Ch.239Image Making (Revision)

* * *

Goebbels might stay in Paris to prepare for a final stand.

Well, that would be a good strategy.

With the continuous surrender of troops, there’s no one to trust anymore, so they might redirect Army Group A to Paris.

That might have been the plan for those troops from the beginning.

In that case, we should consider them part of the communist faction.

If so, Goebbels is probably there, planning to make a last stand in the French Commune. That seems to be their intention.

“Goebbels has fled to France, hasn’t he?”

“Yes. That’s our current assessment.”

Hmm, then France might have a difficult time if they go all-in.

Even with our forces somewhat divided, the alliance between the remaining communist German forces and the Commune forces isn’t something to take lightly.

We’ll need to regroup for a while.

While thinking about this, I happened to look at the list of those who distinguished themselves in the operation against Communist Germany.

“Chief of General Staff. This is the list.”

Though they’re unlikely to become enemies, I was curious about the notable figures from each country.

And what I found were surprisingly familiar names.

“Walter Model from the German Empire performed quite well.”

“Yes. Rommel of the Danube is also quite remarkable. Of course, we have many outstanding figures too, including General Ungern, the master of mobile warfare.”

So Rommel was there.

That’s unexpected. Honestly, I thought Rommel would have remained in Communist Germany.

Well, when Karl Liebknecht first started the revolution, he suppressed opposition through terror tactics.

“Europe will be under our leadership after the war anyway. There’s no need to create friction with them.”

Just France remains, and we’ll be done soon.

I’m not sure if the French Commune’s government will be overthrown again.

At the very least, the Commune will fight desperately.

Yugoslavia has become completely unsustainable as a nation, and Communist Germany’s communists are being eliminated under the pretext of “purification” without even being allowed to surrender. Seeing this, they’ll likely resist tenaciously.

“Their resistance will be fierce.”

“Our soldiers are quite exhausted too. Now that Communist Germany has fallen, the Royal Navy will move again, and France will be isolated.”

We’ve been advancing steadily so far.

But the line stretches too far from our capital Moscow, across all of Germany, to the French front.

It might be good to push forward immediately. But I want to spare my soldiers if possible.

It’s about time to use nuclear weapons, isn’t it?

If the French Commune fights to the death, our casualties will be troublesome both now and after regrouping.

That’s actually why I’m suggesting we regroup now.

Currently, Paris and Belgrade are the nuclear target candidates.

Italy seems too pitiful to bomb, so leaving it to Ethiopia should be sufficient.

So let’s secure Italy first.

Ethiopia will lead the main attack, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

“That’s fine. We need to regroup anyway. Since Ethiopian forces have landed in Italy, let’s focus on that first.”

I’ve heard Ethiopia is making good progress, so capturing Italy shouldn’t be difficult.

“Yes, sir.”

“But if we leave them alone, won’t the enemy’s defenses become more formidable?”

Ungern is licking his lips regretfully as he speaks.

Of course, from his perspective, an immediate offensive might be a good option.

But we’ve advanced too far.

All of Germany is currently difficult to use for war, and Danube’s territory isn’t in good shape either.

We need to regroup using our homeland and the Balkans.

That’s just my opinion though.

I don’t want to increase our military casualties any further, so it’s time to use what we’ve created with Project Perun.

For now, I’ve omitted that discussion and just suggested regrouping.

“Before that, let’s secure Italy completely. It would be awkward to leave Italy hanging like that.”

We’ll leave the occupation security to the German Empire, which has reclaimed its homeland. The Danube Defense Force has also moved south to capture Italy.

I hear the Danube forces are heading south to Italy now? They can just capture it as planned.

Honestly, we could continue pushing forward, but Spain is already crossing the Pyrenees and making incursions. They must be in chaos.

In the meantime, we can take a short break and then move in.

“The Italian army is apparently trying to stop the Danube Defense Force in the Alps.”

“That will likely drain their strength.”

Italy is struggling to stop the Danube Defense Force while also facing a landing operation.

They don’t even have the strength to take Greece. They’ll have a hard time stopping the Danube Defense Force.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia finishes them off? They can’t stand that.

“Yes, Your Majesty. And Anastasia supporters have also appeared within Italy.”

Anastasia supporters? What the hell is that?

I don’t think we planted anything in Italy. Why would such a thing suddenly appear?

“Why on earth?”

“Well, every country has such elements, doesn’t it?”

“Still, it’s unexpected.”

Well, when a country is about to collapse, such things might emerge.

There are places where communist parties exist moderately as regular political parties.

Perhaps they were hiding underground or existing as just another political party.

But what will happen to Mussolini?

I wonder if he’ll try to escape?

“Won’t Mussolini try to escape?”

“Actually, the Italian Communist Party recently sent someone with a message.”

At Drozdovsky’s words, I blinked my eyes.

If the communist side sent someone, doesn’t that mean they’re essentially finished?

“Oh, is that so?”

I had previously said that moderate matters could be handled at the military level without being brought to me.

I expected that if they wanted to negotiate or request peace, they would come to me rather than our homeland.

That’s exactly what Yugoslavia did.

“Yes. But their proposal was absurdly ridiculous. They want to restore the king and return to pre-Great War conditions like Yugoslavia, asking us to spare them.”

“They want a draw. That’s what they mean.”

That’s truly nonsensical.

Think about it. Why would we need to accept such a proposal?

It makes no sense. And it doesn’t seem like they can hold out for long either.

“It’s nonsensical, and following your instructions, the military decided to delay the response.”

“So we’re buying time to let Mussolini escape or give them hope. That’s what you’re saying.”

Will Mussolini really escape?

Considering the original history, he probably would, but can the Ethiopian forces capture him before that?

If not, we can always capture him later in Paris.

But if we’re going to capture him, I’d prefer Haile Selassie to do it.

“It doesn’t matter much to us, but the Emperor of Ethiopia probably won’t let him go easily.”

“Yes. Emperor Haile Selassie has landed in various parts of Italy.”

So he’s landing in multiple locations to block Mussolini’s escape routes.

How little respect must he have for Italy to disperse his forces for landing? Fine, let’s leave that to them.

“Let’s take a short rest now. In wars between the high and mighty, it’s only the soldiers who suffer.”

“Kuk, as expected of Tsar, always thinking of the people.”

“And I heard there are quite a few wounded from this battle. Is there a military hospital?”

“Yes. There’s a temporary military hospital on the outskirts of Berlin.”

“I’ll go there personally.”

I once read something on the internet.

Wars are started by the high and mighty, but it’s innocent young people who die.

The Allies who invaded Communist Germany to prevent war and capture the communists, and Communist Germany who invaded Danube under the pretext of helping workers and world revolution—they all started wars initiated by the powerful.

Mussolini isn’t even worth mentioning here.

Anyway, people are dying in wars chosen by the powerful.

Even in the Ukraine-Russia war, Putin didn’t personally pick up a gun and charge in.

Various justifications were given, from neo-Nazis to NATO, but setting that aside, it eventually escalated into nuclear war.

I would have eventually started a war to capture Communist Germany too. And it’s the soldiers who die. At the very least, I should visit the hospital and show my face.

* * *

The temporary military hospital in Berlin was full of wounded soldiers when I arrived.

No matter how good the weapons are, casualties are inevitable.

Nurses were busily moving around caring for patients, and military doctors seemed quite busy going from room to room.

That means there are many wounded soldiers.

Walking down the corridor, the strong smell of antiseptic makes me feel somewhat guilty for just playing around at headquarters.

“Gasp! It’s Tsar!”

“Oh, Your Majesty has personally come to visit us!”

I waved to each soldier who enthusiastically welcomed me and didn’t spare words of encouragement.

Somehow, I felt this was something I needed to do.

For example, I hold the hand of a soldier with a blood-soaked bandage on his arm, groaning in pain, and give him a warm look.

“What’s your name, soldier?”

“Ivan Ankovsky, Your Majesty.”

Ivan Ankovsky. Well, I’m used to Russian men’s names by now.

I wonder why there are so many “sky” names in Russia.

While thinking this, I ask with concern:

“You seem to have lost quite a bit of blood. Is your injury alright?”

“Having seen Your Majesty, of course I’m fine! I can return to combat soon!”

Yes, it’s a wound that would allow him to return to combat.

It’s just a bandage on his arm after all.

I can’t exactly say “Go forth to the battlefield and die for me!” can I?

So what I can do is…

Give a buff with appropriately kind words.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. From my position of just playing around at headquarters, there’s nothing sadder than seeing soldiers like you throw themselves into enemy lines and die.”

“Y-Your Majesty. Khuheup.”

This is also a good opportunity to refresh my image a bit.

It’s good to work on these things periodically when the time is right.

As I was looking around, there was one person who particularly caught my eye.

Yes, a very young woman who seemed out of place here.

She looked like she had just entered her twenties.

She was strikingly beautiful, out of place here. Though beautiful, her face was shadowed as if she had crossed the line between life and death.

I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before, but I can’t place who she is.

This woman, perhaps because I was standing in front of her, looked at me with a tense face and then bowed her head deeply.

So I decided to ask, wondering if she might be someone I know.

“A female soldier, and still so young. Your name?”

“Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Your Majesty.”

Lyudmila Pavlichenko. Ah, now I know who she is.

Wasn’t she the remarkable female sniper from the Soviet Union?

“A sniper, then.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I was wounded fighting a Communist German sniper in the last battle.”

Oh. It’s fascinating to see in person someone I’ve only heard about. She was quite youthful and beautiful.

I never imagined she would be active in today’s Russia.

Since she’s fighting against Germany, perhaps she volunteered? At times like this, I wish I were a man.

Though at my age as a woman, what’s the point of worrying about such things?

“She and Simo Häyhä of the Kingdom of Finland are considered the two greatest snipers. I heard she recently took down Communist Germany’s best sniper.”

Drozdovsky whispered from behind me.

Simo Häyhä was certainly someone who achieved incredible feats against the Soviet Union in the original history.

As history changed, it seems he joined the Finnish Royal Army.

“I see. Keep up the good work.”

I patted Pavlichenko’s shoulder.

While I dislike communists, I quite liked this woman.

After all, isn’t a female sniper active on the battlefield the stuff of dreams?

Even after the nuclear war, in Korea, snipers were positioned to protect territories.

At that time, the role of sniper was mainly given to women.

Didn’t the Soviet Union also train female snipers, believing that women were well-suited for the role?

Well, I think that’s enough. Let’s proceed with what I’ve prepared.

“Let me be honest. I don’t deserve to be called your mother.”

“Although I am a saint and have worked hard to bring Russia to this position, none of this would have been possible without the support of the people. This war is a preventive one, started out of concern that our homeland might be attacked, but I have sent the army directly into Germany, forcing you all to sacrifice and die. How can a mother send her children to their deaths?”

That’s true.

A mother sending her children to their deaths.

I deliberately emphasized this point very honestly to show that I at least acknowledge your sacrifices.

I’m different from those communists or Churchill, who evolved into Mr. Dunkirk in London, shouting “For the glory of the British Empire!”

Though our casualties aren’t as high as those of the British forces on our way here.

“Y-Your Majesty.”

“There must be many fallen soldiers. I wonder if I, who merely watched my children die from headquarters, deserve to be called a mother. But one thing is certain.”

All the wounded soldiers within my sight looked at me with their mouths shut.

“Everyone here, the fallen soldiers, and the countless White Army soldiers preparing for battle at this moment are the heroes of this country. Your dedication and sacrifice will bring victory in this war that will collapse communism and place Russia firmly on the pedestal of a hegemonic power.”

Your sacrifices are very valuable.

I will definitely win this war through your sacrifices.

“I make one promise. The French front will not demand as many sacrifices as the German theater. And before this year ends, you will walk on well-maintained roads even through the rasputitsa, and return to Moscow and your hometowns in glory, welcomed by the people.”

Now, what will the reaction be?