Rasputin of the East - Rasputin of the East chapter 174

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“The damage is greater than expected. The German army is fighting to death…”

“A number of train guns have been firing intensively. The 3rd Division said the damage was too great…”

“A Luftwaffe air strike was carried out in front of the 2nd Division. The air cover was too strong to stop it.”

Konef, who was honored and responsible for taking the lead in the attack on Berlin, looked to the west full of fire.

“Berlin is devastated.”

I hoped to get it with as few battles as possible.

There were symbolic and practical reasons for that.

Above all, the existence of the German Free Government, known to all high-ranking generals, was at stake.

Officially, the Russian Empire did not even recognize a free German government. They don’t give a single penny. No, it is not an organization that was originally publicly disclosed. It was a known existence only within the government of the Russian Empire.

So it’s even more annoying. You probably don’t know, and I’m not even admitting it.

They are not sure whether their superiors are planning to establish them as a German puppet government after the war, or whether they are just ignoring them.

It was a pain in the ass to decide how to treat them depending on whether or not they did.

What is certain, though, is that they are trying to preserve the European economic community, even if their superiors are different.

It was worth noting that the former minister, a German who was sacked and fled to Russia after fighting with the German government, was placed as chairman of the now-completely inactive European Economic Community.

Was it Almar Shacht? He was a nobleman who held three posts: Chairman of the European Economic Community, Prime Minister of Free Germany, and Economic Advisor to the Russian Empire.

‘Whether it’s an exiled yangban or whatever, if you have your eyes and hands on it, you should work or something.’

Knowing the habit of squeezing out the labor force of his superior’s subordinates as much as possible, Konef sincerely sympathized with the exiles for a while as he had suffered a lot, so he wondered whether it was okay to devour Germany.

If the German Free Government was officially recognized, it should not be touched as it is an ally’s territory, even nominally, but if it does not exist at all, it is an enemy’s territory that can be easily destroyed.

In other words, the position of the floating free government is a problem.

Of course, it is a useful position politically. When the situation changes later, it is easy to vomit and easy to use.

However, from the standpoint of playing in the field, it was not so.

The superiors replied that it was okay to just do it like the enemy country George, but there was no way it could be helped that one place felt uncomfortable.

Since I have come this far, I can’t help but think about political issues.

And from a more practical point of view, the problem is that this war does not end with the occupation of Berlin in the first place.

“It doesn’t seem like that monster-tipped train cannon fires that often.”

“If you consider the impact on the barrel, it will not be normal, so rapid fire is impossible in the first place. If you had the ability to mass-produce such things in the first place, you would have chosen a better tank or fighter.”

“Still, its power is ignorant….

“Isn’t that right, an airstrike attempt?”

“It’s difficult because there are too many enemy anti-aircraft guns and there are a lot of Luftwaffe in the area. Air reconnaissance is not easy.”

“Ask for the support of the Spetsnaz forces, and if aircraft or artillery fire does not work, we will use other means. Any other news?”

“A new enemy tank has been identified.”

***

“What is that?”

Nikita saw enemy tanks roaming the square.

“In front of the Brandenburg Gate, check about a company of unknown enemy tanks and start fighting!”

Enemy tanks were 10, a form I had never seen before. The most unusual thing was the sloped gloves. If it wasn’t for the forward turret, I thought it was a captured friendly tank.

When an order to fire was issued against the enemy tanks with the Iron Cross on them, gunfire erupted everywhere.

Even the tanks under his command and the tanks of other platoons came out and started grinding their shells.

“It was ripped off!”

“I know!”

And the bullet could not penetrate the enemy’s front armor.

Nikita’s face hardened when he first met the enemy equipment that did not penetrate the front armor by the 85mm shell.

– Kwaang!

“Car 2 has been hit!”

Until now, the only enemy weapon that the front armor of the T-32 tank could penetrate in a single blow was the 8,8 cm anti-aircraft gun.

“You crazy.”

“Chief! order!”

“Open up! Enemy tank stripped of track at 12 o’clock! Shoot!”

One of the tanks had its tracks peeled off, and the shells hit the side of the tank as it was seen, and there was an explosion.

“Defeat!”

Nikita clenched her fists as she saw the turret ejected and flew away.

“Notify all tank units. The enemy’s new tank is weak in the side and rear armor! Don’t aim at the front, aim there!”

Several tanks were maneuvering, and suddenly they spewed smoke from what was supposed to be the engine. Seeing the futility of the movement, Nikita solidified her convictions.

That’s not a mass-produced product. It is nothing more than a collection of prototypes of equipment that have to be hit well. It seemed highly likely that the drivers were also born in a hurry rather than a proper tanker.

In the blink of an eye, 5 new enemy tanks and 3 friendly tanks were destroyed.

Other than that, the firepower of the enemy tank and the limited frontal defense could not be ignored. Once it hit, it was devastating.

If a tank 4 or tank 3 attacked, it couldn’t be penetrated anyway, and it was enough to aim and blow it whether it was shooting or not.

“Don’t think you’re dealing with tanks! Think of it as attacking enemy anti-aircraft gun positions with armor-piercing rounds!”

They couldn’t even maneuver properly anyway, and they were more like anti-aircraft gun positions than tanks.

– Kwaang!

Another tank from another platoon was also hit. The accuracy of the enemy tank is low, but it is dangerous if it is hit. Moreover, since it is a street battle, the fighting distance is much shorter compared to the plains where tank battles take place.

“Don’t stop moving! Shoot while moving!”

It is not impossible to shoot while moving. However, in that case, with the technology of this era, the accuracy rate goes beyond the lower world and the US military leads Pershing to Earth-3, where they fight the Siege of Berlin, so sane tankers just don’t do it.

However, at a distance that is almost in front of each other, if the opponent has almost no mobility, it is also quite effective.

“The guy with his side exposed at 2 o’clock! Shoot!”

At the command, shells flew, ammunition detonated, and flames spewed out of the open hatch. A few enemy soldiers with their bodies on fire screamed and crawled out.

“The driver! Turn right at 1 o’clock! Use enemy tanks as cover!”

As soon as he finished speaking, another was hit. It was the 3rd car.

Nikita, who had lost all of her subordinates, sharpened her teeth.

“Kill all those motherf*ckers!”

The moment Nikita’s tank hid behind the wreckage of the enemy tank, another enemy tank’s shell hit the turret of the smashed enemy tank.

It couldn’t penetrate properly because the angle of incidence was bad, but it was creepy enough.

“Load complete!”

“The one on the far left! Shoot!”

– Kwaang!

The turret of the enemy tank, which had been burning for a while with the explosion, rolled down.

Prepared for close combat, the Russian army aimed at the sides and rear of the new German tanks, and the enemy tanks with holes in the sides and rear were completely annihilated until the last one.

***

“The Brandenburg Gate has a double-headed eagle. Your Majesty the Grand Duke himself did it.”

“Where are you now?”

“You went to the Imperial Diet. It is reported that German armored forces are counterattacking in the direction of the Kroll Opera House, and there are many 8,8cm guns deployed in the square. You said you would need reinforcements there, so you moved on.”

“Are you taking too much of an example… Are there any reports of similar tanks found anywhere other than the Brandenburg Gate?”

“There is not. Enemy forces at the Kroll Opera House are also dominated by 3 and 4 tanks and assault guns.”

“Oh, you bastards, you asked all the useless information and didn’t know that such a thing existed, damn it.”

Konev, who cursed the dear Ohrana, sent a squad of engineers to retrieve the destroyed enemy tanks.

***

Kremlin, Moscow. Russia.

“Data on new enemy tanks recovered from Berlin.”

Seeing the report implied by the data analyzed by the Ordnance Bureau, I nodded.

“A tank using a diesel engine, weighing about 40 tons, the suspension was changed to a torsion bar, and the rear derailleur was adopted, and the main gun was 8,8 cm and 71 caliber ……”

“Irina, is there any data consistent with the existing data on the new German tank?”

“The information about the prototype, commonly known as the VK 30.02 (DB), released by Daimler-Benz is largely consistent with the information. However, so far there have been no reports of German military use of Mercedes-Benz prototypes.”

“Then, is it true that Nikita’s added opinion is correct? A prototype?”

“Yes, it was revealed during the rescue process, but some tanks were barely rolling. As a result of synthesizing various information, there was also no report that a new factory was expanded or that a significant change was made to the production line of the existing tank factory. At the very least, it seems unlikely that we will have to face new enemy tanks before deploying them.”

“Where do you think these guys came from?”

“The tank testing site Kumersdorf is the most likely. It is highly probable that the German army transported the test-production tanks that were left there to Berlin.”

“It’s a Kumersdorf tank test site. Well, that’s the most plausible.”

To a lesser extent, there were many people who were dissatisfied with the Nazi regime, even in Germany’s major weapons design and production countries.

The specifications of the German military equipment were enough to figure it out even sitting down. Rather, it was the UK that was difficult to penetrate.

Although there were many complaints from the British side, it did not lead to cooperation on our side.

“The response to new enemy tanks is to spur the development of heavy tanks. No matter how strong these guys are, they’ll be fine if they’re hit by 130mm armor-piercing rounds.”

“All right. And finally, as you know, two days ago, Operation White Armor went into effect and the fleet passed through the Suez Canal…”

“By the way?”

“There is a lot of dissatisfaction on the Turkish and Balkan fronts.”

“That fleet, if left alone, would not be able to block Suez, and for coastal defense, coastal artillery, aircraft, and minefields would suffice. Besides, we did not send all our troops, and our fleet and the Yugoslav fleet are still intact. They only sent the Free French Fleet, and if the Indian Ocean route is cut off, they will have a hard time supplying rubber, oil, or troops, so why not stab them?”

“Of course not. However, on the Turkish front, I am concerned that this will cause the British and Italian fleets to become more active…”

“The Royal Navy would be lucky if no ships were called out, and the Italian Navy could be stopped by the Yugoslav fleet. If we don’t win, it’s good enough to block our approach to the coast, and besides, since when have we been fussing about the defense of the Mediterranean?”

In the first place, the Russian Empire did not even have access to the Mediterranean Sea before the Great War.

“Keep in mind, if the French fleet was missing, the situation would have gotten worse if it was going to get worse.