-The Road to Scorched Earth Policy-

The Germans did not make the same mistake as the Russians.

　Chief of the General Staff Ludendorff overcame opposition from those around him and decided to put the liberation of Eastern Europe on hold and continue the advance towards Poland, drawing up an operational plan to move his main force north from the Baltic region directly to the capital.

"Let's advance straight to Petrograd and checkmate them!"

　If they were to err on the side of caution, they would have had to first prioritize the liberation of the Ottoman Empire, followed by the former Austro-Hungarian territories of the Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and the Kingdom of Romania, in order to properly establish a foothold, but this would have given Russia valuable "time."

"The Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire lost half of their territories, but on the other hand, half of their land is still there. Britain and Italy are unlikely to launch a counter-invasion due to the French Revolution, and Greece remains neutral. Romania has Bulgaria on its side."

　-- They can't win by attacking, but they're not so weakened that they'll lose by defending either. Therefore, there's no need for reinforcements.

　Simply put, Ludendorff's response to his allies was, "Fight for yourselves." This attitude of disregarding his allies was frowned upon by diplomats, but for Ludendorff, a military expert, it was only natural that he was pursuing military rationality.

And in reality, although the other Central Powers resented Ludendorff's arrogant attitude, they did not want to go against Germany, who was now the sole leader in the world.

　Rather, it could be said that Ludendorff's problem was the slow-moving emperor and the conservative military elders.

"Chief of Staff, you don't know anything about war economics."

　Emperor Wilhelm II tried to admonish the hotheaded Ludendorff, but Ludendorff privately rejected his advice.

(Unlike the German Empire, which had a constitution and parliament, the Russian Empire was a literal empire - in other words, an "Imperial state" - not a modern nation-state. If Tsar Nicholas II was toppled, the empire would easily collapse.)

　The only thing that holds together the Russian people, who are diverse in ethnicity, religion, and language, is the absolute ruler.EmperorTsarIt is because of Emperor Nicholas II that the 180 million subjects of the empire can have a sense of solidarity as "the same Russians." If they lose that pillar, all that remains is a collection of "individuals who just happen to live on Russian soil."

"Your Majesty, Russia may look like a fine house, but its foundations are crumbling. One kick at the door and it will collapse in an instant."

　That is why Ludendorff wanted a quick decisive battle.

　What was needed was not to physically kill the emperor, but to destroy his authority. That was why they took the capital. They wanted to let the whole world know that "Emperor Nicholas II is not to be feared."

　**

　As for the Russian army's response to Ludendorff's strategy, it was a miserable defeat as soon as it lost its numerical superiority.

"Your Majesty! It is no longer possible to maintain Eastern Europe!"

　General Kuropatkin screams in response to the horrific reports coming from the front.

"With France now in civil war, the Schlieffen Plan is nearing completion! If we continue to station our forces in Eastern Europe, our armies will be destroyed piece by piece!"

　The German army was steadily "diversion" its troops from the Western Front, and soon the two sides were roughly equal in numbers, at around 2 million. With equal numbers, the German army, with its superior industrial power and better-trained soldiers, was sure to win.

　Moreover, the Russian army had divided its forces into two, one towards Poland and the other towards Hungary, and the nightmare of defeating each side individually was beginning to become a reality.

　Even so, people do not want to give up even an inch of the territory that was once won with the "blood of tens of thousands of heroes." This is true not only of many citizens, but also of Tsar Nicholas II, aka Stalin.

　Many generals also seemed to be still optimistic about the state of the war, given the great victories they had achieved early on.

"Why not just attack them from both sides, Hungary and Poland?"

　General of the Cavalry Pavel Rennenkampf proposed a bold plan that was met with applause.

"Kuropatkin, you're too passive. Isn't that why you had to retreat so many times during the Russo-Japanese War, and why you suffered a major defeat at Mukden?"

"it is..."

　When asked to take responsibility for the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, Kuropatkin could not be too forceful. "The situation is different now" is a common excuse, and without any achievements, it is not persuasive.

　He glanced at Emperor Nicholas II with a glimmer of hope, but he was smiling in a good mood. It seemed that General Rennenkampf's positive approach had resonated with the Emperor.

(However, a pincer attack requires close cooperation between the two armies, and greater mobility than the enemy...)

　For example, the Prussian army was able to win the Battle of Königgrätz thanks to the mobility advantage they gained from using railroads. What about the Russian army?

(The Polish Front Army aside, the Hungarian Front Army had poor infrastructure in the Austrian Empire, was in a difficult geographical location in the Carpathian Mountains, and was also obstructed by the Austrian Empire, making it difficult for it to move... Will it really work out as Rennenkampf says?)

　Thus Kuropatkin's fears were realized.

　＊＊＊

　That day, the Imperial Russian Army General Staff was enveloped in a solemn atmosphere, like a funeral. Kuropatkin, who was reading the report, looked pale and on the verge of fainting.

"I would like to inform you that on the Polish front, our forces were... well, completely surrounded by the German army."

"…So?"

"About half of the Polish Front's troops, 400,000 strong, were annihilated...General Alexander Samsonov, the commander-in-chief, took responsibility and committed suicide."

　A massive force of 400,000 men had been surrounded and annihilated - this didn't just mean the loss of a large number of soldiers, it also meant that a large hole had been opened in the front line.

　Soldiers can be replenished as much as they want. However, gaps in the front line cannot be easily filled. If a hole appears on the Polish front, the soldiers on the Hungarian front will be worried about being sneaked in and their rear.

"... Have all troops retreat."

　Nikolai announced solemnly in the frosty air.

"Pull back the front lines and reduce the size of the battle line. Carry out scorched earth tactics in parallel, buying as much time as possible while wearing down the enemy."

　Scorched earth tactics are a traditional Russian strategy, taking advantage of the Russians' vast territory to stretch out the enemy's supply lines and strike them once they have worn them down.

　Nicholas II turned to Kuropatkin.

"General Kuropatkin, you were right. I promise you that from now on I will fully support your statements."

"Haa."

　It was the emperor's duty to reward and punish, and Nicholas II had people he had to reward and people he had to punish.

　Nicholas II turned on his heel, turned towards the large, bearded man huddled in the corner, and spoke to him with a bright smile.

"General Rennenkamp, ​​have you got anything to say?"

"I, I――――"

"I see. Then I'll send you to Siberia."

　Without even a chance for him to explain himself, Nicholas II ordered his guards to take General Rennenkampf away. As the crowd watched from afar as the dejected Rennenkampf was dragged away, Nicholas II asked him again:

"I assume you don't have any traitors on your side anymore?"

　These were the Emperor's gracious words, placing all the responsibility for the defeat on Rennenkampf and absolving everyone else who had failed to stop the reckless operation. There was no way anyone could disagree.

　Satisfied with the competitive nods of his senior military officials, Tsar Nicholas II ordered a delaying tactic.

The question is how far to retreat.

　Although the Russian Empire was vast, most of the densely populated areas and industrial and agricultural regions were limited to the area west of the Ural Mountains. One of the reasons why the Soviet Union was able to win the Great Patriotic War despite losing 40% of its land and population was because it evacuated its major factories to the east of the Ural Mountains.

　However, no such preparations were made for this war. Because of the advantage they had in the first battle, defensive strategies had hardly been seriously discussed up until that point. In addition, the capital of the Russian Empire was in St. Petersburg, and the distance to the capital was shorter than that of the Soviet Union.

　But that doesn't stop the Emperor from giving up.

"The capital will be moved. First Moscow, and if that doesn't work, we will fight to the end until Tsaritsyn, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok fall."

　Although it may seem absurd, Nicholas II, also known as Stalin, was serious. The word "surrender" does not exist in his dictionary. Before his reincarnation, he fought a long and hard battle against the German army and was victorious in the end.　

　＊＊＊

　And as the tension continued, the news arrived.

"German troops advance into Russian territory"

　According to a long-awaited operational plan, over one million German troops stepped into the territory of the Russian Empire. The territory of the Russian Empire, which had been refused the invasion of any great power since Napoleon, had finally been invaded by the descendants of Frederick the Great.

　With the surrender of France, a large number of German soldiers flooded the eastern front from the western front. Germany's developed railway network was the key to the Schliefen Plan. The meticulously planned railway timetable allowed the movement of a total of 3 million troops without any errors.

　Two years after the start of the war, the elite soldiers who survived the hellish Western Front arrive at the Russian border. They march in perfect unison, forming long, orderly columns with a familiar look on their faces.