Bab 174: 174
Episode 174: Operation Barbarossa (10)
"Ha, hahaha, haha."
"… ."
"Haha, hahahaha... .."
"Cho, Mr. President."
"Please calm down-"
"Calm? "Do you look calm now?"
The hexagram almost came out of my mouth, but I held it back. Not only can you get angry at someone who is strict for no reason, but nothing will change in the first place.
This whole situation is just ridiculous.
Earth Writer, is it you again?
The world's second-largest army is fighting against the world's 22nd-largest army, and the mainland is being robbed, so they bring out relics from 60 years ago, and the head of a mercenary company, a former chef, stage a coup and advance right to the capital with a free pass. What else are they going to do now?
The Cambridge Five incident barely managed to turn public opinion around, but public opinion in the UK was turned over again by the attempted IRA terrorist attack in Northern Ireland.
Churchill felt that this was the right time to work hard on anti-German propaganda, and arrest orders were issued for high-ranking BUF party members, including Mosley, on the grounds that there was a risk of them colluding with Germany.
Newspapers published cartoons showing me pouring weapons and money out of the IRA's pockets, and British people protested in front of the German embassy every day.
Even if I do it, isn't this really too much? I don't know how, just when things seem to be going smoothly, something else happens without warning.
Fuck, does this even make sense!
"Wouldn't it be better to at least express regret?"
"Are you in your right mind to say this? If we do that, it would be like admitting that the incident was our fault."
I asked Weizsäcker back, asking him to express regret in order to calm the anger of the British people even a little.
"Do you still not know what kind of person Churchill is? If we do as the Vice Minister says, he will increase the level of his attacks on us, saying he is a fool. "The British will agree with what he says!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. President. "My thoughts were short."
Weizsäcker took a step back, sweating profusely.
Ribbentrop, who was staring at him with disapproving eyes, spoke.
"If you leave here, won't you end up scratching yourself like a sore? Wouldn't it be better to wait until the situation calms down?"
Ribbentrop argued that it would be better to remain quiet, as the situation could escalate if he opened his mouth.
Time and forgetfulness will solve everything, so if you just keep your mouth shut, the public will soon forget about the existence of the incident. That was Ribbentrop's argument.
But I shook my head.
"That makes sense. "But if we remain silent, Churchill will incite the public to believe that we are the culprits and that we are keeping quiet."
"Then what can I do?"
"for now… . I have to catch it. must. Please announce that this matter has nothing to do with us. He also said that he is willing to investigate the case jointly with the UK if necessary."
"There's no way Churchill would accept our offer, right?"
"of course! But what matters is how the British view us. If we actively deny it, at least public opinion will be confused about who the real culprit of the incident is. Heydrich! You must mobilize all agents in England to carry out the operation. "We must use any means possible to bring British public opinion at least close to neutrality."
"I understand, Mr. President!"
When there was even a little bit of opposition remaining within the UK, we had to actively step in and shake them up.
The public, who have no way of knowing what is true, will be confused by the conflicting claims of both sides, and if they continue like this, public opinion in the UK may be able to return to the anti-war side.
Goebbels appeared on a Berlin radio broadcast and gave a speech titled "A Message to the British People."
The incident has nothing to do with Germany, and Germany has no interest in Britain's internal problems. Only warmongers who want war with Germany go around spreading the word about the incident, leaving aside what the truth is and inciting the people for an immediate war. I'm doing it.
Goebbels' propaganda actually had a brief effect.
Because the timing was quite exquisite, suspicions were raised among pro-German and anti-war groups in Britain that it was a play concocted by the government, and Goebbels thought this was the right time and turned to propaganda.
"I tell you again and again, Churchill is a born liar! He has already killed your precious sons, brothers, friends, and husbands at Gallipoli, and taken away the freedom of the peaceful Norwegians, Swedes, and Danes!
Please don't listen to that old warmonger! "We must all come together to protect peace and order in Europe from Bolshevik invasion!"
but,
As a man who served as prime minister twice in history, Churchill was not an easy opponent.
"Dear citizens, the Nazis have been eating away at Europe for a long time with lies and threats.
Hitler said he would guarantee the security of Czechoslovakia if it gave up the Sudetenland. However, when Czechoslovakia gave up the Sudetenland, Hitler changed his tune and annexed the Czech Republic.
Hitler only says he wants peace, but he never once kept his promises. Hitler had already broken the treaty he had made with us and was providing funds and weapons to terrorists who dreamed of the annihilation of the British people.
Hitler and the Nazis have only one goal. That is, putting the world under one's feet. That is his goal.
If we continue to watch the expansion of Hitler and the Nazis like this, the Nazis will become so large that even the British Empire will not be able to do anything about it, and will force us to make a desperate choice. Either give in or fight and die.
The Nazis, who have even swallowed up the British Empire, will try to dominate the entire world, and by that time, there will be no country left that can stop the Nazis. Do you know how the Czechs and Poles under Nazi rule were treated by the Nazis? Do you want your children to live as Nazi slaves like the Czechs and Poles, or do you want them to grow up as free people and proud citizens of the British Empire?"
Goebbels did his best to agitate, but unfortunately, even Goebbels, the genius of agitation, could not overcome the nationality barrier. The British people generally trusted the words of Churchill, a fellow countryman, a little more.
Still, thanks to Goebbels' efforts, anti-war public opinion in Britain did not retreat further than it is now, but the situation in which a majority of British people already supported the government did not change.
at last,
"Mr. President."
"The UK has ordered the withdrawal of its ambassador."
The waves were slowly approaching.
***
July 28, 1942
USSR Moscow Kremlin Palace
Relations between the British and Soviets, which had been strained due to the Cambridge Five incident, took a sharp turn due to the attempted IRA terrorist incident that occurred in Belfast.
The British's gaze toward the Soviet Union remained cold, but fortunately, most attention turned to Germany, and only a few anti-war activists raised questions about the incident. As soon as the water came in, Churchill rowed hard and accelerated his preparations for war.
The mistakes made by the IRA extremists ironically changed the fate of the Soviet Union, which had nothing to do with them.
If Britain enters the war and forms a second front somewhere in Western Europe, the German army's advance will naturally stop and defenses will be strengthened in the meantime.
Afterwards, if there was a truce with Germany at an appropriate level, or if Britain advanced well and pushed Germany back, the Soviet Union would also reorganize its forces and launch a counteroffensive to recapture the lost territories.
Although it was much shabby compared to the initial goal of driving Germany out of Eastern Europe, taking control of Poland, Hungary, the Balkan Peninsula, and Finland, and advancing to the Mediterranean, minimizing damage to the Soviet Union was the immediate priority.
"How far did the German army advance?"
"We are now 50km from Kiev and Tallinn has been attacked. If things continue like this, even Smolensk is in danger."
Every time Stalin looked at the map, he suppressed a sigh that threatened to burst out of his mouth. Even the troops of Vasilevsky's Northern Front, which he trusted, had long since stopped advancing due to lack of supplies and strong resistance from the enemy.
Tymoshenko suggested to Stalin that the Northern Front's advance had no meaning, so they should pull back their troops now and prepare to defend Leningrad, but Stalin refused.
It sounds good, but isn't it a preparation for the city's defense? In reality, it's a request for permission to retreat?
If you fight to the death in your current position, the enemy will not be able to advance and will not have to retreat. Therefore, retreat is absolutely impossible.
However, Stalin himself seemed anxious about leaving Leningrad alone and ordered defense preparations, but the construction of a defense line was sluggish.
We're short on oil and all our troops are at the front, so what can we do?
In place of the soldiers stranded on the front lines, civilians, middle-aged people, women, and children dug the ground with shovels, made trenches, and buried land mines.
They worked day and night, but the pace was slow, and with the addition of the German Air Force's air raids, the already slow pace of construction slowed even more.
However, the report Stalin received in Moscow was full of pretense that the construction of the defense line was progressing without a hitch.
It was obvious that even if they complained about the difficulties of the construction, they would only get scolding that it was due to a lack of will and effort, rather than help, so the working-level officials fabricated the report.
After all, high-ranking people in the Kremlin have no reason to come to the site.
"Despite local gunnery orders, the number of units disobeying orders and retreating independently is increasing. "This is a clear failure to follow instructions and an act of betrayal."
Despite his orders, Stalin could not allow field commanders to withdraw their troops without permission or to retreat for 'trivial' reasons such as lack of fuel or ammunition.
"All soldiers of the Red Army must not retreat no matter what. Anyone who violates these instructions will be punished with the death penalty, regardless of their status."
Although an order prohibiting retreat had already been issued to the entire army, Stalin once again emphasized the matter and declared 'Order No. 277' to alert soldiers who were suffering from defeatism.
Don't take a single step back. Anyone who retreats will be killed.
To prove that his words were sincere and not mere threats, Stalin executed all the generals who had been dismissed for incompetence.
This resulted in a serious command vacuum, but it was unavoidable in order to correct the withering discipline of the Red Army.
"Surrender is the same as desertion. A deserter is a traitor who betrayed his country, and the traitor's family members are also traitors. Imprison all the traitors' families, regardless of the reason."
"Yes, Comrade Secretary!"
Zhukov went one step further and insisted that the families of those who surrendered should also be executed.
This too was approved by Stalin and promulgated throughout the country with Order No. 277.
"Reactionaries steeped in defeatism are a problem, but partisans are not an ordinary problem either."
As the German army advanced, the 'reactionaries' in the Baltic countries, Belarus, and Ukraine stood by and flattered the German army as if they had been waiting for it.
It did not stop there, and anti-Soviet partisans began their activities in the rear where the German army had not arrived, causing various problems.
Spreading leaflets and inciting residents to commit sabotage was at least cute, and in places where resistance was severe, rear supply bases were attacked, bombs were planted on trains and bridges, and when the train approached, the bombs were detonated, killing hundreds of soldiers and destroying supplies. did.
"Partisans are traitors to their country. Never take them prisoner, but kill them unconditionally. "Not only the families and relatives of those who joined the partisans, but also the local residents who were incited by them."
"All right."
Now that the fate of his country was at stake, Stalin had no intention of showing mercy to his country's traitors (although he would not have done so even if it were not in wartime).
and,
"You mean the Jews?"
"exactly. There's no way Jews who think Hitler is the Messiah would be loyal to the Soviets, right? Send them all to Siberia, too. "Shouldn't you cut off the yellow sprouts in advance?"
Stalin did not stop there and ordered that all ethnic minorities who were at risk of cooperating with the German army be forcibly relocated to the rear.
There was no need to mention Germans and Ukrainians, and many other ethnic groups that were hated by Russians, such as Chechens, Latvians, Tatars, Cossacks, and Georgians, were designated as immigration targets and were forcibly put on trains and taken to somewhere in Siberia or Central Asia. was sent to
"Well, what do you mean by that?"
"You mean you pack up and leave in 5 minutes?"
"I don't say it twice. Pack your bags and gather at the square in 5 minutes. Anyone who is late by even one second will be shot, regardless of the reason."
"There are no meals until you arrive at your destination. "Each person must take care of their own food!"
"no no… ."
Soviet troops and NKVD agents stormed into ethnic minority areas, and residents were beaten like dogs without knowing what was going on and put on trains.
Anyone attempting to escape was shot dead upon detection, and their bodies were placed back in the train as a warning.
It was not uncommon for several innocent residents to be shot dead simply because there was an escapee.
In particular, Jews, who had been the traditional targets of persecution, were subjected to intensive repression by the Soviet authorities.
Although not as bad as the actual Nazis, Russians had traditionally persecuted Jews, and anti-Jewish sentiment remained even after the founding of the Soviet Union.
Even rumors that Hitler gave special treatment to Jews fueled Stalin's suspicions toward Jews.
In fact, Hitler and the Nazis only treated everyone equally regardless of race, but it was impossible for Russians to treat Jews, who were naturally despised, equally with other races.
"The bastards will listen to what people say!"
"Come on. Just hit it, you fucking bastard!"
"Aaaah!!"
"Help me! sorry!"
Jews were beaten with clubs by NKVD agents, tearing their flesh and breaking their bones, simply for asking questions or talking back, or even just for looking at them.
The Communist Party's instructions to show no mercy and treat all Jews ruthlessly as they were friendly to the Nazis also fueled the overuse of violence.
Either way, the German army continued to advance steadily.
By crushing and pulverizing the 'people's army' that stands in their way.
***
July 29, 1942
New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany
The situation on the Eastern Front is going smoothly.
Army Group North heads toward Leningrad,
Army Group Center heads towards Smolensk.
Army Group South steadily advanced toward Kiev.
What I need to worry about now is the west, not the east.
England was a country where the sun never sets.
An attempt to divert the attention of the British public by exposing the Cambridge Five failed due to an unexpected troller, and Goebbels' specialty, agitation, was used to compete, but this also failed.
I thought that since I had tried everything I could, it was time to prepare for the worst.
"I think it will be difficult to turn the British people's attention in another direction anymore."
"I think so too."
"Churchill, it looks like that pig will definitely go to war with Germany."
In the near future, Britain will declare its participation in the war.
Whether it's causing a self-inflicted drama or catching a pod, I'm sure of one thing.
If Britain enters the war, they will target France first. The possibility of Portugal or Spain being targeted cannot be ruled out, but the possibility is significantly low.
In a situation where the United States' participation in the war is uncertain, if we are to deal with Germany with only the troops under Britain and the government in exile, a long-term war is unlikely and we must go for a short-term war as much as possible, but if we aim for the Mediterranean, the supply route becomes extremely long.
A longer supply route means a long-term war, and entering a long-term war is tantamount to a death sentence for Britain's national finances and cabinet approval rating.
Rundstedt, who took over as commander-in-chief of the Western Front, did not sit idle in France.
Following my instructions, he built a strong defensive line at the point where the enemy army was expected to land, and at the same time trained reserve forces and new recruits to raise a large number of high-quality divisions.
Since there was still no shortage of manpower for the Eastern Front, they spent their time leisurely engaging in guerrilla warfare in northern France.
Here, a large number of air forces trained by Goering were deployed to prepare for any unexpected situation. The V2 base is also ready to turn London into a sea of fire as soon as the order is given.
All that remains is who will start the war.
But the main character will not be Germany. never.
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