NOVPUB
Chapter 73: Winter Campaign (1)
The Soviet Union endured the largest invasion force in history with an iron will.
Although pushed back hundreds of kilometers from the border, they made the invaders pay a heavy price.
Now, the Axis alliance’s advance that had been pushing the Soviet troops across the entire front was over.
The Nazi army had only one choice left.
Scraping together their remaining strength for one final attack on a single axis.
It was the only gamble Germany could hope for.
The Wehrmacht squeezed out every last bit of strength for an operation named ‘Typhoon’.
Aircraft, tanks, vehicles, soldiers, cannons, ammunition, fuel.
If this offensive failed, they couldn’t even dream of another until next summer.
“We’re betting everything on this operation.”
Forced by the Führer’s pressure, Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, initiated ‘Operation Typhoon’ with grim resolve.
To cleanly sever the heart of the endlessly regenerating Hydra, Moscow, with a single blow.
The German army raced towards this one goal.
Even nature was smiling upon Germany.
The timely arrival of cold weather froze the ground solid, aiding the German advance.
However.
“Didn’t our air force melt all their tanks? Why the hell are T-34s still popping up at the front?”
The T-34s, thought to be depleted from the battles until September, were once again staring the Germans in the face.
Haha. We’re Korean-made, sorry....Anyways BRRRRRRR......!
The German army had to struggle again with the T-34s that appeared on the frontlines whenever they forgot about them.
The T-34 wasn’t the only problem.
How’s the taste of the 88mm gun you developed?
The Hyeonmu anti-tank assault gun provided by the Korean army poured cold water on the German advance.
Even the German 4th Panzer, their pride, got holes punched through when hit by the Hyeonmu’s main gun.
This wasn’t happening at a few hundred meters but at a 2km range.
They say its defensive capabilities are poor, but that wasn’t much of an issue in a defensive battle favorable for concealment.
Of course, the number of Hyeonmus operated by the Soviet army wasn’t very large.
But it was enough to discourage the already outnumbered German armored force.
As a result, the German army had to rely absolutely on the power of the Stuka dive bombers rather than the shock of armored units.
“It’s the Air Force!”
“Fuck...!”
The German army repeated exhausting battles, enjoying success in daytime battles and suffering at night.
By mid-November 1941, the momentum of the German army that aimed for a one-shot victory was completely broken.
Past the last gateway to Moscow, the Mozhaisk defense line, again, 2 million newly reinforced Soviet troops stood blocking the Germans, nestled in a triple defense line dug hundreds of kilometers deep.
“Damn Ivans, are they digging up troops from the fields?”
Only then did Germany realize that they had underestimated the Soviet Union’s mobilization capabilities again.
Statistically, the Soviet Union’s adult male population (available) was about 45 million.
In addition, the Soviet Union actively mobilized a female population equal to the male population for the war.
Not only for the military industry but also as female soldiers.
Under these conditions, the Soviet Union could deploy more than 20 million personnel for the war.
In contrast, Germany had only 14 million male population available, and the mobilization rate of women for the military industry was incomparably lower than that of the Soviet Union.
Even considering the over one million volunteers brought from all over Europe, the gap in human resources was too large.
Naturally, the Soviet Union overwhelmingly surpassed Germany in terms of resilience.
On top of that, logistics reached its limits.
There weren’t enough freight cars to allocate for ammunition and food, let alone winter uniforms to wear in the cold.
The German army had to fight while holding their cold and hungry stomachs, counting bullets.
“It’s impossible, we can’t do it.”
Finally, the German commanders stopped their advance on their own.
Even offensive-minded officers like Heinz Guderian were no exception.
With divisions shrinking to battalion size and battalions to a single platoon, charging into the endlessly reinforced Soviet troops would mean the death of all subordinate soldiers.
The German Army High Command sternly warned the frontline commanders for this disobedience but to no avail.
And on the fateful December 4th.
“When General Winter arrives, shouldn’t we finish it?”
At Stalin’s words, the Soviet army switched to the offensive on all fronts.
“The Ivans are coming.”
Unfortunately for the Germans, the Soviets were better prepared for winter combat than the German side.
The German army was stunned by the material offensive of millions of Soviet troops pouring out at once.
“General. We can’t hold out like this. What should we do now?”
“Retreat.”
Unable to withstand the Soviet offensive, the German frontline commanders ordered a retreat.
It was the first time on the Eastern Front that the offensive and defensive roles of both sides were reversed.
Hitler couldn’t contain his anger.
Not only did he fail to finish off Stalin in 1941, which was infuriating, but now they were retreating from the Moscow direction.
At this rate, when would they ever capture Moscow?
“Dismiss all those who have retreated now!”
“That’s impossible.”
“Then you’re dismissed too!”
Hitler dismissed many high-ranking generals, including Army Commander-in-Chief Walther von Brauchitsch.
Then, assuming the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Army himself, he ordered a ban on retreat.
However, it was insufficient to stop the Soviet army that had gained momentum.
Unfortunately for Hitler, winter was the Soviet Union’s time.
The cold and harsh 1941-42 winter campaign began.
-
“If this were the webtoon, it would be time for the Korean Empire to do a ‘Pearl Harbor’.”
I savored the rare moment of leisure, tasting the warm coffee.
The Soviet Union was also gaining momentum, and the Indochina operation was a success.
On top of that, China was slowly being strangled, so most of the external problems were practically resolved.
However, there were some domestic issues.
One of them was the Military Officers, aka, the Nobles.
Although their power had been drained through land reforms and operations, the emergence of a potentially hostile class could not be ignored.
Factory workers were equally dissatisfied.
As we entered a wartime economy, they were forced to work 12-hour shifts, twice a day, and everyone was gritting their teeth.
Due to our cooperation with the Soviet Reds, the Communist Party and Labor Party were quiet, but reports of unsettling public sentiment among workers were steadily coming in.
Still, for the reign of the Korean Empire, this was a peaceful era.
Ah, originally, it would have been time for the 4-way fuckery flag to be raised, right?
The coffee is sweet, so sweet.
“Yo-Your Excellency! A big problem has occurred.”
“Fuck.”
The chief secretary Jong-Gil ran over with a pale face and presented a telegram.
What is it?
I took the telegram and read it leisurely, then gaped for a moment.
“Ja-Japan has gone crazy.”
A revolt of the samurai class broke out in Japan.
The reason was absurd.
I heard that land reforms were carried out in Korea to wipe out the aristocrats. They say similar reforms will soon happen in Japan!
This nonsensical rumor triggered the samurai.
Of course, the majority of the samurai maintained a wait-and-see attitude, but a considerable number of them attacked government offices in their regions and killed military and police personnel.
Is this really happening in the 20th century?
Come to think of it, present-day Japan was a pre-modern country without the Meiji Restoration.
It was a world where the thought process of the samurai had not evolved that much.
Well, even if they evolved, they would produce things like the Kodoha, so it’s all the same.
“You.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Convene the Imperial Defense Council.”
I immediately summoned the key figures of the military.
30 minutes later, the military personnel arrived in order and took their seats.
After explaining the situation, I asked for their opinions.
Kim Sung-Joo, the Army Minister, argued for a strong response.
“Your Excellency. We need to dispatch troops immediately. By mobilizing 4 divisions from the mainland and withdrawing 1 division from the China front, we can easily suppress them.”
“The Army’s words are correct. If we reinforce with 5 divisions, the problem will be easily resolved.”
“What do you think?”
I asked for the opinion of Lee Jeong-ju, the Defense Security Commander.
As the intelligence chief, I thought he would provide a different perspective.
“I think we need to be cautious about deploying military forces.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“With the domestic situation unstable, if loyal units leave the country, we don’t know what kind of disturbances may occur.”
The Marine Corps Commander listened to Lee Jeong-ju’s words and asked.
“Are you saying a coup might happen?”
“I’m talking about a one-in-a-million chance.”
One-in-a-million.
He was definitely right.
No matter how high the military control was, overconfidence was forbidden.
We shouldn’t forget that our power base was ultimately guns and swords.
“You, then how do you suggest suppressing the rebellion?”
“Since the China front is in a lull, I suggest taking 5 divisions from there to resolve it.”
“Commander Lee. If we pull that many troops from the front, will Chiang Kai-shek stay still?”
“Then what should we do? I have a duty to defend Your Excellency with my life.”
“Are you the only one loyal to Your Excellency? It’s also important to quickly handle this situation!”
It was a frustrating confrontation.
And both sides were right.
It was a fact that pulling troops from the mainland could immediately suppress the rebellion.
It was also a fact that the risk factors would increase as loyal units were withdrawn in large numbers.
The generals poured out heated debates, but no conclusion was reached.
I had to make the decision.
“It can’t be helped. Let’s do this. Let’s pull 4 divisions from the China front and 1 from the mainland.”
“Your Excellency!”
It was a compromise of sorts.
Of course, this could turn out to be a bad decision, but I couldn’t ignore both sides’ arguments.
After the meeting was adjourned, I said to Jong-Gil.
“The China front will be noisy for a while. Leaving work on time is out of the question.”
“Then, the First Lady will be displeased.”
Hmm.
Thinking of my young wife, whom I had obtained not long ago, I let out a dry cough.
Women are scary.
Footnotes
1. Armed Forces2. Walther Heinrich Alfred Hermann von Brauchitsch was a German Generalfeldmarschall and Commander-in-Chief of the German Army during the first two years of World War II. Born into an aristocratic military family, he entered army service in 1901.3. The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a 600 km sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between October 1941 and January 1942.4. Im almost sure this is an original weapon? Since the Hyeonmu I could find is actually a Korean ballistic missile invented in the mid 90s5. The 4th Panzer Army (German: 4. Panzerarmee), operating as Panzer Group 4 (Panzergruppe 4) from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, was a German panzer formation during World War II. As a key armoured component of the Wehrmacht, the army took part in the crucial battles of the German-Soviet war of 1941–45, including Operation Barbarossa, the Battle of Moscow, the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk, and the 1943 Battle of Kiev.
