Shattered World -
A Worse World War: Part 16
Blood in the Kremlin!
Moscow is pitch dark, the blackout is being more enforced than ever due to
the rumours of a new German bomber. Tendrils of smoke rise from a thousand
chimneys as darker blasts of noxious fumes rise from the city's industrial
districts, turning out the weapons and equipment for an ever worsening war.
Red Square is as dark as a closet, obscuring any movement across it's open
stretch. Darker still are the grounds of the Kremlin. The guards on duty
are mostly invisible, ever vigilant. That several of them are recently deceased
has gone unnoticed by officer's in charge of security.
In the bowels of the Kremlin, at the heart of the Soviet Union's power structure,
Stalin sat calmly at his desk studying the latest reports from the front.
The sound of footsteps in the corridor outside his office went barely noticed.
The reports from Siberia were good. The Japanese were stalled and soon the
cold would halt all operations there. Come spring a counter offensive could
drive the Imperialists back into Manchuria.
Recapturing the Siberian coast would be more difficult, the Japanese navy
was a formidable force and it's air power and off shore support would make
the coastal cities extremely difficult to recapture.
Voices beyond the door leading into his inner sanctum brought Stalin's attention
back to his office. The voices became more heated, some kind of argument.
Stalin put his pen on his desk and stood up. The owners of those voices were
going to regret disturbing him.
He was halfway to the door when the sharp crack of gunfire cut through the
silence of the Kremlin. Two more shots quickly followed. Stalin froze. The
door to his office burst in under the force of two heavy boots. Men in NKVD
and army uniforms strode into his office.
"What is the meaning of this?" Stalin asked, his anger and fear rising in
concert. In the back of his mind he knew very well what was happening. He'd
been on the other side of such events for so many years, decades.
"This is for my father" one of the army men stated calmly. Stalin heard the
first few shots and felt a sudden flaring of pain as bullets stitched up
and down his body. He felt himself falling to the floor, and then he felt
nothing at all.
The Kremlin remained as dark as ever. The headlights of several dozen armored
cars broke the cloak of darkness on the streets outside. Soldiers flowed
from the vehicles and began jogging towards the Kremlin. Shots echoed in
the night as the Kremlin's guards fired at the soldiers, shouts and screams
of pain echoed off the Kremlin walls. The move against Stalin was already
a success, there remained only the task of the consolidation of power.
September 21st 1941 to October 23rd 1941
September 21st 1941
NKVD and Red Army officers kill Stalin and several of his closest advisors
in the Kremlin. Early in the morning hours State radio announces the "arrest"
of Stalin on charges of treason. The head of the NKVD, Beria, with the support
of the Red Army has seized the reigns of power in Moscow. A brief flare-up
of violence erupts in the Kremlin and central Moscow as Stalin's most loyal
government allies call on the "people of the Soviet Union to rise against
the traitors". The scattered loyalists are quickly crushed by the NKVD and
by Red Army units who have remained loyal to their chain of command. By the
end of the day Beria is in firm control of the Moscow state apparatus. However,
the loyalty of army units and communist party officials in other regions
remains in doubt.
September 23rd 1941
Two days have passed and no major opposition to Beria has arisen. It would
appear that Beria's gamble has succeeded, he has become the new leader of
the Soviet Union. The timing of his rise to power could have been better.
The Soviet Union is in dire condition.
September 28th 1941
Turkish officers and German advisors have completed operational plans for
a Turkish drive to seize the Baku oil fields. The Turkish government need
only give the order. In spite of the apparent weakness of the Soviets the
Turks are still hesitating. Invading the Soviet Union is a monumental endeavor,
the Turks need more time to make up their minds.
September 29th 1941
The first operational squadron of German Ural heavy bombers is formed and
declared combat ready at a Luftwaffe base in western Russia.
October 3rd 1941
Beria initiates a purge of Stalinist elements within the government hierarchy.
Beria wants to reform the government structure, insure his power base, and
gain the confidence of the Red Army. The war, for the moment, is set aside.
Red Army Generals in the field will be left to command on their own. Given
the rigidly centralized nature of the Soviet system, this is not likely to
be a positive development.
October 6th 1941
The Japanese have called off all offensive operations in Siberia as "general
winter" has taken command of the region. The Soviets are all too happy to
begin strengthening their defensive positions for the winter. They can now
focus on the still active western front.
October 11th 1941
Smolensk comes under heavy nighttime bombing attacks from Ural bombers. The
bombers carry a bomb-load that dwarfs previous German bombers. The resulting
damage to the city is worse than anything seen previously in strategic bombing.
Smolensk is within range of German fighter escorts so the Ural's own defenses
are not yet truly tested, only several bombers are lost to anti-aircraft
ground fire.
October 12th 1941
With the ground hardening under winter freeze, Hitler decides to make a big
push towards Moscow. Hitler wants to maintain the momentum he has gained
in seizing Minsk. With the recent instability of the Soviet leadership
Hitler believes the fall of Moscow, or even it's endangerment, could cause
the Soviets to fall into chaos. The General staff begins drawing up plans
for a late October offensive to be opened.
October 14th 1941
Soviet intelligence intercepts word of the upcoming German offensive towards
Moscow. Beria makes his first significant war decision since seizing control.
Moscow must not fall. The Soviet defense will be anchored on Smolensk and
Kaluga.
October 16th 1941
Ural bombers raid Moscow, damaging the Kremlin and hitting industrial targets
in the city's center. The damage is extensive. Moscow is within long range
fighter range for the Germans so losses are once again relatively
light.
October 18th 1941
German and Baltic-nation troops enter and capture Kingisepp. It is the first
Axis penetration east of Lake Peipus on the northern section of the eastern
front. Residents of Leningrad are truly worried for the first time in the
war. The Axis are within 75 km of their city.
October 21st 1941
For the first time of the war two Soviet industrial cities east of the Urals
come under German bombardment. The Ural bombers operate at their maximum
possible range and suffer fairly high losses to Soviet interceptors. The
Ural bombers have proven to be somewhat susceptible to air interception.
The damage to the Soviet trans-Ural cities is moderate with tank and aircraft
factories being hit.
October 22nd 1941
The unstable Soviet leadership situation, the German bombing of trans-Ural
targets, and the apparent lack of leadership in the Red Army have convinced
the Turks, at last, to make their move. Carefully drawn up plans are given
the green light to proceed. 200,000 Turkish troops, along with several thousand
German "advisors", begin moving to jump off points for a thrust towards Baku.
The Turkish-German plan is simple. A sharp, direct, strike towards Baku designed
to seize the oil fields before the Soviets can react to the incursion. Baku
must fall within 2 weeks or the Soviets will become too strong in the region
and the Turks will be forced to go on the defensive short of their objective.
Several hundred German aircraft and pilots wait anxiously at Turkish airbases
on the Soviet border. The planes are sitting under camouflaged netting where
they have been carefully hidden for several weeks. Forces of the Axis minor
powers including Bulgaria, Italy, and Hungary, have begun to cross the Bosporus
to join the Turkish attack into the Caucasus. Turkey is about to join the
war and join the Axis Powers.
October 23rd 1941
The German buildup in the repaired railheads in Minsk is reaching epic proportions.
Thousands of panzers, over a million soldiers, two thousand aircraft and
over two thousand artillery pieces are massing in and around the recently
captured city. The industrial might of the Third Reich and the minor Axis
Powers are being marshaled for one last great offensive before the end of
the current campaign year. The German army, exhausted from 3 years of hard
fighting, is gearing itself up for another gruelling offensive. Morale remains
high, and a determination to end the war is setting in. This
offensive is their chance to end the conflict before Christmas.
The Soviets, informed of the upcoming operations, are busy as well. Defensive
lines in depth are being established between Smolensk and Kaluga. The cities
themselves are being turned into armed fortresses. 1.5 million Soviet soldiers
are massing in the titanic defensive positions, another 600,000 are being
held in reserve in secondary defensive positions west and south of Moscow.
The steady flow of weapons from the trans-Ural factories have insured that
the Soviet defenders are well equipped. They are hungry,
starving even, but they are well equipped and determined to save the motherland.
In the north Leningrad is under threat. Southwards the Third Reich and the
Soviet Union are massing for an epic struggle on the plains of western Russia.
Further south, Axis forces are approaching Rostov and the river Don. Turkish
forces are massing to assault the southern Caucasus, while the frozen Siberian
front is gripped in the hands of the harsh Siberian winter.
Both the Axis and the Soviets are exhausted. The three years of warfare have
been brutal, bloody, and intense. Millions dead on both sides, millions more
wounded or missing. Of the two, the Soviets lie in worse shape. German and
Axis industry is now safe from Soviet bombing. At the same time Soviet industry
is now coming under increasing threat. The Ural is a bomber designed to smash
cities, and they are rolling off the German assembly lines
in increasing numbers. The Axis continue to trade with the world, whereas
the Soviets have only a trickle of black market trade coming in through Persia.
With Iraq drawing closer to the Axis even that single remaining trickle is
under threat.
The Soviets stand alone, hated by the world. The Axis are threatening Leningrad,
Moscow, and Rostov. The Japanese have captured the Pacific coast. The Turks,
though the Soviets are unaware, are about to open a third front. If Baku
falls then Soviet position will fall from bad to terrible.
The Alliance is watching all this with an increasing amount of worry. It
is looking more and more like the Axis will win. The Alliance had been counting
on a stalemate. A victorious Third Reich would be an awesome power, almost
a match for the Americans. Germany in control of Europe, Italy threatening
the Mediterranean, Turkey and Iraq to threaten the middle east. Even worse,
a Japanese entry into the Axis powers would unite the world's fascist totalitarian
states into a single global mega-power. The wheels of
government grind slowly but a change of policy is coming soon within the
nations of the Alliance for Democracy. A cessation of trade with the Axis,
an embargo on goods flowing into the Axis, even the freezing of Axis assets.
None of this is likely to make Hitler or Japan happy, but the times call
for drastic measures. If the Axis are to win, it will not come from Alliance
aid. Not any more.
In the western hemisphere the titanic war in Eurasia is little more than
a far off news story. The U.S. remains mired in a slow economy but things
are beginning to improve as trade with the Alliance and the Axis Powers has
fueled the first real economic growth since 1929. Roosevelt has led a modest
buildup of the U.S. military. New carriers, cruisers, and battleships are
under construction on the east and west coasts. The army has surpassed a
million men. U.S. public opinion remains in favor of the Axis over the
Soviets. There is no love for communism in the United States. The Alliance,
however, is universally regarded as the true ally of the American people.
Joining the Alliance is not yet an option, but public opinion is beginning
to move in that direction.
To Be Continued...
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