Chapter 483: Wavering
On April 16th, the London battlefield, which had been relatively quiet for three days, once again erupted in activity. Over 200 German bombers of various types appeared over a London that had little left of bombing value. Army Group A seemed to have suddenly lost all concern for casualties, and its attacks became savage and extremely destructive.
A quad-barreled self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, protected by hundreds of German soldiers, appeared in the center of London. The impatient German army used its 30mm cannons to launch a surprise attack on several important buildings in the city center. When the German troops charged onto a pile of ruins in the city center, they raised the German swastika flag there.
The battle raged ceaselessly throughout the day. The German army fought with all its might, clearing out the British defenders from one house and one building at a time. Only then did the British soldiers defending London remember the true combat effectiveness of the German army was not as gentle as it had been in the preceding days.
Any suspected area was greeted with napalm bombs. The Great Fire of London, which had been gradually subsiding, was rekindled once again, burning even more fiercely than before. German soldiers passed by the blazing buildings, charging in droves towards another battlefield.
In his command post, Rundstedt silently looked at two documents. One was the Führer’s order to capture London at all costs. The other was an incomplete casualty report he had received from the first two hours of the battle.
He knew that if it were not for some intractable problem, Führer Akado would not have signed and issued such an order. In his impression, the Führer cared more about the casualties of his soldiers than the generals at the front. This high and mighty Reich Führer was somewhat inexplicably stingy when it came to the loss of soldiers. Field Marshal von Brauchitsch had once privately explained the reason for this, attributing the Führer’s concern for casualties to his own origins in the lower ranks of the soldiery. It was because of his own personal experience that he was this way.
For the Führer to now issue an order to attack at all costs meant that there were some troubles at home, and these troubles needed to be solved by a quick victory in the war. As the commander of an army group, Rundstedt was certainly no idiot. He immediately understood that the high intensity of the war had caused anti-war sentiment to rise at home.
Humans are truly complex creatures. When the nation is in peril and on the brink of collapse, a single slogan can often win the support of countless people. At that time, it seems that everyone is willing to lay down their lives, as the saying goes, “every man is responsible for the rise and fall of his country.” But when the country becomes strong and has overcome the crisis, the same people and the same things no longer receive applause and encouragement. Everyone becomes eager to live their own small lives and loses all interest in expanding territory and dominating the globe.
Akado had not overused national hatred, nor had he promoted radical racism. The benefits of this were naturally enormous. This decision had allowed Germany to maintain a necessary rationality and tolerance in the war and had preemptively removed the label of an “unjust war.” On the other hand, it had also alleviated the after-effects of the war’s inertia on Germany, preventing the stagnation and collapse of the German domestic economy in the event of a stalemate.
But doing so also had its disadvantages. The disadvantage was that the national sentiment was not thoroughly incited. The retained rationality and tolerance had led to a self-reflection on gains and losses during the war. Therefore, Germany now lacked the reckless, fight-at-all-costs mentality that Hitler had incited in the original timeline, which led to the current embarrassing situation.
In fact, under Akado’s rule, the Germans had never launched their wars of external expansion based on a completely distorted emotional state. In the early stages, Akado had mainly relied on inciting the people to overthrow the Treaty of Versailles to gather support. In other words, Akado had risen to power on the prestige he had gained by breaking the Versailles system. In the later stages, the fundamental driving force of German expansion was Akado’s distribution of benefits to satisfy the capitalists. The support of these capitalists was the cornerstone of the German million-man army’s rampage.
Akado, who understood history, had always walked on the edge of nationalism, using the expanded concept of “Greater Germans” to blur and utilize the dangerous aspects of racism. He had successfully gained an unprecedented status and the recognition of the people, absorbing the support of both the fanatics and the rationalists. This was the fundamental reason why he was able to defeat the Nazi Party, which relied solely on fanatics. He had done more for the country and was more radical than the Nazis, so the fanatics had turned to support him. Yet he had also treated domestic conflicts with moderation, so the rationalists were optimistic about him. That was how he was able to surpass the then-ascendant Hitler and become the Führer of this country… Since he had already taken the benefits, he now had to bear the troubles and consequences brought about by his incomplete, “vague racism.”
Because he did not often use the Nazi Party’s radical strategy of strictly controlling domestic public opinion and unscrupulously eliminating dissidents, he had not arrested his opponents on a large scale, nor had he made a great effort to shut them up. He had seen too many heroes who had not hesitated to sacrifice their lives for this country. He admired people like von Seeckt and Karl Benz, so he was unwilling to kill people who also loved this country.
So these pressures now passed through Akado’s shoulders and onto the shoulders of the frontline commander in Britain, General von Rundstedt. Two hours of frantic attacks had already cost the German army a full 2,000 soldiers. If it continued at this rate, before the day’s attack was over, the German army would lose at least 15,000 men.
Another problem that made Rundstedt feel helpless was, what was the use of a London captured in this way? It was already a pile of ruins. The factories were destroyed, the palaces had collapsed. Of the original millions of citizens, it was estimated that not even a tenth would remain. Such a London probably had more symbolic meaning than practical significance.
He looked at the document in front of him, stood up, and sighed, shaking his head. His operations staff officer came over to comfort the general, who had aged considerably in the past few days. “General, this is the will of the High Command. We just need to carry it out.”
“Of course I know what to do. I just feel that doing it this way is really unnecessary,” Rundstedt said with great emotion. He walked to the window and continued, “I know that Berlin needs news of an end to the war. Even if London is just a symbol, it must be taken as soon as possible. As long as the war here ends, things will be much better for the Führer in Berlin… But to sacrifice soldiers in vain is, after all, a pity.”
“General, we swore an oath to be loyal to the Führer,” the staff officer said, trying to persuade the old general. “Compared to the times when we were loyal to the German Emperor, our situation now is countless times better. At least the Führer treats us as lives, not as consumable materials. That is enough.”
How could Rundstedt, who had experienced the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme, not know how cruel the war had been back then? He certainly knew that compared to those battles, which were purely piled up with human lives and blood, the battle he was commanding now could almost be considered a military exercise. Thinking of this, his mood improved slightly.
He coughed, patted the staff officer’s shoulder gratefully, and then walked back to the operational map. As he watched his troops gradually compress the central area of London, he felt a little better. Let it end quickly. As long as we occupy this place, we can declare the end of the war against Britain, he thought silently.
In fact, the British had long since lost the desire to continue fighting like this. Because the war was being fought in their home, and no matter what was destroyed, it was their own. Many had already compared their situation with Paris in France. Both had been visited by the Germans, but their treatment was vastly different.
Paris was now almost completely unharmed. The German army in Paris was very restrained in its actions. So whether it was defeat or occupation, the pain it brought to the civilians of Paris was not that great. London, on the other hand, was different. It was almost on the verge of being razed to the ground! So many Britons were reflecting on whether their desperate resistance was right or wrong.
It’s not impossible to give in to the Germans now to let the people suffer less. Since we are convinced we can win, why not just take it back in the future? This was the thought of many people. They didn’t say it, but that didn’t mean they didn’t think it.
Just as Rundstedt was struggling with how to carry on the brutal street fighting to the end, a knock sounded on the door of his office.
“Come in!” The general and his staff officer turned at the same time and looked at the young officer who had entered.
“Heil Führer Akado Rudolph!” the officer who came in said, saluting. “General! The commander of the British 29th Garrison Division, stationed in the south of London, has sent someone with a letter of surrender. He is willing to surrender to us.”
“Oh? This is good news. Are you sure they really want to surrender?” Rundstedt was taken aback for a moment, then was overjoyed. He had seen an enemy division surrender in France before, but this time, the significance was obviously greater. An English army surrendering at this time meant that the enemy’s will to fight to the death was wavering. And in a battle of wills like this, once one side’s will began to waver, it was not far from collapse.
Soon, the news was confirmed. The Germans made an exception and sent the commander of the nearby 1st Infantry Corps to personally receive the surrender of the British division commander and held a grand surrender ceremony. According to Akado’s instructions, this surrendering division commander was appointed the honorary mayor of German London.
The division’s positions were quickly handed over to the German army, and the southern defensive line of London completely collapsed. The British defenders, who had held on just two hours before, were now routed like a collapsing mountain.
Published: 2025-08-29T02:34:13.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2025-11-25T14:23:45.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c483-137600705
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