October 10, 1939
Potsdam, a city southwest of Berlin in Northern Germany, a City Center Tavern The rising star Captain duo of the Luftwaffe, Adolf Galland and Werner M??lders, were letting out deep sighs, beer mugs in hand.
Their respected Direct Superior, Major General Wolfram von Richthofen, couldn't hold his liquor but loved a drinking party, and he often had them with the two.
If only that were all.
“Schacht, that bastard! I treated him so well!”
Richthofen was dead drunk, shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Hey, M??lders. Don't you think we should stop him from drinking more?”
“Are you going to be the one to stop him?”
Galland shook his head at M??lders's words, and the two n stared blankly at each other, then raised a toast and took a sip.
The cool beer went down their throats, but the two couldn't shake off their awkward glances.
Most of the Air Force general-grade officers had either transferred over from the Army, were desk jockeys that the front-line pilots never got to see, or were the kind of people, like G??ring, who were so steeped in greed and vanity that it was impossible to like them.
That was why the two respected and followed Richthofen, with whom they had served in the Condor Legion since the Spanish Civil War, but even so, it was a bit much to respect a superior who was throwing drunken antics like he’d just been dumped…
“I thought he'd be my connection in the Army, but he beca a connection for the rebel army?! How can soone be so full of ingratitude! Huh?! Gallant! Say sothing!”
“Is that so…”
Galland replied vaguely, and M??lders, watching him, gave a bitter smile. Adolf Gallant was a secret avid listener of the New Governnt Radio and was already filled with disillusionnt for the Nazi Regi.
He was a man filled with the mindset of an extrely gentlemanly and honorable soldier, and the Nazi atrocities spread by the New Governnt when this civil war broke out were enough to completely blow his loyalty away.
Werner M??lders knew well of the actions of his comrade Gallant, who was once his direct superior and now a close friend, but he was keeping silent.
“I never thought I’d see the day I’d be summoned by Field Marshal G??ring and have my loyalty questioned! How loyal I’ve been to the Luftwaffe and the regi, but His Excellency is so thoughtless!”
Just like Walther Model, who had recomnded Dietrich Schacht, Richthofen, who had taken Schacht under his wing in Spain, given him good evaluations, and had drinking parties with him from ti to ti, also fell under the Führer’s suspicion.
He avoided arrest thanks to G??ring’s patronage, but as soone who had worked with dedication for the developnt of the Air Force since the early days of the Luftwaffe, he was displeased by the very situation of being suspected.
“Major General, frankly, I'm not sure if the current regi is worthy of a soldier’s loyalty.”
Richthofen, who had been lanting, turned his gaze to Gallant, who had delivered the bold straight talk.
“Ahem, Gallant, are you drunk? Major General, I think this friend of mine is very drunk. I will apologize on his behalf.”
M??lders tried to hastily smooth things over, but Richthofen, with his face flushed, stared intently at Gallant and opened his mouth.
“Why, have you lost the will to be loyal because the regi's opponents are suffering and dying in concentration camps, and because they sold off Austria?”
Gallant’s face hardened at Richthofen's words, but he soon nodded without hesitation.
“That’s right. Shouldn't a fatherland that demands loyalty from its soldiers show that it is worthy of that loyalty, so they can fight without regret?”
Richthofen let out a sigh.
In truth, he knew, because he had listened to the New Governnt Radio broadcast.
Of all people, the guy he recomnded and was friendly with was the one doing the broadcast as their spokesperson; how could he not listen?
“Gallant.
I'm very fond of you, so I'll pretend I didn't hear that. I have a debt of gratitude to His Excellency, Field Marshal G??ring, and have you not incurred a debt of gratitude from ? I won't tell you to have absolute loyalty to the governnt.
Just trust
and follow .”
“Understood.
I apologize, Major General.”
While smiling at the relieved M??lders and the bitterly-faced Gallant who had answered, Richthofen felt a sense of bitterness.
It wasn't that he felt horrified by the cruel acts the Nazis themselves had committed.
He was a man who had no qualms about burning civilians with incendiary bombs, a man who could proudly beco the devil of his enemies for the sake of his fatherland.
But that was a separate issue from the regi attacking its own civilians to start a war and committing atrocities against the Germans it was supposed to protect.
Are we truly fighting for our fatherland? Richthofen felt a headache and gulped down his beer.
“Hoo. If you have a debt of gratitude, you must repay it.
That’s all.”
Although Field Marshal G??ring had recently lost so of his forr sharpness and charm, Richthofen thought of him as his ntor, who had actively pushed for him to rise to the rank of general.
To serve under a benefactor, protect the fatherland to which one has sworn loyalty, annihilate the enemy, advance one’s career, and enjoy honor. For a soldier, it was so simple and clear that there was no need to think of anything else.
“Schacht, that bastard. When I see him again, I'll definitely punch him once.”
That ungrateful bastard. After I treated him so well.
But even as he said that, he too had spent a not-insignificant amount of ti with Dietrich Schacht.
He knew that Schacht was not the kind of person to start a rebellion for no reason or to stir up residents with lies, and the reality he learned through the New Governnt Radio was shaking his belief.
Richthofen had regarded Hitler as a strong leader who would make Germany, which had been utterly powerless since the last great war, great again, and he had no hesitation in telling others that the Führer was a great leader.
Schacht, he had told him that too.
But if soone were to ask him again, could he still say it with confidence?
Did he, who had told his subordinates to trust and follow him, truly have any conviction?
-
October 10, 1939
Kassel, 9th Military District, Central Germany, the New Governnt Building in Frankfurt
“Ah, all of a sudden.”
Is soone talking about ? Honestly, too many people co to mind-
I roughly dug a finger into my suddenly itching ear and walked briskly, looking at a pile of docunts.
It was already a dark night, but the New Governnt Building was lit up like a city that never sleeps, just like a modern Korean nightlife district. There were many people worn out with fatigue, but the newborn governnt had even more to do.
“Welco, Vice Minister.”
Minister of Defense Ludwig Beck greeted
with a tired face.
“I apologize for being late. It took longer than I thought in the Ruhr.”
I had just co from reporting on the production situation of munitions equipnt, especially armored equipnt, in the Ruhr.
For now, I was the Vice Minister of the Chancellery, but since it wasn't my place to step forward before my father on matters of internal affairs or the economy, I was in charge of the dia war and military affairs, which my father was not familiar with.
“Ah, yes. How was it?”
The Wehrmacht remaining with the Nazis was the main force for the Invasion of Poland, so naturally, they were far superior in terms of equipnt to the New Governnt Army, which was centered on the stalling tactic Army Group C deployed on the French front line.
Our side is using early model light tanks like the Panzer I and II, while they have the Panzer III and IV, which are classified as dium tanks, and even their light tanks are better than ours, being Czech-made tanks.
But from the mont we held the Ruhr and the ball bearing factory, replenishing their armored units would be practically impossible.
As the New Governnt entered a phase of relative stability, we began producing proper tanks instead of early model light tanks like the Panzer I and II to make up for the difference in armored forces.
“Production of the Panzer IV is going smoothly.
But the Panzer III has many problems with both productivity and defects.”
Thanks to General Model making
attend Guderian's classes and transferring
to the Armored Branch, I've gained knowledge I didn't even have in modern tis, but.
Sothing's strange. As far as I know, the Panzer III was supposed to be the main battle tank and the Panzer IV was made as a support tank.
But why does the Panzer IV have better anti-tank performance, higher production numbers, and even better stability? It seems the famous German tanks of modern tis, the Tiger and the Panther, are still a long way from being developed.
“That damned Panzer III has been a problem for a long ti.”
If it's a main battle tank, it should be fighting enemy tanks, but with the Panzer IV, which is much stronger in tank warfare, already being produced in more than double the numbers and being our main enemy, the Panzer III is a truly ambiguous piece of work.
“Why don't we just standardize with the Panzer IV?”
Is there a need to distinguish between a main battle tank and a support tank? Like the Soviet's T-34, just mass-producing one type seems more efficient in many ways.
“For the Panzer III, we already stamped out a ton of chassis to make it the main battle tank. We can't just throw them away.”
“Then let’s just not make turrets and make them into assault guns. They say the suspension system is overloaded because of the turret's weight, so wouldn't that solve the problem?”
“Hmm.”
An assault gun is a vehicle where, instead of placing a turret on a tank chassis, the gun is just mounted directly inside it.
It has its limits in that the turret can't rotate, but since it can be made cheaply and quickly, it can be produced and deployed in greater numbers, and it has its own advantages, as you can mount a bigger gun than on a turret.
If it’s not going to be very effective as a tank anyway, we should just push for mass production.
“If tank warfare with only the Panzer IV is a concern, we could also make a version with an anti-tank gun mounted on an assault gun.”
I don't think the concept of a tank destroyer exists yet, but is that concept a tank destroyer?
Anyway, if we do that, we can use the leftover Panzer III chassis, and we won't need to make turrets, so shouldn't that solve the productivity problem to so extent?
“So you’re suggesting we standardize the Panzer IV as the main battle tank and use the chassis of the problematic Panzer III for assault guns and anti-tank guns?”
“Yes, Minister. I think it would be better for productivity to reduce the number of types and produce them consistently.”
I don't have great military knowledge, but I at least know that during World War II, Germany's munitions production efficiency hit rock bottom because they churned out all sorts of strange variants separately.
Nazi Germany was a hopeless case because the collusion and corruption between the Nazi Party and corporations were woven together like a spiderweb, and it only improved a little after Albert Speer, with Hitler's favor as his backing, took charge, but we are at least free from that.
Moreover, since we are receiving Lee-Enfield rifle support from Britain, which was very pleased with the last negotiation, we can focus even more on armored chanization.
“Hmm, I'll consult with General Lutz.”
“Thank you for listening to my humble opinion.”
It sounds nice to call
Vice Minister of the Chancellery, but my age is only in the 20s and my military rank is rely a Major, yet Ludwig Beck was relatively lenient with .
Knowing that it was common for the military to intentionally ignore the orders of Hitler, who was no less than the Führer, it was sothing I was quite grateful for.
“The report is here, Minister.
If there is nothing else, I will take my leave.”
After putting down the report, I spoke to Ludwig Beck, and he remained silent for a mont before opening his mouth.
“Do you not resent ?”
Ludwig Beck was not a direct conspirator in the Military Governnt's coup d'état, but when the radio broadcasting station and the governnt building were seized, he surrendered to them.
He even made a radio broadcast, in the na of the New Governnt's Regent, to declare the enthronent of Emperor Wilhelm III and requested the people to support the Military Governnt.
By then, the Frankfurter Zeitung newspaper had already been distributed at my request and Operation Freiheit had already comnced, so it didn't beco a huge variable, but the stigma that the leader of the New Governnt had surrendered to the coup forces remained.
It was a really close call back then.
If Colonel Tresckow hadn't helped
escape—
Or even if I had escaped, if I hadn't been able to distribute the newspaper quickly and get out of Frankfurt without Claudia's help, no one could say for sure what would have beco of the New Governnt by now.
“Would that be the Minister’s fault alone? I and the other people of the New Governnt also share responsibility for the fact that the New Governnt was temporarily neutralized.”
I had prepared a counterasure after hearing Colonel Tresckow's warning, but I didn't know the Royalist faction would show such a bold move, so different from how they hesitated during the Munich Agreent, so it was definitely my fault too.
“Is that so…”
After the Military Governnt was suppressed, Wilhelm III and my father tried to have Ludwig Beck completely removed from power.
But the military opposed it, and in the end, after I personally persuaded the Emperor and my father, he was able to keep his position as Minister of Defense.
It was also true that his public trust within the military was necessary, but—
“It was you, Minister, who, during Operation Widerstand, permitted my activities, which were hated by the working-level officials, especially the Royalist faction, and gave
the position of spokesperson.”
Although Director Canaris of the Abwehr had consistently supported
since the Munich Agreent, in the end, if Beck, the leader of the New Governnt, hadn't listened to my request, I wouldn't be able to be playing this role now.
“I am not one to forget a debt of gratitude, Minister.”
“I see.”
Beck smiled with a slightly hollow look on his face.
“Thank you. You may go.”
“Yes, sir. I will take my leave then.”
There were parts I couldn't tell him. In the original history, he was the leader of the Black Orchestra, and after Stauffenberg's failure, he had to commit a painful suicide.
Even if their ideas were old-fashioned and foolish, I, at least, wanted to respect those who had risked everything to rise up against Hitler.
The fact that those who should have t a miserable end were alive and breathing was proof that everything I had done was worthwhile.
But the ones I truly feel guilt towards are still in Nazi territory.
The thought that maybe I could have persuaded them cos to mind when I least expect it, holding
back.
How are they perceiving
and the New Governnt right now? My action of staging a coup without telling them could be called a betrayal.
I was afraid that they might have fallen into a difficult situation because of .
Model, Richthofen, Michael, Klens.
My ntor, my colleague, my friend.
Are they still loyal to the Führer and the Nazis?
Do they hate ?
I hope not, but even if they do, I have no choice but to endure it.
Until now, I have avoided the escalation of the civil war as much as possible by mobilizing a dia war.
But the final conclusion with the Nazis was fast approaching, and Hitler and the Nazis would never step down quietly.
In the end, a bloodshed incident to end the civil war is inevitable.
It is to avoid the worst-case scenario of the Nazi's Holocaust and becoming a defeated nation in World War II, but this alteration could lead to the sacrifice of those who survived in the original history.
Perhaps the people I cared about might fall while trying to stop us.
I had already made my resolve, but the weight of the act of changing history was pressing down heavily on my shoulders.
I hope that the sacrifice will be as little as possible.
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