Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 140



Only Noblemtl

#140

“Our true identities haven’t been revealed yet, right?”

Otto von Stulpnagel, the cousin of Karl Heinrich von Stulpnagel, sighed and replied:

“That’s true. But do you think the Royal Guard will just leave us alone?”

“no.”

Although these two men were recognized as capable enough to become military governors of Paris, they were not on good terms with the SS or the Gestapo.

There were many reasons, but both felt that the tyranny of the SS and the Gestapo was excessive.

The two argued that Parisians should not be arrested or executed at will unless they were clearly Jews or communists, which of course the SS and Gestapo did not like.

As a result, the two men were on very bad terms with the SS and Gestapo officers stationed in Paris.

However, up until now, they had been able to endure without any major problems thanks to their positions, but after the Black Orchestra’s coup failed, the situation had been getting worse.

“I didn’t know it would fail so miserably.”

“Yeah, shit.”

From the beginning, we had planned to hand over Paris while talking to the United States, but it wasn’t like this.

I thought we could successfully carry out the operation and negotiate with the United States on equal terms.

“But isn’t this the same as begging?”

“No. But there’s Paris. And you know the atmosphere. If we die at the hands of the Gestapo or the SS, our families back home won’t be safe either.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“And look at Rommel. We will be the same.”

Karl nodded at the words that it would be better to die here so that his family would be safe, since there was no way he could openly declare his conversion.

“Then I guess I should report to Berlin first.”

“yes.”

Certainly, he had to survive without being suspected until the American and Free French forces arrived.

##

“Paris is on the verge of falling into Allied hands?”

“Yes, I received word that it would be difficult to purchase it.”

When Hitler was informed of the situation in Paris, he exploded with rage. Everyone flinched at his rage, which was even greater than the day of his assassination and coup.

“What on earth, what on earth happened!!!”

Hitler, who had been expressing his anger by grumbling for a long time, asked back in a fierce tone.

“Are you really saying you can’t keep it?”

“Yes, I guess···.”

Hitler’s face became calm when he was told that it would be difficult to withdraw the troops stationed in Paris and rebuild the defensive line. However, the words that came out of his mouth were not like that at all.

“Tell them to burn it all.”

“yes?”

“Burn it all down. We can’t give Paris to the Allied Forces. Wouldn’t it be enough to just give them ashes?”

Everyone hesitated at Hitler’s words that if they couldn’t protect it, they could just get rid of it.

“But Paris is a huge city. Just the people who live there···.”

Hitler looked at this person silently, saying that there were more than 1.5 million people.

“Does it matter?”

“···”

Eventually, orders were drawn up stating that if a retreat were to be made, Paris was to be burned to the ground.

and,

“This, this is···.”

“Shouldn’t we set the fire quickly?”

Unlike Karl, who was speechless with a shocked expression, the Gestapo and SS officers looked very excited.

“Ha, you guys really···.”

“That’s a strange statement. Are you saying that His Excellency the President’s order was wrong?”

Seeing those who had no problem with the idea of ​​burning Paris allowed Karl to be certain that his and Otto’s choices had not been wrong.

But it wasn’t time yet.

“No. If you want to burn it, then burn it. But don’t you think about it a little?”

“What are you thinking?”

“Fire is dangerous. The Generalissimo told us to burn Paris, not to burn us to death.”

Carl’s words that even if you start a fire, you should withdraw your troops first so that they are not damaged by the fire seemed plausible.

“Can’t the fire be put out by the last remaining unit?”

Everyone nodded at the words, “Prepare in advance, such as burying bombs here and there so that the flies can easily fly, and then retreat, and then the last remaining unit will come out and set it on fire.”

The SS officers in particular were very excited and began making plans for where to stack firewood and where to bury bombs.

And after a while,

“Then which unit would be best to stay and burn until the end?”

The SS and Gestapo officers, who had been raising their voices when making plans, were silent.

No matter how well planned, lighting a fire in one place would not be enough to burn the entire giant fly.

It was clear that it would not be easy to evacuate safely after lighting fires in several places.

When he saw everyone avoiding eye contact as if they didn’t want to do something so dangerous, Carl felt like he was going to burst out laughing.

“I think it would be right for me, as the Governor, to handle such an important matter. What do you think?”

“As expected, you are the Governor.”

Karl couldn’t help but laugh at the words of the person who had just glanced at him as if doubting his loyalty to the President.

“haha.”

“Governor?”

“No, I’m just happy. I can’t help but laugh when I think of the Allied Forces burning this Paris to ashes and looking at the ashes in dismay. Don’t you find it funny?”

“haha.”

“Huh, huh. That’s funny.”

Germany’s future looked bleak.

##

The Tommy guys were desperate to somehow get a leg up on the huge event of recapturing Paris, but the operation was already on the verge of ending.

“I heard that Karl Heinrich von Stulpnagel has contacted you.”

“okay?”

Officially, our American military had made a firm promise to Britain and the Soviet Union not to negotiate with the Germans, so it was up to the Free French to communicate with them.

Of course, the Free French were beggars and were in dire need of not only supplies but also people, so our State Department provided some support from a magnanimous and humanitarian perspective.

In any case, Karl, the current military governor of Paris, has agreed to hand over Paris to the Free French forces as the Germans withdraw in an orderly manner, provided that our Allied forces meet a few demands.

Not only do we not attack the retreating German troops,

“Do you want to be a prisoner?”

“It seems like you want to seek asylum, but you know it’s going to be difficult.”

It was worth it.

All attempts to assassinate Hitler and the subsequent coup d’état failed, and the members of the Black Orchestra were being rounded up by the Gestapo one by one.

There was still no word on what had happened to the two men in Paris, but it was only a matter of time before they were both arrested by the Gestapo.

“Even if his connection with the Black Orchestra is not revealed, it is well known that he was on bad terms with the SS officers in Paris.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to kill him. But···”

Unlike Rommel’s time, there would be no major battles, so I was worried whether it would be possible.

“That part shouldn’t be difficult.”

It was Donovan who answered my concerns.

“Oh, Bill. I heard you lived up to your nickname in Normandy this time, too?”

“Ha, ha. I’m embarrassed. To be honest, it wasn’t an active performance, but a fierce fight.”

Donovan, who left New York with me and joined the Army, was working as the director of the Office of Strategic Services.

Donovan waved his hand in embarrassment and asked a question.

“Anything unusual in Stulpnagel’s contact?”

“huh?”

At my nod, the adjutant quickly continued his report.

“The order came down from Berlin to burn down Paris. So we set off bombs and set fires in Paris…”

“I guess the last unit will be a direct unit of Stulpnagel.”

The adjutant nodded at my words.

“Yes, I understand that they are planning a scenario where we will subdue them just before they succeed in putting out the arson.”

That was when.

As soon as the adjutant finished speaking, Donovan interrupted.

“That’s why I came to see you. I wanted you to leave this matter to our Strategy Office.”

Since the Office of Strategic Planning later became the predecessor of the CIA, its agents were more like special agents than soldiers.

“Wouldn’t it be okay if we sent you on a mission to infiltrate Paris and stop the Germans’ operations?”

We could not be reassured that Governor Stulpnagel was on our side, because the German army was in a situation just as complicated as our Allied forces.

Not only the Army, Navy, and Air Force, but even within the Army, there were divisions between the Wehrmacht, the SS, and the Gestapo, and even within the Wehrmacht, there were divisions between those who were Junkers and those who were not, so it was complicated in any case.

So even if Stulpnagel didn’t set fire, there was no guarantee that Paris wouldn’t burn.

“It’s not bad. De Gaulle and the Free French Forces have decided to take the lead, and they are also establishing a cooperative system with the resistance within Paris…”

“We should do important things with our own hands, not leave them to others.”

Of course, since it was their capital, they wouldn’t do anything carelessly, but given the track record of those frog guys so far, it would be wrong to trust them 100%.

Thus began the infiltration of Paris by agents of the Strategic Office under Donovan.

##

“Is that you? The new guy who said he was coming?”

“Oh, yes.”

“New recruit, did you understand the mission details?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Jason frowned at the man’s stiff answer.

“Were you a soldier?”

“yes yes.”

“Tsk. It’s obvious since you’ve come this far… Don’t be so stiff. You’ll just get in trouble with the SS or Gestapo for nothing.”

“Oh, I understand.”

I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t help it.

This was because intelligence had come in that the Germans were planning to burn Paris to the ground before retreating, and this was confirmed to be true.

If you set fire to this huge city, it would probably just burn down, especially since the buildings aren’t made of wood like in a rural village.

So the Germans were creating a huge booby trap by planting bombs all over the city. And the mission given to them was,

“We’re just removing the fuse of the bomb that the Jerry kids buried···”

“yes.”

It was the most effective method in the current situation. It was too early to send troops to stop the Germans.

“Street fighting is always at our disadvantage, and the citizens are also a problem.”

Although hundreds of thousands of people had fled, more than a million people still lived in Paris.

This operation was also intended to reduce damage to the people living in Paris rather than protect the city itself.

“Okay, let’s go.”

On the way to the first goal.

Jason sighed with a frown. It was because of the guy who kept looking around as if he was a country bumpkin who had just come to Paris for the first time.

“Hey, stop fumbling around.”

“yes yes.”

“Lower your voice.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry···.”

“Okay. Do you know what happens if you get caught?”

“yes.”

“Let’s do well, do well.”

I didn’t like that messy guy, but I couldn’t help it.

“Damn, if I had known this would happen I wouldn’t have fallen asleep during explosives class.”

Yes, he was capable of carrying out all sorts of operations, including infiltrating enemy lines and assassinating key figures, but he had one thing in common.

Because it wasn’t a bomb disposal.

Of course, after this operation was over, I was determined to learn properly and never involve such a fool again and do it all by myself.

After running for a long time, we arrived at a small open space.

“It’s over there.”

“How is it? Can you do it?”

“sure.”

The momentum of the guy in front of the bomb was definitely different from before.

Jason, who had been watching the guy dismantling the bomb and removing the fuse with a serious expression, quickly took a step back and began to watch his surroundings.

After a while,

“It’s all done.”

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and showed me something.

“Is that a priest?”

“Yes. Without this, it’s just a piece of scrap metal.”

“Okay. Let’s go to the next location. We have to work at least five places tonight.”

“All right.”

The operation that lasted five days was not always smooth.

Some days,

“Fuck. Get down.”

Bang. Bang.

“They are rats. Catch them.”

Tata tata.

I was caught by the Gestapo and had to run away all night, barely making it back home.

Another day,

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Shh, go away.”

“Ah, ah. Just a moment.”

I also met a Parisian who gave me some of his hidden black bread, saying he was having a hard time.

“By the way, Shin-Pin. What’s your name?”

“Are you curious now?”

“Uh. I think it’s okay to know your name now.”

“This is Bone.”

“Born. That’s a good name. It’s short and easy to remember.”

“Yes. That’s why I built it.”

“I am Jason.”

“I know.”

Jason chuckled at Bourne’s cynical response and held out his hand.

“Congratulations on becoming a full-fledged OSS agent. Agent.”

“Did you pass the test?”

“Oh. Did you know this was a test?”

“Yes. Or not?”

“that’s right.”

Yes, it was. On the surface, they said it was to stop the Germans, but

“What better stage for training new agents!”

“Even if I fail, there is no burden.”

Wasn’t the operation of this strategic office originally intended to reduce any possible risks that might arise during the process of cooperation with Stulpnagel?

So, failure did not necessarily mean that Paris would burn.

But at the same time, wasn’t it real combat to just wander around a city still under the control of the SS and Gestapo?

“But there was someone who found out that this operation was training and the final test?”

“Yes. Codename Bourne. He’s someone to look forward to in the future.”

“okay?”

Anyway, Donovan was pleased that we were able to train and evaluate the agents very well, De Gaulle was also delighted that he had received a intact Paris, and the brothers Karl and Otto also breathed a sigh of relief at meeting us safely.

Of course, there was one guy who was just grumbling on his own.

They were the Tommy guys who were desperate to somehow get a leg up on the huge event of recapturing Paris, but failed.

So on November 25, 1943.

A month before Christmas, Paris became a free land, free from German oppression.

“Take up your weapons, citizens!

Get in line! Forward, forward!

“Let us wet our furrows with their dirty blood!”

“Forward, forward!”

“Let us wet our furrows with the blood of the Germans!”

“Let’s get wet!”

De Gaulle entered Paris, followed by a parade of tricolor flags and the loud chanting of La Marseillaise by a large crowd.

Many Parisians shed tears as they watched de Gaulle confidently pass through the Arc de Triomphe.

“Viva France, Viva de Gaulle!!!”

“Viva France, Viva de Gaulle!!!”

“Wow!!!”

De Gaulle’s triumphal procession took quite a while because he walked rather than traveled by car, but no one complained or left their seat.

Tears of joy were streaming down de Gaulle’s face as he stood on the prepared stage.

“Paris is wounded. Paris is destroyed. Paris is tortured. And yet, my friends, today Paris is liberated. Paris was liberated by ourselves, by the help of the French army, by the efforts of all France, by the French people who fought and did not surrender.

And we have friends who fought alongside us to liberate Paris.”

Contrary to the original narrative, where he had proclaimed that Paris was liberated solely by French power, de Gaulle paused for a moment and looked at Patton, who was standing below the podium.

‘Me? Why me?’

At the sight of De Gaulle, Patton’s eyes widened, he pointed at himself with his finger, and licked his lips. De Gaulle nodded at Patton with a firm expression.

‘Come out.’

Patton then moved up to the podium with a puzzled look on his face.

The Liberator of Paris