Chapter 45: 45
De Invasion (4)
"They acted calmly, as if they were on a picnic, and started making jokes. "You pigs."
Gangul, who was watching the French army struggling through binoculars, was shocked.
"Shouldn't we use the word 'frog' instead of 'pig'? "Because they are French."
Sergeant Wilhelm Huber, the squad leader and the oldest member of Gangl's platoon, chuckled.
Gangul neatly ignored his words and gave orders in a businesslike manner.
"It's noisy, check the status of your squad members. "It's starting soon."
"I understand."
Gangul, who had gone to Ethiopia as a military advisor, returned to Germany through British Somaliland when Ethiopia was occupied by the Italian army.
Upon his return to Germany, he was awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class, and promoted to second lieutenant.
Among his contemporaries, he was the only one to be promoted to second lieutenant, but since his salary was lower than when he was a sergeant, it was not something that Gangul was happy about.
Just before the war broke out, Gangul was assigned to Army Group C on the Western Front.
The mission given to him was to lead an infantry platoon into an ambush and block the advance of the French army.
"Now that I think about it, Platoon Commander, isn't this your first real battle?"
Sergeant Hoover asked. Gangl nodded his head without taking his eyes off the French soldier.
"okay. "This is my second time."
"I heard you fought against the Italian army in Ethiopia. How was it?"
"The army is just fine, but they don't know how to fight. "It's shocking that those people are descendants of the Romans."
Gangul, who thought Hoover's question was about the Italian army, answered: But it wasn't the Italian army that Hoover was curious about.
"I mean, what was the Ethiopian army like? "Didn't you have a hard time understanding what I was saying?"
"There were some inconveniences because we couldn't communicate. But basically everyone fought well. "They were especially braver than the Italian army."
"You mean niggers? Huh, it's ridiculous that the army is as bad as the niggers."
Hoover, like most Germans, thought black people were inferior.
It was truly shocking to hear that the President supported the black people's national anthem and ate with black athletes at the Olympics.
What on earth is the Fuhrer thinking of trying to be friendly with uncivilized blacks?
They are useless seeds. This is something we cannot understand.
"But why did you suddenly bring that up? "Get to the point."
"Well, there were a few niggers among the French guys, so I thought of it and asked."
As Hoover said, blacks were mixed among the French troops. They were probably from Togo or Ghana, which were colonies of France.
In order to maintain a large army of over 1 million men, the French army actively encouraged the enlistment of colonists.
For the young people in the colony who had always suffered from poverty, high salaries that they could not even dream of in their home country - which were only average to the French - and high quality meals were attractive conditions.
In particular, as the youth population was cut in half due to World War I, the proportion of colonials in the French army was bound to increase further.
There were not only black soldiers, but also Arab and Asian-looking soldiers.
That soldier looks like he's from Vietnam. Is that guy Algerian? Maybe Moroccan or Lebanese?
The French Army Engineers arrived and began mining mines. This was the moment Gangul had been waiting for.
"Platoon, start shooting!"
As Kar98k, MP38, and MG34 fired fire all at once, the French army fell like leaves in a cold wind.
As part of the President's military advancement plan, the supply of submachine guns, including the MP38, increased significantly, but the Kar98k still accounted for the largest proportion.
A black soldier who had been hit by a bullet in the philtrum fell forward as if he had tripped on a rock while walking.
Another soldier fell onto the pool of red ink flowing from the bullet hole. As the gunfire continued, the size of the pond grew larger.
The machine gunner, who was hastily taking a shooting stance, was shot and fell.
Because the chin strap was not fastened properly, the helmet came off and fell to the ground.
The helmet that fell to the ground spun around like a top, then was kicked by someone's foot and flew into the bushes.
"The little frogs can't move!"
"Just shut up and keep shooting!"
While Gangl was changing the MP38's magazine, Sergeant Hoover took out a stick grenade.
Stick grenades, also called bat grenades or potato mashers, have the disadvantage of being quite heavy and difficult to carry due to their wooden handles, but they have the advantage of being easy to throw and having a long throwing distance.
Sergeant Hoover pulled out the grenade pin, counted three seconds, and then threw the grenade.
The grenade flew in a parabolic curve and exploded exactly among the French soldiers. More than five French soldiers fell simultaneously.
"Good!"
The French army, which was suddenly attacked, was unable to fight properly and was busy running away.
When the order to stop shooting was given from Gangl's mouth, the roads were littered with the bodies of more than 20 French soldiers.
"The French army is no big deal. "I was scared for no reason."
"It's still too early to be at ease. "Now that the infantry has seen blood, they will definitely mobilize tanks to attack."
Sure enough, as Gangul predicted, the French army returned with tanks.
Less than five minutes after the cheers of victory rang out, the platoon fell into silence.
But they had a secret weapon.
"Enemy tank appears at 11 o'clock. Distance: 500. Armor-piercing shells loaded."
"Load armor-piercing rounds!"
The rare PaK 40, of which there were only a few dozen units not only in Army Group C but also throughout Germany, targeted the French Army's Renault R35 tank while wearing camouflage.
"launch!"
There was a flash from the muzzle and an explosion occurred as a hole opened in the front of the R35.
As the ammunition inside the tank exploded all at once, the R35's turret separated from the hull and soared into the air.
"Hit!"
Although the R35 had decent protection compared to its contemporaries, it was impossible to stop the PaK 40, which could penetrate 97 mm thick armor at a distance of 1 km.
From the beginning, the PaK 40 was developed to destroy heavy armored tanks such as the T-34 and KV-1, so it had excessive firepower against light tanks such as the R35.
Its disadvantage is that it is difficult to move by manpower due to its weight of 1.4 tons, but its power is certain, so Germany is putting all its effort into producing the PaK 40.
"So, the platoon leader has been defeated!"
"Fuck, where did you come from?"
The French tank crews were confused when they saw their fellow tank being destroyed in a single blow.
Even though I looked around, there was no sign of the enemy. In particular, the shock to the remaining platoon members was even greater as the platoon leader, who was supposed to command his men, was the first to die.
To make matters worse, the French army's tanks were not equipped with radios, making it difficult to communicate smoothly with each other.
The deputy platoon leader quickly came out of the turret and waved a flag to direct the tanks, but the flag was nowhere to be seen by the tankers who were already in panic.
"You guys! Look here! "You learned it all before-"
The second shell flew, this time hitting the deputy platoon commander's tank.
The result was defeat.
The deputy platoon commander's tank also became a ball of fire, spewing black smoke into the air.
"junior! junior!"
As the deputy platoon commander was defeated, the remaining tank soldiers completely lost their will to fight.
The tanks retreated and the infantry followed suit and fled in haste.
It was an outrageous act by the French army, which prided itself on being the strongest army in Europe.
"They are running away!"
As the French army retreated, the soldiers all shouted hurray.
This battle was the first victory of the German army over the French army since World War I.
"The French are no big deal, are they?"
"I guess so. "They are all the same in the end."
Only after the French were out of sight was Gangl able to lay down the village.
When he took out a cigarette and put it to his mouth, Sergeant Hoover quickly took out a match and lit the cigarette.
The taste of the cigarette smoked after the battle was so special that nothing could compare to it.
"You survived safely this time too."
Until the war ends, it would be nice if every day was just like today.
***
September 9, 1939
New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany
"also! "My prediction was not wrong this time either!"
The French army, which had pushed into Saar two days ago, withdrew back to France today after encountering resistance from Army Group C under Lev.
The French army suffered about 200 casualties and the loss of 13 tanks and armored vehicles.
The casualties of our troops were 9 dead and 17 wounded.
Just looking at the simple numbers, it could be said that it was a great victory for our army. In particular, it was an achievement worth commemorating because the opponent was the French army.
It was Germany's first military victory over France since World War I.
The National Defense Force expressed concern that the French army might attack again at any time, but thanks to this victory, there was a feeling of hope being restored.
In actual history, when the French army pushed into Saar, the German army was unable to offer any resistance and was busy retreating.
However, the French army suddenly withdrew to mainland France on the 17th, and the life of Nazi Germany was extended by another six years.
Scholars are divided on why the French army withdrew, but it is generally believed that it was because they were frightened by the lightning speed of the German army's advance and decided that a war of attrition from the safety of the mainland was a better strategy.
The French military leadership may have thought it was a reasonable choice, but in the end, their choice had the worst butterfly effect that turned all of Europe into a sea of fire.
If the French army had continued its advance without withdrawing, it would have been able to advance to the Rhine River before winter came.
Of course, Nazi Germany would have been defeated, and neither the German War nor the Holocaust would have occurred.
Perhaps the name World War II would not even have been used.
In his report, Lev wrote that the PaK 40 and the 88 mm anti-aircraft gun FlaK 36 were particularly active.
The 88mm anti-aircraft gun, or 88 for short, was originally developed for anti-aircraft use, as the name alone suggests, but it showed excellent performance not only in its original mission, but also in ground warfare.
Because it showed omnipotence and omnipotence in everything from anti-tank guns to destroying enemy bunkers and artillery fire, the German military called the 88 an 'all-purpose gun' and loved it, while the Allies feared it, calling it the 'devil's weapon'.
Because its performance was so excellent, it was used in many European countries, including Czechoslovakia, Finland, and Yugoslavia, even after World War II.
I advised Lev not to use the 88 only for anti-aircraft purposes, but also for anti-infantry and anti-tank purposes, and thanks to that, our troops were able to successfully defeat the French army.
According to the report, a French tank company marched in line when it was attacked by 88 from 2 km away.
You can bet 10,000 Reichsmarks that they peed their pants.
"We have been thoroughly punished this time, so the French army will never cross German territory again. I bet. So let us relax and focus on defeating Poland."
"I will keep this in mind, Mr. President!"
Göring, Keitel, and Brauchitsch, who had been grumbling about the world being ruined, regained their energy as if they had never done so before.
However, Leder still looked like he had chewed shit because, unlike the Army and Air Force, the Navy was not yet ready.
Although the battleship Bismarck and Nazi Germany's first aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin, are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year, their power is far from sufficient to deal with the British Navy, which boasts the world's No. 1 navy.
The claim that it was number one in the world was shattered after the outbreak of the Pacific War, but it was natural for Leather to be worried, as the British Navy could easily deal with the Cryxmarine, which was still in its infancy.
"Admiral, please don't be too upset. "I am a thoughtful person, so I have no intention of giving such an absurd order to the Kryxmarine to fight and win against the British Navy."
"thank you······."
These words were said to be comforting, but in reality, Leather pouted as if he had been hurt by those words.
A man who is old enough to be so ugly asks what he is doing.
I know this, but I don't like it when others point it out, is this it?
Thanks to the recall of all ships from all over the world to Germany before the start of the war, there has been zero damage to the Kryx Marine to date.
The German-class armored ship Graf Spedoe, which was originally in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean but was unable to return to Germany due to Britain's declaration of war and had to wander around the South Atlantic, is now quietly stuck in the port of Kiel.
Dönitz, who was with Leather, also had a dark expression, but still not as dark as Leather.
Perhaps because of the achievements made by the Type 21 U-boats dispatched to various parts of the Atlantic, he has a brighter face than Leder.
Unlike existing U-boats, which cannot fully navigate underwater due to limitations in technology at the time and can only dive in emergencies such as combat or evasion while driving on the water, the Type 21 U-boat has a design optimized for underwater navigation, so its underwater speed is faster than that of the water. It is fast and the operational radius has increased significantly due to the increase in battery capacity.
In addition, air conditioning was installed on board, greatly increasing the crew's convenience, and it was possible to avoid enemy ships and aircraft radar by simply moving while submerged and surfacing only when necessary, or raising the snorkel to charge.
Because of such deceptive performance, the Type 21 U-boat was evaluated as the beginning of modern submarines, but when the Type 21 U-boat was actually deployed in 1945, Nazi Germany was on the verge of defeat, so no major achievements were made.
The reason the Type 21 U-boat was completed late was not because it was a product that required advanced science and technology, but because no one had thought of adding more batteries to existing submarines and placing more emphasis on underwater navigation than surface navigation.
In terms of simple technology, the Type 21 U-Boat would have been nothing strange even if it had emerged during World War I.
This is a representative example that shows that what is most necessary for the development of new weapons is a change in idea, and that it is not necessarily necessary to apply new technology.
To date, the total number of Allied merchant ships sunk by Type 21 U-boats is 11.
Considering that there are a total of 9 U-boats roaming the Atlantic, more than 1 ship was sunk per U-boat.
Not only was the performance of the Type 21 U-boat important, but the new torpedo 'Gisela', created by referring to the blueprint provided by Japan, also played a big role.
Existing German torpedoes had many defects and failed frequently, but Gisela boasted a 0% misfire rate to date. The downside is that the price is a little expensive, but considering the performance, it was an acceptable price.
"General Brauchitsch, what happened to our troops who reached the outskirts of Warsaw?"
Brauchitsch answered my question with a proud look.
"We are turning Warsaw into a sea of fire."
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