Chapter 253

< World War II - Moscow Race (1) >

April 22, 1942

Central Belarus, Minsk

While we were right in the middle of waiting for Zhdanov's arrival, unimaginable tragic news flew in.

"What?"

Since Stalin had died, I thought there would be things to make my head ache but nothing that would surprise me anymore!

"What do you mean the airplane the General Secretary was riding on crashed…"

I had only been thinking of pushing the peace negotiations through swiftly once the new General Secretary arrived and ending this damn war, so what kind of crazy talk was this!

Don't underestimate the Earth, human! Is it something like that?

"We will have to check the exact cause first to see if it was an aviation accident or something else, but it's certain that it crashed in the skies above Smolensk."

At the words conveyed by the Inspector General of the Polish Armed Forces, Władysław Sikorski, I had to grab the back of my neck.

No! I thought it was a relief that we passed the airshow safely without an aviation accident, but I get hit in the back of the head like this here?

Even during the Spanish Civil War, Emilio Mola suddenly plummeted to his death in an aviation accident out of nowhere, and now the head of state who was going to conduct the peace negotiations plummeted to his death while coming to negotiate, what kind of crazy…

As I was feeling a sense of emptiness beyond absurdity, Mr. Berger approached me.

"Minister Schacht, it's urgent news."

"Ah, thank you."

Taking the telegram, my eyes widened.

[Just before the Soviet transport aircraft crashed in Smolensk, nearby units received a telegram and radio message from the transport aircraft demanding a halt to anti-aircraft gun fire. As a result of checking the anti-aircraft guns of all subordinate units, the German Army in this vicinity has never fired.

-Colonel General Walter Model]

Smolensk.

…The occupied territory of the Free Russian Army.

Surely not, these crazy bastards?

"Damn it, where is Chairman Vlasov!"

"Y-Yes?"

Seeing Mr. Berger get flustered by the yell I let out as it suddenly flared up inside me, I cooled down a little at least.

"Huuu, I'm sorry. Please find the high command of the Free Russian Army and bring them here right now."

"A-Understood."

However, there wasn't even a need to do so.

When a Polish Army officer who came running in a hurry saluted Sikorski and handed him a telegram, Sikorski, having read it, looked back at me and opened his mouth.

"…They say all military forces of the US Army and the Free Russian Army are being redeployed to the front line.

It seems…"

Ah, these madmen. I had made preparations just in case they caused an accident at the negotiation venue, but I had never even imagined this kind of method.

"These crazy fellows are trying to see this to the end after all."

---

April 23, 1942

Central Soviet Union, Smolensk-Moscow Front

The situation where the Allied Forces and the Soviet Army had entered a temporary ceasefire for peace negotiations.

The Soviet Army stationed at the defense line harbored a hope they had forgotten for a while.

"Is this terrible war really ending now?"

"That would be nice.

If only we could return home safely…"

To them, neither the great glory of communism nor the powerful General Secretary's authority was important.

The wish of the common soldiers who had suffered in hunger and cold for a long time was simply to return home in good health.

However, even their modest wish was betrayed by someone's cause.

Rumble-

The sound of the tracks of a swarm of tanks shaking the ground began to ring out, and the Soviet Army, which only knew they were under a ceasefire, could not hide their flustered state.

"Wh-What is this, we are currently under a ceasefi-"

The unfortunate soldier's voice was buried by the roar of artillery spewed out by a Sherman.

The Soviet Army's defense line, which had not been able to make any preparations, was mercilessly hacked to pieces, and hundreds of Shermans advanced, trampling over the wreckage and corpses of that defense line.

"Death to the commies! We will liberate our great Motherland from Stalin's scum! Let us grant freedom to Russia with our very own hands!"

Everything was for the cause of Free Russia and the future of a better Fatherland.

The Free Russian Army, putting Bronislav Kaminski at the vanguard, began their advance towards Moscow.

And at that moment, the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia's unilateral notification of the annulment of the ceasefire flew into Moscow.

---

April 23, 1942

Capital of the Soviet Union, Moscow

Even when the transport aircraft riding General Secretary Zhdanov crashed in a mysterious accident, the chaos was not as serious as expected because Zhdanov had not yet fully taken control of the Soviet Union's political situation.

It was because it could not be compared to the shock when Stalin, who had overseen everything in the Soviet Union, suddenly died abruptly.

With the second-in-command, Molotov, out in Minsk, the Soviet Union was in an unsettled atmosphere, but up until they were having meaningless arguments over whether this was an Allied Forces' conspiracy or a simple accident, it was still at the level of arguing back and forth over who the next General Secretary would be.

However, when the Free Russian Army suddenly declared the annulment of the ceasefire and launched a surprise attack on the front line, the Soviet Union and Moscow fell into a state of panic.

"Th-The Soviet Union is finished now! I'm escaping!"

Those who were expecting the war to end by now, fleeing unable to withstand the sudden change in the situation.

"All communists are compatriots! If you are not a communist, you are not a compatriot! Kill everyone who tries to betray the Fatherland! An iron fist is needed to avoid the downfall of the Fatherland in this chaos!"

Those who revealed their madness in a situation that had fallen into chaos after the oppressor disappeared, having lived under Stalin's oppression.

"If the war continues any longer than this, we will all die! Negotiations, there is only negotiation!"

Those who were trying to somehow continue the peace negotiations that were left hanging due to the sudden death of another General Secretary.

In the midst of a melting pot of uncontrollable, all sorts of chaos and madness, Yuri Andropov, who had somewhat clearly grasped the current situation, was gripping the phone and crying out desperately.

"You must gather your units to Moscow immediately, Comrade General! As of now, only the Free Russian Army has declared the annulment of the armistice! Right now, without an official stance from the Allied Forces, if we just defend Moscow, we can end this as an unexpected action by Free Russia!"

It was rare for Andropov to be so urgent, but Georgy Zhukov's reply coming from over the phone was nothing but disappointing.

-I will not move. My unit will not take any action that could provoke the Allied Forces.

"Comrade General! We must first defend Moscow to take control of the administration and conduct proper peace negotiations with them as the representative government of the union! If we vainly lose Moscow like this, everything will be finished just like that!"

-That is something Comrade Chairman can say because you haven't faced them directly! The current Soviet Army can never win in a fight against the Allied Forces! If I act rashly right now when it's not even certain whether the Allied Forces are entering the war, if I lose, I'll have to worry about my own life first!

Hearing Zhukov's anger, Andropov bit his lip, then lowered his voice and spoke.

"…Comrade General. If Vlasov seizes the administration, he will not leave Comrade General alive anyway."

-…I don't know what you are talking about.

Georgy Zhukov did not deny it.

Andrey Vlasov is not simply an extreme anti-communist.

He is ultimately a Russian patriot, and he rebelled against the Soviet Union because he believes communism is detrimental to the Fatherland.

There's no way such a Vlasov would want to completely grind down the Fatherland's military power, and if Zhukov surrenders while preserving the military capacity of the Red Army, he might accept it.

Georgy Zhukov, who has had his own interactions with Vlasov in the military, is probably thinking like that.

"Comrade General lacks political understanding."

However, that is ultimately nothing more than Andrey Vlasov's personal disposition.

The hatred toward the Soviet Union from those of the White Army who were defeated in the Finnish Civil War and those who suffered from the Great Purge transcends imagination.

As long as he has them as his support base, it is inevitable for Vlasov to purge those who collaborated with the Soviet Union.

Let alone keep Georgy Zhukov alive, who is renowned as the general representing the Soviet Army in this war, and who even displays ambition to advance into politics, keeping a vigilant watch?

The possibility of that is endlessly low.

-Enough! Comrade Chairman is the very parachute appointee placed by Stalin, is he not! I will not listen to your presumptuous words any longer! My military follows my orders!

The phone call was cut off with a rough sound.

In the end, Georgy Zhukov chose the path of trying to survive by getting on Vlasov's good side, rather than facing the Allied Forces again with a tattered Soviet Army.

"It seems it didn't go well."

Josip Broz Tito, clad in a stylish suit alien to the Soviet Union, leisurely puffed out cigar smoke and opened his mouth.

"My comrades agreed to the deal with Comrade Chairman, and preparations to sweep away Stalin's remnants in Moscow are finished too. But Comrade Chairman has actually failed."

The promise to mobilize the Yugoslav Communist Party Guerrillas trained by Tito for the seizure of Moscow, in exchange for supporting Tito and the Yugoslav Communist Party after seizing the administration, had gone awry.

If Vlasov seizes Moscow like this, the Soviet Union in a state of power vacuum will be completely paralyzed, and at best, they will have to continue a sporadic localized civil war.

Once Free Russia's chance of victory becomes clear, in the worst case, the Allied Forces might also step in and try to bring about the complete downfall of the Soviet Union.

Russia will experience a revival from the ashes of the Soviet Union, but there is no way that Russia will soar to the position of a great power like it is now.

"In the end, are we collapsing like this without being able to do anything…"

Even Andropov, who had always prepared for a new path for the Soviet Union with a cool-headed demeanor, could not hide his discouragement.

As long as Zhukov does not move, there is no Red Army, and without the Red Army, they cannot stop the Free Russian Army.

Sweeping away Stalin's remnants now has no meaning.

Tito crushed his cigar into the ashtray to put it out.

"It is a regret. I didn't want to see the downfall of the Soviet Union either. We will return to our Fatherland before this place becomes a total wreckage."

The moment Andropov was about to answer Tito while enveloped in a sense of frustration, the phone rang.

Andropov picked it up.

"NKVD Chairman Yuri Andropov…"

-Comrade Chairman.

Russian with a Spanish accent, spoken in a low tone, was heard.

"…Comrade Líster."

-My unit's preparation is complete.

We will defend Moscow to the death against the Free Russian Army.

"…Comrade General, Comrade General Zhukov has refused combat.

Do you know this?"

-I serve the Union and the People, not Georgy Zhukov, Comrade Chairman. Once the engagement begins, I believe more generals like that will join.

Andropov was at a loss for words.

From the start of the Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union's stance was to only provide enough support to not be insulted by International Communists.

The Soviet Union abandoned the Spanish Republican Faction.

However, when the high command of the Soviet Union fell into chaos or turned their backs, thinking only of their own self-preservation, the one who stepped up risking his life was a foreigner from the country they had abandoned.

Feeling an indescribable emotion welling up, Andropov answered with a suppressed voice.

"…I will send all the support we can muster to Comrade General. Please buy us just a few days, even just a few days, until we secure Moscow and sign an armistice with the Allied Powers."

Can Líster's unit alone stop the Free Russian Army and the US Army, who will mobilize an armored unit of up to a thousand vehicles with America's support?

Though Andropov is not a military expert, he could at least tell that it was by no means an easy task.

However, Líster's reply to that remained composed as always.

-Fighting in the worst situation for the sake of communism is nothing surprising anew.

Andropov let out a laugh half mixed with apology and emptiness at Líster's words.

But this is the only place left to lean on now.

"Comrade General."

-…Comrade Chairman.

"The fate of the Union of People rests on your shoulders, Comrade."-I will believe that Comrade Chairman's plan will be worth risking my fate."

"Soviet Ura!"

-Soviet Ura!

The phone call was cut off.

Tito smiled as he placed a new cigarette into his cigar holder.

"I like that guy. I'd like to meet him once later."

Yuri Andropov, who had been sunk in a sense of frustration just moments ago, opened his mouth with a gleam in his eyes behind his glasses, having regained his cool-headedness.

"Let's begin, Comrade."

Tito blew out a puff of smoke from his cigar and replied.

"I never liked Stalin's stooges anyway."