Chapter 53: Operation Barbarossa (2)

Despite the Germans’ surprise invasion, the Soviet government was not flustered.

It was thanks to their mental preparation, knowing things would turn out this way.

Stalin did not flee and go into hiding like Yuan Shikai.¹

Instead, he grabbed the microphone and delivered a speech to the nation.

“People! As the leader of the Soviet Union, I deeply regret having to convey this distressing news to you. Today at 4 a.m., Fascist Germany, without any warning, bombarded our union’s territory and announced the start of the war. In the process, soldiers of the border guard units under the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs who were fulfilling their duties were killed in action.”

The General Secretary’s voice was calm, but an undeniable anger seeped from beneath.

“What wrong have we done to Germany? For the past two years, a non-aggression pact was in place between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Germany. Our government faithfully implemented all the provisions of the treaty during its term. Nevertheless, there is only one reason why the Germans have revealed their ambitions of aggression. They coveted what is ours.”

The General Secretary rebuked Germany’s greed in a solemn tone.

“Hitler has always said that the Germanic people need vast living space. They always cried out for more, more, more land. Unsatisfied with Austria, they swallowed Sudetenland, and not content with that, they invaded Czechoslovakia, then Poland, Northern Europe, the Low Countries, and France. Now, the Fascist beasts are saying they need the union’s land!”

The General Secretary’s voice boiled over for the first time.

“The responsibility for this criminal act of aggression lies entirely with the Fascist leaders of Germany. I rejected the deceptive declaration of war conveyed by the German ambassador. Instead, I will deliver the answer I couldn’t give him here. In the name of the great Soviet Union and its people, I declare war on Germany!”

Stalin even mentioned the history of the Rus’ principalities and Tsardom, which the communists did not take much pride in.

“Proud people of the union. We have experienced countless enemies so far. The Mongols, the Tatar khans of Crimea², the feudal lords of Poland and Lithuania, the king of Sweden, the emperor of France, and the Kaiser of Germany. Numerous enemies have trampled this land and sometimes tasted victory, but in the end, it was we who stood on this land.”

However, he did not say that the war would be easy.

“The enemy we face this time is mightier than any other. An unprecedented enemy who has unified all of Europe is opening its mouth before us. I will not assert that it will be an easy war. Painful times of shedding tears of blood await you.”

Instead, he promised victory.

“But if all our people unite and fight together, there is no enemy we cannot defeat. We are the ones who overcame the nightmare of the Russian Civil War when the whole world attacked the Union. When the union is united, no one can make us surrender. And we will ultimately be victorious. The enemies will surely be defeated, and the day will come when they will beg us for mercy.”

Of course, he did not mention how great the price would be.

The General Secretary’s speech was immediately printed and sent throughout the vast expanse of the union.

The Soviet army swiftly retreated inland according to the original operational plan.

They deployed a massive army of 5.5 million along the main defensive line, the Stalin Line.

Behind it, another 6 million troops, the strategic reserves, were on standby.

The remaining forces were deployed along the coastline to prepare for the possibility, however slim, of an Axis landing.

At the same time, they carried out a scorched earth operation.

“Do not leave anything for the enemy.”

The western Ukrainian and Belarusian regions of Poland occupied by the Soviet Union originally had low population density.

The Soviet army thoroughly destroyed these areas as they withdrew.

They burned farmlands, forcibly relocated residents, and tore up or melted and discarded railroad tracks.

The German army pursued the retreating Soviet troops, but their gains were minimal.

Their only achievements were defeating a few rear units carrying out the scorched earth operation and border guard units under the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs and taking some prisoners.

They did not obtain as much farmland and food as initially calculated.

Still, the German army started off in quite a good mood.

The leading units of the German army penetrated deep into Soviet territory, covering 80 km per day.

By May 18, 1941, the German army had advanced nearly 150 km into Soviet territory.

It was around this time that proper engagements began to occur.

Then problems started to arise.

“What? The map shows three roads, but why is there only one actually usable?”

“How should I know? I’m not the one who made the map.”

The German army paid a heavy price for conducting operations with outdated maps.

Bottlenecks occurred in various places, and there was confusion between units.

Even amidst this, the armored units that were pushing forward with difficulty encountered ‘it’.

“Fire!”

The German tanks bravely fired shells at the Soviet tank blocking the middle of the road.

“What, what the?”

The Soviet tank, hit by a volley from the Panzer III tanks³, unexpectedly did not budge.

“Try shooting from a closer range.”

The German tanks cunningly maneuvered to disrupt the enemy, approached the enemy tank, and fired shells from the side, but to no avail.

The 40-ton heavy tank, a giant to the Germans, simply deflected the shells from the German tanks and fired back.

“Panzer III hit!”

The German tanks possessed high-level coordination skills, but there was nothing they could do in a situation where their shells had no effect.

“Damn it. What about the air force?”

“It’s not possible right now.”

The German army advanced so quickly that there was not enough time for the Stuka dive bombers to be deployed forward and catch up.

“At least bring some anti-tank guns.”

Still, the German army had extensive combat experience.

By deceiving the Soviet tank’s eyes, they managed to advance the anti-tank guns and successfully cut off its tracks.

However, the fearsome Soviet tank still could not be destroyed.

By this point, the German army had lost more than 10 tanks to a single KV-1 tank⁴ and suffered the catastrophe of having the main advance route of their armored division blocked.

After much difficulty, they brought in the air force’s 88mm anti-aircraft guns and managed to destroy the tank, but the German army couldn’t help but be shocked.

As these monstrous tanks appeared not just one or two, but all over the front lines, the speed of the German army’s advance approaching the Stalin Line dropped drastically in an instant.

The problem did not end with just the KV-1 tank.

“Facists! Behold our T34s⁵! We have more than 1.000 of these!”

The threat of T-34s roaming in brigade-sized units where the influence of the German air force had not yet reached made the German army feel a shock they had never imagined.

The T-26⁶, BT-7⁷, and BT series⁸, the mainstay of the Soviet army, were so easy to destroy it was yawn-inducing, but the T-34 was not at all.

“Seriously, what are we supposed to use to destroy that thing?”

The 37mm anti-tank gun, the mainstay of the army, was ineffective against the T-34.

If this were the original history, most of those troublesome T-34s and KV tanks would have melted away amidst the effects of the surprise attack, but that did not happen here.

Because of this, the German army had to suffer hardships.

As if to add more variables to this complex war situation, heavy rain began to fall in late May 1941.

The rain continued to pour for days without stopping.

Swooooosh.

Due to the tremendous rain that fell all over Ukraine, an unexpected mud swamp engulfed the invading army.

The German army began to flounder, caught in the unexpected quagmire.

“What, rain? When heavy rain falls like this, the ground turns into a mud pit!”

The Soviet roads were already a mess, and with the mud, it was impossible for vehicles to move.

The German offensive, which was about to demonstrate its power with the help of the newly deployed air force, had its momentum sharply broken again.

Franz Halder⁹, the Chief of the Army General Staff, wrote this in his diary about the situation:

The German Army High Command also acknowledged that the operational plan had been disrupted.

“We misjudged the Soviet Union.”

They realized that their rough estimate of 180 active Soviet divisions + 180 newly mobilized divisions = 360 divisions…… Was completely off the mark.

The enemy was not merely some 360 divisions.

The size of the Soviet army, which the Germans had roughly estimated through radio interception and other means, easily exceeded 600 divisions.

It was an unbelievable scale.

Moreover, this could not be seen as a deception, as Soviet defensive units were thickly stacked wherever they attacked.

Honestly, considering the difference in troop numbers, it would not have been surprising if the Soviet army had counterattacked on all fronts.

“What the hell did the Eastern Information Bureau even figure out?”

Frontline commanders grumbled at their superiors.

As the advance stalled, the number of German casualties also rose sharply.

Casualties, which had been less than 50,000 by late May, jumped to 100,000 by early June.

Of course, Soviet casualties were twice as many.

As the German army struggled, mired in the mud swamp, countries that had been watching began to recalculate.

First, Turkey, which had received an alliance request from Berlin,

“Atatürk said that Hitler would ruin the country while trying to get revenge.”

Even though Germany now appeared to have conquered Europe, seeing them actually struggling in the Soviet Union made Atatürk’s warning seem correct.

“We will not join the war.”

Turkey decided to maintain neutrality instead of participating in the war against the Soviet Union.

And Italy, which had been asked for support to make up for the casualties,

“No, our situation is urgent right now!”

Italy was too busy fighting a brutal war against the Chetniks in Yugoslavia.

Currently, the number of Chetniks rampaging on the Yugoslav front exceeded 200,000.

In addition, as the Communist Party-affiliated Partisans, who had taken up armed struggle on the occasion of the outbreak of the German-Soviet War, joined in, the Italians had to invest more troops in Yugoslavia.

“Are you guys really idiots? A great power can’t even help its allies because it’s dealing with some guerrillas?”

Spain was more helpful.

Spain took the families of Republican soldiers hostage and sent their old enemies to Russia under the name “Blue Division”.¹⁰

Between someone who sends even one division and someone who only sends souls.

From Germany’s perspective, it was needless to say which one was more valuable as an ally.

Even Hitler, who had a favorable impression of Mussolini, cursed at Italy.

“Those idiots haven’t done their job properly even once since the fall of Rome.”

Hitler was dissatisfied, but still, he did not think they would lose.

The current stagnation was due to the weather.

By mid-June, when the ground hardened, there would be an opportunity for the German army to demonstrate its strengths.

Come to think of it, there was still plenty of time.

“We must not hesitate in mid-June.”

“Of course, Führer.”

The generals repeatedly promised victory to Hitler.

But no one knew how to undo the first button that had been wrongly fastened.