Rasputin of the East

41

German Empire. German Army Headquarters

“The fate of the empire depends on this battle.”

Ludendorff said bitterly.

It was 200 km from Berlin, the distance currently advancing the Russian army.

It was as if his life depended on the success or failure of this offensive, both for himself and for the Empire.

Thinking about it again, my stomach churned. It’s like killing the majority of the German forces on the Eastern Front with a failed offensive, and then rushing to death because he retreated in a massive way to reorganize the front and clean up the overhangs.

Then, I wanted to ask the naughty Junkers if there were any other options in the field where the Pomeran-Vistula axis collapsed, but to those who criticized him, Ludendorff was nothing more than a clown who did nothing until the enemy came 200 km east of Berlin.

This would not have happened in the first place if he had handed over the troops of the Western Front, but considering that it was the Junkers who were obsessed with the already ruined Schlieffen plan and made him maintain the front with only a handful of troops, it was a disappointment.

But after a long fight, Ludendorff seized a last chance.

He also pulled out troops from the Western Front and, using his evil, not only the German Imperial Army, but also the Bavarian Kingdom Army, the veterans of Ypres’ fierce battle. The reserve units created by reorganizing the previously retreated troops were lurking behind the front lines, making it difficult for the enemy to notice.

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Most of the troops retreated without fighting, so there are still enough skilled soldiers, and the size of the troops is large.

“How long has the MP15 been deployed?”

“Currently, the factory is running at its best, but…”

“Even if the factory is completely paralyzed after a year, we instruct them to print them out and supply them as soon as possible, so the fate of the empire depends on this battle anyway.”

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Much of East Prussia was lost and only the core parts were barely preserved.

Food rations declined sharply, and people’s dissatisfaction soared. It may be this year, but it is impossible to predict next year.

In addition, Silesia is also an attack area for the Russian army. If this goes on, the industrial power will collapse.

Both agriculture and industry are at risk. In other words, if this offensive fails, they will have to start the surrender negotiations as they are.

‘Of course I’ll hang my neck before that.’

No, he was under attack from all sides right now. When praised as a hero of Tannenberg, the key point was that he gave up his territory without ever fighting properly.

Of course, it was his honest opinion about where the men who gave up troops barked when the distance from Berlin to the front line was closer than the distance from the Western Front to the German border.

If you succeed, you live; if you fail, you die. At least for this moment, Ludendorff was the German Empire and the community of destiny.

He was promised full support from Kaiser Marine.

The artillery units were trained madly in the Sturm bombardment tactics close to the official holiday of the Russian Interior Forces.

They reverse engineered the Russian submachine gun captured by the friendly forces, deployed the MP15 submachine gun that Dr. Schmauser had improved, and established a new class of troops armed with it, the assault corps.

Although I did not have any tanks in my hands, so I couldn’t replicate them, but I made thorough preparations by making use of my lessons learned to lighten small artillery and supplying modified anti-tank guns to front-line units. Although we started developing our own vehicle,

The contrast was enough for him to do what he could. All that is left is to leave it to God.

‘A crisis is an opportunity that coexists with a risk, and if this offensive is successful, we can retake the entire northern part of Poland and return the pendulum to the beginning.’

To that situation right after Tannenberg.

“Operation Barbarossa, Operation Michael, Operation Tiger, all must be successful.”

“Austria-Hungary did a massive additional conscription in the Czech Republic. They too must not be unmotivated for Operation Barbarossa.”

“I will. I have to be there.”

A chained and epic operational plan that leads to Barbarossa, Michael, and Tiger.

Without hesitation, Ludendorff poured all the stakes of himself and of the German Empire into it.

***

Armored train AT-003 belonging to ‘ONN’, 1st Division, 1st Division, Internal Affairs Army, commonly known as ‘Ukraine Express’

In the reinforced special compartment of the train, I stared at the tactical map.

“Where are you… where are you planning to come?”

Currently, the German front line is about 200 km from Berlin.

But what bothers me is that the Germans didn’t back down after fighting us.

They were not annihilated by me. all retreated

Has the command system as a whole collapsed and retreated? not. They were thorough enough to classify materials and distinguish between materials to be transported and materials to be destroyed. We couldn’t even get the prisoners properly.

The only German forces that I succeeded in ‘Annihilate’ were the Germans who attacked during the last offensive and were destroyed by tank squadrons.

To put it another way, the German army is likely to be lurking beyond the front lines, still intact and undefeated.

But now the German army cannot retreat any further. must come out

‘In a few months, maybe a few weeks, a large-scale offensive will be launched. Even before winter.’

So where are you?

North or South?

The control of the sea has been handed over to the German army for a long time, and even if the Russian navy mobilizes all its forces, the possibility of penetrating the German Kaiser Marine is slim.

If I ask pirates who claim to be gentlemen to bring a large fleet to paralyze the Baltic Sea, will they do it? I don’t know.

‘It would be nice if mines could be laid.’

In the Baltic Sea, reconnaissance information does not come in properly, so it is impossible to understand the exact situation, and only local information obtained from a few Russian submarines.

‘More than anything else, Germany still has room to spare.’

Not enough, but overflowing. If the British had turned around, they would have to admit that Operation Gallipoli had just failed and withdraw their troops, but they put more troops and fleets into the Dardanelles.

I don’t know if the French army will attack, but it is difficult to predict that the French and Italian forces will launch an offensive in the near future as the French and Italians have tasted bitter once in a while.

As I enter the power line, I feel a sense of déjà vu from somewhere.

‘North.’

He wanted to vote for the possibility of a grand offensive on the northern front.

The troops saved on the Western Front and those saved on the Eastern Front.

Where have all these troops gone? Did you fly in a transport plane or dig a tunnel?

The Germans on the Western Front were also focused on defense, so where were they relocated?

I don’t think they’re going to parade the troops sparingly, but in the end, it must be said that they prepared it for an unprecedented large-scale offensive somewhere.

‘I wish Ludendorff would nail him to Paris.’

Of course, it’s not even the end of the war yet, but it’s unreasonable to expect Ludendorff to go crazy like that, and in all likelihood, it’s going to target us.

What would I do if I were Ludendorff?

‘They attacked from the Königsberg area and eastern Germany to annihilate the main force of the northern front, and the remaining forces joined the sortie from Slovakia again to destroy the second siege. It’s a perfect area for maneuver warfare, and there are plenty of places to detour, so it’s difficult to dig a trench and hold out.’

It was something very familiar.

‘If an offensive is launched from the north, Warsaw will not be able to protect it anyway, and in the worst case, it will be pushed back to Ukraine.’

Conversely, what if an offensive is launched from the southern front? For me, this is a situation where I want to sincerely thank you. Most of the Russian forces are concentrated in the South, and they themselves are in the South.

In the South, with Brusilov as the anvil and I as the hammer, I can crush the Germans and pierce the heart of Austria-Hungary with a dagger. If that happens, Versailles, will this be the Kremlin Treaty? Anyway, you might be forced to do that.

It is only natural that Romania and Bulgaria, who are looking at the liver, will immediately join the war.

“It’s the edge of death.”

“yes?”

“I am in a situation where I should hope that the Germans will invade from the South. If the Germans attack in the north, not only will Poland lose, but Ukraine will be at risk.”

“Well… But isn’t it enough if the Count kicks you out again anyway?”

Tatiana responded that way, as if she wasn’t interested.

“Thank you for trusting me, but the original attack is several times more difficult than the defense. Besides… I don’t know what to do if Germany is in a corner.”

There is only one possibility that I can guess right now. Of course, it is questionable whether the Germans would choose it just because it was effective.

“I’ve never been to Constantinople, so there’s a lot to see, right?”

“Perhaps it will.”

Well, it sure was a beautiful city.

“Hagia Sophia is also a beautiful place, Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Suleymaniye Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Dolmabahce Palace, Chamberritash Hamam, Galata Tower are also good.”

For some reason, I felt an ominous feeling that I should be a travel guide for Olga and Tatiana when they occupy Constantinople. his eyes gleamed.

“Perhaps your father wouldn’t be the first to order that Hagia Sophia be returned to the cathedral?”

“Maybe he will come and offer Mass in person.”

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque was originally built on the site of the Grand Palace of Constantinople, the imperial palace of the Eastern Roman Empire, so there is a possibility that the emperor may order it to be destroyed.

“Once you capture Constantinople, you will set up a headquarters, where will you install it?”

“…how about taking over and talking about it?”

“I want to go into a harem.”

Tatiana whispered that she had only read books about the harem, and that she wanted to go and see it at least once.

No, thanks for your trust, but we’re moving south for the offensive and we haven’t even seen Constantinople yet.

No matter what the enemy says or say, ‘If you’re the Count, you can get rid of that anyway.’ What kind of Dora X Mong am I?

‘Maybe the tsar did not come to Constantinople with such a thought.’

“I know that the exterior of the harem building itself is rather rustic.”

I know that Topkapi Palace and Dolmabahce Palace are similar.

“Still, I think Dolmabahce Palace would be more comfortable for you. Users can’t place them.”

It seems that this conversation is gradually moving towards drinking kimchi soup, but since it was originally built after the Palace of Versailles and was where Atatürk lived until his death, it seemed that even if the tsar suddenly invaded it, it would be okay to let it go.

‘Damn, you shouldn’t keep drinking kimchi soup, but I’m getting stained by those girls too.’

I sighed in the armored train.