261

Episode 261: The Road to Destruction (3)

The king and queen, who were known to have been taken prisoner by the Germans, were killed.

An even more shocking truth was that it was British soldiers, not German soldiers, who killed the two.

It also calls itself the 'Royal Air Force'.

Of course, everyone knew what caused the king and queen's death, but only a very small number of people knew.

Hitler placed photos of the king and queen on leaflets and distributed them throughout England with an additional explanation that they had died in a bombing raid by the British Air Force.

Who would have known that the photo I took just in case would come in handy at this very moment?

"The British killed their king and queen. Along with dozens of our country's civilians who were being treated in hospitals!

Who really did this? Our warmongering Churchill?

I don't believe Churchill killed the King and Queen on purpose. However, it cannot be denied that the king, queen, and British people ultimately died due to his orders.

Warmonger Churchill killed his king and queen and now seems determined to turn the whole of England into a sea of fire. Even though the trend has already turned. Of course, if he continues to fight against Germany, we will fight as well.

But I like to believe that not all British people want war. I say this here. In order to stop the war even now, the British people themselves must stand up!

British people. Are you going to live the life of a slave for the rest of your life, obeying the orders of Churchill, who put you in danger and led to the death of the King and Queen? Or will you enjoy a prosperous life in peaceful coexistence with Germany?

Surrender right now. And bring down the dictator who oppresses you and bring him to the judgment of history! The war will soon end, and when that happens, those who enjoyed glory by clinging to the power of evil will be severely judged by the law!"

Even the British, who until now had dismissed Goebbels' propaganda as nothing more than the cries of crows in human clothing, were greatly shaken by German propaganda this time.

Even though it was not intentional, it was a 'fact' that the country's army killed the king and his wife.

The British gradually realized the reality that civilians being treated in hospitals had died from bombings by their own air force.

It seems like they supported the wrong government.

They killed the king and his own people, so would Churchill blink an eye if they were to throw them all into hell?

This is a person who cowardly refused even though he initially said he would stay in London?

"Fuck you. "Why should I die here for that damn Churchill?"

"A man who even killed the king would take care of our lives?"

"This war has already been lost. "There is no reason to keep fighting when it is a war we are sure to lose."

After the above facts became known, the desertion rate, which had already been increasing, began to rise like crazy.

Soldiers who deserted changed into civilian clothes and fled home or surrendered to the German army.

As the number of surrendered soldiers began to increase, the role of the military police naturally increased. The military police now went from house to house, searching every corner of the house to see if there were any deserters.

Deserters arrested by military police were shot to set an example for other soldiers and citizens.

"Your Excellency, these measures are only lowering the morale of the military and citizens."

"Please take back the order."

"I also know that this method is wrong. But does that mean we should just sit back and watch while the number of deserters is increasing? The British Empire is now in desperate danger. "This is not the time to choose between means and methods!"

Despite the pleas of his ministers, Churchill did not give up his decision.

In addition, the Home Guard, which had previously been volunteer-based, was forced to enlist.

All British men between the ages of 16 and 60 were required to join and train in the Home Guard.

Women's enlistment was not compulsory, but even those who had previously held administrative positions in the rear received shooting training and were sent to the front.

Women who had chosen to join the military because they wanted to, but who were not expected to go to the front, began to desert and were executed by firing squad as soon as they were caught by patrolling military police.

"Fuck you, I can't do this because it's so fucking bad!"

"I'm going! "I didn't enlist to do something like this!"

There was an increase in the number of military police officers who felt doubtful about their duties, letting deserters go or joining the ranks of deserters themselves.

On the contrary, there were cases where deserters moved around in groups, looting houses, and engaging in combat with military police who came to arrest them.

As the end came closer, Britain was falling into a huge abyss with no end in sight.

***

August 8, 1943

Buckhill, England

After the German army landed on Britain, most of the tank battles between the German and Allied forces ended in a landslide victory for the German army.

Of course, there were many complex reasons for this, but it could not be denied that there was a large difference in performance between tanks.

While the Allies deployed Shermans and Cromwells, Germany deployed Panthers, Tigers, and Tiger IIs to the front in large quantities.

The Sherman was certainly a great tank, but it lacked the armor and firepower to face the German heavy tanks head-on.

Not to mention Cromwell, not even the British-produced T-34/85 could bring victory to the Allies.

For the Allied Forces, which suffered from insufficient firepower and armor, the presence of new tanks newly arrived from the United States was like rain in a drought.

Although it arrived too late, it was still better than nothing for the front-line soldiers.

The day was cloudy, and the dark clouds made it gloomy as if rain was about to pour.

Although the weather was not good for an outing, it was thankful weather for the Allied tank crews who were suffering from the German Air Force.

This was because when the day was cloudy, the enemy plane's range of activity was reduced.

"Please, it needs to rain."

Sergeant Lafayette Poole stared at the cloudy sky with a dark expression.

Every time he saw clouds that repeatedly became lighter and darker, he couldn't help but feel anxious.

Dealing with German tanks was so daunting that I had no desire to deal with enemy fighter planes.

As a 24-year-old young soldier, he has experienced twenty large and small battles and survived numerous dangers of death.

So far, he has destroyed five enemy tanks and killed over 100 enemy infantry with the 76mm M4A1 Sherman.

In the 32nd Armored Regiment to which he belonged, there was no tanker with more criminal records than Poole.

On the day he returned to his unit after destroying the fifth tank and rescuing a company surrounded by enemy forces, the division commander requested that he be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

It is the highest decoration in the U.S. military, second only to the Medal of Honor, and was one of the highest honors that could only be received by soldiers who showed outstanding heroism in battle.

However, Poole hoped for a more powerful, high-performance tank and air superiority than for a medal.

Shouldn't I at least be at a level where I can fight on equal footing with the Jerrys in order to hold on somehow?

I heard that the performance of the new tanks that arrived from the United States was far superior to the previously used Sherman.

As the higher-ups said, we would soon be able to find out whether the performance of the new tanks was inferior to Jerry's tanks.

"… … "He's coming."

Pool threw away the cigarette in his mouth and lowered his posture. German tanks were approaching from a distance.

"It's Jerry."

"It's coming quickly. "You bastards."

"God. "Please look down on this Lamb."

The infantrymen who had dug trenches and were waiting were also nervous.

The German 5th Panzer Army recklessly attacked the Allied defense line consisting of the US, British, Canadian, and small numbers of Free French and Czechoslovakian troops.

"Max, load armor-piercing rounds!"

"Load armor-piercing rounds!"

"If the jerrys come from 500 meters away, they open fire. "Wait until then."

At a distance of 500m, the 76mm main gun could penetrate the Tiger's frontal armor, but could not penetrate the Panther's armor.

However, the story was different for the Super Sherman and Pershing, which were equipped with 90mm main guns. A 90mm gun penetrating 160mm at 500m would have been a good chance of victory.

As the distance to the enemy shortened, cold sweat flowed from the foreheads and nape of the tank soldiers' necks. As I thought that today could be the last day of my life, every minute and every second felt special.

The ammunition operators held on with spare ammunition so that they could reload immediately after the first shot was fired, and the anti-tank artillerymen also waited with shells in the chamber since they had been instructed not to fire until the tank opened fire.

"Fuck, the Jerrys are coming, why aren't our tanks shooting?"

"You didn't faint because you were scared?"

As the tanks remained silent as the Germans approached, the infantry became anxious. However, they kept silent because they knew that even a pea-sized bullet could not put even a scratch on the tank.

"Shoot!"

"firing!"

As the distance to the enemy narrowed to 500m, the ambushed Super Sherman and Pershing finally opened fire with their main guns. At the same time, the ambushed 90mm anti-tank gun also fired vigorously.

The moment the armor-piercing shell flew at high speed and landed on the front armor of the Panther, yellow lights bounced in all directions and a sharp metallic sound rang out, followed by an explosion as loud as the sound of a tank gun firing.

-Quaaang!!

"You got it right!"

"Defeat!"

The soldiers clenched their fists when they saw a 90mm armor-piercing round penetrate the Panther's front armor.

The power of the 90mm main gun that high-ranking people said was by no means an exaggeration. It was finally possible to defeat the Panther from the front!

Of course, even if it was hit from the front, it often bounced off due to angle issues, but the fact that it was possible to penetrate as long as it was hit from the front correctly gave American tankers confidence.

On the contrary, German tankers, who were confident in the Panther's all-out defense, were embarrassed.

This was because it was not expected that the enemy would have a weapon that could penetrate the front of the Panther.

Pool, who saw the Panther's turret rotating to attack the enemy ambushed on the side, hurriedly shouted.

"shooting!"

When the gunner stepped on the firing pedal, the shell was ejected with a bang, and the 76mm armor-piercing bullet flew in a straight line and hit the side of the Panther's turret.

Poole, who saw sparks flying through a hole in the side, ordered a second shot.

"Hit. "Give me another shot!"

"All right!"

When one additional armor-piercing round hit, the Panther's turret was completely engulfed in flames. Tankers in black uniforms opened the hatch and escaped.

The German army was not hit as well. The veteran tankers quickly resolved the initial confusion and then aimed their main guns in the direction from which the shells were flying and fired.

"Kwaaaah!!!"

Although it had excellent firepower, the Super Sherman, which had the same chassis as the Sherman, was unable to protect against the Panther's KwK 42 tank gun from the front.

The tank crews, their entire bodies engulfed in flames, screamed and writhed in pain.

The grass was lucky. The cannonball aimed at him hit a tree.

The falling tree struck the infantry in the trenches, causing several casualties, but Poole's Sherman was unharmed.

"Back up!"

Poole, whose location was discovered, immediately put the tank in reverse. A few seconds later, another shell flew, but this time it did not hit his tank and split the air.

However, his colleague, who was slow to act, was hit by a 75mm shell and the turret was blown away. All tank soldiers were killed instantly.

A fierce tank battle between German and Allied tanks began.

***

General Manteuffel, commander of the 5th Panzer Army, did not get out of the Sd.Kfz 251/3 command vehicle except to go to the bathroom.

The battle is in full swing on the front line, so why should he, the commander, leave his post?

This time too, he had a simple meal of furenudel and then listened to the reports coming from the battlefield.

"dismissal. "This is a report from the 116th Armored Division."

There was nothing particularly surprising about reports of increased damage to our troops due to strong resistance from the enemy, as we had received this report many times before.

What was even more surprising was the news of the appearance of a new enemy tank.

"An enemy tank that destroys the Panther in one hit? Did those Yankees have anything like that?"

Roske also made the KV-3 and IS-2, so there was nothing the Yankees couldn't do. The only question I have is why they brought it up now.

"Not just one type, but several types were seen. One vehicle is said to have been destroyed quickly, as only the turret was different and the chassis was the same shape as the Sherman, but the new tank, which resembles our Army's Panther, is said to have succeeded in protecting itself from being hit by a 75mm shell. "When I first saw it, I thought the US military was using a captured Panther."

"It's definitely not good news."

When it was reported that the U.S. Army's new tank resembled the friendly Panther, Manteufel suspected that the enemy had created a tank based on the Panther.

But the possibility of that happening was small.

It had been less than two months since the U.S. and German armies, especially ground forces, faced each other, and it was impossible to design a new tank and deploy it to the front line in just over two months.

I thought it might be something that had been under development for a long time, but was only recently completed and hastily shipped to the UK.

Or it could be that the Yankees are using the items made by Tommy (although there are no reports yet of the British army using the same items).

If the above assumption is correct, the number of new enemy tanks should not be that large. However, deploying only Panther and Tiger was something to think about.

… … Well then, shall we try using them?

"Deploy the Panther II and Tiger II. "It is an item given to us by the President, so shouldn't we use it at this time?"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

***

Raindrops began to fall from the gray sky.

"It's raining. If possible, there will be heavy rain! Even God is indifferent."

Patton sighed. It wasn't because the military uniform got wet in the drizzling rain.

If possible, I hoped that heavy rain would fall to prevent any possibility of German fighter planes taking off.

In any case, it would have been difficult to receive help from the enemy air force in this rainy weather.

The reports from the front were somewhat positive.

Despite the German attack with hundreds of Panthers, the U.S. military successfully defended its position.

In particular, the performance of the new tanks deployed this time was outstanding.

The 90mm guns of the Super Sherman and Pershing were sufficient to defeat the Panther, and the defensive capabilities of the Jumbo Sherman received considerable praise.

It was rewarding to push in the already insufficient quantity all at once instead of adding it one after another.

However, the opponent was the German army. And the number of Panthers deployed by the German army was greater than the total number of new tanks.

There were only a small number of new tanks, and the vast majority were ordinary M4 Shermans, so the U.S. military was currently suffering enormous damage.

The constant loud noise coming from the front line and the ambulances rushing to the rear proved this.

In the direction where the ambulances were going, trucks and half-tracks loaded with soldiers and ammunition rushed toward the front line with gunfire ringing out.

Looks of tension were evident on the faces of the soldiers aboard the vehicle. Patton said quietly after seeing the new recruits with faces as white as corpses.

"Let's go back now. "Because there's a lot to do."