Chapter 41: Butterfly Effect (1)

In the current era, If you ask someone, who commands Germany, 9 out of 10 people would answer that it’s the Nazis and their bonkers ideology.

However, is the Nazi also in control of the Wehrmacht¹?

Unfortunately for the Nazis, the master of the Wehrmacht were the traditional aristocrats who descended from the Imperial Era, jealousy safeguarding their privileges.

These crazy bastards with ‘Von’ in their names, had built their own kingdom within the Reich.

This was well demonstrated when the Weimar Republic² reprimanded the military for not responding to the suppression of a coup attempt.

“Whose side is the Wehrmacht on in this matter?”

“The Wehrmacht is on my side and no one else’s.”

This was the answer given by General Hans von Seeckt³, the Chief of the German Reichswehr⁴.

Not on the side of the nation, but on ‘my’ side alone.

Literally, the Reichswehr was an independent kingdom within the Empire, not belonging to the state but to themselves.

Hitler was also aware of this situation and its dangers.

In order to shake the Junkers’ strong dominance of the officer corps, the Führer would personally support and push forward any capable officers from common backgrounds who caught his eye and earned his favor.

Officers like Rommel⁵ were typical examples of this policy.

Also, he tried to create cracks in the Junkers’ dominance by establishing the Wehrmacht High Command, OKW⁶, above the traditional German Army High Command, OKH⁷, and played them off each other.

Despite these efforts, as of 1940, the initiative of the German Wehrmacht was still in the hands of the Junkers and their rigid ways.

Even when the German military openly engaged in a slowdown over the invasion operation on the Western Front against France, Hitler was helpless to speed them up.

In this situation, a man appeared from the shadows.

“Your Excellency, the Führer! I would like to tell you about Unternehmen Sichelschnitt⁸ which will end this war in one bold stroke.”

That man was Erich von Manstein⁹.

He was someone who had been advocating for an operation close to a reckless gamble through the Ardennes¹⁰ and had been transferred to a minor post after being marked by the mainstream faction of the Army for his trouble.

Manstein, who had the opportunity to approach the Führer using Colonel Schmundt¹¹, Hitler’s chief adjutant, completely captivated the head of state with his unique eloquence and daring vision.

“Sounds plausible and brilliant!”

Hitler slapped his knee in excitement.

Nevertheless, it was such a reckless operation that Hitler hesitated to change the plan at first, but due to the accidental leak of the existing operational plan to the Allies, he had no choice but to change it and roll the dice.

With this, the German military completely escaped from the shadow of Schlieffen¹², who had been the Chief of the General Staff during the Imperial era and authored the failed Schlieffen Plan of World War 1¹³.

The existing plan, which was nothing more than a revised version of the Schlieffen Plan and doomed to fail, was discarded, and Operation Sickle, which passed through the Ardennes and pushed the Allies to the Atlantic in a lightning strike, was adopted as the operational plan going forward.

While the German military completely overhauled the plan in secrecy, the Allies adopted the Dyle Plan¹⁴ to defend up to the Dyle River¹⁵ in central northern Belgium based on the leaked German plan they thought was genuine.

And they were confident of victory and complacent.

“Even if the Krauts¹⁶ come at us head-on, they’ll only look more like cripples after we’re done with them.”

The German attack routes were obvious to the Allies, and there were enough troops to deploy for defense along the border.

On top of that, the British Expeditionary Force was steadily coming over the Channel, so it felt like the bus of ‘victory’ that Hitler could have taken had already departed the station.

“Hitler missed the bus this time. If he wanted to win, he should have pushed forward last year when we were weaker.”

Of course, that was also nonsense and wishful thinking, but the Allies thought so in their arrogance.

Amid the tense atmosphere and impending clash of arms, the German military made the first move and marched to war.

It started in Norway with a surprise.

“Huh? Not in Western Europe as expected?”

On April 9, 1940, the German military simultaneously invaded Norway and Denmark¹⁷ in a daring move.

With a three-dimensional invasion through sea, air, and land, Denmark fell to its knees in just 6 hours of warfare.

“I’ll give you both the dairy cows and the little mermaid statue¹⁸. Just spare us, no wait, you came to help us instead?”

Surprisingly, Germany attacked this country with the logic of ‘protecting’ Denmark from the Allies.

Of course, it was a lie that even a dog wouldn’t believe without laughing, but they were just grateful that they even told such a lie to save face.

If we’re going to lose anyway, is that better than open conquest?

While Denmark immediately waved the white flag of surrender, Norway held out a bit longer.

It was for no other reason than that Britain’s support was very prompt and forceful.

It was as if they had prepared to send an invasion force to Norway ‘in advance’ for some reason.

“I feel a little weight in my conscience, but in the end, we helped Norway, so isn’t it a good deed overall?”

Due to Britain’s swift intervention in Norway, the German forces invading had to fight hard for every inch of ground.

Of course, Britain and France also struggled more than expected against the tenacious Germans.

“No, why are the Krauts fighting so well in this frozen tundra?”

Britain won the naval battles off Norway’s coast, and Germany won the land battles in its rugged interior.

As both sides fiercely traded victories and defeats in the far north, war clouds also rose in Western Europe to the south.

On the eve of the fateful May 10, 1940, the Allies judged that it was unlikely for the German military to launch an offensive in the forested Ardennes Plateau of Belgium¹⁹.

There were intelligence reports that Sedan in France²⁰ would be the main attack point, but it was not easy to imagine that they would push through the forest and launch an offensive while exposing both flanks to Allied counterattack.

Amid the Allies’ misjudgment and complacency, the German offensive began with a roar.

“Gentlemen, it’s time to advance and seize destiny.”

The German forces launched attacks across a wide front, from the Netherlands in the north to the Franco-German border in the south in a massive onslaught.

In this chaotic situation, the Allies judged that the main German attack direction was not the Ardennes Plateau after all, but northern Belgium as originally thought.

“The Krauts are, even if they die trying, Schlieffen fanatics. They can’t escape the Schlieffen Plan mentality.”

Gamelin²¹, the Allied Supreme Commander, pointed to the north and the plains of Belgium.

Then there was no need for the Allied strategic reserves to remain in the south or guarding the Ardennes.

“Move them north to meet the German thrust head-on.”

This became a decisive misjudgment that led to the defeat of Belgium and France’s downfall.

“No, the main attack is coming through Sedan as feared! Where the hell are you going with our reserves?”

With the reserves moving north away from Sedan, there were no units left to block the breakthrough of the German main force, advancing through the Ardennes and the Meuse valley.

Clearly, the Allies were in an advantageous position when they started the game against Germany.

With superior forces compared to Germany, powerful tanks, favorable defensive lines and terrain, and a well-prepared operational plan to stop any invasion, there was not a single corner lacking in the Allied defenses.

However, after just 72 hours of German assault, the situation was ruined beyond repair.

Belatedly, the Allies also grasped the situation they were now in.

“We’re doomed this time.”

First, the Allies hurriedly mobilized all available aircraft to strike the bridges occupied by the German forces over the Meuse River²², trying to block the enemy’s advance into the heart of France.

“Sigh, anti-aircraft guns will stop them.”

The German military laid down dense anti-aircraft gun positions and easily repelled the Allied bombers with murderous flak.

They tried to counterattack with ground forces, but that didn’t work either as planned.

“Ah, don’t we have to receive the orders to attack before we can move?”

It wasn’t the 21st century, but in an era with radios still in their infancy, messengers had to go and directly deliver and receive orders for operations to be carried out at all.

“By any chance, are you French generals in the middle of World War I mentality?”

In terms of a turn-based RPG game, it was like the German army was moving 4 spaces in a single turn while the French army was fighting with their hands and feet tied to move only 1 space on their own per turn.

Even when orders were given, they couldn’t move in unison like the Germans.

Some French units charged upon receiving orders, while the rest just watched in confusion.

The continued blunders and failures depleted the French army’s capabilities and morale.

Immediately after the most decisive defense of the 55th Infantry Division ended in failure at Sedan, the French army prepared for another large-scale counterattack to plug the gap.

But.

“Why are you so slow to react? What if you break the appointment time by half a day or more?”

The French army failed to start the attack on time yet again.

“I saw everything coming from a mile away.”

The German forces solidified their defensive posture and easily blocked the counterattack when it finally materialized.

While the French counterattack was dilly-dallying and sputtering, the German forces began tearing the French army to shreds and dashing toward the Atlantic with gleeful abandon.

It was the completion of the Sickle Cut operation and the doom of France.

Up to this point, there was no significant difference from the original history as it played out.

If fate had not changed, the German forces should have received orders to halt once they reached the Atlantic coast and the Channel ports.

However, a variable emerged here to alter the course of events.

The one who caused the variable was Adolf Hitler himself.

The reason why the Korean ruler Lee Sung Joon is pathetic is because he ultimately stopped at the entrance of Nanjing in China. If you hesitate when you should achieve a decisive victory, how can you win in the end?

Hitler learned a lesson from Lee Sung Joon’s action of abandoning the occupation of Nanjing prematurely.

Even if negotiating with the British after defeating France, you should do it after making the enemy surrender for sure and completely.

The generals of OKH expressed concern over Hitler’s bold advance order to drive on.

“If we continue to advance in a situation where our flanks are excessively exposed like this, we will allow the enemy to counterattack us from the sides. If that happens, all the achievements we have made so far may be in vain and wasted.”

“Your Excellency, the Führer please reconsider. Overambition is forbidden at this critical juncture. Now is the time to preserve the strength of the armored units that led the victory thus far.”

Although the generals strongly argued for a halt to the advance and consolidation, Hitler didn’t even pretend to listen to their pleas.

Are these foolish men trying to make me into another Lee Sung Joon of Korea? No! I’m not a spineless coward!

Hitler had not the slightest intention of achieving an incomplete victory like Lee Sung Joon had in China.

“I have already given the order and it stands. There can be no halt for the Kleist Panzer Group²³. Advance until the enemies are all trapped in the encirclement and annihilated.”

Hitler decisively ordered to cut off the Allies’ lifeline to the sea.

On May 19, 1940, Maxime Weygand²⁴ took over as the Allied Supreme Commander in place of the incompetent Gamelin, but the situation was already over and lost.

The Netherlands had collapsed under the German onslaught, and the 1 million Allied troops trapped between northern Belgium and France were on the verge of being caught in the German encirclement that was narrowing the distance every moment like a noose.

“What the hell happened in just 9 days to bring us to this point?!”

Weygand couldn’t hide his bewilderment and shock.

So, he tried to counterattack in a hurry but to no avail against the rampant Germans.

On May 24, 1940, the port of Dunkirk, the last hope of the Allied forces isolated in northern France, fell to Hitler’s advancing armies.

The Allies were at a loss for words in this worst imaginable situation.

Nearly 1 million troops, including Belgian, French, and British forces, were trapped in the German encirclement, waiting for the day to become prisoners of war or worse.

“We have lost this war and there is no way out.”

The French completely lost their will to fight on the Western Front as despair set in.

The British were equally flustered and facing catastrophe.

Winston Churchill²⁵, who had just taken office as Prime Minister on May 10, cried out loudly in his office in anguish.

“You Gallic thieves²⁶, give me back my Expeditionary Force before it’s too late!”

Contrary to Sung Joon’s expectations, the fate of the Allies was rushing to the brink of annihilation at Hitler’s hands.