I Became Stalin?!

Chapter 89

If Hitler was not the real Hitler, but someone from the future, or someone who knew the future… that could also be his weakness.

Just like I hesitated for a moment when using the white phosphorus.

Let’s say Hitler was someone from the future. 

What would he fear the most if he knew his victories and defeats in advance?

“What do you think Hitler would be most afraid of?”

“Huh? Um…”

“Wouldn’t it be our mighty Red Army?”

Molotov hesitated, and Beria flattered without hesitation. 

They were both wrong.

“The Red Army is… maybe second or third place? The Red Army is too far away from Berlin, where Hitler is safely entrenched. Maybe if they got close enough…”

“Could it be… ‘that bomb’?”

“Yes. But that doesn’t exist yet.”

Then what the hell are you talking about? 

It was quite amusing to watch Molotov and Beria rack their brains, but it seemed like I had dragged it on too long.

“The army. Isn’t it the army?”

“Didn’t you just say it’s not the Red Army?”

“Not the Red Army, you fool. Their own army!”

The German army, which had a glorious tradition since the time of Frederick the Great. 

They were tightly bound by a strong pride and raised their flags endlessly to the ‘Bohemian corporal’ scum.

Just think about who almost killed Hitler in reality. 

Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg of the army almost blew up Hitler with <Operation Valkyrie>.

The Junkers of East Prussia, whose names contained von, could not tolerate the lowly commoners, stormtroopers, or bodyguards. They were also imbued with German supremacy, so they could benefit from the Nazi party when they won, but they turned their backs when defeat was imminent.

Of course, there were also pro-Nazi factions in the army. 

The commoner officers who proved their abilities in the massive armament expansion and rose rapidly in rank hated the Junkers and were cooperative with the Nazis in reaction. 

For example, Model and Rommel, who were of commoner origin.

There were also some nobles who cooperated with the Nazi party among those of noble origin, such as Manstein and Reichenau. But the mainstream of the defense forces hated Hitler and the Nazis, and in both real history and here, Hitler had to fight with them for control of the military.

“How annoying it is for a ruler when those who hold guns are dissatisfied with the regime. You know that well, don’t you?”

“That… that’s true…”

“Hehehe, of course. You’re absolutely right.”

Hitler and Stalin were nothing but mirror twins in this respect.

Stalin purged all the opposition factions in the military. 

Not only the opposition factions, but also those who could cause trouble in his faction in the future.

Stalin purged Tukhachevsky, one of the original five marshals and deputy defense minister who advocated radical mechanization and interfered with the industrial sector of the state. 

Along with him, he wiped out all the officers of the Trotskyist faction.

He executed Blucher, one of the original five marshals and prince of the Far East in the early Soviet era. 

He also imprisoned and tortured Yegorov, a big shot in Stalin’s faction, on charges of ‘inciting rebellion’. 

The best cavalryman Budyonny would have died if he had not begged Stalin directly.

The only one left among the original five marshals was Voroshilov, Stalin’s political ally and utterly incompetent in strategy and tactics. 

In this bloodbath, Stalin was able to tame the rebellious military.

“Hitler… he made a mistake. He threw away his own power with his own hands? He was bold and cool in purging, but he purged the wrong target!”

“Are you talking about purging stormtroopers?”

“Yes! He should have chopped off their heads if they attacked him. Why did he get rid of his loyal force?”

Hitler did the opposite and disbanded stormtroopers in response to opposition from military and middle class. 

Stormtroopers were not entirely loyal to Hitler either, and he later established bodyguards, but military kept making minor rebellions.

Later on, they tried to assassinate Hitler and take over power themselves.

“What do you think they will do if we offer them a gentleman’s agreement? Will they accept it? Bullshit! What’s the use of preaching chivalry to those murderous bastards who are worse than dogs?”

“Then what is your intention, Comrade Secretary?”

“Go and see for yourself. And sow seeds of discord! Make it look like military figures are colluding with us through you!”

“I guess I’ll have to do some backstage work then. Should I manipulate them to make it look like they are really raising flags against Hitler?”

“Yes, that’s it. You know that those guys in the other intelligence agency hate Hitler, don’t you?”

The funny thing was this. 

Abwehr, the defense intelligence agency, was set up to prevent espionage activities, but they sold their information to the Allies.

Wilhelm Canaris, the head of Abwehr and a naval admiral, and Hans Oster, the deputy head and an army colonel. 

These two leaders were deeply involved in the anti-Hitler conspiracy. 

Hans Oster was behind the assassination attempt on Hitler in 1938 and was arrested in 1943 for helping Jews escape.

Wilhelm Canaris was caught in the purge that followed Stauffenberg’s assassination attempt on Hitler. 

It was then that Abwehr’s collusion with the Allies was revealed, and he was executed in 1945 along with other Abwehr collaborators such as Hans Oster.

It was not much different here. Hitler had easily conquered France and Britain, so the dissatisfied forces within the defense forces could not make a peep…

But instead, the Eastern Front was collapsing. In an unstoppable scale.

“First, you go and see for yourself, Molotov. How Germany is doing. Have some casual conversations with German generals, and drop some hints. Tell them how nice peace is, huh?”

“Yes, Comrade Secretary. I will do as you say.”

In fact, my intention was not this, but I couldn’t say it and gave the order.

The real intention was… to see if Hitler was really ‘someone else’.

If Hitler had become someone else like I had entered Stalin’s body, something would have changed. 

At first I thought Hitler had changed, but now I couldn’t be sure. 

The things he did were too 20th century.

If Molotov, who had actually met Hitler because of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, could notice something, then so be it. 

The gentleman’s agreement was just an excuse to send Molotov to Germany.

If I gave some other reason and America across the sea became suspicious of us, it would be a headache…

“Beria, you have to do some work. You already know what to do, but…”

“Yes! I will do it splendidly!”

“And there is one more thing I need you to do. I need someone to be assassinated, you see?”

“Assassination, you say?”

I wrote down the names of the people I wanted to get rid of on the paper in front of me. 

Those who were connected with us from the military, politics, and intelligence, and those who had to die.

“Reinhard… Heydrich? Isn’t he the governor of Czechoslovakia, Comrade Secretary?”

“Ho ho, you know him? Can you do it?”

“If it’s your order, Comrade Secretary, I can do anything!”

Beria liked this kind of thing. 

He didn’t argue about whether it was possible or not, but he just said he would do it unconditionally. 

And he succeeded in most things.

Maybe Beria gained Stalin’s trust in the early days because of his competence and loyalty? 

Stalin said he didn’t like trees in his way, so he dug up the ground with his hands and got rid of them all?

Of course, Heydrich was assassinated in real history too.

The agents of the Czechoslovakian exile government supported by the British government succeeded in killing Heydrich in Prague. 

Now the British government was the exile government, and the Czechoslovakian exile government was the exile-exile government… or something.

“By the way, Molotov, there is one more thing I want you to do.”

“Just say it, Comrade Secretary!”

“I want to talk to the Americans. Can you ask them to visit us on the occasion of Marshal Shaposhnikov’s retirement ceremony?”

“Yes. I will deliver your message to the Americans.”

I hope they don’t look at us with suspicious eyes. 

The humanitarian cover was a good disguise for this kind of thing.

If we negotiate with Germany, they might think we are going to stab them in the back and run away, but if we negotiate not to use mines or white phosphorus, wouldn’t it look like we are still fighting?

Actually, I wish we didn’t use mines so much. 

The current battlefield was within Soviet territory, and burying millions of mines in the territory was not good for the post-war situation. 

It’s not like Korea where they buried them in a civilian-restricted area like DMZ, but a place where people have to live?

“What would be good to show to the public? Beria, what do you think?”

“I’m a layman in politics, but…”

Don’t try to evade… There are few people who are as interested in politics as Beria. 

I know that very well. 

He lit up his eyes as he slapped his chubby cheeks.

“How about making the assassination of Heydrich a joint achievement of him and the Americans?”

“Ho ho, that’s an idea?”

“Yes, Comrade Secretary. A great feat achieved by cooperation between Soviet Union and America under his leadership! That’s how we package and propagandize it. He was vilified as a pro-Soviet traitor, but he achieved something through cooperation. That would be very helpful for propaganda. In my humble opinion…”

Not a bad idea. 

Give him a gift basket on top of that, and add something shiny to show to the public.

“Good! Proceed as planned!”