139

May 24, 1942

East Prussia German-Soviet border

Ilya Nesterov ran.

My lungs burned, my ribs ached, and my heart swelled to the point of bursting. I ran like crazy just to survive.

He stopped running only when his heart was about to burst.

My heart was pounding like a broken machine, and the drool flowing from my mouth showed no signs of stopping.

I felt dizzy. I felt like I was going to throw up, but I forced myself to hold it in.

Just go a little further. little bit more.

Ilya hypnotized himself to forget the pain. But his body refused to be hypnotized.

He took difficult steps again. He walked, walked quickly, and then ran repeatedly.

Even though he said he shouldn't look back, his eyes kept looking backwards. The pursuer was nowhere to be seen.

However, there was no guarantee that there would be no pursuers just because they could not be seen.

The thought that he might be glaring at me from a place beyond his gaze sent a shiver down my spine.

Ilya wanted to live, and to survive, he had to run.

A huge barbed wire appeared in front of Ilya's eyes as he was frantically running, walking, throwing up, and running again. Illya threw a tree branch at the barbed wire.

The tree branch that hit the barbed wire bounced off and fell to the ground.

After confirming that there was no electricity flowing, Ilya quickly threw the blanket over the barbed wire.

***

"Everyone at attention!"

"That's it, that's enough."

Manstein entered the guard post and looked around.

The soldiers who were on duty as usual were at a loss for the visit of the Marshal, especially the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Front.

Only one soldier in a shabby military uniform sitting on a chair was looking at him with blank eyes.

Manstein asked the lieutenant, whose complexion was half gray.

"Is that friend of mine the Soviet Army deserter?"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Manstein looked closely at the face of the Soviet army deserter sitting on the chair. He had a small scratch on his chin, as if he had hurt himself while shaving.

His torn military uniform, which got caught on a tree branch while running in a hurry, was covered in dirt and weeds.

"Ask what your name is."

The captain, who could speak Russian, asked the deserter a question in Russian. The captain converted the deserter's answer into German and relayed it to Manstein.

"My name is Ilya Nesterov."

"Age is?"

"I'm 22 years old."

"What was your position, rank, and branch? And give me a chair too. Oh, don't move this word."

The Red Army deserter, who gave his name as Ilya Nesterov, answered Manstein's questions faithfully.

His class was infantry, his title was rifleman, and his rank was private. The affiliated unit is the 32nd Regiment of the 125th Rifle Division.

"Where is your hometown?"

"It's called Zhytomyr."

"Do you have any family?"

After hearing the deserter's answer, the captain shook his head.

"There is none."

"why?"

"Everyone died. "My parents, my grandmother, my older sister, my younger brother, everything."

"Oh my."

Contrary to his words, there was not a single trace of sympathy on Manstein's face.

"What was your reason for deserting? "What brought you to Germany?"

Manstein uncrossed his legs and lowered his upper body. He then looked into the deserter's eyes.

"They say it's because they don't want to die. Especially for Stalin and the communists."

"That's an answer I like. Didn't you say this guy's hometown is Zhytomyr? "So, are you Ukrainian?"

When the captain asked, the deserter nodded. Ilya Nesterov was Ukrainian.

In 1932, an unprecedented catastrophe struck Ukraine.

The true nature of the great disaster that struck Ukraine was famine. That too was a famine caused by communism.

Stalin carried out harsh exploitation of Ukrainian peasants who resisted the Communist Party's policies in order to exterminate them.

Ukrainians rebelled against Moscow's orders by hiding or burning their harvests and slaughtering and eating livestock.

However, Stalin responded to the resistance of the Ukrainian peasants with even harsher exploitation.

As production was already low due to the Communist Party's unreasonable collectivization policy focused solely on administration, coupled with the Communist Party's ruthless conscription to fill quotas, Ukraine was engulfed in a great famine.

All those who opposed the Communist Party, which conscripted not only food but also seeds, were shot, and those who chose to obey instead of resist ultimately lost their lives.

The difference was between being shot to death right away or slowly starving to death, but the outcome was not different.

People who could not endure hunger became bandits and plundered neighboring villages where 'food was presumed to be left' or attempted to break into the Communist Party's food storage.

The Communist Party responded by strengthening security at food warehouses and mercilessly shooting people who approached the warehouses. Everyone, regardless of gender or age.

Those who did not have the courage to plunder chose to either starve to death or eat the flesh of their neighbors who had starved to death first.

In rural villages in Ukraine, human flesh trading was rampant, and people who couldn't save the bodies of their neighbors ate their dead family members.

People who didn't even have that ate their own children. There were numerous cases of people who could not bear to kill their own children, so they exchanged children with neighbors and ate them.

Many Ukrainians attempted to smuggle themselves into Poland and Romania in search of food and freedom.

Soviet troops patrolling the border were ordered to kill any civilians who strayed near the border.

Around the border, the bodies of Ukrainians who were shot and killed while trying to cross the border piled up in piles.

Ilya's family also died at that time. Ilya, the only surviving member of his family, was placed in an orphanage, and when he grew up, he immediately enlisted.

It was thought that the military would be better than an orphanage that was rough and dirty and provided only enough food to prevent starvation. In reality, it was like that.

However, the reason Illya enlisted was for a slightly better life, not for the Kremlin's butchers who drove his family to death and threw his life into abyss.

Do you sacrifice your life to fight for your family's enemy? Fuck you.

Illya, who safely crossed the border, told everything he knew to the German soldiers who captured him.

Everything from your age, name, and hometown to the fact that there will be a war tomorrow.

If it had been peacetime, Manstein would have doubted whether this man was really a deserter or a Soviet spy disguised as a deserter.

However, considering the recent circumstances, it was difficult to believe that what this person was saying was a lie.

The Soviet military must have noticed Ilya's desertion by now. They may decide that confidentiality has been leaked and accelerate their attack plan.

Once my thoughts reached that point, there was no time to delay.

"I'll have to tell Berlin about this."

Manstein put his military cap on his head.

"And issue a warning to the entire army. Right Now."

***

I listened to Manstein's voice over the radio.

Manstein said that the Soviet Army deserter's statement was quite credible and that he had issued a warning to the entire army in his name.

I strongly advised them not to respond until the Soviet army attacked.

I could tell from Manstein's tone that he didn't like my instructions, but I couldn't help it.

Because we can't give the Soviets a reason to claim that we launched a preemptive attack.

"Mr. President."

Keitel appeared before me with Brauchitsch, Göring, and Leder. Looking at his frozen face, I could guess what would come out of his mouth.

"Please, even now-"

"Let's issue a mobilization order?"

"… ..That's right."

I was lost in thought as I watched Kaitel answer with a determined expression, as if he would not give in this time either.

I thought it was just in case, but it was the same. The Soviet Union's proposal for a summit was a shallow trick to deceive us, and Stalin had no intention of starting a war.

Even though we tried so hard to avoid war, war was just around the corner. Fuck.

Now that war is inevitable, all I have to do is stop the Soviet Union's attack and conclude peace on terms that are as favorable to us as possible.

Oh, there was also England. According to reports from spies in the UK, Britain's movements are not unusual, so war with Britain will eventually have to be taken into consideration.

America... .. I do not know yet. Roosevelt seems to want to participate in the war, but he has no justification and the Congress and the people are worried about him, so he will not enter the war easily.

However, if there is even one incident, I will immediately declare participation in the war.

Dealing with the Soviet Union and Britain at the same time, somehow preventing the United States from entering the war... ..

Is it really possible? Even I, who have been trained through repeated deaths and regressions, have no idea what will happen because this is so unexpected.

First of all, I have to do my best to the best of my ability.

"Declare the mobilization order."

When he finally received confirmation from me about the declaration of mobilization, Kaitel's frozen face brightened a little.

"also. "Your Excellency the President also has the same opinion as us-"

"I'm done flattering you. The war will start soon. From now on, let us only think about winning the war. Krause? Call Dr. Goebbels. "I have something to tell you right now."

Goebbels appeared before me faster than a bullet. Her eyes light up like a child who firmly believes that Santa will leave a gift for her.

"Did you call me, Mr. President?"

"Dr. Goebbels, you have a job to do."

***

People couldn't believe their ears.

what is this sound? A war might break out? Why all of a sudden?

When people first heard the evacuation advisory broadcast, people believed that it was either a prank by someone very bad, or an outdated training exercise by the local party.

However, it was only when I saw soldiers and stormtroopers driving around in trucks and using loudspeakers to advise people to evacuate that I realized that this was a real situation.

-iced coffee. I say this once again. As military conflict in the border area intensifies, it is unclear when war may break out. I hope that everyone who is listening to this broadcast right now should return home immediately and quickly prepare for evacuation.

Erich Koch, the leader of the Grand Province of East Prussia, refused an official letter from Marshal Lev, commander of Army Group North, ordering the evacuation of civilians and requesting full cooperation in the Wehrmacht's operations.

The reason was that it could unnecessarily cause anxiety among residents in a situation where war was not certain.

But Koch soon changed his position when Berlin confirmed that the news about the war was true. To evacuate civilians, troops drawn from the local party office as well as the shock corps, army, and navy were deployed.

They did not know how much time remained until the war. However, they knew that the time of peace allowed to them was limited.

People who heard the evacuation advisory broadcast hurried home and packed their bags and prepared to evacuate.

Trains, trucks, and ships were already waiting to ferry residents inland not far from the Soviet border.

"Get dressed quickly. hurry."

"Mom, what's going on?"

"I'll explain later. First, let's put on some clothes. huh?"

When the children innocently asked what was going on, their parents smiled and dressed them, stuffing valuables, extra clothes, money, and food into their bags.

People who had cars carried their families in their cars, and people who had carriages carried their families and furniture in their carriages.

"everyone! Please keep order!"

"Please bring your ID card and comply immediately when asked to present your ID card."

The inland area was not much different from the chaos. As a mobilization order was issued across the country, men eligible for enlistment showed up at local party offices en masse.

Heavily armed military police and police were deployed throughout important facilities in preparation for unexpected unrest.

Soldiers on leave were ordered to return to their original positions immediately. The soldiers boarded the train to return to the original army without even knowing what was going on.

Officers were asked why the mobilization order had been issued.

However, even the officers were embarrassed by this situation.

What is certain is that the mobilization order meant war. If it's war, with whom? Soviet Union? uk? Or both?

Anti-aircraft artillery positions were installed on the rooftops of high-rise buildings in important cities, including the capital Berlin.

Soldiers and conscripted storm troopers ran up and down the stairs carrying sandbags and ammunition boxes needed to build anti-aircraft gun positions.

All air bases in East Prussia and the Polish protectorate, close to the Soviet Union, were placed on standby.

The pilots quickly returned to the base and waited at the base until further orders were given, while the maintenance crews inspected the aircraft so that they could be launched immediately.

The war had not yet officially begun, but Germany was already in a state of war.

***

Germany's movements in preparation for war were soon caught in the eyes of the Soviet Union.

When Stalin received a report from NKVD agents who had infiltrated Germany that Germany was preparing for war, he felt like his blood was flowing backwards.

Judging from Germany's movements, it was highly likely that Germany already had full knowledge of the Soviet military's operational plan. However, it is too late to throw everything away now.

What should I do now? Stalin thought as he walked around his office. Should he proceed with the attack as planned?

No, no. Since Germany had become aware of the Soviet Union's attack plan, attacking at the scheduled time was no different from sticking one's head into the jaws of a tiger begging for me to be killed.

As time passed, the German army's defenses would become more solid, so if they wanted to take advantage of surprise even a little more and cause damage to Germany, they had to attack much faster than Germany expected.

The current time is 10:41 PM.

The scheduled start time for the operation is 4 a.m. on May 25th.

Stalin picked up the receiver.

"Comrade Tymoshenko? It's me. "From now on, listen carefully to what I say."

***

"Are you saying we should bring up the start time of the operation?"

"That's right."

Tymoshenko smiled and nodded, as if he was tired of even sighing.

The old marshal was exhausted and anxious from overwork and strain.

"This is an order from Comrade Secretary General. He said that since it seems like Germany has already figured out our plan, it would be better to attack early to cause greater damage to the enemy. "Before the Germans were properly prepared."

Zhukov and Tymoshenko stayed up several nights to complete preparations for Operation Uranus during the halved period.

The two devoted themselves to preparing for war, even cutting down on sleeping and eating time, but because the time was so tight, they were unable to complete preparations for the operation until the day before the war.

Even now, in the rear, troops and supplies that could not be moved were waiting helplessly for the train.

The good news is that Stalin knew that his instructions were close to impossible, so he did not hold them responsible.

If you were to be held responsible in the first place, the brains of the military that would command the operation would disappear, so it would be closer to not being able to punish even if you wanted to.

"What time does the operation begin?"

"It's 1 o'clock in the morning."