143

-… .We will protect this country at any cost. We will never surrender!

Wittmann, who was listening to the Fuhrer's speech in real time through a walkie-talkie, felt a shiver run through his body.

It was an exhilarating feeling, as if electric current instead of blood was flowing through my veins.

"I feel this every time, but the President really seems like he was born to give speeches?"

All the tank crews nodded at Wittmann's words. No objection. admit.

The Fuhrer's speech had a magical effect. Search anywhere in the world and you will never find a more outstanding speech than this.

After the Fuhrer's speech, the Badenweiler March played. It was a pretty good choice for boosting morale.

"Anyway, I don't understand."

"what?"

"Roske bastards, I don't know why they attacked us. "We are not as weak as Poland, and we are not the first to argue about going to war."

"How would I know what was going through the minds of the communists?"

Wittmann shook his head in response to Ball's question. He also did not understand why the Soviet Union suddenly went to war.

"Who knows? Was Stalin suffering from dementia and ordering a blind attack?"

"It would be better if it were like that. "If Stalin falls, the war will end."

"no way. There is no way the war will end so easily-"

-Caesar, can you hear me? I want to receive it.

"Caesar, reception."

When the company commander's voice rang through the radio, Wittmann stopped talking and pricked up his ears.

-According to the reconnaissance team's report, the Roskes are moving toward Caesar's area of responsibility. The size is said to be one infantry battalion with more than 20 tanks. Maybe even more than that.

"You're in your 20s or older?"

Richter, who was listening to the radio, shouted in surprise. However, Wittmann listened to the company commander's orders without any sign of surprise.

The orders from the regimental headquarters, according to the company commander, were extremely simple and clear. Do not take a single step back and repel the enemy from your current position.

Fuel and ammunition were fully loaded, so unless there was a major incident, there would be no shortage of combat with the enemy.

"SS Lieutenant Wittmann, is what the company commander said true?"

After the radio call, Ball asked Wittmann: Wittmann shrugged his shoulders.

"Of course it's true. "Then it must be a lie?"

"More than 20 tanks, this is a bit... ."

"You can't ask the Loskers to guess the numbers. Don't worry though. "As far as I know, this tank is the most powerful tank in the world."

Unlike Ball, who had no actual combat experience, Wittmann was a veteran of veterans, having fought since the Poland War.

The Iron Cross, First Class, which he wore around his neck, proved that Wittmann's career was not ordinary.

Wittmann believed in his own experience and ability, and in the tank's performance.

The appearance of the No. 6 Tiger tank he rode was far from beautiful, but the tank's performance was no match for any place in the world.

The weight is close to 48 tons, with a 100mm front and 140mm gun mantlet on the front of the hull, and 80mm of heavy armor on the sides and rear, but in return, it is provided with sufficient protection from almost all normal attacks, and the 88mm main gun mounted on the Tiger can be fired from 2km away. The target can also be hit with one hit.

As far as Wittmann knew, there were only a handful of Soviet tanks that could defeat the Tiger from the front.

I heard that Tiger is much better than these when it comes to overall performance.

After a while, the sound of an engine and a rolling track were heard.

All four Tigers ambushed in the bush had their engines turned off, so Wittmann could hear them.

"You're here."

Wittmann came out with binoculars and saw Soviet tanks running in a line along the road.

"This is Caesar 1. The communists are at 2 o'clock. The distance is 2600."

When Wittmann announced the location of the enemy, the turrets of the ambushed tanks all turned in the same direction. Wittmann never took his eyes off his binoculars.

It was clear that the Soviet military was unaware of the Tigers' existence. Otherwise, there was no way I could have walked leisurely like that.

Soviet soldiers were either riding on the tank or walking on the left and right sides of the tank.

Seeing that the turrets of the tanks were all fixed in the same direction, it seemed like they had given up on boundaries.

You idiots. Wittmann was so dumbfounded that he burst into laughter.

"Are they here for a war or a picnic? "I won't do that shit even during training."

SS Sergeant Hassel, the driver, said.

"Anyway, isn't it a good thing for us? "There is no better enemy than a stupid enemy."

"That's right."

Wittmann entered the turret with a smile on his face. Ball was observing the enemy through the scope.

"Ball, do you know what those guys are?"

"yes? "Of course it's not the Soviet Army, is it?"

"No, I mean, do you know what the name of that tank is?"

"It looks like a T-34 to me."

"answer. "They said they memorized all the identification tags, but it seems to be true."

In fact, Wittmann saw the actual T-34 for the first time today.

According to data distributed by the Ministry of National Defense, the approximate performance of the T-34 is that it has 45mm sloped armor and is armed with a 76mm main gun.

Its protection is close to 90mm of vertical armor and its mobility is said to be on the same level as that of the Panther, but the performance of its 76mm main gun is somewhat poor, so it must be within at least 300m to penetrate the Tiger's frontal armor.

Wittmann had no idea how he got this information. Could it be that it was obtained through exchanging information during a time when relations with the Soviet Union were good?

In fact, Wittmann did not know that the information in the data came from the Fuhrer's future knowledge that he supported.

Also, the President had a hard time coming up with plausible words to his subordinates who were curious about the source of the information.

"We fire a salvo at 1500. "Firing is strictly prohibited until the signal is given."

-Caesar 2, received.

-Caesar 3, received.

-Caesar 4, received.

Considering the power of 88, it would be possible to hit it right away without any problem, but Wittmann decided to draw the enemy a little closer.

Infantrymen ambushed with tanks were instructed not to fire until enemy infantrymen were within machine gun range.

The only time they fired was when enemy infantry came within range of their machine guns.

"Richter, load armor-piercing rounds. Ball, do you see the guy in the lead? "When I give the signal, you guess first."

"All right."

While Ball was adjusting the elevation of the main gun by turning the handle, Richter armor-piercing shells were loaded. An armor-piercing bullet weighing 15 kg entered the chamber with a metallic sound.

"Loading complete."

"Aiming complete."

Wittmann was sticking his head out of the hatch. The Soviet military seemed to have no alert whatsoever, so they even opened the driver's hatch on the front of the vehicle.

On the battlefield, where even the slightest mistake could cost you your life, doing something like that was like begging for me to be killed.

They say they don't want to live, but there's no reason to keep them alive. As soon as the enemy came within 1500m, a shout came out of Wittmann's mouth.

"Start shooting!"

At that moment, a gunshot so powerful that it split your eardrums erupted, and the main gun burst into flames.

The 88mm shell hit the front of the T-34 precisely and pierced the armor plate like a piece of paper.

An explosion occurred and the T-34's turret rose high into the sky. The turret, which rose more than 5 meters, fell to the ground and rolled like a soccer ball, and the two maneuvering wheels deviated from the track and flew behind the tank. It was a complete defeat.

"It's a hit!"

Cheol, excited about his first criminal conviction, let out a shout. But Wittmann remained calm.

The other three Tigers also fired simultaneously, hitting the T-34s. Soviet infantrymen aboard the tank were blown away when the tank exploded.

The quiet field suddenly became filled with gunfire and explosions.

"Reload! "It's still an armor-piercing bullet!"

"All right!"

Richter, who had been waiting with a shell in advance, immediately removed the shell and inserted the next shell.

It was difficult for the Soviet army to even avoid the shells fired by the German army.

They have not yet fired a single shell. The 88mm shell fired by the Tiger tore through the side armor of the T-34, killing the enemy.

The Soviet army finally found the source of the shell after losing more than 10 tanks.

The T-34s, who were located at the back of the line and had survived so far, turned their turrets and opened fire.

-Kang!

"Huh?"

"are you okay. "It bounced."

One 76mm armor-piercing round hit Wittmann's Tiger, but bounced off with only minor scratches on the armor surface.

Wittmann pointed the scope with his index finger at Ball, who raised his head in surprise at the sound of the impact.

"Concentrate. "There are still many enemies?"

"Oh, I understand."

Several T-34s attacked using the remains of destroyed friendly tanks as shields.

However, the shells they fired either missed or ricocheted off the Tiger's front armor. When the attack did not work, the Soviet army fell into panic.

Their attacks don't work, but when the enemies fire, they always hit. Here, a hit meant defeat.

"Loaded!"

"He's the one hiding behind the rubble. Distance 1200!"

A T-34 was hiding behind a T-34 emitting black smoke.

The guy was hiding behind his already dying colleague, looking for an opportunity to escape.

However, perhaps due to the inexperience of the driver, the tank could not be completely hidden.

The rear of the hull was protruding at an angle behind the wreckage, but the enemy had not yet noticed this fact.

Wittmann smiled. He intended to teach them directly that on the battlefield, even a small mistake could lead to death.

"Shoot!"

As Ball pressed the trigger, a flash of light erupted from the main gun.

Flames erupted from the T-34's engine. When the tank was hit, the tank crews immediately abandoned the tank and ran away.

The tank soldier who opened the hatch and jumped out of the turret was engulfed in flames. The tank soldier, whose entire body was on fire, was rolling on the ground in agony.

His colleagues were busy running away, ignoring him.

In the field, 24 T-34s stopped, spewing out black smoke. The infantry had all fled before the tanks were all destroyed, and now there was not even a nose to be seen.

The area around the destroyed tank was full of corpses of tank crews. Soviet tank crews were killed instantly or burned to death when their tanks were hit.

Their faces were all distorted from the pain of death. The flames swallowed up the dead in silence.

***

"This is a report from the 3rd Air Force. The Soviet Air Force's attack targeting the Ploiesti oil field was successfully blocked through joint operations with the Romanian Air Force. 179 bombers shot down, 128 fighter planes shot down. Our forces shot down 11 planes and damaged 14 planes."

"This is a report from the LSSAH Division. Engaged with two Soviet infantry divisions and one tank brigade. "Our troops suffered only minor damage, and so far we have killed 500 enemy infantrymen and destroyed 90 tanks."

"There is a report from the 52nd Fighter Aviation Group (Jagdgeschwader 52, JG 52) that the fourth engagement has just ended-"

In the bustling headquarters, Manstein leisurely drank coffee.

On the table was a warm report that had just arrived along with a small container of sugar cubes.

"This coffee smells good. "Where is it from?"

"It's Ethiopia."

"hmm."

So far, the war was going as Manstein had planned. It was a godsend that they had withdrawn their troops to a preliminary defense line before the Soviet attack.

Thanks to this, we were able to minimize damage to our allies and at the same time force significant bleeding on the enemy.

The Soviet army suffered the humiliation of being attacked by artillery fire on its own territory just a few hours after the war began.

Units that managed to cross the border were stranded in minefields and artillery fire, or were attacked by the air force and suffered extensive damage.

Soviet troops who barely passed the first gate and advanced inland were met with salvos from tanks and anti-tank guns waiting for them.

The headquarters personnel, who cheered whenever news arrived that they had killed several infantrymen and shot down several enemy planes, quickly became numb to the pouring in of reports.

Now, even when reports arrived that a few tanks had been captured or that an enemy attack had been repelled, there was no exclamation.

"It seems like the seniors are working hard. ha ha ha."

Manstein, who was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Front over those who were older and had more experience than him, was truly satisfied with his current position, but at the same time, he worried about what his superiors would think of him.

Since it was an order from the President and not from anyone else, there was no opposition, but there would still be a certain amount of complaints and dissatisfaction inside.

Therefore, when speaking on the phone with his seniors, who were strictly speaking his subordinates, Manstein behaved politely as if he were dealing with his immediate superiors.

Although Manstein's subordinate marshals did not treat their former juniors who had become their superiors with any respect, they still treated Manstein with the courtesy of a superior.

-It is an honor for the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Front to call me, a lowly person.

"haha. What do you mean by that, Marshal Lev? Anyway, how is the situation?"

-You're fine. The rebels are trying their best, but they struggle no matter how hard they struggle. The Air Force is also cooperating well. Instead of… .

"Instead of?"

-I received a call from the Navy. It's difficult to transport refugees with the Navy's own personnel, so I ask the Army to provide some troops. First of all, one regiment was selected from the reserve forces and sent.

"I understand, Your Excellency. "And I just spoke with His Excellency the President, and he said he was impressed that our troops suffered much less damage than expected."

-Ah, I got it too. I have to go to a meeting now, so I'll just hang up. I'll call you later.

"Yeah. Good luck."

Manstein was extremely stern when speaking to his subordinates, but he was no charlatan when speaking on the phone with his superiors - the Führer, Brauchitsch, Reichenau, etc. - and his seniors.

The adjutant and the soldier on duty clicked their tongues at the huge difference.

I never thought I would see something like that from the proud Marshal of the German Wehrmacht and Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Front.

Is this the hidden side of history? ..

"Maybe because I worked so hard, I'm starting to feel hungry."

"ah… .. I will colonel you right now!"

"It's good that you are quick to notice. "What's on the menu today?"

"Biersuppe with meatballs, klöse and sauerkraut."

"Good. Bring it to me quickly. "The wine should be Chateau Haut-Brion."

***

"Whole annihilation, what kind of bullshit is that?!"

"What happened to the 1st Tank Regiment?"

"Two-thirds of the bombers were shot down, but they didn't even get close to their destination? "Are you kidding me?"

Unlike the German military headquarters, which had a relatively calm atmosphere, the Soviet military headquarters was in chaos.

Every time a report arrived announcing a mission failure, the color drained from the generals' faces. The officers who displayed the unit's movement on the status board also turned pale.

The current time is 8 am. Seven hours have passed since Operation Uranus began, and so far there have been only a handful of reports that the mission was successfully completed.

The mission completion reports that arrived at the headquarters were all about taking control of Manahan Hill and villages, which could not be called strategic locations.

Every time he heard reports coming from the front, Zhukov felt his blood run dry.

Since the opponent was the German army, I expected it wouldn't be easy. But I never thought it would be this hopeless.

Tymoshenko's face was just as hard as Zhukov's. He was already smoking half a pack of cigarettes and staring at a map that showed no signs of progress.

"aide."

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff."

"Have reports arrived from the 3rd Mechanized Corps and the 10th Corps?"

The 3rd Mechanized Corps and the 10th Corps were units commanded by Marshal Grigori Kulik. He was given the task of leading two corps across the East Prussian border.

Zhukov has so far received no report from Kulik.

"Not yet, comrade."

"Call me right away and ask when I plan to report."

"Yes, I understand."

The adjutant, noticing that Zhukov was very uncomfortable, quickly turned around.

Zhukov smoked a cigarette and drank vodka until the adjutant returned.

He avoided drinking as much as possible during operations, but in the current situation, he had no confidence in staying sober.

Drinking vodka reduced my anxiety a little, but it wasn't much different from before drinking vodka.

Shit. What should I do-

"Comrade Chief of Staff!"

Zhukov turned his head at the adjutant's voice. Tymoshenko was still looking at the status board.

"Did you get in touch? So, what did you say?"

"The 3rd Mechanized Corps has just broken through the German defense line."