286

Episode 286: Fateful Day

December 31, 1943

Airfield near Kuznetsk, USSR

The last day of 1943.

I braved the cold and headed to Russia once again.

"Salute to His Excellency the President!"

"Heil Hitler!"

Despite the biting cold, the flight attendants were waiting for me.

All are veterans of veterans who have served on the front lines since the Spanish Civil War until the present. The various medals hanging on their military uniforms proved that they were brave warriors.

I shook hands with each of them and briefly explained the operation.

The story I told would be truly shocking to those who are unfamiliar with the Uranfrocht itself, which is a top secret, and the word nuclear bomb itself.

"therefore… … ."

"This bomb… … ."

"Are you saying it's powerful enough to erase a city?"

"That's right."

The world's first nuclear bomb made by Germany.

The name is Valkyrie.

It is 3m long, 70cm in diameter, and weighs about 4 tons. Estimated power is approximately 15kt.

It has the same power as Little Boy, which was dropped on Hiroshima.

This one is also quite large, but since there is a bigger and heavier bomb called Leger, the crew only blinked when they heard that the power of something smaller than Legger could not even be compared.

There were faces that made me want to ask if this made sense.

"It's hard to believe, but it's true. "This guy is the culmination of German science and technology and the key to ending the war."

"Huh."

"Wow, that's amazing."

"Once you see the power for yourself, you will realize that I am not exaggerating."

They have been repeatedly training to accurately drop a nuclear bomb since receiving the report that Uranfrocht was successful.

They actually did not know what the training was for. Even if you ask, the only answer they get is that they can't tell you because it's top secret, so just shut up and focus on training.

"The fate of Europe rests on your shoulders. Are you confident?"

"Of course, Mr. President!"

"I will even go to hell if the Fuhrer orders it!"

"I will burn my body for the sake of my country, Germany!"

Are they excited about ending the war with their own hands?

The bomber crew members all expressed their aspirations and commitments in loud voices.

"Yes, the sons of Greater Germany should have this much momentum!"

A total of 7 bombers will be used in humanity's first nuclear bombing.

3 weather observation planes, 3 strike planes, and 1 spare plane.

The weather observation team was tasked with dispatching one hour ahead of the strike team and checking and reporting the weather in the target city.

If the weather conditions over Ufa were unfavorable, the bombs were planned to be dropped on one of the two cities of Chkalov and Magnitogorsk.

Of the three strike planes, one was assigned the task of filming and observing the explosion scene, one was assigned to drop the nuclear bomb, and one was assigned to carry the scientists who participated in Uranfrocht and measure the force of the explosion.

Everything is the same as when the actual atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

Except that the subject of the operation was the German military, not the U.S. military, the aircraft was a He 177 rather than a B-29, and the bombing site was a Soviet city rather than a Japanese one.

In the worst case scenario, in case the Valkyrie exploded while loading it into the aircraft, I had to leave for Moscow without seeing the Valkyrie being loaded.

Some of the propaganda team members who followed along remained at the scene until the end and filmed the loading of the Valkyrie and the sortie of the bombing squad.

Even on the Ju352 heading to Moscow, I couldn't let go of my nerves until the very end.

What if something goes wrong and Valkyrie doesn't explode? A spare bomb is being built, but Heisenberg says it will be at least another month before the next bomb is built.

If the unexploded Valkyrie were to fall into the hands of the Soviet Union, that would be truly a disaster.

The possibility that the Soviet Union, which obtained the unexploded nuclear weapon, will manufacture a nuclear weapon in the near future is virtually zero, but if Germany's final weapon fails and falls into the hands of an enemy country, how absurd would it be.

Not only will he remain a laughing stock for the rest of his life, but no one knows what will happen if he passes through the Soviet Union to the United States.

Therefore, I had to hope for success. This is unfortunate for citizens living on the right.

"ah. "How big of a right-wing population did you say?"

"I think I heard it was close to 400,000 people."

Goering, sitting in the seat next to me, said. Originally, there were about 250,000 people, but with the end of the First German War and the influx of refugees, the number is said to have increased significantly.

It is unknown how many of Ufa's residents fled out of the city as the war began, but at least 350,000 people were probably still in the city at this moment.

Most of them would not survive today.

When I thought of that, my heart ached. On the one hand, it was absurd.

I can't believe I ordered the nuclear drop with my own mouth and then feel remorse. Isn't this something that only a mentally ill person would do?

I told myself that this was necessary to end the war, but even so, this feeling of discomfort did not easily go away.

It was clear that even if I was going crazy, I was really going crazy.

That won't work either. I should retire as soon as the war is over. The plan is to hand over the presidency to Goering and enjoy a leisurely retirement life.

If I continued to stay in this position, as Remarque said, I would become a monster that only sees humans as expendables.

***

On the last day of 1943, special rationing was implemented for right-wing citizens.

Until now, the citizens of Ufa have been living only on coarse bread made with kasha and sawdust, a very small amount of butter, tea that is no better than plain water, and jam.

But today, eggs, honey, sausages, and canned American Spam were especially distributed. It was a great luxury for citizens who could not even see meat.

"Get in line, get in line!"

"Keep order!"

"You there! "Don't go back to your original place right now!"

People waited from early in the morning to receive their long-awaited taste of meat.

It was impossible to tell where the long line started and where it ended, and in case a riot broke out, heavily armed military police and police were stationed at intervals of 20 meters to keep an eagle eye on the citizens.

People waited patiently with the sole intention of eating meat, even though their hands and feet were shaking from the cold.

I didn't know when I would be able to see meat if not now. People didn't complain even after 3 or 5 hours of standing in line.

No one knew what would happen the moment they even grumbled and caught the ears of the police who were watching them with harsh eyes.

No one wanted to come here to eat meat and then be taken to the basement and beaten like a dog.

On the outskirts of the city, the construction of a defense line was in full swing.

The ground was frozen due to the fierce cold of winter, and even if you hit the ground with an ordinary shovel blade or pickaxe, only sparks flew out and the ground could not be dug, so the engineering corps was mobilized to blow up the ground with explosives and place heated iron plates on the ground and pound them with hammers. People created trenches and anti-tank shelters by pounding the ground to melt it and then digging it.

Of course, the speed was very slow.

As was the case in Moscow, in order to save on insufficient fuel, spare parts were removed from broken tanks and the bodies were buried in the ground and snow to be used as torch cars.

Conscripted child soldiers, female soldiers, and old soldiers learned how to use weapons from young non-commissioned officers.

How to load and fire a rifle, how to repair it, and finally how to throw a grenade.

The elderly and infirm who avoided conscription made weapons in factories in the city.

Even elderly people well over 70 years old were mobilized to make Molotov cocktails, filling empty bottles with oil or alcohol and inserting wicks.

The fate of the Soviet Union depends on this decisive battle. All people must unite to stop fascists. Even if it's the elderly and children!

The work was hard and difficult, and the rewards given were extremely small, but people did not complain. Even though I had it, I swallowed it inside and didn't say it out loud.

Living under Stalin, Soviets learned that silence is golden.

Those who did not realize this obvious fact or who learned it too late have all disappeared.

"Comrade Secretary General. "The construction of the defense line on the outskirts of Ufa, as instructed, is progressing successfully."

Antonov reported while saluting.

The progress of the defense line being built on the outskirts of Ufa was so slow that it was meaningless to call it successful, but the Red Army's leadership decided to place significance in the fact that the defense line was being built despite this cold weather.

Since Comrade Secretary General did not have to come out to the site to check in person, there was no reason to use the expression that work was delayed when reporting.

"That's a good thing. But that alone is not enough. "Can't we go faster?"

"Oh, I understand. "I will immediately disseminate Comrade Secretary General's will to the entire army!"

However, Stalin was not satisfied with that. Even though he reported figures that were more exaggerated than actual progress, Stalin did not like even that.

Although the German army has now stopped its advance, this is only due to supply problems. If the supply problem is resolved, the enemy will push to the right at any moment.

The time required for the German army to reach Ufa was, at best, about a week. And if the weather clears up, it might be three days instead of a week.

Therefore, Stalin ordered that the Ufa be made into an impregnable fortress now that the enemies are struggling.

And although he was reluctant, he also ordered the two idiots, Voroshilov and Budyun, to lead their troops to Ufa.

I never wanted to face these two fools who only believed in their power and status and only showed off, but there was nothing I could do since I had three noses.

What he needed now was at least one more soldier and weapon.

Litvinov was instructed to persuade the United States once more. If necessary, allowing the stationing of U.S. troops on Soviet territory was also considered.

I was reluctant to introduce the army of a corrupt capitalist country into the people's country, but compared to losing Europe to the fascists and being completely driven out to Asia, allowing American troops to station in the Soviet Union was a level of humiliation I could endure.

"Tell them that we will give you everything you need, including an airfield, a port, and a training ground! "Tell them that you'll give anything if only American troops can participate in the war!"

-I understand, Comrade Secretary General. I will do my best… … !

"Comrade Litvinov. I trust you comrade. So, comrade, don't disappoint me."

As usual, Stalin ended the phone call with a clever threat that betrayed confidence.

As a result of the withdrawal of troops from Siberia and Central Asia to block the German army, the number of anti-Soviet guerrillas did not decrease but rather increased faster than before.

It has been confirmed that Germany is supplying weapons and ammunition to ethnic minorities in Central Asia through Iran.

Damn Persians. Stalin's fist trembled.

Iran declared neutrality, but it was only neutral in words, and was blatantly siding with Germany, disrupting the Soviet Union's rearguard under Hitler's orders.

People who were normally unable to open their mouths due to the pressure of the Red Army are now acting like they only believe in Hitler. Stalin was furious.

If I could go back in time, to 1942, before the war broke out, I wanted to destroy the damn Persians first, even more than the German fascists.

Stalin imagined Red Air Force bombers bombing Iran's capital, Tehran, and T-34s crossing the border to shell Iranian cities and villages.

The Red Army at its peak could have taken control of all of Iran in two weeks and advanced to the Persian Gulf.

After conquering Iran, he would execute Iran's King Pahlavi I and proclaim the re-establishment of the Iranian Soviet Socialist Republic.

And then he put pressure on Afghanistan, which was surrounded by both the Soviet Union and Iran, stationed the Red Army, and took advantage of the opportunity to dethrone Mohammad Zahir Shah and establish a republic... … .

Stalin shook his head violently. Now that I think about it like this, what can I do? It's already happened.

Stalin, a communist to his core and a thorough realist, did not know that even if he regretted it, the past did not come back and that what had already happened could never be undone.

However, even though I knew it in my head, my heart did not.

Every time I faced the high wall of reality, my defensive mind took over and I began to have useless delusions about what it would have been like in the past.

What would the Soviet Union be like today if it had chosen to coexist with Hitler instead of attacking Germany?

First of all, Moscow, not Ufa, will remain the capital of the Soviet Union.

The Palace of Soviets he wanted to build in Moscow would have been completed by now.

The Soviet Union would have converted Iran and Afghanistan into enemies with Germany's connivance and projected its influence into Asia.

They may have joined hands with the United States and China - perhaps even Britain - to attack Japan and take control of Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula.

They may have held talks with the United States regarding the division of mainland Japan.

Of course, these assumptions are the best case, and the possibility that Germany attacked the Soviet Union preemptively cannot be ruled out.

but,

It was also true that there was some lingering regret.

If I hadn't taken that path back then... … .

"Comrade Secretary General?"

Antonov's question brought Stalin back to reality. A terrible reality that is hard to open your eyes to. To a bleak reality that I wish was a nightmare.

"What do you think, comrade?"

"yes? what… … ."

"If we hadn't attacked Germany."

Antonov hesitated to answer. Stalin, sensing why he was hesitating to answer, spoke.

"I'm just asking out of curiosity, so you don't have to be nervous. "I just want to hear your opinion, comrade."

"… … "Germany would have struck first."

"okay? Is that what you think, comrade? "I haven't seen it that way, but I lack imagination."

Antonov was taken aback by Stalin's words.

"I want to hear your honest thoughts, not routine answers. "Tell me honestly."

It didn't seem like it was some kind of test.

On the contrary, if he said that and gave the same answer, it might have offended the secretary.

"To be honest… … The Soviet Union may have reached a new golden age."

Only then did Stalin nod his head as if satisfied.

"That's my opinion too."

The siren rang. It was an air raid warning.

"It looks like the fascist bombers have arrived."

"I know. "It seems like you never get tired of it."

***

gulp.

Weissmann swallowed dryly.

Although he was a veteran who participated in the Baku air raid operation and carried out dozens of air raid missions thereafter, after hearing the Fuhrer's direct explanation as to the identity of the items loaded on his plane, my saliva became dry and all sorts of thoughts came to mind. .

Is it really possible, as the Fuhrer said, that one bomb can set the city below on fire?

For someone who did not know what a nuclear bomb was, it was natural for him to have such questions.

A bomb that can destroy a city. Isn't this something that can only be imagined in children's imaginations?

But the Fuhrer couldn't have lied. Who in the world would use a bomber to drop an ordinary bomb that is just a little bigger?

There are 7 of them, including both the observation plane and the spare plane.

Upon reaching the city's skies, the He 177's bomb bay opened.

"Drop the bomb."

A huge light engulfed the entire city.