272

Episode 272: Dark clouds (4)

There was no rebellion in Kulik's plan.

Until the NKVD arrest team came looking for him.

After executing the arresting team, Kulik shook his head. For now, he decided to keep quiet as if nothing had happened, but he knew this wouldn't last long.

Kuybyshev was suspicious that the previous arrest team had not made any contact and would soon send the next arrest team or attempt to contact the military forces in Novosibirsk.

Kulik and his group were not given much time. At most, about three to four days.

Kulik began by counting the troops and supplies under his command.

Since the majority of the Soviet Army's troops were concentrated on the border with the newly formed Free Russia, there were few troops in the rear, Siberia, and because of its vast area, the distance between the nearest units was tens of kilometers.

The majority of weapons were old weapons that had been eliminated from the battlefield, and new weapons were rare.

There was also a shortage of vehicles, so some units had no trucks and only horse-drawn sleighs.

However, other than these, Kulik had no cards.

And no matter how poorly armed they are, an army of more than 100,000 troops cannot be defeated overnight.

No matter how old the weapon was, it didn't mean it couldn't kill people, and the power of tanks and aircraft was small, so if used well, it could be worth it.

At the same time, Kulik focused on the sabotage of ethnic minorities in Central Asia and Siberia.

I thought that if I could start a rebellion and attract minorities who were dissatisfied with the Soviet system to my side, I would be able to compete with the suppression force sent by the Secretary-General.

After completing the calculation, Kulik declared the establishment of the 'Siberian Revolutionary Government' and independence from the Soviet Union.

Twenty years after the Red-White Civil War ended, civil war broke out again in Russia.

***

October 28, 1943

Soviet Kuybyshev

"Kulik! Kulik! You, you son of a bitch!!!"

Stalin felt as if all the blood in his body was flowing backwards.

Even though he decided to execute him, he never dreamed that Kulik, whom he once trusted the most, would dare to revolt.

Even though it was he who betrayed him in the first place, Stalin trembled at the feeling of betrayal. And he made a promise.

I swear that I will never kill this guy so easily.

I will make you regret being born, writhing in the worst pain and begging not to save you, but to kill you.

Stalin promised and promised again that he would then be hanged naked while the entire people watched.

But there was work to be done to make that promise a reality.

The first priority was to suppress Kulik's rebellion in Siberia.

To do this, of course, we had to mobilize troops, but there was a problem. I was worried about Free Russia, which borders the Soviet Union, or more accurately, Germany, which is behind Free Russia.

The moment Germany pulled back the elite divisions deployed on the border to suppress the rebellion in Siberia, it would attack the Soviet Union.

The generals also agreed with Stalin on this point. The elite divisions deployed on the border to prevent German attacks must move last.

First of all, we must move the divisions that can move from the rear.

At the same time, Stalin wanted to entrust the suppression of the rebellion to someone he believed was most trustworthy and at the same time reasonably competent.

The most capable men, like the elite divisions, were to be on the border in case of a German invasion.

Malinovsky, Vatutin, Chuikov, Antonov, etc. Except for these people, the people who remain... … .

'After all, it's just these humans.'

When it was narrowed down to Voroshilov and Budolni, Stalin was impressed.

Both had high ranks, but their skills were only at the level of a front-line division commander in 1943. At least Stalin thought so.

But regardless of their skills, these two were the people Stalin trusted the most.

Voroshilov was one of Stalin's few close friends, and although he was almost purged by Stalin once during the Great Purge, he showed unwavering loyalty to him and completely obeyed everything he said.

At the same time, like Voroshilov, he was also one of Stalin's few friends.

These people would not stick to Kulik and aim their swords at him.

Stalin, with some trepidation, appointed these two as anti-rebellion forces.

"Comrade Voroshilov will serve as the commander-in-chief of the suppression forces, and Comrade Bundy will serve as the deputy commander."

"Yes, Comrade Secretary!"

"I will definitely bring that traitor's head."

"Do not bring the head, but be sure to capture it alive and bring it before me. "Killing is something that happens when it is unavoidable."

Stalin was irritated by his close friends' flattering comments. What he really wanted was results, not flattery. He was satisfied with the results.

"I hope they prove their worth this time. That's why I chose my comrades. Do you understand?"

"yes."

"I'll keep that in mind."

At Stalin's warning, Voroshilov and Budyun became as frozen as ice.

If they lost to Kulik or lost him, they might also follow in the same footsteps as Tymoshenko.

Still, Stalin promised the necessary support for the two best friends heading to Siberia.

"How about sending divisions in the Far East to suppress the rebellion?"

Malinovsky, who was promoted to lieutenant general to fill the vacancies created by the second purge, said.

As Malinovsky's thick finger pointed towards the vicinity of Manchukuo and Mongolia, Stalin asked in a doubtful voice:

"Aren't those divisions deployed to block Japan?"

"you're right. But Comrade Secretary General. Now Japan is busy fighting the United States in the Pacific. Even in China, where they had been doing well, they are being pushed back by Chiang Kai-shek's army. Even if we take out every single division deployed on the Manchurian border, Japan will not dare attack us. "Who would want to rob the house next door when their own house is on fire?"

Malinowski's argument made sense.

If Japan had really intended to attack the Soviet Union, it would have bombed Vladivostok when the Germans entered Moscow.

But Japan did not do that, and no seditious movements were seen in the Far East. In other words, it meant that the situation in Japan was very bad.

Stalin gained confidence from Malinovsky's words.

He decided to deploy all of his troops to Siberia, except for the minimum troops needed to patrol the border and monitor the Japanese military.

The divisions deployed to the Far East were armed with outdated weapons, but since this was the same for Kulik's rebel army, I did not think it would be a big problem.

Lastly, Germany.

Suppressing the rebellion in Siberia was important, but the most important thing was how Germany would come out.

This rebellion was probably not even anticipated by Germany, so there were no immediate plans to do anything about it, but the longer the suppression of the rebellion was delayed, the more likely it was that Germany would attack the Soviet Union.

"Place all troops deployed on the western border on high alert. "If any suspicious movements of enemy forces are detected across the border, report them immediately."

"All right."

***

October 29, 1943

New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany

A rebellion broke out in the Soviet Union.

Surprisingly, the party that rebelled was Kulik.

I couldn't help but be very surprised to hear that he, who was a shooting star among shooting stars and was purged in real history for backstabbing Stalin, had started a revolt.

Anyway, there was a big problem called a rebellion in the neighboring house, and as a neighbor, I couldn't stay silent.

I immediately held an emergency meeting.

All of Germany's greatest people, including Manstein, who was responsible for the defense of the Eastern Front, and Rundstedt, who was in France, attended.

And everyone shouted with one voice, without anyone saying anything first.

"Mr. President."

"We must attack the Soviet Union now."

"The Soviet Union is practically defenseless."

"If we attack the Soviet Union now, the Wehrmacht could advance all the way to the Ural Mountains."

"We will use this opportunity to completely drive the communists out of Europe!"

Instead of answering, I looked at the expression of Schacht, who was present.

"What do Minister Schacht think?"

"Okay… … ."

Even Schacht, who had staunchly opposed war, saying that economic recovery comes first, had a different expression this time.

Since the golden opportunity to destroy the Soviet Union is just around the corner, it will be difficult for even those who prioritize the economy to just shout opposition.

Even Todt and Speer agreed, saying that if not now, when else would there be an opportunity to completely end the Soviet Union, and Funk also took a reserved stance, saying that he had no reason to oppose it if it could be done in a short period of time.

Let me tell you in advance, I strongly agree with Schacht's argument that economic recovery is the top priority.

When we think about the causes of the fall of the Soviet Union, we cannot help but nod our heads at the idea that we should focus on revitalizing the economy by reducing the military and redirecting maintenance costs to the civilian economy.

However, although the economy is important, if there is an opportunity to destroy Germany's main enemy, or at least completely drive it out of Europe, shouldn't we seize it?

Of course, economic recovery would be delayed that much, and even more so, the raw materials supplied from the Soviet Union and the remaining reparations would not be received at all, but even taking that into account, the collapse or retreat of the Soviet Union was absolutely necessary for Germany's security.

"Marshal Brauchitsch. "If we attack the Soviet Union now, how long will it take to reach the Ural Mountains?"

Naturally, I do not think that Germany could take over the entire Soviet Union with manpower alone.

Even with the support of Free Russia and the Axis powers, it is clearly impossible to occupy all of the vast Soviet territory in Asia.

The generals also agree on this point.

Therefore, I set the goal of the Wehrmacht's advance only to the Ural Mountains and a plan was developed accordingly.

Keitel and Brauchitsch had dark circles under their eyes as they worked all night long to plan the invasion of the Soviet Union.

However, his voice overflowed with power, perhaps because he thought that the moment of European unification, his once-in-a-lifetime goal, had arrived.

"If we mobilize all the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS divisions currently deployed in Free Russia, as well as the entire forces of the Free Russian Army and the Axis Allies, it is possible to reach the Ural Mountains within 60 days. If you look at the plan I just gave you-"

Brauchitsch's estimate of 60 days was a conclusion made after taking into account all factors, including the desperate resistance of the Soviet army and delays in supply, as well as the Soviet winter.

Assuming all these adverse conditions and unexpected situations, I thought that two months would be too much and that it would take longer than that, but if the goal was to reach the Ural Mountains rather than complete control of European Russia, it did not seem impossible.

The distributed plan included not only a march to the Ural Mountains but also a plan for the future.

March to the Ural Mountains, completely dominate European Russia, and strengthen with the Soviet Union. If the Soviet Union refuses to strengthen, advance to Central Asia.

In cooperation with Iran, they launched an offensive in the south, ultimately completely driving out the Soviet army from Central Asia and establishing a pro-German puppet state like Ukraine and Belarus.

As Central Asians are currently continuously resisting Soviet rule, it was expected that they would welcome the advance of the National Defense Forces, and that if they promised independence and supported the establishment of a government, they would be able to gain cooperation from the residents.

The plan was to conquer Central Asia and then advance to Siberia, but in this case, it was clear that Germany's supply capabilities would reach its limit, so Brauchitsch predicted that a long period of rest would be inevitable.

The attack on Central Asia was also beyond Germany's supply capabilities, but while there was still a slight chance of success, Siberia was obviously unreasonable.

However, when it reached Central Asia, there was no way the Soviet Union would refuse negotiations and choose war.

As we were discussing the most important time for the start of the war, Manstein, who had been uncharacteristically quiet since the meeting began, suddenly raised his hand.

It was a face that had something to say.

"Marshal Manstein, please speak."

"Thank you, Mr. President. "The distributed plan states that the first preparations of the Free Russian Army and our forces will be completed within 10 days. Does that mean then that will be the start of the war?"

"Wouldn't you say so?"

"Ten days are a short period of time, but until then, the Soviet troops on the front line will also be on alert in preparation for an attack by our forces. "Wouldn't it be most effective to attack when the enemy's guard against us is completely down?"

For at least two to three weeks, the enemy will be extremely wary of our forces' attacks, so be prepared to attack at any time from behind, but avoid movement on the border as much as possible, and the enemy will feel safe and withdraw troops from the front to prevent a rebellion in the rear. Manstein's argument was to attack at the same time as the time spent on suppressing it.

Also, in his opinion, it is unlikely that the rebellion will end as a one-off.

There is a high possibility that ethnic minorities residing in Central Asia and Siberia, oppressed and exiled by the Communist Party, will revolt upon seeing this rebellion, so the most effective strategy is to wait until they all rise up before launching an invasion. Manstein insisted.

"The idea is to avoid the time when the enemy is most alert and attack when the enemy is relaxed. Hmm… … ."

"Mr. President. But in this case, wouldn't the enemy be better prepared for our own attacks?"

When I paid more attention to Manstein's claims than to my own plans, Brauchitch seemed offended and put the brakes on.

However, despite Brauchitsch's cries, Manstein's argument was quite persuasive, and other generals sympathized with Manstein's argument.

Panzer-General Guderian was the first to support Manstein's argument, and Rundstedt also actively supported Manstein's argument.

"To be honest, ten days is not enough to fully prepare to invade the Soviet Union. "I think Marshal Manstein is right."

"The same goes for the Air Force. The help of the Air Force will be essential to advance to the Ural Mountains, but it is difficult to complete all preparations within 10 days. Even if you work 24 hours a day, day and night."

"Well, no matter when the war starts, our navy has nothing to do… … ."

To top it all off, Schacht and Funk actually sided with Manstein, saying that it would be better to receive as much raw materials and compensation as possible from the Soviet Union before attacking the Soviet Union.

The only people who support Brauchitch are Keitel, Paulus, and Jodel, who made the operation plan with him.

Thus, the start date of 'Operation Blue', the Soviet invasion plan, was postponed.

Operation Blue, which would have originally been launched this summer, was not carried out due to the strengthening of relations with the Soviet Union.

However, as the Soviet Union became embroiled in chaos, the name Blue Operation was able to be revived.

I had hoped that Kulik would go even further and upset Stalin.

Of course, it would not be easy considering Kulik's abilities, but the longer he held out, the more the Soviet Union would weaken and the speed of our troops' advance would accelerate.