July 6, 1937
Central-Western Spain, Salamanca, a major stronghold of the Spanish Nationalist faction Thanks to Colonel Model working
to the bone as soon as I returned, I was able to tighten the discipline I’d lost during my dispatch to the Luftwaffe and quickly adapt to my duties as Company Commander.
While I was at it, I also accumulated enough firing data for the 88 Anti-aircraft Gun with Colonel Model, completing a fairly precise firing table.
Roml's cheat code and the nightmare of the Allied Forces—the thod for using the 88, written as an anti-aircraft gun but read as the best anti-tank gun of World War II, has erged in the Interwar Period!
And just as that happened, we were imdiately summoned to battle.
“The Republican faction launched an offensive toward Brunete at dawn today.
It was an unexpected surprise attack, so the front line is said to be collapsing rapidly. A defense force has been assembled, and the Commander-in-Chief will be General Varela.
We will be operating under Colonel Juan Yagüe, and the location is here…”
The officers who saw the point indicated by the baton of Lieutenant General Thoma, the Condor Legion's Army commander, swallowed hard.
“This point.
We will move to the front of the Extremadura Road to block the enemy's vanguard, the 11th Division, which is breaking through the front line, and close the gap. The Extremadura Road is the main road for supplying the forces besieging Madrid, so it must be defended at all costs.
The Nationalist High Command has said they will halt the Northern Offensive and send reinforcents, so we must hold out until then.”
No one in the Condor Legion was unaware of the 11th Division, the elite division led by the Republican faction's hero, Enrique Líster.
“There was also a report that the 11th Division is advancing with about 100 tanks, Gentlen. This is perfect.
We'll be able to test just how effective the 88 is in anti-tank warfare.”
Chief of Staff Colonel Model added with a grin.
No, I didn't want to test it like this…
“I've designated the expected front line construction area, but the situation on the ground may be different, so detailed instructions will be given upon arrival. Our mission is strictly a delaying action, so keep in mind that our only goal is to hold out.”
“The weather is currently very hot and dry, so instruct your units to pack as much water as possible. A thirsty army cannot fight.”
As expected, the ticulous Colonel Model added his piece, and Lieutenant General Thoma concluded the operation eting.
“Then, we depart in one hour.
Dismissed!”
“Heil Hitler!”
It's ironic to be shouting 'Heil Hitler' to oust Hitler and the Nazis, while heading to a battlefield the Nazi Regi wants.
But since I'm already on a battlefield where my life is on the line, I might as well earn so military rit!
To get to Berlin quickly, and for a promotion.
Among those plotting a coup d'état against Hitler right now, the ones holding the initiative are the royalist faction or the high-ranking people in the military, so I must raise my rank as high as possible.
My father, Hjalmar Schacht, is a key figure among German businessn, so I might have a better position than a re company-grade officer, but the German military is fundantally an excessively proud and exclusive group.
If I fail to secure a position of my own within the military, I might have to powerlessly face a situation where the military runs wild, just like in the days of the German Empire, even if we succeed in overthrowing the Nazi Regi.
-
As we moved quickly, I was grateful for Colonel Model's foresight.
Fucking hot.
During the Battle of Guadalajara, it was full of sleet and fog, so I thought the talk about a high temperature and dry climate was all nonsense, but indeed, the plateau of central Spain in July boasted a crazy heat and dryness.
It's a terrible heat where your throat dries up completely again just 10 minutes after drinking water.
They started an offensive in this crazy heat? Are those Republican bastards out of their minds, or were they aiming for this precisely?
We received a report that Brunete had fallen before we even arrived, but it was within the Condor Legion's expectations.
We began to establish a defense line to protect our strategic objective, the Extremadura Road.
Seeing the troopers sweating profusely while digging trenches and setting up artillery batteries in this heat is truly pitiful.
It wouldn't be strange if they got heatstroke.
And less than 30 minutes after arriving, I had to let out a string of profanity.
“Damn it!”
“Air raid, air raid!”
Over 20 enemy aircraft are flying right at us! At Klens's scream-like shout, the troopers, in a panic, desperately turned the gun elevation controller of the 88 Anti-aircraft Gun.
“Just get a rough angle and fire imdiately! Scatter their formation sohow! We'll handle the downing later!”
“Yes, Sir!”
Soon, with the characteristic sound of gunfire from the 8.
8 cm Anti-aircraft Gun, one enemy aircraft was blown to pieces, and as shells exploded nearby, the formation of the enemy aircraft, scared out of their wits, scattered in disarray.
“Good, well done! Just keep changing the angle roughly and fire away!”
It was clearly a lucky shot, but the enemy squadron fell into confusion anyway! As we fired in succession, they scattered, dropped their bombs haphazardly anywhere, and I saw one more get destroyed by the fire of another unit that wasn't ours.
Judging by their form, they must have had so fun bombing the defenseless Nationalist faction, but unfortunately for them, we're different. And…
“Dig the trenches faster! Artillery bombardnt is coming soon! Dig if you want to live!”
“Yes, Sir!”
After the air raid cos the artillery bombardnt, and after that, the armored unit will charge in.
Now, I too grabbed a shovel and started digging frantically. Got to dig if you don't want to die!
-
While the Condor Legion was frantically setting up its defense line, Colonel Enrique Líster, the 11th Division Commander in charge of the Republican faction's main attack, received a report of two bomber losses and imdiately requested an attack route change from Colonel Juan Modesto.
The Spanish Army, both Nationalist and Republican factions alike, lacked proper anti-aircraft weaponry, and they had even fewer skilled air defense artilleryn who could conduct proper anti-aircraft fire with them.
But to lose not one, but two aircraft in a single sortie was not a matter of luck.
And the place with the most skilled anti-aircraft capability in the Nationalist faction was none other than the Condor Legion.
Therefore, Colonel Líster's request was to bypass the defense line established by the Condor Legion and strike another strategic objective, Carabanchel, where the enemy was still fighting…
“Damn it…”
Colonel Líster rcilessly crumpled the telegram in his hand.
The Republican High Command replied that changing the attack target was impossible, as they had to break through this point to cut off the Extremadura Road. They had given him 100 tanks, so they demanded to see so military gains.
It was precisely because he had 100 tanks that he needed to change the target, but those fools couldn't understand that.
Líster was a rare Spanish officer who had studied at the advanced Soviet Frunze Military Academy, and he took great pride in armored unit operation.
Despite that, he had suffered imnse losses after throwing his armored unit at the Condor Legion at Jarama.
He had keenly realized that to properly execute an armored breakthrough according to Tukhachevsky's doctrine, the support of chanized infantry was essential.
But the superiors knew nothing about that. They think you can just push through everything with tanks.
Líster's request to bring in so trucks with the money used for expensive Soviet-made tanks was lightly ignored by the higher-ups, who insisted that tanks were more urgent.
It might work well against the Nationalist faction's ragtag mob, but charging at those Germans with only tanks was close to suicide.
Do tanks fall from the sky?
Although they had defended important strategic strongpoints like Madrid, the Republican faction's territory was continuously shrinking while the Nationalist faction's was continuously expanding.
On top of that, the damn Pri Minister Negrín had been handing over gold bars to the Soviet Union as requested since the beginning of the civil war, causing the Republican faction's finances to steadily worsen.
The calculative Soviet Union, which had ticulously fleeced them even by manipulating the exchange rate, was gradually reducing its support as its profits dwindled. If the Republican faction's core armored forces were to suffer heavy losses here, their offensive capability would be exhausted.
Now that they had captured Brunete, they had a decent showing for the Soviet Union even if they just maintained the front line…
With Carabanchel not yet fallen, even if they advanced to the Extremadura Road over countless sacrifices, would they even be able to maintain the front line?
"…Order the artillery corps to comnce bombardnt. We will continue the operation."
But what can a soldier do? You do what you're told.
Knowing he was sending not only his hard-won career, which he built while being accused of being greedy for military rit, but also the subordinates he had painstakingly trained into an elite force, into a deathtrap, Líster had no choice but to order the attack.
Trying to break through the Condor Legion with only an armored unit would obviously lead to another crushing defeat, so he had no choice but to support them with infantry as much as possible.
-
Expecting an imminent artillery bombardnt, not only were the combat engineers urged on, but the Company Commander and officers also frantically engaged in shoveling and taking cover. Just as we were feeling a fierce awkwardness because the bombardnt didn't co, a fierce bombardnt belatedly struck, shaking our position.
“Crazy, are they determined to turn us to dust?”
“No wonder Brunete fell before noon.”
I replied to Klens's mumble with a sigh of relief.
If the bombardnt hadn't co, my judgnt would have ended up being a stupid act, but thankfully, it was appropriate.
The battles we fought at Jarama and Guadalajara were both offensives launched by the Nationalist faction, and the Republican faction's counterattacks against them were mostly not that organized.
But this ti, it was an offensive prepared by the Republican faction from the start, and they were mobilizing imnse firepower, from air raids to artillery bombardnts, as if they were pouring everything into this offensive.
Right now, at this very mont, the ground is shaking, and dirt is falling on my hat and shoulders.
I'd like to avoid being buried alive by a collapsing trench…
No, more than that, I'm worried if the equipnt is still intact.
Fortunately, the bombardnt lasted for about 10 minutes before it stopped.
To be precise, 10 minutes after the bombardnt began, the Condor Legion's counter-battery fire started, and the enemy could no longer pay attention to us.
Ooh, as expected of Walther Model.
That was fast. Artillery is the god of the battlefield, but the gods are busy fighting each other.
Because we had anticipated and t the bombardnt, there were no casualties in my company other than our uniforms getting ssed up. The problem was that one 88mm gun and one anti-tank gun were destroyed.
“Tsk, the tanks will be coming soon. Prepare imdiately.
The gun section leaders have all morized the firing table, right?”
“Sir!”
The sun is scorching, and sweat is pouring down. I don't know if it's from the heat or from tension.
As the Condor Legion intended, the enemy's main attack, Líster's 11th Division, is clearly heading toward us.
The tanks will be swarming in soon.
Was it 100 of them?
It would probably be quite a spectacle, if only I weren't the one facing it.
In the defense line, which was pockmarked everywhere by the bombardnt, the troopers were busy setting up anti-tank rifles that would beco obsolete once World War II started, and preparing for indirect fire from the 88s.
Can we hold out?
“Phew… Alright, wet your throats beforehand! You can't stop shooting to drink water!”
“Hahaha…”
Watching the troopers burst into laughter and take out their canteens to drink, I also took a gulp of water.
The already lukewarm water running down my throat isn't very refreshing.
“Alright, the enemy's main attack is clearly here, but we are not so weak as to collapse from an expected attack! Let's all have a beer after the operation! It's a bit late, but I'm buying, to celebrate my promotion to Company Commander!”
“Waaaaaah!”
“Ooh, the Company Commander is generous.”
The troopers were happy, and with Klens grinning, I felt so of the tension dissipate.
“There won't be any idiots who die to save
money, right?”
“Hahaha!”
I hope the troopers don't die for the likes of Franco's dictatorial regi or Nazi Germany.
It's fine.
Juan Yagüe is among the competent commanders in the Nationalist faction.
Besides, the one supporting us from behind is the master of defensive battles in World War II, Walther Model.
We can do it.
-
“What? Advance slowly in coordination with the infantry?”
“Yes, Sir! Lieutenant Colonel!”
The armored battalion commander of the 11th Division, in charge of the Republican faction's main attack, Lieutenant Colonel José Malo, imdiately scowled at the news delivered by the ssenger.
“We must break through the defensive position that's been ruined by the massive air raid and bombardnt right away, so why are we being told to coordinate with the slow-ass infantry?”
“Well, sir…”
The guy who was supposed to be his adjutant was no help. No, from the start, the notoriously incompetent officer group and high command of the Republican faction were not to be trusted.
“Tsk, a bunch of idiots who don't even know the value of an armored unit!”
Unlike himself, a graduate of Frunze, those Republican bastards didn't properly understand the value of a rapid breakthrough by an armored unit.
At least Colonel Enrique Líster, a fellow Frunze graduate, knew the importance of an armored breakthrough.
In fact, this very battle started with his armored breakthrough following an air raid and bombardnt, allowing him to crush the Nationalist faction in one fell swoop and capture Brunete.
Just a little more of a breakthrough, and they could secure the final objective, the Extremadura Road.
And yet, the higher-ups who had hesitated, telling him to wait, were now holding him back…
The Republican faction hadn't had any real opportunities to achieve significant military rit recently.
After only fighting battles where they were constantly beaten by the Nationalist faction and barely managed Pyrrhic victories, they were finally launching a major offensive.
And he, leading the vanguard, would be able to join that 'Colonel' group that ran the Republican army if he achieved victory this ti.
“Don't relay that order, just comnce the offensive!”
“Sir? But…”
“Let's stick to the original operation plan! We never received the order! You need a promotion too! When do you think another opportunity like this will co?”
“Ah, I understand…”
Lieutenant Colonel Malo could not miss this important opportunity.
Colonel Líster must have given the order reluctantly due to pressure from superiors and, in fact, would want him to do this.
At least, that's what Lieutenant Colonel Malo thought.
No, in fact, in what way was he inferior to Líster?
Co to think of it, they had studied together at Frunze and returned, but both the superiors and the press were only promoting him.
If he just made this offensive a success, he too could stand side-by-side with Líster, not under him!
The new hero of the Republicans, José Malo! Dreaming a heart-pounding dream just thinking about it, the lieutenant colonel ordered the advance of the armored battalion.
Reviews
All reviews (0)