Chapter 69:

Chapter 69:

Chapter 69

The Southern Army Group was retreating despite the heroic command of Field Marshal Model.

They left behind heavy equipment that could not be dragged by human hands in the blizzard-covered field, and headed west, west.

The German soldiers who returned the way they came shed blood.

“Those Jewish-Bolshevik bastards...”

“When can we come back here?”

The ‘living space’ of the Germanic people, Lebensraum, was still far away.

But the Soviet army was too numerous, and the harsh Russian winter, famous for its brutality, penetrated through the thin clothes of the German army.

The arms that had been trembling were now stiffening, and the toes had long lost their sensation.

Did not even the great Napoleon fail to destroy Russia and retreat? Some of them sighed with their knowledge of history.

But most of them easily refuted that claim.

“Napoleon failed to crush England until the end.”

“Didn’t we conquer all of Europe except Russia under the guidance of our Führer? Then isn’t our Führer greater than Napoleon?”

Field Marshal Model’s defensive battle shone here.

They might have left behind tanks and artillery, but a considerable number of German soldiers were able to return home.

They might have lost a limb or suffered other injuries, but they managed to survive anyway.

The surviving soldiers talked.

They ate a shabby soup made of unknown ingredients with frozen hands that had no sensation.N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.

“The great Germanic people will win!”

England had surrendered, and that vast land was all in the hands of the Germans.

From Gibraltar on the Mediterranean to Norway on the Arctic Ocean!

Only the barbaric Russian Scythians remained.

There was only one thing left until the victory of the Germanic people.

The soldiers dreamed of victory.

If this war ended with victory, they would go home and become the first-class citizens of Europe united under German rule.

The wide-open wilderness would become the farmland of the Aryan people who worked hard!

They dreamed sweet dreams as they retreated across the frozen land.

***

While the Germans dreamed, the Soviet Union was steadily implementing its grand plan.

First, the surplus power generated by the dulling of the German spearhead was invested in the long-term to strangle Germany’s lifeline.

“The Inonu government in Turkey has rejected our ultimatum. Order the start of the operation.”

“Yes, Comrade Secretary General!”

The Roosevelt administration decided to tacitly approve the Soviet invasion of Turkey.

Turkey had clearly shown a pro-German tendency and supplied chrome, which was essential for Germany’s war effort.

“Religion is the opium of the people! Nationalism may be a drug that can be used to rally the people against imperialism, but religion cannot even do that much.”

Despite these words, the superiors tolerated the sailors’ enthusiasm.

It suited their temperament better to race across the sea than to fire cannons at the approaching German army or train for land combat in Odessa.

The soldiers of the Black Sea Fleet probably thought so too.

They did not seem to feel much excitement about the prospect of a glorious naval battle and a magnificent victory, rather than a mere skirmish with the Turkish fleet that could not even put up a fight.

In the sky, Soviet fighters flew vigorously, as if greeting the fleet.

***

In fact, the main force attacking Turkey was the army.

The news of the Balkan Front Army racing across the Thracian Plain and the Caucasus Front Army breaking through the northern coast of Anatolia was relayed to the ship in real time.

“Edirne surrenders! The Balkan Front Army is heading straight for Istanbul. The Turkish resistance is minimal!”

“Hmm... I wonder if we left too late? Hahaha!”

The Soviet army had secretly agreed with Bulgaria and crossed its territory at high speed, capturing Edirne, a border city, in no time.

From Edirne to Istanbul, it was only 250km. It was a distance that a mechanized unit could overcome in a few days, even with resistance.

On the other hand, it was about 800km from Odessa to Istanbul across the Black Sea.

Even if the Balkan Front Army crushed the Turkish resistance and arrived in Istanbul, the Black Sea Fleet might not have reached the waters of Istanbul yet.

The maximum speed of a Gangut-class battleship was 24 knots (44km/h).

There were also older ships in the Black Sea Fleet, so it would take them at least 20 hours to reach Istanbul from Odessa.

“How is the Caucasus Front Army doing?”

“Yes, they still have a long way to go to Ankara... but they say that the Turkish resistance is minimal. They might even advance to Levant if ordered...”

The Turkish government had deployed most of its meager army on both borders due to heightened tension.

But the Turkish army, which lacked experience, training, equipment, and manpower, was shattered by the Soviet army.

The word ‘crushed’ suited them well.

They had barely 400 aircraft, only one mechanized brigade, and not enough rifles.

They were armed with Mausers and Lee-Enfields from World War I.

They were no match for the Soviet army’s elite mechanized units.

The Soviet air force was not very impressive, but they did well against the Turkish air force, which lost almost all of its planes in bombing raids on most of its airfields within hours of the outbreak of war.

The Soviet army used the same surprise tactic that they had suffered from during Operation Barbarossa.

And the gap between the two armies was much bigger.

The Soviet army’s mechanization level was not inferior to that of Germany.

They only lacked experience, doctrine, officer quality, and soldier weapon proficiency.

But through months of bloody battles, the Soviet army had been reborn.

As evidence, the Turkish army retreated miserably.

The Soviet casualties were negligible.

Only victory reports, victory reports, victory reports were sent to Moscow.