I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 49



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EP.49 Contrast (2)

Stalin pondered the advice he had heard from Lee Seong-jun in Irkutsk.

Assuming that a Nazi invasion was inevitable, Lee Seong-jun’s advice was logically sound.

Stalin summoned Ivan Sedin, the Minister of the People’s Commissariat for the Oil Industry of the USSR, Ivan Fedorovich, the Minister of the People’s Commissariat for Steel and Metallurgy, and Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan, the Minister of the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Trade, and asked them how much they were losing from trade with Germany.

Their answer was shocking.

“The Germans deliberately slow down or sabotage work. They rarely deliver the promised quantity on time.”

Stalin was furious at this report.

Stalin knew that Germany was sabotaging the work, but he did not know that it was this serious.

“Why did you only report this now!”

Well, who are you going to catch if you report the truth?

No one wanted to offend a dictator who wanted to maintain ‘inviolability’.

Stalin glared at the sweaty people with his pale face.

As I sat there and watched these pathetic and stupid people being ministers, I thought the country was going well.

“Comrades, you have allowed the Germans to rob the Federal Property.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“Stop glancing around like a rat and go right now and stop the train to Germany!”

The ministers quickly fled Stalin’s office in relief.

‘Pathetic things.’

Stalin rolled his pen.

Should we just leave those stupid things there?

Wouldn’t it be better to just put it on a ‘list’ and get rid of it?

I was tempted to do that, but I didn’t.

If you get rid of those idiots in front of you, new idiots will just appear.

Stalin decided to endure it for the time being.

It was an unresponsive patience.

When the Soviet government interfered with trade with Germany, Germany did not stay still.

The German ambassador to the Soviet Union, Count Friedrich-Werner von der Schulenberg, visited the Foreign Ministry and threatened Molotov in a harsh tone.

Now that he had Germany on his back, having already conquered Europe, the ambassador was not rough around the edges.

“Trade between the Federation and Greater Germany is a symbol of cooperation based on mutual trust. Moscow has unilaterally trampled on such an important legacy. Do you know how seriously this is viewed in Berlin?”

Molotov wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

Molotov had never been in a conversation where he was cornered like this before.

“Ambassador, that is a misunderstanding. Based on the principle of reciprocity, we are simply sending the supplies late since the German side sent them late.”

“I’m glad it was a misunderstanding. If so, can I take it to mean that you’re going to resume supplying resources?”

That wasn’t it.

Not a single grain of coal could be allowed to enter Germany without Stalin’s instructions.

“Ambassador, if we are to resume the supply of resources, there must first be good faith action from the German side.”

Molotov said everything he wanted to say, although he looked embarrassed.

However great the difficulties of dealing with the Germans were, they were nothing compared to the fear of Stalin.

“Minister, are you joking?”

The German ambassador went back after harassing and pressuring Molotov for a long time.

Molotov, tongue-tied at the German ambassador’s overbearing attitude, went to report the conversation to Stalin.

“Did you get scolded by the German ambassador?”

“Yes. The Count has been very rude. I don’t think he used to be like that, but it seems he was under instructions from Berlin.”

Stalin also knew the German ambassador.

Like most German nobles with a pawn in their coattails, Count Schulenberg was a polite and well-mannered, typical diplomat.

The fact that such a person came out so strongly meant that there was strong instruction from the home country.

“It must have been painful for the Nazis to block the supply of resources to that extent.”

“That might be the case.”

“From now on, do not give an inch to Germany. Do you understand?”

“Of course, Comrade Secretary.”

With Stalin’s specific instructions in place, Molotov had even less room to maneuver.

So when the German ambassador and Molotov met, they were like talking to a wall, repeating the same words like parrots.

While the two sides engaged in a diplomatic war of words, Stalin also reaffirmed the military’s wartime readiness.

“Koba, why did you stop at laying a defensive line on the Polish territory that was the buffer zone that you had worked so hard to obtain? If you focus on the Stalin Line, you won’t be able to protect all the territories that you acquired in ’39 and ’40.”

“The enemy is Germany. They are the ones who defeated Britain and France in six weeks. Do you think you can confront them right away at the unprepared border?”

Stalin did not have such confidence.

“But if we fight inland, the Federation’s material damage will also increase.”

“You have to be prepared for that much.”

Stalin was ready to sacrifice millions, if necessary.

On December 29, 1940, the Soviet army was divided into the Blue Army and the Red Army and played war games.

The Qing army skillfully employed German-style blitzkrieg to easily bypass the enemy’s defense lines, easily destroying the enemy.

When the Blue Army, the side playing the role of the Germans in this war game, won, the enemy commanders were shocked.

“This is impossible.”

But reality was reality.

As soon as Stalin heard the results of this war game, he kicked the desk.

“These idiots. They don’t have the mental capacity to fight Germany!”

Stalin immediately launched a strong reprimand.

With war with Germany imminent, it was impossible to leave unqualified commanders in charge.

Of course, these measures were not enough to stop Germany.

‘We can’t completely trust Korea, but planting 30 divisions in the Far East is a waste of troops.’

Stalin ordered 20 divisions of the Far Eastern Army to be pulled out and transferred to European Russia.

Still, Stalin thought it was not enough.

The opponent was not Germany, but the United States of Europe, which had access to the resources of all of Europe.

To deal with such an enemy, information was more important than anything else.

Fortunately, the Reds had sympathizers all over the world.

Stalin summoned Beria, the head of the NKVD.

“Comrade Beria.”

“Yes, Comrade Secretary.”

Stalin’s cruel hunting dog bowed its head politely at its master’s call.

“From now on, compile the news coming from Germany and place it on my desk every hour. Don’t forget to include Adolf’s squeaking.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do my best.”

Beria was planning to use in Germany the wiretapping equipment developed in Korea by Soviet engineers.

Beginning in January 1941, strange things began to happen along the German-Soviet border.

“Hey, isn’t that a German plane passing by at high altitude?”

“It seems right.”

German troops would fly into Soviet airspace several times a day, irritating the Soviets.

“Shoot them all down.”

Stalin ordered firmly.

On January 30, 1941, a German reconnaissance plane that had infiltrated Soviet territory to take high-altitude photographs was intercepted and shot down by Soviet fighter jets.

The German government protested strongly against this.

“Haven’t we signed a non-aggression pact? Attacking someone for accidentally passing through our airspace is an excessive act.”

“You guys have violated our airspace nearly a hundred times in the past month. We have had enough.”

The Soviet army rushed forward as soon as the German aircraft entered the area.

These interceptions hindered the Luftwaffe’s photographic work for the Army.

“No, why are the Soviets acting so stiff all of a sudden? Aren’t they afraid of clashing with Greater Germany?”

“The commies know too. The day is coming when they will clash with us.”

The Germans thought that the Soviet defensive actions were a nuisance, but they thought that there would be no major problems.

I thought I could just use the old maps I had acquired during the period when the German Imperial Army was stationed on Russian territory, 1915-1918.

Of course, Germany’s provocations did not stop there.

In February 1941, Ukrainian separatists, under German auspices, carried out terrorist attacks in western Ukraine.

Railroads were cut off, bridges were damaged, and government offices were burned.

A situation was created that was virtually temporary chaos throughout western Ukraine.

“Oh my, these fucking idiots.”

Thanks to this, the number of military commanders who entered the Gulag increased considerably.

Stalin became convinced that a German invasion was imminent, based on repeated German provocations and intelligence coming from Eastern Europe.

If so, it was a total mobilization.

“Everyone, put on your military uniforms.”

“Yes? How much?”

“I said everything.”

Stalin mobilized 12 million reservists who had not yet donned their military uniforms.

By early May, when this mobilization is complete, the size of the Soviet Army will exceed 13 million men.

It was truly an incredible number.

The Soviet forces in the Far East were not fully mobilized even at the time of Barbarossa, but here the mobilization order was given in February, long before the outbreak of war.

Millions of men rode trains and trucks from all over the country to their military camps.

Even with this many troops mobilized, if Germany had not invaded, it would have been a disaster in its own right.

But Stalin was confident.

‘The Nazis will definitely come.’

And then the fateful showdown that has continued since the 19th century will unfold, with the fate of the Slavs and Germanic peoples at stake.

Stalin had no intention of losing this confrontation.