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Episode 212: What would you toast for (3)
The Gomorrah operation planned by Churchill was extremely simple.
The entire purpose of the operation was to attack Hamburg, a large city in northern Germany, to inflict damage on the enemy and boost the morale of the people.
Churchill's first plan was to attack Berlin, the capital of Germany, but because the distance was far and the risk was high, the attack was changed to Hamburg, the second largest city in Germany after Berlin.
If Hamburg, Germany's largest port city and second largest city, is bombed and turned into a sea of fire, it will have a significant negative impact on Germany's economy, military, transportation, and morale.
In particular, the fact that Hamburg had a concentration of U-boat bases and factories producing U-boats, Tigers, 88mm anti-aircraft guns, and dynamites also attracted the attention of Churchill and Harris.
"With the fall of Moscow, Germans are still in a festive mood. So they probably aren't expecting us to launch an air strike. At the same time, we can deliver a hopeful message to our people that they have not yet given up on the war."
Arthur Harris, commander of Bomber Command, was in favor of Churchill's argument.
There is no other way than bombing to raise the low morale of the military and the people and inflict a direct hit on the enemy.
The suppression of rebels in the colonies and the normalization of the mine-blocked strait not only do not attract much public attention, but are also difficult due to Germany's continuous interference.
So the only way is bombing.
Wouldn't it be necessary to show the enemy's city burning so that the people will think, 'Our military is doing something, too?'
However, Air Force Chief of Staff Air Force Chief of Staff Cyril Newell had a different idea.
"As you said, in the current situation, there may be no other way than strategic bombing. However, the Air Force has not fully recovered from the damage suffered in the Dieppe landings. Therefore, I think it is still too early."
Newell suggested bombing V2 bases in northern France and Belgium.
Since it was closer than Hamburg, it would be much safer as it would be covered by fighter planes.
"But France is France. Do you think the Germans would feel threatened if they attacked France? "They will only feel fear if their homeland is attacked."
Operation Gomorrah began on Christmas Eve.
When the Germans were in the midst of the Christmas spirit, Churchill's goal was to give them a firestorm.
As the implementation of Operation Gomorrah was decided, bomber pilots from all over the UK began intense training.
Since the goal was to completely erase Hamburg from the map, that many bombers and enough bombs to fill their interiors were needed.
Naturally, bomb manufacturing factories were put on alert, and workers worked three shifts, day and night, diligently manufacturing bombs.
The same goes for workers at bomber manufacturing plants.
The drops of sweat you shed today will become tomorrow's bombs and fall on Jerry's head!
Following the slogan on the placard hanging on the factory's exterior wall, workers worked hard to tighten bolts, connect fuses, and weld.
For the brilliant victory of the British Empire someday.
***
November 29, 1942
New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany
There is one good news and one bad news.
Let me tell you the bad news first.
처칠, 이 개새끼가 대규모 공습을 준비 중이라는 소식이다.
I wondered if he would continue to sleep after suffering a serious nose injury in Dieppe, but his body seems to be too sore to remain still.
Or, since he was Churchill, he may have made a fuss saying that he had to show the people something.
Compiling the information sent by spies, it is said that this bombing is expected to be a large-scale airstrike, much larger in scale than previous bombings.
The expected time is from the end of the year to the beginning of the new year.
"The question is where is the place..."
There were so many possible destinations that it was difficult to pinpoint a location.
The target could be Berlin or Hamburg, or big cities in western Germany such as Cologne, Frankfurt, Bonn or Essen.
Or maybe the U-boat and V2 bases in northern France.
"I think it would be wrong to spend a quiet year-end."
First, anti-aircraft alerts were strengthened in cities where bombings were expected, and residents were advised to evacuate to the countryside.
There was an opinion that we should be cautious because of the low morale of the citizens, but we cannot hesitate and allow people to die en masse due to low morale.
The good news is that Army Group South took control of Rostov yesterday.
It could be said that the offensive was put on hold until the end of winter, and that was actually the intention.
No matter how thoroughly you prepare for the winter, Russian winters are not normal, and as the supply route is longer, you have to take into account delays in supply.
However, Kleist, in charge of the Southern Army Group, expressed an unexpected opinion.
With the loss of Moscow, the Soviet army's transportation network had long since collapsed, and its morale and armament were at their worst.
On the other hand, the friendly forces had enough rest and had plenty of supplies and equipment, so if they launched an offensive now, they could occupy Rostov with minimal damage.
Kleist argued that the offensive should begin as soon as possible, saying that waiting until next summer would only give the Soviet army time to fortify the city.
Let's conclude this year's offensive by taking control of just these two cities, Rostov and Voronezh.
Keitel, Brauchitsch, and Manstein were also deceived by Kleist's claims.
In the end, I accepted Kleist's argument and authorized an attack on Rostov and Voronezh.
And today, Kleist took Rostov as promised.
The Soviet army abandoned the city and fled as soon as the offensive began. Only a few NKVD troops remained and resisted.
Kleist, who occupied Rostov without significant damage, also launched an offensive in Voronezh.
***
November 30, 1942
USSR Voronezh
Unlike Rostov, Voronezh had a defensive line built on the outskirts of the city with great effort by the Soviet military and Soviet people.
However, the lack of air superiority robbed the Soviets of their defender's advantage.
As soon as the offensive began, bombers from the 4th Air Fleet bombed Voronezh. And the Stukas supported the army's advance by dropping bombs on the defense line.
The Stuka dived in with a siren sounding and blew away the anti-tank guns and anti-tank artillerymen into the concrete bunker.
The anti-aircraft gunners eagerly turned the steering wheel and fired bullets to shoot down the enemy aircraft, but the Stuka pilots laughed at this and dropped bombs on the anti-aircraft gunners' heads.
The bomb exploded, scattering human arms and internal organs in the air.
The German army also deployed new weapons specifically for the invasion of Voronezh.
"Company, move forward!"
"Wipe it all away!"
It was the Tiger II heavy tank, more commonly called Königstiger, meaning Bengal Tiger.
"What is that tank again?"
"It looks like a Panther..."
"I need to know something about the new Panther or something. "Load armor-piercing bullets!"
Unlike his hesitant subordinates, the tank commander was calm.
The identity of the tank in front of him was beyond his attention. It's just a fascist tank that has to be destroyed anyway.
"Loaded!"
As a child-sized 107mm armor-piercing round entered the chamber, the gunner aimed at the front armor of the enemy tank.
Although the Panther and Tiger were better tanks than the KV-3, they both turned into a ball of fire when properly hit by a 107mm shell.
"Aiming complete!"
"Shoot!"
The moment the 107mm main gun burst into flames and the shell landed on the front armor of the tank, the tank commander could not believe his eyes.
Even though it clearly hit the front, the enemy tank was still intact.
"No, he's alive!"
The panicked catcher shouted. Apparently, the new heavy tank that resembled the Panther had thicker armor than that of the Panther.
Panther and Tiger can also deflect 107mm armor-piercing bullets if the angle is right, but survival is not guaranteed if hit directly from the front.
However, even though he was hit by a cannonball from the front, at a distance of 800 meters, he rolled over as if nothing had happened.
"Goal, KV at the front. "Load armor-piercing bullets."
"Loaded!"
"Fire as soon as you finish aiming!"
The armor-piercing bullet fired with an orange flash penetrated the front shield of the KV-3's turret like a head and exploded immediately, causing a large crack in the turret's armor.
In the place where the flames swept away, only corpses that were as burnt as coal remained.
The ZiS-3 battery positioned on the side fired in unison, but the Tiger II bounced them all away.
Like the Tiger, the Tiger II had side armor of nearly 80mm thick and was sloped, making it quite immune to 76mm armor-piercing rounds.
The Tiger II Company, equipped with an 850-horsepower Maybach HL234 engine and equipped with mobility comparable to that of the Panther, quickly overran the Soviet military's defense line.
It trampled the trench with its wide trajectory, spun around and crushed the Soviet soldiers lying on the bottom of the trench into six pieces, and turned the enemy infantry into a honeycomb with two MG40s.
When the Steel Tigers first invaded the enemy trenches, infantrymen like worker ants rushed in, occupied the blood-stained trenches, and killed the enemy soldiers who were still alive.
Then they repeatedly came out of the trenches and charged after the advancing tanks.
The German army broke through the defense line on the outskirts of Voronezh and attempted to enter downtown Voronezh.
-Quaaang!!
"Hit. "Give me another shot."
In urban areas crowded with buildings, the Broom Bear was more efficient than the Tiger II.
Since the fighting compartment is fixed to the hull, there is the inconvenience of having to turn the hull one by one to aim at the target, but there is no need to worry about the main gun barrel getting caught in an obstacle like the Panzer IV or Panther, and above all, the enemy soldiers trapped in the building can be wiped out entirely. There was nothing bigger than a 15cm cannonball.
In addition, the armor was so thick that it was difficult to destroy with most anti-tank weapons.
"We will be able to take control of Voronezh sooner than expected."
Kleist, who was observing the battle situation through binoculars, slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
Under the support of tanks, the infantry was steadily advancing and removing the Soviet defense lines one by one.
Thanks to long-term training and practical combat, the German army's combined arms tactics could not be matched by any army in the world.
The tanks served as both spears and shields, destroying enemy strongholds with powerful firepower and protecting infantry from enemy bullets.
In addition, the infantry escorted the tank with limited visibility and checked enemy soldiers approaching the tank, preventing the tank from being destroyed by surprise close combat by the enemy infantry.
-Quaang!
...Neither the infantry nor the tanks could do anything about the booby traps. When a 152mm high explosive bomb buried in the ground connected to an anti-tank mine exploded, the Broom Bear and an infantry squad escorting the tank were blown away in one blow.
The German army also suffered damage due to the Soviet army's resistance and traps, but it was not enough to turn the tide of the war.
As the battle progressed, the number of Soviet soldiers throwing down their weapons and surrendering increased. After a brief body search, the surrendering soldiers were handed over to the rearguard and sent to the rear.
Within two hours of entering the city of Voronezh, the number of prisoners exceeded three digits.
Kleist leisurely watched the prisoners shivering in the cold while being watched by friendly soldiers.
"We've already gathered quite a few prisoners. "I wonder if there will be enough bread to feed them all."
"If we don't have enough bread, we can just feed it turnips."
The staff also responded to Kleist's joke with a joke. Although the noise of death continued to be heard on the battlefield, the atmosphere could not have been better.
"How about running all the way to Baku? Wouldn't it be okay to report to Berlin after occupying Baku?"
"I agree, but I don't think His Excellency the President will like it very much."
"yes? "That's what I think."
It was a joke, but it was also half serious. If there were no supply problems, Kleist wanted to rush to Baku right away.
If it weren't for that damn supply.
The reason the Fuhrer limited Army Group South's further offensive to Rostov and Voronezh was due to supply issues.
Many units had already run out of ammunition or fuel and were waiting for supplies to arrive from Germany.
Considering not only the supply but also the fatigue of the soldiers, it was right to stop at this point.
Since humans are not machines, they could only fight if they had enough food, sleep, and rest. You can't fight without eating or sleeping.
It's a pity, but I have no choice but to wait for summer to come quickly.
***
While Kleist was watching the Battle of Voronezh from the front
A silent war was taking place in the Atlantic Ocean.
Compared to war on land where bullets and shells are used, war at sea is a bit more gentlemanly, but war is war.
Although it was less cruel and noisy, the war at sea was also extremely cruel.
A Type 21 U-boat, which was wandering around the section between Canada and Iceland as usual, discovered a merchant fleet sailing in the North Atlantic and entered a combat stance.
The U-boat captain, who was observing the merchant fleet through a periscope, soon noticed something and frowned.
"Yankees."
"Are they Yankees again?"
"okay. Damn it."
Three US Navy destroyers were escorting the cargo ships.
As damage to his country's merchant ships caused by U-boats increased, Churchill asked Roosevelt for help.
The British Navy is not enough to cover the vast Atlantic Ocean, so help from the US Navy is urgent.
Roosevelt readily accepted Churchill's request.
Although all naval power was diverted to the Pacific, it was not to the extent that it could not escort allied merchant ships.
Germany is at war with Britain but maintains neutrality with the United States, and due to Hitler's strict orders to avoid the United States' participation in the war, the German Navy did not attack American merchant ships heading to Britain. No, I couldn't.
As a result, it became increasingly common for British-flagged ships to sail under the American flag and pretend to be American ships.
As a result, Dönitz was outraged that even though he had increased his U-boat force, it had become useless. However, the Fuhrer's orders were strict, so he had no choice but to endure it.
The captain was worried. How many times has she had to turn away when she saw the American flag on a boat?
And didn't the news spread that cowardly British bastards were proudly sailing the seas, pretending to be Yankees?
"······Attack."
"Didn't you hear me clearly?"
The vice-captain, engineer-in-chief, and navigator all turned their heads at the captain's explosive remarks. Said the navigator, Master Sergeant.
"Captain, they are Yankees. The Third Reich and the United States are neutral-"
"They are not Yankees. "These are Tommys."
"Tommies?"
The engineer asked in bewilderment at the captain's words.
"Didn't you tell me a little while ago that they were Yankees?"
"I'll correct it. They're Tommys disguised as Yankees. "Didn't you hear that the Tommys are going around pretending to be Yankees?"
"No matter what, this is..."
"Captain, it's too dangerous. "If I make a mistake and this fact becomes known to my home country, what kind of punishment will I receive?"
"What do you not know? We never attacked the Yankees. He just attacked Tommy. And Tommy is an enemy of Great Germany. Do you understand what I mean?"
"······!"
"If you know, hurry up. "Let's show the Tommys an example."
