The Rise of the Third Reich

The enlarged political meeting of the Bolshevik Party of the Soviet Union was almost the highest decision-making meeting of the Soviet Union. Matters decided by Stalin were often discussed at enlarged political bureau meetings, where resolutions were formed and became party decisions. The party's decision-making was naturally the major political policy of the Soviet Union.

On May 8, 9, and 10, 1942, members of the Political Bureau of the Bolshevik Party and members of the Central Committee who attended the meeting, including Stalin, Molotov, Voroshilov, Khrushchev, Andrei Lieev, Zhdanov, Kaganovich, Kalinin, Mikoyan, Beria, as well as Chief of General Staff Zhukov, Deputy People's Commissar of Defense Shaposhnikov, Deputy People's Commissar of Defense Noviko The husband (in charge of the Air Force) and Navy Commander Kuznetsov and others all gathered in a long room with a high roof and dim lighting.

There is a row of maps hanging on the wall of the room, showing the situation of the Northern Military District, Western Military District, Southwest Military District, Caucasus Military District and the Afghan battlefield. It is not difficult to find from these maps that in the frontier areas bordering the Soviet Union and Germany (the sphere of influence), the workers and peasants' Red Army were mostly concentrated on the front line - anyone who knows military knowledge knows that this is an offensive deployment! The German army on the opposite side adopted a deep layout - according to the theory of the Soviet strategist Tukhachevsky who was shot, the Germans adopted a large-depth defense, which was a type of impact that used space and cannon fodder to consume the enemy's mechanized troops. Strong defensive tactics.

Obviously, the Germans currently have no intention of attacking the Soviet Union, but they are also fully prepared to be attacked by the Soviet Union!

"Comrades," Stalin said in a very serious tone to the political bureau members and central committee members attending the meeting, "the Bolshevik Party and the Soviet state are now at a critical moment of life and death. German Nazi troops have landed on the island of Ireland. , although the Germans have not yet captured the entire island, it is only a matter of time. Once the island of Ireland is controlled by Germany, Britain may surrender. According to reliable intelligence, if the Soviet Union cannot join the war before Britain surrenders, the United States will talk to Germany. and withdraw from Iceland and the Azores in exchange for Germany's withdrawal from Guyana. This means that the Soviet Union will face the German attack alone!"

After listening to Stalin's opening remarks, the leaders of the Soviet party, state and army present here already understood the intention of the fatherly leader - Stalin wanted to go to war!

"Comrade General Secretary, the Soviet state should avoid fighting Germany alone!" Khrushchev, the first secretary of the Ukrainian Bolshevik Party, spoke first. This bald man who was liked by Stalin waved his short arms and said loudly, "Germany The Nazis have always been hostile to the Soviet Union. They support the reactionary guerrillas in Ukraine. There are also Germans behind the counter-revolutionary KB elements in Afghanistan. Moreover, the wife of the German Crown Prince is the Grand Duchess of the reactionary Romanov dynasty, Hohen. The Sauron Dynasty and the Romanov Dynasty, the two most reactionary dynasties in Europe, have actually merged!”

As Khrushchev spoke, he secretly looked at the fatherly leader. Stalin showed no expression. He just casually took out his pipe, lit it, and smoked. After Khrushchev finished speaking, and after a while, Stalin coughed slightly: "Of course the Nazis are reactionary, there is no doubt about it. But they are also powerful, very powerful!"

This was actually a question asked of several military leaders in the room.

"Comrade Stalin, you are right." Zhukov was the first among the soldiers to speak. "Germany is very powerful, and the Germans have very rich experience in mechanized warfare, which we do not have. Therefore, the offensive on the Western Front It must be carried out under more favorable conditions to have any hope of success.”

"More favorable conditions?"

"The British should launch a powerful counterattack in Ireland!" Zhukov knew that attacking Germany was a huge gamble with little certainty. However, since Stalin had made up his mind, Zhukov did not dare to sing the opposite. He can only try to win as many victories as possible for the Red Army.

"Of course, the British should fight back!" Stalin nodded.

"Comrade Stalin, the outcome of today's war is largely determined by air power." Novikov, the deputy people's commissar of defense in charge of the Red Air Force, spoke behind Zhukov, "If we can win the battle against Germany in the early stages of the war, Just use bombers to destroy the oil fields in Romania, Iraq and Iran, and it won’t take long for the German war machine to be paralyzed.”

"Can it be done?" Stalin asked.

"We can't do it alone, but if we can have 1,000 B-17s and Lancasters on the ground, plus our own Pe-8 heavy bombers, then destroying the oil fields in Romania, Iraq and Iran is By grasp.”

The performance of the Soviet Pe-8 is actually very unsatisfactory. As a four-shot heavy bomber, its bomb load is not much more than the two-shot medium bombers of Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries. Moreover, it doesn’t fly high and its speed is slow.

In addition, the number of Pe-8s is not very large. Currently, there are only less than 300 aircraft equipped (much more than in history). It is simply impossible to complete the mission of bombing oil fields in Romania, Iraq and Iran.

Fortunately, the Americans took the initiative to send B-17s to assist at this time, finally solving the dilemma of having no long-range bombers available.

"There will be 1,000 B-17s, more or less, because the Americans also want to blow up German oil fields." Stalin nodded. He also felt that relying on armored forces to attack might not necessarily win, and that bombing oil fields was very necessary.

"Comrade General Secretary, the Red Navy is ready!" Kuznetsov of the Navy said, "Two Soviet-class ships and one Kronshtadt-class ship will be ready by July at the latest. But we are not If the aircraft carrier wants to conduct ocean warfare, it must either have an aircraft carrier escort, or it must be postponed until after the autumnal equinox and use the Arctic polar night cover. In addition, the Red Navy also has many submarines that are currently concentrating on Molotovsk once the war breaks out. , the submarine can march from Molotovsk to the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to attack German merchant ships and surface ships.”

The leaders of the army, navy and air force have expressed their positions one after another, and now it is Voroshilov's turn to speak. He assured Stalin: "Comrade General Secretary, the Western Military Region, the Northern Military Region and the Southwest Military Region have currently concentrated 268 divisions and 100 brigades. The total strength of the Army is more than 4.5 million, and various artillery/heavy mortars are 52,800. There are more than 20,000 tanks, more than 12,000 aircraft, and more than 420,000 cars. Our army has a great advantage in terms of the number of personnel and equipment! "

This is the Soviet Union where the Third Five-Year Plan is almost completed! Moreover, the Soviet Red Army's war preparations have been completed. The current Red Army is more powerful than the Red Army in June 1941 in history!

Voroshilov then reported: "The Red Army not only has a large advantage in quantity, but also has an advantage in the quality of its main mechanized equipment. Among the 20,000 tanks deployed in the three military districts of the north, west and southwest, the combat effectiveness There are more than 8,000 tanks of powerful T-34, KV-1 and KV-2 models, and the remaining 12,000 tanks are mainly fast tanks with relatively advanced performance such as BT-1 and T-26. "

Historically, before the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Soviet Union owned less than 1,800 T-34 and KV series tanks. Now, due to nearly a year of full production, the Soviet Red Army already has more than 7,500 T-34 tanks. And more than 2,500 KV-1 and KV-2 vehicles, 80% of which are concentrated in the Northern, Western and Southwest Military Districts, and 1,500 of the remaining 2,000 vehicles are concentrated around Moscow and belong to the Soviet strategic reserve.

There are also 500 T-34s deployed in the Far East. After the Japanese army swept across the Pacific, the Soviet Far East Military District also received unprecedented strengthening. Not only did they receive the most advanced T-34 tanks from Moscow, but the American tycoons on the other side of the Pacific also provided generous military aid. As of May 1942, M3s were shipped to Vladivostok by American ships flying the Soviet red flag. The number of Grant/Lee tanks and M3 Stuart tanks exceeded 1,000.

In addition, American tycoons also transported 1,000 P-36, P39 and P40 aircraft to the Soviet Far East Military District, as well as more than 30 B-17 long-range bombers (the same batch that bombed Tokyo).

Although the weapons and equipment shipped by the Americans to the Far East, according to the agreement between the two parties, can only be used to deter Japan and cannot be used in Western Front operations. However, the Soviet Red Army's Far East Military Region was also very helpful in deterring Japanese armies in Manchuria and Korea. It is precisely because of the existence of this deterrent that the Japanese navy did not dare to blockade Vladivostok, and could only turn a blind eye to the giant ship of capitalism flying the red flag.

The existence of this Pacific-Siberian Railway lifeline also gave Stalin a lot of confidence - even if the North Atlantic route was interrupted, the Soviet Union could still receive a steady stream of support from the United States from the Pacific.

Stalin felt that the heat was almost over, so he said in a solemn tone: "Comrades, since we have a huge advantage, and the German Nazis have been trying to eliminate us, then why should we not strike first? So I suggest that we should Launch a preventive war, implement the Thunderstorm Plan, eliminate Nazi Germany, liberate the European working people under the iron heel of the Nazis, and plant the flag of socialism in every corner of the European continent! "

Then he looked around and raised his right hand, "If you agree, please raise your hand!"