249

Episode 249: Tug of war (2)

June 29, 1943

oxford england

Even with the news that American troops had arrived, Montgomery could hardly help but smile.

Of course, it is true that the arrival of the U.S. military has lifted a bit of weight from our shoulders. At least as much as a feather.

Although American troops had arrived in England, it took some more time for them to be deployed to the front lines. And the American troops that arrived in England were only one corps.

Now that each soldier is precious, one corps was like a rain in a drought, but it was an insufficient number to change the situation of the war.

No matter how clean the water is, if it is mixed with muddy water, it turns into muddy water. Just as a single corps will quickly become diluted and dispersed in a fierce battle.

To turn the war around, more soldiers and more weapons were needed than now.

But there is an Atlantic Ocean between the United States and the United Kingdom, and there are damn U-boats roaming around in the Atlantic Ocean.

Britain left the minimum force necessary to defend the Indian Ocean and brought all its forces to the Atlantic Ocean to protect the transport fleet bound for Britain.

The U.S. Navy also deployed some of its naval forces deployed in the Pacific to the Atlantic despite strong protests from commanders in the Pacific theater.

Despite these efforts, Dönitz's U-boat fleet roamed the Atlantic Ocean as if it were their own home, tightening the leash on Britain.

The presence of U-boats from the Azores, Canaries, and Cape Verde Islands and patrol planes from the German Naval Air Corps also contributed greatly to delaying the arrival of reinforcements in England.

Britain realized only after the German troops landed on the mainland that Hitler's target was the mainland, not the Middle East and India, and brought back troops from all over its colonies to the mainland. It was made to move around and consume more fuel.

As a result, the United States considered occupying the Axis islands located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but the only grim result was that the entire island of Britain would be occupied by the German army before the operation was completed.

Isn't this like having a belly button that's bigger than your stomach?

However, if they took the risk and headed straight to England to save fuel and time, they would often become prey to the Type 21 U-boats and Fw 200s waiting at the scene.

In the end, there was no choice but to circle around the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and go back to England, even if it meant wasting fuel and time.

On the other hand, it is possible for the German army to cross the English Channel in just one day and supply troops and supplies to friendly forces in Britain on time.

If you don't have enough ships, you can use a transport plane.

It takes a week for them to replenish one soldier, but for them, it takes a day, or 6 hours. Does this have the potential to start a fight?

Montgomery sighed as the ground fell.

The Prime Minister who said he would die with London somehow ended up alive in Glasgow.

The Prime Minister himself, perhaps conscious of the voices of criticism, lost consciousness after being injured in an air raid by disgusting Nazi invaders, and said that while he was unconscious, his subordinates arbitrarily took him to Glasgow... … Well, let's come.

There was a lot of talk among soldiers and citizens about Churchill's actions.

There were people who burned their fighting spirit and cried out for revenge for the missing King and Queen, but there were also people who became despondent, saying there was no longer any hope for England.

Montgomery was not one of the latter.

But that doesn't mean I looked at the current situation very positively.

Although the arrival of American troops was fortunate, it could only delay the German advance by three or four days at best.

In order for the front line to be pushed back no further, at least 10 times the number of American troops must arrive, and to completely drive the enemy out of Britain, additional troops several times that number are needed.

And the rifles, heavy weapons, tanks, cannons, trucks, and fighter planes they will use.

The German advance had to be blocked as much as possible until American troops and supplies arrived in England and were released back to the front.

"We may not be able to stop them forever, but we must restrain them for as long as possible. Until those Yankee guys come."

"It's an enemy attack!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a lieutenant came running and announced the news of the German attack.

no wonder. They are the ones who bombard me every single day, but they are so quiet.

"Where did the Jerrys attack?"

"This is Radley, Your Excellency."

One Army battalion and two Home Guard battalions are deployed in the Radley forward defense line.

The infantry was supported by three Shermans and four Grants equipped with 76mm guns, and five obsolete 18-pounder field guns used in World War I placed in the rear.

"What is the scale of the enemy?"

"According to our troops' report, there is one division. And nearly twenty King Tiger tanks were seen... … ."

The lieutenant, seeing Montgomery's face rotten, kept his mouth shut.

King Tiger. This was the name the British military gave Tiger II. It's not a tiger, it's a king tiger. Twenty of them each.

Even if the panicked soldiers mistook the Panther for a King Tiger and reported it incorrectly, the situation was still grim.

To defeat the Panther with a Sherman or Grant, you have to attack the front, sides and rear, but the Panther can turn all the British tanks into scrap metal even from 2km away.

The German army is even larger in number.

"Tell them to stop it as much as possible. As for support... … "How many anti-tank weapons do soldiers have?"

Montgomery gave up on talking about unpromising support and moved on to anti-tank weapons.

"There are two bazookas in each company. It is said that the quantity of Molotov cocktails themselves is sufficient."

"Then that's it. "If you wait for the tank to pass and fire a bazooka or fire a Molotov cocktail at its sides or rear, you will have a good chance of winning."

The best way was to fight with the support of powerful tanks like the Germans had, but the British army now had to rely on bazookas and Molotov cocktails provided by the United States. The lieutenant saluted with a helpless expression and left the conference room.

I felt sick. I felt disgusted that the sons of England had to put their lives on the line, knowing clearly that they would be slaughtered by the enemy.

Please God, help England. Please save this country from its enemies.

***

Although the situation was better than in England, which had faced the unprecedented catastrophe of a full-scale German invasion, the atmosphere in the United States could no longer be called peaceful.

"Stop the war! "Stop the war!"

"Get out of Europe right now!"

"The government must reveal the truth to the people!"

Demonstrators' protests opposing the dispatch of troops to Europe and calling for strengthening Germany became more intense. However, the police did not complain about this.

At least it was easier to respond to than black protesters carrying Molotov cocktails.

Black protesters holding portraits of Jesse Owens changed their strategy when they realized that the government would not listen to them if they only paid lip service.

Black people now held demonstrations with Molotov cocktails and metal pipes. And if the police reacted even slightly aggressively, they did not hesitate to use it.

-pop!

"Wow! Argh!"

The thrown Molotov cocktail shattered and the officer, his clothes on fire, rolled around on the floor.

After seeing a colleague get injured by a Molotov cocktail thrown by black people, the police fired blank bullets into the air, brandished their batons, and charged.

Some of the protesters immediately fled, but those holding metal pipes did not run away and fought with the police. There was a lot of swearing and screaming.

If the situation in big cities was like this, it was even more serious in rural villages in the central and southern regions.

"Kill all the niggers!"

"You bastards! "You pigs!"

The KKK was at the forefront, and white supremacists, who had pretended to keep their distance from them by remaining calm, now went around with clubs, pitchforks, shotguns, and shotguns in their hands, hunting down black people who were 'potentially dangerous elements.'

They beat up any black person. The police who were supposed to prevent lynching either ignored the situation or intentionally arrived late at the scene.

Black people were also suffering.

Black radicals gathered around the BFR not only armed themselves to protect themselves, but also attacked white people.

Their number one target was, of course, the homes and farms of the KKK and hard-core racists, and police stations were also included in their targets.

It was reported everywhere that some blacks in the National Guard and Federal Army took weapons, deserted, and joined the black militia.

Some went beyond armed desertion and even killed colleagues or superiors who had openly despised and insulted them by calling them niggers.

Americans were terrified.

Now people have to worry about safety when going to work, school, or even going out to buy groceries.

Gun sales soared, and the number of families stockpiling food at home increased rapidly. Grocery stores and gun stores experienced an unprecedented boom.

After reports of riots and armed desertion of black soldiers began pouring in in Georgia the day before yesterday, in Louisiana the day before, and in Mississippi today, Roosevelt lost his smile.

He no longer spoke long or often, and there was a heavy silence in the White House.

'Where did it go wrong?'

He wondered how the United States had come to this point.

If all went according to plan, the United States should have acted as the Arsenal of Democracy by now and started preparing to help Britain drive out the German troops that had landed in Britain.

But now, look at this.

With daily demonstrations, terrorism, and shootouts between white and black militias, the South is in a virtual state of civil war, and the people are divided and growling at each other.

Somehow they managed to send the first expeditionary force to England, but it was far from sufficient to defeat the German army there.

Roosevelt desperately tried to catch him, but the Republican Party was convinced that the revelations were all true - and they were true - and openly insisted that he should be impeached from office.

Some Democratic Party members also joined in, further disrupting the otherwise chaotic political scene.

If it weren't for that damn revelation, the country probably wouldn't have gotten to this point. He ordered Hoover to hunt down German spies, but he had not yet achieved any significant results.

Roosevelt managed to light a cigar with trembling hands.

Recently, his doctor advised him to quit smoking, saying his health had deteriorated too much, but he didn't think he could survive even a day without nicotine.

"Your Excellency, may I come in? "It's urgent."

Secretary of State Hull's urgent voice. Roosevelt, who did not know what was going on, wondered why the man was in such a hurry.

Did a riot break out somewhere this time? Texas? Or Tennessee?

The news Hull came to deliver to Roosevelt was several times more serious.

***

When strong cognac was poured into a glass full of ice, the ice began to melt with a clanging sound.

As I drank the cognac that had softened as the ice melted, my insides became hot and I became intoxicated.

Hoover was lost in thought, twirling a glass filled with melted ice cubes and cognac.

Now the die is cast. All that's left is to wait.

What choice will Roosevelt make?

It seemed unlikely that he, who eventually ascended to the presidency despite being paralyzed from the waist down, would announce his resignation through his own mouth.

Anyway, he ran for a third term and was elected, and is thinking about the presidential election next year, so he is resigning. That doesn't make sense.

In the end, what's left is impeachment? If he expresses his resignation now, the Republican Party will move on without further attacks, but if he refuses to resign until the end, that is the only option left.

Impeachment is a problem, but the bigger problem is what comes after being impeached. Will the prosecution really let a person who was impeached because he didn't want to resign on his own stand alone?

Perhaps the first president in U.S. history to be imprisoned may be born.

He was the first president in history to be elected to three terms, the first to be impeached, and even to be imprisoned.

That would be really worth seeing. Hoover smiled and drank the remaining cognac in his glass. The ice particles had long since completely melted and mixed with the cognac.

"Hey, give me another drink of the same thing."

"Yes, sir."

***

July 1, 1943

Berghof, Obersalzberg, Bavaria, Germany

The Tuskegee syphilis experiment, the revelation of the Pearl Harbor attack, and even black rebels.

As many as three bad news broke out that were difficult to deal with alone, and it is said that one more broke out not long ago.

Even after it was revealed that the Soviet Union had planted a spy in the White House, the shocking news that Roosevelt had been secretly supplying supplies to help the Soviet Union was revealed through the media.

Let me tell you in advance, this is not what I did.

It was probably done by someone inside the White House or State Department.

Isn't it because someone who was always dissatisfied with Roosevelt's pro-Soviet actions felt like this was the right time to make the revelation... … I just doubt it.

In any case, as additional revelations broke out, public opinion in the United States, which was already hot, became even hotter.

The argument of Republican hardliners that Roosevelt should be impeached was now beginning to spread throughout the Republican Party, and the public also demanded Roosevelt's resignation and resignation.

Even the argument that Roosevelt should be immediately arrested and brought to court was raised simultaneously in the political circles and the media, claiming that he might be a Soviet spy.

Roosevelt has canceled all his schedules and is staying in the White House, making no public appearances.

"What choice will Roosevelt make?"

"If he has any intelligence left, shouldn't he resign?"

Goering said with a chuckle.

It's resignation. Richard Nixon is the only president to resign in U.S. history.

Nixon is now a Navy major, not a president, and Nixon resigned as president in 1974, 31 years from now. As of 1943, there has not been a single president who has voluntarily resigned.

Nixon asked for immunity in exchange for his own resignation, so he lived and died comfortably without any legal liability after leaving office, but what about Roosevelt?

If you make a deal with Congress in exchange for Nixon voluntarily resigning, at least you won't go to jail, but what if you choose the strategy of holding out until the end?

From being one of the most respected presidents in American history, along with Washington and Lincoln, he may go down as one of the worst presidents in history.

Even if he doesn't go to jail, based on what's been said so far, he's already earned the title of worst president.

"They say American troops have landed in England."

"yes. However, there is only one corps, so you don't have to worry. "What can they do with just one corps?"

Brauchitsch sipped his wine in a relaxed manner, as if he wasn't worried at all.

One corps is not a small number, but it is also not enough to significantly change the situation of the war. Moreover, the opponent was the US military, which had never fought a ground war in Europe.

It is understandable that Brauchitsch is confident.

If the commander's name hadn't been George S. Patton, I wouldn't have cared as much.

"Still, the commander of the U.S. military, George S. Patton, is said to be one of the most powerful men in the U.S. military, so there is no harm in being careful."

As the saying goes, you have to knock on a stone bridge before you cross it, so there is nothing wrong with being careful. As I whetted my appetite with Bordeaux wine and took a big bite of Camembert cheese, Guinchet came with an urgent report, saying it was news from England.

"We just discovered two bodies believed to be King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in the basement of Buckingham Palace."

"… … Supposedly?"

Günshe said.

"The condition of the body is so miserable that we cannot be 100% sure, so we can only guess based on the clothes."

"… … "If this fact becomes known, the British people will go crazy, right?"

"uh… … "Wouldn't you?"

Goering said hesitantly.

Even when the king and queen went missing, there was no significant change in the British army's resistance, but it might be different if they were found with their entire bodies crushed under rubble and in a decomposed state due to the weather.

But we can't keep hiding this until the war is over.

Is there any better way?

"Don't worry, Mr. President. "I have a plan."

"Himmler? "You?"

Himmler nodded.

Looking at the expression on his face, it seemed like he believed something. Brauchitch looked like he was about to say something else.

"What on earth is that plan?"

"You will be very surprised when you hear it."

… … Somehow I feel more anxious.