Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 119



Only Noblemtl

#119

“Isn’t that smoke coming from the engine over there?”

“Father, is there anyone injured?”

“Look at the bullet marks on the aircraft.”

In fact, I had to try hard not to show my surprise.

I knew that the B-17 was so sturdy that its nickname was the Flying Fortress. However, the appearance of the B-17 that landed was surprising considering that it had been flying in that state.

“The aircraft’s aftermarket is almost ready to fall off.”

“It collided with a German fighter plane.”

“under.”

The planes that landed one after another were all covered in wounds.

The bullet holes are there, and starting with the ones with smoke coming out of the engine…

“As you can see, all of our soldiers risked their lives in the operation. There are many who have not returned here yet. Please, I beg you. Just for today, instead of criticizing the heroes of the Berlin Air Raid, please congratulate and encourage them for returning alive.”

The next day, the front page of the newspaper featured a photo of the B-17 that had landed with its rear end partially destroyed.

It wasn’t just the B-17s. Most of the planes that landed that day had bullet holes all over them like medals, and the airmen who risked their lives to fly to Berlin were portrayed as heroes.

Naturally, the controversy over civilian casualties and incendiary bombs was not a hot topic in the Allied countries like Britain or the United States. It was no wonder that it was Germany who first started bombing London.

Of course, they wanted to make an agreement with Britain at a reasonable level, so they avoided bombing civilian areas, but both we and Germany have poor high-altitude precision bombing capabilities.

Naturally, Britain was full of people who had lost their homes and families to German bombing.

Because of this, the Berlin bombing footage, which had all the brutal scenes cut out and only included the beautifully burning scenes, became so popular that it was shown every hour in London movie theaters.

Well, the situation was similar across the Atlantic in the United States.

And those who got to see these vivid photos for free were none other than the German military.

“They say they are picking the best photos and distributing them.”

“okay?”

“Yes, but Commander.”

“What?”

“I wonder if the Royal Air Force intends to carry out a bombing operation on its own.”

“shit.”

Further bombing was pointless.

The reason is none other than civilian casualties.

For bombing to have a significant effect, the attacks had to be so intense that they reduced the city to ashes.

Whether it’s incendiary bombs or carpet bombing.

And that sound was the sound of civilian casualties being unavoidable.

Okay, let’s think about it from the Germans’ perspective.

Berlin is on fire.

This is absolutely shocking. The President’s lie that we were winning has been exposed.

You may be wondering if this war is okay.

But then another bomb fell.

It keeps falling. The city is reduced to ashes, and all the innocent civilians there are dead.

Do you want to surrender? Or do you want revenge?

The Goebbels I know would have definitely manipulated public opinion to make people burn with revenge.

And the bombing was a more expensive operation than expected.

Considering all this, bombing was a very poor cost-effective operation. So naturally, I was against it.

“Our American troops will no longer participate in bombing operations. We must concentrate on capturing the Luftwaffe, not bombing.”

“Then the Americans should leave. Only we, the British, will participate in this bombing.”

The British responded to my objections by saying that it was a good thing. And they planned a large-scale bombing operation, mobilizing as many as 1,000 bombers.

The adjutant’s subsequent report was laughable.

“They even brought in second-class bombers that were used as training aircraft or coastal patrol aircraft to make sure they hit 1,000 units.”

“What a mess. Why are you so obsessed with the 1,000?”

“The name of the operation is Millennium.”

When I heard that, a joke I heard in the 21st century came to mind.

If you were told to bring in a zebra, Koreans would form a committee to find the zebra, the Japanese would paint horses, the British would wear hunting clothes, boots, and hats, and the Chinese would bring in any four-legged animal and call it a zebra.

“What the heck is Millennium? Well, that’s Tommy’s answer.”

“By the way, is it really okay for us to just leave like this?”

The adjutant asked in a worried tone. He seemed to be worried that if he got involved in such a large-scale operation, his military service would be diminished later on.

“If possible, we should not touch civilians. We can say it was a mistake once and let it go, but not twice or three times, right?”

“ah.”

Only then did the adjutant figure out my intentions and nodded as if he understood.

“And let us make it clear once again that we were opposed to this bombing operation.”

“I will send you the official message again.”

I didn’t mind being the devil, but when I thought about the country called the United States, I was concerned about being accused of being inhumane.

Because morality was an important element in the picture we wanted to paint after the war ended.

“Why bother trying to stop the British if they want to play the villains?”

The British Air Force, led by Harris, began to scorch Cologne, Essen, and Bremen.

And this move by the British Air Force brought about results that perfectly fit the saying, “too much of anything is as bad as too little.”

Operation Millennium ultimately took out Commander Harris.

Unlike us, who made excuses by pretending to bomb with precision, Harris poured out his bombs with great fanfare.

Among them, the bombing of Drasden was particularly impressive.

“A whole city has been wiped off the map?”

“Yes. According to the German announcement, the number of casualties is as high as 200,000.”

After all, Goebbels was Goebbels.

As if trying to make up for the failure in Berlin, Goebbels immediately launched a public opinion war.

Goebbels’ ability to make numbers that were obviously exaggerated seem factual was remarkable.

“You chose the photo very well.”

“Yes. Thanks to that, public opinion is very bad.”

“Fortunately, we are getting less abuse because we escaped the bombing, but Britain···”

“Tsk.”

Thanks to this, Air Marshal Arthur Harris, the commander of the Royal Air Force who planned and executed the operation, gained international fame.

“He was even given the nickname ‘Butcher’.”

“okay?”

It was not difficult for our Army Air Corps, led by Doolittle, to catch and defeat the Luftwaffe, which had been distracted by the British.

In the summer of 1942, while I was settled in London, commanding the Army Air Corps and working hard to secure air supremacy that would serve as a bridgehead for landing operations, the Pacific was also stirring.

“Where was it taken away?”

“that is···.”

“You fucking Tommy bastards.”

The path for American Lend-Lease to reach China in Chongqing was very arduous. They were barely able to deliver the supplies through a route called the Burma Road.

This Burma Road is a road that stretches from Lashio in Burma to Kunming in Yunnan Province, and is a very rough road that passes through mountainous areas for over 1,000 kilometers.

But then Britain lost Burma. It was only natural that chaos broke out.

First of all, China, which was in danger of losing support from the United States, which was its only lifeline, was shocked and lay down in bed.

And it was natural that Britain, having lost Burma, also began to feel anxious and distressed.

Where would Japan, which occupied Burma, aim for? Of course, it was India.

It is not that Chandra Bose, the leader of the Provisional Government of Free India, which was calling for Indian independence, was making the following argument.

“If the Japanese attack India, we must drive out the British and establish a pro-Japanese Indian government.”

He didn’t just make a claim, he even made a promise to Hideki Tojo.

And there was another person who was in danger: President Roosevelt of the United States.

“What should we do with our son? We should have sent him to Europe instead. Then my brother-in-law would have taken care of him. He sent him to that dangerous place. Oh my, my goodness.”

When Eleanor heard that her youngest son was trapped in China, unable to go anywhere, and was likely to die, she grabbed her husband Roosevelt by the collar and shook him.

“So the British sent in the airborne troops?”

“Yes, shouldn’t we somehow open the Burma Road again?”

By the way, what happened in the history of the original…

Ah, Operation Imphal.

Thinking about it, I remembered that the Imphal Operation, in which the dark liberation army leader Renya Mudaguchi devoured the Japanese army while leaving behind countless famous quotes, took place in this very Burma campaign.

‘But wasn’t that in 1944?’

No, the problem was whether Renya Mudaguchi would go there to work as a member of the Korean Liberation Army in the first place.

In any case, Britain could not back down like this and was trying to reclaim Burma.

Why else would he have extended a hand to Burmese independence activist Aung San, offering to guarantee independence in the future and asking for his cooperation in driving out the Japanese?

Burmese independence activist Aung San was originally pro-Japanese.

This was because he went into exile in Japan in 1940 when a British arrest warrant was issued while he was engaged in the independence movement.

Afterwards, he trained the Burmese independence army in Hainan Province, China, and returned to Burma with the help of Japan to fight against the British.

That is why, when the Japanese army first started its southern operation, people were happy that the day of liberation had finally come.

However, at the time, anti-Japanese movements were being launched in protest against the atrocities committed by the Japanese army occupying Southeast Asia.

“What about the Navy guys?”

“They say they will retake Guam or Wake Island by any means necessary sooner or later…”

If only one of the two could be recovered, Luzon would also be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Oh, and the White House is looking to create a new position of Commander in Chief for the Army and Navy.”

If you translate it into Korean, it would be something like Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In the history of the United States, William Leahy was the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“It seems like the Navy is trying to take it for themselves.”

“Yeah. Tell him to give it to me.”

“Yes? But···.”

When I said that there was at least one person in the White House who I could exert influence over, everyone in the conference room nodded with a look of approval.

“Just tell my brother to do it.”

“ah!”

The use of my brother who was saved has finally come to fruition.

And it was the same across the Atlantic, in Washington, in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

“There’s Arthur the Third.”

“ah.”

“If it were him, even the army wouldn’t dare to oppose him.”

“yes.”

Of course, there were some who loudly expressed their opposition.

“Who? Me? Are you all crazy? I will oppose. Whoever wants to do whatever he wants.”

Arthur III strongly refused to return to active duty, saying that being a White House aide was his calling.

But no one listened to him.

“Who else but you can control both King and Douglas?”

“No, I can’t beat either of them. That Doug guy knows his brother like shit, and that King guy doesn’t even treat me like a senior.”

“But your last name is MacArthur, and you are a senior that King can call you a brat.”

“If I had known this would happen, I would have become Minister of the Navy.”

At Arthur III’s words, Leahy responded with a smirk.

“Well, even if you were here, you would have been dragged up anyway.”

Thus, Arthur MacArthur III took office as the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

And his inauguration signaled that the Pacific was finally ready to take on the Japs.

MacArthur’s Legacy