I Became Stalin?!

Chapter 3

I wanted to recreate the early game play of the Soviet Union in <Gary Grigsby’s War in the East>, which was said to be the most accurate simulation of the Eastern Front, as closely as possible to the current real situation.

The key to the north was Leningrad (formerly known as St. Petersburg), the heart of the revolution and the center of industry. 

The gateway to Leningrad was Pskov, where the railways converged. 

I had to block this Pskov and buy time to strengthen the defense of Leningrad or dismantle the factories and escape.

In the center, there were layers of gates that held on. 

The gate that Germany was currently besieging was Smolensk. 

The basic plan was to defend the two branches of the Moscow-bound railway that diverged from Smolensk and prevent the German army from marching into Moscow.

If Smolensk was breached, then Vyazma, and then Rzhev. 

There were a few more, but if the Germans came this far, Moscow would be paralyzed. 

So I had to stop them at Smolensk now.

In the south, where the plain was wide open, I had to deploy the most competent commanders and troops and give up some space while putting up a final defense. 

The city that I should try to save was Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, but I could also give it up…

The goal of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941 was to hold on without losing too much land or lives.

If I held on, Rasputitsa, the season of mud, would come, and then the harsh Russian winter would strike and stop the German initial offensive.

Of course, since this situation was not a game, there were many variables.

How would Finland and Romania, the Axis allies, act? 

If history went as it did, Finland would join Germany’s side but play both sides until they eventually stabbed Germany in the back. 

But what if I blocked them too well and Germany persuaded Finland more aggressively to participate actively in the war?

Would Japan still attack Pearl Harbor as planned? 

Would they not attack the Far East because they considered the Soviet Union a threat on the European front? 

Could Chiang Kai-shek hold on to the Japanese army until the end as he did in history? 

Would the US not cut off Lend-Lease because they saw the Soviet Union as a threat for stopping Germany too well?

Many scenarios flashed through my mind. 

As a military leader, it might be easier than expected to stop the German army. 

I could reduce trial and error by just referring to the design of T-34’s early disadvantages and late improvements that I already knew. 

There were also many strategic mistakes by the Soviet Union.

Wouldn’t it be a great help for development and production if I just protected Kiev Armament Bureau, which was lost in history without a fight?

Whether as Stalin or as ‘me’, who is a mole, I shouldn’t think that I could match the command skills or situational judgment of real generals. 

As a wartime supreme leader, I had to set up a board for them to go wild.

“Comrade Secretary-General, what should I do…”

“Comrade Molotov, how soon can you send a message to Finland, Romania, and Hungary?”

Molotov, who came to my office at my call, seemed puzzled by my sudden question.

“We have taken the initiative against Finland, but their communication network is still alive. We can communicate with them by radio immediately. I will investigate and report on Romania and Hungary.”

“Tell that Mannerheim bastard this. We are a great power, and Finland is a small country. We can withstand even if those Fascist bastards push in with our vast land as our space, but if Finland cooperates with Germany and attacks us, we will not end with just Karelia this time. We will surely turn Helsinki into a sea of fire.”

The Finns were a fighting nation. 

Borosilov was incompetent too, but their fighting spirit and arctic tactics shown in the Winter War were remarkable.

If they moved south and surrounded Leningrad from the north, it would be quite a headache. 

Leningrad was open to Finland in the north and lakes in the east, so it could hold on even if Germany surrounded it from the south, but if it was blocked from the north, it would suffocate.

If Finland did not surround Leningrad from the north, then I could maintain enough supply lines to Leningrad. 

Also, I wouldn’t have to waste two field armies worth of large forces to defend a piece of land with nothing to gain from in the Arctic like in history.

It would be better to make them participate as passively as possible by bluffing at Finland. 

After all, there were only two things I had to protect there. 

The Murmansk railway that would bring in Lend-Lease later and Leningrad.

“For Romania and Hungary, let the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs handle it entirely. They are enemies of each other, so if we can use them to make one of them withdraw from the Axis front, it would be a great achievement. For example, promise Romania Bessarabia, Wallachia, and Transylvania and make them attack Hungary. Of course, this is just an example.”

Romania and Hungary were in a state of fighting each other even though they joined Germany to attack the Soviet Union after the Balkan War. 

Of course, their national sentiments were bad too. 

If I could incite the two hostile countries and make them withdraw from the front, then more than 700,000 Axis troops they deployed would be gone!

Considering that Finland, a member of the Axis alliance, deployed about 300,000 to 400,000 troops at most when they participated in the war, it would be no different from losing a third of Germany’s power if three countries left.

As long as it was possible, within the bounds of possibility. 

But there was no problem with trying, right? 

Even if Germany found out, it would be our advantage if they started to doubt their allies or suspect that they were colluding with us.

Romania was practically dragged into the war because we, the Soviet Union, had taken the land of Bessarabia from their border. 

That caused the popularity of the government at the time to plummet, and allowed Antonescu, the current dictator of Romania, to seize power through a coup.

After causing the defeat at Stalingrad and being the weak link of the Axis, Romania switched sides to the Allies in 1944, when the tide of war turned. 

The king, who had been lying low, staged another coup against the military regime that had a shaky power base. 

What if we supported the pro-Soviet monarchy and guaranteed Greater Romania – Northern Transylvania and Bessarabia, etc.? 

It would be a tempting bait for them to defect from the Axis.

If we gave up a tiny piece of land and made Romania, which was responsible for the oil production of the Axis, and its 500,000 troops defect? 

We could provoke a fight with Hungary, their old enemy, and pull out the German Southern Army Group to Hungary. 

We could also stop the German vehicles and armored forces that had no oil.

Molotov was a fairly competent diplomat. 

He was ridiculed by Trotsky for not knowing anything, but that was because Trotsky had a terrible personality. 

The Balkans were so intricately intertwined that Molotov could use his skills to shake up the Balkan countries with various means.

Marshal Shaposhnikov entered my office with a weary look. 

He was not in good health. 

In fact, he would have retired soon if it weren’t for this sudden war. 

He had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of being the chief of staff.

“What is the biggest bottleneck in our production?”

The old man with gray hair showed his competence in this area. 

Shaposhnikov was one of the veterans who had served as a colonel in the Russian Empire and joined the enemy army during the Civil War. 

He was one of the few who had received formal military education, and he knew what I wanted as he had been leading wars for a long time.

“There are two places that we need to protect for our wartime material production. One is Western Ukraine, and the other is Leningrad.”

“Why is that?”

“First of all, there are several places where our Soviet industrial capacity is concentrated…”

I knew that well. 

The east and west Ukraine on both sides of the Dnieper River, Leningrad and its vicinity, Moscow and nearby Ivanovo/Yaroslavl/Gorky, Stalingrad on the Volga coast and three cities in the Ural Mountains – Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk… Phew. 

Shaposhnikov pointed out each city on the map as I thought.

“Leningrad and nearby Pushkin, Pavlovo, Kolpino, etc. are where more than half of our medium tanks are produced at the Kirov Factory. If this place is neutralized, our medium tank production will drop by half or more.”

I see. 

I didn’t know the exact layout of the factories, but Shaposhnikov, the old ginger, pointed out the key production facilities one by one.

“Of course, the rest of the facilities are located in Chelyabinsk in the Ural Mountains, so they are safe… Ahem. Western Ukraine has many chemical complexes and munitions factories based on coal and abundant labor. Coal alone is worth enough to defend, but if we lose Western Ukraine…”

That’s right. 

Kiev, the third largest city of the Soviet Union, would fall under the German control. 

After Kiev, there would be a vast plain where the Germans could ravage the Soviet territory with their mobility.

The huge Dnieper River, a natural defense line, would divide Eastern and Western Ukraine and serve as a barrier for the Soviet army… 

But if we were pushed back there, the defense line would be too wide and the attacker would have more options.

Also, if Kiev was breached or the Germans reached there, the ports on the Black Sea coast, such as Odessa and Sevastopol, would be endangered. One way or another, the key was to defend Western Ukraine as much as possible.

“Very good. Are you having any difficulties in the General Staff?”

The old marshal smiled weakly. 

The secretary-general was a scary and ruthless person. 

But he was also a person who provided enough rewards to useful and loyal bureaucrats. 

I just had to try not to get on his bad side.

“We are doing our best, comrade secretary-general.”

“Are there any signs of Japan joining the war?”

This time I started to consult with Beria, whom I had called. 

Beria was analyzing the information that Richard Sorge, a special S-class spy, had brought us. 

He had already informed us about the Barbarossa Operation, but I ignored it and this disaster happened…

Actually, I didn’t need his information as I knew the future as the past. 

Sorge’s value was not in that.

“Japan has prepared to join the war in the Far East if Germany captures Moscow. Germany also agreed to this. Japan is rather trying to attack the United States.”

I already knew that. 

Anyway, I confirmed it through this line and I was able to use the elite troops in the Far East as strategic reserves. 

I had to keep checking Japan’s trends through Sorge and keep some troops there to prevent Japan from changing its mind, but 200,000 strategic reserves appeared. 

As I recorded in my mind what I would order through the General Staff, I began to unfold what I had thought.

“What about our spy in Japan? Can we use him as a means to leak information to Germany or Japan?”

Beria’s eyes widened. 

I wanted to purge that disgusting man and send him to the gulag right away, but I couldn’t do anything to him since he was a fairly competent head of the intelligence agency… 

Beria was not very loyal to Hitler, either. 

There were rumors that he had hindered Stalin’s treatment when he collapsed, or even that he had poisoned Stalin himself. He was a man whose loyalty was uncertain, and if I tried to purge him, he might turn against me.

“If we are caught leaking false information, we could lose our valuable spy network. It is possible to leak information if we have to, but… What kind of operation are you planning?”

“I never said false information, director. I’m thinking of giving them real information.”

Beria smiled slyly and started to polish his glasses. 

The gist was this.

Richard Sorge was the head of a spy network that infiltrated Japan and extracted information from both countries’ embassies and delivered it to the Soviet Union. 

In the process, he also gave some of our information to the German side in order to get information from them, and I wanted to use this function to the end. 

Japan thought he was a German intelligence agent, and Germany thought he was a hardcore Nazi, so I guessed he would be quite effective.

Also, since Richard Sorge was caught because he was sending something to the Soviet Union, if he only leaked false information instead of sending information to our side, the chances of being caught would be lower.

If we gave the information we collected from the United States, Britain, China, etc. to Germany and Japan through Sorge, as the Axis became more advantageous, the stock price of our Soviet Union, which was bearing a huge share of the front line, would inevitably rise. 

Of course, if this was exposed, we would make the whole world our enemy, but it would be fine if I only gave them what I knew.

For example, if I told the Japanese army about the deployment status of the US Navy at Pearl Harbor and started the Pacific War? 

Japan would not dare to invade the Soviet Union as they would have to fight against the great powers of the United States and China on both sides.

Germany would also follow Japan’s example and declare war on the United States as in history, and the United States would pour out support for the Soviet Union that was fighting against the German army on the European front. 

By then, it would be nothing but a secondary benefit that the Soviet Far East became safe.

My goal was to use the string connected to Japan to move Japan-Germany-United States in a chain. 

As soon as possible. 

That way, I wouldn’t get the butterfly effect from changing history. 

Beria left with a meaningful smile as he received my order. 

Fight, make them fight. 

Make them bleed what we bleed.