I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 906 No Escape

During the last World War, Pershing refused to send American troops to the war for a year, citing that the American troops were not yet fully trained.

It was only after Clemenceau threatened to cut off supplies to the U.S. military that Pershing reluctantly sent American troops into battle.

Pershing's concerns were not unfounded.

After the US military entered the war, it was indeed sent to the most intense areas to attack strongholds defended by elite German troops, suffering heavy casualties.

Now it's a repeat of the last world war, but the initiative is no longer with France.

Churchill originally intended to appoint U.S. Chief of Staff Michel as the commander-in-chief of Operation Overlord, but because Michel needed to remain in the United States to coordinate the operation, he appointed Eisenhower as the commander-in-chief.

During World War I, Eisenhower served as Chief of Operations for the U.S. First Army.

The First Army was precisely the unit that suffered the heaviest casualties among the U.S. forces, losing nearly 3 men.

If the Free French Army were placed under Eisenhower's command.

De Gaulle worried that Eisenhower would deploy the Free French Army to the most intense battles.

Whether the U.S. military personnel during the last World War received adequate training before arriving in France is another matter.

The Free French Army under de Gaulle was indeed not adequately trained.

They have never received any training in landing techniques.

Eisenhower had no time to wait for de Gaulle.

The Russian army has advanced its front line into German territory, and news of Russian victories is being broadcast on the radio every day.

The Russian army was in high spirits, frequently annihilating tens of thousands of enemy soldiers and capturing hundreds of thousands of prisoners, giving people a sense of urgency that if they did not take active action, Berlin would be occupied by the Russian army.

Crown Prince William's trip to Russia made Eisenhower even more uneasy.

Crown Prince Wilhelm's influence in Germany is undeniable.

If Russia and Germany reach a peace agreement, the United States will gain nothing and will lose its influence over the European continent, handing over the European market to Russia.

This is unacceptable to any American.

The disorderly expansion of American capital means that once the United States loses the support of overseas markets, the American economy will stagnate.

Once the US economy stagnates, the various contradictions that were masked by rapid economic growth will be exposed one by one.

When the United States ceases to be a haven for immigrants in the eyes of Europeans, it will completely lose the driving force for economic development.

For various reasons, the Anglo-American forces had to land in France as soon as possible, at least before the Russian army arrived, in order to maintain American, and even Anglo-Saxon, influence on the European continent.

To capture France, the Anglo-American coalition amassed nearly 300 million troops on British soil, including 36 army divisions with a total strength of nearly 150 million, mainly composed of American, British, and Canadian troops.

In addition to the military, the British and American coalition forces also stockpiled nearly 17 vehicles and more than 60 tons of various supplies.

In the early hours of D-Day, the first echelon of approximately 1.7 troops from the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and the British 6th Airborne Division boarded more than 1700 transport planes from three airports in the UK and departed for their designated locations in France.

As early as the night before the paratroopers boarded the planes, 26 guidance teams responsible for guiding the paratroopers in combat had already set off to set up guidance signals in the designated areas.

Almost simultaneously with the deployment of the paratroopers, the British and American air forces launched more than 2200 bombers, dropping over 7000 tons of bombs on German positions in the landing area.

While the air bombardment was intensifying, a combined fleet consisting of the British Home Fleet and the US Atlantic Fleet arrived off the French coast to provide fire support for the landing forces and cover the landing fleet of more than 6000 ships as they landed in Normandy.

Upon receiving the news that the Allied forces had begun their operation, George immediately ordered the Russian army to cease its offensive and to withdraw from the battlefield.

This is understandable, as the Russian army has been fighting the German army for so long, and the troops are exhausted and have suffered heavy losses, so they urgently need supplies and rest.

The temporary withdrawal from the battlefield was to conserve strength and prepare for the offensive after the spring; there was no intention to allow the German army to concentrate its forces to besiege the British and American forces.

The Russian army simply halted its offensive.

The Yugoslav army, which had already invaded the Kingdom of Italy, did not stop its offensive. Instead, it pressed on and stormed into Rome.

At a critical moment, the Italians once again made the right choice: Vittorio Emanuele III surrendered to the Yugoslav army through the Church.

Mussolini disguised himself and fled, but was captured by partisans and executed. Marshal Badorio became prime minister and announced the dissolution of the Italian National Party, founded by Mussolini.

Even George did not expect that the Italian army would only surrender to the Yugoslav army and refuse to surrender to the British and French forces that landed in Sicily.

The Anglo-French forces that landed in Sicily, lacking heavy equipment, were unable to expand their gains and, with the help of their superior navy and air force, managed to maintain a stalemate with the Italian army.

Embarrassingly, the Italian second-line army was still holding off the Anglo-French forces, while Italy's elite troops were fighting against the Yugoslav army.

George focused on the British and American forces landing in France.

The Allied landing was not smooth. Although the German counterattack was not strong, the Allied forces did not manage to get all their troops and heavy equipment ashore as planned.

To provide heavy firepower for the landing forces, the British and American coalition forces were equipped with the British Army's latest amphibious assault vehicles before the landing.

These amphibious assault vehicles had only been tested in swimming pools and had not yet been put to the test in the Atlantic Ocean.

The weather conditions on D-Day were terrible; the Normandy coast was hit by strong winds and torrential rain, which severely hampered the landing forces.

Of the 29 amphibious assault vehicles equipped by the 1st Division of the U.S. Fifth Army, only 2 landed safely, while the remaining 27 were all overturned by the storm. As a result, the 1st Division suffered the most severe losses, with more than 3000 casualties.

The U.S. Navy performed admirably, with destroyers braving mines and grounding, and enduring bombardment from German coastal defenses, advancing to within 700 meters of the beach to provide fire support for the landing forces.

On D-Day, a total of 13 British and American troops from 10 divisions successfully landed in Normandy, establishing several landing zones of 8-10 kilometers.

When the Allied forces landed, Rundstedt and Rommel mobilized German mobile forces to besiege the British and American paratroopers who had completed their airborne landing in Normandy.

The paratroopers also lacked heavy weapons; their mission was to infiltrate and disrupt the German defensive deployment, prevent the movement of German strategic reserves, and provide outer protection for the landing forces.

The German 352nd Motorized Rifle Division was the one that besieged the US 101st Airborne Division.

The 352nd Motorized Infantry Division comprises two motorized infantry regiments. In addition to being equipped with tank destroyer battalions, it is also equipped with 21 assault guns and has units for reconnaissance, air defense, communications, supply, medical, and transportation, making it exceptionally powerful.

This was the first time the 101st Airborne Division had participated in combat since its formation.

The 101st Airborne Division's operation did not go smoothly. The guidance groups of two regiments were detected and destroyed by the Germans during the airdrop. As a result, the 101st Division only had about 2500 men assembled during the airdrop, and the rest of the troops were scattered over an area of ​​about 13 square kilometers, and the organization was completely disrupted.

Although the 352nd Motorized Rifle Division was not equipped with armored vehicles, their armored vehicles posed a significant threat to the paratroopers.

Due to propaganda from the French and German governments, the French in Normandy did not have a favorable impression of the Allied forces and did not provide the necessary assistance to them as Eisenhower had hoped.

France has long been the European country that discriminates most against the United States.

At the same time, France is the country with the most severe animosity towards Britain.

Unlike the Free France led by de Gaulle, Vichy France had joined the German-Italian alliance, and French troops even joined the forces of Destedt and Rommel to fight alongside the German and British-American allied forces.

For the French, the Anglo-American forces were the real enemy.

"This is terrible! There isn't a single person here who speaks English. Aren't the French always so proud of their education?"

Williams, from Arkansas, is at his wits' end. He lost his leg pack during the parachute landing and now only has a dagger.

"It's not that they don't know English, it's that they don't want to communicate with us."

Lieutenant Ellis gripped his Springfield rifle tightly. The dozen or so soldiers around him were either sitting or lying down, not yet in combat readiness.

hum-

Allied transport planes flew overhead, and Ellis watched helplessly as they flew away into the distance, with neither paratroopers nor supplies landing.

Suddenly, the sound of an engine came from behind, and Ellis could clearly see the German military flag painted on the vehicle through his telescope.

"what should we do?"

Sergeant Riley awaited Ellis's orders.

"Let's retreat, we need to leave here."

Ellis had no idea that they had nowhere to escape.

(End of this chapter)