Ch.42Russia’s Share

# We Must Consider the Worst Case

“As the Black Baron knows, during the revolution many military units turned their backs on my father and clung to the revolutionaries. If we join this war, is there any chance that Anton Denikin’s forces might turn against us?”

“General Anton Denikin’s forces are no different from the Tsar’s army that fought alongside Your Imperial Highness when you personally attacked Tsaritsyn. They witnessed Your Highness’s heroic performance on the battlefield that day—how could they possibly harbor any different thoughts?”

Hmm. Still, there are many problems.

Let’s say we can’t avoid this and must attack. Then the question is whether Anton Denikin can win or not.

“Can General Anton Denikin succeed? I understand Kemal is currently thrashing Britain and France.”

“I certainly won’t deny that Kemal is a hero, but that’s partly because the great powers currently cannot exert their full strength. Above all, General Anton Denikin is actively proclaiming his desire to go to Anatolia.”

That makes sense.

If Britain and France were to move properly with determination, even Atatürk wouldn’t be able to hold out.

And it’s not just those two—there’s also Greece.

Of course, an army fighting to defend its own country has a completely different mindset from one that invades and occupies.

“Hmm.”

I fell into deep thought, tapping my fingertips on the edge of the desk.

Right. Compared to the original history, Atatürk is currently fighting with his belt tightened, desperately struggling.

If we deploy the Southern Army Group there, things would change dramatically.

No matter how well one fights, if there are no troops to fight with, it’s an overwhelming disadvantage.

“Your Imperial Highness seems displeased.”

That’s not it.

I’m still too busy to even ascend to the throne, and at most I’m maintaining my positions as Great Khan of Mongolia and Grand Marshal of the Russian Army.

Semyonov is going all the way to Mongolia insisting I should formally ascend to the position of Great Khan. But that seems a bit… much.

We’re too busy with post-civil war reconstruction for me to even ascend to the imperial throne. It feels like a gamble.

Right. If we’re going to gamble, shouldn’t we extract more?

“What if General Anton Denikin fails?”

“Then we could treat General Anton Denikin as a warlord who acted independently and place all the blame on him. General Anton Denikin is already moving too independently. If he fails, placing responsibility on him is an option.”

I see. So that’s why the Black Baron wants to accept this double-edged proposal.

If we divide the military districts, it would appear as though only Anton Denikin’s forces are moving. If anything goes wrong, everything can be pinned on him.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.

“If he fails, we’ll shift the blame and bring down the arrogant Anton Denikin. Success or failure, it’s all good—that’s what you mean. And the Black Baron has been steering things in this direction.”

“That’s not exactly it. But his growing too much like a warlord is somewhat concerning.”

“That’s fine. It happens. But I was thinking we might be able to extract more this time. After all, aren’t Britain and France the ones in a hurry?”

In these situations, you should extract what you can when you can.

How fortunate that such an opportunity has arrived right after White Russia’s victory.

With various reforms being implemented and Russia now showing a promising future, even the socialist-leaning members of the Duma are showing interest.

If we’re going to push, we should get what we can.

“Indeed.”

“We should take northern Ottoman territories. And since some cities have suffered from the civil war, we need financial treatment—in other words, money.”

We should at least get that much to call ourselves heirs of Rome.

Pyotr Wrangel seemed not to have thought that far, as he swallowed hard.

“Will they accept that?”

“With Germany turning red and the Ottoman Empire needing to be controlled somehow, won’t they take our hand? Of course, we’ll need to negotiate within reasonable limits.”

To be honest, I’m just throwing this out there.

In these situations, you need to start with something enormous so that even after negotiations, you can still extract a decent amount.

If not, then not.

Even getting one of the two would be good.

In actual history, the Soviet Union was dismissed as “red bastards,” but White Russia is different now.

Acquiring northern Ottoman territories to restore the ancient Roman lands wouldn’t be bad. But we’ve already secured Constantinople.

As the successor to the Eastern Roman Empire and protector of the Orthodox Church, I’m saying we should get what we can.

Come to think of it.

If we recover Constantiniye—no, Constantinople—I could probably claim the title of Roman Emperor there.

It would be accomplishing something no Russian emperor has ever achieved.

Anastasia’s status would be sky-high.

During the Soviet era, Russia abandoned its claim as Rome’s successor.

But with me here now, things are different.

The Russian Empire as Rome’s successor—well, now officially the United States of Greater Russia through the Duma—but the imperial system claiming Rome’s succession still remains.

We can indulge in some national pride, that’s what I’m saying.

Not only would the fallen imperial family’s honor be restored, but its majesty would overflow.

The problem is that all of this is only possible if this support is successful.

So, I should also send someone to Atatürk.

Winning without battle would be good too, wouldn’t it?

“Just throw it out there for now. And separately, I need to send someone to Mustafa Kemal, the hero of the Turkish Grand National Assembly.”

“Will he accept surrender?”

I don’t know. That’s also just throwing it out there.

But it’s not without possibility.

Atatürk must be in agony right now.

Unlike actual history, there’s no Soviet Union to provide support, so he’s probably barely fighting with Italian supplies.

With the Allied powers having some leeway after Germany’s surrender, diverting forces they would have used against Germany to tear apart the Ottoman Empire.

In other words, Atatürk is facing a harder difficulty than in actual history.

The fact that it’s still difficult even under these conditions proves that without American forces, these powers have only balloon muscles after fighting the World War—which they’ve publicly certified by diverting to the Ottoman partition for spoils.

They’ll try to salvage their pride even if it means sacrificing all their colonial troops.

Atatürk is human too.

What can he do if he has no army to fight with?

“Getting involved in this war complicates things in many ways. Wouldn’t it be better if we could benefit while avoiding combat as much as possible?”

“Indeed.”

“If we can’t avoid combat and things go south, that’s another matter. Contact General Anton Denikin as well. Tell him to enter Anatolia but not to advance immediately. If he doesn’t listen and fails, we can place the blame on him then.”

As long as our share remains after negotiations, it’s better to gain without fighting if possible.

“What does the Tsarina have in mind?”

“I will go personally.”

“Your Imperial Highness will go in person?”

Why are you so surprised?

Are the stretched-out, groaning Turkish forces going to be worse than the Red Army?

“Yes. If the White Army of South Russia fought alongside me during the Tsaritsyn offensive, it wouldn’t be bad for me to go.”

There, that sounds impressive enough.

I’ll enter when Anton Denikin has adequately advanced into Anatolia and made his mark.

I just need to go to South Russia once to soothe public sentiment, then quickly visit Turkey.

In the normal world, I might have been a bit scared.

But with this body now, I’m not even afraid to enter the battlefield.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck me, and I snapped my fingers.

“About those weapons Germany is diverting—if they’re really being used to attack France, wouldn’t it be right for us to confiscate them? After all, they were produced on our land before leaving, so they’re ours.”

“That’s a clever idea.”

Another war? For our ally France, we’ll confiscate these items!

That’s the idea.

Could Germany, currently in chaos from revolution, dispute this?

“Still, since we don’t know how the people will receive it, let’s do this: Not a war, but a ‘Special Military Operation.’ It will appear as if we’re just sending mercenaries in exchange for Constantinople as compensation for our alliance.”

I never thought I’d use that term here, but there it is.

It sounds good, doesn’t it?

This is how Russia, which was struggling through civil war day by day, rises dramatically in an instant.

This is what alternative history is all about.

# # #

The Allied powers were dumbfounded by Russia’s proposal.

We saved them when they were nearly dead, and this is what they want?

Unlike actual history, France, which had not yet withdrawn from the Turkish War of Independence, and Britain, which still thought it was worth fighting, were both incredulous.

“All of northern Ottoman territories? Huh. We saved them when they were dying, and now this is a bit…”

However, White Russia, with its experience from the civil war and long observation of international relations, had its own arguments.

“Is it not too much to ask us, who have just ended a civil war, to send support troops? Wasn’t the Anglo-French support in the civil war meant to prevent the rise of communism? In this civil war, millions of our people died or were injured, and many cities were damaged by the Bolsheviks. In this situation, convincing our people and supporting the White Army requires appropriate compensation.”

Just when they thought the war was over, now they had to send troops to Turkey.

Of course, the morale of the White Army was sky-high, and these soldiers, filled with pride as the army of the Holy Maiden, could rush to Ankara in an instant if ordered. But they still deserved compensation.

“We can help with money, but hmm…”

“If we’re going to tear apart the Ottoman Empire anyway, it’s not a bad idea. How about recognizing the Pontic Republic of the Pontic Greeks and letting Russia take it after a vote in five years?”

“If we do that, will you definitely provide support?”

“They say they’ll support the Southern Army Group of the Caucasus Military District with 200,000 troops.”

“Eastern Thrace belongs to us Greeks!”

Greece whined that they were the successors of the Eastern Roman Empire, but it was futile.

From the moment they were beaten by Kemal, they had no chance.

“Don’t you see that you might not even get Ionia or the Aegean? You should have won!”

“Italy withdrew and has been actively supporting the Turkish Grand National Assembly with supplies. Russia’s support is desperately needed now.”

With Italy backing out, Russia was simply taking its place.

Looking at it that way, it was a simple matter.

The great powers’ deliberation didn’t take long.

Italy had deliberately sabotaged them and withdrawn, Greece lacked the capacity to advance further, France needed to produce results that would please its people as communes were rampaging internally after Germany, and Britain couldn’t afford to continue the war and expend energy on Turkey.

Yet negotiating with the Grand National Assembly was impossible as they insisted on complete territorial preservation. The great powers had only one choice.

It was better to accept the White Army’s help.

Meanwhile, Kemal’s Turkish Grand National Assembly forces were confident they could achieve independence, raising morale by harassing the Greek army and other great powers throughout Turkey.

Miracle victories kept coming one after another, as if God himself was helping.

Of course, the Turkish people of the Grand National Assembly were suffering greater casualties than the Allied side, but the difference between those defending their country and exhausted invaders was clear.

Just when they thought they were close to victory, Russia entered the war.

In August 1922, Anton Denikin’s army was crossing into Anatolia on Allied transport ships.

“Let us present the Second Rome to the Tsarina! White Army of Greater Russia, this is a Special Military Operation! As successors to the Eastern Roman Empire, let us proudly tear apart the Turks!”

“Uraaaa!”

Anton Denikin’s White Army of South Russia charged in vigorously.

The army Anton Denikin was leading to Anatolia had fought alongside the Tsarina at the Battle of Tsaritsyn and had witnessed Anastasia’s heroic aspects firsthand.

For them, there was no fear in reclaiming the Second Rome.