Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 133



Only Noblemtl

#133

“During World War II, the Allied Forces were bound to have conflicts between nations. The most serious of these was the conflict between the United States and the United Kingdom. Before the landing in France, MacArthur and Churchill fought for quite some time over where to land. The British insisted on Calais, and we insisted on Normandy. The winner, as you know, was MacArthur. As a result, we had to accept Omaha and Utah as our operational areas. What was the most important consideration behind this?”

In response to the professor’s question, everyone in the classroom raised their hands.

The professor, with a pleased expression on his face, pointed to one person.

“This is Rommel.”

Some nodded to the student’s words, but others shook their heads as if to disagree.

“I think I need to explain in more detail.”

“Yes. At that time, the Allied landing in France was practically a done deal. The only question was where to land. It is well known that the Allied forces at that time even mobilized a film production company to put all their effort into deception. The Germans also did their best, and among the commanders on the Western Front at that time, the only one who captured Normandy was Rommel.”

“That’s right. Rommel insisted on Normandy, not Calais, but it wasn’t accepted.”

The student continued speaking in a more confident tone at the professor’s encouragement.

“So at that time, a defensive line was being built in Normandy. They didn’t have enough support, so they couldn’t properly prepare a defensive posture along the entire Normandy coast. And the new defensive facilities that Rommel had designed were installed, and the place where Rommel himself was staying and taking care of them was Omaha.”

Only then did the eyes of those who had hastily shaken their heads widen.

“That’s why neither Britain nor any other Allied power wanted to take charge of Omaha. Another reason is Caen.”

This time, no one shook their heads. The professor must have noticed this too, as he smiled and waved his hand at the students. It was a signal for them to sit down.

“Caen was a strategic point that had to be secured first in the Normandy region. So Sword, which was close to Caen, was a good place to make a contribution immediately after landing. However, as you know, the result was….”

There were many generals during World War II, but the name that came out with the ridicule that none were higher in rank than this man was Montgomery.

“Compared to him, our General MacArthur was different.”

At first, it seemed as if Caen had been reluctantly surrendered to the British and Omaha had been accepted as an inevitable result, but it was later explained that this was a planned move.

“This part in particular is exactly as it appears in the documents that were declassified some time ago.”

With those words, the document the professor was talking about appeared on the screen.

“There was a lot of debate until recently. Was Omaha really the choice of the US military at the time, or was it something they had no choice but to accept after a political compromise with Britain? At the time, the latter was accepted as the established theory. In an official setting, General MacArthur, who was still a general at the time, insisted that the US military should take on that role in order to recapture Caen as soon as possible.”

##

Montgomery, who had been given Sword and Kang, was elated.

It makes sense, because he was the one who was thirsty for his major even more than Churchill.

The general public, who knew nothing about the military, were somehow fooled by the British government’s media play that needed a hero and revered Montgomery as one of Britain’s greatest generals, but Montgomery’s status within the Allied Forces was somewhat ambiguous.

From North Africa to Sicily, Montgomery was undefeated and established his reputation as a British hero and Rommel’s adversary…

“There is no one decisive blow.”

“You didn’t support it, didn’t you end up getting help from the US military?”

“Honestly, isn’t it a bit of luck?”

And because it was true, it was even harder to say that it was unfair.

But Montgomery, who was an extraordinary man in many ways, did not think so.

“It’s all because the Yankees are jealous of me.”

“This time I have to really show off my abilities.”

Thus, he raised his voice saying that the British army was the best fit to liberate Caen.

And it was Churchill who added strength to it.

Churchill still remembered the moment he was ignored in Casablanca.

Clearly, a specialty was needed to ensure Britain’s voice was heard at the upcoming talks.

As a result, we were forced to give up the Sword, Kang, very reluctantly, as if it were really being taken away from us.

It was the idiots in Washington who had done the most brilliant work here. Those who had learned about war from the written word on a piece of paper far across the Atlantic did not want to know how crippled our American soldiers were.

Thanks to this, we were able to fool Britain perfectly.

And the source of that confidence was the preparation that had gone into it.

“You can just keep pushing until the overflow is full of soldiers. But then what’s the difference between that and the Soviets pulling out Ivan from the field, or the Germans turning Jews into soap?”

“you’re right.”

Our staff and commanders knew very well that they detested most those authors who filled their own pride or sense of honor with the precious sons of other families.

In the first place, we only selected people who would understand that.

Wasn’t I a future person who experienced all the lessons learned after shedding a lot of blood?

Since the Incheon Landing Operation saved the country from destruction, any landing operation has been something the Korean military has had to chew, tear, bite, and savor unconditionally.

Of course, the Normandy debacle and the lessons learned were vivid in my mind.

“Fuck. Why? Why doesn’t it work?”

“Don’t you think that your order is impossible, Commander? Tough enough to withstand a single hit, yet light enough to be deployed in an amphibious operation? Are you talking about something as cool as hot chocolate?”

What is commonplace in the 21st century and even childish was considered extremely difficult in the 20th century.

Still, since World War II was going to break out and landing operations were essential, there were a few things we prepared for.

“Should we close the door behind us?”

“What would happen if you opened the front door and there was a machine gun in front of you?”

“!”

Changing the direction of the landing craft door is clear.

“Would it be effective to put this wire mesh on the tank?”

“Okay. Just give it a try.”

“Why is this happening?”

Equipped with lightweight but effective mesh slat armor.

“The Germans use iron plates to make shurzen, but this can also be done with barbed wire···.”

“But why this now···.”

Of course, it’s obvious that other people will copy it.

There are special tanks for clearing coastal mines, anti-tank guns, etc.

The last one was a more fiery fire support than the original history.

Unlike the original history, the weather was very sunny, so we could pour out cannon fire and bombardment support without any problems.

Still, it was not possible to completely stop the soldiers from dying.

“They say they are advancing inland, beyond the coast.”

“That’s fortunate.”

It was still dark outside the window. It was the middle of the night when we attempted to land, so if we were to advance inland at this hour…

‘Still, it’s faster than the original history.’

It was a somewhat comforting report. I took out a cigarette, lit it, and turned my head, and the chaotic office became my sight.

“Armored units reinforced···.”

“The speed of unloading supplies is···.”

“In the airborne troops···.”

Everyone was running around like crazy. As I was smoking a cigarette while watching the scene, I noticed the adjutant running towards me out of breath.

“This is a report from Chief Ridgeway. He says he has secured the fox.”

Bam.

I dropped the cigarette I was holding without realizing it.

##

“shit.”

It was an additional goal that I didn’t necessarily have to achieve, but honestly, wasn’t it a major that I really wanted?

Capture the enemy’s enemy…

In particular, Rommel was a man whose name was truly great. Some people say that he was a hero created by Goebbels or Hitler, but honestly, even today, it was the same.

Omaha was hell.

“Of course, that’s because our commander is on top of the head of the Demon King of Hell.”

“That’s right.”

His unit’s capture of Rommel was a bit of an accident, a series of coincidences.

The mission given to him and his paratroopers was to blow up a bridge to prevent German rear support units from reaching the coast.

And the 6th Air Force deployed to support them.

In the midst of the chaos of the battlefield, they came across a German vehicle that appeared to have been damaged by a bombing raid.

His decision to dissuade his men from shooting them all was not for the grand reason of preventing war crimes.

“Is there any need to make a fuss for no reason?”

“All right.”

If you accept their surrender and tie them up, the guys coming after them will take care of it.

“Oh, but this guy keeps saying something.”

As I was tying up the guy who looked like the driver, he kept mumbling something in German that I couldn’t understand and pointing at the car.

“Take a look inside the car too.”

“yes.”

The guy who barely managed to open the dented car door at his command and checked the inside came flying in, his eyes wide and out of breath.

“Lieutenant, sir, over here···.”

“What is it?”

Ridgeway, who was looking inside with a frown on his face at the sight of her not being able to speak properly, also found his eyes wide open.

“Are you alive, Sal?”

It’s not that the Airborne Unit didn’t have medical personnel, but unfortunately, Ridgeway’s temporary unit didn’t have any.

All he had was an emergency kit containing first aid kit and bandages.

They put a splint and bandage on the limb that looked like it was roughly broken…

If he was alive and well like that driver, I could have knocked him out and carried him away…

“Wouldn’t it be like that if I die like that?”

“shit.”

In the rear, where there were more Germans than friendly forces, the author was stretchered?

Ridgeway quickly shook his head. It was at that moment.

“Oh, yeah.”

“Will you lose?”

Now that trucks have been widely deployed, front-line soldiers may not know about them because they have no use for them, but the carrying poles that were active on the front lines of supply during World War I came to mind.

“What is that?”

“The commander used to have something made here in France.”

Fortunately, there was some usable wood nearby.

Ridgeway, who had roughly created a shabby object by recalling his memories, tied the unconscious Rommel to it.

“Oh, check the pistol and other weapons carefully.” “Yes.”

Ridgeway, who had not forgotten the story of the hero who had defeated fifteen men with the pistol that had not been taken from him even though he had been captured long ago, meticulously disarmed Rommel.

So Ridgeway returned with Rommel alive. Fortunately, Rommel’s injuries were not as serious as they seemed, and his life was not in serious danger.

##

“You asked for an exclusive interview?”

“yes.”

The first thing Rommel did when he woke up was to commit suicide.

Of course it could be possible.

When he realized it was impossible, he asked for an interview with me.

Of course, I have no obligation to do it, but I wanted to persuade him well and use him.

“I ask you to have mercy.”

“warlord.”

“It is embarrassing to say this to the enemy, but I have a family to protect.”

Like the steel general in that cold town, Hitler had no hesitation in purging people he did not like.

Of course, those who died did not go to the afterlife alone.

“As you know, I am the President’s special···.”

“You were loved. You even deliberately took it away so that you wouldn’t have to bear the burden of defeat.”

Rommel was also a shining billboard for Hitler.

Hitler made every effort to get his hands on the military, which was tightly controlled by the old aristocracy, the Junkers. But is military insight something that can be acquired overnight?

Among Hitler’s favorites, not many had military talent.

So, among them, Rommel was bound to stand out.

“Now that you know, it’s easy to explain. If I fail to live up to the President’s expectations, my family will also….”

I know very well how much of a lover Rommel was.

On the day of the Normandy landings, in the original history, he was not at his post but in Germany proper, to celebrate his wife’s birthday.

According to one story, when his adjutant visited his home to report on the Allied landing operation, he was hiding his wife’s birthday present in his pajamas.

“Then let’s do that.”

Rommel’s eyes opened wide at my answer.

“As expected. The general’s reputation is···.”

Rommel, who was mumbling sweet nothings in delight at the easy permission, was interrupted by a question.

“But is it okay for you to leave your beloved son with a bad reputation?”

“stigma?”

“Those epaulets on your shoulders, the title of Marshal, are nothing to you.”

“!”

When I said that he was saying that he would die only thinking of his family, Rommel’s face hardened.

“The soldiers you commanded are also someone’s family.”

“···”

“And isn’t this the future of Germany?”

As the Soviet Union gained momentum on the Eastern Front and the Western Front also intensified, Germany was running out of everything.

Not only materials, but even people.

Women in the Luftwaffe? There were children in the German Army. And no one with any sense could fail to see that this was draining resources not only now but also in the future.

“Then what would I do if I lived?”

“Why not? There is a saying in a certain country in the East. It is better to roll in shit than to live in this world. If you think you can bear the weight of the rank of Marshal, then there will be something to do. For example, you can end the war by just one day or one hour sooner.”

When I said that if Germany’s defeat was already certain, wouldn’t it be better to end it quickly so that something would be left over later, Rommel kept his mouth shut.

“Dying is something that can be done at any time. It is also something that can never be undone. If you change your mind, please tell me.”

After saying that, I stopped trying to persuade Rommel any further.

In any case, for those with strong convictions like Rommel, no matter how much people around them tried to persuade them, it would be of no use if their hearts were not moved.

“Yes? But···.”

The adjutant looked embarrassed at my words to wait and then do as I wish.

“If you fail to convince someone this time, it will be the same next time. No, if you fail once, the more you try to convince them, the more your convictions will become stronger.”

It wasn’t for nothing that couples whose parents were against them were fighting for their lives.

Just as rain hardens the ground, opposition and persuasion were no different from leaps and bounds in strengthening beliefs.

So, just one persuasion was enough.

My guess was not wrong.

Frog fishing