244

Episode 244: Battle of London (1)

June 20, 1943

War Office underground bunker in London, England

The ambitious offensive attempt by Montgomery's 8th Army dealt a serious blow to the 8th Army and ended in vain.

The German army also suffered some damage due to the struggles of the soldiers of the 8th Army, but from the German army's point of view, it was a level that was easily bearable.

On the other hand, the damage suffered by the British 8th Army was not at a level that Britain could handle.

The only benefit Britain gained from the 8th Army's offensive was a slight delay in the German army's advance toward London.

Even though it only delayed the German army's entry into London by a little less than half a day, the damage was significant.

Montgomery halted the offensive and retreated only after reports of damage far exceeded the initially expected figures.

However, the German army did not let the retreating British army go kindly.

The German Air Force clung tenaciously to the British army, which was retreating to Guildford, and bombed them. The British army lost a significant number of men and equipment during the retreat.

Rommel proposed using this opportunity to completely destroy the British troops trapped in Guildford to completely cut off any dangerous elements behind them, but Rundstedt opposed Rommel's opinion.

In any case, the British army at Guildford had already suffered a huge blow to its power and was not at a level to threaten our army's flanks.

It would be more advantageous for our troops to quickly finish the attack on London by putting all our forces into London to attack the British army in Guildford.

The German army deployed only enough troops to keep the British army in check on the flanks and then concentrated all of its forces on London.

For about two weeks, Britain mobilized its military and civilians to fortify London, but it seemed impossible to anyone to stop the attack of the German army, armed with the world's best equipment and united by loyalty to the Fuehrer and confidence in victory. .

"Check the coordinates!"

"Loaded!"

"Shoot!"

The Battle of London began with the artillery of the German 2nd Army advancing to Crystal Palace Park and indiscriminately shelling the outskirts of London.

Crystal Palace Park is famous for exhibiting models of Megalosaurus, the first dinosaur discovered in history, and Iguanodon, a well-known herbivorous dinosaur discovered by British dentist Gideon Mentel.

Before the war, it was a famous attraction visited by tens of thousands of tourists every day, but the flames of war turned the park's splendid scenery into a heap of terrible ruins.

The water tower on the north side of the park was demolished over concerns that German bombers could use it to orient themselves during air raids, and acacia trees planted here and there were uprooted to create trenches.

The park's landmark dinosaur models, in the shape of giant monitor lizards that bore no resemblance to their original appearance, were all destroyed by air raids and artillery shelling.

The day before the bombardment, the German army distributed leaflets in London urging surrender.

The leaflet contained Hitler's proposal that Germany was willing to stop the war if Churchill and the British royal family accepted negotiations.

Naturally, Britain did not accept this. Germany also did not expect Britain to request reinforcement now.

The purpose of distributing leaflets was to impress upon the British people the perception that Germany had worked hard for peace until the very last moment.

At the same time, it was also intended to make the British people resent the government and royal family for putting them in limbo by rejecting Germany's offer of peace and insisting on war.

Ten minutes after the Hummel and Hornisse self-propelled guns and 17cm and 21cm field guns fired their first shells toward central London, Welling's German 7th Army also began bombarding London.

While shells rained down from the sky and devastated the capital of a country where the sun never sets, soldiers shivered in trenches and citizens shivered in bomb shelters and subway stations.

Even Churchill, who was in the War Office's underground bunker, could hear the sound of shells fired by German artillery falling on the city of London, destroying the city's historic buildings and creating huge craters in the roads and walkways.

London had already been damaged and damaged by the V2 shower for a long time, so everyone living in London was upset about the air raid.

However, the impact was different in that the falling shells were not rockets fired from France across the sea, but shells from German artillery that had landed in England.

With the incandescent light bulbs on the ceiling flickering from the vibrations of artillery fire, Churchill looked down at a map of the London area.

While Brooke pointed out every corner of the map and explained the troop deployment status and operational plans of our troops, Churchill was so depressed that he only moved his eyes with an emotionless face.

"That's it, Your Excellency."

Even after Brooke's report, Churchill just nodded quietly. Brooke doubted he could remember even a tenth of what he said.

… … no. This might be better. How many successful operations have been achieved through Churchill's intervention so far?

It would be fortunate for our allies if we stayed still like we are now.

At least there will be no need to waste precious troops and materials on a meaningless operation with a low probability of success.

After the meeting, Churchill sat down and smoked a cigar in silence, but when his secretary came in, he raised his head.

"What did your Majesty say?"

The secretary shook her head.

"He said he would remain at Buckingham Palace. "He said that the people are suffering and there is no escape."

Churchill quietly smoked his cigar again. Despite his persistent persuasion and pleading, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth steadfastly refused to leave Buckingham Palace.

After arriving in Canada, Queen Mary, Elizabeth, Margaret, and the royal family sent telegrams several times a day, begging them to come over to Canada, saying enough was enough, but they did not break their stubbornness.

At this point, most of the high-ranking figures in London had left London and taken refuge in the rear.

Under Churchill's instructions, Ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Attlee and Foreign Secretary Eden, were in Glasgow, and the governments in exile of Belgium and Czechoslovakia also moved to Glasgow.

In the case of the Dutch government-in-exile, it fled to Canada along with royal officials.

"dismissal. General de Gaulle of Free France has come to visit."

"Please take me inside."

De Gaulle, head of Free France, was still in London.

A handful of Free French members moved to Glasgow, and de Gaulle was soon to follow, but he had work to do first.

"It's been a while, General."

"It's been a while, Prime Minister."

De Gaulle's face was just as tired as Churchill's, but the venom in his eyes was still there.

Although he was depressed after the disastrous failure of the Dieppe landings, he still did not give up on his dream of liberating France.

De Gaulle could never close his eyes until the day the French flag flew from the Arc de Triomphe.

"Prime Minister, let me be blunt. It's too dangerous to stay in London. It's not too late, let's go to Glasgow together."

The reason De Gaulle came to Churchill was to persuade him to go to Glasgow with him.

Churchill shook his head.

"You can't do that. "Your Majesty remains in London, so how could you, a subject, commit such disloyalty?"

"If the Prime Minister proposes that we leave London together, the King and Queen will also agree to leave London. Prime Minister, in times like these, we must look at the situation calmly. "London is already hopeless."

Churchill frowned as if de Gaulle's words were unpleasant, but did not particularly refute them. Even Churchill didn't say it, so I already knew.

London is ugly.

No matter how hard the soldiers fight and the citizens join forces, it will be inevitable for the city to be overrun by the dirty and barbaric Huns.

Although there was only a difference in timing, the fall of London was virtually predicted.

The United States, which we trusted, is finding it difficult to even protect itself, let alone provide reinforcements, due to its own internal problems, and with each passing day, the number of German troops entering Britain is increasing.

As de Gaulle said, leaving London, where there is no hope, and seeking future success in Glasgow may be the best option for now.

"I understand what you mean. But if I assure the people that I will never leave London and then go to Glasgow, who will believe me?"

Although he had told lies to the public many times before - even though he thought they were well-intentioned lies - he did not know that the words of a politician who had lost the public's trust were treated as worse than a piece of toilet paper dropped on the ground.

He has been saying that he will stay in London and that he will share his fate with London, but if he actually says that he is in Glasgow, there will not be a single person left in this land to fight against Jerry anymore.

"I decided to bury my bones in London. So, General, please leave here quickly."

"… … ."

There was a reason why de Gaulle persistently persuaded Churchill.

Churchill was the only one who fully supported Free France, which was officially a cold state and no one paid a single glance.

But if he dies or becomes a prisoner of Germany, who will care about Free France from now on?

In a situation where it is difficult to protect oneself right now, who would take care of Free France, which has a smaller government and less legitimacy than the Belgian government in exile?

Right now, even the United States is recognizing mainland France, not Free France, as the legitimate French government.

For Free France to continue to exist, the assistance of Britain, especially Churchill, was essential.

When a 21cm shell landed near the underground bunker, the bunker shook. There was some chatter outside the conference room, but it soon quieted down.

"Prime Minister, think carefully. "It is important to keep promises to the people, but sometimes it is necessary to endure humiliation."

"I will remember you. "Go quickly."

***

"This is the London I've only heard about."

Wittmann felt strange again.

Having traveled all over Europe from Warsaw to Paris and Moscow, I thought there would be no surprises, but when I came to London, my thoughts changed.

Who would have guessed that we would come by tram to London, the capital of the British Empire, a country where the sun never sets?

"If we continue like this, will we go to America later?"

Ball said with a grin. Of course, it may have been said as a joke, but based on my experience so far, there was no guarantee that it would end up being just a joke.

"I hope the war ends before then."

Next to the soldiers of the LSSAH division advancing towards the heart of England, captured British soldiers were walking under guard with their hands on their heads.

Half of the prisoners were home guards, and about a third of them were wearing civilian clothes instead of military uniforms and wearing white armbands with the words LDV (Local Defense Volunteers) written on them.

But since they didn't have enough military uniforms, they were sent to the front with only an armband. Looking at the miserable condition of the Home Guard prisoners, Wittmann clicked his tongue without realizing it.

Are they really the army of the British Empire that ruled the world? Those old, sick-looking old people?

"If the war lasts just a little longer, even pregnant women will be sent away. "It will all be over once we strengthen it, but I don't know why they're doing this."

"As Dr. Goebbels said, you may really have dementia. "No normal person would think that they could win a war with an army like that."

Ball shrugged his shoulders.

Does Churchill really think he can turn the war around with those old troops?

If he really thought that way, he would either have dementia or be crazy. If he didn't think that way, he would be putting the elderly in harm's way to extend his power.

Regardless of which one is true, both are truly terrible assumptions.

"stop!"

As I passed the prisoners' procession and approached the bridge, SS field military police suddenly blocked my path.

"No entry is allowed in front of this area, SS Lieutenant. Please take a detour."

The military police said that the maximum design load of the bridge is 45 tons, so Tiger II, which weighs 59 tons, is prohibited from entering because there is a risk of the bridge collapsing.

Compared to the actual historical weight, which was close to 70 tons, the weight was reduced by a whopping 11 tons, but the weight of 59 tons was heavy enough even by global standards beyond Europe.

"Tommy guys, make your legs stronger. "Anyway, they're gurus who bother people."

Driver Hasel grunted.

Although it was later than originally expected due to having to go around the bridge right in front of it, the 501st SS Heavy Tank Battalion arrived at the battlefield safely.

When Wittmann arrived at the scene of the battle, fighting between German and British troops was in full swing.

Due to the delay in the arrival of the tanks, the German army was struggling against the enemy's fierce resistance.

"It's a friendly tank!"

"Why are you coming now? "You're late!"

"Anyway, those SS guys… … ."

When the tank arrived, the infantrymen cheered and jeered at the same time.

Wittmann ignored the jeers and sarcasm from the army soldiers and looked for a place where the enemy could ambush him.

A long cylindrical object was sticking out of the window of a cafe whose glass had been broken by shelling. Wittmann recognized at a glance that it was a disguised anti-tank gun.

"Enemy anti-tank gun at 11 o'clock. It's the one that jumped out the window. Can you see it?"

"Wait a minute... … "I found it."

"Richter, load the grenades."

The British anti-tank artillerymen, realizing that they had been discovered, attacked first. A firing light erupted from the gun port, and a thick cloud of dust rose.

-Kaang!

It was a 17-pounder that could penetrate not only the Tiger's but also the Panther's frontal armor in one go if hit properly from the front, but it was not powerful enough to penetrate 120mm 55-degree sloped armor.

The armor-piercing shell that ricocheted into a pile of concrete and exploded. Ball took aim before the smoke created by the explosion of the armor-piercing shell completely obscured his vision and fired the main gun.

Wittmann's Tiger II, which had torn apart the anti-tank artillery with its 17-pounders, advanced along the streets littered with corpses and trash.

Due to the weight of 59 tons, the asphalt cracked and a depression was created in the ground.

While advancing about 200 meters, Wittmann's Tiger II took out a 6-pounder, two machine gun emplacements, and PIAT gunners with grenades and machine guns.

Even when Molotov cocktails flew from behind the garbage pile and bullets rained down, Wittmann was not surprised, only clicking his tongue or briefly swearing.

There was something else that surprised him.

"Huh?!"

"Why is that guy here?"

The T-34/85, which was frequently seen on the Eastern Front, appeared on the streets of London, England.

Even Wittmann, a warrior of reversal, was stunned for a moment because he did not expect this.

When I first encountered him, I thought my eyesight was wrong. But even if I rubbed my eyes and looked again, it was clearly a T-34/85.

The T-34/85 made the preemptive attack first. The 85mm armor-piercing shell fired from a distance of 300m hit the front of the Tiger II's turret and bounced.

I don't know why Roske's tank was located far away in England, but it still didn't change the fact that it was an enemy that had to be defeated.

"Shoot as soon as you finish reloading!"

As soon as Wittmann finished speaking, the ball hit the trigger. The chamber was already loaded with the armor-piercing bullet that Richter had pushed into it.

The 88mm Type 39 armor-piercing shell fired from the KwK 43 tank gun penetrated the T-34/85's armor from the front and back, hitting the red brick house and exploding.

A new T-34/85 appeared behind the skewered and burning T-34/85. That's 4 generations.

"Keep loading! "Tommies are coming in droves!"

***

The news that the British army brought the T-34 to the battlefield reached the Fuhrer's residence in Berlin.

However, the Presidential Office showed greater interest in the United States on the other side of the Atlantic than in the Soviet-made tanks that appeared in Britain.

About the conflagration caused by a small spark that is spreading throughout the United States.