156

Episode 156: Spear and Shield (7)

June 9, 1942

East Prussia, Germany

Kulik received an offensive order from the Moscow Kremlin's Stavka Verkhnogo Komandovaniya (Supreme Command and Headquarters) and launched the offensive as ordered.

At first he had shouted that he would soon convey the news of victory to Moscow, but now he was bitterly regretting his careless remark.

The defense of the German army, which was thought to have been weakened by the fierce fighting, was still solid, and it was grinding up the Soviet army, which was charging with ignorance, like a blender.

Today Kulik spoke on the phone with the Secretary General in Moscow. He expected criticism for the lack of support for the offensive, but unexpectedly, what came out of Stalin's mouth was encouragement.

The belief that we would soon be able to successfully conclude the offensive and advance to Königsberg.

Kulik wondered what to say to the Secretary General, who was confident of his victory.

What would the Secretary General say if I told you the truth here and now that the enemy's defense was so strong that there was no progress in the offensive?

He was a little scared, so instead of telling the truth, he ended the call with his usual rant. And I was worried.

If the offensive fails after shouting this loudly, the Secretary General will definitely be angry.

He did not know how an angry Stalin always ended up.

If you are very lucky, you will be reprimanded or demoted to a junior position in the rear, but if you are unlucky, you may be demoted or, in the worst case, executed.

"Is there any news about the 10th Corps yet?"

Kulik asked in a voice filled with irritation. There has been no news from the 10th Corps since the last report came 3 hours ago.

The deputy who ran out to check came back and said.

"It is said that during the advance, the German air raid cut off the connection between the lead and rear troops, leaving them trapped."

"Hey, damn it! "You mean you left it alone without even firing anti-aircraft fire?"

Kulik lost his temper at his foolish adjutant and asked about the 3rd Mechanized Corps and the 29th Rifle Corps.

The situation was the same for both corps. Need to replenish troops, ammunition and fuel. No further advance possible.

"What about the 4th Mechanized Corps?"

"We are requesting supplies of troops and ammunition. Unless these two are replenished, progress is impossible... ."

I'm going to turn around. Kulik got nervous and got up from his seat and put on the coat he had taken off. He planned to go to the front himself and observe the situation.

As a side note, I'm going to crack the joints of these incompetent idiots.

"Damn it. "How can it be that there are only those who fall short?"

Kulik, who is famous for being loud-mouthed, has been swearing a lot these days.

Because of the unresolved war situation, he often became anxious, his personality became dirty, and the amount of alcohol he drank increased.

Also, swearing from subordinates.

Kulik, who was heading to the front in a GAZ-64, soon saw a group of tanks stopped on the side of the road.

It was the T-43 that he appealed to Stalin and received permission for mass production, pushing out the T-34.

"What are they doing there now?"

Kulik asked with a frown, ignoring the hurried salutes of the soldiers who saw his rank insignia.

Not one or two, but seven tanks are standing still. There is not even one soldier or bullet on the front line, so what kind of waste is this?

"The tank broke down and is waiting for the maintenance company. "It's because it's impossible for us to fix on our own."

A lieutenant wearing a tank cap said.

"It's broken? "Does this happen often?"

"Yes, Comrade Marshal. "The engine broke down a week ago and was serviced, but it broke down again."

The new V-5 engine applied to the T-43 had greater output than the T-34's V-2 engine, but it frequently broke down and caused frequent problems.

In addition, the thick front armor of the car caused the tank's center of gravity to shift forward, causing severe damage to the steering wheels.

To make matters worse, its productivity, which fell short of that of the T-34, was a huge disaster for the Soviet Army, which was already suffering from severe tank losses.

Because more tanks were being produced on the battlefield than were being produced in factories, the number of tanks in stock was decreasing despite factories throughout the Soviet Union operating day and night.

Kulik, who argued that there was no longer a need for tanks with vague performance like the T-34 because of the T-43, had an ominous feeling.

If the issue of the T-43's performance reaches the Secretary General's ears, he will certainly have a say in himself as he actively supported and defended the development of the T-43. If the offensive fails here... ..

"emergency! air raid!"

Kulik's thoughts were interrupted by one word: air raid.

In the distance, the German Air Force's Hs123 squadron was flying at low altitude and heading straight towards us.

After hearing the unique engine sound of the Hs123, the Soviet soldiers mistakenly thought that a strafing attack had begun and quickly fell to the ground.

Kulik also hurriedly lay down on his stomach on the roadside.

In a situation where enemy planes were attacking, the enemy's reputation was of no concern. The immediate priority was to survive enemy fire.

The bomb dropped by Hs123, which was at the head of the formation, hit the stopped truck. The second bomb dropped by Hs123 missed the road and landed on the right.

The third Hs123 hit the upper armor of a stationary T-43, shattering the tank.

The ammunition loaded into the car body exploded all at once, blowing away the surrounding soldiers at once.

Kulik, who was lying face down on the floor, could not hear the explosion properly because his eardrums were torn.

At the same time, the tyranny sent his heavy body flying into the air.

Kulik fell to the ground and his heavy body rolled like a soccer ball.

A broken shin bone tore through the flesh and protruded, and a broken rib pierced the lung and intestines.

He wanted to faint, but Kulik couldn't because of the excruciating pain.

"What a dog… . Fuck… ."

***

June 10, 1942

Konigsberg, East Prussia, Germany

The Soviet military's offensive reached catastrophe in less than a week.

They tried hastily to launch an offensive when they were already short on troops and materials, and not only did they end up wasting only the men and equipment, but they also called in reserve units and rushed them in, leaving them short of troops to defend against the German army's counterattack.

The Soviet army is still pushing its troops into the German defense line, but it only tells us that the Soviet army's forces are gradually becoming insufficient.

At first, one division is deployed, but as time progresses, it decreases to brigade, regiment, and battalion. How could one not know this?

The movements and information of the Soviet troops coming from the front lines were being reported to Lev one after another.

"The name of this operation is 'subjugation.' "We named it that way to wipe out all communists who set foot on our territory."

Lev himself began explaining the strategy with a big smile on his face.

Corps commanders, division commanders, and staff all listened to Lev's explanation with faint smiles on their faces.

Now the days of just blocking a hit from over there are over. From now on, it's our turn to hit.

It's time to land a heavy punch in the solar plexus against an opponent who has lost all his strength after throwing several not-so-strong punches!

The counterattack operation was already steadily underway.

While the Soviet army repeatedly made futile assaults and was ravaged by machine guns and anti-tank guns, trains and trucks from the rear constantly transported soldiers, ammunition, food, artillery shells, and fuel to the front lines.

Now that enough stake has been raised, all that's left is to play it cool.

"Guys, shall we begin?"

***

June 11, 1942

East Prussia, Germany

"Shoot!"

As soon as 4 a.m., hundreds of cannons deployed across the northern front opened fire at once. In an instant, the surrounding area became as bright as day and a loud noise erupted.

Accompanied by gunfire, thousands of shells flew through the air toward the enemy camp. The loud noise and vibration caused by the explosion of a shell buried in the ground shook the ground.

Even the German troops several kilometers away from the Soviet positions could feel the vibrations.

The Nebelwerfer 41 multiple rocket launcher also fired 15cm rockets at the Soviet troops.

Nebelwerfer 41, which fires six 34kg 15cm rockets in succession at a time, devastated an area the size of a soccer field each time it burst into flames.

There wasn't even a single blade of grass left where the rocket had passed.

The Burframen 40, called the 'Stuka on the ground' by the German military, is a multiple rocket launcher using a wooden launcher and was mainly used on Sd.Kfz 251 and Ketzhen.

Although it has the disadvantage of having a very low hit rate due to the lack of precision in the impact force, it is widely deployed and used on the front lines due to the advantage of being very cheap and easy to manufacture as it is made of wood.

"Hurry up and reload!"

"Move quickly!"

When six 28cm incendiary rockets were launched in succession, soldiers waiting behind loaded the next rocket into the launch tube.

Soldiers and war correspondents dispatched from the propaganda company diligently captured the rocket being launched into the air and flying with its yellow tail hanging down on camera film.

The video they shot was scheduled to be released to the German public through Die Deutsche Wochenschau, Germany's weekly wartime news.

SS Sergeant Ernst Barkmann of the Das Reich Division watched the shells fired by our own cannons fly toward the enemy lines in a parabolic curve.

Gunfire and landing. This simple process continued to create one huge harmony.

At 4:30, the order to advance was finally given to the ground troops.

There was static coming from the radio, and then a familiar voice came out. Barkman listened to the voice coming from the radio.

- Company, advance!

When the company commander's order came over the radio, 12 Panther tanks began moving forward all at once.

As the tanks advanced, the panzergrenadiers aboard Sd.Kfz 251 also began to advance.

"Forward the tank!"

Barkman looked around with his face out of the cupola.

Remnants of destroyed Soviet tanks and corpses of Soviet soldiers were left carelessly everywhere.

Because it was a hot summer, the corpses decomposed quickly, and the foul smell of the rotting corpses could be smelled from several kilometers away.

Soldiers with bad stomachs vomited or lost their appetite when they first smelled the stench of rotting corpses, but as they stayed on the battlefield longer, they gradually learned to get used to the stench.

It was more like their noses had been paralyzed by the stench rather than getting used to it, but the soldiers were now able to eat and sleep despite the stench.

In addition to corpses and debris, the ground was littered with shell pits of various sizes.

Hundreds of pits, almost as big as ponds, were spread out at the same time, making it look like the surface of the moon.

The driver, SS Corporal Grundmeier, drove the tank, taking care not to let it fall into the pit.

As the tank passed over the edge of the pit, stones tumbled into the pit.

There were several unexploded bombs in the pit, but they were defective shells that did not explode because their fuses were broken.

If they drove incorrectly and rolled into a ditch and touched an unexploded bomb, they were finished.

When Barkman gave directions to Grundmaier over the radio, Grundmaier drove the tank in the direction Barkmann told him to.

It was a task that required a high degree of concentration.

The German army, which escaped the pits and came out onto the open plain again, picked up speed.

There was still no sign of the enemy. The last rockets fired by the artillerymen flew into the dark blue sky, their thread-thin tails dangling.

***

"The Soviet Union made such a proposal?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

King Michael I of Romania listened to the report of Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mihai Antonescu, pondered it, and then asked Prime Minister Ion Antonescu, who was present, for his opinion.

"What does the Prime Minister think about the Soviet proposal?"

"Isn't it obvious? "It's a coaxing statement that you don't need to think about for even a second."

When Ion Antonescu snorted and spoke as if asking what he was worried about, King Maha I, who had been tempted for a moment by the Soviet Union's proposal, felt embarrassed.

Ion Antonescu poured out a strong argument as to whether he really did not know the King's intentions, or whether he knew but was deliberately pretending not to know.

"Commies are a group of people who spout lies every time they open their mouths. Especially the Russians. The Hungarians and Bulgarians who robbed us of our territory are the ones to kill, but the Russian Bolsheviks also took Bessarabia and northern Bukovina from us. But these guys are now offering us negotiations? "They don't mention anything about returning the territory they stole from us!"

"That's right, Your Majesty. Even if we accept their offer and win the war, there is no guarantee that they will keep the promises they made to us. Rather, there is a high possibility that you will only be taken advantage of."

Mihai Antonescu also provided support to Ion Antonescu.

"Hmm, hmm. I had the same thought. "Russians, especially communists, must be trustworthy."

Michael I, who was embarrassed, nodded eagerly as if he had been thinking the same thing from the beginning.

Romania and Russia are Orthodox countries and have a lot in common culturally and artistically, but their relationship was not very amicable.

Rather, the relationship between the two countries was no different from that of neighboring Hungary and Bulgaria, and Romanians' anti-Soviet sentiments intensified two years ago when the Soviet Union threatened Romania and took away Bessarabia and northern Bukovina.

As the Soviet Union launched a preemptive attack, all Romanians were calling for revenge and punishment against the Soviet Union with one voice.

There was a very good perception of Germany, which had dispatched its own air force and army to protect the Ploiesti oil field from air raids by the Soviet Air Force and further defend Romanian territory.

Although we had a war with Germany during World War I, we are now clearly allies.

But what if they suddenly betray Germany and switch to the Soviet side?

It was clear that not only would it be difficult for the people to accept it, but it would only increase antipathy towards the royal family.

Moreover, the most fearful thing is having to endure Germany's wrath.

Look at Germany. Even though they were clearly attacked by the Soviet Union, they defended themselves well as if they were unfazed.

Even while Germany was blocking the Soviet attack, it was gathering troops and materials for a counterattack.

The German ambassador even secretly hinted that within two or three months, Germany would launch a large-scale counteroffensive and invade Soviet territory.

What if you switch sides to the Soviet Union and fail to turn the tide?

Naturally, the tip of Germany's sword will turn to Romania before the Soviet Union, and Hungary and Bulgaria will not miss this opportunity and will take the lead in punishing traitors.

What happened to Yugoslavia, which offended Germany?

Like the Austro-Hungarian Empire, after its large territory was torn apart, didn't it return to the time when it was a landlocked country 30 years ago?

Michael I shuddered at the sight of the word Romania disappearing from the map and the borders of Hungary and Bulgaria replacing Romania's territory.

If we pursue unreasonable greed, the entire country may be devastated by the German army, the Bulgarian flag will fly in Bucharest, and Hungarians may have to dip their toes in the Black Sea.

That's not possible.

"Tell the Soviet ambassador. They said their request to return home could never be accepted. "I would rather defend my honor until the end, even if it means dying."

"I will follow Your Majesty's orders."