章 62: 62
April 8, 1940
Operation Wilfred began.
The British Navy's minelayers quickly fled after laying mines in Norwegian territorial waters.
When the Norwegian Navy's patrol boats arrived on the scene, the Royal Navy had already withdrawn, and one of the patrol boats was sunk after colliding with a mine.
Norway immediately severed diplomatic relations with Britain.
When the message severing diplomatic relations arrived from the Norwegian government, Churchill ordered the start of Operation R4.
April 9, 1940
Narvik was on fire.
***
April 10, 1940
New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany
After all, they are haters. I can't give my habits to others.
I listened to Keitel's report with satisfaction that my expectations were correct this time.
Sorry to the Norwegians, but today Coke felt sweeter and more refreshing.
"Yesterday the Norwegian government officially declared war on Britain. Martial law has been declared throughout Norway, a mobilization order has been issued, and reservists are enlisting."
Keitel stopped talking and glanced at me.
I deliberately shrugged my shoulders as if I had no idea.
"Why are you doing this? Don't speak suddenly. Please continue."
"Ah... hmmm, to continue, Narvik was devastated by the British Navy's attack, and the British military is currently occupying the port."
"Have you entered downtown Narvik yet?"
"As it turns out, yes. It seems that it is difficult to enter the city due to resistance from the Norwegian army. And in this attack, not only Norwegians but also many Swedes who were loading supplies on ships in the port were killed, causing the Swedish government to send a letter of protest to Britain.
"The King of Sweden himself even mentioned severing diplomatic ties with the UK, but the UK has yet to provide any significant response."
"It's probably an intention to just ignore them. If we do well, we can make Sweden on our side. "How much damage did the Norwegian army suffer?"
"yes. Three Norwegian Navy patrol boats attacked, but all were sunk. "I don't know the detailed figures, but the number of Norwegians killed in this attack, both military and civilian, is estimated to be close to 1,000."
"You killed a lot of people. They are truly terrible people. "Is there any damage to the British army?"
Since it was a surprise attack, I thought the British army would not suffer much damage, but an unexpected answer came out.
"Unexpectedly, the damage to the British Navy was quite large. "Norwegian coastal artillery and torpedo attacks sank the heavy cruiser York and seriously damaged two of her destroyers."
Heavy cruiser sunk? Is this true?
This time I was surprised by the unexpected results.
In actual history, the German heavy cruiser Blücher was sunk by Norwegian coastal artillery and torpedoes, and here, the British heavy cruiser York was sunk by the Norwegians.
It's a strange thing. Is this also included in the parallel theory?
"Anyway, that's a good thing. Our navy has one less enemy ship to sink. "What is the reply from Admiral Leder?"
"As long as you give the order, we can leave immediately."
As soon as I heard the news of the British army's attack on Norway, I ordered Leder to prepare to go.
Currently, transport ships carrying warships and troops are waiting for orders to depart in Kiel and Danzig.
The main unit anchored in Kiel is scheduled to set sail and land in Oslo as soon as it receives Norway's request for support, and the fleet in Danzig is scheduled to pass through Sweden and enter Norway.
Even in history, Sweden gave the road without a word to Germany's request to borrow the road because they were on their way to attack Norway, so they will not refuse or do anything like that.
Moreover, since many Swedes were killed in this attack on Narvik, Sweden will definitely accept our request.
"All that remains now is the Norwegian government's decision. Let's go eat something. "What would you like on the menu?"
"We will take what the President recommends."
***
When Hitler smiled in Berlin,
At the same time, fighting between the Royal Marines and the Norwegian army was in full swing in Narvik.
"Richard! come fast!"
"omg! omg!"
Private Richard Bemford felt himself out of breath. His legs were shaking from running at full speed while carrying such heavy equipment.
But he couldn't stop running because bullets were flying everywhere.
His heart felt like it was going to explode, but he had no choice but to run for his life because he thought he would really die if his legs stopped.
"Grenade, did you bring a grenade?"
"W-I'm here-!"
"Okay, good job!"
The face of the veteran who received the grenade box brightened slightly.
Sitting down on the concrete floor, Richard took out a canteen and poured it into his face.
The battle is in full swing, but since I went through all the trouble to carry the cartridges just a moment ago, I guess I can drink at least some water...
"Hey you bastard! "What are you doing now?"
As I was frantically drinking water, an expletive flew into my ear.
I could tell without having to turn my head. It was the voice of Sergeant Gayle Powerd, the company's administrative supply officer.
He was in command of the 2nd platoon, replacing the platoon commander who was killed.
"Your comrades are fighting and sweating blood, but you are leisurely drinking water. "You're still a Marine?!"
"sorry!"
"If you understand, quickly pick up your gun, stand up, and fight! "From now on, if you drink even a drop of water without my permission, I will pour you a whole drum of sea water, do you understand?"
"yes! All right!"
Fuck, you used to do this and now you even say something about drinking water. I wonder if I will live with this because it is so sad.
Richard stood up with a grunt, aimed at the Norwegian soldiers who were shouting something, and fired his Lee-Enfield rifle.
As he was the best marksman in his platoon, he hit the enemy with the first shot.
The enemy soldier with a bullet lodged in his philtrum collapsed and did not move. A soldier, who appeared to be his colleague, grabbed the fallen soldier by the scruff of his neck and dragged him behind cover.
This time Sergeant Gale got it right.
The Norwegian soldier who was pierced in the arm gave up on his comrades and ran away. Dark red blood slowly spread onto the concrete floor.
"The 1st squad will follow me and charge, and the 2nd squad will provide covering fire. "It starts on the count of three."
"yes!"
"1, 2, 3!"
"Gazua!"
While the 2nd squad provided covering fire, the 1st squad followed Sergeant Gale and charged. Richard, who was part of the 1st squad, once again had no choice but to run for his life.
Richard gritted his teeth and ran.
Every time a bullet flew past my ear, I got goosebumps all over my body.
"Aaaah!"
Richard's classmate, Evan, fell after being hit by a bullet from the Norwegian army. Evan, who had been shot in the abdomen, was rolling around in pain.
"Help me!"
Evan held out his hand to his comrades, but no one took his hand.
In a battlefield where bullets rained down, it was easy to end up in the same situation if you stopped even just a little.
Richard ran, feeling guilty. At this moment, he wished he were deaf.
Soon, a bullet flew out and pierced Evan's forehead. Evan didn't scream anymore.
Richard hid behind a three-story brick house whose roof had been blown off by a naval gunshot. Sergeant Gale muttered quietly, looking around at his squad members who were catching their breath.
"······8, 9, 10. Only 10 survived."
The number of squad members was 13, so 3 people have died so far.
When I thought that the comrades I had lived with had turned into cold corpses, I felt dizzy, as if I had been hit with a hammer.
"What are you doing, you bastards! "We need to provide covering fire so that the 2nd squad can come!"
This time, it was the turn of the 1st squad to provide covering fire and the 2nd squad to charge.
Richard lay on his stomach on the floor. A Norwegian machine gunner firing a Madsen light machine gun was his target.
When Richard pulled the trigger, the machine gunner's head jerked back.
"Good job, Richard! "Keep shooting!"
"Yes, boss!"
One of the squad members mounted the Bren light machine gun and fired.
When the first squad started shooting, two Norwegian soldiers fell. The enemies could not raise their heads.
The 2nd squad, which arrived safely at the cover thanks to the covering fire of the 1st squad, also joined in the fire.
The veteran soldier who had delivered the grenade to Richard a few minutes ago stood up and threw the grenade.
Six Norwegian soldiers were blown away with one grenade. It was a disaster that occurred due to a large number of people crowded into a small space.
The Norwegian soldiers were brave, but they were not skilled soldiers. As with shooting, the Norwegian army showed many inexperiences in hiding.
Richard thought that the enemies looked more like civilians who knew how to shoot guns than soldiers.
"Get down!"
At that moment, aircraft from our aircraft carrier flew in and dropped bombs on the enemy camp. I couldn't raise my head because of the aftershocks.
When the dust settled and I opened my eyes, I saw human limbs strewn about the edge of a huge bomb crater.
Blood and flesh that had risen into the air due to the explosion poured out. Sergeant Gale shouted to his platoon members in the rain of blood.
"Everyone use swords!"
"Fight the sword!"
"Charge, forward!!!"
The Marines, led by Sergeant Gale, charged. Every time he stepped on the human limbs and flesh scattered on the floor, Richard felt arrogant.
He ran only looking ahead, trying not to feel the soles of his military boots.
Drops of blood were still pouring from the sky.
"Aaaah!"
"Get lost!"
Marines drove bayonets into the abdomen and chest of Norwegian soldiers who could not escape the shock of the explosion.
The soldiers, struggling due to shell shock, could not even scream properly and became victims of the British soldiers' bayonets and butts.
One Norwegian soldier sat idly by until he was struck by the butt of a Royal Marine.
The Norwegian army, pushed back by the British attack, retreated to the center of Narvik city.
Sergeant Gale's 2nd platoon also stopped its advance for a moment and waited for our troops to arrive. If one platoon advanced too far, there was a risk of being surrounded by the enemy.
In preparation for the Norwegian army's counterattack, the platoon members mounted machine guns and took weapons and ammunition from the corpses of fallen enemies.
Richard installed the Lewis light machine gun taken from the corpse of the Norwegian soldier in an appropriate location and took out a canteen to quench his thirst, when Sergeant Gayle came up next to him and spoke to him.
"After you drink, give it to me. "I'm dying of thirst too."
"yes? Ah, I understand."
Sergeant Gale's canteen had a hole in it after being hit by a bullet that flew during the battle.
The boss threw away the canteen and quenched his thirst with Richard's canteen instead.
"Boss, I have a question."
"What."
"I heard that our mission is to destroy Narvik port and the railway. Are we going to withdraw immediately after the mission is over?"
"I don't know if we will withdraw right away."
"yes? What do you mean?"
Isn't it natural to withdraw immediately after the mission is over? But you don't know?
"At first, I heard that I was planning to withdraw immediately after completing the mission, but I guess the orders have changed again. "If we withdraw, the Norwegians will repair the port again, so we have to stop them from doing so."
"Yeah? "No, then we have to stay here until the war is over?"
"maybe?"
Unlike Richard, who was embarrassed, Gail spoke in a pessimistic tone, as if it was no big deal. He could not read the change of expression on his face, like a man who had heard that 1 + 1 equals 2.
"There is nothing we can do since we are at war. "In the world, things don't always go as planned."
***
"Quisling, he was right after all."
These were the words of King Haakon VII, who attended the emergency meeting held by Nygorsvol. In two days he looked like he had aged ten years.
"I always thought he was a clown, but now I see he wasn't. "The clown was me."
"······."
Britain and France are preparing to invade Norway, so to counter this, they must form a military alliance with Germany as soon as possible.
This was something Quisling and the National Alliance Party used to say.
In Norway, there were no people other than Quisling's supporters who listened to Quisling. Not only the people, but even the King treated what the National United Party said as half nonsense.
But now, what he said has finally become true.
Despite the Norwegian government's desperate efforts, Britain eventually attacked Norway.
He gave the reason that Norway, which exports iron ore to Germany, Britain's enemy, can no longer be viewed as a neutral country.
As a result, all efforts made by the Norwegian government so far have been in vain.
If they had joined hands with Germany as Quisling said, England would have attacked sooner, but in any case, if you look at the results, Quisling was right.
Thanks to Britain's preemptive strike, Quisling's evaluation changed from a third-rate propagandist to a prophet of the century in just one day.
Supporters and reporters flocked to his home, and the National Alliance Party's approval rating is said to be rising sharply.
"Your Majesty, there is no need to dwell on the past. "Now that war has already broken out, we need to come up with a plan."
One of the Nygorswoll cabinet members broke the silence and spoke.
It was a basic statement, but it wasn't wrong. Because nothing will change the world just by lamenting.
"That is correct. Just because you regret it doesn't mean you can turn back time. So what should I do next?"
Although war was declared against Britain, it was impossible for Norway to fight Britain alone.
To fight against Britain, which had the world's best navy, high-quality army and air force, and colonies on every continent in the world, an ally as powerful as Britain was needed.
Coincidentally, there is a country at war with England.
It's also close to Norway.
"Why would you hesitate when you've come this far?"
Christian Roque, Commander-in-Chief of the Norwegian Armed Forces, continued his remarks as if he had made up his mind.
"Now that we are at war with Britain, the only country we can ask for help is Germany. "We have no choice but to ask Germany for support."
"Huh, are you saying that?"
"Let's get help from the fascists!"
As soon as the word "Germany" came out of Roque's mouth, voices of criticism were heard from all over.
Many of the Nygorsvoll cabinet members belong to the Norwegian Labor Party.
It was impossible to ask for help from Nazi Germany, whose ideology was completely opposite to the social democracy pursued by the Labor Party.
Roque also knew that his cabinet members were displeased with Germany, but he did not back down.
"Then what are we going to do? What country besides Germany do you think can help us now? yes? "Tell me something!"
As Roque came out stronger, the voices of cabinet members who were opposing him became quieter.
"First, give help to the United States..."
"USA? Do you plan to tell the United States, which exports a huge amount of goods to Britain, that it plans to fight Britain and ask for help?"
"Then to Sweden..."
"Even if Sweden helps us in the war, will it really be able to stop Britain?"
"······."
"Our country has already been attacked, and there is no country we can turn to for help other than Germany. "I believe that no one among them would want to talk about the Soviet Union."
Nygorsvol, who had been listening in silence to what Roque said, opened his mouth.
"General Roque is right. "There is no country other than Germany that can help Norway."
Even as a member of the Labor Party and an ardent believer in social democracy, he knew that there was no alternative to Germany.
Before speaking, King Haakon VII turned his head left and right and looked at the audience.
His mind had already been made up when the British attacked Narvik.
"Prime Minister."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Ask Germany for support. "For now, that's the only way."
"All right."
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