251

Episode 251: Tug of war (4)

July 8, 1943

New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany

Shocking news.

Roosevelt is dead.

It was a death about 1 year and 9 months earlier than in history.

Even in real history, Roosevelt was not in good health, but here he faced national criticism, domestic chaos, and was on the verge of impeachment, which must have taken a toll on him both physically and mentally.

Therefore, the fact that he died earlier than in history was not incomprehensible or something like that.

Rather, it could be said that Roosevelt personally was fortunate to be dead now.

If he had lived and not died now, he would have remained the first president in American history to be impeached.

The day Roosevelt's death was announced, Goebbels called me.

"Congratulations, Mr. President. Satan is dead."

Because Roosevelt died during his term, the presidency went to Henry A. Wallace, the current Vice President of the United States.

As soon as Wallace took office as president, he began to evolve domestic internal problems.

Wallace, who was interested in black civil rights, issued a statement on the day of his ascension to the presidency, calling for reprimand and punishment for those responsible for the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, compensation for the victims, and full support for those who died or were injured during the protests. I promised.

"This country is now in a desperate crisis. The Japanese army still dominates the South Pacific and vast China and is crying out for war, and in Europe, our ally Britain is being invaded by Germany.

Even now, we must break all the chains of strife and hatred and unite again. If we fight among ourselves against an external enemy, what happened in Guernica, Nanjing, and Warsaw might happen in Chicago or New York. "I hope that the people will trust the government."

Meanwhile, my associates, including Goering, Goebbels, and Himmler, had no doubt that the United States would soon request negotiations now that Roosevelt was dead.

He blamed all the mistakes on his predecessor, Roosevelt, and asked if the United States would miss the golden opportunity to get out of the war without any burden.

However, that prediction was spectacularly wrong.

Wallace, who replaced Roosevelt as president, was extremely friendly to the Soviet Union, to the point that even Roosevelt, who was pro-Soviet, was concerned that he was too pro-Soviet.

He, who fiercely criticized the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, calling it a betrayal of its ally the Soviet Union, could not possibly have been friendly to Germany, which had fought the Soviet Union.

The peace proposal delivered to the United States via a third country was flatly rejected by Wallace.

I proposed to Wallace that we cancel the mutual declaration of war and hold a summit, but he refused, saying he would not respond to any proposal until the German army was completely withdrawn from Britain.

"Huh, crazy guys. "They still believe they can win the war."

"I thought the new president would be smarter than Roosevelt."

"That was the guy. "I guess the head is just for decoration to these guys."

Everyone, from Goering to Hess, all criticized Wallace for being an idiot who couldn't understand the atmosphere, but in reality, the confusion within the United States was slowly decreasing.

Since the president had promised to fulfill their demands, there was no longer any cause for protest, and the fact that the United States was still at war also played an important role.

We can't fight against external enemies forever.

However, anti-war activists who still opposed the war against Germany held protests, and BLR declared that it would continue its struggle, saying it could not believe the government's announcement.

Southern hard-core racists like the KKK were also eager to hunt black people, regardless of what the government said.

It seemed like it would take quite some time for the internal turmoil in the United States to completely end, but it was not good news for Germany that the chaos was coming to an end earlier than expected.

Negotiations were also over, so the urgent priority was to complete the occupation of Britain quickly before additional U.S. reinforcements crossed the Atlantic.

"A report has just arrived from Rommel that the occupation of Oxford has been completed. "

"It's a bit late, but anyway, it's good. Himmler, have the assassins you mentioned arrived in England?"

"yes. As you know because His Excellency the President has seen them in person, their acting skills are so perfect that anyone would believe them even if they were real kings and queens. Do not worry."

"Everyone, please keep this in mind. In war, time is everything. As our troops' advance is delayed, the number of American supplies and soldiers arriving in England will double. If we delay any longer here, we will not be able to guarantee victory or defeat in the war. Do you understand?"

"I'll keep that in mind."

If we can occupy the island of Britain and fortify the coastal area to block the US military's landing attempt, and if we can hold out until next year, America will eventually have no choice but to throw the game away.

However, if the friendly forces are not able to advance and are hesitant, the people in Washington will think that it is still worth a try and will not give up on the war.

No matter how favorable the current situation is for our forces, if the United States, with its fraudulent supplies, attacks in earnest, Germany will have no choice but to be pushed back.

"Mr. President. "This is good news."

"What is this time?"

"Ireland has just declared war on England."

at las!

"good. "Those friends only said they would participate in the war, but they were quiet so far, so I was worried that they might have been bullied, but now I feel relieved."

Now that Ireland has entered the war, public opinion against the war against Germany in the United States will become even stronger.

Although many Irish-Americans were opposed to helping Britain in the war, there was also a significant proportion of Americans who were in favor of joining the war or showed little interest, regardless of their Irish origins.

However, since Ireland declared war on Britain, the United States naturally has to fight Ireland as well.

How much of the Irish community can just ignore this?

I think it's less than 10%.

***

July 11, 1943

glasgow england

Ireland's participation in the war arrived even before the shock of Roosevelt's death had subsided.

Ireland's military power was at a mediocre level, but the power of the four letters 'Ireland' was enormous.

Irish Americans, who prided themselves on having left their souls in Ireland even though their bodies were in the United States, were appalled at the fact that they had to fight against their former homeland as well, and shouted with one voice against the war against Germany.

Apart from the fact that Ireland's participation in the war was bad news for Britain, there were no British people who were shocked or appalled by Ireland's participation in the war.

Any thinking person predicted this.

Ireland, which has the worst relationship with Britain, will side with Germany and attack Britain. However, I just didn't know when that time would be.

Even the British people were shocked to hear that the king and queen, whom they had not heard about, were in fact alive.

The king and queen who appeared in the German wartime film news were being treated by German military doctors.

Although his entire body was wrapped in bandages like a mummy, the face shown in the video was clearly that of King George VI.

-King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of England are being treated by the best doctors in Germany by the grace of the merciful Fuhrer, even though they are war criminals who supported the war!

-We, Germany, try to save human life first, no matter how much of an enemy we are.

-So, British people, how about stopping the meaningless war and opening up a dialogue now?

The entire British people were shocked by the unprecedented situation in which the King and Queen were taken prisoner by an enemy country.

"The people are agitated."

"There are claims that we need to have dialogue with Germany, even if it doesn't involve surrender."

There is no way Germany would execute the king and queen. If that were the case, we would have to wage war with all British people until we die.

But people were anxious even though there was no threat from Germany. If the war continues, won't there be a problem with the safety of His Majesty the King and the Queen?

Wouldn't it be better to negotiate with Germany before that happens?

"It is possible that His Majesty the King and the Queen in the propaganda film are fake... … ?"

"The Nazis may have cheated. but… … "

"… … Just by looking at their faces, you can tell that they are His Majesty the King and the Queen. "Hasn't the Prime Minister seen it?"

"I saw it too."

Churchill was confused. He wanted to believe that damned Hitler and his henchmen were faking it, that the king and queen in the video were doubles.

However, there was a possibility that the two people in the propaganda film were real. That was the biggest problem.

The faces are too similar to be considered fake. Churchill was so embarrassed while watching the newsreel that he even forgot to breathe.

If I could hear your voice, I would know for sure. However, according to Germany's explanation, both are unconscious and unable to speak.

In the end, there was no other way to confirm whether the king and queen in the movie were real or fake other than meeting them in person. But could that be possible?

I'm trying to find out if it's real or fake. Will Germany agree to my request to meet those two? Wow.

It's crazy, really.

***

-Quaaang!!

"It's shelling! "Get down!"

"Bow!"

When the bombardment suddenly began, the soldiers quickly put their helmets on their heads and lowered their heads.

There was a lot of buzz throughout England about the king and queen who had become prisoners of Germany, but for the soldiers on the front lines, the more urgent question was whether the king and his wife could survive today without dying rather than whether they were fake or real.

The bombardment of the French artillery battalion ended sooner than expected. After the bombardment of 105mm field guns ended, the French army deployed infantry and tanks.

The opposing British army was the same size as the French army, with one battalion, but it had no tanks, so it was judged that it had a good chance of winning.

The British soldiers gritted their teeth and stared at the charging French army, shouting Viva France.

Damn traitorous bastards! The soldiers of the British Empire sacrificed their lives to fight for those guys three years ago!

"Hey, Hopkins! "What are you still doing squatting?"

"Please wait a moment. It's because dirt got into the gun. damn."

"Hurry. Because the French are coming... … come!"

The first thing that greeted the French army were the mines that had survived the bombardment.

The mines buried in the ground exploded, shattering the tank's tracks and running gear, scattering fragments in all directions and injuring French soldiers.

2-pounder and 6-pounder bullets flew into the tanks charging across the minefield.

Even if the 2-pounder somehow bounced off, the 6-pounder went through without fail.

"Don't back down! "Keep charging!"

"For France! Viva France!"

A total of 12 tanks were mobilized for the attack. Four of them were destroyed, but the French army did not retreat and continued its attack.

"Damn it. "Let's fight with that spirit three years ago!"

Graham was somewhat dumbfounded.

The French soldiers he saw in France three years ago were a ragtag group of people who most likely threw away their weapons and ran away or surrendered to the Germans.

However, the French army charging in front of me was so serious about the battle that I could not think of it as the French army from three years ago.

When fighting Germany, they ran away in a hurry, but when fighting their former allies, it was the exact opposite. Graham was furious.

Of course, not all French troops surrendered or fled helplessly to the Germans, and there were many units that fought as valiantly as the British, but Graham was not in a position to take all of that into account.

"Start shooting!"

As the enemy infantry came within range of rifles and machine guns, their small arms opened fire.

Graham caught his breath and pulled the trigger of his Lee-Enfield rifle. Hopkins also finished repairing his firearm, stood up and pulled the trigger.

The submachine gun in Hopkins' hand was made by British engineers by modifying the MP3008 captured by the British military in India.

Although its performance was extremely poor, it was mass-produced under the orders of Churchill, who highly valued its ability to be mass-produced cheaply and quickly.

The name of the submachine gun is Sten. It was an irony of history considering that Germany, who captured the Sten submachine gun, created the MP3008 by referencing the Sten.

-Quaang!

The 2-Pounder, whose position was exposed, was blown away along with the anti-tank artillerymen in a barrage of grenades, and the Home Guard member who was replacing the magazine of the Lewis machine gun became a beehive and fell into his personal cell.

"Fuck you! Those fucking frogs have tanks, so why don't we?"

Hopkins exclaimed as if he was aggrieved. His gunshot was so loud that it was barely audible to my ears.

"How do I know that?"

I shot each shot carefully, but soon I ran out of bullets and had to reload, and then ran out of bullets again and reloaded, and before I knew it, I had used up half of the ammo.

At this point, the enemy might have become exhausted and retreated, but the French army continued to attack. I looked at the clock and saw that less than 10 minutes had passed since the battle started.

Graham thought his watch was broken.

"Kwaaaa-!"

A lieutenant whose left leg was blown off by a grenade thrown by an enemy infantry was crushed by the orbit of the Somua S40.

It seemed impossible to hold on any longer. If the retreat order was not given right away, the company would inevitably be annihilated.

"Huh?"

As I anxiously waited for the order to retreat and pulled the trigger, unexpected reinforcements appeared.

A hole was made in the armor of the advancing Somua S40, and sparks poured out from the muzzle.

"It's a friendly tank!"

The soldiers cheered at the unexpected appearance of reinforcements. Flames spewed out from the muzzle of the M4 Sherman, which appeared as it felled a row of trees, and the Somua S40 became a ball of fire and came to a halt.

Opening the hatch at the rear of the turret, a tank commander in a torn military uniform crawled out and then tumbled out of the tank.

The Somua S40 was also equipped with a 75mm main gun like the Sherman, but the penetration power of the Sherman's 75mm M3 tank gun was higher than that of the French-made 75mm main gun, and the Sherman's armor was thicker than the Somua S40.

As a result, the Sherman was able to block Somua S40's attack, but the Somua S40s could not avoid being roasted as a pig if Sherman's attack hit a target.

"You guys, they're coming so quickly."

"Be thankful that you came now."

Thanks to the actions of the Sherman Company, the French attack was repulsed. In addition, the RAF, which had not been seen before, appeared and attacked the retreating French troops.

Thunderbolts donated by the United States flew at low altitudes, firing 12.7mm bullets and dropping bombs.

The French army, who had been attacking with great vigor, ran away until their wits fell.

"The way he runs away is the same as it was three years ago."

These were Graham's words as he watched the retreating French army.

The French army, whose retreat was blocked because the Thunderbolt squadron cut off the bridge, laid down their weapons and surrendered when Sherman, who had been pursuing them, appeared.

The British soldiers glared at the French soldiers, who had once been their allies but were now their enemies, with even more hatred than they did towards the Germans.

"You fucking frogs. "You like Hitler X so much, huh?"

"You bastards!"

"Kill them all!"

There could be no mercy for traitors.

Gunshots rang out several times before the prisoners could beg for mercy.

British soldiers smashed the butts of prisoners who did not die immediately, crushing their skulls.

Graham was not involved in the massacre, but he did not stop the soldiers from massacring the prisoners.

In any case, there was no way the other soldiers would respond if he tried to stop them, and they had no intention of doing so.

There was not the slightest thought of showing mercy to the traitors who had betrayed their old allies and invaded their country by siding with their enemy, Germany.

Mercy must be shown only to those who want it. If they had been German soldiers rather than French soldiers, their lives might have been spared.

As soon as the massacre was over, an order came from the command center in the rear. It was an order to withdraw.

The soldiers packed up their bags and left without even burying the French soldiers they had massacred.

As the war reached its peak, the chain of hatred towards each other was sinking deeper into the abyss.