264

Episode 264: The Road to Destruction (6)

"It's urgent! "They say the headquarters of the British 8th Army has just been attacked by German troops!"

"Command headquarters?"

Patton asked back in surprise. The headquarters was attacked and not anywhere else. It was never thought to be something that could happen in modern warfare.

"What about Montgomery? Dead or alive?"

"I quickly went to the rear with my staff before the headquarters was attacked… … They say they retreated. After that, we lost contact."

It was none of his business whether Montgomery, who was the food of choice, died or not, but at least Patton knew that it would not be good for the allies if he died now.

If the German army invaded the headquarters, the British army would already be on the verge of collapse or had already collapsed.

Now that the British army on the flanks has collapsed, it will only be a matter of time before the German army surrounds our army.

Patton gritted his teeth.

"Retreat. "Right now, to the entire army-"

"The 3rd Armored Division has collapsed!"

As soon as Patton opened his mouth, an urgent report came that a hole had been opened in the room.

"The 2nd Infantry Division near the 3rd Armored Division has also been breached!"

"Your Excellency, just now-"

"… .."

Then, like dominoes, reports poured in that something had been breached and that support was being requested. Patton slammed his hand into a fist on the table.

Damn it. I never thought Jerry would be this fast.

Our divisions at the front were too late. Even if we order them to retreat now, it won't change the outcome. Even the units that could be saved had to be saved.

"Everyone pack your bags. This place will be breached soon. To the front divisions... … "Tell them to stick to their position until the end."

"If we do that, we will be surrounded by Jerrys."

Patton closed his eyes tightly at the chief of staff's words.

"I know. But it's too late to save them all. "If we give them an order to retreat, an even greater disaster will occur."

"… … All right."

Patton felt sick. He had no idea that he would be willing to be the bait for the sons of the United States and give them orders to hold them back.

But if we didn't do that, more soldiers would lose their lives.

A cow must be sacrificed for the greater good.

That's why Patton gave the order while coughing up blood. The chief of staff seemed to have guessed Patton's feelings and did not ask any more questions.

***

August 9, 1943

Buckhill, England

"There is no such thing as hell."

At the catcher's words, Pool nodded with a wry smile.

"If there is hell, this would be hell."

The battlefield was a mess. The front line had already collapsed, and each unit was scattered and fighting for its life against the Jerrys in a battlefield that had become a mess.

Sherman of Poole managed to hide behind a farmhouse. Sherman, who was running desperately to find a place to hide, was hit in the side by a shell and burst into flames.

Soon, a huge explosion occurred, several times larger than the tank itself, sending the turret flying into the air. The ammunition exploded.

The Panther that defeated Sherman slowly approached.

The turret was turned diagonally rather than forward, as if to be careful to see if there was an ambush nearby.

Pool did not miss the guy and ordered the gunner to take aim.

"Are you finished loading?"

"It's done!"

"Fire!"

-Cow!

The 76mm main gun spewed fire and hit the Panther with an armor-piercing round. However, after checking the results, Pool briefly cursed.

The armor-piercing bullet clearly hit the Panther's side, but failed to penetrate the armor due to the angle.

However, the Panther tank commander must have been startled by the fact that he was hit by a shell, so he hurriedly set off a smoke bomb and retreated.

"Do you want one more shot?"

"it's okay. "Even if you shoot it when you can't see it, it's a waste of shells."

The grass decided to target another guy. There were still more than twenty grenades left, but there were only four armor-piercing shells left.

Therefore, each step had to be taken carefully. Even though infantrymen could be dealt with with machine guns, it was difficult to deal with tanks with grenades.

Pool checked to see if there were any surviving steps in the company, just in case. But no matter how much I called, no voice answered his call.

The only voices that were occasionally heard were the screams of those who had been hit and were escaping, desperately seeking help, or those whose bodies were on fire or whose legs were cut off by shells.

"Shit."

Poole intuitively realized that escaping from here and joining the main force was just a delusion.

With German troops everywhere, his best options were to surrender when he ran out of ammunition, or to surrender now.

Still, the German military complies with the Geneva Conventions, so they will not capture, torture or execute him and his subordinates who were captured.

But Pool didn't want to do that. Of course, he didn't think about the Oksae (玉碎), but he had no intention of becoming a prisoner of the enemy, at least with his ammunition left.

I planned to fight as hard as I could without embarrassing the American flag, and then surrender when it became impossible to fight any longer.

"Enemy tanks ahead! "It's him from earlier!"

The Panther, which had retreated after being hit by a 76mm shell a little while ago, approached with its main gun pointed straight ahead.

Poole planned to fire a cannonball at the Panther's side at the moment it passed in front of him.

"… … What is this guy? "Why aren't you coming?"

However, when the Panther stopped moving and stood still for a while, Poole felt puzzled.

Could it be that they are afraid of the enemy ambushing them and cannot move quickly? At this time, the Panther's turret slowly rotated and the main gun pointed downward.

"hey! "Right now I-"

Just as Pul, who felt ominous, was about to shout to the driver to advance, a flash of light emitted from the Panther's main gun.

***

"Sergeant. Are you out of your mind?"

"… … ???"

When Grass opened his eyes, what caught his eye was a soldier with a face he had never seen staring down at him. Looking at the red cross mark on the helmet on his head, it was clear that he was a medic.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I felt a hot sensation in my legs. I didn't feel any pain thanks to the morphine injected to relieve the pain. But for some reason, I felt like one of my legs was weak.

When Pool raised his head and looked at his legs, he could see that his legs were noticeably shorter than he remembered.

"You'd better take it easy. Well, I'll come back later."

Before Pool could open his mouth, the medic left to tend to another patient. Pool looked around.

To his left and right, wounded soldiers in the same situation were lying like corpses, with bloody bandages wrapped somewhere on their bodies.

A soldier wearing a Red Cross armband walked around and checked the condition of wounded American soldiers lying in hospital beds. Poole's eyes fell on the two lightning bolt marks on the medic's lapel.

Pool, who raised his head and made eye contact with the SS corporal, stared at him blankly, unable to say anything due to the sudden situation.

The German medic looked at the other wounded soldiers to see if they were used to such gazes.

Pool, who had finally figured out the situation, sighed and laid his head on the pillow.

His war was now over.

***

August 13, 1943

glasgow england

When news arrived that the British 8th Army had disintegrated in the air and the American forces had suffered a crushing blow and retreated, the British had now completely lost hope.

To make matters worse, Buckhill's Allied forces were the last elite forces remaining in England.

Compared to the beginning of the war, they cannot be called elite, but they were still like that in England in 1943.

Two days later, the defenses at Buckhill collapsed and Edinburgh was taken.

At the recommendation of Army Group A commander Wilhelm List, Edinburgh was declared an undefended city six hours before the German army entered.

The German army took over the city without shedding a single drop of blood, and the citizens of Edinburgh began to live with the new occupying force.

On the same day, three German divisions landed in Aberdeen.

The German army that landed in Aberdeen began to advance south, defeating the British army consisting of the Home Guard.

And the Germans were now targeting Glasgow.

The German army, which had advanced to Glasgow in the blink of an eye, leisurely poured artillery fire on Glasgow.

Every time the German artillery fired fire, the soldiers and citizens on the streets of Glasgow fell to their knees. Then, trembling, I prayed to God.

Oh God. Please look down on this lamb.

Churchill rejected Attlee's earnest request to go to Canada. Attlee asked, his complexion as pale as a corpse.

"Why? "Prime Minister, even if you stay here, the only thing that will return to you is death."

"Still, the honor remains."

Churchill said with a bitter smile.

honor. Although he lacked the slightest sense of responsibility, at least he was afraid that his name and that of the Churchill family would remain forever in history and be painted with insults.

He declared that he would remain in London and die with London, and he is a laughingstock enough just to be alive, so he goes all the way to Canada?

Churchill's two letters will remain in people's memories as a source of teasing for a lifetime.

Therefore, Churchill refused to leave Glasgow despite the dissuasion and pleas of his ministers. He insisted on remaining in the city.

Knowing Churchill's firm resolve, Attlee and Eden shook hands with him for the last time with solemn faces.

"We are going. "I hope you are okay."

"Please be careful when you go to Canada. "Don't forget to send a postcard when you arrive."

Brooke, who was exhausted from always taking Churchill's lead and rejecting his absurd orders with euphemisms, still met with Churchill one last time and once again recommended him to go to Canada.

"Mr Prime Minister. "Your Excellency, if you die here, it will be of no benefit to the British Empire."

"Do you think I don't know that? This is purely for the honor of my family. "Should the Churchill family's honor fall further from here?"

I guess you know. Brooke sighed inwardly. I wish he had realized this a little sooner.

If that were the case, Britain's fate could certainly have changed.

Although it was inevitable that all of Europe would fall into Germany's territory and the declining empire would eventually fall under Germany's sphere of influence, the process would not have been as bloody and disastrous as it is now.

Perhaps, it could have served as a bridgehead for Europe's only liberal democracy with support from the United States without exposing Britain's shame.

'… … Well, that's it.'

Brooke stood up and saluted Churchill. Then he turned and left the room.

Since the British government had decided to abandon Britain, further battles were meaningless, but Churchill still ordered the entire army to do its best to engage the enemy.

We had to stop the German army's advance north as much as possible so that at least one more friendly soldier and citizen could leave for Canada.

Churchill savored his cigar while listening to the sound of German heavy grenade shells landing on the ceiling. He then fiddled with the Webley revolver he had prepared for his final moments.

A silver-plated Webley revolver holds six bullets. Churchill only needed one bullet, but he had six bullets ready.

"You can reload later."

Churchill smiled faintly and sucked on his cigar again.

***

It was safe to say that Britain was now ruined.

With the remaining elite troops destroyed and even Patton's U.S. army defeated, there was no longer any hope for Britain.

As if they knew it, key members of the British government fled to Canada. At the front, a line of British soldiers surrendered.

"Over Aberdeen landing. Currently moving south. "Resistance from the British army is minimal."

"Within this month, Britain will be completely subjugated to our forces."

The faces of the generals, confident of victory, were overflowing with composure every day. Just looking at the citizens of Berlin, the atmosphere was as peaceful and relaxed as before the war.

Still, just in case, the light control system is being maintained, but some voices are saying that it might be possible to lift it soon.

The British Air Force was wiped out, so is there any need to maintain light control?

"It's an exhibition, so it's important not to let go of your nerves, but shouldn't you show confidence sometimes? "If we maintain blackout control until the end of the war, the British may later spread the word that they were afraid of the British Air Force."

Gallant, a leading proponent of lifting the blackout system, said. If the man in charge of Germany's air defense says something like this, you can trust it.

Both Göring and Richthofen said that the Royal Air Force no longer exists at this point... … .

Who would have imagined that in real history, the British Air Force, which prevented the Nazis from winning World War II and made a huge contribution to the Allied victory, would actually walk the same path that the German Air Force took.

"Mr. President. I'll report it to you. "In Portugal, our agent succeeded in contacting the Duke of Windsor's informant."

"oh! "I was waiting to see when it would arrive, but it went well."

Even if Britain is conquered, in order to rule it, it must be ruled indirectly through British people who are friendly to Germany.

Because England is not the Czech Republic or Poland.

Therefore, I nominated Mosley and other key BUF executives as ministers of the new British government, but chose the former King Edward VIII of the Bahamas and the current Duke of Windsor as the person who would take on the most important role as the British king.

The problem was that the Bahamas were far away, so it was urgent to contact him and find out Germany's plans, but Schellenberg explained that we succeeded in passing on our proposal by contacting Edward VIII's informant in SD.

Since he was famous for his pro-German tendencies, he would definitely respond to the offer to be restored as King of England.

Although he is pro-German, he was once the King of England and his image among the people is not that bad, so if he were to be made King of England again, it would be much easier to rule England.

And one more thing, Churchill is said to still be in Glasgow.

Attlee, Eden, Dowding, Brooke, other cabinet ministers and generals left for Canada, but Churchill remained in Glasgow.

Since he had previously said he would stay in London but then fled to Glasgow, I ignored it this time as I thought it might be British propaganda, but based on the information I gathered, it seemed to be real this time.

"Mr. President. "Why not carry out the operation this time?"

Hess gave me this mantra at dinner: I said, realizing what operation Hess was talking about.

"If it's that operation… … But is there any possibility? "I'm worried that we might be wasting precious power in vain, even though the war is almost over."

"Mr. President. So you have to do it right now. "If we mess around and lose Churchill once again, it will be a huge loss for Germany, and if Churchill is still alive, he will continue to plan war."

"That's right, Mr. President. "Isn't the reason why the Friedental Unit was created in the first place to mobilize it for operations like this?"

"The morale of SS Lieutenant Colonel Skorzeny and the members of the Friedental Task Force is high. "If we put them in an operation right now, they will do just fine."

Brauchitsch, Göring, and Keitel each added a word of help.

"… … "Is it really possible?"

"of course. Doesn't SS Lieutenant Colonel Skorzeny already have a history of capturing the Balkan villain Tito? "I'm sure he will do it."

If you say it that way, then what?

"Good. "Then let's give it a try."