Chapter 12: 12

【 Chapter 12 – Spanish Civil War – Battle of Brunete (4) 】

 

July 11, 1937
Central Spain, throughout Brunete West of Madrid

The rain of bombs poured on both sides caused wildfires thanks to the already hot and dry weather. Grandly.

The hills surrounding the open battlefield and the trees in the mountains behind were all burning.

If it weren’t for the war, they would have extinguished the forest fire, but neither was the situation, and it was not possible to extinguish it with a small number of troops.

It’s not like we can spray fire extinguishers in the air because there aren’t helicopters in this era.

At least the main battleground was an open field, so I didn’t have to worry about the forest fire spreading to here, but the problem is…

“Fuck… it’s hot… it’s fucking hot…”

“Haaaa, it’s hot….”

In fact, the heat of the forest fire was added to the hot weather, giving it hellish heat.

It’s so hot that both Republicans and the Nationalists can’t even think of an offensive.

No, let alone an offensive, forest fires were disrupting even the well-done supply.

“Dietrich, can I get some water?”

I shook my head at Clement’s plea.

As there was a problem with supply, water naturally became scarce. If you drink it right now, it will dampen your throat and cool down for a while, but you cannot use up all the water in a situation where you don’t know when the next supply will come.

Juan Yagüe of the Nationalists, now a Colonel, paid attention to supply as he was a well-received Commander in the Condor Legion, and it was distributed again under the management of Colonel Model, the capable Chief of Staff of the Condor Legion.

So, supply and water supply were being carried out with the utmost care, but even so, there was no disruption to supply while wildfires were spreading like crazy.

I had extra water just in case, but I wanted to avoid running out of water at all costs, as I was experiencing non-combat losses due to heatstroke rather than combat losses right away.

At the very least, we hope that the Republicans’ situation will be the same or worse than ours.

Even while we were fighting in the heat of the forest fire, fighters were dogfighting in the sky, unaffected by hell on earth.

“It’s spectacular, spectacular.”

It was spectacular, to the point where I muttered without realizing it.

The whole ground is on fire and smoke is rising into the sky, but at the higher altitude, steel hawks are trying to catch each other’s tails, checking and engaging.

If someone took a picture, it would be a scene that would fit the description of a battlefield in hell, but we didn’t have a camera.

The Republicans are trying to break through the sticking situation, but they put in a lot of air forces that were only seen in the beginning of the attack.

However, as the forest fire broke out, the offensive could not start, and in the meantime, the Nationalists’ troops were gathering step by step.

Because of the natural environment, the advantage of the surprise attack is lost and the offensive is stopped…. Why have I seen this a lot? This time the position is reversed. 

The Republican Commanders, perhaps in a hurry, tried poking at them with the Air Force capable of attacking even during lulls, but the sky was no longer the environment they remembered.

The new Soviet-made monoplane I-16 had a clear advantage over the Condor Corps and the Italian army’s outdated biplanes, but was clearly inferior to the new Bf109, which would take the lead in the Luftwaffe myth early in World War II.

From the beginning of the war, the Republicans, who had been holding air supremacy by suppressing old-style biplanes with new Soviet-made planes, began to be pushed out of the sky even after putting in the main force of the Air Force for the first time!

“Ooooh….!”

In the meantime, the enemy bomber was seen falling with smoke, losing one wing.

I can’t even drink water freely in this crazy heat, so I’m glad the crew has something to see.

Our side hadn’t done anything reckless by sending in bombers in a situation where air supremacy had not yet been secured, but the Republicans were nervous, sending bombers intermittently even though they were being pushed back in the battle between fighters, increasing the number of shootdowns by the Luftwaffe.

Thanks to this, we were able to enjoy the air battle at leisure, instead of shooting 88 while only waiting for the air defense artillery.

In this era, the anti-aircraft gun may not be able to shoot precisely enough to distinguish between enemy and ally, but it may lead to a catastrophic disaster if it shoots poorly to support them.

While I am free, I am looking into the homework and operation plan that Colonel Model gave me.

No matter how you look at it, this is a draft, and there is no doubt that it was written very roughly.

Only the location of the unit, the goal of the advance, and the time of the operation are roughly set, but this is an operation plan.

The Nationalist’s sloppy strategy isn’t a day or two, but isn’t this a bit far-fetched?

Since it would not be possible to give the top-secret military operation plan to a single Company Commander in advance, this meant that I should think about it with a draft, so I checked it, and as expected, it was said that it was given to not only me but also each Company Commander.

“Ugh….”

As a common sergeant discharged from the military in Korea, I don’t have the ability to plan a great offensive all of a sudden.

The feeling that Colonel Model was openly testing each unit’s Commanders was so clear that it couldn’t have been done roughly.

No, in the first place, Walter Model is famous for being fatherly to soldiers and harsh to staff and officers.

If you write the wire roughly, it may be out of his sight, aside from being smashed.

“Hwiyu- you’re working hard, Company Commander.”

In the midst of a long desperate situation, Clement’s teasing was a constant interruption.

When I was with this bastard and the crew, he always called me Company Commander, but his attitude didn’t change much.

“Hey, come on, give me some advice. Get to work, Lieutenant.”

“No, Lieutenant. What would a new Lieutenant like me know?”

“…oh dear.”

He’s throwing away his belly. It’s not an emergency right now, but it’s not like I’m going to take a picture of my motive as a rank.

But deep down, if I entered the War College, I wanted to go with Clement….

“Clement, don’t do that. Isn’t Colonel Model a member of the Berlin Staff Headquarters in the General Staff? If you look good, maybe they will recommend you to enter the War College. Thanks to your advice, I really shouldn’t have to wash my mouth and intercept your motive.”

“Uh, um. To be honest, I don’t have any thoughts. Seeing what the Chief of Staff and you are doing, I think these people are becoming General Staff, so I think I’m gonna to overdo it. “

“Is that so…”

Well, even if you are like me, ‘Chief of Staff Fleck’ or ‘General Fleck’ do not associate well. No matter how you look at it, he’s more of an officer who rolls on the ground than a staff or a general.

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“If I were to go to the War College, I would have to go to Berlin, but I asked because it was kind of weird to leave you alone.”

“Who was it that said it wasn’t easy to be a general staff member?”

I also laughed at the sound of Clement suffocating. Uh, yes, what I said is correct.

“Well, thank you for your concern… But you’ll tell me after it’s done, Company Commander?”

“….I hate you.”

I’m not in a position to care about Clemens right now, as I’m contemplating the expulsion of the Nazis, but it’s true that it still bothers me.

I was honestly grateful.

It is thanks to him that I am still relatively sane while falling into the crazy position of being a Nazi German soldier in World War II with the spirit of Koreans in the 21st century.

If it weren’t for Captain Kaufmann, a good superior who treated me kindly, and Clement, who reminds me of my Korean military colleagues…

What kind of person would I have become by now? I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s a good direction.

“Ah, Lieutenant. A bit burdensome? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

I laughed while watching Clement who was trembling at my gaze.

If you knew I had a goal of ousting the Nazis, what would you say?

Are you going to panic, saying I’m crazy? Call me a traitor? …or else, will you still believe in me?

I’ll never know.

Either way, I must stop these motives and other Germans from being killed by Hitler’s madness.

At any cost.

 

July 18, 1937
HQ of the 11th Republican Division, Brunete, West of Madrid, Central Spain

Colonel Enrique Líster, who was praised as a Republican war hero, sat in a chair with a haggard complexion dark under his eyes because he couldn’t sleep well for several days.

“That’s terrible…”

Líster sighed deeply.

The ambitious offensive to drive out the Nationalists oppressing Madrid failed utterly, it even sapped all of the Republicans’ strength.

Líster had to lose ten tanks due to Colonel’s mistake in the first offensive, and the armored unit, which had already been demoralized even though it properly assisted infantry, had to step down at a huge cost.

He decided that it was impossible to break through the defense line built by the Condor Legion and asked for an end to the attack with a huge loss report, but the higher-up demanded that the offensive continues with air force support.

However, the situation in the sky, where the Republicans thought they were superior to the Nationalists, had already been overturned.

The Soviet-made fighter, which seemed invincible, was no match for a new German-made fighter this time.

The higher-ups’ judgment was that the enemy’s new weapon, which seems to be an anti-tank field, would be helpless to bomb, but that is a story that is used when the bombing is possible.

It was difficult to shake off enemy fighters, and bombers, who struggled to break through the sacrifices of our fighters, were often shot down by enemy anti-aircraft guns.

From anti-tank field artillery to anti-aircraft artillery to field artillery that fires anti-artillery fire. How many guns did the Germans bring?

At least, he missed the timing of the attack due to the forest fire, and Líster confirmed that the enemy’s reinforcements had arrived and asked for the withdrawal of the attack again, but was eventually ordered to attack unconditionally.

The result was disastrous. The troops, who had not received proper support from the Air Force and had to attack the same open area, had to be bombed by the Nationalist Air Force this time, and were literally divided.

The German Air Force showed an aptitude for dropping bombs vertically from high altitude, which was seen for the first time, and the bombing smashed valuable tanks with a threatening accuracy that was different from the previous one.

And the enemy’s anti-tank field guns. The Soviet tanks, which were the republic’s most valuable power, exploded countless times.

His 11th division was clearly elite, but the offensive, which continued through countless sacrifices without drinking water properly in the heat wave, even drove their morale to the bottom.

No matter how many messengers were sent to the higher-ups to get enough water, water was always far from enough.

Líster looked at the loss report with bloodshot eyes. 40% of the troops were killed, and half of the 100 tanks were either destroyed or in need of repair.

There were as many soldiers lost due to heatstroke due to lack of water as there were lost combat personnel.

He didn’t believe it, he didn’t want to believe it, but the reality was cold. His elite unit, which was said to be the best division of the Republican faction, was almost destroyed.

Now the enemy was preparing for a counterattack with reinforcements from the Northern Basque Front.

It was difficult to maintain the front line, let alone further offensive, and Líster asked the upper division for permission to retreat to save the remaining men.

And the reply was desperate rather than disastrous.

「It’s sad, but I can’t accept your request. Build a defensive line at Brunette and defend your position, as your troops are currently the most powerful.」

He obviously reported a 40 percent loss in manpower without reducing it at all. But we’re the most powerful unit?

What’s the situation with the other units? What on earth do we gain by sacrificing so many people for the excuse of fighting for the people?

Should he disobey the attack order? Even if it was because of the atmosphere, he thinks it would have only resulted in hardening himself.

The Republicans bet too many stakes on this offensive, and it was rather poisonous to capture Brunete easily.

But had he rebelled, he would not have driven his men to death by his own orders.

Líster looked into the telegram for a while and then glanced at the pistol he had placed on his desk.

Will there ever be an opportunity for Republicans to lead the offensive now?

To subdue the madness of corrupt Spain and Nationalists and to build the flag of people and communism, they have already lost too much.

Líster slowly lifted the pistol and put it to his head.

“Colonel! It’s an enemy attack!”

And at that moment, he made eye contact with the Deputy who ran in.

“Co-Colonel!”

Líster laughed dejectedly as he felt his pulse loosen.

“Don’t let the damn German bastards die on their will.”

 

【 Spanish Civil War – Battle of Brunete (4) 】- End

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