171

Episode 171: Operation Barbarossa (7)

The attack on Pearl Harbor severely damaged America's pride.

In addition to the anger of having been ambushed by servants who secretly despised them as being uncivilized people who only ate raw fish, the navy became a half-baby after a single raid.

Is there any greater humiliation than this?

Although the American people's will to fight was sky-high, regardless of morale, the U.S. military continued to suffer defeats on all fronts.

The Japanese army, which had experienced combat in China for over four years, did not have an army that could compete in Asia, and as the names of cemeteries such as Guam, Wake, and Bataan increased, the morale of the U.S. military plummeted toward the bottom.

As defeat continued, the public's view of the military also showed signs of turmoil.

In this situation, in order to raise the morale of the military and the people, it was necessary to give Japan a real blow, and so the 'Doolittle Commando' was planned.

They load long-range Army Air Corps bombers on naval aircraft carriers, approach the sea near Japan, and then send the bombers to bomb the Japanese mainland.

16 B-25 Mitchell bombers led by Lieutenant Colonel James Harold Doolittle of the U.S. Army Air Corps took off from the aircraft carrier Hornet and successfully conducted an air raid on the Japanese mainland. Their actions were named the Doolittle Air Raid and marked a chapter in history. It has been done.

Although the damage suffered by Japan from the Doolittle Commandos' air raid was minimal, the mere fact that it succeeded in striking the Japanese mainland increased the morale of the U.S. military and the people, and the Japanese military leadership, which was confident that the Japanese mainland's air defense network was perfect, was greatly shocked. received.

The Japanese military, anxious that the mainland could be attacked at any time, prepared to attack Midway Island in order to completely destroy the aircraft carriers owned by the U.S. military and establish a stable Pacific defense line, which later led to the Battle of Midway.

It is safe to say that this Operation Zeppelin was a German version of the Doolittle Commando.

In fact, it was planned with inspiration from the Doolittle Commandos, and the overall structure of the operation itself is similar.

The difference is that the purpose of this operation was to inflict a psychological blow on the Soviet military leadership rather than to boost the morale of friendly troops and citizens, and that it was a sole operation of the Air Force without the assistance of the Navy.

With Göring, Weber, and Richthofen attending the meeting, I briefly explained to them the general information about the Doolittle Commando and the results of the U.S. military's results, and then explained the outline of Operation Zeppelin.

"Although the Soviet Union, which was hit hard by Operation Penguin, has strengthened its air defense network, it is likely that it is only concerned about cities such as Moscow and Stalingrad that are within range of air strikes. Therefore, it is expected that the air defense network for cities in the rear, far from the front line, will be inadequate.

It's about piercing the enemy's gap. The goal of Operation Zeppelin is to load bombs into the Me264 Siberian bomber, which has a range of 6,500 km, and then bomb industrial complexes in Siberia.

If this operation is successful, it could have an indescribable psychological impact on the Soviet Union. This could create anxiety in the Soviet people, who feel safe because they are in the rear, that their city could also be bombed, and further reduce their support and trust in the Kremlin.

The Kremlin will also have no choice but to strengthen its air defense network in Siberian industrial complexes to prevent additional air attacks by our forces and relieve civil anxiety, which will naturally result in the dispersion of the entire Soviet military power and administrative chaos."

Because all attendees agreed, Operation Zeppelin was adopted. However, there were many preparations that needed to be made in order to put Operation Zeppelin into action.

One of the most important factors was location selection, and opinions were sharply divided on this.

"Mr. President, what destination do you have in mind?"

"Wouldn't the psychological shock to the Soviet people double as the distance increases? "I think Omsk, Kuybyshev, or Novosibirsk would be suitable."

"Even though the distance is far, isn't it too far? It may be possible to get to those cities, but you won't have enough fuel to return."

Weber said.

"But wouldn't it be possible if we went through China? "We don't have enough fuel to bomb Siberia and return to Turkey, but I think it would be possible if we use China as an intermediate base."

If we bomb Siberian cities such as Omsk, Kuybyshev, and Novosibirsk and then turn our course straight to China, we can reach Uyghur.

China is friendly to Germany, so after receiving fuel from China, it flies in a straight line towards Turkey.

"But Mr. President, although China is friendly to Germany, it receives supplies from the United States through the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union may come out with a material blockade and demand China hand over its aircraft and crew."

Richthofen's rebuttal. The spy incident tarnished the image of the Soviet Union in the United States, but even to this day, the United States was using the Soviet Union to deliver materials to China on the grounds that Soviet help was essential to deliver materials to China.

When the Soviet Union came forward to stop supplying supplies, there was no response from China.

Although Japan's chances of victory were greatly reduced by the Battle of Midway, the situation was still favorable to Japan.

Japan's strategic advantage was completely broken in February 1943, after the Battle of Guadalcanal, and its advantage on the Chinese front lasted until early 1945.

In other words, the Soviet Union's cooperation was essential for China to survive until then.

In the end, the original plan to return using China as a transit point was scrapped.

If you make a mistake and valuable aircraft fall into the hands of the Soviet Union, trouble will arise.

Since transit through China was no longer possible, the destination had no choice but to be modified.

Possible cities were listed as candidates on the premise of immediate return without an intermediate stopover, and as a result of the meeting, the city ultimately selected was Magnitogorsk.

This city, whose name is unfamiliar, has developed rapidly since the 1930s thanks to the large amount of iron ore buried in the city, and has developed into one of the leading industrial cities in Siberia.

In fact, the Nazis planned to blow up the industrial complex in Magnitogorsk, but it ended up being just a plan because there were no aircraft capable of getting there.

Cities that are larger and more important than Magnitogorsk, such as Kazan, Ufa, Perm, Samara, Chelyabinsk, and Sverdlovsk, were also nominated, but due to concerns that larger cities may have less robust air defense networks. Magnitogorsk was chosen because it was of moderate size, moderate importance, and moderate distance. Now, everyone applaud.

For the residents of Magnitogorsk, it may be a lightning strike in a dry sky, but what can they do? We should criticize Stalin for starting the war.

***

July 15, 1942

Soviet Army General Headquarters, Smolensk, USSR

Before the German armored forces reached the defensive lines outside Minsk, the Soviet headquarters left Minsk and moved to Smolensk.

Now that Minsk had fallen, Smolensk could not be safe either, but for them, Smolensk was the limit.

If you go further back, you will reach Moscow, and if you go back here, you could be branded as a defeatist.

There were no second chances for those who were once labeled as defeatists. If he's lucky, he'll be demoted; if he's bad, he'll be executed.

In order to prevent the stormy advance of the German army, Tymoshenko and Zhukov devoted themselves to planning a strategy, even saving time for meals and sleeping.

The Secretary-General's local shooting order ultimately brought about a catastrophe with the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of elite troops (an added bonus is that equipment such as Altoran was also destroyed).

Nevertheless, the Secretary did not withdraw the order to shoot at the local area, perhaps because he felt something.

There is no retreat. Defend your position even if you have to die fighting. We don't know how many soldiers disappeared with just one word from Stalin.

To fill the empty positions of the destroyed units, additional soldiers conscripted from all over the Soviet Union completed training and were put on trains and sent to the front lines, but the speed of erasing the names of the destroyed units from the list was faster than the speed of recruiting them.

Even though more than a million new soldiers were conscripted from the rear, there was not enough gas to transport them to the front.

Even if all the oil obtained from oil fields across the Soviet Union and the United States were combined, it was less than half of the oil produced in the Baku oil field.

If only that damn oil had been enough, things would have been a little better... . Zhukov secretly sighed.

The only advantage of the general secretary's ban on retreat was that since they could not move, less fuel was consumed.

There is a minor disadvantage in that you can only stand by and watch as your bloody troops are surrounded in exchange for saving some fuel, but what can you do?

Unless you plan to confront the Secretary, you have no choice but to keep quiet.

"The Germans will definitely come to Kiev."

"I guess so."

Of course, the Secretary General will urge us to defend Kiev at all costs.

Of course, Zhukov was not unaware of the importance of Kiev.

It was also understandable that the Secretary General was shouting to defend Kiev even with blood in his neck.

But then what do you do? Realistically, there is no way to protect it.

Zhukov had consistently requested Stavka to retreat and reorganize the frontline troops to defend Kiev, but was repeatedly rejected.

At the last request, a warning letter was sent.

Retreating means giving up Soviet territory to the German fascists, and the enemy will advance to the extent that our troops retreat.

There can be no retreat. There is only death.

Zhukov planned to send his troops across the Dnieper River if the Secretary-General granted permission for a retreat, which was unlikely.

As you can see from the map, the Dnieper River is wider than most rivers in Europe, and at its widest point is 22km.

If the German army comes, they will naturally be forced into areas where the river is narrow, and if they build proper defense lines in those areas, they will be able to withstand significant blood loss from the German army.

However, to put the plan into action, the Secretary General's permission was required, and there was no way the Secretary General, who was foaming at the mouth even when he heard of Zhukov's claim to boldly give up the area west of the Dnieper River, would accept it.

Above all, to end the war anyway, Hitler would have to sit at the same table and negotiate with Germany, so there was no way Hitler could be satisfied with such mediocre conditions.

Haven't we already clearly seen what happened to Italy when it did the same thing?

To avoid Moscow becoming a sea of fire, the Baltic countries, Belarus, and Ukraine will have to be separated from each other.

In other words, even if they manage to protect it by replacing their troops, it will eventually fall to Germany. Yet you are so stubborn.

Does the Secretary still believe that we can win the war?

Do you think that the sight of the Red Army defeating the fascist army and advancing on Berlin could become a reality?

"… .So where do you think it would be best to deploy the 13th and 14th armies?"

The person who broke Zhukov's thoughts was Tymoshenko. Tymoshenko, whose wrinkles had doubled in a month, was staring at the map with bloodshot eyes. Black arrows slowly reaching east.

"I think it would be better to deploy the 13th Army to Chernobyl and the 14th Army to Vilazzerkva. "The fascists will definitely attack from the north and south."

"I understand. "Don't do that."

***

July 16, 1942

near Kraslava, USSR

That was something no one expected.

Everyone at the scene,

Even the parties.

Sergei Vashchenko, a private in the Red Army, was marching half-asleep, wearing his usual torn and dirty uniform.

The GAZ-AA, carrying more than twice the number of wounded soldiers, was moving slowly at a speed not much different from the walking speed of the soldiers.

"Fuck, I'm starving."

"When are you going to feed me?"

The soldiers, who had not eaten food or drank anything but muddy water for several days, stumbled as if they would be blown away by the slightest breeze.

Even just walking made me out of breath and my vision blurred. It's been a long time since I threw away all the cumbersome and heavy items, such as helmets and gas masks.

All he had was a gun, a magazine, and a military cap on his head, but his body was still very weak.

"What?"

Sergei, who was walking aimlessly, tripped over a stone and lost his balance.

Just as his nose was about to kiss the ground, a soldier marching next to Sergei grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

"Hey, be careful."

"Ah, thank you, comrade."

Sergei, who narrowly avoided breaking his nose, bowed his head in greeting.

The soldier was a private like Sergei, but judging by the fine wrinkles around his eyes and the stubble that covered his entire lower face, he looked at least twice as old as Sergei.

"You seem young, how old are you?"

"I'm twenty years old."

"okay? "You're exactly half my age."

The soldier, who was older than his rank, grinned.

When he laughed, his yellow teeth showed through his black beard.

"Comrade, you are old, but why are you still a private?"

"Well, until three months ago, we were farming on a collective farm. "A warrant was sent to him to enlist, so he went and asked if he had come by mistake, and he was enlisted right away."

The older private trembled as if he was still shaking.

"The first and second children are the same age as my comrades. The first is repairing truck engines in Kharkov, and the second is a welder in Zaporizhia. "The third child is still in his mother's womb."

"okay."

"What about comrades? "What are you doing here, comrade?"

"I was a student. "I was studying to become a teacher and then enlisted."

"Right. I guess your head was spinning a little? "Not everyone can be a teacher."

"Hey, get out of the way. "It's a friendly tank."

A political officer wearing tattered military uniform like a soldier beckoned. A T-34 was approaching from the rear, about 100 meters away from the line.

At the words of the political officer, the soldiers all moved to the left and right.

The moment Sergei got out of the way, something unbelievable happened.

A white flash flashed from the T-34's muzzle, hitting the GAZ-AA carrying the wounded soldiers.

The pieces of wounded soldiers on the truck were scattered everywhere.

"what?!"

"What is this-"

Before the soldiers were taken aback by the unimaginable situation, bullets spewed out from the T-34's axial machine gun and front machine gun.

The soldiers, who were dumbfounded and had no idea what was going on, fell down one after another. Screaming and yelling followed.

"That guy is not our friend! "It's German!"

Sergei, lying face down on the ground, belatedly noticed the Iron Cross drawn on the T-34's body and shouted.

The identity of the T-34, which suddenly fired shells and showered bullets, was German soldiers.

The German army had captured and used what had been abandoned by the Soviet army. To identify enemies, the red star was erased and the Iron Cross was painted with white paint on the turret and hull, but because it was dark, no soldier noticed in time.

"Run away!"

"Aaaaa!!"

Even though he wasn't alone, he had colleagues as well.

The Soviet army fell into panic as two T-34s attacked the rear of the line.

Already, more than a dozen soldiers had been laid waste to the barrage of machine guns fired by the T-34. The ground greedily sucked up the blood that poured from the holes in the bodies of the fallen soldiers.

"friend? friend!"

Sergei approached the soldier who saved him from falling. The old soldier was gasping for air, clutching his throat with dirty hands.

"My, my… ..!"

"Comrade, you can't talk! "Stay still!"

Sergei placed his hand to stop the bleeding from the wound on the old soldier's neck.

But the wound on his neck was so big that a lot of blood had already flowed out. Even if he had surgery right away, it seemed difficult to save his life.

The old soldier looked at Sergei and tried to say something, but what came out of his mouth were not words but drops of blood.

That is how the old soldier died. He left behind a pregnant wife and two sons who were waiting for him.

Sergei quietly looked into the eyes of the dead veteran, then raised his head and stared at the enemy.

German T-34s were chasing the fleeing soldiers and firing their main guns and machine guns.

Sergei grabbed two RPG-40 anti-tank grenades from the pockets of a fallen veteran. And he ran toward the T-34 while holding it.

He did not know that it was a dangerous act that could cost him his life if he was not careful.

But at this moment, he was moving with his heart, not his head.

One guy per grenade. There are two grenades underwater, so just explode one at a time.

The two guys were neglecting the rear guard as they were hunting the infantry in front.

After reaching a point 30 meters away from the T-34's engine room, Sergei stopped and pulled out the pin of a grenade. And he threw it at the enemy.

"Fuck this, you fascist!"

He threw the grenade and fell face down on the ground. The grenade he threw landed on top of the T-34's engine, exactly between the turret ring and the engine room.

An explosion that was several times louder than the sound of a tank gun struck my ears. When I looked up, there was a T-34 in flames spewing out black smoke.

As the T-34, noticing the death of his comrade, began to turn its turret, Sergei reflexively got up and threw a second grenade.

The result was a hit this time too. When a fire broke out in the engine room, the tank crews opened the hatch and came out.

But soon they were hit by bullets raining down from all directions, turning into a hive and rolling around on the floor.

"Comrade, that's amazing! "To destroy two tanks single-handedly."

A captain approached Sergey, who was looking at the smoke rising from the T-34 he had destroyed, and spoke to him.

"What is your friend's name?"

"This is Private Sergei Vashchenko."

"Sergey Vashchenko. Okay, I'll remember that!"