I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 909 On pins and needles
Mustache had always tried to control the Wehrmacht, but due to the resistance of the Junker aristocracy, he was never able to succeed.

Left with no other option, Hitler upgraded the SA to the SS, making it a separate system independent of the Wehrmacht.

Germany's elite officers were all within the Wehrmacht system. Apart from loyalty, the SS, while not entirely useless, was far removed from the Wehrmacht.

The SS's loyalty was only to Hitler himself.

The Wehrmacht is loyal to Germany.

As the founder of "blitzkrieg" tactics, Guderian held a very high position within the Wehrmacht.

The arrest of Guderian and a group of defense officers quickly caused a huge uproar in Berlin.

After Hitler's assassination, the Gestapo launched a massive operation, arresting over 7000 people, executing more than 20 generals, and forcing over 40 generals to commit suicide; most of them belonged to the National Defense Forces.

Those arrested and killed were not all related to the assassination attempt. Many were implicated by the Gestapo simply for making unfavorable remarks about the state of Germany and Hitler himself in their daily lives.

The National Army had already reached its limit of tolerance for the Gestapo's actions.

Following Guderian's assassination, an increasing number of military and political figures visited Crown Prince William in the Hohenzollern family's territory, hoping that he would step forward to turn the tide.

While tensions were simmering in Berlin, the Allied forces that landed in France faced encirclement by German armored forces. Not only did they fail to expand their landing zone and launch an attack into the French heartland as Eisenhower had requested, they suffered heavy losses and only managed to maintain their undefeated status with the help of the navy and air force.

To Eisenhower's dismay, Roosevelt and Churchill, for political reasons, demanded that he continue to send more troops to Normandy, at least to occupy France.

Considering the situation at the front, Eisenhower decided to withdraw troops and find a more suitable landing site.

This decision was met with strong opposition from Arthur Ted and Montgomery.

Arthur Ted was a British Air Marshal and served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces.

Montgomery served as Commander-in-Chief of the Army.

Montgomery's suggestion was to immediately organize a second landing in Calais.

Before the Normandy landings, the Allied forces launched a concentrated bombing campaign against Calais to mislead the German army, resulting in heavy losses to the German fortifications built there.

After the Allied landings in Normandy, Lundstätter transferred the garrison in Calais to Normandy to participate in the war, leaving Calais vulnerable.

Montgomery suggested sending Patton's Third Army to land at Calais, which would have a very high chance of success.

Patton's Third Army was the general reserve force for this landing operation.

"No, the German army still has at least six divisions around Calais. If we land in Calais, it will be at most a second Normandy, and the chances of success are very low."

Eisenhower's chief of staff, Walter Smith, was adamant.

There are some things Smith can't explain too clearly.

The Third Army is the US Army, and the British Army has no troops left to send. If the landing is to be stopped at Calais, the US Army will be the only option.

In the last world war, Britain hid behind Russia and France and did not suffer serious losses.

This time, the French saw through the hypocrisy of the British and no longer wanted to be Britain's shield. Britain was determined to drag the United States into the conflict and would not withdraw its troops under any circumstances.

"If we send the newly arrived US troops to Calais, the chances of success are still very high."

Montgomery would rather die than see his friend die.

The United States still has a very large war potential. Since the United States decided to enter the war, an average of 30 American troops have arrived in Britain every month.

"Rather than landing in Calais, we should pray that the Russian army resumes its offensive."

Smith was annoyed and very disappointed with the British army.

The British have a tradition of sabotaging their allies. The British troops that landed in Normandy did not show strong fighting spirit. The British troops that landed at Sword Beach did not even manage to link up with the Canadian troops that landed at Juneau Beach.

Although the British Army was ineffective, the British Empire still held considerable prestige. The American forces had expected the British to press their advantage and vent all their hatred from the Battle of Britain on the German forces in France.

Surprisingly, the British army's lack of ambition after the Normandy landings was unbelievable. Their mission seemed to be merely to establish a landing zone, with no desire to launch an attack into the French heartland.

You can't blame the British for this.

If it were merely a siege by the German army, that would be one thing. But even the French in Normandy seemed unwelcoming of the Allied forces, something Smith simply couldn't understand.

The Allied forces landed in Normandy to liberate the French from German enslavement and to uphold French independence and freedom. Why didn't the French welcome them?

That would require asking the air forces of the UK and the US.

Hours before the Allied landings, the British and American air forces launched more than 2000 bombers to bomb valuable targets in Normandy, causing heavy losses not only to the Germans but also to the French in Normandy.

When Germany attacked France, France stopped resisting before the fall of Paris, and there was almost no fighting in the south of France. The lives of ordinary French people were not greatly affected.

After France surrendered, Germany dissolved all political parties and unions in France and banned public gatherings and demonstrations.

These actions, which should have severely damaged French freedom and democracy, miraculously caused the partisan strife that had plagued France for years to disappear. French workers stopped striking, there were no more frequent cabinet collapses, and there were no more democratic elections that the French had always been proud of. The French were surprised to find that without the ballot, their lives were not only unaffected, but they also gained the peaceful life they had always dreamed of.

For a significant portion of the French population, they do not want to return to their former society, and their current lives seem quite good.

Therefore, the British and American forces that landed in Normandy did not receive flowers and praise from the French, but instead received a lot of curses and disdain.

The Anglo-American coalition wouldn't be completely detached from the interests of the people.

With the two sides locked in a stalemate, Churchill was extremely anxious.

After the Battle of France, the German government signaled to Britain that it was willing to negotiate with Britain to end the war peacefully.

At the time, British Prime Minister Chamberlain was inclined to negotiate with Germany.

Negotiations did not begin due to Churchill's strong opposition.

The ensuing Battle of Britain resulted in heavy losses for Britain. In an attempt to divert the Luftwaffe's attention, Churchill spearheaded the bombing of civilians in Berlin, which in turn led to the Luftwaffe bombing civilian facilities in London in retaliation. This severely damaged Churchill's personal reputation.

Currently in Britain, there are persistent voices claiming that Churchill used the World War to pursue personal gain, and a growing number of Britons believe that Churchill insisted on not negotiating with Germany for personal reasons.

This is really not the case.

If negotiations were to begin with Germany, regardless of whether Germany or Russia emerged victorious, Britain would be completely marginalized and lose its influence over continental Europe.

Churchill knew very well that once peace came to the European continent, it would be the end of Britain.

Therefore, even if the German army withdrew from France as Churchill demanded, Churchill would not stop the war.

Eisenhower remained resolute. Churchill's attempts to communicate with Eisenhower failed, so he took the initiative to call Washington, hoping that Roosevelt would intervene and urge Eisenhower to launch a new offensive.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was caught in a dilemma, and he too was under immense pressure.

The United States' entry into the war was met with strong opposition from German Americans and related interest groups.

Franklin D. Roosevelt has begun his third term, and the state capitalism he has spearheaded has severely limited the development of related interest groups in the United States.

For Franklin D. Roosevelt, only by leading the United States to victory in World War II and making the United States the biggest beneficiary of the war could his reputation be preserved despite the impact of his presidency.

Otherwise, he would certainly not escape being accused of "being greedy for power and clinging to power".

"Russia will not resume its offensive unless we withdraw from Normandy."

The news Hoover brought chilled Roosevelt to the bone.

"Contact Grand Prince Yuriev; I want to speak with him in person."

Franklin D. Roosevelt knew the key to solving the problem.

Whether the Russian army resumes its offensive is not only a matter of the fate of the more than 100,000 American troops in Normandy, but also of the future of Europe.

The situation is now quite clear: no matter how the Normandy landings turn out, Russia's influence over Europe is unstoppable.

Franklin D. Roosevelt did not care about Britain's future.

If Russia is destined to dominate Europe in the future, the United States will certainly want to maintain good relations with Russia.

Only in this way can the United States safeguard its own interests.

(End of this chapter)