Interesting Thoughts
Interesting thought.
Yeah. Well, since I was the one who led the war, I expected as much. But still—this is something else. When you think about it logically, the sight of middle-aged men seeking approval from a twenty-something Tsarina whose role is purely symbolic is, how should I put it... pretty damn funny.
“What became of Nikola Tesla in the Science and Technology Department?”
“From what I understand, Duke Yusupov has invested in Director Nikola Tesla’s new Wardenclyffe Tower, and development is progressing.”
I’d heard that radar had already been developed, but they were already working on something else? A Wardenclyffe Tower, of all things. In the original timeline it never produced clear results, so J.P. Morgan withdrew funding thinking it wouldn’t be profitable and the project collapsed. Was it really all right to let them continue? If it succeeded, wireless transmission technology could become a massive success. In this vast Russian territory, it would be incredibly useful. I hadn’t realized Yusupov was that rich. Then again, with Wilson showering us with an absurd amount of American goodwill to celebrate the White victory, plus the Romanov imperial family’s substantial gold reserves, we had some breathing room until the Great Depression hit.
“Have there been any tangible results yet?”
“They say he has invented a wireless image transmission device.”
“Insane.”
Wasn’t that invented in America in 1924? Speaking of which, it wasn’t just exam papers from the Duma asking me to grade them that landed on my desk these days. Today, a written complaint from Lieutenant General Ungern had arrived alongside them.
“By the way.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Why hasn’t that Patton fellow gone back to America and is instead staying in Russia to play around? It seems Lieutenant General Ungern is extremely upset.”
Drozdovsky had taken Patton’s side and was now suffering for it. The two of them seemed to have endless arguments over armored doctrine.
“It appears he feels his presence has been forgotten in America. He intends to remain in Russia for the time being.”
“Hmm. I find that man difficult to handle as well, so let’s hand him over to Lieutenant General Ungern. Also, although we’ve signed a non-aggression treaty with Japan, we must not let our guard down. We cannot afford to neglect administration of the Far East.”
Those people had drawn clear lines on spheres of influence while signing the treaty to reassure us. But trusting them? That was another matter entirely. Besides, if we wanted to deliver a truly satisfying blow to Japan in the Second World War, the Far East had to remain in a constant state of war readiness. Fortunately, we had managed to station troops there under the pretext of responding to Chinese forces, so deceiving Japanese eyes was no great difficulty.
“The improved Fyodorov Avtomat is rolling out of the factories daily. The troops recently assigned to the Far Eastern Military District will soon be armed with these rifles as well.”
“Excellent. We must never neglect weapons development. We need to continuously improve quality so we can respond to the next war. What about the tanks?”
“Tank development continues as well. German technicians dispatched to assist are working on it with us. They say we have already surpassed British tanks.”
“They stayed?”
They hadn’t returned to Germany but remained here? At this rate, Russia was overwhelmingly ahead just in tank technology.
“They can hardly go to communist Germany, and they seem to have lost any affection for the Kaiser that would drive them to East Prussia.”
A reasonable assessment. Even if they went to East Prussia now, they would simply be worked like slaves for the sake of reclaiming the homeland. When you considered that...
“That does make sense.”
German technicians. In the original history, hadn’t Germany provided technology while the Soviet Union provided resources, leading to mutual exchange? The current situation was far better than that era. We were absorbing all of Germany’s technical expertise in advance. And since Russia had no intention of supplying resources to communist Germany, that regime would find itself in an even more difficult position. A far weaker Germany than the Nazi version, facing a Russia united by anti-communist spirit with superior resources and technology. Communist Germany would struggle considerably. I wondered how it would play out. After all, even Nazi Germany had succeeded through sheer bluff and luck in swallowing Europe and even aiming for a German-Soviet conflict. Resources truly were crucial.
We needed to increase our oil stockpiles. We had to prepare for the Great Depression as thoroughly as possible. I had casually suggested to the Duma that they conduct geological surveys whenever the opportunity arose, and they had dispatched exploration teams with the intention of mining resources—if only to address Russia’s economic problems. Oil was a matter of national importance. Russia was already considering the use of domestic resources as a countermeasure against the coming depression. That was only natural.
“How is resource exploration progressing in Siberia and North Manchuria?”
“It is underway, so something should emerge before long.”
The Daqing oil field might be too ambitious. We already had some oil production, but more would certainly help. In the original timeline, Japan had explored near Daqing in the 1930s using drilling technology obtained from America but ultimately failed. It seemed we would need American assistance after all. Whether America possessed such technology at this point remained uncertain, but we had to try. I hadn’t wanted to rely on this knowledge if possible. Still, what choice did I have? In times like these, I had to make use of what I’d learned in the library.
Looking back, perhaps the old man had sent me here precisely because I possessed this knowledge in that wretched world.
I flicked my fingers in the air as if sketching an invisible map.
“West Siberia. Have them dig in West Siberia. The Surgut area would be ideal.”
“Pardon?”
“I have a feeling oil will be found there. And if our own technology proves insufficient, let’s approach an American oil company.”
Surgut. A city in West Siberia where an oil field would indeed be discovered. It had been found in the 1950s and wasn’t particularly known during the Second World War, but we needed to make every effort to extract it. This was starting to feel like one of those territory-development stories—the kind where the protagonist has a resource cheat.
“Understood.”
“We should also explore the lands in Manchuria. Later, with Duke Yusupov’s assistance, I’ll need to invest in that region as well.”
We would have to dig carefully so as not to alert the Japanese. Alternatively, selling them some fuel later and forcing greater losses on both China and America during the Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War wouldn’t be a bad idea. Since I was already changing history, it wouldn’t be so terrible if White Russia took the lead during the Cold War era. Then, when everyone was exhausted, we could deliver a refreshing blow to the back of Japan’s head. If their supposed ally struck them, Japan wouldn’t be able to endure. And if China suffered even greater damage than in the original timeline, neither Chiang Kai-shek nor Mao Zedong would be able to achieve unification. The country might simply remain locked in the warlord era. Those people must never be allowed to unify.
Even though Chiang Kai-shek had supported the Korean Provisional Government, he was a man steeped in Sinocentrism who viewed Korea as a satellite state. If he had unified China and opened the country, Korea might well have ended up in that position. As for the Communist Party, White Russia could never accept it, so the region must remain fragmented among warlords. I knew better than anyone what kind of future awaited a China unified under communist rule. To prevent that wretched outcome, communist China had to disappear as well.
Occasionally in alternate history novels, authors prevented China’s rise by having communist China unify anyway, or by splitting the country between the Communists and the Nationalists in a north-south division. Why go through such trouble? Simply shatter the land among warlords. You could never give the reds even the slightest opening. This wasn’t something I could discuss with the Duma yet. For now, Europe remained the priority. After all, I was merely the symbolic face of the Tsar.
Before that, though, there was one thing I was curious about.
“Now that I think of it.”
“Please speak.”
“What are General Gajda and the Czechoslovak Legion doing?”
I had promised to actively support General Gajda and the Czechoslovak Legion as the military foundation of a new Czech state. But what would come of that? Czech was still Austrian territory. A defeated Austria wouldn’t be able to do anything to General Gajda, but true independence seemed unlikely. On the other hand, tearing Austria apart to grant Czech independence would leave our mustached army completely unable to contain communist Germany. If I insisted on carving out Czech, the great powers would foam at the mouth. Communist Germany would eye the territory greedily as well. Either way, General Gajda’s position would become precarious.
I wondered what the Duma intended to do with General Gajda and the Czechoslovak Legion.
“Wouldn’t it be better to have Austria accept General Gajda and the Czechoslovak Legion?”
“Yes. To counter communist Germany, Austria also requires military strength. The current fragmented Austria is bound by disarmament clauses, making it difficult. It would be wise to have them accept the elite forces of the Czechoslovak Legion.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Yes. For example, what if we dropped both him and Hitler into Austria together?
Around this time, the Czechoslovak Legion under General Gajda was beginning to voice open complaints and dissatisfaction. It was only natural. Some time had passed since the end of the Russian Civil War, yet they still could not return home.
“General. When will we return to our homeland?”
“Hmm. It seems we will need to remain in Russia a while longer.”
Gajda worked hard to soothe his subordinates’ discontent. He himself was equally displeased with the current situation, but he could not afford to voice complaints and risk offending the Russian United States White Army command. Above all, he understood the reality with cold clarity.
“I heard that Britain and France refused to permit Czech independence. What are we supposed to do going forward?”
“Even if we gained independence, the tentacles of communist Germany would expose us to danger once again.”
General Radola Gajda had developed considerable insight after experiencing the First World War and the Red-White Civil War. Russia had nearly fallen to communism, only to be grabbed by the collar and dragged back up by Grand Duchess Anastasia. Czech remained Austrian territory for now. Even if it achieved independence, the shadow of war would loom over it because of communist Germany. Austria, struggling merely to feed itself, would hardly support a cheeky independent Czech state. Standing alone against communist Germany would lead to inevitable collapse. Russia, too, would find it difficult to fight communist Germany while simultaneously supporting Czech.
Joining the Russian White Army like combat commander Mikhail Dieterichs might be an option, but then the meaning of their hard fighting as the Czechoslovak Legion would vanish.
And then, at just the right moment, a new path appeared.
“Then what should we do?”
“It seems the Russian Duma intends to send us to the Austrian Empire.”
Yes. The Russian Duma was planning to send them to Austria.
“Isn’t that different from what was promised?”
“It appears to be connected to the Tsarina’s opinion. They say they will coordinate so that we become Austria’s military strength. We can only wait and see.”
That option would be better. Radola Gajda hoped the Duma’s negotiations with Austria would succeed. If Czech could not manage alone, seizing control of the military from within a somewhat more substantial Austria with Russian backing seemed preferable.
The only problem was that he led the Czechoslovak Legion. Handling the military was one thing, but leading in the political arena would require a partner.
It was then that someone approached Gajda.
“Who are you?”
“German Corporal Adolf Hitler. Are you General Radola Gajda of the Czechoslovak Legion?”
Adolf Hitler. Now that he thought about it, he had heard the man had recently gained the Tsarina’s favor and been tasked with designing the new Moscow. But what was he doing here?
“If you go to Austria, could you help me?”
This was the first meeting between Radola Gajda and Adolf Hitler.
Around this time, Turkey—aside from its reduced territory—had followed the original timeline with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk seizing power.
And Atatürk had worked hard to improve relations with Russia. At present, among the Turkish people’s feelings toward foreign nations, Russia was viewed most favorably. The Ohrana had been dispatched to prevent anti-Russian sentiment from growing, spreading the narrative that Russia’s occupation of Constantinople and part of East Thrace had been to halt the Greek advance and that they could not simply stand by while the Allied Powers tore apart the Ottomans.
Conversely, Britain and France had been branded as the worst possible nations in Turkey. The ones who had dragged the Ottomans into war and destroyed them. The Greek bastards who had ridden their coattails to invade Anatolia. While the Pontic Greeks fell within Russia’s sphere of influence and could not be helped, those other Greeks would have to be dealt with eventually. Until then, Atatürk would tenaciously govern and strengthen the country.
Stimulated by his meeting with Anastasia, Atatürk had thrown himself into rebuilding the nation with renewed vigor. A clear promise had been made. As long as Turkey did not covet Constantinople and the Eastern Roman territories, Russia would support whatever Turkey chose to do.
“Weapons are being delivered from Russia.”
“The princess—no, the splendid Byzantine Emperor—is keeping her word.”
Weapons were arriving as promised. They were not preparing for immediate war, but the newborn Turkish army had only just emerged from conflict. Having fought using Italian supplies, they had almost nothing left. In such circumstances, the weapons sent by the Russian army proved immensely helpful.
The Turkish National Army thus created was influenced by Russia. Drawing on the White Army’s experiences from the Red-White Civil War, they trained their forces accordingly. After building up the military, Turkey developed a clear sense of pride in the Turkish nation. Every ethnic group living within current Turkish territory was Turkey itself—that ethnicity. At the same time, the decision to embrace multiple ethnicities and adopt a federal system carried a certain duality. Nevertheless, Atatürk vowed to develop the country by forging this new identity.
At the very least, they would reclaim Syria and Iraq, which Britain and France had taken, and advance all the way to Egypt. Without fail.