Russia were vast, and the number of rifle divisions that would be raised in this war boggled the minds of German planners at OKW. Hitler was hugely overconfident. In the beginning he had boasted that, where Russia was concerned, ‘it was only necessary to kick in the door, and the whole rotting structure would collapse.’ And now the hard boots of the German troops kicked off their long planned campaign, the bloodiest and most costly military engagement in human history.
It started early, in late May of 1941, a month before the German Operation Barbarossa actually began in our history. Hitler has planned for a sharp, brutal, fast paced war that he hopes might last only six months, thought Volkov, yet even in these altered states, the bloody hand of war might still be at the throats of his generals for a good deal longer than that, and then comes ‘General Winter.’ If things progress as in the history I know, by April of 1942, a million German soldiers will lie dead in Russia—a million… That was more deaths than all the wars the United States had ever fought throughout its entire history, including the 600,000 dead on both sides in the American Civil war. Yet that first million dead in feldgrau will just be the opening round of this Great Patriotic War. Three more years of bitter fighting might follow—if Russia survives this first year. I must see that Kirov is defeated quickly, and that never happens. Then, once I’m in charge, I’ll consider what to do about the Germans.
Volkov stood in the window, watching his dark clad Guard march off, and thinking about all that was coming. He knew every battle as well, and every mistake and wrong turn on the road. Yet this campaign might end up very different.
Yes, there will soon be misery at Stalingrad, Volgograd as Kirov calls it today. But I will be the wolf at the door this time, and not the German Army. And this time I must attack from the east. It will be no good trying to cross the river directly into the city. The fortifications there are simply too formidable. We’ve sat on opposite sides of that river for years now, trading artillery rounds each day. No. The only way I will take that city is by double envelopment. I’ll launch my attack with the fourth Army in the south, and pull their reserves to that line. Meanwhile, my Guardsmen will move by train to the selected crossing points north of the city. All our intelligence indicates that line is very lightly manned. Kirov does not think we can cross there, but my Guardsmen will prove him very wrong.
Volkov rubbed his hands together, thinking. Once they get me a bridgehead, then I’ll move the armor from both 3rd and 4th Armies across, and we’ll push for Serafimovich on the Don. This time I’ll put my 22nd air mobile units to good use instead of throwing them away at Ilanskiy. The Southern Air Corps can get several battalions in, and they can cut the rail lines Kirov will need to rush reinforcements to that sector. With any luck we can get over the Don before he can react strongly, and that will put us in a good position to cut Volgograd off, if I can scrape up enough reinforcements to support the attack. This time the Russians will be trapped there instead of the German 6th Army.
He smiled at that, yet he was under no illusions that it would be as easy as he hoped. His troops were already blooded in battle against the Soviets. The Bolshevik zeal was equal to his own, and the standing army Kirov now fielded was even greater than the one that faced the Germans in the history he knew.
And there has been no purge, he thought. That officer Corps is intact, the bumbling fools are still there along with some very good men. Many were simply promoted out of privilege and favor, but some are real army men, and they know how to fight. I know the men who will rise like cream and win this war for Russia: Zhukov, Konev, Malinovski, Rokossovsky, Vasilevsky, Chuikov, Yeremenko, Vatutin. A pity I can’t get to them and eliminate them all now. Some are already in high level positions. Other are simply division or corps commanders. I should have foreseen this earlier, and ordered Kymchek to round them up. Yet, it is likely that other men would rise