Chapter 182

March 27, 1941

West of Leningrad in the Baltic Sea, Kotlin Island – Baltic Fleet Base, Kronstadt

“Damn it, those damn Germans…!”

Admiral Tributs, Commander of the Soviet Baltic Fleet, ground his teeth as he looked up at the sky.

In the sky, a German Arado Ar 196 floatplane reconnaissance aircraft was leisurely flying, observing the Baltic Fleet.

Germany had launched a swarm of Ar 196s from the Finnish island of Ahvenanmaa (the Åland Islands) in the middle of the Baltic Sea, the Finnish mainland, and airbases in East Prussia, covering the entire Baltic region.

Even when they tried to scramble their few remaining fighters to chase them off, the German Army sent out a large number of heavy Bf 110 fighters to prepare for any potential Soviet Air Force attacks.

It was a heavy fighter whose aerial combat performance was so unreliable that the Luftwaffe treated it as a white elephant, but to the already weakened Soviet Air Force, it was not such an easy opponent, and its long range made it perfect for such missions.

Submarines do travel underwater, but the Baltic Sea itself is shallow, making concealment difficult, and a submarine cannot stay submerged forever.

A submarine must eventually surface to replenish oxygen or attack enemy ships, and with the Luftwaffe dominating the skies like this, doing so meant immediate discovery by the enemy.

The Allied Powers' swarms of light aircraft carriers that ended the era of the U-boats late in the war of the original history had been implemented earlier in a different form in this era, by the hands of the German Army.

And it was in the much narrower and shallower Baltic Sea, by the unsinkable aircraft carriers of Finland and Ahvenanmaa, which could not be sunk.

The Luftwaffe was also circling and observing Kronstadt, the home port of the Soviet Baltic Fleet, like an eagle vigilantly watching its prey.

Kronstadt was a port base protected by large numbers of anti-aircraft guns, so the enemy did not venture this far in, but it was obvious what the result would be if the Baltic Fleet were to sortie in this situation.

Admiral Tributs shuddered at the thought of Stukas swarming like bees and descending upon his fleet the moment it sortied.

“…Are there no further reports from S-4 to 7?”

“I regret to report, Admiral.”

Admiral Tributs swallowed a groan.

He had sent out four of the Soviet Army's newest S-class submarines, built in collaboration with Hitler's Germany, for reconnaissance first.

With the German Air Force openly scouting Kronstadt, the risk of being discovered with clumsy, obsolete submarines was too great, so he had no choice but to send out his state-of-the-art vessels, but the result was disastrous.

The first report: the entire Baltic Sea was under the Luftwaffe's reconnaissance.

The second report: the German fleet's defensive formation was such a perfect anti-submarine warfare deployment that finding an opening was difficult.

And the third report: they were low on oxygen and would attack the transport fleet.

The four state-of-the-art submarines, the essence of the Soviet Navy, had lost contact after leaving only those three reports.

With no report on the success of sinking the enemy transport fleet, and no way to replenish their oxygen, their fate was obvious.

Trapped in the harbor, the Soviet Navy could no longer even grasp the German Navy's situation.

Even if they were inferior in strength, it wouldn't have been this frustrating if they had at least been able to put up a satisfactory fight.

Admiral Tributs glared with bloodshot eyes at the German aircraft still flying leisurely in the distance.

But to be blinded by rage and lead the fleet out now would only send his subordinates to a senseless death.

Finally, letting out a deep sigh, Admiral Tributs lowered his head.

“Send a telegram to STAVKA (Supreme Command of the Soviet Armed Forces).

The mission to block the Allied Forces' landing in Finland has failed.”

-

On March 28, 1941, the French Army, under the iron-clad protection of the Luftwaffe and the Reichsmarine, was able to land safely in Helsinki.

Having never directly engaged with France and thus holding no grudges, the Finnish Army enthusiastically welcomed the reinforcements that arrived in their most desperate moment.

The French soldiers, who had arrived consumed by frustration and were huddling in the cold with average temperatures below freezing despite it being late March, were bewildered when the Finns welcomed them with all their hearts, showering them with paper prepared instead of confetti.

Although they couldn't speak the language, the arrival of an army a million strong in the bleak war situation, and the hope and welcome the Finns held, transcended language and brought joy to the French Army.

At least in this moment, the French Army was not the miserable remnants of a defeated army dragged to a foreign country, but saviors who had come to help Finland as one of the Allied Powers.

While the French Army unloaded its equipment and acclimated in Helsinki, Charles de Gaulle met with the Finnish government and then first visited Viipuri to inspect the front lines.

De Gaulle witnessed a shocking scene on the ground.

It wasn't just pot-bellied middle-aged men; even the elderly and women were holding guns on the front lines, defending the city streets wrapped in blood-soaked bandages.

“…Are they all soldiers too?”

“That's right.

They are proud Finnish citizens who have stepped forward to defend their homeland.”

At Field Marshal Mannerheim's affirmation, de Gaulle was at a loss for words.

More than the sub-zero cold, it was Finland's resolve, contrasting with France's collapsed pride, that sent a chill down de Gaulle's heart.

In de Gaulle's eyes, he saw a scene of children, who looked to be in their mid-teens at most, serving food to the exhausted soldiers.

“We've been holding on somehow until now, but we are in a precarious state. Just this morning, there was a fierce engagement.

When can the French Army join the front lines?”

Charles de Gaulle once again looked around the Finnish Army's front line, which looked like it could collapse at any moment.

In Viipuri, even now as March was ending, the average temperature was still below freezing.

It was completely different from France, where the average temperature is usually above freezing even in December or January, let alone March.

Neither Mannerheim's Finnish Army nor the Soviet Army would expect the French Army to be able to join the battle immediately.

But while it was certainly cold, thanks to the ample cold-weather equipment provided by Germany, it was not an unbearable level.

Charles de Gaulle recalled Dietrich Schacht's words that he would naturally understand once he went and saw for himself, and slightly furrowed his brow.

The enemy would not be thinking that the French Army would engage in combat right away.

And at this very moment, what came to Charles de Gaulle's mind was none other than Erwin Rommel.

The damn German general who had annihilated his unit with an offensive de Gaulle had not anticipated right after landing in Britain, but for France's sake, he supposed he had to learn what he could.

After a moment of silence, Charles de Gaulle looked at his subordinate generals who had accompanied him, Karl Eglseer, and Werner Mölders, and opened his mouth.

“I need your help. Let's begin preparations for the operation.

…Right now.”

-

March 31, 1941

Northwestern Soviet Union, Leningrad – Headquarters of the Finnish Invasion Force

The point at which the Baltic Fleet had allowed the French Army's landing without even a proper engagement.

As it was, their artillery couldn't even fire properly because of the enemy air force, and as the German pocket battleships Admiral Scheer and Admiral Graf Spee, anchored in Viipuri, began their bombardment, the sacrifices were growing even larger.

Unable to endure it any longer, General Meretskov sent a telegram to STAVKA requesting a halt to the attack.

But Stalin's reply was cold.

Since it would take time for the French Army to be deployed to the front, they were to secure at least Viipuri.

Considering the immense blood shed to secure Karelia, the occupation of Viipuri, the core city of Karelia, was politically essential.

No matter how desperately Finland fought, it was a fact that their army was already teetering on the brink of collapse, and the severe cold of Finland was still rampant even in March.

STAVKA's judgment that the French Army, accustomed to a warm climate, would take time to adapt, unlike the Soviet Army which was used to the cold, was not unreasonable.

Even the cold-acclimated Soviet Army was fighting a war of attrition in the severe cold of Finland due to their poor cold-weather gear.

It was impossible for such a Soviet Union to conceive that the French Army, a defeated nation that couldn't possibly be prepared for winter warfare, would come with proper cold-weather gear thanks to German support.

There was also a great deal of underlying expectation that the French Army would lack motivation, and there was reason in the judgment that if not now, there would never be another opportunity.

In the end, General Meretskov had no choice but to order the continuation of the offensive.

Fortunately, the offensive he had meticulously prepared seemed to be showing some results, and when he finally received the report that the Finnish Army was beginning to collapse and Soviet forces had entered a part of Viipuri, Meretskov was filled with elation.

That was, until the next report came in.

“A-A counterattack?”

The half-dead Finnish Army is launching a counterattack?

They couldn't possibly have such a capability.

General Meretskov, thinking 'surely not,' prayed his thoughts were wrong, but his staff officer's words snatched away all his hope.

“I-It’s the French Army! It’s an all-out offensive by the French Army!”

General Meretskov wanted to deny reality, but the situation the Soviet Union had least wanted had actually occurred.

-

In the streets of Viipuri, instead of the Soviet propaganda that had been blaring from loudspeakers during their vigorous offensive just a short while ago, the shouts and broadcasts of the French Army now echoed.

“Charge!”

“There’s no opportunity but now! Support the French Army!”

Lured in by the Finnish Army's feigned retreat, the Soviet Army, their formation in disarray, fell into great confusion due to the sudden French counterattack and the Finnish forces that joined in.

As the French and Finnish armies advanced and poured their offensive on the Soviet Army, de Gaulle's broadcast rang out.

[When we witnessed a nation losing its sanity and running about in a panic, and an army defeated, scattered, and fleeing, we despaired! When we heard of the insolent attitude of our contemptuous enemies, we were seized by endless rage!]

The French soldiers, who had initially been flabbergasted by the order to launch an immediate offensive, were enraged by the tragic state of Finland they witnessed at the front.

In that situation, when the bombardment from the massive naval guns of the Reichsmarine's Admiral Scheer, Admiral Graf Spee, and Tirpitz shattered the formation of the panicking Soviet Army, they finally gained the confidence to launch their offensive.

[We were defeated by a war started wrongly! But lift your eyes and look at this tragedy! What we needed was not despair! What we needed was not rage! We needed to know shame!]

“Kill the commie invaders!”

If they had halted the offensive and started building a defense line as soon as the French Army arrived, as General Meretskov had suggested, the Soviet Army would not have been so helplessly defeated.

However, the French Army launched an offensive that no one in the Soviet Union had anticipated almost as soon as they arrived in Finland, and the Soviet Army was counterattacked while recklessly pushing forward, burning with the hope of capturing Viipuri.

The Soviet Army, which was already suffering terrible losses from the loss of air superiority while on the offensive, had no strength left to stop a counterattack.

[Look at the Finns, where even the old and the women have taken up arms to defend their homeland! And look at yourselves, bowing your heads in defeat without even having fought a proper fight! Do you have the face to see your homeland! The face to see your families!]

An incredible scene unfolded as the Luftwaffe flew over the heads of the advancing French Army, providing support with machine gun fire, while Stukas, letting out a roar, dived and dropped bombs on top of the tanks blocking the French advance.

The frustration that had been consuming the French Army after their futile defeat by Germany was finally washed away by crushing the Soviet Army, which collapsed far more easily than expected.

[We were the light of Europe in the last Great War! Our pride, built on countless sacrifices, the name of the Grand Army, has been sullied! Will you leave the glory of France, our pride, dirtied on the ground! Do you intend to lose the glory built over hundreds of years in our generation!]

“Attack, attack!”

De Gaulle's broadcast, echoing throughout the city and the front lines, fanned their will to fight, and once they seized the momentum of victory, the unique pride of the French finally began to shine.

Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, who had trembled in despair watching Guderian's armored wave, now led an armored unit of SOMUA tanks from the front, shouting nonstop through a loudspeaker.

“Now is the time to attack! Now is the time to revive the spirit of Elan Vital! Cuirassier Division, advance forward! Follow me!”

[If not now, we will never have another chance! Let us reclaim the glory of the Grand Army, built over hundreds of years, right here and now! Gentlemen, raise your guns! Advance forward! Show them that we were not defeated because we were weak! We are France! Vive la France!]

“Vive la France!”

Their Tricolore, the symbol of liberty, equality, and fraternity since the French Revolution, fluttered as it led the advance.

Before the offensive of France, Germany, and Finland, Meretskov's already exhausted Soviet Army collapsed in vain and began a panic-stricken rout, and they were brutally attrited in every narrow escape route, hammered by the Luftwaffe's fierce bombing and naval gunfire.

The Soviet soldiers, just to survive, futilely abandoned the land they had taken with hundreds of thousands of deaths and fled, even casting aside the red flag, the symbol of the Soviet Union.

The French Army, running forward and trampling the dust-covered Soviet flag, was finally launching an offensive worthy of the title of the Grand Army.