283

Episode 283: Blue Operation (7)

December 17, 1943

New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany

Kuybyshev, the new capital of the Soviet Union, fell. On the same day, the German flag was hoisted in Kazan.

As expected, Stalin was not in Kuybyshev.

The day after the fall of Kuybyshev, Stalin pledged that he was on the Ufa and would fight to the end, undeterred by the attacks of the German invaders.

"The fascists are demanding that we surrender, that we submit to them forever. It is the demand of Hitler's followers that we withdraw completely from Europe and hand over our territories free of charge.

Is the army of fascist Germany really invincible, as the pretentious fascist demagogues constantly blabber about?

Of course not! History tells us that there is no invincible army, and that there never was. If we accept the demands of the invaders and raise the white flag, there will be no future for this country.

But if we fight back, the Soviet Union will never disappear.

People! Please let us unite as one. And let us all work together to crush the fascist army! Our cause is right and one day we will drive out the fascists and reclaim our land. Let us all move forward until the day of victory! In the name of workers, farmers and the people!"

"There's a lot of unnecessary talk on the topic of a guy who's losing the war. "What kind of confidence do you have?"

Goering's comment after hearing Stalin's speech.

"Still, as someone who was famous as a poet in his past, his speech is still worth listening to."

"Even so, isn't he just a dictator who is going bankrupt?"

Hey, I'm a dictator too, right? Anyway, this confirmed that Stalin was on the right. That statement about being on the right may not be true, but at least I think the possibility of that happening is low.

Even though he fled from Moscow and Kuybyshev, there is no need to hide his current location as the support of the Soviet people will be there no matter where he is.

But I don't know why I went to Ufa, which wasn't that far away, when I could have gone farther to escape.

Is it because he's convinced we won't make it this far? Or if you run further than this, Gao will fall?

In any case, now that Stalin's location was known, all that remained was a decision.

"Let's drop a nuke on his head right now!"

Hardliners such as Göring, Himmler, and Goebbels argued for dropping nuclear weapons on the right right away, while Keitel, Brauchitsch, Raeder, and Reichenau countered that decisions should be made carefully.

"It is over 400 kilometers from Kuybyshev to Ufa."

"It doesn't matter because that distance is within the range of our bombers."

"The problem is the ground forces. "Think about how long it would take our troops to reach Ufa after dropping a nuclear weapon and turning it into powder."

"Even if a nuclear weapon was dropped and the city was reduced to ashes, there is no guarantee that Stalin would have died. We must also keep in mind the possibility that Stalin, who survives, will be driven elsewhere while our forces approach the city."

To prepare for the possibility of Stalin's escape, Reichenau argued that nuclear weapons should be dropped at least 100 km from Ufa, and then the city should be surrounded so that even if Stalin survived, he could not escape.

"okay. Even if you drop a nuclear weapon, there is no guarantee that he will burn to death from the heat of the nuclear weapon."

As Reichenau said, nuclear weapons were dropped and the city was destroyed, but what if Stalin escaped alive?

Of course, if you go outside while radioactivity remains, you will be exposed to radiation and die sooner or later.

There was no need to be impatient as long as the nuclear card was in hand. If you rush too much, you may end up doing something wrong, so you need to be more careful in times like these.

Isn't there a saying that the more urgent you are, the better you should go back?

"Minister Ribbentrop. "Have you received a reply from the communists?"

"That is… … ."

Ribbentrop, who had been hesitant, sighed deeply.

"No reply."

"I guess so. "The content is the content."

It appears that the 'strengthening proposal' sent to the Soviet Union was not read as expected.

In actual history, when Germany invaded, Stalin tried to conclude peace with Germany through the mediation of Bulgaria.

On the condition of ceding the Baltic States, Belarus, and Ukraine.

Therefore, it was thought that Stalin, knowing that he was at a disadvantage, might respond to peace, but Stalin refused peace and declared that he would fight.

I appreciate that one piece of courage. But you will realize it soon enough. The fact that accepting the reinforcement at that time was a better choice.

***

The Soviet Union, the great people's country, was in an unprecedented crisis.

Anti-Soviet guerrillas were rampant in Siberia and Central Asia, Germany launched an invasion and occupied Kuybyshev, and the Red Army suffered repeated defeats.

The Soviet Air Force was powerless against the German Air Force. When Soviet fighters did sortie, they were often shot down by German planes.

The performance of Soviet fighters was clearly inferior to that of German fighters, and to make matters worse, the skills of the pilots were far superior to those of the Germans.

The Soviet Army no longer expected help from the Air Force.

Whenever an airplane appeared in the sky, no matter what it was, Soviet soldiers were busy hiding, and anti-aircraft guns fired recklessly.

As a result, it was common for Soviet fighter planes to be shot down by friendly forces.

As the few fighter planes and precious pilots were frequently shot down by friendly fire, the command ordered them to investigate and then shoot, but the situation did not change.

Anti-aircraft artillerymen preferred to shoot and see rather than to believe in the glimmer of hope that the planes in the sky might be friendly forces.

That way, their chances of survival are slightly higher.

Anti-aircraft artillerymen who shot down friendly planes through special measures were warned that they would be executed by firing squad, but that did not change anything.

The soldiers changed the lyrics of the military songs they sang and sang their complaints about the current situation.

"As he flies his faithful aircraft to the ground,

Or taking a surprising fall

We will see how the air force becomes weak.

"Our world's first proletarian formation!"

As such, the Soviet military did not have any expectations or hopes for its own air force.

Self-deprecating jokes were common not only among soldiers but also among pilots.

Just by going on a sortie and returning is enough for one person, and you can earn the title of Ace just by firing a gun at an enemy aircraft.

Even in this hopeless situation, Second Lieutenant Ivan Kozedub of the Soviet Air Force showed his fighting spirit and achieved remarkable results.

From the first day of the Second German War, he flew sorties every day and shot down five German fighter planes, earning him the title of ace.

To the Soviet Air Force, which suffered defeat every day, Kozedub was literally more precious than the same weight of gold.

In order to somehow hide the hopeless situation of the war, Pravda promoted Kozedub diligently by publishing his picture on the front page.

However, Kozedub felt more burdened than happy about the party's propaganda.

The war is being lost, the number of friendly forces is decreasing, and the enemy is getting stronger day by day.

Sooner or later, all of European Russia's power areas may be taken away and driven to Asia.

This was what a female pilot who, like Kozedub, joined the Air Force out of a passion for the sky, told him.

However, either someone heard the conversation and reported it, or she had been telling others the same thing before, and one day she was arrested by Smersi who came into the unit, beaten like a dog, covered in blood, and thrown into the bed of a truck like a piece of luggage. .

Fortunately, nothing happened to Kozedub.

There was only a formal investigation. Although Kojedub was relieved to have survived, he felt a deep disgust at himself for being relieved to see his comrade's cruel end.

'Can we really win this war?'

It was a thought that crossed his mind every day. Political officers and communists who went around memorizing quotes from Marx, Lenin, and Stalin and loved to preach about the party's platform like a pastor talking about God, and Pravda were shouting day after day to hold out until the day of victory.

Now, in the rear, new weapons created by the best brains of the Soviet Union have completed development and entered production.

With these miraculous weapons, it would be no problem to drive the fascists all the way to the pre-war border.

Moscow will become Soviet territory again, and Kiev and Minsk will also return to the motherland in the future!

This was the slogan that Pravda published every day. Who can't do something if it's just words? What matters is whether you can take action or not.

-A red flag appears!

-Damn it, they're stingrays!

At the mention of stingray, all the hair on Kozedub's body stood up. Stingray. The Soviets called the German military's new jet the Stingray.

It was given a nickname because its appearance literally resembled a stingray.

The Soviet Air Force's latest fighter, the La-7, is a luxury fighter that rivals the Bf109 and Fw190, but due to its limitations as a prop plane, its performance did not reach that of a jet.

Ho229, which was even more advanced than Me262, was a reaper shaped like a stingray.

Not wanting to die easily, Kozedub worked hard on the control stick, trying to deal with the jet moving at a speed much faster than his eyes could rotate.

But the enemy was faster.

While Kozedub was desperately looking around to find the enemy aircraft that had disappeared in the blink of an eye, he could hear the desperate screams of his comrades on the radio.

-Fall!

-Gas hit! A fire broke out!

-help me!

"How can we win against those monsters!"

Kozedub couldn't bear it anymore and screamed.

"Ugh!!"

Soon, Kozedub's aircraft was also hit by an autocannon shell fired by the enemy. Although her wings were not broken, her fuel tank was damaged and began leaking fuel.

Ho229 attacked again, and its tail rotor was completely damaged.

Kozedub, who believed that recovery was no longer possible, abandoned the aircraft and escaped. Soon his body was thrown into the cold sky.

Fortunately, the parachute opened normally.

***

The tankers on the ground waved their hands at the friendly planes that had completed their mission and were returning to their base in the west.

"Are those fighter jets that look like stingrays those new jets?"

"okay. The name… … Was it Ho229? "It's amazing every time I see it."

Every time he saw Ho229, Karius couldn't help but be amazed because it felt like a stingray flying in the sky.

What does it feel like to fly in the sky? Karius was always curious about that.

It would be completely different from fighting on the ground in a tank. If given the chance, he also wanted to fly in a fighter plane.

-From Leopard to Löwe. Enemy tanks appear. It is said to be medium-sized. So that you can be careful about contact.

"reception."

First of all, we should focus on the mission. I put aside thoughts of fighter jets for later.

"Load armor-piercing rounds!"

"load!"

At a distance of 2km, Soviet tanks could be seen charging, accompanied by infantry. The number is exactly 12. The number of enemy infantry was about 300.

This side is of a similar scale, so if we do everything as usual, it won't be that difficult of a fight - he thought, but then an unusual sight caught his eye.

"What are they doing? "Is this the first time you've seen this type?"

Mixed in among the commonly seen T-34s were tanks of shapes I had never seen before. A tank with a round, flat turret that looks like a mushroom cap.

It looks like the Roskees have created something strange again. Still, Karius wasn't worried.

Karius, who changed from Tiger to Tiger II ahead of the Second German War, was unable to penetrate the frontal armor of Tiger II with any existing tank, and the KwK 43 tank gun had far superior penetration power than the Tiger's KwK 36.

"Fire at 1500!"

The average engagement distance between tanks is around 800m, but if an experienced gunner is on board, it is possible to hit targets as far as 2km away.

Karius took advantage and started the fight at 1,500m.

The Tiger IIs lined up in a row simultaneously spewed orange flames from their muzzles.

-Hit!

-Gotcha!

The T-34, which was hit directly by an 88mm shell, became a ball of fire and came to a halt. However, these were not new tanks. They were unharmed even after receiving a direct hit from the precisely aimed 88/71.

Karius' mouth opened at the amazing sight.

"What is that!?"

"The cannon, the cannonball bounced!"

Kramer also stuttered in surprise at what he was seeing for the first time.

"Reload! "Take another shot!"

"yes!"

The gunman hurriedly loaded the sub-munitions and closed the chamber by pressing the lock.

Koenigstiger's tank gun opened fire again, but the new Soviet tank caused even the second shell to ricochet.

The Soviet Union, which had been overwhelmed by German tanks throughout the First German War, began designing new tanks under Stalin's orders.

In response to Stalin's urging and pressure to produce results that satisfied him as quickly as possible if he did not want to be in trouble, Soviet engineers gritted their teeth and devoted themselves to design, creating a new tank.

As rebellions broke out throughout the Soviet Union along the way, Stalin judged that Germany might attack at any moment and ordered production to begin immediately.

And Germany really invaded.

The completed new tanks had to be tested for at least several months to identify problems and correct them, but the urgent war situation forced even these into the battlefield.

Since the German army could not come to Siberia, where the engineers and production facilities were located anyway, research continued, but the tanks produced were first deployed into battle.

As such, the Soviet army was in great need of a tank, a tank that could fight on equal footing with the Nazi tanks.

The tank crews painted the tanks roughly, loaded them with fuel and ammunition, and sent them straight to the front lines.

Some of the tank soldiers have actual combat experience, but half are new recruits with no war experience.

But they believed what the engineers who designed the tanks they rode said.

"I guarantee that the new tank will protect your comrades from any attack!"

Afterwards, there were some uneasy comments saying that there may be problems that haven't been discovered yet and that the only test was to confirm that the car was running properly, but it was all good.

At least you don't charge into the enemy camp bare-handed with only a gun like the ground dogs do.

And the tank crews learned that what the engineers had said before departure was true.

The tanks they rode were indeed deflecting almost all of the German attacks.

"Yeah, fuck! "This is a tank!"

"Now you guys' good times are gone! "You bastard pigs!"

"For Mother Russia!"

Although we may be pushed back in heaven, we will not be pushed back on earth.

The IS-3 heavy tank, which originally announced the beginning of the US-Soviet Cold War, is now in combat.