บท 224: 224
Episode 224: How to die to live (4)
March 1, 1943
Near Voronezh, USSR
"Hassel, stop."
Wittmann ordered a stop and came out of the hatch with binoculars.
At a distance of 3 km, Soviet troops mounted on trucks and wagons were moving west. In rare cases, tanks were also mixed in, and the size was about one regiment.
"This is Caesar. "Please bring out the oranges."
Wittmann immediately reported to his company commander that he had discovered an enemy supply train moving west. The company commander gave the attack order without delay.
"Everyone heard, right? "It attacks after approaching a distance of 1,800m."
The Soviet troops were completely unaware of the approach of the Tiger platoon commanded by Wittmann, as they were moving only looking ahead.
They became aware of the Germans' approach just before Wittmann gave the order to attack.
"stop!"
When Wittmann's Tiger stopped, the other three Tigers also stopped at the same time. The four Sd.Kfz 251s that were following the Tigers also stopped along with them.
"Caesar 2 eliminates enemy armored vehicles, while Caesars 3 and 4 attack enemy infantry and vehicles with grenades."
-Received.
"Load armor-piercing rounds!"
"load!"
An 88mm Type 39 armor-piercing round entered the chamber, and the ball turned the handle to aim at the T-34/85 among the ranks of Soviet troops.
Only then did the Soviet troops discover the German troops and began to hastily disperse.
"Start shooting!"
An ear-splitting gunfire rang out, a hole appeared in the side of the turret of the T-34 that Ball had targeted, and a plume of fire shot out of the hatch.
The arms and internal organs of the soldiers caught in the explosion were scattered on the snow crushed by truck wheels and tank tracks.
Caesar 2 also fired an armor-piercing shell, blowing away the T-34's turret. Caesars 3 and 4 fired grenades and wiped out the infantry.
As Ball fired his fourth armor-piercing round, a group of tanks came into Wittmann's sight.
They were following the supply unit, but when the supply unit was attacked, they turned and headed this way.
"Enemy tank approaching! Hasel, turn to the right!"
"All right!"
The identity of the tanks running toward Wittmann's platoon was the IS-2. Wittmann's appearance was different from the T-34, and he immediately realized that these were the Stalin tanks he had heard about.
"Load armor-piercing rounds!"
"Loaded!"
The Tiger's main gun burst into flames and 88 hit the IS-2's frontal armor, but the shell ricocheted.
As the cannonball bounced off its yellow tail, Wittmann gritted his teeth. The armor of that new tank seemed to be incomparably thicker than that of the T-34.
"It bounced! "Reload!"
While Richter was reloading his shells, Wittmann looked for the enemy's weak point. The driver's observation window on the front of the car body caught his keen eye.
"Ball, can you see the observation window on the front of the car?"
"yes? Oh, I can see it!"
"Aim for there. "From what I see, that's his weakness."
As Wittmann said, Ball aimed for the observation window located in the center of the enemy tank. Before Bol fired, a white flash of light erupted from the muzzle of the Stalin tank.
The shell did not hit Wittmann's Tiger and split the air.
The Soviet tank commander realized that it would be difficult to aim if he fired while the tank was moving, so he stopped the tank, but this actually helped him aim the ball.
"Aim complete!"
"launch!"
The IS-2's frontal armor was 120mm, but the driver's observation window mounted on the front of the hull was only 60mm.
When 88 pierced the observation window, the IS-2 turned into a burning coffin. Wittmann, catching the monster, clenched his fist.
Dealing with the second IS-2 was easier. It foolishly climbed up the hill, exposing the vulnerable lower body armor to Wittmann.
When Ball pressed the trigger and drove 88 into the underbody of the IS-2, the turret fell off the IS-2's hull.
The last remaining IS-2 was destroyed when the Caesar 2 that came after hit the gun mantlet near the main gun with an armor-piercing shell.
The German army, having eliminated all tanks, narrowed the distance to the enemy. Infantrymen aboard armored vehicles also fired assault rifles and machine guns to hunt fleeing Soviet infantrymen.
The regiment-sized Soviet army began to disintegrate under the German attack led by one tank platoon.
"The SS marches on enemy territory.
singing the devil's song
A rifleman stands on the Volga River
It's humming softly… … ."
When there were no enemies left and the field was filled with corpses, a soldier quietly hummed a military song. It may be a coincidence, but it was a lyric that perfectly suited the current situation.
"We fight for Germany
We fight for Hitler.
"The communists will never sleep."
The soldiers of the 1st SS Panzer Corps advanced across the blood-soaked field, shedding a lot of blood. Even after the sun went down, the gunfire and heavy drinking continued endlessly.
***
March 2, 1943
Soviet Kuybyshev
Due to the German army's massive counterattack, the Voronezh Front was unable to offer any resistance and began to be pushed back.
Tymoshenko said in a phone call with Stalin that he would try to hold out as long as he could, but that it would be difficult to hold out for long.
Stalin was furious at Tymoshenko's extremely helpless remarks, but he had no choice but to let it go since he had no clue right now.
Although the situation of the southern, southwestern, and Don fronts was good, they were unable to advance any further and were only wasting men and materials.
To make matters worse, there were reports that German troops were concentrating in the south.
Considering all the information, it seemed clear that a large-scale counterattack similar to that of the Voronezh Front would be launched in the south.
"… … "Is this the end?"
The people did not yet know details about the situation at the front.
We only know very limited information released by the party that the Red Army successfully counterattacked along the Don River, defeated the enemy, and recaptured major cities.
In some ways, although the results were lower than expected, the purpose of conveying the news of victory to the people had already been achieved.
If we dragged on any longer, we could have lost all the achievements we had barely achieved.
Now there is only one way left.
"Call Litvinov. Right Now."
After receiving an order from the Secretary to be summoned immediately, Litvinov appeared in the Secretary's office in less than an hour.
"Did you call me, Comrade Secretary?"
"Please sit down, Comrade Litvinov."
When Litvinov pulled up a chair and sat down, Stalin immediately got to the point.
"I think it would be a good idea to gradually contact Germany and convey their intention to strengthen."
"You mean now?"
Litvinov was quite surprised by Stalin's words to prepare for peace with Germany.
Originally, Stalin said, peace with Germany was scheduled to proceed after the offensive was over.
However, as the ranks of the Voronezh Front began to collapse due to the German counterattack that had begun two days ago, Stalin also changed his mind.
"Yesterday, the German army launched an offensive in the Voronezh area. "Tymoshenko is on the defensive, but judging by his actions, I don't think he will be able to hold out for long."
Stalin sighed and lit a cigarette.
"In the south, our forces are continuing their offensive, but reports are coming in that they have already reached their limit. "At most, it will be limited to a week."
"Okay… … "Is it?"
Although it did not suffer a counterattack from the enemy as in the case of the Voronezh Front, it was not surprising to Stalin that something like this would happen at some point.
"We need to strengthen our forces before the German fascists launch a counterattack, that is, when our forces have recaptured even an inch of territory, so that the enemies will at least listen. Please send a message to Germany that you intend to reinforce it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. "Only by concluding a peace treaty in the current situation where we have recaptured even an inch more land from them will we be able to say that the end has come to an end with some kind of benefit to the people."
"All right. But how far do you plan to accept Germany's demands?"
Litvinov asked. Germany has already taken control of all major cities in the western part of the Soviet Union, including Moscow and Leningrad, and the Soviet Union has no power left to continue the war.
Germany certainly knows this and will undoubtedly demand a lot from the Soviet Union, which has no power to continue the war.
Stalin answered in a bitter tone.
"It is very unfortunate, but under the current circumstances, the Soviets cannot afford to refuse whatever Germany asks. Of course, it would be a different story if they demanded all of Europe up to the Ural Mountains, but even Hitler would not demand that much."
"We will contact Germany as soon as possible."
After Litvinov left, Stalin, left alone, quietly lit a cigarette and stared into space.
Even if the offensive was successful, it was expected that the war would ultimately end in German victory. Still, it was unexpected that Germany counterattacked so quickly.
In the past, he would have argued that the offensive should continue, but as the defeat continued and supplies ran out, he gradually came to his senses.
We need to strengthen it now. That is the only way to prevent the Soviet Union from falling.
He realized it too late.
Although he didn't tell anyone, Stalin often asked himself this question recently.
If he had known that Germany was this powerful and that the Red Army was weaker than he thought, would he have concluded that it was war?
If he had held Hitler's hand back then, wouldn't the current Soviet Union have looked a lot different?
Even if I regret it, nothing will change, but I still have regrets.
***
March 3, 1943
New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany
"A peace proposal has arrived from the Soviet Union?"
"Yes, Mr. President. "A telegram has arrived from People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Maxim Litvinov, saying that he wants to meet as soon as possible and negotiate with the goal of a complete end to the war."
I received a translation of the full text from the Soviet Union from Ribbentrop.
I had just returned from driving out the Soviet army from the south and planning to advance to Rostov, but I was dumbfounded because I had received a reinforcement proposal from the Soviet Union.
The fact that reinforcements were proposed so quickly would mean that the Soviet Union had also reached its internal limit.
"Hmm, what does the Foreign Minister think about the proposal?"
"I think it is a proposal that is not bad for Germany. "Why don't you rush into peace negotiations?"
Ribbentrop was naturally in favor.
"What is Dr. Goebbels' opinion?"
"I also think that ending the war with the Soviet Union would not be a bad thing for Germany. "Wouldn't it be easier to attack Britain if we save the troops and materials that would be used on the Eastern Front and deploy them to the Western Front?"
Goebbels had the same opinion.
In addition, Hess, Todt, and Speer also expressed support for the negotiations, but the military, led by Göring and Keitel, had a different opinion.
"It's definitely a ploy to take time by using reinforcements as bait."
Goering said:
"Even if we don't have to negotiate with the communists, our troops can advance to the Don River again in a week or two. And when summer comes, we plan to advance to the Caspian Sea. So there is no reason for us to respond to their offer of reinforcement."
"That's right, Mr. President. "There is no reason to accept negotiations when we can achieve complete victory with our own hands."
Keitel responded to Göring's words.
In general, the military's opinion was that it would be a battle we would have won even if there were no negotiations, so let's just push through. But my thoughts were a little different from theirs.
"Of course, if they propose to stop fighting on the condition of negotiation, it would be right to refuse, but wouldn't it be better to continue fighting but at least listen to what they say first? The Soviets themselves probably knew better than ever that they could not afford to go to war. The way I see it, no matter what we ask, they will have no choice but to listen to everything in order to save their lives.
Even if negotiations don't go well, we can just go on the offensive in the summer and wipe them out, and if they accept our conditions, we can achieve our goal without shedding a single drop of blood. Either way, there is no loss for Germany."
"Umm… … ."
"After listening to it, I think that's true… … ."
I took the generals' silence as a sign of approval.
"Minister Ribbentrop. Please reply that you will agree to the Soviet Union's negotiations. And we also conveyed this fact to our allies in the war."
"Yes, Mr. President."
According to the plan, we planned to launch a counteroffensive within March and return the front lines to where they were before the Soviet offensive.
And as soon as Rasputitsa ended, Operation Blue was scheduled to begin and advance to Baku and Astrihan.
But before that happened, the Soviet Union broke off the negotiations first.
This may lead to the end of the Eastern Front much sooner than expected.
If the Eastern Front ends early, Britain will be next, without a doubt.
"If we do well, we might launch Operation Sea Lion instead of Operation Blue this summer."
***
March 5, 1943
Brest, Belarus
Brest, a Polish city before the war, was handed over to the Soviet Union after the fall of Poland.
When the German-German War broke out and the German army launched a counteroffensive, it occupied Brest and later became the territory of the Republic of Belarus, which declared independence from the Soviet Union. However, because it borders the Polish protectorate, a territory of the Third Reich, the city was occupied by the Belarusian military and police. There were more German soldiers and police stationed here than there were.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which resulted in Germany's de facto surrender to Russia in 1918, was also signed here in Brest. And now, 25 years later, that history was about to repeat itself.
"Comrade People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. Im here."
Litvinov opened his eyes at the words of his secretary who woke him up. Was I asleep?
It was clear that I was much more tired than I thought, as I was falling asleep without realizing it. Well, we held meetings until dawn in preparation for negotiations.
As the Soviet delegation disembarked from the Li-2, which landed on the runway following guidance from the ground, the German troops guarding the airport gave a brief greeting.
A vehicle was prepared at the airport to take them to the conference venue.
Although the delegation was at war, Germany paid special attention to protocol as it was a delegation from one country.
Litvinov, guided by a Luftwaffe officer into the back seat of a shiny black Mercedes, did not take his eyes off the window all the way to the conference hall.
Brest, where fierce battles took place between German and Soviet troops, still had many buildings damaged by shells, but the city was full of vitality.
The only worry for Belarusians who have been liberated from communist oppression is unstable food prices.
Litvinov felt bitter at the sight of Belarusians who seemed happier now that they were independent as a German puppet state than when they were part of the Soviet Union.
When the Soviet delegation, led by Litvinov, entered the conference hall, the German delegation that had arrived first stood up all at once.
At the same time, reporters seated on one side of the conference hall used their flashlights to capture this historic scene on camera.
"This is Ribbentrop."
"His name is Litvinov."
Litvinov felt indescribably devastated that Soviet Russia had chosen this city, which had a history of surrendering to the German Empire, as the venue for the meeting.
However, even though the Soviet Union was the one who concluded the negotiations first, the subject of the negotiations was Germany, so they could not even protest.
Rather, the Soviet Union was in such a dead end that it had to express gratitude to Germany for obediently accepting the negotiation offer.
'We must make this negotiation happen no matter what the price.'
Unlike the German delegation, which had a relaxed attitude, the Soviet delegation clearly appeared nervous. It was no exaggeration to say that the fate of the Soviet Union depended on the outcome of this meeting.
All reporters except one photographer who remained to record the scene left, and full-scale negotiations began.
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