บท 127: 127
January 17, 1942
outskirts of moscow, ussr
As promised, Stalin came out and showed the Red Army equipment that Guderian had mentioned.
Almost all artillery, tanks, and aircraft in operation by the Soviet Army were lined up.
Even though they only brought one car at a time, the number was so large that it was impossible to see the end of the line.
"Wow, that's huge."
"It is truly a scale worthy of a major country."
"Hehehe. "What are you doing with this amount of money?"
Stalin shrugged his shoulders, as if he liked my and Guderian's reactions.
The front row contained tankettes, armored vehicles, and light tanks, the back row contained medium and heavy tanks, and on the other side of the tanks, various field guns and anti-tank guns were placed facing the tanks.
We, especially Guderian, looked at every nook and cranny of the equipment the Russians had prepared for the German delegation with bright eyes.
It is rare to have the opportunity to see the equipment of a potential enemy country right in front of your eyes.
"This is the T-34."
Next to the T-50 light tank was the famous T-34 medium tank.
"It looks just like a Panther. "From a distance, it would be difficult to distinguish it from a Panther."
"That's right."
Guderian nodded at Hess' words.
In reality, the Panther was created under the influence of the T-34, so its appearance was bound to be similar.
So, when the Soviet soldiers first saw the Panther, they thought the Germans were using a captured T-34.
The number of T-34s displayed by the Soviet Army was two, and although there was no separate explanation, I could tell that they were the 1940 and 1941 models, respectively.
This is because the main gun of the T-34 1941 model was slightly longer than that of the 1940 model, and the shape of the gun mantlet was also different. Instead, the observation window is the same.
"uh? This is... ."
"Is this also a T-34? It looks a little different... ."
"The name of this tank is T-43. "It is a medium tank that is superior to the T-34 in all aspects."
Kulik, who joined the conversation between me and Guderian, boasted.
I thought it was a 1942 T-34 because of the turret that resembled Mickey Mouse, but it was a completely different tank.
It was similar in size to the T-34, but the shape of the bogie wheels and body sides were completely different.
I looked closely at the turret and saw that it had a cupola, which was the actual T-34/76 of the 1943 model.
The multi-turret tanks T-28 and T-35 looked larger and flashier than the T-34, but in actual combat, they were considered trash, so there was no need to look at them carefully.
Guderian only glanced at the tank to see if he had the same thoughts, and then moved on to the next tank.
There were four types of KV tanks named after Voroshilov. The KV-1 1941 model, the KV-1E with increased armor, the KV-2 with a 152mm howitzer, and the KV-3 with a 107mm tank gun.
The German negotiators were first surprised by the KV-2's enormous turret and twice by its massive main gun.
A tank with a turret larger than half the hull. I've never even heard of this. Guderian's expression seemed to say this.
It was understandable why the German military gave this guy the nickname Gigant, which means giant.
Isn't this too big? I don't know what the developers who created this guy were thinking when designing it.
When you grow up like that, you can't even dream of having a stomach.
"What do you think, what are your impressions after seeing our Soviet Union's tanks in person?"
As we stared at the KV-2 for a long time, Stalin quietly came up to us and asked:
I suppressed my desire to express my honest feelings and came up with an answer that would please Stalin.
"This looks like a truly Russian tank. This is my first time seeing a tank that leaves such a strong impression. In particular, if it were hit by a shell fired from that main gun, that big gun, even our German Tiger would explode in one shot. "I don't know why our scientists didn't think of this."
"This is a huge compliment."
In fact, there is a product similar to this in Germany.
In actual history, the main character is a broom bear called Stupa.
However, unlike the KV-2, which was close to being a big bastard, the Broom Bear performed well on all fronts until the end of the war.
While the weight of the turret was so heavy that it strained the hull to the point of cracking, the Broombear's main gun is fixed to the hull, so you can just turn the hull to aim without having to forcefully turn the heavy turret, and it weighs less than the KV-2. In fact, Broom Bear's defense was much better.
But there is no need to tell this to Stalin.
Although the KV-3 was not as powerful as the KV-2, it also boasted a sizable turret.
In particular, the mounted 107mm main gun seemed more useful than the KV-2's 152mm tank gun.
Because it is a long gun, the range will be longer, the aiming will be more accurate, and the rate of fire will be relatively better.
"This tank here may be the most powerful tank in the Soviet Union."
"Oh my... ."
Guderian was silent for a while after hearing Voroshilov's words.
Even at first glance, it was a larger tank than the Tiger, so Guderian seemed to regard it as a significant threat.
Me too. I don't know the detailed specifications, but it was definitely a much more powerful tank than the KV-1 or KV-2.
In actual history, I heard that mass production of the KV-3 was canceled after a few prototypes due to the sudden outbreak of the German-German War.
However, since the German-German War did not break out, mass production of this thing should go smoothly.
Unlike tanks, which contained a mixture of weapons that never appeared in history, the artillery was ordinary.
45mm light anti-tank guns and various ignorant-looking heavy howitzers.
Aircraft were no different from artillery. From the full-fledged I-16 to Yak-1, Yak-7, MiG-1, MiG-3, etc.
"These are aircraft we all know."
I thought there might be something unexpected like a T-43 mixed with a KV-3, but no matter how much I looked around, I didn't see it taking up space because it was the first time I saw it or wasn't there at this time.
However, there was a possibility that Stalin did not show us something that could not be completely reassured.
However, seeing as they showed the T-43 and KV-3, it doesn't seem like they are hiding anything... . That's ambiguous.
Still, you don't have to worry too much. Even though they were outnumbered by the end of the war, German planes were considered qualitatively superior to Soviet planes. The same goes for the Navy.
The problem is the tank. I'll have to talk to Guderian in detail when I get back to Germany.
***
Major Sergei Kotletsov lit his third Mahorka cigarette.
His mission was to eavesdrop on German conversations through wiretaps installed throughout the German delegation's quarters and extract useful information from them.
Thirty NKVD agents wearing headphones on their heads were sitting on chairs, paying all their attention to the voices coming from the headphones.
They never got up from their seats except during their designated shift.
Even going to the bathroom to do urgent business was possible only with Major Kotletsov's permission.
Although there are backup personnel for situations like this, agents chose to hold onto the toilet until their shift rather than raise their hand and ask for permission to go to the bathroom.
This is because if you make a mistake and are recognized as incompetent by your superiors, your life after that cannot be guaranteed.
There was nothing worth salvaging in the conversations I had intercepted so far.
So Kotletsov was anxious. If there is no harvest by the day the German negotiators leave for Germany, he will most certainly be sent to the Gulag.
If you are unlucky, you will be executed by firing squad. Until now, Kotletsov's classmates have been executed or driven to the gulag for similar reasons.
The reason is incompetence. Incompetence was a great sin in Soviet society, equivalent to incest and homosexuality.
The state never forgave reactionaries who committed serious crimes.
Kotletsov did not want to be dragged out of bed naked and beaten while he slept at night, or to have to carry logs with his bare hands without gloves in the middle of winter.
He liked his current comfortable life and wanted to maintain it for a long time.
To do that, we need to achieve results... ..
'Damn it. At least one thing is fine, so it would be nice if something comes out.'
Kotletsov threw the butt into the trash can and reached into the cigarette pack to pull out a new cigarette.
At this time, an agent sitting on the 12th chair quickly scribbled something on a piece of paper and raised his hand.
"Comrade Major!"
It wasn't the tone of voice asking permission to go to the bathroom.
Kotletsov left the cigarette pack aside and ran towards the agent with his hand raised.
"Did you get anything?"
"yes. "Take a listen for yourself."
Kotletsov wore spare headphones.
The same conversation the agent heard came from the headphones and reached Kotletsov's ears.
-… What kind of girl are you?
-A woman with blonde hair and a mole on her cheek. You saw it too.
-So that woman is a spy planted by SD?
-okay.
-How do you know that?
-Of course I know because I was in SD. She's also encountered that woman several times. Although we have never had a conversation. She was surprised to see me and wondered if she even knew me. She didn't say anything though.
-The Russians will be shocked if they find out. At most they think it's just the NKVD, who knows they might have SD agents mixed in among them?
The sound of laughter follows.
Kotletsov was delighted.
All conversations between the Germans in the dormitory were being recorded, so it was as if the evidence had already been secured.
Kotletsov took off his headphones and patted the back of the agent who had caught the Germans' conversation.
"Well done, comrade. "Please continue."
When he returned to his seat, he briefly wrote down the information he had personally heard on a notepad.
He then called his adjutant and instructed him to send him to Department 7.
***
"I won this game too."
"Ugh… . I keep losing. Marshal, I am saying this out of resentment, but I trust that you will not play any strange pranks on the President."
"How dare I play a prank on the President, saying I'm crazy? Anyway, would you like to continue?"
"Stop playing poker and play Jenga."
Jenga, known as the world's simplest yet most fun game, was originally created by Leslie Scott in England in 1983.
A game that is incredibly simple yet requires a high degree of concentration, in which a tower made by stacking wooden blocks of a certain size is removed one by one, and the last person to collapse the tower loses.
We would have to wait another 41 years for Jenga to appear in the world according to history, but thanks to my knowledge of the future, Jenga was able to appear in the world much earlier.
I feel a little sorry for Ms. Scott, but she probably wasn't even born yet, so it's probably okay.
Jenga, which came out in 1941, has enjoyed considerable popularity along with miniature sets and is selling like hot cakes throughout Europe.
Here too, the gacha system designed by Shacht was applied and my autograph was included, further increasing sales.
The looks on my face when I first showed off Jenga.
Why hasn't mankind figured out this simple thing for thousands of years? I still laugh when I think of the faces of my associates who seem to be asking this question.
Enough bragging, now it's time to start acting.
"Marshal Guderian. "What are your impressions of the Soviet tanks?"
"Light tanks are not that new, but medium and heavy tanks definitely felt different."
"Me too. Personally, the ones I felt were the most threatening were the KV-2 and KV-3. "Those two tanks appear to be at least on par with the Panther and Tiger."
"Don't worry too much, Mr. President. "The new heavy tank being developed now will be capable of dealing with Soviet heavy tanks."
"Ah, yes. There was that. "I have high expectations because I heard that it was able to protect against a 15cm shell from the front."
"you're right. "Once that tank is deployed, no tank will be able to match it."
At that time, Guderian accidentally removed a wooden block and the tower collapsed with a loud sound.
"I finally won."
"I made a mistake while talking about what I just said. "Let's do it again."
***
During the four days we stayed in the Soviet Union, we diligently spread disinformation to the Soviets who were eavesdropping on us.
However, I didn't tell a lie that was too obvious. If the Soviets realize that this is disinformation, all efforts made so far will have been in vain.
And for the information obtained through wiretapping to reach Stalin, it had to pass through Beria first.
However, in the wiretapping records, it is actually said that Beria was a German spy.
Not only will it not be reported to Stalin, but there is a risk that Beria will see through our plan.
Therefore, it was important to create facts that were as plausible and reasonable as possible.
"Heydrich told me before. How about bribing Zhukov of the Soviet Union and bringing him over to our side?
"I asked him if it was possible, and Heydrich seemed very confident."
"What happened after that?"
"Heydrich said that the SD agent who infiltrated Moscow even succeeded in meeting Zhukov's relatives, but they lost contact after that."
"I tried contacting Navy Minister Kuznetsov and Air Force Chief Novikov, and they both said they had some success. "I heard that both of them cursed at Stalin and responded that it would be good for Germany to support them if a political crisis occurred in the Soviet Union."
"When Tukhachevsky was executed, I thought everything was over. Now that the Soviet Union knew that he was in secret communication with Germany, it was only a matter of time before the Soviet Union's intelligence network collapsed. "But you don't know how fortunate it is that only Tukhachevsky was executed and that was the end of it."
I was curious how Beria would react after hearing the information we told him.
This is a guy who wanted to take control of the military and bring it under his sphere of influence, but wouldn't he be happy that he has finally had a golden opportunity to crush the military?
Time passed and January 20th became the last day of my visit to the Soviet Union.
Although various things happened, the atmosphere was quite good.
Stalin held a farewell dinner for us leaving for Germany, and gave me a special gift at the dinner.
"Please take it, President. "This is my small sincerity."
"What is this?"
"You'll find out when you open the box."
"Oh, this is…" .!"
The item in the box was a handgun. It's also a gold-plated Mouser C96.
Unusually, it was not the 'Bolo Mauser', a Soviet-made Mauser C96 with a reduced barrel and grip, but the original Mauser C96, with 'A.H', an abbreviation for Adolf Hitler, engraved on the ivory grip.
"I don't know if you will like the gift."
"I like it very, very much."
"Thank goodness. "I was worried about what would happen if I didn't like the gift, hahaha!"
Stalin said that the mouser he gifted me was an item used by the Romanov family.
Except for the initials engraved on the grip, it was almost untouched.
"I am very sad that it is already time for you to pass away. "I hope you will come to Moscow before the end of the year."
"Ouch, of course. How about General Secretary Stalin visiting Berlin too? "Aren't we the only ones who can't be treated well?"
"It's Berlin... . great. "Someday I will go to Berlin."
"You can look forward to it. Now, cheers!"
"Cheers!"
When the two clear crystal glasses clashed, the band started playing.
The last party in the Soviet Union was much more extravagant and solemn than the first banquet.
During the party, Stalin approached me secretly and spoke in a whisper.
"When you return to Germany, I hope you will reconsider the suggestions I made on your first day. "Opportunities like this are rare."
It's like this again. I wondered if he had given me a gift for this reason, but I didn't want to create an awkward atmosphere since I was leaving for Germany a few hours after receiving the gift.
I pretended to think about it for a moment, then smiled.
"I understand, Chief Secretary. "Let me talk to the generals."
"I hope that the President will make a wise decision."
We clinked glasses again. But even as I drank wine, I thought that would never happen.
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