Chapter 494: Insight
In Canada, inside a luxurious private pub, Greve was drinking sullenly with a few high-ranking official friends. He, of course, had many ways to leave London and safely arrive in Canada to continue his business.
He had been quite depressed lately. The German battle to occupy London had also wiped out the spy network he had painstakingly built. Many of his intelligence sources were lost during the retreat, which had left him with no achievements to speak of in Canada for a time. He had not even been able to promptly transmit the obvious intelligence about the British government’s move to Iceland back to Germany.
The British officials left in Canada were the unsuccessful ones. They had been left behind because of their mediocrity, rather than following the King and the new Prime Minister to Iceland. The departments remaining in Canada were some of Britain’s civil administration departments and some marginal temporary agencies, along with some talents from the science and technology system and the military’s logistics department.
So the poor submarine captain had not been able to stay in Canada but had been ordered to Iceland for a mission. The only person Greve was familiar with was the technical officer. However, it was gratifying that through introductions and connections, he was now somewhat familiar with a few more British high officials and was occasionally able to pick up some not-so-secret information.
For example, right now, they were listening to that technical officer brag about the wreckage of a German Panther tank he had seen during an inspection in the United States.
“It uses sloped frontal armor. Its anti-ballistic performance is quite good,” the technical officer said with emotion. “When I saw that big guy, I was completely stunned. It’s even bigger than our Matilda, and it has a good ballistic shape. It’s simply a masterpiece of industrial production.”
“Is it really as good as you say? If it’s really that good, why don’t we just copy it directly?” old Greve said with a pout, a look of disdain on his face.
“It’s even better than I say! Believe me, the American technical department is using this tank as a reference to produce the M4 Sherman tank. It also uses sloped frontal armor, and its ballistic protection is more than twice as good as the M3’s,” the technical officer boasted, rattling on about the various advantages of the German tank.
It was clear that the American and British technical personnel had comprehensively analyzed the wreckage of the Panther tank abandoned by the Germans in North Africa, had studied its armor thickness and design features, and were now studying the M4 tank to counter the Panther with the utmost speed.
The news that had reached Canada these past few days had not been good. Apart from the one victory of Patton and Montgomery defeating Rommel, the rest was all depressing intelligence. Germany had broken through into Ukraine on the eastern front, was winning victory after victory in Soviet territory, and was already approaching Kiev. At the same time, German strategic bombers had visited Kiev, destroying the factory facilities that the Soviets were trying to evacuate and cutting the railway and highway transport lines.
After stabilizing his position, Rommel had launched a limited counter-attack, advancing 30 kilometers in the direction of Tobruk before halting. Although this counter-attack had not inflicted casualties on the Anglo-American forces, the defeated Rommel had used it to prove that he had not lost his courage.
Of course, what frightened the British the most was the entry into service of the newest German fighter. This aircraft had appeared in the skies over England, had been spotted by a pre-positioned spy with binoculars, and the intelligence, along with speculation, had been sent back. This intelligence indicated that the top speed of the newest German fighter might exceed 700 kilometers per hour, making it an unparalleled super piston aircraft.
So the original American plan to assemble bombers in the Balkan Peninsula for a surprise attack on Berlin was immediately aborted. The relevant departments estimated that the losses for this surprise attack, which would be disguised as a British bomber force, would likely reach 90%, which was unacceptable for the United States Army Air Forces.
“I hear that General Patton was full of praise after test-firing the MP-44 assault rifle?” another newcomer to the circle asked. This man, named Louis, had a rather special status. He was a colonel in the British intelligence service, responsible for managing some sabotage activities against Germany and for logistics management. Unfortunately, this fellow was a big mouth who liked to brag and couldn’t keep a secret. The only thing that made him suitable for the intelligence department was that this Colonel Louis was very meticulous and methodical in his work.
And recently, due to a shortage of manpower, he had been transferred to the busy personnel department, mainly responsible for arranging the evacuation of scientists and senior engineers from Britain to Canada. Most of these people were being placed under centralized management in factories, so he had ended up with a lot of free time.
“That gun is indeed not bad, but I hear that to adapt to the desert environment, the internal structure was modified, which reduced its accuracy. Its range is not even 300 meters,” the technical officer said with a nod. “The version used on the European continent has an effective range of 500 meters.”
“To put it bluntly, the ferocity of the German army’s firepower is a trade-off based on a disadvantage in range. It’s not because they’re using some new technology,” the technical officer said, taking a sip of red wine. “It’s just that their weapon combination system is very scientific. We are studying their experience in this area and hope to improve our infantry weapon system in the future.”
The German weapon equipment was indeed very scientific. At long range, they had the MG42 and the Mauser 98K as supplements. At medium and close range, they had the G43 semi-automatic rifle and the MP-44 assault rifle. These different types of firearms allowed the German army to maintain the necessary fire coverage at every stage of an engagement and were especially strengthened at the 400-meter engagement distance that the Germans valued most.
This was why the British felt that the individual firepower of the German soldiers was so strong—because they always engaged the Germans at the Germans’ preferred fighting distance. It would be strange if they didn’t get the worst of it.
A contrary example was in the 1980s of another timeline, when the powerful Soviet Red Army, after being fully re-equipped with the AK-47 assault rifle, suffered heavy casualties in specific terrains against the Afghan mujahideen, who were using old Lee-Enfield rifles. This was the consequence of fighting at an unfavorable engagement distance.
The German infantry was not invincible; they were just arranging their tactics reasonably. At long range, they used armored cars and tanks to compensate for their slight lack of long-range firepower, while at medium and close range, they used a higher density of fire to suppress their opponents.
In other words, the German army no longer emphasized the range of its weapons, nor was it interested in fighting a World War I-style trench war of shooting at each other from a distance. So they did not have as many guns with a range of over 800 meters as the British and American armies. However, they used a large number of automatic weapons to dominate the battlefield at around 400 meters, leaving the 1,000-meter engagement distance to the assault guns and armored cars.
“It really is… not a very good way to counter it,” Greve said, holding his wine glass, after hearing the technical officer’s explanation. So the Führer put so much thought into it when he formed the Wehrmacht. It’s truly admirable! We’ve been building our new army with all our might since 1925, and you think you can surpass it in just two years? Not so easy! Thinking of this, Greve felt a surge of pride, and the whiskey in his glass became more delicious.
Everyone raised their glasses and gently clinked them together. Unlike the war-torn European continent, this place was safe and prosperous, a veritable paradise on earth. Here, one could almost forget that one had lost one’s homeland, could almost hypnotize oneself into thinking that everything was still fine.
“Have you heard of that German scientist named Einstein?” Suddenly, the big-mouthed Louis, as if he had thought of something worth bragging about, asked mysteriously. “The one who proposed the theory of relativity…”
“I’ve heard of him. The nominal head of the German Academy of Sciences, right? It seems he has a good personal relationship with the German Führer, Akado. Why do you bring him up?” the technical officer, naturally having heard of Einstein, asked with curiosity.
Greve, at the side, also pricked up his ears.
“We’ve turned him. In a few days, he will escape to Canada. I have been ordered to arrange his accommodation and workplace, and I will be responsible for interrogating him about the German science and technology he knows,” Louis said smugly. “Soon, all of Germany’s technology will no longer be a secret. Compared to those soldiers at the front, we in the British intelligence service are much more capable.”
He began to boast about the assassination attempt on Führer Akado, bragging about how the long-dead “Ghost” and the others had been brave and fearless, how they had wounded the Führer’s secretary, driver, and the head of the SS. He even brazenly claimed that next time, they would be able to send Akado to his maker and make the Third Reich fall apart in despair.
On the other side, the technical officer was lost in thought. He was probably already drafting a document in his mind to question Einstein about the level of German technology, including their industrial production methods and processing standards. For a technical officer, these were all very important intelligence resources.
Greve, however, was so shocked by this terrible spy plan that he was speechless. He had to inform Berlin as soon as possible that Einstein might be escaping. This matter had to be reported to his superiors immediately. If Einstein were to arrive in Canada, then the United States and Britain would learn many, many secrets about German industry.
“Gentlemen, I’ve had a bit too much to drink today, so I’ll be taking my leave,” Greve said, getting up unsteadily. He put the money for the bill down and, joking with the bartender, left the table. With Greve’s departure, the party broke up, and everyone, slightly tipsy, returned to their own residences.
Greve returned to his own place. The beggar squatting by his door seemed to have fallen asleep and was silent. Greve nodded, smiled, and gave the beggar a small-denomination banknote, then went inside.
Soon, a message that Einstein was about to be persuaded to escape by the British was sent back to Berlin. This piece of intelligence scared Gascoigne half to death, and he immediately rushed to the Führer’s residence in the middle of the night.
Published: 2025-08-30T04:14:54.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2025-11-30T16:05:12.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c494-insight-137683411
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