Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 126



Only Noblemtl

#126

Official designation M26 Pershing.

A proper medium tank equipped with a 90mm gun has appeared.

“Didn’t the General say that we should build tanks rather than towed anti-tank guns?”

Now that I think about it, I remember how I had severely criticized McNair’s joint, who had been advocating for anti-tank guns, especially towed anti-tank guns.

“I scraped up all the prototypes that were produced. I thought that if we were going to test them, it would be better to do them in a real situation.”

“Thank you.”

McNair waved his hand at my remarks.

“To be honest, I didn’t do much. It was all possible because the captain told me in advance, right?”

“okay?”

He said that it was crucial to steal the Merlin engine and engineers from the British to create the perfect Mustang.

“Isn’t this British?”

Patton, who had been disassembling the tank, couldn’t stand it any longer and joined McNair’s explanation in a puzzled voice.

“For the initial tests, we used a modified Merlin called Meteor. We used that to tease Ford.”

Ford, whose pride was already hurt by the delay in developing aircraft engines, is said to have gritting his teeth while creating the engine.

“The captain even threw in the power pack concept and the results came out very well.”

McNair seemed to like this power pack more than any other.

“It makes repairs a lot easier when something breaks down. It’s also much better from a distribution standpoint.”

It looks like this guy McNair is a total idiot.

Anyway, seeing him listing off his explanations, it seemed like he wanted to hear compliments.

I felt like I could easily do that much.

“Well, it’s not like there weren’t any other difficulties. In particular, that one is so heavy that it’s difficult to ship.”

Since it seemed like this was the key point, I added some encouragement in a subtle voice.

“okay?”

“Yes, they were saying that there is a limit to the weight that a crane can handle.”

Frankly, there were many who argued that it would be better to just produce the M3 Sherman or Jumbo Sherman using that as an excuse.

There was a faint look of contempt on McNair’s face as he shook his head.

“It seems like the voices of those who invested in the production of the M3 Sherman were quite loud.”

“Yes, when you were the Chief of Staff, you even brought up the issue of insisting on using Springfielder cartridges instead of Pedersen cartridges…”

Indeed, considering the ease of production and distribution, mass production of a single variety was the best.

That was the reason why, throughout history, the US military only produced the Sherman, a medium tank, and not the Pershing, a heavy tank.

“The other issues they pointed out were more or less solvable.”

It was perfect that the trinity of Ford, who was properly stimulated by the Merlin Meteor engine after I released the future knowledge at the right time, and McNair, who gave up the towed anti-tank gun while breaking the joint last time, came together to create the Pershing.

“But the problem was the seals. They were heavier than the crane could handle.”

When they tried to load the Pershing onto a ship at the port, they found it too heavy.

As soon as McNair finished speaking, Patton muttered.

“Anyway, those seals are weak and will get away with it.”

“So what did you do?”

“What happened? I opened the joint.”

When did the crane come out? When I asked if it was okay to just raise the ship, why didn’t the crane also grow? When I said it was over, McNair’s expression was…

Our little McNair, you were hungry for praise. Good job.

“Yes, very good. I had great confidence in you, Lieutenant General McNair.”

“Thank you. Oh, and the anti-tank gun you mentioned earlier.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Didn’t you tell us to try making it lighter and smaller?”

“That’s right.”

Even in the 21st century, I didn’t even expect the magic wand of Allah, which is so famous. I thought it would be okay if I just got a bazooka or something…

“Wow, this is already out?”

At this point, I couldn’t help but be truly amazed by McNair’s abilities.

It seems easy to manipulate and change people, but it was never easy. If a machine breaks down, you can replace it with a new one, but how can a person do that? If you use it wrong and it gets sick, you have to stop until it gets better, and if you run away, you’ll be in big trouble from then on.

“Very good.”

“It still has many shortcomings, but if we keep improving it, won’t we eventually get something better?”

So, the bazooka wasn’t a weapon that didn’t exist at all.

There had already been discussions about developing war rockets during World War I, and with the subsequent development of anti-tank grenades, the need for a weapon that could effectively throw these grenades arose.

But as you know, the US Army’s weapons systems were very complex, and I was too busy caring about big, bulky things like tanks and airplanes to really pay attention to them.

How am I supposed to take care of everything from A to Z?

In particular, I left the military in the early 1940s when this area was just beginning to develop properly.

Anyway, the development of the anti-tank gun, which had been sluggish due to the lack of proper support for various reasons, seemed to have advanced at the speed of light when McNair, who had suddenly become interested in my joint, began to push it forward.

The result was a massive bazooka in my hand.

“M20?”

“Yes. There are still many areas that are lacking. The fuse part of the ammunition, the warhead, etc..”

“Where is there anyone who is perfect from the beginning? I will try it out this time and send it to you after organizing the points for improvement.”

Now, if that was the job of McNair and Marshall, then how well we used what they brought was the job of Patton and me.

“Is it my turn now?”

“Yeah, are you sure?”

“Of course.”

Seeing Patton’s unusually confident appearance made me feel relieved rather than anxious, and it definitely felt like I was on the battlefield.

##

The conquest of Sicily was thought to be somewhat easy since I had the best weapon in my hand.

But the biggest challenge was not the enemy, but the weather.

“Damn. Maybe I should build an altar like Zhuge Liang and offer my respects.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

The adjutant tilted his head at my muttering and asked back.

“Oh, no. The wind is too strong.”

“Yes. That’s what Tommy’s guys do.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of the adjutant casually cursing the British, saying he didn’t know how they could have picked a day like this.

“Yeah, but it’s not bad.”

“yes?”

“Think about it. We were just discussing the postponement of the Tommy operation, right?”

“you’re right.”

“Let’s push on. Think about it. Do you think we’ll force a landing in this weather?”

Everyone was half in doubt when I said that this is how you poke at your opponent’s weaknesses.

However, the operation was actually pushed through because it was more difficult to postpone a prepared operation.

Of course, things went a bit differently than planned due to the strong winds.

The airborne troops sent in to cause confusion in the rear were unable to land at their target location and were scattered, and the advance of the landing force was also delayed by more than six hours.

“What the captain said is certainly correct.”

“Yes. I don’t know about the venomous German army, but they said that the Italian army would be spread out, and that’s exactly right.”

However, the 7th Army led by Patton succeeded in landing despite many difficulties.

The Italians who were in charge of defending the spot where we landed had seen the strong wind and waves and had assumed that no crazy people would land in this weather.

Unfortunately, there were too many of those lunatics in our Allied Forces.

Among them, Patton, the best, fully demonstrated his worth.

The Italian forces defending the landing point were turned into a mess with their crazy breakthrough power.

The result of the combination of the Pershing tank and the Patton was surprising even to me.

“That’s amazing.”

“Yes, it is great.”

I saw the people around me slowly backing away as Bradley responded to my exclamation with a mocking tone.

That’s right.

It wasn’t just the Italian army that Patton, with his insane fighting prowess, had turned into a mess.

Bradley, who had to clean up after his commander who had rushed out to the battlefield where he could have used 100%, if not 200%, of his abilities, was the second casualty of the Italian army.

“The commander is charging at the very front lines. How can he be a lieutenant general?”

“It’s Patton. And you can’t just leave that guy as a junior officer, right?”

Bradley’s face darkened at my comment that, based on his career and performance, he deserved the title of general, and that he needed an appropriate rank since he had become a general.

“··· Could it be that you have put the temple here for a reason···”

“I, Marshall, and everyone in the 7th Army admire your abilities.”

“Captain.”

When Bradley realized that I had dumped Patton, he called me like a betrayed heroine, but what can I do? If I keep nagging, I’ll get promoted.

“Or should I swap with Ike?”

“No. I’ll just stay here.”

When Eisenhower was mentioned, Bradley responded with a triumphant look on his face.

Well, Mitchell, who had a heart condition, was tied down to the mainland, but Elliot was still in China.

Anyway, contrary to concerns, the whole of Sicily went smoothly.

Of course, this smooth sailing was based on our American military standards, and the situation for the British army led by Montgomery was somewhat different.

“You haven’t conquered Catania yet?”

“yes.”

In fact, even after deciding to invade Sicily, there were many issues that did not work out with the British.

That would be the case, isn’t that what the union was like originally?

“Why do we go there?”

“Then why us?”

Every army wanted to somehow obtain an easy position, one where they would suffer less damage.

“Wouldn’t that make it difficult to supply supplies? We’d have to land and move supplies across the beach…”

“It’s not a big deal if you use a duck boat. Don’t you know?”

It was also inevitable for the Allied Forces to persistently exploit each other’s weaknesses in their operations and try to push through their own operational plans.

Anyway, after several meetings, we and the UK divided up the areas we would be responsible for at an appropriate level.

But unlike us, who quickly cleared out our assigned area and advanced, the British’s advance was very sluggish.

The British navy was said to have been driven out without even being able to land at Augusta, let alone capture it.

“I’m not particularly surprised.”

“That’s right.”

The British military’s situation was not that big of a deal.

In fact, we knew that the area they were in charge of was under the German military’s control and that it would be more difficult for them than for us.

Because they don’t have Pattons, Pershing tanks, or bazookas.

Rather than that,

“What? Friendly fire? Are you kidding me?”

“So, first of all, Chief Ridgeway requested a halt to the operation.”

“Of course not. Tommy, you little bastards are losing your mind. I’ll tell you that I’ll personally protest this later.”

During the process of deploying the airborne troops, a British naval vessel attacked.

They came to offer landing support, but instead of providing support, they threw shit at us.

The 52nd Transport Squadron that participated in the operation lost a whopping 23 of its 144 C-47 transport aircraft. Naturally, the airborne casualties were severe.

“I···.”

“What? Is there more?”

“Yes, that includes Brigadier General Charles Kirans Jr. among the dead.”

“Fuck. Those fucking Tommys.”

I barely managed to regain my senses and gritted my teeth as I took further action.

“For the time being, all airborne operations are to be halted. And tell those Tommy guys that they will be fully compensated for their debt.”

“yes.”

There were a few minor incidents, but overall the conquest of Sicily went smoothly.

This was because the British troops, who had been in disarray, began to come to their senses with our help. Eventually, the German and Italian troops began to withdraw.

I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration as I watched the men retreat across the Strait of Messena to the Italian mainland.

“Surely, Germany is Germany.”

“Yes, even Cheolsu is that meticulous.”

“So. When will our children reach that level?”

At my words, silence fell over the surroundings where various voices had been going back and forth until then.

“why?”

“No, sir, you still have a boyish side to you.”

It was Patton who broke the silence and spoke.

“what?”

“You keep dreaming impossible dreams. Are you saying that our children will end up like that? If only we could bring in Germans and dress them in American military uniforms. Would that work?”

“Isn’t that possible?”

“Of course. Stop dreaming and contact the mainland and ask them to send you more Pershings.”

We all nodded in agreement with Patton’s words that we should just fight with our weapons.

“This time, it seems that Lieutenant General Patton is definitely right.”

It was such a shame.

After conquering Sicily, fighting broke out once again.

“We must take this momentum and advance towards the Italian mainland.”

“Wouldn’t Sicily be enough for the Balkan raids that you initially claimed?”

It was a showdown with that guy Tommy who was shouting for an invasion of mainland Italy.

See further and see the bigger picture