Canteen System Assistance Notes

Rommel may not have known that the "PAK 42" on the "Type 42 anti-tank gun" Hitler gave him actually stood for "American giant antler, Khitan, produced in 42 years", but on the other side of the Mediterranean, the cigar-loving "Mr. Qiu" must have known what he was doing recently.

He has been "making a fuss" recently, intending to make a big one.

Just over a month earlier, he had ordered the elite bomber force in the Middle East to travel thousands of miles to China to bomb Japan, earning the honor of being the first Allied large-scale bombing of the Japanese mainland, which was a real hit in wartime propaganda.

Of course, the cost of five killed, one captured, and many injured, including the total loss of all aircraft involved, will naturally not be reported in the newspapers. If such trouble was caused in the Far East, then Churchill hoped to cause even greater trouble in Europe.

By August 1942, the Luftwaffe was no longer able to launch any significant air raids against Britain. Churchill, with great enthusiasm, urged General Harris, commander of the bomber force, to continue bombing the vital North German oil fields, which had been built to the point of "SUB-28."

After all, if we assume that an oil field well produces 50 tons per day, excluding the time for maintenance, these oil fields built offshore and on the peninsula can produce nearly 50 tons of heavy oil for the Germans every year.

Even if there is not much gasoline that can be distilled, it can be used to produce diesel and lubricants. The remaining industrial heavy oil can be transported to the Ruhr area by oil tankers along the Central Canal and the Dortmund-Ems Canal, added to coal and made into synthetic aviation fuel: this is a very important resource replenishment station for the German Navy and Air Force.

So, after the "successful" gap in May, the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command continued to launch more than ten attacks intermittently on the North German oil fields and the city of Hamburg.

The British army adopted various methods, such as highly sensitive torpedo attacks, remote-controlled suicide bomber collisions, and sending small teams to infiltrate and attack, causing greater or lesser damage to the oil well production areas; the German army also continued to fight with the British, and through the construction of radar early warning/interception systems, searching for infiltration teams, deploying anti-aircraft artillery barges and anti-aircraft merchant ships, etc., shot down more than 100 various types of fighter planes, and left many pilots behind, basically ensuring the normal operation of the oil production areas.

Therefore, the British, who loved to use secret weapons, decided to use some relatively new tactics - they found the cutting-edge Lancaster bomber and began to make some strange modifications, preparing to take advantage of the dark and windy night to make another low-altitude assault.

If this succeeds, then at least several German "SUBs" can be scrapped; if this operation fails, then at least it can prove that the attention of the German Air Force has been firmly drawn to the north - in this way, another major operation planned by Churchill will have a basis that he believes can be implemented.

Late in the night of August 11, 1942, under cover of thick fog, British and Canadian ships departed from Southampton, Portsmouth, Shoreham, and Newhaven, England, and began their turbulent crossing of the English Channel. They traversed long-forgotten German minefields and headed straight for the French coast. As the sun rose, they soon came into sight of the vast coastline of Dieppe.

At this moment, a large number of Spitfires and Hurricanes flew overhead, escorting more attack aircraft towards the French interior. The accompanying destroyers, cruisers, and the strange "F shallow-water heavy gunboats" raised their gun barrels and spewed flames at the designated bombardment area on the coastline.

Boom!

The battle has begun, and radio silence is no longer necessary. Marshal George Albert Julian Carruthers, in charge of commanding this landing, announced loudly on the radio band. "Operation Celebration, begin now!"

Chapter 697: The World in August (Part 2)

(Inventory Chapter 3)

In its original time and space, the Dieppe landings were considered a rehearsal for the Normandy landings. According to British and American postwar propaganda, they served as "armed reconnaissance for German anti-landing capabilities, aided in the theft of the German four-rotor Enigma encryption machine, alleviated war pressure on the Soviet Union, and deceived Hitler that the Allied landings would also target the Calais region."

The nearly 2000 Canadian soldiers who were killed or captured were naturally a "necessary price".

But if that were the only purpose, why send troops to the French coast to be bombarded by German bullets and artillery? Wouldn't conducting exercises, sending infiltration troops, and conducting intelligence operations have the same effect?

In short, if we remove the "wartime propaganda" that was the political correctness of the anti-fascist camp, the Dieppe landing in the original time and space was a complete "stealing operation", a "political battle" that was mainly for propaganda and political purposes and sent Canadian troops.

During this period when the British had a large oil field, the British not only did not sell other overseas bases except the Newfoundland base, but also fought back and forth with the Germans in the Atlantic anti-submarine war, which can be said to be quite tough. However, once the country became tough, Churchill felt good about himself; and once he felt good about himself, he was prone to doing many strange things.

As a result, the Dieppe landing on this historical line was pressurized and turned into a "big battle" with the goal of landing in France, establishing a bridgehead, and even launching a "annihilation of the German army's organized troops."

In order to achieve this bigger and more ambitious goal, the British naturally prepared more landing forces: they mobilized more transport ships and cover fleets, ready to send the vanguard groups of Poles, Belgians, Norwegians, Dutch, Czechs and Canadians ashore at three landing points in the first wave of landings!

Well, anyway, the British are in the second wave.

This large group of "exile troops" was initially intercepted by the German Coast Guard, but under the combined attack of naval guns and air force, they were unable to inflict decisive damage on the landing force. Under the protection of the British fleet, the Polish 1st Armored Division (actually brigade-level) and the Polish Highland Infantry Brigade were the first to land. Brigade-level troops from Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic soon set foot on French soil. The Canadian Infantry Division, fully equipped with British equipment, followed closely behind, completing the landing.

The German 302nd Infantry Division, responsible for defending the Dieppe area, though prepared, clearly had not anticipated the British sending so many men at once. After informing higher command of the situation, they quickly retreated, retreating into their permanent fortifications and engaging in offensive and defensive operations against the Little Entente forces advancing northward. To the south, a small number of German troops and French police forces were completely unable to stop the fiercely motivated Poles. Polish Crusaders and Grant tanks broke through their defenses and forced them into a forced retreat.

On the first day of battle, the coalition forces seemed to have won a great victory!

French Marshal Georges Carruthe, who was in charge of the battle command, immediately responded to the situation according to the pre-war plan and ordered the troops to take a defensive position in the north, with the main force of the Canadian Army,

The Polish army swept southward, heading towards the important transportation hub in western France

Rouen - as long as the troops can capture this place, they can cut off the water and land transportation to the port city of Le Havre and isolate the German and French troops stationed here - and -

Once Le Havre was captured, the Allies had a modern port in mainland France.

口!

In this way, the subsequent British, American and Canadian coalition forces could use the port facilities to go ashore, truly opening up a second battlefield and accelerating the progress of recovering French homeland;

Moreover, the British intelligence department also claimed that as long as the Allies could win a victory in France,

If the Nazis win, the resistance forces in southern France will rise up and raise the banner of rebellion everywhere to destroy the Nazi rule.

He began to urge the British in the rear to quickly send a British division, a Canadian division and a US cavalry regiment (actually a combined armored brigade) of the second echelon ashore, and to prepare a large force of the third echelon to land immediately after they captured the port.

Then, the Poles at the front saw a cluster of German tanks with iron crosses painted on them.

The Nazi German "Reich" Armored Division and the SS Guard "Armored Division" (still at the level of "Armored Grenadier Division" at that time), which were rotating for rest and training in Paris, sent them an unfriendly greeting.

Within days, the tide of battle began to turn for the worse. After a disorienting first day, the Luftwaffe began scrambling fighters to gain air superiority, and, leveraging its airfields and range, dispatched bombers to inflict heavy bombing on the Allied front lines. The Polish armored forces, consisting solely of Crusader and Grant, faced two nearly fully equipped German armored divisions, fresh from battles on the Eastern Front. Despite their high morale and valor, they could hardly withstand the combined assault of tanks, assault guns, and panzergrenadiers.

The attempt to attack Rouen turned into a disaster in an instant.

The Germans concentrated their armored spearheads, charging directly into the virtual Polish formations. Even in this situation, the Polish troops continued to shout for battle—for they discovered that the Germans facing them were none other than the Adolf Hitler SS Leibstandarte, bearing the "Key Badge"—enemies meeting, their eyes blazing with envy. After realizing that frontal fire was largely ineffective, the Polish troops, like Winged Hussars, chanted "Poland Will Not Perish" and drove their Crusader tanks to try to outflank the German Panzer IVs.

However, the VG tanks, accustomed to fighting the T-34, could often turn these fragile British tanks into torches; the "Grant" tank, with a crew of 7, was no match for the large and tough KVT tank of the Russians. During the battle, the German tank crews even felt a long-lost sense of relief.

Fighting on the flat plains of central France, even the Canadian Army, known for its defensive capabilities, found it difficult to withstand the fierce attacks of two German armored divisions that had been experienced on the Eastern Front!

At the same time, as the German infantry divisions from the Amiens area arrived by train to support them, the Belgian, Dutch, Czech, and Norwegian forces locked in a stalemate with the German 302nd Infantry Division on the northern front could no longer maintain their offensive and were forced to switch to a defensive posture. This time, the Germans clearly did not intend to allow the British to repeat the "Dunkirk" incident.

The Allied landing forces couldn't even capture Rouen, and now they couldn't even guarantee their own safety!

At this point, the only option was to retreat... Marshal George Carruthe, who had been full of ambition for only a few days, was discouraged and had to give up his title of "counterattack commander" and start serving as "enemy front retreat commander."

The British, who had just disembarked not long ago, with the mentality of "a friend's death is better than my own death", pulled the American cavalry division, which had also just deployed its formation, and retreated to the beach in the Dieppe area in a hurry. The transport ship that had just embarked on the return journey had to return to the beach under the harassment of the German torpedo boat unit and began to load under the threat of German fighter-bombers.

As for the Poles, Canadians and other Allied forces fighting hard on the front line... the British army left them with a retreat window of about three days. If they failed to escape the German front and reach the beaches in the Dieppe area within this time, then all they could say was "May God bless you."

Ultimately, only a small number of the frontline troops reached the beaches within the allotted time and completed their evacuation. The Little Entente's brigade and regimental units, including those of Belgium, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, and Norway, suffered heavy losses, with approximately 4000 captured or killed. The Polish 1st Armored Division and the Polish Highland Brigade, leading the charge, engaged the Germans head-on, losing nearly 700 men. The Canadian Infantry Division, responsible for the rearguard, fought to the bitter end but was surrounded by the Germans and forced to surrender, losing over 10,000 men. Even the US military, which played a minor role, suffered approximately 300 deaths from "other causes."

In other words, less than two hundred British people died in total.

Well...may God "bless" them.

Extra Caramel Coffee "502"

The specialty food "Caramel Coffee Paste" from the Border Region 502 Specialty Food Factory always receives particularly extreme reviews in the border region.

Those who like it think that this thing has a bittersweet taste, a delicious caramel aroma, and is small in size but high in energy. The caffeine content of 1000mg/kg can still provide a refreshing coffee taste even in an environment where it is impossible to make a fire. It is indeed an excellent companion for marching, fighting, standing guard, and infiltration and lurking.

Well, just don’t take too much at once, after all, it is a concentrated product... This tube contains 50g, so take it in several times.

The comments from those who are not fans are also very simple and straightforward: Damn! It tastes like medicine residue that is so sweet that it hurts your throat! How can anyone like to eat this thing? If it were not for the fact that it really has the ability to keep people awake, I am afraid that many scouts who were issued with this thing would not regard it as a "medicine" and swallow it.

But...it seems that it is reasonable to use it with cookies.

Chapter 698: Eastern Front in August

(Inventory chapter)

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister Churchill, we are deeply grateful for your generosity. You know, we didn't eliminate these stubborn and reckless men back then, and now you deliberately send them to our guns. It is really very polite. Thank you for your kindness, and we gladly accept these gifts."

The broadcast from "Little Yellow" Paul Joseph Goebbels spread throughout the European continent after the "Dieppe Failure", which not only made Churchill look ugly, but also cast a dark cloud over Stalin's head on the Eastern Front of the European battlefield.

There was no other way. The Soviet Union really hoped that the Allies could open a second front in western Europe to relieve some of the pressure on the Soviet army. However, the British sent so many troops that not only did they fail to kill many Germans, but they also greatly boosted the morale of the Axis powers, which was really "difficult to hold on to."

However, the Soviets did not have time to complain too much about the British. Now they were busy protecting themselves - at this moment, the Soviet Union was facing the "Groles blaues" launched by the German army, which was a perfectly enhanced version of the "Blue Plan" in this time and space.

Learning to retreat in 1941, learning to defend in 1942, learning to attack in 1943, and launching a counterattack in 1944 - in the history of the original time and space, the Soviet Union's "growth story" in World War II is roughly like this.

There is no way. Compared with the excellent quality of the German soldiers in the first half of the war, that group of Nazi militarist non-commissioned officers with young physical fitness in their twenties, and one year of complete non-commissioned officer training, more than two years of military service and technical arms learning experience, the Soviet grassroots quality that had been diluted by the "great military expansion" cannot be said to be bleak, but it is probably a mess.

Therefore, even in this time and space, the Soviet Union obtained new equipment and weapons, as well as a "buff card" of 133% experience value from exchanges with the Eighth Route Army. However, in August 1942, the Soviet army was still unable to compete with the well-equipped German army on the offensive end.

As a result, on the northern and western battlefields stretching for thousands of kilometers, the battle lines remained basically the same as in history, without much change.

Fighting continued on the northern front surrounding Leningrad. The Germans launched numerous attacks around Bolshaya Luki, recaptured by the Soviets during the winter offensive. However, the swampy terrain prevented the German armored forces from fully exploiting their advantage, while their infantry was further offset by Soviet trenches and fortifications (some of which were German-built). The Germans were forced to station five or six divisions around Bolshaya Luki, waiting for the winter temperatures to cool and the surrounding swamps to freeze before launching an offensive.

The most intense battle area on the central front was the Rzhev salient. Zhukov, who commanded this area, made numerous attempts to attack, encircle, and annihilate the German 9th Army there. However, his attacks were almost completely neutralized by German commander Walter Model, who even managed to encircle and annihilate the Soviet 39th Army.

All in all, the Soviet army was doing quite well in the defensive battle, but once it came to the offensive, problems would arise. However, Soviet commander Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov still hoped to gather forces here and launch a larger counterattack to defeat Walter Model's troops.

However, unlike the original time and space, with Zhukov's flight to Moscow and Model's receipt of new orders, the tension in the Zhelew region actually showed signs of cooling down. Both the Soviets and Germans began to mobilize their troops.

Because the battlefield on the southern front was as fierce as a volcano at this time.

Compared to the historical "Blue Plan" aimed at capturing the Baku oil fields and crossing the Caucasus Mountains, this time's "GroBes blaues'" truly lived up to the "Big" in "Big Blue." To achieve their goals of attacking the Caucasus and seizing the Baku oil fields, the Germans set ambitious targets for Army Group South.

But before that, it is necessary to defeat the Crimean Front and seize Crimea!

In this time and space, the German army missed the opportunity to attack Crimea at the end of 41 due to the terrain of the Perekop Isthmus and the launch of Operation Typhoon, which resulted in a "ball" hanging on the side of the southern battlefield. Although the isthmus could be blocked with a small number of troops, preventing the Soviet army inside from attacking, the Soviet Red Navy used the airports on the peninsula for more than half a year to frequently carry out air strikes on key areas such as Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporizhia, causing great trouble to the German army. In particular, the attacks on the Romanian oil fields and seaports made the mustache furious.

As a result, the German 11th Army and part of the Romanian Army began a strong attack on the Soviet army along the Perekop Isthmus.

The terrain here is narrow, with dense water networks and lakes. The battlefield is narrow, and the German army can deploy no more than two divisions at a time (the Soviet divisions are smaller and can deploy three). Humus is everywhere, and a large amount of rotten matter emits a strong stench under the sunlight, attracting a large number of mosquitoes. However, compared to the winter when the water level rises and the wind is raging, now is probably the best time to break through this "stinking hell."

The German army began to spray DDT to kill insects on the battlefield and distributed hood curtains, gloves and masks to soldiers, while the Soviet army also distributed mosquito coils and gauze hats to soldiers.

They spread insect repellent and fought a fierce battle with the German army on the defense line.

It is almost impossible to use tanks on a large scale here. Armored vehicles can only provide direct fire support at the squad level; artillery and infantry are the protagonists here.

The German army, with smoother coordination between infantry and artillery, clearly had a certain degree of initiative.

General Vasily Ivanovich Petrov, commander of the Crimean Front, led the Soviet army and stubbornly resisted the German attack with the defense line built for more than half a year. Grigory Ivanovich Kulik, a representative of the Soviet headquarters, directed the construction of the Sevastopol fortress area in the rear and used his advantage in artillery to guide the artillery to return the German artillery fire.

However, compared to the Crimean Front's limited manpower, the Nazis also had the more resilient Romanian vassal army. Often, no sooner had the Soviets repelled the attacks of the elite German forces than the Romanian infantry, under cover of German artillery fire, would continue forward, engaging the Soviets in a "bare-chested wrestling match in the mud." Although the Perekop Isthmus defenses remained intact as of August, no one knew how long the Crimean Front, with its inferior numbers and personnel, could hold out.

Two months, or three months? The lives of both parties were burning equally and quickly.

At the same time, Army Group AB, which had received some reinforcements compared to history, was advancing towards their destination.

The powerful Army Group B crossed the Kharkov area after the start of the battle, and starting from the northwest, gradually attacked southwest along the plains on the east bank of the Donets River, clearing out the Soviet Voronezh Front and Stalingrad Front along the way, and finally reached the river defense line west of the Don River bend; while Army Group A quickly moved forward and launched an attack on the Stalino and Rostov line.

The initial offensive went smoothly. Soviet troops, who had yet to establish a complete defensive line, were often quickly penetrated by concentrated German tanks and armored vehicles, collapsing in subsequent coordinated infantry attacks. However, compared to the early stages of the war, when the Soviets were constantly being shot in the back while fleeing, they were now able to organize retreats effectively, often dragging a few Germans or armored vehicles with them in their dying moments.

As the German offensive gradually penetrated the Donetsk Line and the area south of Rostov, the Soviet defense intensity began to increase sharply. The situation on the battlefield gradually deviated from the expectations of the German Army Command.

Shit! Why is the hair so hard?

Whether on the Donets Line, or in Tikhoretsk and the Krasnodar region, the Germans encountered stubborn Soviet resistance in the trenches and cities. The intensity of this resistance far exceeded the Germans' expectations—or rather, the growing resistance had finally shown signs of a qualitative change—and every time they attacked a Soviet-held town or a Soviet defensive line, the Germans always had to pay a heavy price.

Among them, the losses of vital tanks and armored vehicles were particularly huge.

The Soviet army filled a large number of high- and low-pressure guns and recoilless guns into trenches, houses, cellars, and even the back of donkey carts, firing at the German army from all kinds of tricky angles, fighting the German army with a cruel style of "no loss if you exchange one, and a huge profit if you exchange two."

More and more anti-tank "turtle fists" were issued to the troops, equipped with anti-tank gunners, anti-tank auxiliary gunners, submachine gunners, riflemen, and even cooks. In addition to being incorporated into normal combat maintenance, these anti-tank infantrymen often used anti-tank firepower points, relatively sturdy urban buildings, and tanks and armored vehicles as core support. They were organized into company-level units, with three people forming a scattered defense, actively hunting down German tanks entering towns or fortified areas. When pursued by the Germans, they retreated to company-level strongholds for regrouping and evasion, causing great trouble to the Germans.

On the battlefield, the Germans even discovered that the Soviets seemed to have crammed seven "turtle fists" into a single squad, nearly one for each soldier. In some extreme cases, the Germans even saw some Soviet anti-tank soldiers who died on the battlefield—they had one "turtle fist" in their hands, two on their backs, and a box on their side.

In addition, these troops were often even equipped with a certain number of Gem Mountain radios - you should know that this thing was mostly only seen in the "Guards" troops in the past - when the German army really approached, they could also use flares and walkie-talkies to contact the forward anti-tank teams and cover teams, gather their troops in time, and retreat through trenches or tunnels to avoid a head-on confrontation with the German army.

In this situation, even if the German army was a "Germanic superman" and could continue to advance the front, its own losses began to gradually increase. Around August 20, 1942, on the southern battlefield, the German Army Group AB gradually showed signs of stagnation.

The Sixth Army of Army Group B reported to Commander Paulus repeatedly, claiming that the three armored divisions under the army reported that their tanks had suffered worse losses than expected. The three motorized infantry divisions also reported that the Russians resisted stubbornly and even used "turtle fists" equipped with high-explosive warheads to shoot their ordinary infantry. The losses were not small and they were in urgent need of replenishment.

Army Group A even reported encountering multiple Soviet armored trains and Red Marines "like a black wave" near Krasnodar. Although there was progress, the troops had a very difficult time fighting.

Attack, must continue to attack! For the Nazis, stopping the attack often means death;

But the offensive needs reinforcements, it needs to be increased; it needs to be increased in the Donetsk direction, it needs to be increased in the North Caucasus direction: the Germans’ military strength is not unlimited!

The German army had to activate reserve troops drawn from the rear and Rzhev, such as the infamous S3 "Skeleton" troops, the Ss Cavalry Division that had been on guard duty, the "Grossdeutschland" Division and the 17th Armored Division that had just completed their replenishment, as well as some infantry divisions with relatively simple equipment that mainly played a "filling line" role... Even the "Reich" and "Guards Flag" troops that had just finished defeating the weak in Dieppe received the order to "shorten their leave and arrive in Warsaw before November 1st."

At the same time, the German Army Command began to "maneuver" its forces: they asked the 4th Tank Group of Army Group B to join the Soviet offensive on the Donets Line, and withdrew some armored units of the 1st Tank Group from Army Group A to form a special tactical group, preparing to attack the flanks and rear of the Soviet defense line along the west bank of the Don River from the direction of Rostov; and as compensation, Army Group A, which was attacking the Caucasus, could temporarily suspend the execution of the campaign order and slow down its pace a little - anyway, according to reconnaissance, there were not many Soviet mobile forces on the Kuban steppe.

What the Germans didn't know was that the Soviet Kalinin Front, which was "crazily sending heads" to the enemy, was also quietly withdrawing troops to the south. At the same time, Chuikov, who was fighting on the Jinguta Line, did not even ask for additional support from tanks and armored vehicles...

This battle, which could be considered a turning point in the original time and space, is now climbing towards a higher peak.

Chapter 699: Spy (20) Shirai Branch Manager

Mr. Shirai Yukiyuki, the branch manager, returned to his "temporary palace" in Saigon.

The capable personal adjutant opened the door for him. After receiving Bai Jing's signal, the adjutant quickly understood and closed the door, and drove away the servants around, allowing the "uncrowned emperor" of Vietnam to have a good rest.

Indeed, Shirai Yukiyuki himself felt that it was time to rest.

After all, it is very hard and tiring to travel all the way south by boat from Hanoi to inspect the "properties" under his name and complete a series of tasks - especially a few days ago, he accompanied people from the Bao Dai court to watch the rehearsal of the "Winter Solstice Worship of Heaven" at the Temple of Heaven in Vietnam in the southern suburbs of Hue.

As for the experience of "viewing"...

Apart from the fact that the form of this "Heaven Sacrifice" was a crude imitation of the same ceremony in Peking, the "Yin Yang Flags", "Sun and Moon Flags", "Chariots" and the like carried on the shoulders and in the hands of the court officials did not show any so-called dignity and splendor, or royal aura, but rather had a strange feeling of a trick.

The so-called "R Temple of Heaven" is completely incomparable to the original Temple of Heaven. Even the "90% music and 80% dancing" practiced on it is full of a weird atmosphere. ... In short, this ceremony is the kind of thing that is neither imitated well nor innovated. It has a subtle feeling of "a monkey wearing a human costume".

Yet Shirai himself had to express his admiration, speaking compliments against his will. Dressed in formal attire, gloves, and a walking stick, he accompanied the Bao Dai court through the entire process, feeling his face go stiff.

So tired.

After making great efforts in the "Bo Work" and achieving the great feat of destroying the Yan army in Shanxi Province, Comrade Shirai Yukiyuki received a "Special Letter of Appreciation" issued by the Japanese Army Headquarters. After holding this letter of appreciation, which was enough to change the ranking of the Japanese military, Shirai Yukiyuki was commissioned by the IJA and went to Hanoi, Vietnam as a company employee of Nisshin Steamship to establish his own intelligence network.