil’s voice, what is it?