Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 137



Only Noblemtl

#137

Among the many casualties of the alliance between Patton and de Gaulle were none other than General McNair and his subordinates, who were in charge of the overall supply of Allied forces through southern France after the success of Operation Dragoon.

“Have you seen and heard? What the heck is this···.”

When McNair heard the news about de Gaulle and Patton, he was so shocked that he couldn’t speak.

And then he ran to me and raised his voice, asking what on earth should I do about this situation.

By the way, in the original history, McNair, who was destined to die in the afterlife after taking an airplane to the local map right after Normandy and being killed by friendly forces, fortunately survived thanks to me.

What was unfortunate was that he had no idea that he was alive because of me.

Ah, I can’t even explain this in words…

Anyway, thanks to his survival, McNair ended up having to take care of Patton and de Gaulle.

I thought it might be okay because they said that even if you roll around in dog shit, this world is better, but McNair seemed to think a little differently.

“No, Paris is nice. Who said you shouldn’t go? No matter what, you have to do what you have to do. Does it make sense to leave out Marseille?”

Yes. The reason they went there was to occupy Marseille and diversify their supply routes, but these two idiots went crazy and ran to Paris.

As a result, not only the navy that had been waiting to occupy Marseille, but also the supply units waiting in the Mediterranean to quickly unload supplies were all left stranded.

But they weren’t the only victims.

“You said you had set a deadline for retreat and notified us of it?”

“yes.”

Kurt Herzog, commander of the 38th Army Corps, sighed as he watched his adjutant bow his head with a gloomy expression.

His mission was to defend the coast, but he was forced to retreat and was pushed back to Marseilles.

“General Bizet told us to assemble in Dijon and retreat to a suitable location to establish a defensive line.”

“That was when we lost Marseille. If we just handed this place over to you…”

“But the enemies are right in front of us.”

“Even if it means destroying the port···.”

There were also divided opinions among the staff.

But no time was given to think calmly.

“They say enemies have appeared on the nearby high ground.”

“The armored unit···.”

The coast was already packed with Allied ships.

Enemy aircraft occasionally circling the sky were equally threatening.

“The enemy gave us a time limit to retreat because they were thinking of the French. If we resisted….”

Some people were talking about taking the citizens of Marseille hostage and fighting back, but Herzog thought that was the worst possible thing.

“Are you all planning to die here?”

“···”

It was just then.

“They say that the US armored units on the high ground are moving.”

“what?”

Everyone looked startled, wondering if they were going to start attacking already before the retreat time that had been announced.

“North, they are advancing north.”

“!”

“They must have figured out our plan.”

“Uh, what should I do···.”

Herzog bit his lip, thinking that this must have been an attempt to disrupt their efforts to establish a defensive line north of the Rhone.

“Retreat quickly.”

“yes?”

“What do you think will happen if we get isolated here like this?”

Above all, there’s no way the US military would have come alone.

Aren’t they the ones who decide the outcome based on numbers, then and now? The fact that the advance party moved must mean that there was a follow-up unit.

“We must retreat as soon as possible and join the defensive line before the reinforcements arrive. Marseilles is not important right now. We must block the road to Paris!”

##

“They say they’ve taken over Marseille.”

“With the Germans retreating without a hitch and the locals cooperating fully, it looks like the port will soon be ready for use.”

Fortunately, the report that followed Patton’s antics was good news.

I don’t know why the Germans fled so desperately, but the fact that a proper port had been built was more than welcome news.

“I guess McNair’s blood pressure has gone down a bit.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“By the way, is there any report from Patton?”

“Oh, there was something that came in a little while ago…”

The hazy appearance of the horse’s tail did not seem to indicate good news.

And when I heard the content, I burst out laughing.

“You’re quite talented. How on earth did you get here driving a tank?”

They knew very well how great Patton was in mobile warfare. That was why they employed him despite the concerns expressed by others.

However, the synergy that resulted when De Gaulle was added to Patton was far beyond my expectations.

“Lyon? How far is it from there?”

In response to my question, the adjutant next to me quickly looked at the map and answered.

“It looks like it’s over 250km.”

“At this rate, we’ll be able to get to Paris in under a week, right?”

“Ha, ha. That’s right.”

Everyone burst into laughter at my words.

I guess he probably thought I was joking.

“By the way, I’m worried about supplies. We got Marseille easily, but the local road conditions are…”

“The problem is also the number of troops maintaining the supply route. Although the locals are providing full support, the German troops still remain…”

So, Patton and de Gaulle were said to be about to enter Lyon.

Lyon.

Lyon, a major French city since ancient times, remained French, not German, territory even after France surrendered after six weeks of German invasion.

During the period when Vichy France still existed, Lyon, the closest major city to the border of German-occupied territory, accepted refugees fleeing the German army.

After the great success of our Operation Torch throughout North Africa and the complete destruction of Vichy France, Lyon also fell into German occupation.

However, Lyon’s unique architectural technique called traboules greatly assisted the activities of the resistance fighters. The traboules, which connected buildings, made it easy for the resistance fighters to evade the Gestapo’s pursuit.

“If it’s Lyon, you’ll probably be able to get supplies.”

Patton nodded in agreement to de Gaulle’s words, but the others did not.

“But will the German army just retreat?”

“Yes. To be honest, it was really lucky that we were able to come this far.”

“That’s right. Now let’s wait for the follow-up unit and calm down…”

It was a journey of over 250km from near Marseille to here.

As de Gaulle stood at the front and the spirited soldiers marched forward, calling out to La Marseillaise, the French rushed to their aid.

Broken railroads were reconnected, locomotives that were not there before appeared, and when the food we brought with us ran out, well-aged cheeses and wines that did not suit our taste appeared.

The battle with the Germans was also too easy.

First, the air force rained down bombs appropriately in time with their advance, and the cooperation of the local resistance was also good.

Thanks to that, the two were able to run without any trouble.

But to be honest, this was the limit. The reason is,

“We are running low on oil. Other items can be procured locally to some extent, but oil is a different story.”

What was the commodity that Germany was most desperate for? Oil.

So, there is no way that this French land will have any oil left.

De Gaulle said Lyon would be different, but that was not a sure thing. No,

“If the Lyon garrison had fought desperately before, there would be no way with the remaining oil.”

“Yes, if the Germans happen to know about our situation···.”

To be honest, the Germans were surprised by the rapid advance and were like, “Oh, oh,” but they were pushed forward at a great pace, but they were in a situation where they were too exposed.

If you add up all the soldiers who were left behind to guard the occupied territories, or rather the recovered territories, they would only amount to one infantry division.

Most of them were wounded and damaged tanks that could not be operated.

“Should we stop here?”

Patton’s staff nodded in unison at his words. Their earnest eyes were a bonus.

But one person was different: de Gaulle.

“That can’t be. Paris is right around the corner.”

At his words, one of his staff shouted as if spitting blood.

“We still have to go twice as far as we came, but what’s right in front of us?”

“Then it’s right in front of you. You’re saying it’ll be gone in a week.”

Everyone was left speechless by Patton’s response.

“Distribution is the problem? Just wait. If you’re my senior, I’m sure you’ll give me an answer. No matter what.”

Everyone agreed that MacArthur in London would solve all these problems.

‘Commander, you must have a plan, right? That’s why you told me to go to Paris with de Gaulle.’

‘Commander, please stop those crazy guys. You are the only one who can stop those crazy guys.’

Of course, what both sides thought was completely different.

Except for one thing: the fact that General MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, would handle this situation.

##

And at that moment in Berlin.

“What? Marseilles was taken? Who gave permission for the retreat?”

It was disconcerting that Normandy had been breached, but Berlin literally froze when it heard that southern France had also been breached.

Everyone lowered their heads and avoided eye contact with Hitler, who was fluttering and spewing anger.

At that moment, several people sitting on one side of the conference room exchanged meaningful glances.

So, back in 1941, when the war first began, it seemed as if the day would come when the Germanic people would complete their Lebensraum.

Russia took control of France and advanced at a rapid pace.

Unfortunately, the conquest of Moscow failed, but I thought that if I prepared again and tried again, I could quickly take it over.

But guess what?

The bombing campaign that had continued since the end of the year completely changed the world that the Germans had believed in.

“This is a nightmare.”

“You said we were winning. If you said we were winning, why are bombs falling on our heads?”

“We’ve been fooled again. We’ve been fooled again.”

I felt like I knew what was coming from the front lines without even hearing it.

The newspapers were still trumpeting the proud victories of the German army, but even a child knew that these were lies.

And once again, when they realized that nothing but a crushing defeat was left for them, Germany began to fall apart.

No, to be exact, the cracks that had been hidden beneath the surface began to reveal themselves.

“Now is the time.”

“That’s right. If we continue like this, we’ll definitely end up in a situation like last time.”

Those who had been enduringly tolerating Hitler and the Nazis despite their dislike for them began to raise their heads one by one.

“The situation on the Eastern Front is getting worse, isn’t it?”

“Yes. The American supply capacity exceeded our expectations.”

As the American supply power was added to the Russian ability to pull Ivan out of the field, the Soviet Union was no longer an opponent to be taken lightly.

“And what about the West? The moment Normandy was breached, it was over.”

“shit.”

Fortunately, both the British and American troops under Montgomery were crippled, so they were barely able to hold out, but no one was unaware that it was only a matter of time before they too would be breached.

“We must begin negotiations with the Allied Forces as soon as possible.”

Everyone knew that in Casablanca the Allies had declared that there would be no negotiations with Germany.

however,

“Where in the world is there absoluteness?”

“That’s right. I don’t know about the Soviet Union or France, but I’m sure there’s room for the Americans.”

Unlike the French, who were ignorant and obsessed with crushing them and demanding reparations during World War I, the Americans were somewhat rational.

Moreover, wasn’t it a war in another country?

It was clear that the United States would fully agree to negotiations if it was to reduce the damage to its own citizens.

“What do you yellow monkeys know?”

“Yes. Honestly, I wonder if we really needed to declare war.”

“It was all that son of a bitch’s idea.”

“So this time···”

At that time, contact from the United States came.

It was the United States that demanded Hitler’s death, as if it knew of their existence.

“Wow, it seems like you really know everything about us.”

“That’s how it is. If the Yankees knew about us···.”

It was natural to feel uneasy, wondering if Himler or the other guys knew of their existence.

Because of this, they could not easily give an answer to the United States.

But today they definitely had to make a decision.

“We can’t delay any longer.”

“That’s right. If you miss this opportunity, there may not be another one.”

That’s how the so-called Black Orchestra began to move.

McNair’s fight