291

Episode 291: The End of the Apocalypse (4)

Stalin deeply regretted being underground when a new type of bomb called a nuclear bomb destroyed Ufa.

I should have died then.

If I had done that, I wouldn't have suffered this humiliation now.

But he survived, and the result is now.

Hitler laughed bitterly and mocked Stalin for his miserable situation.

"I am truly sorry. "If you hadn't started a war, the Soviet Union would never have disappeared from Europe."

Talk about whatever you want. Stalin clenched his mouth to avoid being fooled by Hitler's ridicule, but Hitler was a master at getting Stalin to open his mouth on his own.

Oh, by the time I thought about it, I had already said it.

"But I understand. "Why did you have no choice but to start a war?"

"… … What do you mean by understanding?"

"This is what you had in mind before I started the war against Poland. "You would have imagined Germany letting the Anglo-French imperialists fight tooth and nail, and then, like during World War I, when both sides were exhausted, the Red Army, with its reserves of strength, would race all the way to Paris at once."

"… … !!!"

Stalin was surprised. How does this guy know his plans? There's no way I could guess this accurately without looking into his head... … .

Stalin was delighted when he heard that the British Empire had declared war on Germany, which had invaded Poland.

He thought that Germany would not fall easily, but on the other hand, he never predicted that England would fall so easily.

According to his thinking, England and Germany should have been unable to completely overwhelm each other and should have exhausted their national power by fighting a tedious war of attrition like in World War I.

Just before the national power of all three countries was depleted and there was discussion about whether or not to continue the war, the Soviet army, which had accumulated its strength by annexing Finland and the Baltic countries one by one, took action and planned to race through Berlin to Paris.

Unlike France and Germany, which are attached to the same European continent, Britain is a separate island country, so it will not be easy to occupy, but if you occupy the British colonies in the Middle East and India and support communists within Britain to start a revolution, conquering Europe is absolutely impossible. lira.

I could never have imagined France collapsing in four weeks and Britain strengthening its alliance with Germany.

Who could have predicted this would happen?

France, which had the world's strongest army, would have its main army destroyed in four weeks, and the world's strongest navy, the British navy, would soon raise the white flag after being toyed with by the German navy throughout the war.

I can assure you, even Comrade Lenin of the world would not have expected something like this.

"You must have thought this when you heard the news that the National Guard had entered Paris. Germany, which has conquered Europe, will soon target the Soviet Union with its overflowing national power. Germany must strike first before it invades the Soviet Union. They probably believed that was the only way for the Soviet Union to survive. "Isn't that right?"

Stalin wanted to shout at Hitler, who was bragging as if he knew everything he was thinking, asking what you know, but he thought that that reaction might be exactly what he wanted.

Stalin sighed and nodded quietly.

"Yes, that's right. "You are right."

"also. "I knew it would happen."

I hate to admit it, but what Hitler said was true.

Germany, which quickly conquered Western Europe, has long shown unrelenting ambition in advancing into the East.

Would Hitler be any different from his German ancestors? Rather, if you add more, you will never get less.

If the powerful Germany launches a general offensive with a large army, it will be difficult for the Soviet Union to withstand it.

Therefore, Stalin wanted to strike before Germany's preparations for war were completed, and he put this into practice.

The results weren't very encouraging, though.

"You are free to believe it or not, but I had no intention of attacking the Soviet Union."

"How can I believe that?"

"So I didn't tell you. You are free to believe it or not. But if I had really meant to attack your country, I would have done so in 1941. But I didn't do that. "Isn't this enough to explain?"

"… … The Balkan problem-"

"Are you really trying to say that I missed the start of the war because I was caught up in Yugoslavia and Greece? You overestimate Yugoslavia and Greece. Are you putting off your grand plan to conquer the Soviet Union because of those third-rate countries? "That doesn't make sense."

"… … ."

Hitler was right. If Germany had really planned to invade the Soviet Union, it would have gone ahead regardless of whether Yugoslavia and Greece attacked Albania or not.

"If you hadn't started a war first, even that stupid Churchill wouldn't have dared to think about starting a war. That means less people would have died and Europe would have been more peaceful.

But what would I do if I regretted it now? The war is already over and Europe is in ruins... … Oh, only Britain and the Soviet Union."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Do you understand now?"

"this person… … ."

… … after. I wanted to throw a bunch of curses at him, but I didn't have the strength to do so anymore.

As Stalin remained silent, Hitler looked almost astonished.

"Please ask anything you want to ask. "I will tell you everything to the best of my knowledge."

As Hitler spoke patronizingly, I felt a desire to say that I did not need Stalin.

However, even in a miserable situation worse than death, he had too many questions.

"… … then."

"oh?"

When Stalin, unable to overcome his curiosity, opened his mouth, Hitler looked at him with interest.

"The person who destroyed the right wing… … "What exactly is a nuclear weapon?"

"Aha, were you curious about that?"

Stalin wanted to know exactly what the nuclear weapon that destroyed the right wing was.

Hitler briefly explained nuclear weapons to Stalin.

Stalin listened in silence to Hitler's explanation as a science teacher.

When the explanation about radioactivity continued, Stalin narrowed his eyes as if he could not believe it.

"… … "I'll end the explanation here. Do you have any further questions?"

"Of course there is. "What do you plan to do now?"

Hitler, who sensed Stalin's intention, burst into laughter.

"I want to ask you if I'm dreaming of world domination. But I am different from you. Conquer the world? Why should I do something like that? "I have already taken control of Europe, but I have no intention of conquering Asia and the Americas."

Stalin wanted to believe that Hitler was lying to hide his ambitions.

However, looking at Hitler's expression and tone of voice, it did not seem like he was lying. Maybe that's why I felt even more miserable.

"I would like to add that I have already achieved my goal. Oh, there are still a few more left, but they're secondary. Therefore, I have no intention of starting another war."

"… … "You were a great pacifist."

"Do you know that now?"

"What happens to me now?"

Until now, Hitler had answered Stalin's questions with sincerity, but this time it was different.

"You will find out later."

"You will gradually find out. What… … ."

"It was a short time, but it was fun. I will go now. Take care of yourself. "Okay then-"

"Now, wait!"

Stalin urgently shouted to Hitler as he walked toward the door.

"What do you plan to do with me? Just tell me that one thing and go."

"Are you asking because you don't know that?"

Hitler stared at Stalin, who was lying on the bed, shaking with pitiful eyes.

"If you're really curious, I'll tell you. You will be treated the same way you were treated by your opponents and your people."

"What is that... … ."

"Huh, it looks like he still doesn't know what he did wrong. Don't worry. Unlike you communists, we Germans are civilized people who know law and order.

You will be tried before you pay for your sins. "It will probably be the trial of the century."

Without waiting for Stalin's next answer, Hitler opened the door and went out. Immediately, an SS guard armed with a submachine gun came in.

"… … Huh, huh."

Stalin lay down on the bed again. And then his body trembled as he imagined what was left for his future.

The man who once made everyone tremble with fear as the most powerful person in the Soviet Union ended up trembling in the same situation as those he had trembled with.

From the time he was discovered and captured by the Germans, he was no longer a person.

They are just laboratory rats waiting to die.

***

January 19, 1944

Washington DC White House, USA

After the right wing was destroyed by nuclear fire and the Soviet Union surrendered, Wallace became anxious.

I knew long ago how strong Germany was.

However, he had no idea that Germany would obtain the mysterious power of nuclear weapons so soon.

As soon as it became known that the German army's new weapon that destroyed the Ufa was a nuclear weapon, Wallace called a cabinet meeting and insisted that nuclear weapons be developed.

Even the ministers and generals who usually looked at him with unfavorable eyes all had the same opinion this time.

Nuclear weapons were needed to defend the country and people from attacks by Germany, which was likely to become America's opponent after Japan's defeat, and to maintain an equal, if not superior, position in future confrontations. certainly!

Establish the budget necessary for nuclear development, gather the necessary data and materials, recruit scientists... … Marshall, a dependable worker of Roosevelt who had already left the world behind, and America's greatest designer who created the current U.S. military, also shined here.

Thanks to his efforts, the plan to develop nuclear weapons, which was just a mere word, gradually took shape.

Nuclear development is important, but America's top priority now was to end the war with Japan.

Fortunately, Japan, which had been acting arrogantly as if it owned the whole world, was now coming to an end.

Because the intervention on the European front ended early - although it left an unpleasant aftertaste as it ended in de facto defeat - the United States was able to project its power generously into the Asia-Pacific, and as a result, Japan's fall was accelerated.

The U.S. military invaded the Philippines and Iwo Jima, and thanks to Thailand, which betrayed Japan and joined the Allied forces, gave way, the U.S. Army, British Army, and National Revolutionary Army invaded the former French Indochina and the Kingdom of Laos, which is now a puppet state of Japan. , fought in the Kingdom of Cambodia.

The Indonesians, unable to endure Japanese oppression, staged a mass uprising, and the National Revolutionary Army, transformed into American equipment in the vast expanse of China, steadily advanced against Japan and was heading towards the lost capital, Nanjing.

The war will end within this year. Unless Japan suddenly creates nuclear weapons like those made by Germany.

The problem was the time and cost needed to get there.

In order to prepare for the upcoming Cold War with Germany, the United States needed to end the war with Japan with minimal damage.

However, looking at Japan's current momentum, the possibility of that happening was extremely low.

But now it was Japan who was resisting with an unusual tactic that no one in the world could think of: suicide attacks.

If the battlefield were to be moved to the Japanese mainland, there was no possibility that the resistance of the Japanese army would be stronger or less strong than it is now.

Therefore, it was difficult for Wallace to readily approve 'Operation Downfall', a plan to invade mainland Japan.

Even more so after learning that it was predicted that at least 100,000 American soldiers would be killed and about 500,000 wounded before landing on the Japanese mainland and receiving the Japanese leadership's surrender.

If too much blood is shed in the war with Japan, the United States will not be able to properly stand up to Germany in the coming Cold War.

Right now, Germany has nuclear weapons and can use all the manpower and resources in Europe, but the United States does not have nuclear weapons.

Instead, it has the advantage of a national power several times that of Germany, a geographical advantage of being protected by the Pacific and Atlantic, and an economic power greater than that of all European countries combined. However, these are only secondary factors and if a full-scale all-out war enters the U.S. American experts predicted that it would be difficult to gain an upper hand over Germany.

In such a situation, the option of losing hundreds of thousands of young people who would lead the United States in the future on the battlefield was difficult to accept even for generals who took it for granted that deaths would occur in war.

"No matter how much you think about it, Operation Downfall is impossible. "I won't be able to afford the sacrifice."

"But, Your Excellency. In order to induce Japan's complete surrender, an attack on the Japanese mainland is essential. "Unless the mainland is attacked, Japan will never surrender."

In response to Hull's response, Wallace placed his hand on his forehead. Even in attacking Iwo Jima without having to go far, the U.S. military was suffering thousands of casualties.

What about Okinawa, which is closer to mainland Japan than Iwo Jima and whose defense preparations are as thorough? What about mainland Japan?

Wallace seemed to lose his mind when he heard that the numbers written in the plan were minimal and could actually be higher.

"Is there any other way?"

"We already recommended Japan to surrender through Switzerland, but everyone-"

"no no."

Wallace shook his head.

"It's not a diplomatic way, it's a question of whether there is another way other than landing on the Japanese mainland."

"I have a few things in mind."

Marshall answered.

Marshall also knew that if he landed on the Japanese mainland, the U.S. military would suffer severe damage due to Japanese resistance, so he prepared several other plans.

He thought that causing direct and great damage to Japan was the surest way to get Japan to surrender, but he did not think that was the only answer.

The only drawback was that it took a little time, but there were ways to induce Japan to surrender with less damage.

"We are mobilizing all naval power to blockade the entire coast of Japan."

The most feasible of these was the plan to blockade the Japanese coast and induce starvation.