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Episode 231: What we will fight for (5)

The Japanese military's offensive in Imphal injected new tension into Britain, which had been lax on the Asian battlefield due to its focus on Germany.

Although the Japanese army's propaganda ended like a lie with the fall of Imphal, the British were greatly embarrassed by the surprise attack.

"Imphal has been occupied and the Japanese army has advanced to Kohima."

"The advance has stopped now, but there is a high possibility that we will launch an offensive as soon as the supply is over."

If Imphal and Kohima are lost, not only will the barely maintained supply route from India to China be blocked, but the Japanese army will be able to advance into Bengal.

At that time, a severe famine broke out in Bengal, and hundreds of thousands of Bengalis starved to death and are still dying.

Insurgents are already running rampant in western and northern India.

If anti-British sentiment soars day by day and the Bengalis sympathize with the advance of the Japanese army and revolt, all of India will become a battlefield.

This meant that India was completely free of British control, which not only dealt a serious blow to Britain's colonial rule, but also opened the possibility for Japan to advance into the Indian Ocean and the Middle East.

Therefore, Britain deployed infantry and armored divisions stationed in India to Kohima to counter the Japanese offensive, while also requesting support from China.

"under! It's something to see and live in this world for a very long time. "The British Empire has requested all support from China."

Chiang Kai-shek laughed bitterly after receiving Britain's request for assistance.

Seeing the extremely arrogant British people suffer was refreshing, but at the same time, I felt a sense of crisis at the fact that the Japanese military was still powerful.

Chiang Kai-shek sent 14 elite divisions to India prepared for a major counteroffensive scheduled for the summer.

The elite divisions, armed with American weapons supported by the United States and trained under the German military advisory group in China, were assessed by the military advisory group and the National Revolutionary Army to have combat power at least equal to or higher than that of the Japanese divisions.

Such Altoran power should be used to defend India, not to liberate the midfield. Chiang Kai-shek felt regretful, but he could not say anything because India's defense was a very important issue for China.

I guess I should take this opportunity to say it clearly. What should I prioritize now?

***

April 16, 1943

War Office underground bunker in London, England

"Damn it. "The Nazis alone are a headache, but to think even the sluts are going crazy."

Thanks to the Japanese army's halt in its advance and China's acceptance of aid, the fire that had fallen on him was extinguished immediately, but Churchill was still anxious.

In the eyes of the British, who were unaware of the circumstances, the distance between the Japanese army and Kohima was too narrow, and the situation in India, especially Bengal, was very bad.

Churchill requested assistance from the United States to resolve the famine in Bengal and attempted to import food from Australia, but many of the transport ships traveling from Australia to India were sunk by Japanese Navy submarines.

To make matters worse, even Roosevelt, whom he believed in, rejected Churchill's request for food aid, citing it as a hindrance to military operations.

Rebels running rampant in the west and north, public sentiment in Bengal that could explode at any moment, and even the Japanese military targeting Bengal.

All of this happened only in one place in India. In addition, Britain still had problems with Egypt, Palestine, Northern Ireland, the Atlantic Ocean, and Germany.

This was not the only thing that further lowered Britain's prestige.

Chiang Kai-shek gathered reporters in Chongqing and officially issued a statement strongly requesting a ceasefire from Britain.

There is no chance of Britain winning a war with Germany, which has dominated Europe alone, and Germany has also said that it will accept any request for reinforcement from Britain, so they should abandon the hopeless war and focus on the Far East.

Churchill criticized Chiang Kai-shek, saying that if it had not been for the support of the United States, he would have stopped and raised the white flag long ago, but it was a spit in his face because Britain would not have been able to stand up to Germany if it had not been for the support of the United States in the first place.

And some lawmakers, citizens, and military generals who were not members of Churchill's cabinet thought that Chiang Kai-shek's words were correct.

Britain could not beat Germany even when it was in a much more advantageous situation than it is now.

However, winning against Germany, which had conquered all of Europe and even brought down the Soviet Union, was no different from passing a camel through the eye of a needle.

"I am emphasizing this over and over again, but there is no such thing as strengthening."

Churchill also seemed to be aware of this atmosphere and opened his mouth as he scanned the audience.

"If we cannot withstand the immediate difficulties and raise the white flag, Europe will be under German rule for at least 100 years, possibly forever. Jerry, who cannot control his desires, will most likely try to devour Britain."

Even members of the cabinet, who had previously at least pretended to respond, were disgusted by Churchill's repeated tirade without a single mistake.

Instead of receiving a positive response, Churchill, who belatedly noticed that the atmosphere was ruined in real time, hastily ended his clumsy speech with childish promises and oaths.

"Let's hold on just a little longer. Until the day when the great Union Jack flies all over Europe and our people and our children can play freely in a free Europe."

Divisions that had been scheduled to be brought to England to defend the homeland were left behind in India to prepare for a Japanese attack.

In addition, the transfer of troops stationed in colonies in the Middle East and Africa to the mainland was also canceled or postponed.

Once Japan's full-scale offensive began, they had to be deployed to defend India, so they could not be hastily recalled to the mainland.

However, it is also true that the divisions in England alone are unstable.

Therefore, Churchill summoned middle-aged men who were not eligible for military service and created the Home Guard, a type of militia.

Not only men but also some women enlisted in the Home Guard and received training to protect their country.

Thanks to generous support from the United States, sufficient weapons were provided to the Home Guard militia, but it was difficult to expect combat power from them because those who had to fight with weapons were middle-aged men and a few women.

"But wouldn't it be a good thing to fill the numbers and give the public the impression that we are doing something?"

After receiving the report on the completion of the home guard formation with a proud face, Churchill quickly moved on to the next item on the agenda.

The Royal Navy was traversing the Atlantic Ocean at this very moment, playing a game of tag with German U-boats in order to prolong the life of Britain.

The United States produced a large number of Liberty ships and donated them to Britain, but the number of ships that were caught by U-boats and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic before reaching Britain was uncountable.

After deciding to mobilize the naval fleet and air force to hunt U-boats, this time the German Navy's fleet consisting of battleships, cruisers, and aircraft carriers surprised the convoy.

However, when they went to capture the German fleet, U-boats attacked the transport fleet.

From the British perspective, it is like going crazy and jumping around. With reports that two cruisers had been sunk and one seriously damaged in the past week alone, requiring lengthy repairs, Churchill closed her eyes and ran her hands down her face.

It is said that it will take two more years for the Vanguard and Lion class battleships to be completed. A whopping two years.

Even if it's completed in two months, it won't be enough, so two years is not enough. Unlike aircraft and tanks, battleships are not something that can be built right away, so it is natural, but Churchill still could not hide his despair.

"If wizards really exist, I would like to ask them to do something with magic. Just by reciting a spell, you can create a battleship. If possible, summon a dragon and roast the Nazis."

I used my own humor to lighten the stiff atmosphere, but there was no response. Everyone just waited for Churchill's next instructions with blank faces.

Churchill, embarrassed, roughly handed over the report.

The fighter jet improvement project was having some effect.

Mass production of the 'Griffon Spitfire' equipped with the latest Rolls-Royce Griffon engine with 2,000 horsepower has begun, and the Hawker Typhoon, which has resolved various problems, has also entered stable mass production.

The fighter planes provided by the United States to the United Kingdom, the P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustang, also have improved performance even more than before through continuous improvement.

Churchill was hopeful when the Air Force said that they would now be able to fight on equal footing even if the Bf109s and Fw190s, which had caused great damage to the RAF, came in droves.

There was no mention in the report about other fighter aircraft operated by the Luftwaffe, especially the Me262 jet.

And the tram. After experiencing the bitter taste of German-made tanks in France, Britain concentrated on developing a new tank to compete with the German army's heavy tanks, and the result, a new infantry tank called the Black Prince, has just been revealed to the world.

Army generals who checked out the Black Prince praised its armor and firepower. With this level of performance, it should be enough to take on Jerry's Tiger heavy tank!

In addition to the Black Prince, various prototype vehicles to combat Jerry's heavy tanks were in the testing stage.

Among them, along with the Black Prince, the one receiving the most attention is the A41 heavy cruiser tank. It has the same firepower as the Black Prince, but is slightly lighter in weight and has better mobility. The A41 was scheduled for mass production as soon as development was completed.

The United States, which was not fighting Germany directly, was also keeping a close eye on Germany's armored power and working hard to develop tanks.

The acquisition of the M4 Sherman, equipped with a 76mm gun with higher penetration power than the existing 75mm gun, began, and the Bazooka, a portable anti-tank weapon that could be carried by infantry, like the German Army's Panzerfaust, was mass produced and donated to Britain.

Britain also created the PIAT based on a mortar, hoping to create a portable anti-tank weapon that was more powerful than existing anti-tank rifles and could destroy tanks with a single hit, but the product was inferior to the bazooka in many ways.

However, unlike the bazooka and the Panzerfaust, it has no aftereffects and can be used even in confined spaces. Above all, it has attracted attention for being cheap and quick to produce, and mass production is underway.

"I will end today's meeting. I hope everyone will do their best in their respective positions. more."

***

"You, your clothes are disheveled. "What is a soldier of the British Empire?"

"I will correct it!"

"And you have stains on your boots. "Don't you even have time to wipe the stains off your military boots?"

"Oh, no!"

Bernard Law Montgomery's personality was notorious for being not only strict but also extremely eccentric.

The soldiers who were pointed out by him all cursed him in their hearts.

It wasn't enough that one day after the training was over, it was another day of training, and one day in between, there was inspection. No matter how much it is an exhibition, it still needs to give people a chance to catch their breath!

Either way, Montgomery treated the soldiers harshly.

For him, who was at the scene of an unprecedented defeat by the German army in France three years ago, training was the best way to improve the quality of troops and cover the lack of performance of equipment.

"You only do what I tell you. If you have any complaints, speak up at any time. "I'll let you rest just like that."

"Jerry are monsters? Nonsense! They are human beings just like us. "We are all human beings who feel the same pain and die when shot!"

"Training on Sundays is too harsh? "War is inherently harsh."

"Soldiers are naturally very dissatisfied. "If you worry about all those things, you can't go to war."

Montgomery's training methods were simple and harsh, but they were not ineffective. After going through his intense training, even the ragtag divisions made up of new recruits were transformed into divisions of a usable standard.

Brooke, who recognized Montgomery's abilities, promoted him from lieutenant general to general and appointed him as commander-in-chief of the 8th Army, which was to prevent the German invasion of London in case of emergency.

He designated the 8th Army, which he commanded, as the top priority supply target, and gave him preferential treatment by providing various new types of equipment.

There was a lot of talk about Brooke's favoritism toward Montgomery, but Montgomery, who was originally the type of person who did not care at all about the reputation of those around him, did not care at all.

It's enough to suppress the envy and jealousy of those who are less successful by citing their performance.

"These are courtesy 76mm Shermans."

The Shermans equipped with the 76mm M1 tank gun, which had better penetration than the 75mm M3 tank gun, had different gun shields from the 75mm gun-equipped Shermans, so they could be distinguished at a glance from a distance.

"The Americans said that the 76mm gun would be enough to deal with Jerry's heavy tanks… … ."

"only?"

"Test results showed that the penetration power was better than 75mm, but the opposite was true for grenades."

It was good to make the projectile thicker to increase penetration, but as the projectile became thicker, the amount of ammunition inside the projectile decreased.

As a result, the somewhat absurd result was that despite the caliber being larger than 75mm, the grenade's firepower was actually lower than that of 75mm.

"It's uncomfortable, but there's nothing you can do. The most important thing for our military now is whether or not we can take down Jerry's tanks rather than the firepower of the infantry. And isn't it much better than a 2-pounder that only has armor-piercing bullets?"

To Montgomery this was only a minor problem.

Regardless of whether the grenade firepower was low or not, the most important thing to him now was at least one more tank, a high-performance tank that could deal with the German tanks.

"Even this is not enough to fight Jerry. We need more, more high-performance tanks."

Montgomery sighed.

"We, the British, made the world's first tank, but Jerry actually made tanks better. "What kind of disgrace is this?"

"Don't worry about it. There will be good news soon. "Our engineers are doing their best to research..."

"It's not about working hard, it's about the results. "There is no human being who does not work hard at his job."

Montgomery got off the tank, cutting off the adjutant's words.

Even Sherman is too much for Asia's single-legged people, and Matilda is enough. But Jerrys aren't like that.

These guys are the ones who pull out a high-performance tank that is one level more powerful before they even try anything here.

Now that he didn't know when the German army would attempt to invade England, he needed at least one more high-performance tank.

That way, when the fateful day comes, won't we be able to fight like a fight?

Until then, all he could do was train and train.

"Immediately spread it to all troops. "During today's night training, tank gun shooting training will also be conducted."

"yes? "There is no night training in today's schedule?"

"It just happened. If you understand, spread it quickly. "Bedtime will vary depending on the results of training, so I tell everyone to work hard."