We promised to develop a game called Candy Crush, what the hell is the Third Reich?

Chapter 157 [Italy voted?! Voted?!] The bewildered Earthlings (6k words, two chapters combined)

at this time.

In the live stream room of Xu Jie, a streamer who has been focusing on the European battlefield.

The situation in Kursk is being broadcast live.

Kursk serves as a bulge in the defensive line.

Beneath the calm surface, however, lies an undercurrent of both sides gathering strength in preparation for a decisive battle.

Even without information from various channels, just by being here, one can feel the increasingly tense atmosphere.

Xu Jie was on a hillside not far from the camp.

Leaning against a birch tree, with the newly sprouted green leaves of the birch forest behind him rustling in the wind, Xu Jie gazed at the beautiful sunset over the plain and chatted with the viewers in the live stream:

"I wonder how many people will die this time."

"I reckon the grass on this plain will be very lush next year."

The viewers in the live stream agreed, and seeing comments asking him to explain the situation, Xu Jie sat up straighter and then brought up the 'real-time map' from the Polaris official website in the live stream:
"What's the situation in Kursk?"

"Prepare for the final battle."

“Starting in May, the Soviets began to transfer troops from various places.”

"It's been almost two months now."

"The defenses along the entire front are all in place, and we're just waiting for orders to go to war with the Empire."

"But to be honest."

"Starting a war at this time, I feel the Empire is in a tough spot."

Seeing that some viewers in the live stream were confused, Xu Jie explained:
"The main problem is still the defense line."

"After this period of troop deployment, the defenses on the Soviet Federation side are basically complete, and all kinds of fortifications are in place."

"It would definitely be twice as difficult to fight at this point."

"I did look up some information about the Empire on the player forums."

"It is said that Manstein wanted to attack as early as May."

"However, the Empire's logistical support is now common knowledge."

"The Empire has lost thousands of tanks in the past year or so, and it is estimated that they have not been replaced yet."

"Unlike the Soviet Union, which had the American Free Federation as its logistical support."

"Because of the Lend-Lease Act, the United States provided a lot of aircraft and tanks as support."

"The current situation is that we have more people and more logistical supplies than the Empire. Even if the Empire's combat power is strong, it feels like we can be worn down by the Empire."

It is common knowledge on Earth that wars eventually turn into wars of attrition.

Since those countries that couldn't afford the losses had already perished, it was a quicker and more painless end.

The kind of attrition warfare that empires and Soviets waged was terrifying to watch, because so many people died; a single major battle could result in the deaths of millions.

It clearly showed netizens on Earth how cruel war is.

Add to that the recent edited videos that have exposed much of the darkness, look at those high-ranking officials and politicians from various countries, and then look at these young people on the front lines who died shouting slogans for their country.

A refreshing breeze blew into the minds of many players.

Xu Jie got up and walked towards the military camp below, chatting in the live stream as he went:
"The sunset in Kursk is so beautiful."

By the time we reached the campsite, the sun had already set.

A tank crew that had just finished training sat on the tank, gazing at the sky as if lost in thought. Xu Jie, seeing this, turned the live stream's perspective toward them.

Click!

A photo freezes in the live broadcast room.

(Since this is source material, I won't categorize it by faction.)
Even though the backlighting obscured their faces, the smiles on the young soldiers' faces were still palpable from their slightly upturned chins.

The live stream chat was flooded with comments, and Xu Jie smiled as he watched.
"That's great."

"I need to find an 'Earth Photo Studio' later and develop the photos using equipment from a World War II photo studio."

"The original flavor is the best."

Polaris's "Earth" IP product series includes not only food and beverages, but also cameras and photo-developing equipment. However, individual players generally don't buy these products; they are currently available in "Earth Photo Studios" in major cities.

All of these were laid out by Polestar.

Thanks to the large player base, while you might not make a fortune, you're unlikely to lose money.

After taking this photo.

Xu Jie, who had originally planned to go to sleep and skip the plot, was urged by the viewers in the live stream to take many more photos and share them in the live stream before the sun set.

Just didn't expect it.

This is the final tranquility.

The following day, July 5th.

At dawn, the sky was not yet fully bright.

boom--!
The roar of artillery fire erupted on the Soviet Union's positions, startling Xu Jie awake. He immediately got up, grabbed his things, and rushed out.

Inside the Soviet Federation camp, although there was some chaos, everyone had already rehearsed the drills many times. Xu Jie rushed into the regimental command post, and at that moment, a message came over the regimental radio:

"The Empire's 'Tiger' formation is advancing toward your positions."

"Rely on fortifications, maintain defense, and await support."

"repeat."

"empire."

The repeated calls over the radio made everyone in the regimental headquarters look grim.

Nothing else.

'Tiger' cluster?
Where did this come from? There's no such thing in the intelligence they collected before.

Where did the empire transfer them from?

The Tiger tank's power was already demonstrated in the Battle of Kharkiv; sometimes several tanks couldn't take down the enemy, and shells with thick armor would bounce off.

Actually.

The reason the Empire delayed its attack for two months was because the Tiger tanks had not yet been deployed.

Therefore, no order was given for Manstein to attack.

So much so that Manstein, who planned to attack in May, did not launch his attack until July when the Tiger tanks were in service.

Xu Jie, of course, had no idea.

But there was no time to think about it.

Even with the 'Tiger' formation, they cannot retreat.

As rehearsed beforehand, the entire army began to enter combat readiness. On the distant horizon, a dark mass of Imperial soldiers and tanks appeared, surging in like a tide.

Tanks rushed out of the military camp to meet the 'Tiger' formation heading towards the Empire.

boom! boom! boom!
Shells exploded and rose across the plain. The turret of a Soviet tank was blown off like a can lid being lifted by the explosion. The entire tank burst into flames instantly, and a tank crewman crawled out covered in flames.

But in the blink of an eye, a dense hail of machine gun bullets swept over and hit him.

boom--!
The shattered tank beneath him seemed to have reached its limit; the ammunition inside the compartment exploded with a deafening roar, and flames burst forth from the vehicle.

The struggling tank crewman was blasted away by the blast and lost consciousness completely.

Xu Jie only glanced at it before turning back to continue directing the others in the battle.

The viewers in the live stream were also watching this suddenly started battle with bated breath.

Day 3.

The sound of artillery fire on the Kursk plain has continued day and night for five days.

After Xu Jie's side barely made it through the first day, they were overwhelmed on the second day. Fortunately, support from the Soviet Federation arrived in the afternoon, and they were able to retake the position with the main force.

However, at this point, Xu Jie's corps only had one-third of its personnel left.

They were no longer able to fight as main forces and had to be transferred to other locations for support.

soon.

Xu Jie received orders to reinforce the Voronezh Front, where the Imperial 'Skull Division' was launching a rapid offensive and they had to be stopped at all costs.

The entire corps set off overnight to provide reinforcements.

just
The roar of Stuka bombers swept across the sky, and the entire regiment halted its camouflage.

They originally thought they had fooled those imperial bombers.

But soon after they left, the Stuka's signature 'death whistle' sounded, growing louder and louder, a sign of their dive.

Xu Jie, disregarding everything else, shouted:

"Scatter! Scatter!"

"hidden!!!"

Countless shrieks filled the ears, and countless black dots spread across the vast plain like rain.

Boom boom boom! ! !

With bombing covering almost all directions, it's unknown how many of Xu Jie's troops survived.

War can really kill you in an instant, but thankfully this is a game, so you can restart.

Urged on by his viewers in the live stream, Xu Jie started another game.

Fortunately, what came into view was still that familiar plain, although the place was different, it was definitely still in Kursk.

Day 7.

Xu Jie, as the battalion commander of the tank battalion, led his tanks into Prokhovka as the second echelon.

After the first echelon of T34s engaged the Empire's Tiger tanks, Xu Jie's side, as the second echelon, commanded his T34/85 tanks to flank from the side, taking advantage of the cover provided by the first echelon.

They charged in a suicidal manner, crashing into the flank of the Imperial Armored Division.

There is no way around it.

Faced with the technological advantage of the Tiger tank, the Soviet Union could only trade space for advantage, as shells from hundreds of meters away could not kill the Tiger.

Then rush to within 100 meters and exchange fire.

And this method is indeed effective.

Even the Tiger's armor was penetrated by tank shells at close range, but in return, the Imperial Tiger's shells were also more powerful.

One shell could even penetrate and then continue to penetrate the next Soviet Union tank.

Looking down from a high altitude.

More than 1200 tanks clashed on the plain, and explosions and flames erupted everywhere.

Over time.

The verdant plains have been transformed into a burning hell.

Burning tank wreckage littered the ground. Having exhausted its ammunition, the T-34 even accelerated to full power and rammed into the equally depleted Tiger tank.

boom--!
The two tanks shuddered violently.

The hatch opens.

Soldiers from both sides crawled out and began firing small arms, even engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

They fought from dawn until dusk.

The two sides stopped when it was completely dark.

And Xu Jie died.

He died twice in the seven days of the war.

The start of the Battle of Kursk has temporarily captured the attention of players.

Not only did Xu Jie's [Immersive Story] mode begin with the Battle of Kursk, but other streamers and players, even those who skipped many story segments, also reached this point in their timelines and participated in the [Battle of Kursk].

Because at Polaris, Zhao Ming had set up the backend to synchronize all the latest timelines.

So the Battle of Kursk, which lasted for more than a month, was being broadcast simultaneously across the entire internet.

And the other side.

With the start of the Battle of Kursk.

The Allied forces also launched an operation: the landing in Sicily.

Starting with an attack on Tunisia, they quickly occupied Sicily, with their offensive aimed directly at the Italian mainland.

However, the situation changed so quickly—or rather, so quickly—that it became the domain of the Kingdom of Italy.

This far exceeded the imagination of netizens on Earth.

After the Allied forces occupied Sicily, they had not yet attacked the Italian mainland. July 25th.

The government of the Kingdom of Italy was overthrown.

Subsequently, the new regime secretly negotiated with the Allied forces and surrendered.

This scene.

Netizens on Earth were stunned.

They surrendered without even playing a single game?
Moreover, it was a secret surrender, which is tantamount to killing the empire.

The key issue is that even if players on Earth knew this kind of intelligence, the Imperial faction couldn't inform the Führer even if they wanted to.

They could only watch helplessly as the Kingdom of Italy secretly negotiated with the Allies.

Some players on Earth have reviewed the actions of the Kingdom of Italy, noting that when the Empire swept across Europe, the Kingdom of Italy merely sent troops to assist.

Seeing that the empire had unified Europe, Italy realized just how powerful it was and decided to take a piece of the pie.

However, with the European pie gone, Italy has turned its attention to Africa.

After fighting in Africa for a while, they were no match for the British Commonwealth and began to call for reinforcements. This call brought in a "Desert Fox" with Imperial troops and Italian troops.

They fought in North Africa for more than two years.

As a result, Rommel returned home due to illness, and the Italian troops were driven out of North Africa after only a little over a month.

Then came the Allied landings in Sicily.

Before they even reached the Italian mainland, their own regime collapsed and was overthrown. Then, they sent people to secretly negotiate and surrender.

This whole series of actions left netizens on Earth completely bewildered.

Not only is it not even served hot, but it also backstabs you in the back.

The speed of the Kingdom of Italy's surrender was incomprehensible to all players on Earth. If you really can't do it, why don't you at least offer something in return?

I've never heard of anyone saying something harsh and then the other side kneeling down and begging for mercy.

You can't be this cowardly!

However, Italy did exactly that—the moment the Allied forces arrived at its doorstep, Italy betrayed its ally and defected.

not only that.

Some players even started the game as officers on the Allied side.

They then proceeded to secret negotiations.

The entire event was broadcast live, showing the smiles on the faces of the Italian officials opposite them as they continuously denounced the empire.

You have to admit it.

Anyone with a shred of decency would never so obsequiously denounce the empire.

And the empire at this time.

They were unaware that Italy had secretly negotiated with the Allies and surrendered.

They were still locked in a fierce battle with the Soviets at Kursk.

Although the initial offensive was swift, the weaknesses were exposed just over half a month later.

Insufficient supplies!

That's right, the supplies are still insufficient!
This is an unsolvable problem.

From the winters in Moscow and Stalingrad, to the Tunisian campaign in North Africa, and now to the Battle of Kursk.

The whole problem is a serious one: insufficient supplies.

Due to insufficient supplies, Rommel was unable to expand his gains in the North African campaign and could only passively defend.

On the European front, during the Battle of Kursk, although the Reich forces initially broke through the Soviet defenses, they consumed a large amount of ammunition and fuel.

Even though Manstein was the most renowned general in the empire, he could not solve the fuel problem.

As a new type of tank, the Tiger tank already had a high failure rate. Now, with fuel supplies running out, after half a month of fighting, the offensive momentum had turned into a strategic defensive posture.

Even due to fuel shortages, armored tanks are unable to move quickly.

As the fighting progressed, tank crews were forced to break out of their tanks and fight the Soviet Union's soldiers.

What's even worse is.

Because of the successful Allied landing in Sicily, the Reich's leader, after much deliberation, finally ordered the redeployment of some armored units from Kursk to support the Kingdom of Italy!

This directly weakened the army group commanded by Manstein, leaving them only able to engage in passive defense.

However, the Kingdom of Italy had already begun secret negotiations to surrender.

The Empire was completely unaware.

Even netizens on Earth, watching from a third-person perspective, couldn't stand that this vital armored force from the Kursk battlefield had been sent to an ally who had already secretly surrendered.

This is such a rip-off.

This is utterly destroying the empire.

however.

The netizens on Earth have no idea that this is just the beginning; the Kingdom of Italy will get even worse in the future.

The landing in Sicily indirectly affected the outcome of the Battle of Kursk, to the point that after August, the Imperial forces, which had switched from offense to defense, were no longer able to resist the Soviet army.

In just one and a half months.

At Kursk, the number of casualties on both sides reached nearly 140 million.

On average, more than 2 soldiers were killed or wounded every day. Fortunately, the casualty rate was only about 30%, but even so, on average, nearly 1 people died every day on both sides.

The defeat at Kursk rendered the Empire's defenses unable to continue.

Immediately following this was the attack on the Lower Dnieper River. A million-strong army pressed forward and recaptured the Lower Dnieper River, Kiev, and other areas.

This completely shattered the empire's 'Eastern Barrier' defense line.

The game's situation changes so quickly that players on Earth haven't even had time to react. Because the game allows players to skip story events, one day in reality can be skipped to five or six days in the game.

This resulted in the Battle of Kursk ending just as the players on Earth were watching the streamer's storyline.

The next day they reached the Lower Dnieper River.

I checked again after get off work tonight, and Italy voted!!!

That's right.

This time it was a real vote.

And it was announced publicly, leaving Blue Star players stunned. You really have the guts to announce it?
The earliest version of the immersive story mode is now available in September.

Cheng Yu, the streamer from the Empire faction, was listening to the broadcast in disbelief in his live stream room:

"What the hell?!"

"How dare he?!"

Not only was he incredulous, but the imperial soldiers and officers around him were also completely dumbfounded.

However, Cheng Yu, as a player, knew that Italy had secretly surrendered.

I just didn't expect the Kingdom of Italy to be so bold. You could have just surrendered secretly, but now you dare to do it openly. You're really trampling on the empire's dignity to death.

Meanwhile, the surrounding NPCs were shocked by the announcement over the loudspeaker that the Commander of the American Free Federation had surrendered the Kingdom of Italy unconditionally, a fact confirmed by the official broadcast from the Kingdom of Italy.

To support the Kingdom of Italy, the Empire has transferred armored units from the Kursk battlefield.

Otherwise, the Battle of Kursk would have lasted until at least September, and might not even be over yet.

At this time, there are Imperial NPCs within 'Earth'.

From the head of state to the lowest soldier, there wasn't a single person who didn't curse them.

Soon, Cheng Yu's troops received orders to immediately occupy northern Italy.

Cheng Yu, on the other hand, is fine.

The imperial soldiers and officers, who were seething with anger, fought incredibly hard during the occupation. But what really got them going was yet to come.

Not long.

The Kingdom of Italy joined the Central Powers directly.

They openly declared war on the empire, accusing it of invading Italy.

at this time.

Inside Cheng Yu's live stream room.

In the military camp in northern Italy, Cheng Yu was speechless, the cup in his hand frozen in place.

We already knew Italy had voted, so it wasn't a big deal; we were just surprised they dared to make it public.

But this time!

He was truly shocked, as were the viewers in the live stream.

Cheng Yu looked utterly bewildered.
"no?"

"Does the Kingdom of Italy have some kind of shady deal with its allies?"

"Does anyone know the answer, or is there any Allied officer player who can share?"

"What kind of invader changed his identity so quickly?"

"Turning it in the opposite direction and pointing the finger at imperial aggression?"

The live stream chat was also buzzing with comments.

[6666, this has once again lowered the bar.]

This also proves that war is nothing more than a dirty deal made by politicians.

[I'm dying of laughter. Because of Italy's invasion of North Africa, with the support of the Empire, nearly 10 soldiers from the British Commonwealth and the American Free State were killed. And then Italy turned around and sided with the US and Britain? What about the soldiers who died in battle?]

[To be honest, anyone who advocates for war, I'll make them a laughingstock.]

[That's right, it's hilarious. Tens of thousands died on both sides, and then politicians exchanged favors and shook hands to make peace. Tens of thousands of soldiers died for nothing. Do they really think civilian lives don't matter?]

[+1, this is absolutely the best anti-war game, no doubt about it, the champion deserves it.]

It's really hard to judge.

Cheng Yu also felt just as uncomfortable as if he had eaten something.

Tired of ah.

This is so frustrating.

rough!
When will you give the order to wipe out those guys from the Kingdom of Italy?

however.

In this situation, the empire has no way to resolve it.

Why does Italy dare to openly criticize empires?

Because the European battlefield could not hold out.

In the first half of the year, the Empire's defensive line was still at Stalingrad.

Now, the empire is facing a fierce Soviet offensive and is suffering repeated defeats.

The vast territories lost by the Soviet Union have been recovered, and they are about to reach Kiev. Once Kiev is captured, the Empire's eastern front will be completely destroyed.

In just six months.

The situation on the battlefield has undergone a dramatic change.

The North African campaign has ended.

Italy surrendered.

The Eastern Front in Europe almost completely collapsed.

The latter half of 1943 seemed to determine the course of the war.

Anyone with eyes to see knows that the empire is doomed.

I just can't imagine anything worse happening.

however.

We'll have news soon.

Because the newspapers published news of a meeting between the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union, and there were also leaks of information.

To open a second front on the western front of the European theater, and to attack the empire from two sides.

This news gave the Blue Star players a jolt of excitement.

You could say it's a new battlefield, but a second battlefield? Isn't that the Normandy landings?!

We're familiar with this, when does it start?!

(End of this chapter)