Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 134



Only Noblemtl

#134

It was a little later that Rommel, who had a change of heart, became our hidden tactic.

It was time to build on the success of the Normandy landings and launch follow-up operations.

Naturally, the Tommys who chose Kang for their major were bleeding profusely.

“They say that everything went smoothly until the landing, but the problem was after that.”

Even though the Commonwealth forces, including Canada, which had successfully landed faster than any other country, were helping, the American soldiers, including myself, had to work hard to control our expressions when we heard that the situation was not favorable.

In comparison, our side was showing great feats that exceeded the Allied Forces’ expectations.

This was especially true of the conquest of Cherbourg.

“Wow, I never thought this would actually work.”

As Patton said, it was effective to completely destroy the port, giving up on the good port and building a new one as soon as possible.

“Aren’t those kids really crazy?”

“What on earth are you thinking···.”

The Germans seemed bewildered and even bewildered by our persistent attacks on port facilities.

“Isn’t there no reason to get Cherbourg then?”

“Well, even if it looks fine on the outside, if it’s rotten on the inside, isn’t it useless?”

“no···.”

Naturally, various complaints erupted within the Allied Forces. Of course, there was a magic word that could not suppress such complaints.

“But what about Kang?”

It was Kang.

Anyway, with the port completely destroyed as planned, the Germans lost their reason to defend Cherbourg, and thanks to that, they were able to quickly capture it. This was only five days after the Normandy landings.

“Wow, you broke it well.”

“There’s really nothing left. Wow.”

Of course, it is said that the engineers who saw the port were amazed and exclaimed in admiration.

Unlike our American troops who were advancing steadily according to plan, the situation of the British troops was different.

Even on the day of the Normandy landings, it was the British and Canadian forces that advanced inland the fastest.

Sword and Juno, where they landed, had weak coastal defenses, but the situation was different inland.

As a result, while we were taking Cherbourg, the British were fighting a sluggish war of attrition near Caen.

Roosevelt, who was in Washington, delivered the final blow to the already impatient British.

A request was made to Congress for a bill to create a new class of marshals.

“Are you the enemy?”

“The Normandy landings were successful, weren’t they?”

“Yes, the German army is bragging about being enemies, but the supreme commander of the Allied forces with over a million soldiers is just a general. Isn’t that wrong?”

In the history of the world, it was not Eisenhower but Montgomery who first received the rank of field marshal.

Britain, where the custom of bestowing the rank of marshal on the sons-in-law of the royal family still existed, immediately gave the rank of marshal to Montgomery after he captured Caen following the Normandy landings.

Of course, it was more for political reasons than because Montgomery was exceptionally talented.

In the process of occupying Caen after Normandy, the British and Commonwealth forces suffered enormous losses. Naturally, public opinion was not good, and their standing within the Allied forces was not particularly…

So, they used the rank of Marshal to advertise and promote Montgomery’s specialty in a big way to lighten the mood. They probably also had the absurd idea of ​​trying to give Eisenhower, who was only a general, a rank.

Thanks to this, the United States also created and granted us the rank of enemy, saying that we cannot lose either.

But the current situation was somewhat strange.

“There’s still no sign of Kang?”

“Yes, it was definitely a good thing we gave in to the British.”

“Oh, by the way. Be careful what you say, even if it’s by mistake.”

The British think they stole it from us, so why should we tell them that we threw it away on purpose?

Anyway, Montgomery was barely considered a capable general within Britain, but he was not good enough to become a marshal.

Why? There has to be a proper track record. Like Kang.

North Africa also ended quickly with our intervention, and in Italy, we never even attempted a landing on the mainland after Sicily.

In comparison, I have the distinction of having successfully landed in Normandy. And unlike the British, our American forces were making steady progress.

So, what this meant was that Montgomery, who had been stiff towards me until now because we were both the same captain, would end up being pushed down in rank.

Naturally, the reaction from Tommy’s friends was violent.

“Who are we?”

“If Montgomery doesn’t work, find someone else.”

“I hear the reaction from the US Congress is somewhat lukewarm.”

“Yes, Americans have always been a bit cautious about military ranks.”

That’s right.

In U.S. history, Eisenhower was not promoted to the rank of field marshal until six months after Montgomery had become field marshal.

That’s understandable. Unlike Britain, which would throw out the rank of Marshal just for marrying into the royal family, America was like salty water, recognizing even the rank of general as a temporary rank until World War II.

Pershing was awarded the rank of Field Marshal for his services in World War I, but this too was a temporary rank.

In such a situation, the idea of ​​establishing the rank of Marshal as a regular rank was highly controversial. In addition, the fact that the person to be promoted to Marshal this time was me was also problematic.

Aren’t I the number one candidate for the next Democratic presidential election? Naturally, the Republican Party would want to be on the safe side.

But I couldn’t oppose it until the end.

“First of all, public opinion is very positive. The people all say that the leader should be the enemy, so how can these congressmen resist?”

“General Pershing also said something about it this time.”

Pershing, who was active as the commander of the European Expeditionary Force during World War I, emphasized the necessity of the rank of field marshal while mentioning the power struggle within the Allied Forces.

Thanks to this, the bill was able to pass through Congress without any problems.

Eventually, the British began to look more urgently for candidates to promote to Field Marshal.

Naturally, such a move was bound to cause rumors to spread.

“I heard Montgomery was very angry.”

“Is that so? That’s why the British army’s movements while attacking Caen were so fierce?”

“Hoo. That’s good.”

That was exactly the moment I had been waiting for.

Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson visited London to confer on me the rank of Field Marshal.

Marshall, who was supposed to receive the rank of field marshal with me, declined, saying he could not receive it before his senior, and as a result, I, Douglas MacArthur, was scheduled to be the first field marshal of the United States Army.

Naturally, my meeting with Secretary Stimson took place in front of a large crowd of reporters, and I blurted out my prepared remarks in front of them.

“Enemy? It’s not time yet.”

“Huh? I heard that Operation Neptune, the Normandy landings, were very successful. The capture of Cherbourg as well···.”

“No. We have only just established a bridgehead. No, it is not even a proper bridgehead yet. We have not even captured Caen, which is under British control.”

Everyone looked visibly bewildered when I told them that everything was trivial, that all they had done was take a piece of beach and unload a few tanks.

“Are we like those Jerrys? They are lunatics who kill people in gas chambers. So they just label anyone as an enemy. But America is not a country without foundations like that, is it?”

I could see the expressions on the faces of some of the reporters changed at my words. It was clear that they were unwilling to acknowledge the foundation of our United States of America.

I continued speaking, recording their faces in one corner of my memory.

“Rank is important. For a professional soldier like me, rank is an honor and pride that cannot be exchanged for anything. That is why I cannot become an enemy right now. If I become an enemy after being satisfied with this little achievement, I am sure that General Pershing across the Atlantic will laugh at me. At the very least, I should recapture Paris.”

“Ohhh!!!”

The reporters cheered at my bold remarks, but the faces of the Tommy guys rotted away.

Why? Because now I can’t give Montgomery the rank of Marshal just for recapturing Caen.

I said that I would have to recapture Paris to become your enemy, but do you think I could become your enemy just because I recaptured Caen?

“The battle is not over yet. The German resistance is fierce, and the soldiers are fighting on the front lines. In such a situation, what does the rank of the commander-in-chief matter? It’s not like a high rank wins the war, and a low rank loses the war.”

“you’re right.”

“Right!”

I waved my hand slightly at the sight of reporters cheering and shouting in agreement.

“The victory in battle, the advance of the Allied Forces, everything is great. It is my joy and pride to be able to deliver good news to the people. However, I ask you not to forget that all of this is not my achievement, but the achievement of the soldiers fighting on that battlefield. In a distant foreign land, for the freedom and peace of the world, for a brighter and better future, some died and others were injured. And they are also someone’s precious family. Before my promotion, I ask you to first express your gratitude for the efforts of those who sacrificed themselves for freedom in Normandy today.”

##

“Tommy, those guys’ faces are really rotting away.”

Secretary Stimson burst into laughter, saying it was a very nice sight, and even lightly lifted the whiskey glass he was holding.

“By the way, what was the French reaction?”

“Well, won’t you get a response soon?”

“That’s true. It’s Paris.”

So, from the creation of the class of enemies to rejecting him, it was natural that they had agreed with Roosevelt in advance.

Purpose? Of course, to feed those Tommy guys water.

The war did not end with the landing in Normandy. Cherbourg was quickly captured, and a temporary port called Mulberry was being built in Normandy.

However, it was not enough to supply the Allied forces, which numbered over a million.

For a more reliable supply, more ports were needed. For that, we advocated a dragoon campaign hitting southern France.

And the British guys were still kicking the shitball.

“The first priority is to hit the oil fields in Eastern Europe.”

“Yes, even if we capture the southern ports, it will be difficult to transport supplies across the inland. So···.”

Britain’s argument that if we are having a hard time, why not make it harder for the other side? and that we should end Germany’s oil supply base seemed reasonable at first glance.

however,

“It is an operation that prioritizes political logic over military logic.”

Yes, that’s right. Honestly, Eastern European oil fields? How much is that?

The Eastern European oil fields were ones that didn’t make much of a difference whether we took them or not. And why did we go that far away when the Soviet Union was closer?

Britain’s claim to Eastern Europe was intended to contain Russia, its chronic disease.

“They are even telling us to do it because they are having a hard time conquering Kang? Where is that kind of nonsense?”

Secretary Stimson’s response was that he was disgusted with British impudence.

This show was intended to completely take away the British’s voice within the Allied forces and firmly establish their dominance.

Of course, I also didn’t like the sight of the Montgomery bastards getting angry and laughing before I did.

In any case, the actions of the British government, which, unlike me who refused to be promoted to marshal, was looking for people to promote to marshal, saying that they needed people who could keep me in check, were inevitably compared.

And the second objective was none other than to catch a tall frog, de Gaulle.

As expected, de Gaulle came to see me in a hurry the next morning.

“You mentioned recapturing Paris. When do you think that will be possible?”

“well.”

fly.

It was a symbolic city.

It was natural for France, and for our Allied Forces as well.

So, although he mentioned Paris when he refused the rank of Marshal, if you ask him whether recapturing Paris was the top priority of our US military, he said, “I’m not sure.”

And there were mixed opinions about that even within the US military headquarters.

“There’s no way the Germans will hand it over easily.”

“Yes. It’s like the Cherbourg port, it can’t be destroyed and reclaimed.”

“In urban combat, the Allied forces are always pushed back by Germany.”

“you’re right.”

Starting with the argument that Paris is not important, but that it is important to strike Berlin first and capture the German leadership.

“But isn’t it a symbolic city?”

“If France is completely liberated, wouldn’t we be able to extract sufficient resources from there?”

“The Germans probably took everything. What would be left?”

“Why not? There are people.”

On the argument that France should be used as a supply depot,

“Shouldn’t we be a bit wary of the British clashing with France?”

Some people considered political factors,

“Paris was so nice. I want to go back again. Can I?”

Even the guy who talks nonsense.

A wide variety of opinions poured in.

What I liked most about it was the story that there are still people in France.

“And to be honest, I also want to hear the word ‘enemy’ just once. I’ll only become your enemy if I recapture Paris.”

“Ah, ah. Well, if that’s the reason, then I guess I should do it.”

“Yes. But why didn’t you mention Berlin?”

My joke caused laughter to erupt in the conference room.

And the first stage of the operation to recapture Paris was none other than frog fishing.

pal