Capítulo 210: 210
Episode 210: What would you toast for (1)
"Everyone, salute the President!"
"Heil Hitler!!"
"Sieg Heil."
The moment I entered the Kremlin Palace, where the Hakenkreuz flag was raised, I was greeted by the generals who were waiting for me.
Manstein, Bock, Kluge, Modell, Hort, Hausser, Kesselring, etc.
The interior of the Kremlin was full of traces of intense fighting. Broken glass and debris were removed, but bullet marks, blood stains, and burn marks remained on the walls and pillars.
It's completely different from what I saw in January. It feels like looking inside the Reichstag, which was occupied by the Soviet army after the Battle of Berlin.
"I never thought I'd come here again… and in this way."
"I think so too."
I went to Stalin's usual office. It was a place I couldn't go to when I visited Moscow in January, but now I had no hesitation.
Because everything in Moscow was now ours.
The desk that Stalin used remained in his office. Most of the office, conference room, and banquet hall were preserved.
Members of the propaganda unit diligently took photos and film of the generals and I as we toured the Kremlin. I also thought of the title in advance. German Führer Hitler's visit to the Moscow Kremlin.
How about it? Wouldn't this be enough to make Stalin cry and rip out his balls?
"Ah, dear German people. "It's Adolf Hitler."
After visiting the Kremlin, it was time to save my organs for the first time in a while.
"I am in the Kremlin now. Our Secretary General Stalin seemed to have urgent business to attend to.
On May 25, the Soviet Union unilaterally broke the non-aggression pact with Germany and started war.
However, the invincible Wehrmacht thwarted the enemy invasion and launched a counteroffensive that drove the enemies from German territory.
And began advancing towards the heart of the enemy.
We liberated Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus and Ukraine and restored freedom to their people.
And today we have taken the enemy's capital, Moscow.
Thanks to the sacrifice, courage, and struggle of German soldiers, Moscow was finally liberated from communist tyranny. Although this victory cannot be said to be the end of the war or the beginning of the end, it can be said to be the end of the beginning.
Dear citizens.
Victory is not far away.
The day is coming when the proud German flag will fly from Gibraltar to the Ural Mountains, from Svalbard to the Suez Canal. Right in our generation!
We live through historical moments every day and carry out the important task of bringing glory to this chapter of history.
I believe that the day will come when the German flag will fly across Europe and around the world, and when our children will play around the land we built with our blood, sweat, and tears and pay tribute to our sacrifices. I have no doubt.
thank you."
After my national address to the German people, I had a meeting with the generals.
In the conference room where Stalin and the Soviet generals would have discussed the direction of the war, we discussed the direction of the Eastern Front.
"Moscow has been taken, so the Soviets' fraud will be meaningless by now."
"Now, all supply to European Russia has virtually stopped."
"Soon they will be begging for a deal."
Not only the generals, but even ministers with a distant background in the military field, such as Goebbels and Hess, were confident that the Soviet Union would soon propose peace.
Since Moscow, a key political, military, economic, and transportation hub, was taken away, from the Soviet Union's point of view, it was no different from having its spine broken.
Just as a person with a broken spine cannot walk, the Soviet Union cannot continue the war, so reinforcements will soon be delivered.
When the Soviet Union did not request reinforcement, the argument arose that the Soviet Union's life should be put to an end through additional offensives.
I also agree with this argument, and therefore an offensive plan has been established for next summer.
"Wouldn't Jeongsoo be advancing to southern Russia and attacking the Caucasus Mountains?"
"If we take control of the mines and oil fields of the Caucasus, the Soviet Union will be in a vegetative state."
The generals' opinions generally focused on launching an offensive targeting southern Russia next summer and occupying the Caucasus.
If we take control of the Caucasus, completely cutting off the Soviet Union's remaining supply of minerals and oil, and bordering Turkey and Iran, it is possible to completely draw both countries into the Axis powers.
If Turkey and Iran join the Axis powers, our forces will be able to directly support the Indian rebels and the Iraqi Kingdom Army and advance into the Indian Ocean.
In this case, Britain will eventually not be able to hold out and will raise its hand.
However, not everyone insisted on an offensive.
"Our troops are making every effort to supply supplies to Moscow, but if the battlefield expands to southern Russia, our troops' supply capabilities will not be able to keep up."
"Russia's territory is very large. "To occupy and maintain all these areas, we need more than twice the current strength of our troops."
"Wouldn't it be better to maintain the front line like this and wait until the Soviet Union proposes reinforcement?"
There were many opinions that we should focus on maintaining the status quo instead of an offensive, citing issues with our troops' supply capabilities and troops. A rebuttal came immediately.
"It is important to securely control the occupied territory, but in this case, it could be an opportunity to give the Soviet Union an opportunity to reorganize its forces and prepare for an offensive."
"Our troops cannot move during the winter anyway. But if we don't move even in the summer, the enemy will recover even faster."
"Before the communists can recover from the damage, we must attack them without stopping and put a stop to them."
"Ummmm..."
Are you going to advance south and completely cut off the Soviet Union?
Are you going to go into a defensive posture and stabilize the occupied territory?
It was a questionable choice for both sides.
In the former case, it can cause irreversible damage to the Soviet Union and clearly end the war, but additional troops are needed to manage the newly added occupied territories, and it is also a formidable task to continuously supply the materials they need.
In the latter case, it has the advantage of being able to secure the existing occupied territory, but it also gives the Soviet army an opportunity to reorganize its forces and prepare for an offensive.
Of course, since Moscow has been taken away, it will be impossible to carry out a counterattack as smoothly as in actual history, but if support from the United States and Britain is added, the story may change.
The United States has not yet entered the war, but there is no confirmation that it will not participate until the war is over.
"Mr. President, what will you do?"
"I am······."
At this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on me. Because the fate of Germany and the world would be decided by what I said.
"I think it would be best to go on the offensive."
"also."
"I believed it."
When I decided to go on the offensive, the generals who were advocating the offensive cheered, while the generals who were advocating the defense looked listless.
"No matter how much you think about it, the best plan Germany can take now is an offensive. As long as the mines and oil fields of the Caucasus remain in Soviet hands, the Soviet Union's life will continue to be extended. If we don't take this place, even at some risk, Stalin will not be willing to stop the war. "I would be more than happy if Stalin could come in on his own tail, but I don't think he has any intention of ending the war on you right now, seeing as he fled to Kuybyshev."
It was concluded that this year's offensive would be completed by seizing Murmansk, the northernmost part of the Soviet Union, during the winter, and that our forces would advance into southern Russia at the beginning of next summer.
The final destination was Baku.
***
November 9, 1942
Soviet Kuybyshev
Kuybyshev, designated as the temporary capital of the Soviet Union, had a larger population than before with evacuated government officials, refugees, and soldiers, but a heavy sense of silence hung over the city.
The Soviet people were shocked by the shocking news that their capital had been taken over by the enemy for the first time in 120 years. Hitler taunted Stalin in the Moscow Kremlin and issued a de facto declaration of victory.
Losing Moscow was a huge shame, and when Hitler even gave a speech in the Kremlin, the prestige of the Soviet Union and Stalin fell even further.
Now not only the Germans but also the Soviets laughed at the incompetence of Stalin and the Communist Party.
However, due to the NKVD and Smersi's warnings, they could not speak openly and only gossiped quietly in secret with family, lovers, or close friends.
One thing that was fortunate for the Soviet Union was that the German army's advance stopped with the arrival of General Dong.
In addition to General Dong, the German army's advance was halted due to supply issues.
Thanks to this, the Soviet army was able to shake off the German army's pursuit and take a breather from the rear, but they could not just be happy that winter had come.
Because Moscow, the center of transportation, fell, all supply and transportation networks in European Russia virtually collapsed.
Cities in northern Russia were on the verge of starvation as they ran out of supplies due to bombardment by the German army.
Now that Moscow had been taken, it was necessary to build a new railway that did not pass through Moscow.
However, the construction of the railroad was slow due to chronic material shortages and German bombing. Frozen ground and heavy snowfall were also factors that slowed down construction.
But Stalin did not give up. Since his arrival in Kuibyshev, he has been going about his business and attending meetings without a single day off.
At the same time, he appeared directly before the people. To let everyone know that he was not dead yet and that the Soviets had not given up the war.
In a radio speech, Stalin raised his voice, saying that although Moscow was taken, the war was not lost.
He shouted that, contrary to German propaganda, the war was not over and was just beginning.
At the same time, he argued that even if the German army crossed Moscow and advanced to the Ural Mountains, it would ultimately be defeated, unable to overcome the fighting spirit of the Soviet people and Russia's General Dong.
Few people other than zealous communists truly believed what Stalin said, but one thing became certain.
Stalin has no intention of surrendering and the war will continue.
"If you look at the reports coming from the front line, it seems clear that the German army has stopped its advance."
"The German offensive on all fronts except Murmansk has now been halted. It seems that the fascists have decided to stop their offensive and focus on surviving the winter."
"When do you think the enemy will launch an offensive again?"
Tymoshenko answered Stalin's question immediately, without any hesitation.
"It is expected in May next year."
During the winter, it is impossible to move due to General Dong and the longer supply routes, and since Rasputica is scheduled to begin even when spring comes, it is unreasonable to launch an offensive between March and April.
Therefore, the Soviet Union predicted that Germany's offensive would begin in May.
It is clear that the enemy will launch an offensive in May, when summer begins. So where will the enemy launch an offensive?
"Wouldn't it be the Don River basin?"
"I think so too."
Even to Stalin, who had no knowledge of military science, there was a high possibility that the German military's offensive would be aimed at southern Russia.
Unlike the north, where the terrain is rough and the only destinations are Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, the south has many important cities such as Rostov, Voronezh, and Stalingrad, and the most important oil fields and mines are concentrated in the Caucasus Mountains.
If Germany gains control of southern Russia and the Caucasus, it will have borders with Turkey and Iran, and can mobilize its air force to strike Central Asia beyond the Caspian Sea.
Therefore, Hitler will definitely come to southern Russia.
The problem was that it was unclear whether this could be prevented.
The Soviet army is now in disarray due to consecutive defeats and the loss of Moscow. To put it into perspective, both legs were shattered and I was barely able to stand, relying on crutches.
In its current state, it was nearly impossible to confront the German army, which had rested during the winter and spring to reorganize its forces.
However, it is not possible to simply hand over the city to the German army without fighting, so residents in the Rostov and Voronezh areas are currently mobilizing all their efforts for defense, such as digging anti-tank shelters and trenches and installing barricades on the streets, but they are trying to avoid the predicted disaster. It seemed impossible.
Not only the German army, but now even the Turkish army had to be watched closely. Even before the fall of Moscow, the Turkish army showed suspicious movements along the border, so the Soviet Union had no choice but to deploy five divisions on the Turkish border even when the German army advanced to the capital.
However, after the fall of Moscow, it is said that even field artillery and armored vehicles are moving to the border area even more blatantly.
"Does the Turkish army have any chance of being a match for the Red Army?"
Stalin barely laughed at how much of a threat the Turkish army could be, but he was not unaware of the disaster that the Turkish army's participation in the war would bring.
Clearly, the military power of the Turkish army is not comparable to that of the Soviet army.
Although it was said that they had made great progress compared to before with Germany's support, even within the Turkish army, they acknowledged that their military power was no longer comparable to that of the Soviet army.
However, the Turkish army's participation in the war meant that the Soviet army had to fight on two fronts. German troops to the north and Turkish troops to the south.
Even though the Turkish army is weaker than the Soviet army, it will at least be enough to hold the Soviet army off the border, and if the bombing of the German Air Force deployed in Turkey is added to this, the safety of the Caucasus becomes even more uncertain.
While the Soviet army fought the Turkish army in the south, the German army would break through the Don River defense line and push all the way to the Volga River.
But now we have to worry about what the Turks think. How did the Soviet Union of all countries come to this point?
"If only the damn British had succeeded in landing in France."
Stalin nodded without realizing it as Voroshilov muttered to himself.
No one could refute the statement that if the British army's landing in France had been successful, the war situation would not have reached this point.
However, Britain's attempt to land in France ended in a dismal failure, and Britain, which had suffered a huge blow to its navy and air force, was concentrating on recovery.
No matter how much Stalin begged and begged on his knees, Britain would not even attempt a landing for at least two more years.
With Britain, the only country capable of suppressing Germany, trapped on the island, no one could now stop Germany's advance.
It would be a different story if the United States entered the war, but the United States is still fighting Japan in the Pacific and maintaining neutrality in the European war.
Fortunately for the Soviet Union, the current U.S. president was Roosevelt, who was pro-Soviet.
Even as Americans became extremely distrustful of the Soviet Union due to the spy incident, Roosevelt was secretly providing supplies to the Soviet Union under the pretext of sending supplies to China, saying that the Soviet Union was needed to prevent Germany's expansion.
Of course, the amount of supplies sent by the United States was far too small to support the entire Soviet Union, but without this, the German army would have advanced to Stalingrad long ago.
Stalin spewed bitter cigarette smoke into the air again today.
Should we end the war?
But if the war ends now, the military and people will not remain silent.
In order to maintain its current position after the end of the war, it had to end after achieving at least one worthy result.
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