I asked you to escape, but you became a soldier in World War II

Chapter 126 Goodbye Petrov
Later, Lin Chen learned through various channels the final outcome of the Soviet army in Kharkov.

Before dawn on August 8, Kharkov was completely liberated.

The Soviet army ended the Battle of Kursk with a victorious counterattack in the Belgorod-Kharkov direction.

The Soviet leader said excitedly: "The most difficult period of the Great Patriotic War has ended. Now it is time for the Soviet army to launch a major counterattack!"

For this purpose, 224 rounds of salute were fired from 20 guns in Moscow Square.
(On August 1943, 8, after the liberation of Orel and Belgorod, all Soviet radio stations broadcast the Supreme Command's commendation order. Then 5 guns fired a 124-gun salute in Moscow. After each important battle victory, the front would apply for a salute in Moscow.

Thus, the cannon-fire system began to form a set of fixed regulations: First-level salute: when the capitals of the Soviet republics (Kiev, Minsk), foreign capitals (Warsaw, Vienna), or other major events (Elbe River meeting, crushing the Kwantung Army) were liberated, 324 artillery pieces fired 24 rounds, a total of 23 times. Second-level salute: when military actions such as liberating large cities, destroying enemy heavy troops and breaking through important defense lines were achieved, 224 artillery pieces fired 20 rounds, a total of 210 times. Third-level salute: when transport hubs and large settlements were liberated, 124 artillery pieces fired 12 rounds, a total of 122 times.

The most spectacular one was the victory in Europe on May 1945, 5, when 9 artillery pieces fired 1000 rounds. In less than two years, Moscow Resonance fired more than 30 salutes, an average of one every other day.)

The German army suffered a complete defeat in this battle, losing about 36 people (including about 10 killed), about 1500 tanks, and about 1000 aircraft.

The victory in Kharkov created favorable conditions for the liberation of the entire Ukraine on the left bank of the Dnieper River. The two fronts also paid a heavy price for this, and the participating forces of the Southern Army Group were already very weak.

The Fifth Guards Tank Army had only 8 intact tanks left on August 27, accounting for 66% of the original total. As for the situation of the Fourth Guards Tank Brigade, it is easy to imagine.

I wonder if these old friends can survive this battle of blood and fire.

After waiting for a long time in Moscow, Antonov's call never came. To be honest, he was a little nervous. What did this mean? Just one offensive mistake (in fact, it couldn't be called a mistake) led to such a drastic change of attitude?
Lin Chen waited until one night at the end of August, when he finally received a summons from the General Staff Headquarters. Again, someone came to pick him up by car, but this time it was not Major Antonov, but an unfamiliar young man whose rank seemed to be a second lieutenant.

They passed through layers of security facilities and arrived at the headquarters office building smoothly.

It was the same house and the same office. General Petrov and Lieutenant Colonel Antonov were already sitting inside waiting for him.

Lin Chen thought it was bad. This scene was obviously going to create a big problem for him.

Sure enough, the two of them first unanimously affirmed Lin Chen's contribution. Relying on the location designated by Lin Chen, after their troops recaptured Kharkov and other places, they sent special personnel there to retrieve the letters of collusion within the Soviet army and related evidence.

Then a large number of people were arrested. These people were lurking very deeply and posed a great threat to the safety of the Soviet army.

After reading it, the leader immediately ordered that all these traitors be sent to the military court, and they would surely be severely punished by military law.

After hearing this, Lin Chen just nodded calmly.
Seeing that he had no reaction, the two could only continue, "Considering the value of the intelligence you provided, it will offset your mistakes on the battlefield. Do you have any objection?"

This is actually a bit like what a leader in the past life said to his subordinates, "Do you have anything else to say?" In fact, it's not really up to you to say anything. People have already set the tone. What else can you say? Is it still useful to say it?

"No objection, thank you for your kindness to me, sir!" Lin Chen stood at attention and saluted.

"Don't stand up. Sit down and relax. We are old friends!" General Petrov smiled kindly.

Lin Chen thought, here comes the main topic!
"Captain Lin Chen, what weapon do you think is the most powerful or the most powerful on the battlefield right now?" General Petrov asked a question.

Lin Chen thought about it for a moment and gave his answer.
"The most powerful weapon against the German army at present should be our artillery."

Lin Chen's words are actually correct. The biggest difference between the Soviet Army and the German Army is the firepower advantage. Throughout World War II, if artillery is divided into levels, it can be roughly divided into the following categories:

The first type is to suppress the threat of firepower only against extremely threatening targets, such as the army on the battlefield in East Asia.
The second type is to use observation balloons and other equipment to carry out targeted bombing on enemy positions, such as the Japanese, one of the German allies.

The third category, relying on advanced artillery equipment and high-quality artillerymen, launches comprehensive suppressive fire on the enemy. This is the German army.

The fourth type, although the accuracy is not high, the emphasis is on the number of artillery. Anyway, use artillery to bombard repeatedly until it is flattened. This is the Soviet army.

The fifth category is the army that used artillery to the extreme in World War II. They had unlimited artillery shells and could directly wipe targets off the map. That was the US military.

"Although our artillery is hailed as the god of the battlefield, to be honest, it is not the biggest threat to the German army." Petrov smiled.

"That should be the strategic bomber forces of Britain and the United States, right? As long as a few hundred bombers go there, a German city will be wiped out." Lin Chen continued to answer.

"The effect of strategic bombing is not yet obvious, and the German air defense forces are still very strong."

"Other than that, I really can't think of anything." Lin Chen actually wanted to answer whether it was a super-heavy weapon like the Gustav cannon, but even strategic bombing was not in the old general's eyes, so it was better not to mention it.

As for the rest, he didn't dare to say it, because in this era, few people knew about the existence of such weapons.

Petrov winked at Antonov.

Antonov then said to Lin Chen with a serious face, "We have received reliable intelligence that the Germans are developing a terrible weapon called the atomic bomb."

Upon hearing the news, Lin Chen was stunned for a moment. Wasn’t it said that this weapon was destroyed by the Allied forces?

Seeing Lin Chen's shock, Antonov explained, "Indeed, in 1942, the Allies destroyed the German secret production base, but now we have intelligence that the German production base has been used again, and has made substantial progress!"

"Then why not send a bomber to blow it up?" Lin Chen was a little confused. These were confidential matters and ordinary people did not know about them.

"It's not that simple. The Vemork Chemical Plant is located on Mount Barron near the Norwegian town of Vemork. It is surrounded by mountains. It is unrealistic to use airplanes to bomb it directly. It is covered by clouds all year round, and the terrain is extremely complex. The British tried it once, but they were all shot down before they could even see the shadow of the factory." General Petrov finally couldn't help but add these details.

"The Allies can't bomb it repeatedly. Not only is it costly, but it will also further alert the German army and strengthen the defense there. So we have to hit it with one strike!"

"The British Army's sabotage operation in 1942, codenamed 'Swallow', was an airborne operation. However, the sabotage was not thorough, which gave the Germans an opportunity to revive."

After hearing this, Lin Chen thought for a moment, "Is this weapon very destructive?"

He has to pretend to be a novice, otherwise he will be exposed easily.

Sure enough, after hearing Lin Chen's question, General Petrov answered seriously, "It is said that this weapon can change the situation of World War II, and can even make the advantage we have gained by bloodshed and sacrifice disappear in an instant!"

Lin Chen was very shocked. Of course, he was not expecting the other party to tell him the power of the atomic bomb, but this weapon had never been used in actual combat. How did General Petrov know it?

Unless, the Soviet Union is also conducting experiments in this area!

General Petrov thought Lin Chen didn't believe him, so he continued, "Although this weapon has never been used in actual combat, I have heard our scientists talk about it. This weapon mainly generates energy through nuclear fission. Just one can completely wipe out one of our fronts. How many fronts do we have in our great Soviet Union?"

Lin Chen did not doubt what he said. This was only the power of the initial atomic bomb. As it developed, it would be even a hundred times more powerful than this.

"To tell you the truth, we are also developing this kind of weapon." General Petrov finally revealed the truth. There was no other way. If he wanted others to risk their lives, shouldn't he tell them some practical information?
Lin Chen was not surprised, but it would be a bit pretentious to continue pretending at this time.

"You knew?" Now it was Petrov's turn to be surprised.

"I don't know, but it's not hard to infer from your ability to describe the power of this weapon so accurately."

"Haha, he's indeed a smart kid! It seems we did not choose the wrong person!" General Petrov laughed.

"We have encountered a bottleneck in our research and development, so the best way is to get information from there. It would be even better if we could capture Dr. Spielberg, their expert in this field," Antonov added.

"The families of the German experts will be strictly 'protected'. Even if they are really captured, they will never work for the Soviet Union for the sake of their families." Lin Chen understood that for such a national treasure, the relevant defensive measures would definitely be in place.

"Indeed, so we need to create the illusion of his death. As long as he died for his country, Germany will not only not embarrass his family, but will treat them well. Once we defeat Germany, we will go and pick up his family. This will be perfect."

Oh my god! Lin Chen couldn't help but be shocked by the Soviet intelligence department's bold "trick". This was indeed a good idea, but they proposed to pick up the people after the war. Who could tell whether they were dead or alive by then?

If he is alive, then taking over will be considered as fulfilling his promise. If he is dead, then this expert will definitely hate Germany and work even harder for it.

What a good move, killing two birds with one stone.

"But it is extremely difficult to complete these tasks. Excuse me, it is almost impossible!" Are you kidding? A place like this has been attacked by the British, so the defense must be extremely tight. How can it be possible to steal something?

"Indeed, it is undoubtedly extremely difficult to achieve what we just said, but since we called you here, we must have a certain chance of success." Petrov glanced at Antonov and motioned for him to continue.

"Remember 'Nightingale'?" Antonov smiled.

Of course Lin Chen remembered that without the help of Lieutenant Colonel Sprantz, he would not be able to leave the Ninth Army Headquarters.

"I remember, but what does this have to do with our mission?" Lin Chen was puzzled. He was just a lieutenant colonel in the National Defense Forces. How could he provide convenience to go there?
"Haha, you probably don't know that Nightingale has been promoted to colonel and is serving as the defense commander of the Vemork Chemical Plant."

"What?" Lin Chen was completely shocked, his eyes widened.

He let me go, and not only did nothing happen to me, but I was even promoted to such an important position? No wonder the Soviet army knew this information. Oh, this is really a needle in the palm of my hand!
Suddenly he remembered a spy drama he had watched in his previous life. There was a classic line in the drama: Those who are loyal to the party and the country cannot be promoted, but the undercover spies are promoted!

Seeing Lin Chen's expression, Antonov explained proudly, "After you left, he found an excuse to put the blame on Roland, and Roland was executed. Then, because of his meritorious service in the retreat of the Ninth Army, he was singled out for praise by the German supreme leader, and was therefore treated as a confidant and assigned to serve there."

Needless to say, the reason why he was able to make great contributions in the retreat of the remnants of the Ninth Army was definitely because of the information he received from here, which enabled him to "accurately" judge the direction of the Soviet attack and allowed Model to escape unscathed.

The Soviet army was really generous. They would rather let go of the remnants of a German army group in exchange for this secret. It was definitely a good deal.

If this had been developed earlier, what room would the German army have to resist? World War II would probably have ended earlier.

Antonov introduced their battle plan to Lin Chen:
"The British had planned to airdrop several commandos to Barron Mountain first, and then send a commando group to meet them after they arrived near the factory and made the necessary preparations, thus reducing the chemical plant to ashes in one fell swoop.

But the plan couldn’t keep up with the changes, and some mistakes were made, and in the end the key to the German experiment, heavy water, was destroyed.”

He pointed to the unfolded map.

"We have fully learned the lesson of the British failure this time. You lead the commandos to parachute from a reservoir 50 kilometers north of Baron Mountain, then use the airdropped rubber boat to leave the reservoir and go to the Baron Mountain garrison. Put on the German uniforms prepared for you, and infiltrate the factory garrison with the help of Nightingale."

"Although we have the support of 'Nightingale', what if someone comes from the German headquarters? Wouldn't we be exposed immediately? Moreover, if we want to create the illusion of the death of the German expert, we need a corpse similar to Spielberg. Only in this way can we get away with it. The German intelligence department is not a bunch of fools." Lin Chen expressed his concerns. These operations seem to be very reliable, but in fact, there are many variables when arriving at the scene. Once a variable appears, death will be waiting for them.

"You don't have to worry about that. The German headquarters won't easily have anyone come, except for their Minister of Equipment Albert Speer who comes once in a while. Other than that, it's a top-secret area and no one is allowed in! As for the bodies, we've already given instructions to Nightingale, and he said he can take care of it!"

(End of this chapter)