131

March 29, 1942

Soviet Vinnytsia

After the excruciatingly long and harsh morning training, it was lunch time. The soldiers gathered like a cloud in front of the field cooking truck, clutching their hungry bellies as they waited for their turn.

"What's on the menu today?"

"It must be borscht from the smell."

"Have you never tried borscht? "It must be Rasolnik."

Yesterday's lunch was kasha (Каша, Russian porridge) made with finely chopped rice (Сало) (pork fat marinated in spices and salt).

Except for the fact that it was bland because it wasn't seasoned with salt, everyone ate it without complaint because it was plentiful and warm.

Unlike in society, in the military, where there were not many things to enjoy, the soldiers' only pleasure was eating.

In the army, where you were sleepy no matter how much you slept, cold no matter how much you wore, and hungry no matter how much you ate, there was nothing more important than a meal.

What kind of food would be served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that day was an important topic of conversation for the soldiers.

Today's lunch menu was Щи, cabbage soup.

The rations served to soldiers in the military included cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onions, and pork that had become mushy and soaked in salt.

Because the cabbage was so salty, the soup was as salty as salt water even without adding salt, and the meat was tough, but the soldiers ate it well.

I'm hungry, and there's meat for now.

In fact, there was another reason why the soldiers could not voice their complaints.

After a wave of purges swept through, Stalin's suspicions about the military grew and he wanted to control the Red Army, whose loyalty was in doubt, more firmly.

To this end, the political officer system, which had been abolished due to its military inefficiency, was revived.

Political officers dispatched from the Communist Party were assigned to each company, one person, and were in charge of monitoring the political thoughts of company members - from officers to soldiers - and reporting this to the Party on a regular basis.

The company members, whose trivial complaints, complaints, and even light jokes were heard by political officers, were taken away by the military police or the NKVD as reactionaries and never returned.

Therefore, the soldiers always paid extreme attention to their words and actions, anytime and anywhere.

Sergeant Aleksandr Oskin, who turned 22 this year, quietly ate soup among the soldiers.

Every time he ate military jjambap, he naturally remembered his days working as a tax collector in Moscow.

Oskin, a country boy from Korovino, was famous as a gifted student who was good at studying from a young age.

He graduated from the Moscow University of Commerce and Economics, which not everyone could attend, became a tax accountant, and came to live in Moscow.

Life in Moscow was almost like heaven and earth compared to life in the countryside where he was born.

The streets were clean and well-maintained, with colorful shops, restaurants selling all kinds of food, and even cafes where you could dance with girls to the music playing on the gramophone and radio.

Moscow was like a paradise to him, who was born and raised in the countryside.

Even Oskin, who lived an enviable life as a tax collector, could not avoid the military.

Oskin, who had planned to return to Moscow as soon as he was discharged after completing his mandatory service period, was sent to Vinnytsia, Ukraine, a month ago while serving in the military in Kazakhstan.

The battalion members were confused when the battalion commander said that they would be going to Vinnytsia.

The battalion commander did not know why the battalion was going to Ukraine.

But the soldiers, especially those from Ukraine, were happy with the new orders.

This is because they preferred serving in the military in Ukraine, where they were born and raised, rather than serving in Kazakhstan, far from their hometown.

If you take vacation, you may arrive home earlier.

Oskin also did not dislike serving in the military in Ukraine, which is close to Moscow, where he lived.

However, after coming to Ukraine, all company members' vacations were canceled without any particular reason, and harsh training continued every day.

Training was frequent when I was in Kazakhstan, but after coming to Ukraine, the frequency became more severe and emergency training was now held even on weekends.

"No, fuck. "Honestly, isn't it too much to train on the weekends?"

"I know yeah. "If you work all week, when are you going to take a break?"

"Ah, I'm so close to deserting."

The intense and intense training exhausted not only the soldiers but also the officers.

However, as every single soldier who complained was arrested by the NKVD summoned by a political officer and disappeared, the voices of dissatisfaction were drowned out.

Now no one even dared to complain.

Even the slightest complaint was noticed by political officers like a ghost.

The soldiers did not want to face the envoys from the NKVD because of their thoughtless words.

To do so, I had to keep my mouth as closed as possible and silently obey the command.

Oskin, like everyone else, went about training quietly, hiding his true feelings.

However, although he may be able to deceive others on the outside, he cannot deceive his inner self.

Like everyone else, he was exhausted from the brutal schedule, and at the same time, he had doubts.

For what reason do the higher-ups do not even send soldiers on vacation and allow them to work even on weekends? For what?

It would be easier if I knew the reason, but the upper echelons of the military didn't say anything or even hint.

The soldiers were frustrated because they did not know why they were going through all this trouble, but they could not speak out for fear of being purged.

Lunch time is over. As always, the break ended too quickly.

Oskin sighed and got on the tram. Until a year ago, he rode the common T-26, but now he rides the T-34, a new medium tank created by Soviet engineers.

The T-34 is an innovative tank that is more advanced than the T-26 in many ways, but surprisingly, it also has a lot in common.

In both tanks, the tank commander had to act as a gunner, and since there was no radio, commands had to be given by hand.

Untidy tank crews were often reprimanded by their officers for not being able to understand semaphore signals.

I heard that the German military has a radio in every tank.

When will this country install radios on every tank?

In principle, platoon commander and company commander vehicles should be equipped with radios, but there were more tanks without radios than tanks with radios.

Do superiors want soldiers to exchange orders by hand even in actual combat? Oskin was curious about that.

***

March 31, 1942

Near Pinsk, USSR

"Hey, Max. "Look at that."

Sergeant Max Pockelcarver, who had been murmuring his portable combat rations in the corner, put down the bread with raisins at the words of Lieutenant Hans Scheer.

A train with a large red star painted on the side was moving along the tracks.

Max lifted his binoculars and looked at the equipment loaded in the cargo hold. T-34 one, two, three, four... .

"14th generation. "It's roughly the equivalent of one company."

The train that passed an hour ago was loaded with 9 KV-1s and 4 KV-2s. With this, one regiment's worth of tanks passed by today alone.

"How many cars passed by two days ago?"

"Please wait a moment."

Max said after checking the log.

"I'm in my 60s."

"It's increased even more. "You communists, what on earth are you planning?"

Max's team had been stationed here for a week now, observing and recording the movement of Soviet troops.

Four days ago, a train carrying 122mm field artillery, hundreds of trucks, and ammunition passed by, and three days ago, a train believed to be carrying fighter jet parts passed by.

The number of Soviet troops and supplies moving west was increasing day by day.

Whatever the reason, it was never a good sign.

***

April 4, 1942

Afwehr building in Berlin, Germany

SS Major General Walter Schellenberg, director of Afwehr, was slowly going through a report submitted by Lieutenant Colonel Reinhard Gehlen, head of Department 12, Afweer's Soviet department.

The report contained a wealth of top-secret information, including photos taken by the Soviet intelligence team, dates and times recorded by the intelligence team, and travel routes.

Schellenberg's eyes never left the report, as if he would not miss a single word.

Gehlen quietly lit a cigarette until Schellenberg had finished reading the report.

As he was about to light a second cigarette, Schellenberg gently put down the report.

"Lieutenant Colonel Gehlen? "Before I express my conclusion, I would like to hear your opinion."

"I have only one conclusion, SS Major General Schellenberg."

Gehlen had already drawn a conclusion even before writing the report to Schellenberg.

Considering all the information, there was only one conclusion he could draw.

"The Soviet Union is now preparing for war."

"… .Is it possible that it is for another purpose? "Couldn't it be on their way to training or suppressing anti-communist partisans in Ukraine?"

In response to Schellenberg's question, Gehlen firmly shook his head.

"The way I see it, it's less than 1%."

"It's going to turn, really."

Schellenberg also took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. Gehlen lit his own cigarette first and then Lighted Schellenberg's cigarette.

"Russians. Isn't it crazy? How come you're thinking of going to war against us? "Didn't they see for themselves what Poland, France, Italy, and Yugoslavia had become?"

But why?

Why is the Soviet Union preparing for war?

Gehlen shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know because I'm not Stalin. "Isn't he quite a different species?"

"Then suppose you are Stalin. "If you were Stalin, why would you want to start a war?"

"Maybe, maybe…" ..Isn't it because they are afraid of us becoming stronger?"

"in other words… . Are you trying to nip Germany in the bud before it gets stronger and becomes impossible to deal with? "Is this what you mean?"

"yes. "I can't think of a good reason other than that."

"That's convincing."

Let's step on that guy and kill him before he gets stronger.

There are countless cases in history where wars occurred based on this logic. I didn't know that this might be why the Soviet Union was preparing for war.

Germany was already a monster enough, but Stalin probably judged that there was a small chance of victory if it attacked before it became even more of a monster.

If he is really preparing for war.

"Well, even if I were Stalin, I would have trouble sleeping at night. There is no way that a monster that conquered Europe in one year can sleep with its feet stretched out next to its own country. Still, wouldn't it be too reckless to go to war?"

"Perhaps Stalin decided that it would be more reckless to leave Germany alone now without attacking it."

"The same people who made a fuss about little Finland were thinking of fighting Germany. "I don't know if I'm ignorant or brave."

Schellenberg stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, gathered his clothes, and got up.

"For now, I will report this matter to His Excellency Heydrich."

***

April 6, 1942

New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany

They said it was a mountain beyond a mountain, and it was indeed so.

Just the fact that Churchill became Prime Minister gives me a headache, and now the Soviet Union is in trouble too.

When I received the final report submitted by Heydrich, I could not hide my feelings of embarrassment.

Does this make sense? As far as I know, Stalin is known to have ordered no response even if German reconnaissance planes blatantly invaded Soviet airspace, saying that this could give Germany an excuse to invade.

He even ignored Zhukov's request to issue a mobilization order right before the start of Operation Barbarossa.

As a result, the Soviet Union was pushed back to Moscow, the capital, and the country almost collapsed.

Although it ultimately won the war, the Soviet Union suffered enormous damage, with more than 30 million of its citizens killed and numerous cities and territories devastated.

In any case, Stalin was extremely afraid of war with Germany.

Stalin, on the other hand, is preparing to invade Germany. I didn't understand it through common sense.

Germany in real history was powerful, but Germany today is even more powerful?

First of all, the war with Britain had long ago ended, so the air force and navy were in good shape, and weapon systems were also developed to a degree that could not be compared to those in actual history.

Even if the Soviet Union doesn't know the details, it probably doesn't know that our German weapons are superior to their own.

Still, they're planning a war, doesn't that make sense?

"I don't know what your intention is… .."

SD and Afwehr under it seemed convinced that the Soviet Union's actions were preparations for war.

All high-ranking officials in the Army, Air Force, and Navy who read the report were convinced that the Soviet Union was preparing for war.

"Mr. President, we must declare mobilization immediately."

Brauchitsch said. Göring and Raeder also said the same thing.

"It is an established fact that the Soviets are planning war. "War may break out in a month, or maybe even a week."

"We must strike first before they are ready."

"Wait, wait."

When I raised my hand, the generals who were each excited and saying something immediately fell silent.

"It's a preemptive strike. If we do that, it wouldn't be like we started the war first. And there is still no clear evidence that the Soviet Union will attack us."

"But Mr. President. "It is clear from the information already revealed that the Soviet Union is preparing for war."

"Marshal Kesselring is right. Anyone can see that this is not a typical military training, but a preparation for war."

Göring supported Kesselring's words, and Reichenau also added a word.

"If the planned invasion of the Soviet Union is in the summer, and the President agrees to declare mobilization now, we will be able to launch a preemptive strike before they begin their invasion."

If we declare mobilization now, as Reichenau said, it may be possible for us to launch a preemptive attack on the Soviet Union.

However, if we attack the Soviet Union first, it may conversely lead to intervention by the United States and Britain. No. I guess it's almost certain.

Who are Roosevelt and Churchill? If they can destroy Germany, the number 0 country that poses the greatest threat to the hegemony of the United States and Britain, they are great people who will join hands with aliens, so even if we do not attack the Soviet Union preemptively, there is a high possibility that we will intervene using all kinds of excuses.

In other words, a war with the Soviet Union inevitably meant a war with Britain and the United States. How about a preemptive strike? Are you telling me to kill myself with a pistol in the bunker?

Of course, it's not that I don't understand the generals' arguments.

Originally, in all wars, it is advantageous for the side to strike first (in cases like the Pacific War, when national power is greatly different, there are many cases where even if they strike first, they lose), and we can't just suck our fingers while the other side is clearly preparing for war. It also seemed like it wasn't there.

But even so, there was still some hesitation. What if this report is an overinterpretation of SD?

In fact, what if the Soviet Union has never thought about war and is moving troops and supplies to prepare for a German invasion?

Rather, if we strike first and incur the wrath of the Soviet Union, what will we do then? We may have the advantage for one to three years after the war breaks out, but in the end, the Soviet Union, which is overwhelmingly superior in volume and population, will win.

And we will not stop our advance until we finally land the enemy flag on Berlin.

Thanks to Schacht, we are finally having some fun with the economy, but now we have to prepare for war again.

What on earth should I do in this case?