Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 90



Only Noblemtl

##090

The Army Air Corps was raising the banner of creating an independent air force with Elliott at its forefront.

And of course, this has emerged as one of the two biggest headaches for the current Army, along with the creation of the Philippine Army.

And this wasn’t just the Army’s problem.

The Naval Air Force also began to have people tell similar stories.

“Come to think of it, what the Sixth Army Corps guys said wasn’t wrong, was it?”

“Yeah. The Philippines also has an air force, so it’s a bit much that we don’t have one…”

Here too, Elliot’s contribution was remarkable.

“That old Mitchell guy was a bit like that···.”

“Elliot is also the President’s son, isn’t he a little different?”

To me, Mitchell and Elliot are both equally crazy, but different people make completely different judgments based on their backgrounds.

When this happened, the Navy leadership was very excited. As the number of aircraft carriers increased, the value of the naval aviation force increased to an unprecedented level.

And in this difficult situation, the seals repaid the kindness with enmity.

“The Navy is already working to protect the skies above the sea.”

“That is the very reason why the Naval Air Force exists.”

“So the Army Air Corps has no need to worry about anything.”

The Navy’s logic was that since the Naval Air Force was holding its ground, there was no need for an Air Force.

There were some people in the Naval Air Force who were excited about the creation of an air force, but the mainstream thought that we were enough.

And this logic was largely intentional.

The idea was to stave off a departure for the Naval Air Force by playing into the old feud between the Army and the Navy.

And their strategy was very successful, although it wasn’t without its side effects.

“Those damn seals. They’re out for revenge for the torpedo incident, right?”

“I guess that’s what it is.”

“shit.”

“Don’t be so dissatisfied.”

It’s more common to hate a sister-in-law who tries to stop you than a mother-in-law who hits you.

Even the Navy’s current behavior was not something to be stopped.

Even if he keeps throwing tantrums and saying he wants to run away, he’s still our family. But when you see our family, you say, “We don’t need them?”

The Army leadership was furious, but no one was more furious than the Army Air Corps.

“Skill?”

“Trust me and be at ease?”

“Ha, really.”

“Look here, people. Take a good look at what those seals are capable of.”

There was something that was spread around with the Army Air Force’s strong rhetoric, and it was none other than a video of a torpedo test launch.

In the leaked footage, both the Naval Air Force and the Army Air Force were seen attacking ships that were set up as enemy ships, each in their own way.

The weapon used by the Naval Air Force is a torpedo.

But the torpedoes all miss. They either explode first, explode in the wrong place, or don’t explode at all.

However, the Philippine Air Force, which is part of the Army, was different.

Kwakwakwang bang.

The bomb dropped by the Philippine Air Force bounced across the sea and struck the side of the ship, causing a spray of water to rise.

“Naval Air Force? Can you really trust it?”

“The Army Air Corps has the best pilot skills.”

“A Navy whose weapons and people are untrustworthy.”

The Navy, having suffered another humiliation since the East Frisian War so long ago, was on the run.

Eventually Arthur III came to me again and caused trouble.

“Isn’t this that Mitchell’s work? Huh?”

“well.”

“Ha, if you want to brag about being a water bomber, then do that. Why are you holding on to the torpedo? What on earth are you going to do about that?”

It was reported externally that the footage was taken by Filipinos who were at the base at the time, but does that make any sense?

It was common knowledge that the footage was leaked by Mitchell, who was currently residing in the Philippines.

Arthur III complained that Mitchell’s temper had not changed one bit, and that the Army was not going to deal with it.

but,

“But is it our fault that the Seal Air Force is so incompetent?”

“what?”

“And that guy who’s like a priest or something. He took all the money and still hasn’t produced a decent guy. How can that be?”

“···”

“But that’s that, and isn’t this this?”

Although I was dumbfounded by Arthur III’s increasingly shameless behavior, I could understand the Navy’s position.

I let out a small sigh and threw out the only solution.

“I don’t have money so I’m lying down.”

“what?”

“The Germans are rearming. They’re even building and launching U-boats?”

U-boat.

Wasn’t it the U-boat that provided one of the biggest excuses for the United States to eventually participate in World War I?

From then on, the Navy’s Atlantic defense strategy never left out those damn U-boats. And that was true even for those who remembered the last war.

“You mention the German rearmament situation, but we have no money, so we lie down and say, ‘This is the best we can do.’”

“what?”

“I may seem a little incompetent, but that’s true, so it doesn’t matter, right?”

“No matter what, isn’t that a bit too harsh?”

Arthur III glared at me fiercely, but the truth always hurt.

“shit.”

Arthur III frowned and scratched his head at the fact that there was no other way.

“If we can get more budget, whether we look incompetent or not, isn’t that enough?”

Wouldn’t financial treatment be the answer to a broken heart?

Although the Bonus Army incident is mentioned in the original history as the reason MacArthur resigned as Army Chief of Staff, this was not true.

It is true that the Bonus Army damaged MacArthur’s prestige, but it had nothing to do with the resignation of the Chief of Staff. It was more a result of the Roosevelt administration’s disarmament efforts to address the Great Depression.

It would be more accurate to say that he was driven out after fighting fiercely with Roosevelt over disarmament.

“It’s true that the Seals’ aviation skills are lacking, and it’s also true that our aviation stuff is of poor quality. And that’s all.”

“Because of the money?”

“Then. Is there anything in the world that can be solved without money?”

“That is true, but.”

What awaits me after I deal with those whining seals…

“Why does it seem so different from what you said?”

I had no choice but to keep a serious expression on my face in response to Chief of Staff Corner’s words.

“I’ve known all along that the Air Force guys are weird, but···.”

Because I was the one who threw Elliot there as the President’s son.

“Elliot’s future has a solution.”

“Really? What is that?”

“How about sending it to Europe?”

At my words, Chief of Staff Corner frowned.

“Do you know what Europe is like now?”

Europe was already covered with dark clouds.

In March, Germany began stationing troops in the Rheinland, a demilitarized zone established to ensure the security of Belgium.

The Rhineland demilitarized zone, which had been stipulated in the Treaty of Versailles immediately after World War I and the Treaty of Locarno in 1925, disappeared.

In addition, the Spanish Civil War, which could be considered a prequel to World War II, was also showing signs of beginning.

“It wouldn’t be surprising if war broke out soon. I heard that the situation in Spain is particularly serious.”

“But should we send it there?”

“Yes. Then I should send it.”

The reason the Spanish Civil War was a prequel to World War II was because it was where both Germany and the Soviet Union experimented with their own new weapons and tactics.

It was precisely thanks to the lessons learned at that time that Germany was able to quickly regain its status as a war machine during World War II.

“There is an oriental proverb that says, ‘Seeing is believing.’”

It was clear that the United States, like Britain, France, and other European countries, would remain neutral.

However, it wasn’t like I couldn’t see it.

“I’m not an spectator… But if I go there and cause an accident….”

“We have to kick them out.”

“what?”

If Elliot remained in the military and World War II broke out, it was certain that he would become a general officer.

As in World War I, there will certainly be a shortage of high-ranking officers in World War II as well.

But it was unclear whether the guy had the ability to do so.

At least, Elliott was not among the names of competent generals that I can remember.

That story is one of two things.

‘In the history of the original, there were no military personnel, or they were incompetent.’

Of course, he wasn’t as outstandingly incompetent as Stillwell, but he might not have been considered competent.

The problem was Elliot’s current position.

His father is the president, and his brother-in-law is the former Army Chief of Staff.

As a pilot in the Air Corps, Elliott was competent. His political sense was also not bad.

But it is unknown what he would do as a military commander.

So the idea was to send it to Europe.

“If I forget my position and act recklessly, harming the national interest, it will be Roosevelt, not me, who will strike me down first.”

“That’s true.”

At my words, Chief of Staff Corner nodded.

“But if you develop your discernment properly···.”

“I guess you can just write it big.”

Of course, there is a difference between training and actual combat, so there is no guarantee that good training will lead to good performance in actual combat.

But wouldn’t it be meaningful if we could weed out the fools who can’t even afford to train?

There was another reason for sending Elliot there.

‘I should go and tell them to pick out some guys who look good.’

Officially, the United States claimed neutrality and even banned arms exports to both sides, but in reality this was not the case.

Anti-Semitic, fascist entrepreneurs in Nazi Germany exported oil, food, and other goods to the Frankish Nationalist Party, even giving them on credit.

In response, individuals who supported the republican ideals volunteered to fight in the war.

For whom the bell tolls.

It is widely known that the novel that later became Ernest Hemingway’s masterpiece and was even made into a movie of the same name was based on his experiences as a correspondent during the Spanish Civil War.

Like the protagonist in the novel, many young Americans join the Spanish Civil War as anti-fascist volunteers.

This wasn’t just an American thing.

There was virtually no country in Central and South America, not to mention Britain and France, that did not have volunteers.

And according to the words of those who participated in the war as volunteers, there were considerable differences from country to country.

Especially in the case of the United States, there were quite a few people who had bad reputations, such as being arrested on suspicion of being communists who collaborated with the Communist Party.

Of course, there were quite a few who enlisted in the military and made distinguished contributions in recognition of their service in the Spanish Civil War at the start of World War II.

However, most of them were not treated properly and were mostly of the rank of commissioned officers, and even those of the rank of colonel were rare.

And in the military, being low in rank meant you weren’t very eloquent.

Could they really convey their experiences properly to the US military?

Through Elliot, I wanted to properly select the useful ones among them.

Of course, this was not a story worth bringing up now, when the Spanish Civil War had not even properly begun.

Anyway, Eleanor Roosevelt was furious at my suggestion to send Elliot to Europe, specifically to Spain.

“What? Oh my god. Where are you sending that kid?”

But Franklin Roosevelt was different.

“Hmm. Not bad.”

Unlike Mitchell, there would have been no talk of retaliatory personnel actions or anything like that if Roosevelt had sent Elliot to Europe because he was his son.

Rather, it would be like killing two birds with one stone, as it would strengthen his image as a fair and ruthless leader who is not swayed by the authorities.

“But do you think the Air Force guys will be cleaned up just by flying one of those guys?”

“Ah, ah. Those guys?”

But in this world, there exists a panacea called financial therapy.

“If these guys run away from the Army, how will we secure the budget, and how will we be able to survive the fight against the Navy?”

It’s not that it wasn’t, but just one word was enough to clean up those air force guys.

“I’m in the army.”

The faces of the officers of the Air Force who had been calling for the creation of the Air Force turned pale when I spoke to them during my visit to the Air Force this morning.

If you guys want to do that with the Air Force, I won’t stop you. But I’m the Army and I have no intention of taking in non-Army guys. With that one sentence, the Air Force guys backed down.

“I also agree that the Air Force should become independent someday.”

The faces of the aviation guys brightened at my continued words.

“But not now. Alcohol needs to be aged to its fullest in order to taste good. The right time will come for you too, so can’t you stop worrying and wait?”

When I said that I would unconditionally support and provide unsparing support for the independence of the Air Force when that time came, the Air Force’s resistance died down in an instant.

And when Elliot, whom they had brandished like a sword, left for Europe, they became quiet as if they had never shouted for independence.

Thus began the prequel to World War II, the Spanish Civil War.

The unexpected butterfly effect