Chapter 254

< World War II - Moscow Race (2) >

April 24, 1942

Smolensk-Moscow Front

"For the Motherland! Death to the commies!"

The American-made Sherman Tank rushed across the earth of Mother Russia, spewing fire.

"For the Motherland! Kill the ghosts of the Black Baron!"

Soviet T-34 tanks slid across the mother earth, fighting back against them.

A battlefield where people speaking the same language cried out to the same earth as their Motherland, burning with hatred for each other.

The Free Russian Army, having continuously absorbed conscripts from occupied territories and prisoners of war captured in battles against the Allied Forces, now leads a military force reaching 2 million.

In contrast, the Soviet Army under Enrique Líster facing them numbers less than 400,000.

The Soviet Army was suffering countless sacrifices, but they tenaciously held their ground and did not easily allow a breakthrough.

"Damn it, to think we're dragging for time because we can't break through this! We must bring about the fall of Moscow quickly!"

Andrey Vlasov ground his teeth.

As a general officer who was once called the hope of the Soviet Union after crushing the German Army even in the original history, Vlasov's individual ability was by no means lacking.

However, in comparison, the quality of the Free Russian Army was incredibly hard to consider good.

The morale of Kaminski and the extremists of Free Russia was sky-high, but their numbers were limited.

Since a significant portion were Soviet Army prisoners of war who surrendered merely to live, or soldiers conscripted from Soviet regions occupied by the Free Russian Army, they lacked proper combat power compared to the scale of their military force.

On the other hand…

"Is it that Spaniard bastard again!"

Vlasov slammed his fist down, spewing out his anger.

Having survived through the Spanish Civil War, the invasion of Poland, Operation Liberation, and the Manstein Plan, Enrique Líster was already a veteran among veterans.

Most of those battles were ones where he had to somehow hold out in disadvantageous situations, and Líster, having mastered such methods of fighting, was inflicting considerable damage on the Free Russian Army even while being continuously pushed back.

"Is General Patton still not here?"

"A-Apologies, Chairman. They say they still have to wait for the home country's response…"

"Damn it, all we need is for the US Army to come!"

If only the US Army had come, if it were that Patton, no matter how much that Spaniard put up a desperate struggle, he could have instantly broken through and caused the fall of Moscow!

At that moment, the radio left on to monitor the Soviet Union's movements emitted a crackling sound and began its broadcast.

[April 24, 1942. Attention, attention.

We are informing you from Moscow. We deliver an important government message.

]

Vlasov bit his lip. Two days, an official statement is being released a mere two days after General Secretary Zhdanov's death?

[People of the Soviet Union.

April 22. The transport aircraft carrying General Secretary Zhdanov, who was heading to the peace negotiations with the Allied Forces to end the war, was shot down by the traitors calling themselves Free Russia.

]

It was far too quick a resolution compared to the chaos Free Russia had expected.

[Those despicable traitors launched a surprise attack on our military without a declaration of war immediately after on April 23, advancing toward Moscow while massacring countless people.

]

Vlasov felt his blood drying up from impatience.

[People of the Soviet Union.

The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the despicable traitors has begun.]

---

April 24, 1942

Central Russia, Smolensk-Moscow Front – US Army Garrison

A situation where Sherman Tanks and the US Army were on standby, having finished preparations to depart at any moment.

Commander of the US Volunteers, Lieutenant General George S. Patton, was restless like a puppy needing to take a dump, pacing back and forth in front of a Sherman Tank before shouting abruptly.

"Is it still not here!"

Wedemeyer answered while writing a P (short for Patience) on his palm with his finger.

"Not yet, General."

Patton paced back and forth between the Shermans about 10 times, taking roughly 10 minutes.

After pacing restlessly like that, he asked again.

"Is it still not here!?"

In the end, Wedemeyer gave up on writing P on his palm.

"You have asked exactly 26 times, General! Please wait just a little longer! A reply has to come from the home country, doesn't it! I can't just make up an answer!"

"Tsk, these sluggish politician bastards. The battlefield is right in front of us!"

"…It's a dishonorable battlefield, though."

When Wedemeyer finally answered in a voice full of dissatisfaction, Patton also tightly shut his mouth.

That fact was what barely restrained Patton. Otherwise, he would have already commenced a charge with his authority as the Commander of the Volunteer Army.

Chairman of the People's Liberation Committee Andrey Vlasov had redeployed the US Army and the Free Russian Army to the front line, claiming that the Soviet Army had suddenly violated the ceasefire and launched a surprise attack.

He then claimed that 'unfortunately' the transport ship carrying the General Secretary was shot down in the process of returning fire, and ordered an offensive, stating this was evidence that the pro-peace faction and pro-war faction within the Soviet Union were divided and in conflict.

The Free Russian Army immediately began to advance toward Moscow, but the US Army was on standby to grasp the situation.

That was the Free Russian Army's justification, but there was no one naive enough to believe those words at face value.

In reality, their actions were surprisingly similar to the course of action of the Soviet Union when they initiated their invasion claiming Finland had launched a preemptive strike.

Just then, a telegram came in from the US home country, and Wedemeyer doubted his own eyes.

"What does it say?"

Wedemeyer turned his creaking neck and looked at Patton.

"W-We must wait for the Allied Forces' response first."

---

April 24, 1942

Eastern Polish-Belarusian Federation – Minsk

"What did you say?"

Did I mishear that just now?

When I asked back, Erich Kordt let out a quiet sigh before opening his mouth again.

"The US's proposal is to handle the General Secretary's death as an 'accidental death' that occurred in the process of returning fire against the surprise attack by the Soviet pro-war faction, and to overthrow the Soviet Union, which has fallen into chaos, while we're at it."

Hearing Erich Kordt's words, I was so dumbfounded that a hollow laugh escaped me.

"If we accept, the US side will proceed with providing additional equipment and funds free of charge in return."

"No, you're saying they caused the enemy leader flying in for peace negotiations to fall to his death, and they want to cover it up as an accident? Does that make any sense?"

Prime Minister Mr.

Heuss was also dumbfounded, but I could roughly guess the US's intention.

"Since the incident has already occurred, rather than admitting the faction they sponsored arbitrarily blew away an enemy leader during peace negotiations and resumed the war, they would rather deny it and bring about the enemy's downfall to pretend it never happened?"

Erich Kordt shrugged his shoulders.

"Yes. That seems to be the US's conclusion. The anti-communism public opinion in the US is already extreme anyway, and it's likely a situation with too great a risk for an administration cornered by the Pearl Harbor incident to handle."

The US had already poured considerable support into Free Russia in response to the anti-communism public opinion of its citizens.

But if they were to sever ties here claiming they crossed the line, not only would the path to recovering their money from Free Russia become distant, but they would become an administration that couldn't even properly manage their sponsored faction, wasted taxpayer money, and got hit by Pearl Harbor on top of that.

Vlasov's Free Russian Army was slowly advancing toward Moscow even without the help of the US Army, and the main force of the Soviet Army was unable to respond properly, whether due to the vacuum caused by the General Secretary's death or something else.

If we just turn a blind eye here, the fall of Moscow is a given, so since things have already gone awry, let's just bury it with the clear achievement of the Soviet Union's collapse, right.

Anyway, the Soviet Army's defense line at the front that could prove whether the surprise attack claimed by Free Russia occurred or not had already been shattered.

Corpses and wreckage cannot submit evidence, so if Free Russia seizes the administration, they will whitewash their own shameful parts themselves.

If we decide to advance toward Moscow here, the chances of the other Allied Forces, who actively cooperated with us during the Battle of Kursk, showing a positive response up to that point are low.

Because they have already shed a lot of blood.

However…

"Then, are we ending the ceasefire? If you just give the order, I will make Moscow fall at once."

Manstein asked, wearing a broad grin all over his face.

Ah, damn it.

I scrunched up my face at Manstein's words and looked at Field Marshal Witzleben, but he also shook his head.

"Honestly, for this time at least, I also have no choice but to agree with the Chief of the General Staff's opinion. That latent power of the Soviet Union that the Minister emphasized so much, well, seeing them getting pushed back unable to stop even the Free Russian Army alone right now…"

Even Field Marshal Witzleben.

At this point, it's glaringly obvious what the public opinion of the German Army would be.

"Hmm, Schacht. Our German Army is stronger than you think. Would the Soviet Union, whose leader was murdered, even want to continue peace negotiations anyway? If keeping them alive is only going to leave a grudge, it would be better to just bring about their end."

Richthofen was the same as expected.

The real problem was that the German Army was already full of motivation to advance to Moscow even before the mess those Free Russian bastards made.

At the very least, as long as it is a Democratic Germany, I cannot go against the will of all these people with my own will alone.

I made eye contact with Mr. Heuss, then spoke with a sigh mixed in.

"It cannot be done without the parliament's approval."

…But, wouldn't the German Parliament approve this?

What should I do? How can I prevent this ridiculous situation?

---

April 25, 1942

Capital of Germany, Berlin – Reichstag

And just as Dietrich Schacht predicted, the German Parliament was favorable to the US's proposal.

"It's a fact that Free Russia's actions are disgraceful, but wouldn't keeping those commies alive only lead to future trouble anyway?"

The party line of the CDU, whose banner was anti-communism from its inception and which had emphasized anti-communism in the last election, was obvious.

Because rather than Free Russia's despicability, what was more important was that they were a usable alliance from an anti-communism perspective and a military force that would shed blood and fight in their stead.

"Since the American bastards are even offering a price, rather than pointlessly taking on the stigma that the Allied Powers assassinated a Soviet leader who desired peace, it is better to frame it as a war caused by the actions of the divided Soviet pro-war faction after Stalin's death."

Even the ruling party, the FDP, had no choice but to take a somewhat defensive stance.

With the Soviet Union clearly being pushed back, if they threw away this golden opportunity to condemn it as an unexpected action by Free Russia and severed ties, there was no telling how the citizens would perceive it.

If so, in a situation where they are already winning anyway, wouldn't the Soviet Union collapse in an instant if they just appropriately assist Free Russia?

"But if we do this, how are we any different from the British Parliament that approved the Opium War? This decision will remain a disgrace for Germany for a long time."

At the very least, Kurt Schumacher, the party leader of the Social Democratic Party and Minister of Labour, voiced his opposition, but the reactions of the other parties were cynical.

"You say anti-communism is the foundation of the Social Democratic Party too, but as expected when it comes to a situation like this, you look after your own?"

"What kind of insult is that!"

The atmosphere in the parliament instantly turned into chaos, and seeing that state, Speaker of the Reichstag Hjalmar Schacht stealthily twisted the corners of his mouth up.

Erhard and the figures in the economic sector looked full of dissatisfaction, but the influence their public opinion had on the general trend was small.

If they expanded the scale of the war again here, not only would the economic policies they had painstakingly prepared for the end of the war be delayed, but there was no way it would be good for the German economy.

It just meant they weren't the ones going out to fight.

Old men make the decisions, and young men fight and die. That is war.

However, having laid down the power of the Chancellor, it was not a situation where he could step forward.

Hjalmar let out a self-deprecating smile.

---

April 25, 1942

Capital of Germany, Berlin – Ministry of Propaganda

"Vice-Chancellor, Bureau Chief Habenstein of the Frankfurter Zeitung Berlin Branch is asking if it's okay to proceed as is…"

The woman who was once reporter Claudia Jung of the Frankfurter Zeitung Berlin Branch, Claudia Schacht, nodded readily and answered.

"Of course, tell him it's fine to proceed as is. Unlike during Goebbels's time, our Ministry of Propaganda actively guarantees the freedom of the press."

That was the difference between Nazi Germany and the newly revived Germany, and at the same time, the party line of the ruling party, the FDP.

…And it was also the change that she and her husband had achieved by risking everything.

Despite this, it was a part that neither the military nor the parliament was thinking about at all.

"A-Understood."

"Politicians and the military cannot continuously lead everything in the nation forever. Nor can a single individual continuously control a nation that is precariously trying to run wild."

It wasn't that Dietrich Schacht, who was out of his mind dealing with things in Minsk, requested her to do this.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't something initiated by Claudia, who was acting as the Acting Minister of Propaganda while Dietrich was away, either.

Because all Claudia did was obtain Dietrich's consent and merely 'not stop it' in accordance with the Ministry of Propaganda's policy direction.

However, Claudia felt a premonition that things would turn out well.

Because this was seeing the fruition of everything she, Dietrich, and their comrades had achieved by risking their lives, the seeds they had sown.

Feeling a sensation similar to when she raised Dietrich back up when he was crumbling down before her, Claudia smiled confidently and spoke.

"This time, let's place our bets on the citizens we have changed so far.