章 252: 252
Episode 252: Tug of war (5)
"Lieutenant General George S. Patton. Nice to meet you."
"… … Bernard Law Montgomery. Nice to meet you too."
The two generals of the United States and Britain, who have been recorded in history as rivals of the century, to put it positively, but in reality as best friends, shook hands.
Montgomery used all kinds of rhetoric to explain to Patton the process of losing Oxford to the Germans, retreating again and again, and running all the way to Birmingham.
Although Montgomery made many mistakes during the explanation, Patton grasped the essence before anyone else.
-The German army is too strong. Their tanks, fighter planes, and rifles are several levels higher than those of our troops.
-Unless air superiority is achieved, an offensive should not be possible and a defensive war should be pursued.
-An offensive is absolutely impossible with the current troops alone. It is only worth attempting this if at least twice as many troops are gathered as before. If you attack hastily like me and don't want to end up in trouble.
"I understand the general's advice well."
Montgomery's turn was over. Now it was Patton's turn.
"But from this far behind, we can't get a detailed look at the atmosphere of the front line."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I need to see it with my own eyes and come up with a strategy."
Patton was aggressive, but he was not recklessly aggressive. In fact, he was more careful than anyone else when making strategies.
Sufficient supplies and troops are essential for an offensive, but reconnaissance to check the enemy's momentum prior to an offensive is also very important.
Since ancient times, there has not been a single army that did well because they neglected reconnaissance.
Before launching an offensive, Patton preferred to use reconnaissance teams to monitor the enemy's movements and explore vulnerabilities in the enemy's front lines.
When Patton said he would go on an inspection trip to the front, Montgomery spoke in an astounded tone.
"Using a reconnaissance plane might not be a good idea. Unfortunately, this sky is held tightly by Jerry."
"Don't worry. "There are plenty of means of transportation other than reconnaissance planes."
"General. "All preparations are complete."
"good. "Then let's go."
Patton's dedicated command vehicle was a Willys MB Jeep with bulletproof plates added to increase its defense capabilities.
At best, it could only stop rifle bullets, but it was safer than the original, which had nothing on the side and an empty hole.
Here, an M8 Greyhound armored vehicle followed and served as Patton's escort.
Patton wanted to go in just one jeep, but his staff actively discouraged him, so he had no choice.
"depart. "Jerry, let's take a look at the tops."
***
July 13, 1943
oxford england
Residents who refused to evacuate and remained in Oxford were careful about their words and actions in front of the occupying forces.
Rommel also repeatedly emphasized to front-line commanders to avoid unnecessary friction with the residents.
The President also gave instructions to be extremely careful to avoid causing friction with the local people, as the only return would be bullets and bombs.
Of course, in case of emergency, materials could be commandeered from residents or mobilized for construction or road repairs, but dissatisfaction could be minimized only by paying a daily wage or at least using an IOU.
If you act like an occupying force and angry residents secretly plant bombs or throw Molotov cocktails on the railroad tracks, how will you respond?
To show that he was not just talking, Rommel had the British see the ensign engineer who raped a drunken woman on the street, and the female air force driver who hit an old man with his car and threw him under a bridge, attempting to destroy evidence. He was shot dead in front of the public.
Perhaps because these efforts paid off, not a single guerrilla attack attempt was reported.
Only when the rear is stable can you focus on the front. Rommel's next target was Birmingham. A metropolitan city that is one of the three largest cities in England, along with London and Manchester.
Although the damage caused by the occupation of Oxford was greater than expected, the damage was made up invisibly by ammunition, food, and new soldiers from the home country.
Among the tanks that were hit, those that could be repaired were returned to active duty by the maintenance company. Vehicles that were judged to be difficult to repair by the maintenance company alone were moved to the rear, and vehicles that were deemed more expensive to repair or were so damaged that they could not be repaired were dismantled. So, only useful parts were salvaged and stored as spares.
The tanks created by German engineers were feared by the enemies on the front lines and received favorable reviews and praise from our allies.
The first country to produce tanks was England, but the tanks made in England, the birthplace of tanks, and the tanks that came across the sea from the United States were no match for German tanks.
'This is what Cheongchuleoram means.'
In World War I, Germany was defeated by the tank forces led by Britain and France.
The tanks that drove Germany to defeat are now leading Germany to victory and Britain to defeat.
What a wonderful irony of history.
The Fuhrer was determined to end the war before additional American reinforcements arrived in Britain. As the advance is delayed, the number of American troops landing on Britain will increase and the advance will become more difficult.
Before time passes, we must advance as far as possible to reach Glasgow.
The Navy and Air Force also followed the President's strong instructions and laid mines at ports in England, and the Air Force bombed Liverpool, Manchester, Peterborough, Nottingham, and Sheffield.
RAF fighters also tried to intercept them all at once, but they often fell like leaves in a cold wind in front of the overwhelmingly powerful jets.
The trend has long since shifted towards Germany. At the end of summer, before fall, he would occupy England and put an end to this war once and for all.
After the war, Europe will be reorganized under a new order led by Germany, and he will forever be recorded in history as one of the great pioneers who created a new Europe.
Rommel was confident and had no doubt that no one would stand in his way. Therefore, he was very surprised when news of the enemy's offensive came.
"zap?"
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Was there any room left for the enemy to launch an offensive? Adjutant Luke said to Rommel, who was quite surprised.
"Fortunately, there is no news that the front line has been breached yet. And the main force of this offensive is not the British army."
"If not the British army, is it the Canadian army?"
Luke shook his head.
"I am an American soldier."
***
"Umm… … ."
Patton lowered the binoculars in his hand and frowned.
That British guy wasn't exaggerating. Patton clicked his tongue at the German lines, which were as solid as a concrete fortress.
Should we just shut up and focus on defense like Montgomery said? But that didn't suit Patton's temper.
In his opinion, just defending himself like he was now was a temporary measure, the equivalent of urinating on frozen feet.
Have we been able to tie the enemy to the coast through our defense so far, or have we succeeded in protecting London?
Defense alone cannot stop the Jerrys.
The Jerrys must be proud of their successive victories. Aside from that, it's hard to see any flaws in the wire, but if you dig deeper, there's definitely a gap somewhere.
The way to victory will be to penetrate that gap, confuse the enemy, and lead to their annihilation.
"What are you going to do? "Are you going to return like this?"
"no. "Let's look around a little more."
After looking around for another hour, Patton finally found the gap he was looking for. It's here. If we focus our attack right here and push all the way through to the cavalry, we can really hit those Jerry guys as well.
After identifying the vulnerability, Patton immediately returned to his unit and argued with Montgomery.
Despite Patton's explanation, Montgomery insisted on the position that "we must concentrate on defense for the time being," and Patton argued that nothing would be accomplished by just defending, and that it was necessary to break the enemy's brunt of the attack with a bold offensive.
As the autonomy between the two sides could not be narrowed, Patton eventually decided to launch an offensive with the U.S. military alone.
Just wait and see. Jerry and I will crush your noses flat.
"Nothing can be accomplished if you stay stuck in the trench like a scared bastard. Jerry and I, let's show these arrogant British gentlemen the power of the American soldier."
***
"emergency! Enemy attack!"
"Everyone to location!"
After the sudden bombardment ended, what the German soldiers, who looked out of the trenches, saw was a procession of charging Shermans.
While the Air Force liaison officer was urgently requesting support, 88mm anti-aircraft guns disguised in bushes lowered their muzzles and took firing positions.
"Those guys aren't Tommy."
"They're not Tommys?"
"Then what?"
"They are Yankees."
"It's none of my business whether it's Tommy, Yankee or Martian. "After all, we have this 88."
Although the German troops on the front had no tanks, they had the 88, which was as reliable as a tank. Additionally, each infantry squad was issued a Panzerfaust to prepare for the intrusion of enemy tanks.
"Out of range!"
"Okay, fire!"
88mm anti-aircraft guns opened fire at a distance of 1km. The two Shermans, which were charging with great momentum, exploded almost simultaneously, sending shells into the air.
The Sherman, who miraculously deflected an 88mm armor-piercing bullet from the front, hurriedly took refuge behind the remains of a friendly tank.
However, the eagle-eyed gunner aimed his fire precisely at the Sherman's turret.
The torsos of the tank commander, gunner, and gunner were torn into pieces by an armor-piercing bullet that penetrated the gun mantlet, and the operator and driver, who luckily escaped death, escaped from the tank in a panic.
The PaK 40 was also fired, although it was less powerful than the 88, but had no problem making a hole in the front of the Sherman.
A shell that penetrated the hull caused an explosion and the gun mantlet and main gun were removed from the turret.
The thickly armored Sherman had a slight chance of deflecting enemy shells, while the thinly armored Stuart often turned into a burning coffin if hit.
Before we knew it, Stuart had all disappeared and only Sherman remained on the battlefield to continue the attack.
Even though it was the weakest defensive line among the evenly divided fronts, the damage suffered by the U.S. troops was beyond imagination. Soon, urgent news from the front line reached Patton in the rear.
"It's been so long since it started that we've already lost 12 aircraft?"
"oh my god."
"General, it is impossible to continue the offensive any longer. Please reconsider."
Unlike his subordinates, who were shocked by the damage beyond imagination, Patton remained aloof.
Of course, he was quite surprised by the unexpected loss, but he had no intention of stopping the offensive now.
"There is no other detour other than that. No matter how much the loss is, as long as you break through, everything is smooth sailing from there!"
Patton's strategy was that if he encountered strong enemy resistance, he would immediately find another detour and advance, leaving the enemy forces in the area to the infantry and artillery following the tanks.
Therefore, he chose the thinnest part of the enemy's defense line and concentrated his armored power on it.
After breaking through the enemy's front line at once with a powerful tank, the left and right sides are left to the infantry in the rear, and the tanks move straight ahead and stir up the enemy's rear.
If you advance as far as fuel and ammunition can support, the front line will soon collapse and the enemy will quickly lose focus and be surrounded or retreat.
However, the U.S. military suffered significant losses during the breakthrough. By the German army's anti-tank guns and Panzerfausts.
The Shermans, who had barely silenced the 88s with a volley of 75mm and 76mm shells, crossed the trench and advanced when rockets flew in from the side.
The warhead of the Panzerfaust, which hit directly on the side of the Sherman, passed right through the Sherman's armor and exploded another Sherman next to it.
This happened occasionally due to the Panzerfaust's high penetration power.
"Wow!!"
The tank itself was intact, with only a hole in the armor, but the tank crews, shocked by the fact that the tank had been pierced, abandoned the intact tank and escaped.
Waiting for the tankers who opened the hatch and escaped were German bullets.
"Don't hesitate! "Keep stepping on it!"
"but-"
"Hey you idiot! If I stop here, it just goes away? We need to move as fast as possible so the damn Krauts can't target us! "Shut up and step on me!"
"Oh, I understand!"
The only way for American tank crews to survive was to run at full speed so the Germans could not target them.
Or, kill the enemy first with tank guns and machine guns.
"It's Jerry at 2 o'clock!"
"Wipe it out with machine guns!"
The machine guns on the turret and hull rotated, turning the German soldiers who were aiming at the Panzerfaust into a honeycomb.
Another Panzerfaust flew towards the advancing Sherman, crushing the German soldiers who were covered in holes and scattered about in endless tracks.
-bang!
The warhead of the Panzerfaust that hit the ammunition depot exploded, turning the tank into a huge oven.
The crew, whose entire body was engulfed in flames, screamed and struggled to open the tank hatch.
However, the shock at the time of the attack broke the lock and the hatch could not be opened. The tank crews were burned alive in the tanks.
To make matters worse, Stukas called by the Air Force liaison officer appeared and attacked the US tank unit.
The British and other Allied forces had experienced Stuka air raids consistently, but the US military experienced them for the first time today.
However, even though this was the first time, the US military was not completely unaware of the existence of the Stuka.
The American troops, who had learned about the Stuka through training materials before being dispatched to England, hurriedly spread out and raised their main guns and machine guns as high as possible to conduct limited anti-aircraft fire.
"Yankees are struggling to survive."
"Ha, I guess they know how to scare us with something like this. "No way!"
For Rudel, who had leisurely dropped bombs and survived even under more intense anti-aircraft fire, the U.S. anti-aircraft fire was like a child's play.
He fired the R5M rocket while avoiding the bullets fired by the U.S. military, and when he saw the Sherman burning, he leisurely counted the numbers.
The rocket that hit the thin upper armor was enough to send the tank into a complete explosion.
One unlucky Sherman's ammunition exploded all at once, causing its turret to separate from the hull and its side armor torn off entirely, rendering it unrecognizable.
Here, as a final blow, the Hatcher Company arrived after receiving a request for support from the infantry.
Since it did not have a turret, it had the disadvantage of having to turn the hull one by one to aim at the target. However, as a tank destroyer with no defense on the front of the hull, the Hatcher, which was limited to the front and had defense power higher than that of the Tiger, was a powerful enemy that the Sherman had difficulty dealing with.
Artillery fire exchanged between both tanks. As instructed by the company commander, the hatchers exchanged fire with the U.S. forces at a sufficient distance.
The Sherman, which was hit directly by Hatcher's 75mm shell, exploded or stopped quietly spewing out smoke.
Hetcher was also hit by several shells fired by Sherman, but bounced them off without difficulty. As long as he didn't expose his flanks, Hatcher was almost invincible.
"Those bastards, why are they okay?"
"All our shells are bouncing!?"
"Damn it. To those pudgy guys... … ."
"Retreat! "This is dog death!"
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