The Rise of the Third Reich

Alexei Alexanderovich Kuznetsov received a high standard of hospitality in the Kremlin. Stalin personally greeted him at the door of Building 1 of the Kremlin and called him "Dear Alexei" - a title Stalin used in his handwritten letter to Kuznetsov during the siege of Leningrad.

At that time, Stalin said in the letter: "Dear Alexei, all hope lies in you. The motherland will never forget you!"

Along with this letter, sent to the siege of Leningrad, was a pack of Stalin's favorite cigarettes - this was the only handwritten letter containing a gift that Stalin wrote in his life. This shows how much Stalin valued the second-in-command of W in Leningrad City.

Today, along with Stalin, Kuznetsov was greeted by Beria, Pavlov, Zhukov, and Abakumov, who was about to go to Leningrad to be responsible for eliminating the Communist Party.

After some greetings and pleasantries, Stalin cordially took Kuznetsov’s hand and, surrounded by everyone, came to a room decorated as a war room - a room with a high roof but poor lighting. A large room with a large sand table in the middle.

What is displayed on the sand table is the military situation around Leningrad, which looks pretty good. Wooden models symbolizing Soviet divisions or brigades are densely packed in and around Leningrad. The number of models symbolizing the German army is smaller, mainly concentrated in the south and southeast of Leningrad City and the northern part of Pskov Oblast. In the central part of Pskov Oblast, there are many small models symbolizing the Red Army.

At least from the sand table, the troops of the German Army Group North are being attacked from the north and south by the Leningrad Front and Kalinin Front of the Soviet Red Army.

"Dear Alexei," Stalin seemed to admire Kuznetsov very much at this time, still using this enviable title, "Although the Soviet Union is facing an extremely severe situation, the situation around Leningrad is still... Getting better... If there is any place that can be a turning point in the war, I think it is near Leningrad." He turned back and asked Zhukov and Pavlov standing beside him, "Is that so?"

"Yes, the area around Leningrad is the most promising." Zhukov took the question and said, "According to the plan drawn up by the Supreme Command, the Kalinin Front Army and the Leningrad Front Army will attack the German Poros in late June. "We launched an offensive in Velikiy Luki and Pskov in the Pskov region, forcing the German troops concentrated to the south of Leningrad to return reinforcements to completely end the threat to Leningrad."

After listening to Zhukov's introduction, Kuznetsov was slightly stunned and asked: "The Fourth Battle of Leningrad has been postponed to late June?"

The instructions he had received before said that it would start in early June at the latest.

"It's been postponed," Zhukov replied expressionlessly. "This is to equip our troops with our latest and most powerful Joseph Stalin tanks."

Zhukov was opposed to the delay in launching the Fourth Battle of Leningrad, and had a quarrel with Stalin about it. However, in the end he was "convinced" by Stalin and agreed to postpone the start of the operation to late June to wait for at least 200 JS-2 (Stalin heavy tanks) tanks to equip the troops.

Zhukov is very optimistic about this heavy tank and thinks it is a weapon against the German Tiger tanks! However, delaying the launch of a battle just to wait for 200 tanks is still a bit too rash.

After all, the German power around Leningrad will also increase as time is delayed. According to the current situation, the Germans are mobilizing the Polish Defense Forces to participate in the war against the Soviet Union to make up for their own lack of troops.

In addition, France has recently shown its full support for the Russian Empress Olga and is likely to send more troops to join the attack on the Soviet Union.

"While waiting for the arrival of the JS-2 tanks," Stalin said in a very calm tone, "we must also conduct a small purge of Leningrad, eliminate the lurking reactionaries, and reorganize the army there. In this way, Leningrad Become a strong revolutionary fortress once again!”

This time is a "small purge" and not a major purge, but the 20,000 reactionary elements still need to be arrested. By arresting these people, the loose people in Leningrad will be united and all kinds of reactionary thoughts will be restrained, which will be very beneficial to the upcoming Fourth Battle of Leningrad.

Before the "little purge" was carried out, the unreliable troops in Leningrad had to be mixed with troops transferred from outside - Stalin originally wanted to transfer these "family members of gun-toting anti-GM elements" out of Leningrad. Grad. However, there were no troops to replace them, so they were reorganized on the spot.

After completing the reorganization, the troops will participate in the "small purge" together. After some reorganization, they will be used in future operations to attack fortresses and wars of attrition.

At the same time as the reorganization and minor purges of the troops are being carried out, the factories and population in Leningrad must also be evacuated. The reliable ones will go first, and the unreliable ones will go last. In the end, they will be evacuated into an empty city...

…

"General Secretary, Comrades Bulganin and Kuznetsov are here."

Stalin had just sent away one Kuznetsov, and the other Kuznetsov had already arrived together with Political Commissar Bulganin of the Red Navy Atlantic Fleet.

Kuznetsov is the People's Commissar of the Red Navy and Commander of the Atlantic Fleet. He is also the deputy commander of the Allied Atlantic Fleet to be rebuilt.

The reconstruction of the Allied Atlantic Fleet was agreed upon during talks between Stalin and Hopkins. Bulganin will once again team up with the "American Political Commissar" McCarthy to serve as the political commissar of the Allied Atlantic Fleet, while the commander of the Allied Combined Fleet will be U.S. Admiral Stark - the same man who happened to be the commander of the Allied Forces when the Pearl Harbor incident broke out. Admiral Stark, who stayed as the Chief of Naval Operations, was dismissed from the post of Chief of Naval Operations in early 1942 and sent to Iceland to serve as Commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Europe Command. In early 1943, he successfully commanded the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Europe, and then replaced Admiral Ingersoll in command of the Atlantic Fleet. Now he has become the natural choice for the commander of the Allied Atlantic Fleet.

In addition, the Chief of Staff of the Allied Atlantic Fleet will be Admiral Cunningham of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom (Canada) who has withdrawn to Canada - the British government in London is currently not recognized by the United States and the Soviet Union.

"Comrade General Secretary," Marshal Kuznetsov, who looked very proud in a straight navy uniform (he was promoted to Marshal not long ago), first saluted Stalin and then reported: "The morale of the Atlantic Fleet is very high. , ready to attack at any time!”

Because the home base of the Red Navy is in Leningrad, now that the city is under siege, the families and agencies of the trapped Red Navy have moved to Molotovsk, so the morale of the Red Navy has been greatly improved.

Moreover, the dispatch of the Red Navy's Atlantic Fleet means being able to go to the United States... Comrades still miss their life in New York very much.

"It's extremely dark in the North Pole now, right?" Stalin frowned and asked, "Can the fleet reach New York safely?"

"Yes." Kuznetsov replied with a smile, "American Admiral Stark has formulated a plan to mobilize the main force of the enemy fleet to cover the Red Navy's dispatch."

"Oh?" Stalin asked with interest, "How are the Americans going to mobilize the enemy?"

"They are preparing to use their main fleet to protrude from the Caribbean Sea to threaten the Guyana-Europe maritime communication line." Kuznetsov said, "If the situation permits, the Americans are also prepared to threaten the Azores Islands."

According to Stark's plan, the main attack of the Atlantic Fleet will definitely lead to the main force of the European Combined Fleet. However, Halsey will not actually fight the main force of the European Combined Fleet. His purpose is only to contain the opponent and draw the opponent as far as possible towards the Caribbean Sea.

"At the same time," Kuznetsov said, "the Americans will also send several escort aircraft carriers and Independence-class light aircraft carriers to form a task force and take the Arctic Circle route to welcome our fleet to break through the Denmark Strait."

After the fall of the British mainland, the United States abandoned its stronghold in Iceland and withdrew all its troops to North America.

The German army then entered Iceland and deployed Ju288 bombers and He219 fighter jets there, but not in large numbers. Because the waters near Iceland have been very calm since the Americans withdrew. Not to mention that the U.S. and Soviet fleets have never been there, not even the U.S. and Soviet submarines have been seen, so sending too many planes is a waste.

Kuznetsov added: "The Americans now have a carrier-based high-altitude fighter that can fight against the Ju288. It is launched into the sky using a catapult and a rocket booster. As long as this aircraft is used for the German Ju288 With a few hard hits, our fleet will be able to break through."

Stalin nodded. He knew that it was possible to break through by surprise, but there would never be a second chance!

In other words, it is easy for the Red Navy Atlantic Fleet to get out, but it is difficult to return to Molotovsk.

However, Stalin still had to let the Red Navy's Atlantic Fleet attack, because the Americans showed the power to threaten German hegemony in the Atlantic, which was always more beneficial to the Soviet Union's pursuit of peace.

Although he was threatened by Hopkins and poured cold water on him by Hitler, peace was still Stalin's current "national policy." Whether it is the activities of the Red Navy fleet in the Atlantic or the upcoming Fourth Battle of Leningrad, the purpose is to create a relatively favorable peace treaty.

Even if this peace treaty does not last for a few years, Stalin is now willing to ask for it. Because in the direction of Ukraine, the Soviet Union is facing a crisis that even gods can't save. The fall of Kharkiv, Donetsk and even Kursk now seems to be just a matter of time.

Once these heavy industrial towns are lost, the Soviet Union's military industrial strength will be greatly reduced. Continuing to fight will only be more detrimental...