235

Episode 235 What we will fight for (9)

The test flight of Ho229's prototype H.IX V1 was successful.

Originally, the H.IX V1 was scheduled to be equipped with the newly developed BMW 003 engine, but since engine development was behind schedule, the Junkers Jumo 004 engine, which is installed on the Me262 and Ar234, was installed instead.

However, after looking at the test flight today, it seemed that there was no need to install the BMW 003 engine. It flies well as is, so why bother?

During the test flight, a mock battle was held with the Me262, and the result was the victory of the H.IX V1.

Although it was only a mock battle, the Air Force generals and officials were amazed when they achieved victory against the Me262, the strongest fighter in existence.

Due to claims that there might be a difference in the pilots' skills, in the second test flight, they switched aircraft and engaged in a mock battle, but the results were the same as before.

Of course, today is the first mock engagement and the aircraft is a prototype, not a finished model, so there are many areas that need to be improved, but the performance shown by the H.IX V1 left a deep impression on everyone.

"It seems like the conclusion has already been reached. Is that right, Mr. President?"

"Me too."

After the test, I ordered the mass production of 50 aircraft from the Horten brothers and the researchers and officials at Gotha, which was in charge of producing the aircraft.

The Horten brothers and Gotha executives, who were delighted with the successful completion of the test, could not hide the corners of their mouths raising.

"Neither Britain, the United States, nor the Soviet Union has a fighter plane that surpasses the Schwalbe. In such a situation, I salute those of you who developed a fighter plane that surpasses Schwalbe. Let's all work a little harder and increase the gap with the enemy to the level of heaven and earth."

"Yes, Mr. President!"

"Just leave it to me!"

"And by the way, I overheard this before, that if you mix graphite powder and adhesive and apply it to the surface of the V-shaped aircraft, it can absorb electromagnetic waves. So why not try the same method with this guy?"

Raimar Horten, who developed the Ho229, mixed charcoal and woodworking glue into the Ho229 after the war and achieved an RCS (Radar Cross Section) of approximately 40% for the British surface-to-air radar system, Chain Home. It was claimed that the reduction effect could be seen, which led to the saying that the Ho229 was the world's first stealth aircraft.

To conclude, this is half false and half true.

Raimar, who was working as a technical advisor in Argentina, claimed during negotiations with the Chinese government that the Ho229 he designed was designed from the beginning as a stealth aircraft, and that he used adhesive paint and graphite powder to make it invisible from the frequency array used by the British military. I committed fraud.

However, research has shown that RCS can be effectively reduced when using the paint and Ho229's unique stingray-shaped design, and Horten actively insisted on this, making it known as if it were a fact.

Due to Horten's active lies, the story of a cow catching a mouse while backing up was disguised as a fact and spread to future generations.

I wondered if it would happen, but as expected, the Horten brothers responded that it was their first time hearing what I said.

"hmm… … "This is our first time hearing this, but it is an instruction from His Excellency the President, so we will take it into consideration."

Still, the two of them did not just dismiss what I said as nonsense and expressed their intention to give it a try. After all, I am the president, so how can you be patient without listening to me?

"It's good that you understand quickly. "Then I hope there will be good news soon."

"All right. Sieg Heil!"

***

With the successive losses of Gibraltar and Cyprus, Britain's hegemony in the Mediterranean faced a major crisis.

But did they say that even if the sky falls, there is a hole that will emerge?

Even in a situation where Germany was strangling the British Empire, researchers at Bletchley Park did their best to decipher Germany's code, inflicting large and small losses on the enemy country, Germany.

Not long ago, using the information obtained by deciphering Enigma, an operation to bomb the German Air Force airfield under construction in Norway was successful without any damage.

Bletchley Park, who had been putting the pieces of the puzzle together one by one even in desperate situations and delivering pieces of information to his country, caught the biggest catch since the war began.

The bait Bletchley Park asked for was information about Germany's future war plans.

When the importance of the newly acquired ciphertext became known, everyone at Bletchley Park dropped what they were doing and started decoding it.

The code they decoded over the course of three days and nights was immediately delivered to the underground bunker of the War Office where Churchill was staying and made public to Churchill himself, his cabinet members, and generals.

The German plan deciphered at Bletchley Park surprisingly matched many of Churchill's concerns.

The reason Spain entered the war and attacked Gibraltar was to prevent the British Navy from sailing directly from the British mainland to the Mediterranean, and by involving Turkey, a window was opened for Germany to advance into the Middle East.

The German army allied with the Turkish army advanced into Iraq through Turkey and drove out Britain, and also passed through French Syria and Lebanon to occupy Palestine and Transjordan.

The Arabs, who had a deep antipathy toward Britain, welcomed the German advance and actively cooperated, and were willing to donate locally produced oil to Germany.

The leadership of the Wehrmacht predicted that Britain's defeat in the Middle East would narrow Churchill's position and further force Britain to seek reinforcements against Germany.

However, if Britain refused to reinforce until the end, Germany planned to bring Iran and Afghanistan into the Axis powers and advance toward India.

Currently, the Indian troops are in the Burma area to fight the Japanese army, so if they pass through Iranian and Afghan territories and rush to the Indian border at once, the British army will not be able to properly resist.

Of course, given the distance, there is a high possibility that supply problems will arise, so it will be important to transport the National Defense Force's war materials to Iraq and Iran as soon as the recapture of Iraq is completed.

For Britain, whose huge colonial empire was supported by the wealth coming from India, the loss of India would result in a loss of all will to fight, and would further serve as a stepping stone for Germany's advance into the Indian Ocean and Asia... … .

Bletchley Park even found out that the date of the German-Turkish attack on the Iraqi front was June 10th. Despite the humiliating defeat he experienced in the Mediterranean, Churchill did not give up and raised his voice.

"Now I know for sure what the Germans' goals are. Their target is the Middle East. Next is India."

The stupid Jerrys, unaware that their code was being deciphered, kindly informed that the troops stationed in France and Belgium were new recruits with no combat experience, and carefully crafted models of trucks, cannons, tanks and aircraft to look like the real thing. He confessed.

In order to deceive the British, elite divisions such as the Grossdeutschland, LSSAH, Das Reich, and Totenkopf were positioned, but the real main forces are all in Turkey or heading to the Balkans.

The Kriegsmarine Grand Fleet in Wilhelmshaven and Bremerhaven was also a ploy by the Germans to deceive the British.

Seongdonggyeokseo (聲東擊西). It makes a sound in the east and strikes in the west. Germany acted as if it was preparing to invade mainland Britain and targeted the Middle East.

Because significant damage was expected to be inflicted upon the British mainland, Hitler's plan was to attack the Middle East and India and continue a maritime blockade with U-boats to stop and kill Britain.

Churchill, who was very worried about when Germany would invade his homeland, seemed to be able to breathe a little.

What I was most worried about was the Jerrys coming straight to Britain, but I was relieved to know that they had no intention of doing so for a while.

However, only the possibility of a mainland invasion disappeared, and the need to defend the Middle East and India did not disappear.

There was less than a month left until June 10, the start date of the offensive.

Even now, Britain has built up a large army to ensure stability in the Middle East, but if the Germans truly launch an offensive, the current troops and materials alone will not be enough.

No one opposed Churchill's call for an immediate increase in the size of the military presence in the Middle East.

"I will contact President Roosevelt and ask for the defense of Burma."

Churchill decided to ask Roosevelt for additional reinforcements of the U.S. military.

The U.S. and Chinese troops were left in charge of Burma, and all British troops moved to Balochistan, India and the Middle East to prepare for the German offensive.

Chiang Kai-shek may be annoyed, but Chiang Kai-shek's China was not in Churchill's mind anyway.

The British Empire is in crisis, and there is no time to worry about the situation of a second-class country as large as China. This was the same opinion among Attlee, Eden, and Brook.

***

May 19, 1943

New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany

British troops stationed on the mainland and in its African colonies began to be deployed to the Middle East and southwestern India.

Churchill finally took the bait! The hard work that went into it without stopping has finally paid off.

However, even though Britain took the bait, it is said that the construction of a defense line in southern England is still continuing, as if the possibility of an invasion of the mainland is still in mind.

They aren't that stupid either.

"It is possible to delay construction due to V2 air raids, but I don't think construction itself can be stopped."

"That's no problem. Still, the fact that Tommy took the bait is enough of a success."

What do we have to do now until Operation Sea Lion begins? What are those suspicious British bastards? and keep throwing bait before you change your mind.

Ribbentrop flew to Tehran for talks with King Pahlavi I of Iran, and I met with Rashid Ali, who had fled to Germany.

And the air force stationed in Turkey frequently flew sorties toward Iraq, getting on Britain's nerves. So that they can be convinced that our target is Iraq.

Transport trains transported supplies between Germany, the Balkans, and Turkey every day.

95% of the supplies being sent to Turkey are empty boxes, but you have no idea what's inside until you open the box lid.

To spies and reconnaissance planes, it would look like we were loading up a large amount of supplies for an offensive.

Real supplies are being sent to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Tanks, artillery, and aircraft are also sent to Western Europe as real, but those sent to Turkey are all fakes made from materials such as balloons, linen, and wood.

Britain wasn't just preparing for defense. Yesterday, Britain mobilized 300 bombers and launched an airstrike on Baku, Azerbaijan, which broke away from the Soviet Union.

On behalf of the Azerbaijani Air Force, which existed only on paper, the Luftwaffe intercepted and shot down 42 bombers.

There was a report that there was some damage to the oil field, but it was minimal and could be repaired within a week.

Even if Baku burned down, as long as the Ploiesti oil field remained intact, there would be no problem with oil supply, so Britain's latest airstrike was virtually in vain.

Still, if Baku burned, it would not be good for Germany, so they accepted Göring's argument that the defense of the Baku oil field should be strengthened, and the 8th Air Fleet, which had been deployed in the Baltic countries and Finland, was deployed to the Caucasus area.

In the eyes of the UK, this too will look like we are preparing for an offensive in the Middle East.

To further drive a wedge, virtual armies that existed on paper were created and commanders were appointed to each army.

For example, Küchler was appointed as the commander of Army Group G, Weiks was appointed as Commander of Army Group F, Busch was appointed as Commander of Army Group X, and Schörner was appointed as Commander of Army Group Y.

"Mr. President."

"Something else, Himmler."

"The SS is working hard for Germany and for your Excellency the Führer-"

"I don't have time, so just tell me what you want."

okay. I heard you've been very quiet these days. What are you going to say this time? Since it is the Gotenland SS Autonomous State, I hope it does not sound like the Banat SS Autonomous State.

"Hmm, hmm. "I think it's time for the SS to introduce a marshal rank."

Himmler seems to have thought that it was better to speak directly than to spin around. Yes, it feels a little better to be honest like this.

I have friends with the rank of Marshal in the Army, Air Force, and Navy, but none in the SS.

Although there is an 'SS Reich Leader' who is different from the Marshal of the Wehrmacht but is actually treated on the same level as the Marshal, there are currently only three people who hold this position: Himmler, Maurice, and Berchtold.

However, Maurice and Berchtold are only leaders of the SS Empire and do not have much authority and are not in a position to do so, so in reality, they are a class exclusively for Himmler.

"I know what you mean. But wouldn't the command system be disrupted if a new marshal rank was created in the SS?"

The Marshal of the Wehrmacht and the SS Reich leader are recognized as being of the same rank, but if a new SS Marshal is created here, the class system will be completely distorted.

Once you become a marshal, you will be treated as a marshal, but how should you treat an SS imperial leader who is higher than an SS marshal?

It's not like he's asking to be treated higher than the Marshal of the National Defense Force.

Although Himmler is a weirdo who is far from a normal person, he is not that incapable of discernment.

"But Mr. President. If no Marshal emerges from the SS, which has contributed as much as the Wehrmacht, its morale will be greatly reduced. If the SS also has a marshal, the morale of the SS members will increase and the Wehrmacht will no longer treat the SS as below them."

My true feelings came out in the end. Isn't this why the SS doesn't have a marshal, so they don't like the Wehrmacht treating them like inferiors?

However, Himmler's insistence on creating a new SS Marshal cannot be ignored. There are many people in the SS who, considering their experience, are worthy of receiving the rank of Marshal.

A representative example is Paul Hauser.

Hausser, who was promoted to lieutenant general during his time in the National Guard, would have been able to hold the rank of marshal by now if he had stayed in the military instead of transferring to the SS, but he is still in the position of senior general.

Most of the juniors who enlisted later than that were promoted to marshals.

Hausser himself did not care much, but in history, he went through a lot of trouble that he should not have had to do because he was a high-ranking SS commander and not a marshal.

When Senior General Friedrich Dolmann, who was the commander of the 7th Army during the Normandy campaign, died, Hitler appointed Hausser, who was an SS general at the time, as his successor, but it is said that Rommel and the officers of the Wehrmacht under him strongly opposed it.

How does an SS general become a field army commander?

Either way, Hitler appointed Hausser as commander of the 7th Army, and as Hausser succeeded in stopping the Allied advance, many opposing voices disappeared, but it is said that they continued to speak out afterwards.

Especially from Rommel. Because of this, Hausser had a very uncomfortable relationship with Rommel.

Even after Rommel committed suicide, Hausser continued to command and remained the only SS general to have served as commander of an army group.

Even though you have abilities like Hausser, you shouldn't be discriminated against in promotions just because you're an SS.

"good. "Then, I will select people with deserving experience from among the SS and promote them to SS imperial leaders."

"Thank you, Mr. President… … yes? As the leader of the SS Reich?"

Himmler was taken aback when an answer he did not expect came out.

"The Marshal of the Wehrmacht and the SS Imperial Leader are of the same level, so is there a need to create a separate SS Marshal? And, aren't you the only SS Empire leader? "We already have Berchtold and Maurice with the same title, so wouldn't it be okay to add more?"

"Well, that's true, but… … ."

"That's enough. Speaking of which, there will be a promotion ceremony soon. "It would be better to deal with this as quickly as possible."