Chapter 5 Germany The 439th Soviet Volunteer Regiment

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  I gently weighed the shoulder badge taken from the German corpse, and I was surprised - the 439th Soviet Volunteer Battalion of Germany! I never thought that my first battle after promotion would not be against the Germans, but a clash with the Soviets on the European battlefield, at the cost of six deaths and more than ten injuries, before they chose to retreat temporarily.

  The victory of this battle didn't bring me any joy, but instead gave me a deep concern for the future battles against real German troops! The 439th Soviet Volunteer Battalion of the German Army was just an insignificant unit in a third-rate defensive infantry division. The soldiers were either Soviet prisoners of war or ethnic Germans who had undergone brief training by the Germans, and their combat capabilities were already on par with my elite guerrilla forces. I really don't know how these American troops under my command would perform if they encountered a top-notch German unit with equal numbers and firepower. I'm really looking forward to it!

  The entire Normandy landing campaign's most critical link, the Omaha Beach landing, was ultimately a German command mistake. The German command believed that the US military would not choose to launch a large-scale amphibious assault in this easily defendable and complex terrain of Omaha Beach! The US military's movements in the Omaha area were deceptive in nature, aiming to tie down the German defenses on Normandy's Gold Beach for the British landing forces. German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel believed that relying on the terrain of the Omaha area and the dense obstacles set up on the beach, a single infantry regiment could completely annihilate the US landing force on the beach. Therefore, the 352nd Infantry Division was deployed to the Normandy front as early as March 1943, replacing the original garrison of the 716th Infantry Division. This troop deployment also brought two regiments from the 726th Grenadier Regiment and the 439th Soviet Volunteer Regiment under the command of the 352nd Division to assist in defense. The main German combat force at Omaha had only eight thousand men at this time.

  The Allied invasion force, for the battle, committed nearly 34,000 men and 3,300 vehicles to combat units. The naval power supporting the ground troops consisted of two battleships, three cruisers, twelve destroyers, and 105 other ships. Most of these vessels belonged to the United States Navy, but a few belonged to the British Royal Navy and Free French Forces. To seize Omaha Beachhead, American forces committed nearly ten thousand soldiers, almost a thousand combat vehicles, and fifty tanks. The Americans believed that with their strong manpower and firepower, they could completely destroy the German defensive troops in the Omaha beach area within five hours!

  But what was not anticipated was that the two assaults by the US military resulted in far more casualties than expected, with an estimated 3,000 men killed, wounded or missing. The infantry, armored and engineering troops suffered the greatest losses during the first assault. For example, only five tanks from the 741st Tank Battalion were able to participate in the fighting on the second day. The German 352nd Infantry Division also suffered heavy casualties, with nearly 1,000 men killed, wounded or missing, which was 20% of its strength. The fierce resistance by the 352nd Division soldiers on Omaha Beach caused great trouble for the US military, and General Omar Bradley, commander of the US First Army, even considered withdrawing from Omaha Beach at one point. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery also considered the possibility of having the US forces enter the interior through Gold Beach.

  Regardless of victory or defeat, the Germans did not lose face. The entire Omaha landing battle was actually a fight between the US military's elite troops and Germany's understrength third-rate division. In the war, the combat effectiveness shown by the US military's elite troops was really disappointing. During the landing battle, the US military was beaten by the Germans, morale plummeted, and many units were pinned down on the spot, watching as their neighboring friendly forces were scattered. The wounded on the beach were drowned one after another at high tide, while the landing craft at sea continued to explode. This is the shocking performance of American soldiers. Although they finally took Omaha Beach with sheer numbers, in order to cover up this shameful battle result for the domestic audience, the US military command described the German 352nd Grenadier Regiment defending the beach as Germany's most elite troops in reports sent back home. This is a wound left by the Germans that Americans have found hard to forget.

  The soldiers under my command would not think of these things, each and every one of them was in high spirits, whistling and discussing the previous battle. Some new recruits who had just been added to the troops and had not yet fought against the Germans did not take the Germans seriously!

  "The Germans are simply a bunch of fools, we beat them to a pulp!"

  "Hmm, that battle just now was absolutely fantastic! I've never met anyone who could make the Germans retreat with such a method!"

  "Haha, Lieutenant is simply a genius! I propose a toast to our genius lieutenant!" The soldier said, shaking the steel helmet in his hand, followed by a burst of laughter that reached my ears.

  At the beginning of World War II, American soldiers were extremely arrogant and proud before landing in Europe to fight against the Germans. The degree of arrogance from commanders to soldiers was unimaginable. They were so reckless that they didn't put anyone in the world in their eyes, not even the Germans who had caused chaos on the European continent. Of course, Americans had reasons to be arrogant, as they had always been the most advanced country in the world, and their military power was the strongest globally. Taking an infantry squad as an example, the firepower of a US Army infantry squad was equivalent to 1.5 German Army infantry squads and 2.5 Japanese Army infantry squads. With air superiority, sea superiority, and almost unlimited logistical advantages, the US military naturally felt invincible.

  In infantry weapons, the US military was even more superior to the German and Japanese armies. The German army's main equipment, the Mauser K98 rifle, had great killing power, long range, and high accuracy, but its firing rate was very low, making it impossible to compare with the American M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle. If two US soldiers were at a suitable distance and cooperated well, they could easily hold off half of a German second-class infantry squad. The Germans, who had suffered greatly, racked their brains to invent the G43 semi-automatic rifle to counter the Americans, but its performance was mediocre, and only over 200,000 units were produced throughout World War II. In the early stages of the Pacific Theater's island-hopping campaign, the Japanese army also suffered at the hands of the Garand. The Japanese army's Type 38 rifle was even more inferior to the Mauser, and the dense forests and thickets on the Pacific islands often led to close-quarters combat and ambushes between US and Japanese infantrymen. At such distances, neither side could accurately aim, so the high-speed accurate M1 frequently left Japanese soldiers riddled with bullets, their bodies mangled and bloody.

  Although Americans have absolute advantages in all aspects, weapons are dead and people are alive. After all, the Germans won't stay still after firing a shot, waiting to be killed. Apparently, Americans don't think so. We have plenty of ammunition, as long as we can suppress you from lifting your head, I can easily walk over and kill you slowly. In short, in American thinking, equipment is much more important than people.

  However, the Germans and Japanese were fierce, especially their soldiers' desperate fighting spirit, which made ten American soldiers tied together no match for them. In World War II, especially when small units of both sides encountered each other, if neither side had reinforcements, it was usually the Americans who thought they were superior that fled and surrendered first. Of course, this embarrassing scene would not appear in the war movies shot by the Americans later on.

  And the American troops under me are in this situation now. They haven't really experienced the ferocity of the Germans yet. However, I think they will soon feel it.

  Major Rom, was extremely surprised at our achievements, because in his battalion, other companies did not even touch a hair of the Germans and returned without merit. Major Rom took over the spoils of war from my hands and the insignia "439th Soviet Volunteer Battalion" taken from the German corpses, hesitated for a moment, and then pulled me to a secluded place.

  "Damn it! These damn Soviets, we came to save them and they're getting us killed for the Germans!" Major Rom yelled at the Soviets before awkwardly turning to me: "Lieutenant Konti, I know you guys did a great job this time! But maybe there's something that's hard for you to accept... however, for the honor of the 5th Partisan Regiment, I have no choice but to ask you to hold back on reporting your achievements for now. I swear to God, in our next battle, I'll make it up to you!"

  I know why Major Romm is so embarrassed. An elite unit couldn't even pull out a few hairs from the enemy, yet they were repelled by a German unit mostly composed of prisoners of war. It's not good to say it out loud, and when it spreads to other units, it's more ridicule than anything else. This is what Major Romm can't accept. However, to be honest, I don't put much stock in this achievement. If I hadn't just taken over D Company and wasn't familiar with the combat capabilities of the entire unit, our achievements would have been even greater. This isn't a joke - war isn't like children playing house, where you can start again after being defeated or get back up after dying. If you don't even understand a unit's training focus during peacetime and their combat coordination abilities, and you haven't even met the platoon leaders, how can you command them in battle?

  You want to know, on the battlefield, even small things are not trivial. A tiny mistake can lead to unbearable casualties, because above you there is a superior who will tell you with a gun that you are not suitable for this position! Even your colleagues and subordinates will oppose and exclude you together. What's more, in the US military where casualties exceeding 40% are considered major losses. I really don't understand why some people, as soon as they cross over to their team, become like a mythological sorcerer, stirring up wind and rain, making it seem like no one else in this world is as capable as them? Their opponents are like fools, letting them manipulate at will? In the end, there's just a grand finale! Maybe I'm not as good as them!

  Of course, it's also appropriate to do some small business with superiors under suitable conditions. In the face of Major Rome's request, I took out the Chinese way of getting along with others - "you're good, I'm good, everyone's good".

  "Oh, my dear Major Rom, what a terrible decision this is! My subordinates will question me on this matter." Looking at the somewhat discolored Major Rom, I couldn't help but chuckle and continued in a pretentious tone: "However, for the sake of my Major Rom and the glory of our guerrilla troops, I personally as well as all the soldiers of D Company will endure the hardship. God can be my witness on this!"

  Major Romm was visibly delighted, and with a hearty slap on the shoulder with his massive paw, which made my shoulder ache. Major Romm exclaimed: "I knew it, Konti! You would certainly understand my difficulties!"

  I gritted my teeth and said with aching shoulders: "However, Captain. I have a small request, can you grant it?"

  Major Rom was taken aback, clearly worried that I would make some unreasonable demand, and for a moment he looked displeased.

  "Speak up, but I can't guarantee your request will be approved!"

  "I'm sure of it, Colonel! It can be done!"

  "Really?"

  I somewhat embarrassingly leaned in close to Major Rome's ear, biting my tongue and whispered: "Major, would it be possible for you to remove the 'proxy' from my 'Proxy Platoon Leader' title at an opportune moment?"

  Major Romm suddenly realized and chuckled: "Konti, I suspect you have Jewish blood! You should go to a special department for investigation!"

  Major Rom's joke, I immediately knew he had already agreed to my request! However, I still have another requirement. I suddenly gave a solemn American-style military salute, which was so sudden that it startled him.

  "Report to Major, for the glory of the guerrillas! My men haven't had canned beef from Texas in a long time, and of course, a few more bottles of French red wine would be even better! So I request that the Major grant us some, for the guerrillas, for America!"

  Such a special and rare request, Major Rome obviously didn't expect it, and finally couldn't hold back anymore, covering his stomach and laughing so hard he fell over.

  As I was leaving, Major Rom suddenly surprised me with a sentence of Japanese that he had apparently learned by ear.

  "You're so cunning!" Major Rome thought I didn't understand the meaning of this sentence, and he left with a self-satisfied smile, while I stood there in stunned silence!

  All the officers of the company ran to the small tent of the company department, and they all asked me about the reward for this battle when I went to the regiment headquarters this time.

  "Oh, our major said: We did a great job this time, and the gifts we sent over were temporarily accepted. Also, to commend us, it was specially approved that each of us can have a box of canned beef from Texas! Of course, as officers, you can get an extra bottle of French red wine from me! Oh, you guys are in luck!"

  "Oh, my God! Why not give each of us another woman? I think that would be just right! Look at this fascinating beach, the majestic and melancholic warships, and the blood-red beach - what a perfect holiday spot! Oh, God, it's an unimaginable scene!" Josen always made these strange complaints!

  "Jensen, put that away! Otherwise, I'll confiscate that bottle of red wine of yours!" I said discontentedly.

  "No, no, no! Deducting soldiers' rations and rewards? You need to go to a military court!" Johnson said suddenly in a serious tone.

  The officer in the room was suddenly amused by him. To be honest, having such a treasure in a team is not bad sometimes!