I Became Stalin?!

Chapter 31

The situation in the Wolf’s Lair was polarized.

On one side, there were the navy and the air force, who had achieved a decisive victory after a series of wins. 

They had destroyed the H Force and the Gibraltar base with a single air raid using the ‘earthquake bomb’ Grosser Wurfel, and had sunk the British Mediterranean fleet in a naval battle.

Only the remnants of the British special forces in Malta, who were still holding on, remained. 

Once they were wiped out, the Mediterranean would become Germany’s ‘Mare Nostrum’ (our sea, inner sea).

In North Africa, General Rommel had captured Mersa Matruh after taking Tobruk. 

He had met with the Axis fleet and the Afrika Korps at the mid-point city, only 300 km away from Alexandria, the home port of the British Mediterranean fleet.

The scene of the handshake between the commanders of both forces, ‘the Desert Fox’ Rommel and ‘the Emperor of the Atlantic’ Lutjens, was proudly printed on the front page of every European newspaper.

The British forces stationed in Egypt were helpless, trapped in a situation where they could only fire anti-aircraft guns at the German planes that demanded their surrender with sirens, and be grateful that what was flying at them was not an aerial bomb, since their supply lines had been cut off.

Although the air force was dying together with them on the eastern front, at least on the Atlantic and Mediterranean fronts, they had made remarkable achievements. Goring was still gloating and rubbing it in the faces of the army generals.

The army was the only one that had made some progress in Africa, but that was derived from the victories of the navy and the air force, so they couldn’t even boast about it.

“What! Who is this? Isn’t this Dr. Goebbels?”

“What do you mean by that?”

The naval commander-in-chief Erich Raeder had always hated Goring, but today he greeted him with a big smile as he entered the conference room with a fuss. 

But when he suddenly called Goring Goebbels, the expressions of the attendees twisted strangely.

“Oh dear, stop it. You’ve lost so much weight that I thought you were Mr. Goebbels. You look really handsome now. I didn’t know you were Reichsmarschall.”

“Huh? Hehehehe, I didn’t know Admiral Raeder could make such a joke.”

The air force generals burst into laughter. 

And for good reason, Goring had lost a lot of weight lately and had returned to his handsome fighter pilot days from World War I.

Thanks to the ‘recommendation’ of the Führer, his morphine addiction had been somewhat cured and his eccentric personality had died down a bit. 

He became a ‘pretty decent’ superior who cared for his subordinates and respected their autonomy. 

Of course, his vanity and ambition were still there, but he was holding all the resources and authority of the Third Reich and pouring them into the air force. 

What was wrong with that?

Goring still insisted on his own way when it came to the air force, but he also accepted the reform proposals of young fighter aces like Werner Mölders, whom he appointed as the general inspector of fighters.

The air force generals, who were filled with young and innovative field personnel who had been promoted to generals at a fast pace thanks to the person who wielded his full power and pushed resources to them as the second-in-command of the Third Reich after the Führer, began to respect Goring again as the leader of the air force.

And from the navy’s point of view, although there was also a strong recommendation from the Führer, they were grateful to Goring for giving up his stubbornness and agreeing to establish a naval aviation corps for aircraft carriers.

The young general inspector of fighters he appointed also supported the navy’s plan and recommended Adolf Galland, one of Germany’s top aces, as a temporary officer to form a naval aviation corps.

The squadron led by Galland had already completed test flights on two new aircraft carriers, Graf Zeppelin and Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring – renamed from Zeidlitz – and was preparing for a naval aviation corps establishment ceremony in sync with Graf Zeppelin’s commissioning.

“What’s that for? Hahaha. I’m busy but I’ll definitely attend the aircraft carrier commissioning ceremony. Admiral Raeder has done so much for Germany!”

While the navy and air force were getting along so well, the army generals were sitting with their faces as hard as rocks.

The top brass tried to keep quiet and prevent the situation from getting worse, but it was an open secret that the army’s highest ranks would be replaced.

From the army commander-in-chief Brauchitsch, the chief of staff Halder, the commanders of the northern, central, and southern army groups Leeb, Bock, and Rundstedt, to a division commander.

All the senior commanders on the eastern front were forced to resign. 

There were rumors that the Führer and some others were discussing how much reshuffling they had to do. Even the young sentries seemed to know that.

The obvious choice for the army commander-in-chief was General Rommel, who had risen to fame in Africa. 

He had single-handedly cleaned up the huge mess that they had made on the eastern front. 

His ‘luck’ was so great that it overshadowed his expertise.

The high-ranking officers of the army slandered him as a base traitor without any evidence, but no one listened to their words anymore.

It was already predicted that Rommel and his generals – chief of staff Bayerlein, 15th division commander Crüwell, and 21st division commander Ravenstein – would swiftly ascend to the top positions.

Some more imaginative ones claimed that Raphael Cadora, the commander of the Italian Ariete armored division, would be appointed by Germany. 

Anyone who knew the tradition of the German army, ‘handed down from the time of Frederick the Great’, would say that was absurd.

But there were some who believed it, which showed how bad the situation on the eastern front was.

“The Führer is here!”

“Heil Hitler! Sieg Heil!”

An SS guard announced the arrival of the Führer in a clear voice. 

The conference room door opened wide, and the Führer walked in with quick steps and sat down in his seat.

Behind him, Himmler followed with a flustered expression and sat on the left side of the Führer. 

Goring sat on the right side of the Führer as if it was natural. 

The army generals did not dare to lift their heads and only sweated nervously.

“I received your report.”

What kind of report was that? 

The navy and air force were relaxed because they had nothing to fear, but the heads of the army generals bowed lower and lower.

“I heard rumors about personnel changes.”

“Ahem… Führer, sir, victory or defeat is not only dependent on the generals’ command, but also on various factors. It would be excessive to impose severe sanctions based on the initial defeat…”

Goring subtly sided with the army. 

Not because he was merciful or sympathetic, but because he wanted to ask for a ‘gift’ in return for siding with them later. 

His greed had not gone anywhere.

But when he met the cold gaze of the Führer, Goring looked away with a nonchalant expression.

“The army commander-in-chief will be me. I will hold both positions as Führer and commander-in-chief.”

Short sighs and groans escaped and then disappeared. 

The generals from Prussian officer corps must have thought that ‘the Bohemian corporal’ was trampling on the honor of their general staff that had been handed down from the time of Frederick the Great.

Of course, no one would dare to say that out loud about their current blunder.

“Chief of staff Franz Halder is dismissed. I appoint Colonel Alfred Jodl as chief of operations at OKW. Halder, you are transferred to reserve duty. Leave this place immediately and prepare to hand over to your successor.”

“Yes, Führer.”

Halder was the first one to be singled out. He got up with a terrified face. 

He bit his lips hard, closed his eyes tightly in case his emotions showed. 

He saluted briefly and then ran out of the conference room. 

The Führer never tried to be a kind superior to losers.

He didn’t even curse or insult them openly yet, but he had kicked out those who had devoted their lives to military service with a single word and didn’t even attach their rank or title.

The other generals felt hopeless. 

Maybe it was a relief that Jodl, who was friendly with the old OKH staff and knew how to speak politely, was not as radical as Halder?

“Rundstedt.”

The old general with white hair saluted slowly to the fourteen-year-old younger Bohemian corporal. 

The Führer stared straight into Rundstedt’s gray eyes without blinking.

“Old man, you are dismissed too. Not transferred to reserve duty, but dismissed immediately. Like Halder, hand over to your successor and go home to see your grandchildren.”

Everyone froze. 

The Führer had uttered a very insulting remark to the oldest and most respected general of the army, whom he had to appease through negotiations until recently.

Rundstedt’s face hardened and his fist clenched. 

Then, he threw the documents on the desk at the Führer.

“You! Whose fault is this? How dare you say that to me! You started the war with the Soviet Union! It’s all your fault…”

The Führer’s face did not change at all. Himmler, who was sitting on his left, smirked. 

The SS guards who were guarding the conference room rushed to Rundstedt.

The SS men, who were chosen for their height and good looks, may have been stupid, but they easily broke Rundstedt’s arm and slammed him on the desk. 

A cold muzzle of a gun was shoved into Rundstedt’s mouth as he screamed and kicked.

“Ugh, ugh…”

“How dare you defy the commander-in-chief when you couldn’t even capture Kiev? Did you have any excuse for the poor performance you showed in Ukraine?”

“Take him away and interrogate him. He’s accused of trying to assassinate the Führer.”

Himmler was still sweating profusely, but he pretended to be calm and ordered the guards. 

No one could say anything as the Führer sneered at Rundstedt. Then he continued his announcement.

“Let me summarize. The commander of the central army group is Heinz Guderian, the commander of the southern army group is Walter Model. The commander of the northern army group is Erich von Manstein. They all have senior colonels under their command, so they are promoted to generals.”

The Führer paused and looked around as he took a sip of water. 

Everyone swallowed their saliva as they saw him drink.

“You know your operational objectives for each front, right? The winner will be the commander-in-chief of the eastern front, and the loser will be transferred to reserve duty. Do you understand?”

It was a series of shocking personnel changes. 

Rundstedt, who was the oldest and most senior in the army, or even in the entire military, was humiliated and dragged away by the SS in one morning.

Yesterday, they were division commanders or colonels, but today they became army group commanders who were generals. 

Walter Model? Who was that? 

Some muttered behind his back.

Guderian and Manstein had proven themselves in the invasion of France, but Model’s name was not that famous. 

Of course, the word “commander-in-chief of the eastern front” was more shocking, so his name was quickly forgotten.

“Yes, Führer! I will obey your orders! Heil Hitler!”

Manstein jumped up and saluted Hitler. 

His 4th Panzer Group, the only armored group in the northern front army, had been smashed by the Soviet tank units, but he had somehow received a remarkable promotion.

His next post was commander-in-chief of the eastern front…! 

With a few bombs from Junkers, he could destroy the Soviet defenses. 

He glanced at Goring. 

Goring, who was the closest confidant of the Führer, also looked astonished.

“The general you were expecting, Rommel, will be appointed as commander-in-chief of the western front as soon as he returns from Africa. Dönitz! You are his deputy. Cooperate with General Rommel to finally crush Britain.”

“What?! Yes! Führer!”

Everyone looked nervous from Dönitz to others. 

They had forgotten about Rommel because of so many bombshell statements. 

Some people recalled the Führer’s previous plan that the African Corps would be the main force for landing in Britain.

The gist was this: The commander-in-chief of the western front would be in charge of the British front, and the commander-in-chief of the eastern front would be in charge of the Soviet front. 

The Führer himself would hold both positions as Führer and commander-in-chief of the army.

He would interfere with minor details – although he hardly did that anymore and just left them alone – but he would leave some things to his subordinates. 

Judging from his personality, Rommel and whoever would become commander-in-chief of the eastern front would have tremendous authority.

The meeting time was not very long, but everyone was unsettled. 

Even those who expected to be rewarded for their achievements in the Mediterranean operation looked grim.

Goring ran after the Führer, and those who remained gathered in groups and whispered about what had happened.

The most talked-about topic was Colonel Model.

“He went from a division commander to an army group commander in an instant?”

“From colonel to general… Isn’t that a two-rank promotion?”

Model had received an unprecedented two-rank promotion without skipping senior colonel. 

He had not done anything remarkable; the Führer had just made him that way with a gesture.

“Who is he anyway? The southern army group is a mess…”

The problem was that he was assigned to the southern army group. 

The southern army group, which had been pushed back to the swamps by millions of Soviet troops under the command of the brilliant Zhukov. 

He was an unknown guy who had risen to a place that was practically a death sentence.

People wished him luck. Otherwise, the whole German nation would be in crisis.