< World War II - Liberation (Wyzwolenie) (7) >
May 8, 1941
Forest near Pinsk, Eastern Poland
‘Don’t fall back, hold your positions! We are defending the justice of the people!’
Enrique Líster, his own voice ringing in his head, struggled to open his eyes.
‘They Shall Not Pass (No Pasaran)!’
At the recurring auditory hallucination, he forced his stiff body up, shook his head, and only after opening his canteen and drinking so water could he co to his senses.
Realizing he had woken up in his own command vehicle, he finally grasped the situation.
To protect Georgy Zhukov’s main force retreating from Pinsk, Chuikov’s and Líster’s armored units had blocked the German Army under Guderian and Roml.
And, as expected, they were crushingly defeated.
His unit, already tattered from having its flank struck by Model and Hube, had been battered by bombings, artillery, and tank fire, suffering what could only be described as devastating losses.
Líster looked around with a grim face.
Exhausted and weary remnants of a defeated army, wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, were strewn about everywhere, or were servicing the few remaining T-34s.
He didn't know what had beco of Chuikov's unit, but his was now isolated in the forest north of Pinsk.
Their sacrifice had bought a re two days.
He hoped the main force had escaped safely in that ti, but there was no way to know.
Líster let out a hollow laugh.
The Spanish Republican faction, a mix of Democrats, Anarchists, and Communists, had ultimately self-destructed due to infighting.
Leaving behind his holand as it was trampled by Franco, he arrived in the Soviet Union burning with hatred, dreaming of revenge.
But after four long years, he was right back where he started in July 1937, struggling to defend Brunete.
He had been defeated by the German Army once again.
Powerlessly defeated, in the sa way, by the very sa n who had crushed and burned his unit in Spain.
Líster, with a weary face, got up and asked his adjutant, who was grappling aninglessly with the radio.
“Any response?”
“…No, General. According to the reconnaissance reports, it seems our unit is completely encircled.
…I’m sorry.”
Líster quietly took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.
“What was your na again?”
The adjutant seed a bit flustered, but soon answered.
“Penenko Nikolayevich, Sir.”
“Right, Nikolayevich.”
He’d been his adjutant ever since Zhukov assigned him after he crossed over from Spain, but he had always just called him adjutant and only now learned his na.
As Líster was about to open his mouth with a bitter smile, a scream-like shout erupted.
“Arsonist!”
“Oh, damn it.”
A German strategic bomber, the HeB 177, was approaching.
What flashed through Líster’s mind were those damn incendiary bombs.
Don’t tell they’re going to wipe out my unit, forest and all, just like they flattened the city of Brunete?
Belying the tension of Líster and his n who thought so, the Luftwaffe bombers didn’t drop any bombs.
Instead, paper leaflets covered the sky.
Líster also picked up a paper that had fallen at his feet.
[To the Soldiers of the Soviet Army
This war was caused by the Soviet Union’s invasion of Finland and Poland, and we make it clear that the responsibility for this war lies with the Soviet Union and its General Secretary.
Furthermore, we clarify that the Allied Powers had no intention of threatening the Soviet Union and accordingly proposed to end this war with a White Peace, but the war is continuing because your country’s General Secretary rejected this proposal.
However, we acknowledge that in this process, you, gentlen, were rely soldiers of your fatherland carrying out orders, and we will guarantee your rights as Prisoners of War in accordance with International Law upon surrender.
The Allied Powers are aware that your country’s General Secretary and the Party are applying Collective Punishnt to the families of surrendered soldiers.
Therefore, the Allied Powers will respect the wishes of those prisoners who were unavoidably separated from their ranks and wish to return to their ho country, and we inform you that we intend to proceed with an exchange for Allied prisoners within the Soviet Union.
Once again, we declare to you, gentlen of the Soviet Union.
If you surrender now, we will acknowledge that you were rely faithfully executing the orders of your fatherland and were isolated against your will.
However, if you do not surrender within 48 hours or refuse to surrender, the Allied Powers will judge that you share the responsibility with the General Secretary who invaded Poland and Finland and caused countless casualties, and will respond accordingly.
We request that the person in charge of each unit clearly recognizes the responsibility and situation they are in and makes a carefully considered decision.
]
Reading the text, which was hard to tell if it was a surrender leaflet or a threat, Líster let out a hollow laugh.
The war is the General Secretary’s, and the Soviet Union’s, responsibility.
The Allied Powers proved they had no intention of threatening the Soviet Union by proposing a White Peace, but the continuation of the war was the Soviet Union's decision.
If you surrender now, we won't hold you responsible, and we will provide a way to escape your families’ collective punishnt through a prisoner exchange, or at least pretend to.
But if you don’t surrender, you will pay the price, so commanders, think carefully for the sake of the subordinates you are responsible for.
…Or, it could be interpreted as, ‘don’t let the commander responsible for his n make a foolish decision.
’
And that very content, his subordinates were reading right now.
With a single piece of paper, they sow dissatisfaction with the Soviet Union, urge them to surrender saying now is their only chance, and simultaneously drive a wedge between the soldiers and the commanders who might refuse to surrender?
At first glance, it seems generous, but isn't it actually a demand to submit to a predetermined answer?
Whether the Allied Powers offer the lip service of being ‘isolated against your will’ or not, if a soldier who truly intended to continue fighting for the Union returned through a prisoner exchange, a single order from the General Secretary would send him to the Gulag.
The Allied Powers probably aren't completely ignorant of the Soviet Union's internal affairs.
But for the enlisted n who are left with only the choice between dying now or surrendering, the option that might save their own lives and their families’ is too sweet to give up.
Líster could feel the faint hope blooming in his n just by looking at their facial expressions.
In Spain, he received an order to defend Brunete even if it ant sacrificing all his subordinates.
By his choice to obey his superiors' orders, the 11th Division, fad as an elite unit in Spain, suffered losses close to annihilation.
And here, the lives of the subordinates who fought to buy ti for the main force’s retreat once again depended on his choice.
Líster stared blankly at the sky.
The sky was, cruelly, just clear.
-
May 9, 1941
Lviv (modern-day Lviv), Southeastern Poland
I arrived in Lviv, in southern Poland, which we had recaptured from the Soviet Union, aboard a transport aircraft.
“Welco, Minister of Defense Schacht.”
“Deputy Director Oster.”
I greeted my long-ti comrade, Abwehr Deputy Director Oster, whose forehead was now very… refreshingly exposed.
Ah, let just wipe away a tear.
Anyway, I greeted him.
The plan prepared to take charge of a part of this Operation Liberation required cooperation between the Abwehr and the Luftwaffe.
And the person in charge of the Luftwaffe for this operation—
“Minister of Defense.”
I received a salute from the commander of the Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers), Otto Skorzeny, whose face was as intimidating as ever.
“It’s been a while, Colonel Skorzeny.”
Skorzeny was originally a special recruit who caught Richthofen’s eye during the German Civil War, but after his incredible military rit in suppressing the 3rd Army's coup and capturing Heinrich Himmler, he's already a Colonel through a series of special promotions.
Adolf Galland, who was a Second Lieutenant when I first t him in Spain, is now a Major General.
The military was new to begin with, and the Nazi line was completely purged, but man, it's a good ti to get promoted…
“Are the preparations complete?”
Skorzeny answered my question with a good-natured smile.
“Yes, Minister.
Ti was tight, but we’ve managed to whip them into shape.”
…Of course, that’s the expression on his face by his standards.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Still, when it cos to work, he's a reliable person, so it's reassuring.
Walking with Deputy Director Oster and Colonel Skorzeny, I saw that the state of the airfield looked decent enough.
If it had been too severely destroyed during the occupation, it would have caused problems for the operation, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
After a short walk, I was able to et today’s key player.
“Welco, Minister of Defense.”
“A pleasure to et you.”
I exchanged a handshake with Andriy lnyk, the head of the Ukrainian Governnt-in-Exile.
Although we are now in a cooperative relationship, the initial negotiations with the Ukrainian Governnt-in-Exile were sowhat difficult.
This is because the territories of southeastern Poland include the forr territory of the Ukrainian people.
We need to join hands with Ukraine for the war against the Soviet Union, but it’s obviously out of the question to tell our ally, Poland, to spit that land out.
In reality, the Ukrainian Governnt-in-Exile was on Poland's bad side for plotting a Ukrainian independence movent within Poland instead of against the impenetrable Soviet Union.
To say nothing of the fact that the extre fascist nationalist Stepan Bandera is imprisoned in a Polish prison, and even the relatively moderate Andriy lnyk has been briefly imprisoned in Poland.
We managed to get Andriy lnyk and the Ukrainian Governnt-in-Exile to renounce their territorial sovereignty claims on Ukrainian land within Poland, and in return, persuaded Poland to abolish discrimination against Ukrainians and allow volunteers to join the Ukrainian Governnt-in-Exile.
Fortunately, Sikorski, unlike the rigid Sanacja, was a man ready to accept anything that would help Poland, and Andriy lnyk was more interested in the liberation of Ukraine through realistic compromise, so a compromise was possible once Germany provided a guarantee.
“It’s finally beginning.”
Andriy lnyk, who said that, had a very excited look on his face.
The Ukrainians had suffered severe persecution in the Soviet Union, represented by the neglect during the Great Famine in Ukraine.
In Poland, too, they were treated as a nuisance, vigilantly watching for an opportunity for independence.
“I wish you good luck.
Germany will also provide all possible support.”
But now, with support from Germany, an ally of Poland, they are about to begin an operation for their liberation from Polish soil.
Our Operation Liberation does not end with simply retaking Polish territory militarily.
Now, while the Soviet Army is in a chaotic retreat and has not had a chance to reorganize, is the perfect opportunity to intervene in Ukraine.
Otto Skorzeny has been training Ukrainian prisoners of war secured in the battles in January and volunteers from the Ukrainian Governnt-in-Exile.
While airdropping a large amount of equipnt for the Ukrainian resistance forces and propaganda materials prepared by the Ministry of Propaganda with the Ukrainian Governnt-in-Exile, we will also commit Ukrainian paratroopers trained by Skorzeny.
Deputy Director Oster and the Abwehr have already made prior contact with the local resistance forces in Ukraine, and the committed Ukrainian paratroopers will join up with the local resistance forces to conduct guerrilla warfare and the liberation of the Ukrainian region.
The Soviet Union, which has taken a huge blow this ti, will now try to fill the holes in its military force by conscripting Ukrainians en masse, and right then, an uprising will occur in Ukraine.
Relocating industries to the Ural? They won’t have ti for that.
“I’ve emphasized this many tis, but unnecessary civilian massacres and war cris are absolutely forbidden.
I understand the damage and grudge Ukrainians have suffered, but creating unnecessary grudges will only help the Soviet Union. For the sake of your country's liberation, please keep this in mind.”
“I know, Minister of Defense. Our governnt-in-exile has also emphasized this several tis, and has not your country’s Ministry of Propaganda already been continuously educating our comrades?”
“I’m glad you understand.”
Under no circumstances should we allow the Soviet Union to rally its people by claiming to protect the fatherland from the threat of the Allied Powers.
No matter how much of a blitzkrieg the German Army unleashes, there is a culminating point of attack, and the territory of the Soviet Union is vast beyond asure.
If the Allied Forces advance into the frozen land of Russia, they will eventually have to fight an army of hundreds of thousands, or even ten million, that the Soviet Union can mobilize before reaching Moscow.
Therefore, we will only advance as far as Belarus for Poland, and Ukraine for liberation.
After that, we will propose an armistice to the Soviet Union once more.
Of course, Stalin won't be able to accept the condition of giving up the Kola Peninsula, Belarus, and Ukraine.
The important thing is only to create the fact that we can propagandize: that the war is not ending because Stalin has once again refused an armistice.
Once Belarus and Ukraine are secured, we will no longer conduct offensives.
We will simply conduct air raids until they accept the armistice and repeat propaganda that will shake the Soviet will to fight while waging a defensive warfare.
Between Germany, which is freely importing food and fuel while receiving reparations from defeated nations, and the Soviet Union, which has lost Ukraine and has no Lend-Lease, who do you think will collapse first?
Germany, Poland, and Finland have already shed enough blood.
Now that we have pushed the Soviet Union out of our allies' territories, there is absolutely no need to take the gamble of being lured by the illusion of a quick end to the war and pushing into their frozen land, expanding the front line.
This war began with their ambition.
Stalin, who has given up all the Polish and Finnish land he occupied at the cost of millions of lives, what justification can he cry out, and for how long can he drive the Soviet people to their deaths?
There is no Great Patriotic War in this history.
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