Chapter 426: Good Weather

Führer Akado’s grand decision to sell off the traditional industries of the White Orchid Group—parting with the extremely profitable tank, steel, and artillery manufacturing sectors—ensured that Speer’s industrial integration plan would proceed without a hitch. Although this major bleed-off cost the world’s largest industrial conglomerate most of its physical industrial system, it was enough to revitalize the stagnant German war economy. It gave Akado and Speer sufficient capital to develop the new industrial systems of the future.

The rest of the matter was very simple: Führer Akado would go home and kneel on the washboard to beg for the forgiveness of Mercedes, who considered the White Orchid Group her personal domain… while Speer, armed with his ambitious plans and the Führer’s trust, would begin the work of creating the second “White Orchid miracle.”

The subsequent steps were exceptionally smooth. According to Speer’s plan, the Reich would dispatch teams of experts to inspect the existing production facilities and the technical level of the workers. They would establish industrial standards that met German military production needs, upgrade and reform the facilities, and incorporate them into the German industrial system. This reform would further popularize the concept of assembly line production and accelerate the industrial output of Germany’s surrounding regions.

Next would be the pacification of the original factory owners and workers. They would organize training in new production techniques, remove recalcitrant workers, and infiltrate the Greater Germany Party into the industrial system of the occupied territories. Using stable income as bait and military suppression as a tool, spurred on by the motivation of milk and bread and the coercion of the bayonet, they would complete a new industrial revolution in the occupied territories.

They would establish the same reward and punishment system as in Germany proper, follow the same wage policies, and encourage innovation and improvement. Factories with high technical standards and output would be commended and rewarded, and the workers in these outstanding factories would be granted the same rights as the people of Germany. As for those factories that deliberately caused trouble or had excessive defective products, their fate would be the concentration camps and labor camps.

Furthermore, some products with relatively low technological content, such as tank tracks, turret stowage bins, hatches, transmission gears, suspension springs, and other components, would be handed over to factories in the occupied territories like France and Belgium for production.

However, components involving secret technology, such as armor plates (thickness and material composition classified), engines (technology classified), and gun barrels (from which performance could be easily deduced), would all be produced within Germany, with final assembly taking place in Germany using the components produced in France.

Belgium would begin mass-producing standard parts like screws. Historically renowned and world-famous small arms manufacturers, such as Belgium’s FN company, would take over the full production of Germany’s MP-44 assault rifle, MG42 general-purpose machine gun, and G43 semi-automatic rifle. The German military would purchase these weapons at a reasonable price, without interfering with the internal operations of these arms companies at all!

Akado, or rather the German high command, was not afraid that handing over small arms production to Belgian and Dutch arms dealers would lead to leaks or reverse-engineering by other countries. On the contrary, if German military standards were to spread, become widely known, and even be adopted by the rest of the world, it would be even more advantageous for Germany’s war effort.

These methods, proposed by Speer as the incoming German Minister of Industry, seemed much more conventional compared to his suggestion that Akado sell off the White Orchid Group. But ruling a great nation is like cooking a small fish; it requires a delicate touch. This fully demonstrated Speer’s outstanding organizational talent and seasoned methods.

These seemingly ordinary measures not only effectively utilized the resources and industrial power of the occupied territories but also pacified the people there under the guise of providing employment and material benefits, reducing their resistance. Once implemented, they would make the German war machine run more efficiently and smoothly.

When Akado saw the plan that Speer had already written, he even felt that the subsequent industrial reforms would be exceptionally smooth, so smooth as to be almost unbelievable. Germany’s traditional industries would flourish under the operation of capitalists and the supervision of the German government, while Germany’s emerging industries would thrive within the new White Orchid Group.

The only problem now was that he had a pregnant Mercedes at home, and Akado had no idea how to break the news of the dismantling of the White Orchid Group to her. Mercedes had almost given up her child for the sake of the White Orchid Group. The love she had poured into it was so rich and passionate that it felt cruel to destroy it.

Akado was emotionally indebted to Mercedes. Fanny and Anna had filled the love between Akado and Mercedes with helplessness and awkwardness. Fortunately, Mercedes was a career-oriented, intelligent beauty, and she had poured the love that Akado could not bear into the White Orchid Group.

But now, Akado was about to take away everything from Mercedes. He himself felt like a cruel bastard. His infidelity had already let her down, and now he was going to destroy her career. What could be crueler than this?

“How much debt will I owe you, how much will I have to compensate you, to find peace of mind?” Akado murmured, gazing at the gloomy sky outside the window. “The White Orchid Group is nothing to me. The one who makes this difficult is you…”

As he murmured, the first drop of rain fell from the sky, hitting the glass in front of him and drawing a straight line of water down the bright windowpane. Akado stared at this unwelcome drop, gave a bitter smile, and turned around. A bitter thought inevitably crossed his mind: The outcome of this war is truly hard to predict.

After several days of clear skies, the English Channel had finally returned to its capricious and violent nature. The sea was churned up by fierce winds into monstrous waves, and rainstorms and dark clouds filled the sky with gloom and darkness.

Rundstedt knew that the true test for the German troops had finally arrived. The German army had to endure this bad weather, hold its positions with almost no support, and wait for the weather to improve. Compared to the past few days, this was the real test. This was the true beginning of the war.

The situation for the German troops on the ground was even more miserable. Raincoats, when compared to ammunition and food, were not considered essential supplies. So, among the things the German naval transport fleet had worked day and night to stockpile for the landing force, various types of rain gear were not included. Most of the troops had to find their own ways to deal with the harsh weather in the cold of mid-February, while also dealing with the British soldiers who had come to kick them while they were down.

When some are worried, others are joyful. The fairness of God was on full display here. At the same time that the German commanders were frowning with worry, the British frontline commander, Montgomery, was exceptionally pleased.

“Good! This rain is good!” Montgomery smiled, looking at the spring rain outside his command vehicle, which seemed to be falling harder and harder. His persistence had not been in vain. The sacrifices of the British troops holding their positions had not been in vain. He was finally going to challenge the German armored forces on fair terms.

He had carefully prepared, planned with painstaking effort, all for the chance to fight a ground war with the German panzer forces without their air support. This was the most advantageous combat condition he could secure for the only armored corps under his command.

This was his chance, and it was the British Empire’s chance. The main force of the British armored units, which had been kept relatively intact, could now be considered well-trained veterans. Half of these troops had participated in the operations in Belgium. They were the strongest mobile force Britain could deploy and the closest in quality to the German army. He would rout the German forces in this rainy weather, retake Norwich, and drive the German Army Group A into the sea.

“Order: 1st Armoured Division to counter-attack north towards East Dereham. 3rd Armoured Division to simultaneously support the infantry at Bungay in their counter-attack against the German forces. The independent armored regiment near Lowestoft is to attack Great Yarmouth. The 2nd Armoured Division, in reserve, is to strike between Norwich and Great Yarmouth!” Montgomery was not a cautious commander like Powell. When he had an opportunity, he dared to go all-in, so he unhesitatingly threw almost all the armored forces at his disposal into the fray.

“The only thing that can stop our advance now is the German tanks,” Montgomery said to his aide-de-camp with a wry smile after giving the order. “Let’s see just how much of a gap there is between my armored corps and the German panzer forces.”

Following his command, the British armored forces, which had been concealed on the second line, sortied in full force in the heavy rain. Churning up mud, they crowded the roads and rolled towards the German-held positions.

“Hey! Didn’t you guys bring any tents?” Wittmann asked the young company commander standing beside him, both of them smoking under the eaves of a roadside house. He looked at the German soldiers digging trenches and setting up defensive lines in the pouring rain.

“We brought bayonets, we brought rifles and bullets, we brought French cigarettes and photos of movie stars… but we didn’t bring tents or raincoats,” the company commander replied with a smile, taking a drag from his cigarette. “Who knows when this damned weather will end. The British are sure to press their attack soon and fight it out with us.”

“That sounds about right,” Wittmann said, nodding. He then pointed to the perfectly concealed Tiger tank behind the house. “That’s why we were ordered here, to give you infantrymen some courage.”

The young company commander pointed to the barrel of the 88mm cannon poking out of a window. “That’s a lot of kill rings… Having the famous Michael Wittmann to give us courage, I have to say I feel a lot braver already.”

Wittmann laughed. “Forget it! I don’t have the guts to act alone anymore. That self-criticism report is still sitting in my file. I don’t want another demerit.”

As he spoke, he pointed in the opposite direction. “So this time, I’m not the only one giving you courage…”

Following his finger, through the mist formed by the raindrops, another Tiger tank could be faintly seen, hidden behind a dense thicket of dry bushes. And behind that tank, there was a third, a fourth…

“A tank company. Five Tiger tanks to cover you. That’s a pretty grand gesture, isn’t it? Hehe,” Wittmann said proudly.

“I’ll be responsible for keeping the British infantry at a relatively safe distance,” the young company commander said with a nod. “The rest is up to you!”

“No problem,” Wittmann said, looking up at the still-gray sky. “I came here all the way from the Netherlands just to kill more tanks… To become the one all other tank commanders look up to!”

“Is that Raine guy really that good?” the young infantry commander suddenly asked. “I know you’re already amazing. The Battle of the Woods has been hyped up by your admirers as the greatest tank battle in the world. Is he even better than you?”

“I don’t know who’s better. But you’ll understand when you see him. He’s very strong, a good opponent worth competing against with all my might,” Wittmann said seriously. “But I’m the strongest one! No doubt about it.”

“The British! Their scout units have been spotted 4 kilometers ahead!” a scout on a motorcycle, wearing an enviable raincoat, called out as he returned from the road to the side.

“Prepare for battle!” the young company commander shouted, stepping out into the rain and calling to his men. The German soldiers said nothing, most of them simply finding their concealed positions. Under Wittmann’s watchful eye, they quickly disappeared into the rain.

Watching the raindrops fall from the eaves, Wittmann flicked his cigarette butt into the distance and walked back to the tank hidden behind the collapsed building. He quickly climbed aboard the tank numbered 007. He ducked into the turret and looked out at the gray, indistinct distance.

“What a fine day,” he remarked.

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair

Check another translation project:
Title: Trench, Gun, and Magic. The webnovel blend magic, firearm, war and mecha with the bacground of WW1