< World War II - Winter Storm (6) >
January 2, 1941
Near Brussels, the Capital of Belgium – Western Front Forces Headquarters
The long, long year of 1940 was over, and now it was 1941.
In the original history, this was the year Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the year Arica entered the war.
I was visiting Belgium to et with General Witzleben, the Western Front Forces Commander, and his Chief of Staff, Tresckow.
“Welco, Undersecretary.”
“It’s been a while, General Witzleben, General Tresckow.”
Witzleben gave a light nod in greeting, while Tresckow simply raised a hand.
It’s nice not having that damn Manstein around, so I don’t have to see any of his bizarre performances.
Aside from General Model, these two were the general officers in the Army I could deal with relatively comfortably.
“Is General Model out in the field as usual?”
“That friend is always like that.”
He always preferred to go to the very front line to assess the situation with his own eyes, so it wasn’t strange.
It’s no wonder so people even called him the Boar of the Frontline.
“I was prepared for it, but the casualties were not insignificant.”
Of the 400,000 German soldiers deployed to the Western Front, 60,000 had beco casualties. Including the Dutch and Belgian armies, the casualties reached 150,000.
“Hmm, the enemy must have been waiting for an opportunity. Their attacks were quite fierce.”
Witzleben nodded his head in agreent.
A sacrifice of 150,000.
We launched an offensive, were defeated, switched to defensive warfare, and are still fighting, so the number will only increase.
It’s nothing compared to the tens of millions claid by World War II in the original history, but still, I was the one who approved the plan Manstein had laid out.
The sacrifice for which I am responsible weighs heavily upon .
On a report, they are just numbers, but they must have included people who would have been safe in the original history, or people with great potential.
Perhaps there was even soone I had t personally, soone who knew .
It’s not that I’m afraid of the sacrifices caused by historical alteration at this point, but-
“The operation is proceeding as planned.
It won’t be a aningless sacrifice.”
At Witzleben’s words, which sounded almost like a consolation, I gave a bitter smile.
There’s nothing to do but to not turn a blind eye and do my best to reduce the sacrifices that will occur from now on.
“I know.
They have fallen into our trap, and they will have to pay a steep price for it.”
“That’s reassuring.”
Witzleben grinned and said jokingly.
“You said you’d distribute the military rit, but we don’t plan on sitting on our hands either.
Model has reorganized the heavily damaged units and finished preparing for a counterattack.”
“That’s incredible.”
They had been defeated and suffered heavy casualties, yet he reorganized the units to a level where an imdiate counterattack was possible?
Should I say, ‘As expected of Walter Model’? He accomplished sothing I hadn’t even expected, which surprised anew.
“Doesn’t this remind you of the apartnt in Berlin?”
At Tresckow’s words, both Witzleben and I smiled.
Right. The apartnt in my father’s na in Berlin, which the Black Orchestra used as its base.
That is a place I can never forget. Because the event that changed everything started there.
Although we were frustrated once, thanks to Claudia, I didn’t let go of hope…
…And I was with those who helped .
“I miss it.
I’m only telling you two this, but I honestly respect and trust you both far more than the Chief of the General Staff.”
“I appreciate that.”
Witzleben replied lightly with a smile, but Tresckow threw a playful question.
“Do you respect more, or General Model more?”
“U-Uhm, that’s…”
That’s a tough one.
Tresckow, who I’ve been through thick and thin with since the Black Orchestra and who saved from the Junkers’ coup, or my ntor Model, who sent to Berlin and protected .
This is like being asked if you like your mom or your dad more…
“You’re seriously contemplating it.”
In the end, all three of us burst into laughter.
The weight of the sacrifices that had been crushing my heart seed to have lightened, if only a little.
I should be grateful to the two generals.
“Ah, how are their new model tanks?”
Tresckow answered my question.
“It would have been dangerous if they had a sufficient number, but so far, only a few have been confird. The tank itself is just an S-35 with so extra armor plate and the main gun replaced with a 7.
5cm long-barreled main gun. The chronic problem of their tanks, where the tank commander has to act as the gunner and loader, remains.”
“Is that so…”
“We captured two, and their specifications are slightly different. It seems they urgently committed even the prototypes.
The engine is also the sa, so the stability seems to have dropped a bit. It has an effect on the tide of war, but it’s not enough to change the overall situation.”
“That’s a relief, at least.”
If the French Army had had more ti, they might have co up with a more polished product, but they probably only started increasing the army budget in earnest after La Rocque ca to power…
It seems they hastily modified the SOMUA Tank after seeing the T-34 or the new model Panzer IV.
“I hear things are looking grim in Britain and on the Eastern Front?”
Witzleben asked.
“Yes.
On the British side, the resistance seems to be fiercer than expected. The French Army is slowly being pushed back, but they are still maintaining order and forcing losses on the Allied Forces.”
In small-scale engagents where he could move independently, it was hard to find a general like Roml, but as they entered a full-scale, large-scale battle of strength on a narrow front, Roml's shortcomings were becoming apparent.
Even when Roml's unit seized an opportunity and successfully broke through the French Army, it was so sudden that the British Army couldn't keep up in ti, and then the French Army would commit its reserves, allowing only a minimal breakthrough and defending.
This situation was happening repeatedly.
Roml's breakthrough itself was flawless, but there was a limit to his forces, and it was difficult for the British Army to adapt to Roml's impromptu offensives, which even the German Army, accustod to the flexibility of mission-type tactics, found hard to follow.
For Churchill, his political crisis would deepen if he couldn't drive out the French Expeditionary Force from here, so he must be anxious, but with the situation as it is, De Gaulle's French Army was still holding on firmly.
“That friend Roml is a bit arrogant.”
“Haha…”
Is it because General Witzleben is a stuffy Junker after all, so he doesn't look too favorably on Roml, who even refused the General Staff Officer course…
“On the Eastern Front, there are signs that a general offensive by the Soviet Army is imminent. General Manstein is preparing to respond.”
It seems Stalin is trying to respond as the Western Front heats up.
I’m not overly worried about the Eastern Front, but I am worried about Finland.
During the Winter War, the Soviet Army may have been a ss, but even the damage suffered then has left Finland quite depleted, and the Soviet Army has been considerably strengthened while tumbling through Poland…
“Hmph. I never thought those Soviet bastards had such latent power.”
Everyone except probably didn't know. To be honest, if I didn't have future knowledge, I would never have thought it either.
There might be no Lend-Lease, but this is a Soviet Union that fully possesses the industrial zones and Ukraine's farmland that would have been completely lost in the early stages of Operation Barbarossa.
Frankly, I can't even gauge how much latent power will erge.
The German Army has already been burned once and is on alert, and Manstein is there, so I can only hope they won’t suffer a major blow.
“In the end, both this side and that side are in an uproar.”
Tresckow, exhaling cigarette smoke, gave a simple assessnt.
“Yes.
That’s why we must achieve a decisive victory here. The French Army is moving just as we intended.
General Guderian’s unit is already advancing through the Ardennes Plateau and will reach the Charleroi area by tomorrow at the latest.”
Considering La Rocque's actions so far, it's unlikely the French Army hasn't made any preparations at all, but…
“General Richthofen has directed all possible air support to us.
In this offensive, 1,000 pure bombers and Close Air Support (CAS) aircraft, excluding fighters, will be committed.”
Tresckow whistled.
Manstein's plan was certainly brilliant, but I had no intention of relying solely on a clever trick in an operation that was premised on the sacrifice of countless people.
Because in this battle, we must break their will to fight.
Richthofen laughed heartily and boasted that they would not even have a chance to resist.
He’s in the sa Luftwaffe, but unlike a certain Mr.
yer, he's quite trustworthy.
I declared.
“Whatever they have prepared, whatever resistance they offer, we will overwhelmingly crush them.”
-
January 3, 1941
Neufchâteau, French-occupied territory in the Ardennes Plateau, Eastern Belgium
“They’re coming again, again!”
“Get down!”
The French Army in the Ardennes Plateau was losing its mind because of the Luftwaffe that covered the sky.
The Luftwaffe's offensive, which involved setting up nurous airfields and conducting non-stop bombing in rotation, was being replicated in the Ardennes, just as it had been in Italy.
“N-No way, this is absurd!”
The French regintal commander was almost wailing.
The army in the Ardennes area was already small, as a significant number had been mobilized for the advance into Belgium, but the scale of the enemy passing before their eyes was beyond imagination.
The German Army had diverted the Panzer IVs from the Siegfried Line and thrown in all the new model Panzer IVs that had been held back from being deployed from the Ruhr.
Thanks to this, Guderian's 200,000-strong force was a more heavily armored unit than any other in the German Army, composed of 1,800 Panzer IVs.
The French Army, beleaguered by the bombing, allowed a breakthrough without even being able to put up a proper fight when Guderian's armored unit charged.
Guderian didn’t waste ti capturing the French strongpoints in the Ardennes.
He was paralyzing the French Army with relentless bombing, trampling them one-sidedly, and racing towards Belgium.
Unlike the Sickle Cut of the original history, there was no need to capture strongpoints for the rearguard unit, and the offensive, accompanied by a large number of trucks imported from Arica, even eliminated the necessity of stopping for supplies.
The French Army was thrown into great confusion as the enemy’s armored unit, which had lightly crushed their defense line, passed by in an endless procession of Panzer IVs and trucks.
“A-At this rate, we’ll be isolated in enemy territory! Retreat, retreat!”
For Guderian, it was a waste of ti to deal with such trivial small forces and strongpoints, so he simply charged on, but the panic-stricken French Army, naturally fearing that follow-up forces would co and encircle them, began to voluntarily withdraw from the Ardennes.
Ironically, it was the French forces, who had abandoned their defensive positions and were retreating, that beca prey for the Luftwaffe's aircraft that filled the sky.
-Gentlen, if necessary, I will not permit you to sleep for at least three days. Destroy the enemy’s core unit within that ti!
-Yes, sir!
Guderian’s armored unit, fueled by stimulants and Schoka-Kola that had now beco a symbol of the German armored forces, was traversing the Ardennes while maintaining top speed.
Thanks to the French Army's characteristically slow chain of command, the French had to encounter Guderian's unit before they had even finished preparing their response, and each ti, they fell into great confusion, panic-stricken.
At the ti Guderian's unit was breaking through the Ardennes at an absurd speed with Luftwaffe support, Weygand's French main force was pouring a general offensive on Witzleben's Western Front Forces, thinking the fall of Brussels was imminent.
-
January 5, 1941
French Army Garrison, Sedan, Northern France
“P-Pri Minister. We have been defeated.”
-What did you say?
The 3rd Cuirassier Division Commander, Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, broke out in a cold sweat while holding the telephone.
He personally believed in his own ability.
He had no doubt that he, who was even acknowledged by De Gaulle, was superior to the so-called higher-ups of the French Army, and he was secretly proud of La Rocque’s words that he would beco the hope of France.
When La Rocque gave the urgent order to stop the armored unit breaking through the Ardennes, Tassigny thought that his chance to beco a hero had co.
But how was he supposed to stop sothing like that?
“The bombing is relentless, the tanks can’t operate at all. Besides, besides, they are estimated to have over 1,000 Panzer IVs.
This is not a level that can be stopped by a re division!”
-…
“The enemy shattered my division one-sidedly and is racing west, ignoring us without even giving chase.”
As if mocking Tassigny's pride, the enemy didn't even bother to engage his division.
They simply crushed the forces blocking their path and, leaving the bewildered Tassigny's division to the air force, they just passed by.
In a situation where losses continued to mount from the bombing even while standing still, Tassigny could not order his panic-stricken subordinate units to pursue them for the sake of heroics.
It would not have been so humiliating if they had been defeated after a heroic resistance against the odds.
The reality that they did not even consider Tassigny a threat gave him a sense of humiliation and powerlessness at the sa ti.
“Their goal is not France, but the encirclent and annihilation of our allied units attacking Belgium, Pri Minister.”
If the German Army had tried to attack French strongpoints or push into the mainland, the established defense line and Tassigny’s unit reinforcing it might have been able to buy so ti.
If that had been the case, no matter how elite the armored unit, there would be a limit to the speed with which only 200,000 German soldiers could break through, and La Rocque, unlike the foolish French high command of the original history, would have tried to block them sohow, even by pulling troops from the Maginot Line.
-Hahaha…
“P-Pri Minister.”
But the enemy broke through the French Army and, preventing pursuit with incessant air strikes, is racing on with the sole objective of annihilating the main force.
It was too late to pull troops from the Maginot Line now; there was no way to save them.
To the grim-faced Tassigny, La Rocque’s low, sunken voice ca through.
-You’ve done well, General Tassigny.
Please take care of reorganizing the unit.
“My apologies, Pri Minister…”
The card that France had played as its last hope, after racking its brains as much as possible, was nothing more or less than the futile struggle of an insect to the opponent.
Maxi Weygand, who had been shouting about restoring the glory of the Grand Army while launching a general offensive on the Belgian capital of Brussels, belatedly received La Rocque's order to conduct a full-scale withdrawal.
But Weygand wasted a day in the process, trying to figure out what on earth was going on, and at that point, starting with Walter Model’s reorganized counterattack unit and Guderian’s unit that popped out from the French Army’s rear, the entire Allied Forces began a counterattack against the French Army.
The sacrifice the Allied Forces had endured was an utterly sweet bait, and it had definitively thrown the main body of the French Army into the pit of ruin.
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