185

Episode 185: Time between dogs and wolves (11)

On a day like today, Allied forces attempted a surprise landing at Dieppe.

However, unlike actual history, where the purpose was reconnaissance, the purpose of the Dieppe landing here was different in that it was to secure a bridgehead to recapture mainland Europe.

As the goal itself was different, a larger scale of troops and equipment was mobilized than in actual history, and thanks to the enormous volume, the Allied forces broke through the coastal defense line and succeeded in advancing inland.

However, no matter how much quantity there is, if the operation is clumsy and the command is a mess, you are in trouble.

Thanks to the volume offensive, they managed to get off the beach and enter the city, but that was all they could do.

As soon as the friendly forces heard the news of the Allied forces' landing, they laid mines and installed anti-tank obstacles on all major roads and actively utilized pre-established defense lines to block the Allied forces' entry.

"The Air Force holds a tight grip on air superiority. According to the field commander, Dieppe is now a graveyard for Spitfires, haha!"

As Göring had assured, air superiority was tightly held by the Luftwaffe, so the Allied ground forces could not even dream of air support and had to pray that there would be no air attack.

The Allied Forces are now experiencing the same hardships that the German Army suffered in 1944.

In the middle of the meeting, Göring's adjutant, Colonel Bernd von Brauchitsch, entered the room with a telegram in his hand.

As his surname Brauchitsch suggests, he was the son of Army Commander-in-Chief Brauchitsch.

Göring, who received the telegram handed to him by Bernd, burst into laughter a moment later.

"Mr. Fuhrer, rejoice! "Our air force just sank the British battleships King George V and Duke of York!"

"Oooh!!"

The fact that two battleships were sunk was big enough news, and the news that the two battleships that were sunk were the King George V and the Duke of York, prized by the Royal Navy, elicited gasps from everyone in the conference room.

It was visible that the arrogance of Göring and the air force officers, who were the main players in the victory, was rising.

"Is that true, Marshal Göring?"

"That's right. "The field commander didn't believe it at first and ordered them to check again, but they said they were sure it was King George V."

The person who sank King George V and the Duke of York was Fritz

The Fritz

Six Do 217s, each equipped with one Fritz It hit George V's ammunition depot and sank the battleship on the spot.

In the case of the Duke of York, which was located right next to King George V, it avoided two hits, but was unable to avoid sinking due to an explosion in the last hit.

Although two Do 217s were shot down by anti-aircraft artillery during the engagement, it was an incredible cost-effectiveness compared to the defeat of two battleships.

Even though today was his first battle, Fritz

Göring loudly declared that if dozens or hundreds of Fritz

However, the seemingly invincible Fritz X also had a drawback.

The penetration power is so high that it penetrates the warship before the bomb explodes and fails to sink, or is easily neutralized by firing a jammer.

There is no guarantee that it will continue to function as it does now until the end of the war. Therefore, there is no choice but to improve it step by step rather than blindly selecting a lot.

"Additional news. "Marshal Rundstedt has just reported that our forces have launched a counterattack."

"already? "It's much faster than expected?"

"It is said that if you attack before the enemy prepares a defensive posture, you can drive them out more quickly."

"If that were you, it would be like that. Send a telegram to Marshal Rundstedt. "If this battle ends safely, I will award you Germany's highest decoration."

"All right."

***

The Allied forces - British, Canadian, Free French, Czechoslovakian, and Polish - barely managed to break through the enemy's defense line and enter the inland, enduring enormous losses. They had to face the bright murderous smiles of German soldiers ambushed at every major road.

"Lieutenant, our guests have arrived."

"Hmm? "Give me a hot service."

In fact, the enemy was not the British army but the Canadian army, but it was none of the gunner's business to know whether it was the British army or the Canadian army.

Because the fact remains that they are enemies that must be killed anyway.

A flash of light erupted from the muzzle of Panzer 4, and the Canadian Army's M4 Sherman became like a chicken with its head cut off.

The turret separated from the hull and flew into the air, landing on the head of an unlucky second lieutenant.

Five Shermans were destroyed in succession, and the infantry who had followed the tanks, trusting only in the MG40's concentrated fire, quickly became a beehive.

The Air Force is too busy taking care of itself and has no time to help the Army on the ground.

In the case of the Navy, it was tasked with firing naval guns to ensure the smooth advance of ground forces, but as mentioned earlier, the Germans had air superiority, so the Navy could not guarantee safety either.

"It's high time! emergency!"

After the Spitfires, whose range was insufficient, returned to the base on the mainland to replenish fuel, Bf109s, Fw190s, and Ju87s swarmed like bees and attacked the soldiers on the beach and the warships floating in the sea.

Unlike the Eastern Front, the Stuka units, which were only used in small quantities on the Western Front, went crazy when they had a chance to be active for the first time in a while.

At the sound of the siren made as the Stuka dived, soldiers who remembered being in France two years ago reflexively lowered their heads to the ground.

-Quaaaaaang!!!

A plume of fire rose from the transport ship that was directly hit by the SC1000 dropped by Stuka.

Two transport ships were attacked by Stukas, and a destroyer and cruiser also suffered damage from air strikes.

Although anti-aircraft guns shot down several enemy planes, there was no cheering.

All you can hear is the screams of soldiers jumping from sinking ships and wounded soldiers who were strafed.

In particular, after King George V and the Duke of York were defeated in vain without even fighting properly, the morale of the Allied forces fell even further.

It was painful that two battleships, which were very useful for fire support, were sunk, but what was more serious was the morale of our troops.

The mere existence of battleships had a great influence on the morale of the allies, but when two such battleships were sunk, the morale of the Allied forces plummeted.

According to the plan, the 'Dieppe Campaign' had just begun, but from the start, the Allies had to fight the Germans with their morale low and advance inland toward Paris.

"What on earth did the Navy have to focus on to sacrifice two battleships to the enemy?"

Cunningham bowed his head to Churchill's anger. The sinking of King George V and the Duke of York was not his fault, but as he was a naval captain in name, he could never be free from responsibility.

"We lost two battleships on the first day of landing in mainland Europe, so what will the people think? "If you have a mouth, talk about it!"

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency. "I don't have anything to say."

Although reprimanding Cunningham did not revive the two sunken battleships, Churchill's anger did not cool down.

Even if Operation Luther was successful, there was no way to avoid the public's anger and criticism over the sinking of two battleships.

The top priority target would naturally be the Navy, followed by the Air Force, and then Churchill himself.

Of course, there will be no calls for him to resign from the position of Prime Minister because of this, but it was obvious that his approval ratings would suffer a significant blow.

"dismissal! dismissal!"

"The German counterattack has begun!"

Soon, a reality that was even worse than Churchill's worst assumption struck.

***

Although he hated to admit it, Rundstedt had no choice but to admit that he was wrong this time.

He had argued with Rommel over the deployment of armored forces in preparation for the Allied landings in France.

He argued that the golden armored units should be deployed far from the beach to protect them from enemy air power and battleship gunfire, while Rommel argued on the contrary that a quick and efficient counterattack would be possible only if the armored units were placed outside the firing range of the naval guns.

The Fuhrer sided with Rommel, and Rundstedt, who was disappointed with the Fuhrer's decision, drank schnapps repeatedly until his stomach and esophagus burned.

But now I see that the decision of the Führer and Rommel was right.

The armored units deployed right near the front line successfully blocked the Allied forces' inland vacuum.

If the armored units had been deployed far to the rear, in Rouen and Amiens, as Rundstedt claimed, they would have been in a lot of trouble by now.

"Do you believe me now, Your Excellency?"

"… … .Yes, yes. "I lost."

Rommel, who had proven that his views were correct, explained his planned counterattack in a spirited tone.

The counteroffensive plan presented by Rommel was almost identical to the plan drawn up by Rundstedt, except that the initial deployment of armored units was different.

"How is it."

"Not bad. Okay, let's proceed like this."

With Rundstedt's permission, the German counterattack against the Allied forces that had landed in Dieppe began.

While the 10.5cm and 15cm howitzers were firing shells over the heads of the Allied forces landing on the beach, the drivers started their tanks in unison.

The vanguard of the attack were Tigers from the 508th Heavy Tank Battalion. Rundstedt ordered that all of the only Tigers in France be deployed to the offensive.

In order to drive the enemy across the sea within an early hour, the best option was to focus on Tiger tanks armed with powerful firepower and thick armor.

-The President gave an order. Never stop advancing until all enemies are buried.

-Victory is at hand. Heil Hitler.

-1st Company, advance!

Rundstedt invested generously in not only the Tiger but also the Panther.

Waves of steel beasts rushed towards the Allied forces, with the heavily armored Tiger and Panther at the forefront and No. 4 and Hatcher on the flanks.

"Enemy tank appears! Ha, it's not just one or two!"

"Prepare for anti-tank battle!"

"Quickly contact the cavalry!"

In the past and present, there is no weapon as scary and effective as a tank for poorly armed infantry soldiers.

If the Allied forces had the Panzerfaust used by the Germans, it would have been a little less scary, but what the Allied forces that landed in Dieppe were given were anti-tank rifles and 2-pounders.

The 6-pounder, which was found to have some power, was only a small quantity, and its teeth did not work properly on the Tiger and Panther.

If you aim for the thinly armored side, all you have to do is destroy the tracks from the front.

The 2-pounder, which had less power than the 6-pounder but had a large quantity, was even more disastrous, and its teeth did not work properly even against the 4th tank.

If you aim for the flank, you can destroy it, but it was important to survive the infantry escorting the tank before doing so.

-Kang! Kang!

"Fuck! What is that? "I've already hit you three times and you're still moving, right?"

The anti-tank gunner, who repeatedly fired 14×120mm armor-piercing rounds from the King's anti-tank rifle into the turret of Tank 4, was astonished to see the tank moving normally.

The Schirzen mounted on the turret and chassis of Tank No. 4 provided the primary defense against bullets, and the bullets whose power was drastically reduced as they penetrated the Schirzen failed to penetrate the main armor.

Although there is a problem that the tank's power is slightly reduced due to the weight of the Schirzen, the Schirzen has done its job well simply by being able to safely protect tank crews from anti-tank rifles.

"launch!"

As the 75mm gun of the 4th Tank roared, the dismembered remains of the three British soldiers who had been shooting at Bren flew through the air.

The Tiger and Panther were a moving disaster for the Allied Forces, who were struggling with even the 4th Panzer, which was starting to be regarded as outdated by the German military.

Not to mention light tanks like the Valentine and Stuart, as well as the M3 Lee, M4 Sherman, and even the Churchill tank with the thickest armor, a single armor-piercing bullet is game over.

"Jerry guys, what on earth did you make!?"

"Turn to the right! "If the front doesn't work, hit the side!"

Despite being inferior in performance, Allied tank crews fought with all their might.

If they are pushed back, the city will fall, and across from the city is a beach, and now soldiers have landed on the beach and supplies are being unloaded.

If these monsters attack in that situation, a disaster worse than Dunkirk two years ago would occur.

Therefore, the soldiers could hardly retreat.

In theory, the 75mm tank gun mounted on the M3 Lee and M4 Sherman could penetrate the side of the Tiger within 500m, and the Panther, which has thinner armor than the Tiger, could penetrate even at a longer distance.

It's difficult to get close to the side, even within 500m.

Of course, the German military is not stupid. When an enemy tank tried to turn to flank the Tiger or Panther, another tank opened fire or the infantry escorting the tank fired Panzerfausts.

And although they did not receive much attention, there were soldiers who were burning with their own fighting spirit.

"In the name of Russia! Long live freedom! Long live the victory!"

The Free Russian Army, newly deployed to Montville, France, was also mobilized for a counterattack under Rundstedt's instructions.

Contrary to the thoughts of German officers who doubted their morale and fighting ability, the Free Russian Army entered the battle with extraordinary determination as this was their first combat.

As this is the first battle fought in the name of the Free Russian Army, you must perform impressively to gain recognition from the German military and receive more support from the German government!

Therefore, Free Russian Army officers encouraged their soldiers to fight with all their might.

"Comrades, forward!"

"Let's fight for Russia! "Your sacrifice today will become the foundation for the liberation of Russia!"

"Uraaaaa!!!"

With shouts echoing across French territory, the Free Russian Army charged, led by a hatcher provided by the German army.

2 hours after the start of the counteroffensive.

The German army succeeded in driving the Allied forces all the way to downtown Dieppe.

The Army, cornered, requested support from the Navy. In response to the Army's request for support, the Navy's combat ships simultaneously opened fire on their guns.

In 1942, even tigers and leopards, which had no opponents, could not withstand the naval gunfire flying from the sea.

A huge wave of fire swept over the German front lines, and when the smoke cleared, the remains of tanks were revealed, overturned, stuck in ditches, or evaporated with only a few parts remaining.

"Despicable bastards. "Mobilizing the navy to fight on land?"

"Our Navy… .. It's not here."

If the German Navy had been on par with the Royal Navy to begin with, the Allied forces would never have landed in Dieppe.

However, the Germans had an invincible air force.

"This is a request for support from the army ranks!"

"Let's go out, bastards!"

The German Army, blocked by naval gunfire, summoned the Air Force just as the enemy had summoned the Navy, and the Air Force launched a large-scale sortie to support the Army's spirit.

The Allied Navy, suffering from neurosis due to the Luftwaffe's attacks that had continued dozens of times from morning until now, fired anti-aircraft guns and formed a fire net as soon as small dots were visible in the sky.

A strong will to never be easily defeated.

Dieppe, a small resort city in France, was turning more red than ever before in its history.