The Second Rome
Russia’s share *** One must always consider the worst-case scenario. “As the Black Baron is surely aware, many units turned their backs on my father during the revolution and clung to the revolutionaries. If we commit to this war, is there not a risk that forces under Anton Denikin might do the same?”
“The troops under General Anton Denikin are no different from the Tsar’s own soldiers who fought alongside Your Highness when you personally led the assault on Tsaritsyn. They witnessed Your Highness’s exploits on that battlefield with their own eyes. They would not dare harbor disloyal thoughts.”
Hmm. Still, there were plenty of problems. Let’s assume we cannot avoid any of them and decide to attack anyway. The real question was whether Anton Denikin could actually win.
“Can General Anton Denikin pull it off? From what I understand, Kemal is currently beating Britain and France black and blue.”
“I do not deny that Kemal is a hero. However, that is partly because the great powers are currently unable to exert their full strength. More importantly, General Anton Denikin has been vocally demanding to be sent to Anatolia.”
That made sense. If Britain and France truly committed themselves, even Atatürk would be unable to hold out. And it wasn’t just those two—Greece was involved as well. Of course, the mindset of an army fighting to defend its homeland was fundamentally different from one invading and occupying another.
“Hmm.”
I tapped the edge of the desk with my fingers, lost in thought. That’s right. Compared to the original history, Atatürk was currently tightening his belt and fighting with desperate tenacity. If we dropped the Southern Group Army into the mix, the situation would change dramatically. No matter how well one fought, without troops to do the fighting, numbers would overwhelm him.
“Does this not sit well with Your Highness?”
It wasn’t that. I was still too busy. I hadn’t even ascended the throne yet and was barely holding onto the titles of Mongol Great Khan and Marshal of the Russian Army. Semyonov kept insisting I travel to Mongolia to be formally installed as Great Khan, but no matter how I looked at it, that seemed excessive. Besides, the civil war recovery was so urgent that I couldn’t even sit on the imperial throne yet. The whole thing simply felt too much like a gamble.
Yes. If I was going to gamble, I might as well wring out every last drop I could.
“And if General Anton Denikin fails?”
“Then we simply treat him as a warlord acting on his own initiative and pin all responsibility on him. After all, General Anton Denikin has been operating far too independently. Defeat would provide the perfect excuse to shift blame onto him.”
I see. So that was why the Black Baron was so eager to accept this double-edged proposal. Dividing the military districts meant that, in practice, only Anton Denikin’s forces would move. If anything went wrong, everything could be dumped on him.
The sheer audacity of it made me burst out laughing.
“If he fails, we pin the blame on him and bring down that arrogant Anton Denikin. Win or lose, it’s all good. So that’s what you were aiming for, Black Baron.”
“It is not entirely like that. However, I am somewhat concerned that he has grown too much like a warlord.”
“It’s fine. That can happen. I simply thought we might extract a bit more this time. After all, the ones in a hurry are Britain and France, aren’t they?”
One should always squeeze what one can when the opportunity arises. How often does a chance like this appear right after a White victory in the civil war? With various reforms underway and Russia’s future finally coming into view, even the socialist-leaning deputies in the Duma seemed interested. If that was the case, now was the time to push and take what we could.
“Indeed.”
“We must take the northern part of the Ottomans. And since many cities were damaged during the civil war, we will require financial compensation. In other words, we need money.”
We had to get at least that much if we were to call ourselves the heirs of Rome. Pyotr Wrangel apparently hadn’t thought that far; he swallowed hard.
“Will they accept that?”
“Germany is turning red, and if the Ottomans need someone to cling to, wouldn’t they choose us? Of course, we will have to negotiate an appropriate compromise.”
To be honest, I was simply throwing it out there. In negotiations like this, you had to start with something outrageously large so that even after compromise you still walked away with plenty. If they refused, so be it. Getting even one of the two would be fine. In the original history the Soviets were dismissed as nothing but filthy reds, but the current White Russia was different. Gaining the northern Ottoman territories and restoring the lands of the old Roman Empire wouldn’t be bad at all. Besides, we had already secured Constantinople. As the successor to the Eastern Roman Empire. As the protector of Orthodoxy. We would take everything we were entitled to.
Suddenly a thought occurred to me. If we recovered Constantinople—well, Constantinopolis—then perhaps I could proclaim myself Roman Emperor there. No Russian emperor had ever accomplished such a feat. Anastasia’s prestige would pierce the heavens. During the Soviet era, Russia had abandoned its claim as Rome’s heir. But with me here, things were different. The Russian Empire, heir to Rome. Though the official state name had become the Russian United States through the Duma, the imperial system that still claimed the Roman legacy remained. In other words, we could indulge in some serious nationalistic pride. The fallen imperial family’s dignity and majesty would overflow.
The problem was that none of it would be possible unless this support succeeded. Therefore, on the other hand, I should also send someone to Atatürk. Winning without fighting would be ideal, wouldn’t it?
“For now, just float the idea. And separately, we should send an envoy to the hero of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Mustafa Kemal.”
“Will he accept surrender?”
I didn’t know. That was something to test as well. Still, it wasn’t impossible. Right now Atatürk must be in hell. Unlike the original history, there was no Soviet Union, so he was probably barely holding on with Italian supplies. If the Entente powers, after Germany’s surrender, had redirected the strength they would have used against Germany toward tearing apart the Ottomans, they might have had a little breathing room. In short, for Atatürk this was an even harder difficulty than in the original timeline. The fact that he was still struggling despite that only proved to the world that once the Americans pulled out, these powers were left with nothing but inflated muscles after the world war. Of course, those inflated muscles were now trying to claim the Ottomans as spoils to get something, anything, out of it. They would throw in even their colonial troops if it meant salvaging their pride. But Atatürk was only human. With no army left to fight, what could he do?
“Intervening in this war will complicate things in many ways. Wouldn’t it be better if we could secure our interests while avoiding combat as much as possible?”
“That is correct.”
“If we truly cannot avoid battle and end up ruining everything, that’s one thing. But please contact General Anton Denikin as well. Tell him to enter Anatolia but not to advance immediately. If he ignores the order, charges in, and fails, then we can pin the blame on him at that time.”
Since negotiations would leave us with a share anyway, it was better to gain what we could without fighting.
“What exactly does Your Majesty have in mind?”
“I will go myself.”
“Your Highness will go personally?”
Why was he so surprised? The Turkish army was already limp as overcooked noodles. Could they possibly be worse than the Red Army?
“Yes. If the White Army of South Russia fought alongside me at Tsaritsyn, it wouldn’t be bad for me to go as well.”
There. This way it would carry some weight, wouldn’t it? I would enter at the moment when Anton Denikin had advanced appropriately into Anatolia and begun making his mark. As for me, I could go to South Russia under the pretext of soothing public sentiment and then quickly visit Turkey before returning. In the original world I might have been a little scared, but with this body, stepping onto a battlefield didn’t frighten me at all.
Then a clever idea suddenly came to me and I snapped my fingers.
“And about those weapons Germany is secretly diverting. If they are truly intended for an attack on France, wouldn’t it be acceptable for us to confiscate them? After all, they were produced on our soil before being taken out of the country, so they belong to us.”
“That is an excellent idea.”
Another war? No—we would say we are confiscating these items for our ally France! Something like that. With Germany currently in chaos after the revolution, could they really protest?
“Still, we don’t know how the public will react, so let’s frame it this way. Not as war, but as a Special Military Operation. We will appear to be sending only mercenaries in exchange for Constantinople as compensation for aiding our ally.”
I never imagined I would end up using that phrase here, but it didn’t sound so bad, did it? This was how Russia—on the brink of collapse from civil war—would rocket upward in a single bound. This was exactly what alternate history was all about.
The Entente powers who received Russia’s proposal were utterly dumbfounded. They had saved a dying man, only for him to turn around and demand this? Both France—which, unlike the original history, had not yet withdrawn from the Turkish War of Independence—and Britain—which still believed the situation was manageable—were equally stunned.
“The entire northern Ottoman territory? Hah. We save a dying man and this is what we get.”
However, White Russia, with its experience of civil war and long observation of international relations, had its own arguments ready.
“Realistically speaking, asking a country that has only just ended its civil war to send reinforcements—isn’t that a bit much? Wasn’t the reason Britain and France supported us during the civil war to prevent the rise of communism? In this war, millions of our people were killed or wounded, and many cities were destroyed by the Bolsheviks. In this situation, persuading our citizens and committing the White Army requires appropriate compensation.”
They had only just thought the war was over, yet now they had to send troops to Turkey again. Of course, the White Army’s morale was currently sky-high. These men, bound together by pride in being the Saint’s army, could charge straight to Ankara if ordered. Still, they deserved compensation, didn’t they?
“We can provide financial aid, but… hmm.”
“Tearing apart the Ottomans isn’t a bad idea in itself. In that case, how about recognizing the Pontic Republic of the Pontic Greeks and allowing Russia to take it after a referendum in five years?”
“And if we do that, you will definitely provide support?”
“They say they will commit 200,000 troops from the Southern Group Army of the Caucasus Military District.”
“Eastern Thrace belongs to Greece!”
Greece whined that they were the true heirs of the Eastern Roman Empire, but it was no use. From the moment they started getting beaten by Kemal, any chance they had was already gone.
“Can’t you see you’re about to lose Ionia and the Aegean as well? You should have fought better!”
“Italy withdrew its troops but continued providing material support to the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Russia’s support is now desperately needed.”
Since Italy had stepped back, Russia was simply taking the share that Italy would have claimed. Once framed that way, it was a simple matter. The great powers’ deliberations did not take long. Italy had deliberately sabotaged them by pulling out, Greece lacked the capacity for any further advance, and France—after Germany—now had the Commune running wild internally and needed results its citizens would approve of. Britain, too, could not afford to keep pouring strength into Turkey while prolonging the war. And negotiating directly with the Grand National Assembly was impossible because they insisted on complete territorial integrity. In the end, the Entente had only one choice. Accepting help from the White Army was the better option.
Around this time, Kemal’s forces in the Turkish Grand National Assembly were brimming with confidence that they could achieve independence. They harassed the Greek and other Entente troops across Turkey, riding a wave of momentum. Victory after miraculous victory—it almost seemed as if God Himself were helping them. Of course, the casualties suffered by the Grand National Assembly and the Turkish people were far greater than those of the Entente. Still, the difference between those fighting to protect their homeland and invaders exhausted by war was clear.
They believed the end was near.
And that was when Russia entered the war.
In August 1922, Anton Denikin’s army crossed into Anatolia aboard Entente transport ships.
“Let us offer a Second Rome to Her Majesty the Tsarina! Soldiers of the White Army of Greater Russia, this is a Special Military Operation! As the rightful successors of the Eastern Roman Empire, let us tear the Turks apart with pride!”
The White Army of South Russia under Anton Denikin surged forward with tremendous force. The troops being dispatched to Anatolia this time were, in effect, the same soldiers who had fought alongside the Tsarina at the Battle of Tsaritsyn. They had witnessed Anastasia’s heroic deeds with their own eyes. To them, the quest to reclaim the Second Rome held no fear whatsoever.