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* * *

“I never thought I’d end up in something like this.”

Meanwhile, Manstein, who had swiftly gained favor with Goebbels through the sickle operation, was dispatched to Greece as part of the Italian support forces.

His mission was to capture Graziani, who had come out with the Greek expeditionary force.

“Hahaha, to see Commander Manstein like this is truly delightful. They say you are the Red Hero of Germany?”

Don’t call me the Red Hero. I seriously want to commit suicide.

Manstein hated that title too much.

If things continued this way and that Communist Germany crumbled, he would end up as a war criminal.

Looking at the state of the Sudetenland, it was clear that the war was utterly messed up.

Originally, Germany under the suffocating reds didn’t feel like a country at all.

It was to the point where he thought that even Kaiser’s Empire was better. What more could he say?

The foolish Allies were practically spoon-feeding him the future image of being hanged.

“But there’s still an opportunity.”

There was still a chance left.

The Bulgarian or Turkish forces are nearby. Perhaps I could leak this information to the Turks.

Just then, something popped into his mind.

Is the supply chain functioning properly here?

“Graziani Commander, is the supply line running smoothly?”

“Don’t worry about that. Our Red Fleet has secured naval dominance.”

They told him to trust them and laughed heartily while thumping their chests.

The Red Fleet, huh? The Red Fleet.

Looking at the Italian army’s track record, the Red Fleet seemed to be at the level of a newly modernized nation’s navy.

Speaking of which, doesn’t Russia have a fleet too? How are they planning to fight the Russian fleet?

“Isn’t there the Russian Black Sea Fleet?”

There surely would be a Russian fleet!

“Hahaha! They say Russia’s army is strong, but their navy is nothing to write home about. They added some aircraft carriers and a few battleships, but they won’t be our match.”

How many times have they been stuck in that situation? But it doesn’t matter.

After all, he had no relation to how the Italian navy fared.

Then suddenly, another thought hit him.

“What if I just defect to Turkey?”

To return to the German Empire, Manstein concocted a new scheme.

Meanwhile…

“Admiral! The Russian fleet has been spotted!”

“Finally crawled out of the Black Sea! Time to smash them!”

Inigo Campioni, the admiral of the Italian Red Navy supporting the Communist Italy army’s Greek expedition, met the Russian Black Sea Fleet commanded by Nikolai Kuznetsov in the Aegean Sea.

A new storm of war was brewing in the Aegean.

* * *

The German mainland was slowly being engulfed by white waves.

From the moment Goebbels failed to swiftly deal with the Danube Federation, his plans fell apart, and with the intervention of the White Army, the war was effectively doomed to failure.

It’s quite pathetic.

We’re feeling a bit disappointed too.

And if the enemies crumble too easily, what if our Goebbels runs away or surrenders? We won’t even be able to deploy our nuclear weapons.

According to Wilhelm II, if the Junkers surrender, things would get easier, which is truly unfortunate.

We definitely need to demonstrate Russia’s national power. The only countries capable of putting up a fight are the French Commune and Yugoslavia.

The French Commune has already flipped once; they can’t flip again, and if they surrender, it’s obvious they would be wiped out by the exile government, so they will never surrender. As for Yugoslavia, those slippery guys probably wish to sign a peace treaty in exchange for returning everything they looted in World War I.

Would the Danube and Bulgaria accept a peace agreement?

They probably wouldn’t accept unconditional surrender anyway. They might just push forward.

Then they’ll probably try to resist forcibly.

Wouldn’t it be reasonable to use nuclear weapons to wipe out the evil Serbia?

“Then let’s eliminate Paris and Belgrade.”

“Are you suggesting that new weapon of yours?”

“Yes. If we wipe out those two cities, we can showcase Russia’s strength, right?”

“Your Majesty, however, there would be many criticisms if civilians die.”

Drozdovsky worries too much.

That’s why I’ve thought of something.

“Of course, we wouldn’t be the ones using it directly. No one would pity Belgrade if it were destroyed, but in the case of France, we would have the exile government request it, and that’s when we’d use it.”

“Oh, indeed.”

“Honestly, the French exile government lacks the strength to reclaim their homeland and is dependent on us. If we present them with the choice of nuclear weapons or a peace treaty, what would the exile government do? They would likely choose to destroy a city in hopes of reclaiming their homeland.”

In other words, we wouldn’t be the ones to set it off. It would give the illusion that we’re just selling nuclear weapons at the request of the French government, allowing us to bomb Paris.

During a time when they had no understanding of nuclear power, the Free French might even ask us to drop nuclear bombs in their quest to reclaim their homeland.

No, they could even use it with French bombers.

Later on, if Russia possesses such weapons, it would lead to the Free French government being discredited for having their own country used against them.

Of course, they would be criticized for handing over such weapons, but the civilian massacre would fall under the responsibility of their own government.

Thinking about this makes me feel that we must leave at least one Free French government behind, even if we tear everything else down.

“Oh, it seems the criticism we’d receive would be minimized.”

“Well, we can’t predict how the war will unfold, so let’s decide after observing for a while.”

I’m not a devil. There are methods like destroying emptied towns with nuclear weapons to demonstrate our strength.

Even if it doesn’t lead to that, we can still show that our nuclear capabilities are significant.

Of course, this is all premised on the enemy’s unconditional surrender, but at least for now, let’s keep an eye on things.

“Your Majesty, the Duke has successfully occupied Poznań.”

“Not bad. That should earn some recognition from the White Army.”

Right now, it seemed that Vladimir, who had received the duke title, was fulfilling his part well.

It had been a while since he joined the White Army, but now he was showing quite the youthful vigor.

Belka is lonely now that he is dead. It’s a bit tedious that he has also joined the White Army, but I’m rather pleased to hear that he’s been performing admirably.

“Your Majesty, as expected, the forces of the Sudetenland have begun moving towards Berlin.”

Continuous news came in.

While the number of enemies we would face was increasing, it also indicated that Germany was in a crisis.

If they had the luxury, they wouldn’t have withdrawn troops from Sudetenland.

“The siege of Sudetenland will weaken.”

“On the other hand, we also have an increased number of enemy forces, but even with that, they won’t be able to withstand our pouring attacks from all directions.”

That’s true.

Our army outnumbers the combined forces of Germany and France.

Of course, the enemy is holding out, but they were crumbling easily under our offensive.

“I’ve heard that the Kaiser’s German Empire army is particularly leading the way, killing the reds.”

It was so desperate that the remaining German Empire troops were fighting.

That makes sense. How can you rely solely on the help of foreign nations to reclaim your own land?

The war felt too easy, and it gave me a strange feeling to hand over Germany completely to the Kaiser.

Yet, I can’t deny the pity I feel for those pitiful undead-like beings. We certainly can’t deny them a single German city that is about to be destroyed by our rockets.

“The Danube Defense Army has begun its counterattack.”

That’s only to be expected. If we offer help, they should at least do that much.

Up to this point, they’ve been striving hard to protect their own interests, but since the Danube Federation was already under attack, defending themselves was only natural.

It’s unreasonable to expect a sense of compensation.

So where would they be counterattacking from?

Is it Sudetenland? Or perhaps from Yugoslavia?

“Is it Sudetenland? Or…”

“They’re counterattacking from both Sudetenland and Yugoslavia.”

They’re counterattacking simultaneously? Truly Hitler, impressive.

Since Italy is struggling, it seems they expect to be able to counterattack.

“Well, I can’t imagine Bulgaria going into battle alone against Serbia.”

Hitler has already proclaimed the annihilation of Serbia several times in his promises.

Liberation of the German people sounds good, but first, he likely intends to kill Serbia while simultaneously advancing into southern Germany.

One thing is for certain: Yugoslavia will be torn apart like a dress, and Serbia will cease to exist.

It would be tough to get lucky like in original history.

If Italy were to fall, no one would be left to aid Yugoslavia.

They’re currently making a mess with their invasion of Greece as it is.

“So, how about other news?”

“Your Majesty, our Black Sea Fleet and the Turkish allied fleet have finally made it to the Aegean Sea.”

“The Aegean is currently tightly held by the Italian navy, right?”

Even so, with the British Mediterranean fleet gone, it seems like the Italian navy might feel empowered to take charge.

The Greek navy would be totally outmatched by the Italians.

“Yes. Even if they are rotten, the Italian navy is capturing the Greek navy and supporting the army, aiding in the Greek expedition.”

What on earth will happen from here on?

A naval battle seems almost inevitable.

“The naval battle is finally approaching.”

Considering the position, the fleet that will confront the Italian Red Navy will surely be the Black Sea Fleet.

I wonder if the power of the Black Sea Fleet is half that of the Red Fleet.

I’m not sure. I’ve heard they’ve focused heavily on building submarines.

So I suppose it’s quite cost-effective. Yet, it seems they also did something regarding the budget for the air force.

What will happen in the naval battle, I wonder?

I was told not to overreach too much.

There’s always the option to surrender the Italian or French Commune using the army and seize their fleet. But if it comes to that, we will have fewer fleets to use later.

No, wait.

If I were to lose, capturing them with the army and stripping the fleet from the Commune and Italy to rebuild the Black Sea Fleet would also be excellent.

* * *

Aegean Sea

Without the British forces, the Mediterranean and Aegean became playgrounds for the Italian navy.

The revitalized Russian Black Sea Fleet could not simply watch this unfold.

After all, they were the navy of a nation claiming the legitimacy of Rome.

They could not coexist under the same sky, so this battle was naturally expected.

Unlike history, the Italian Red Navy now had three aircraft carriers and had made considerable investments, making it quite powerful.

Among the reasons for the army’s underperformance was the investment in the navy.

With three aircraft carriers, Aquila, Sparviero, and Cavour, six battleships, 170 destroyers, 100 submarines, and 24 cruisers.

The Italian Red Navy was ready to gnaw at the retreating Allied forces while the German Free Socialist Republic’s Volksmarine, beaten down by the homeland fleet, was left with only submarines, effectively taking on the role of the navy at the Red Front.

In original history, only two Conte di Cavour class battleships could be mobilized during World War II, but currently, two units of the Giorgio Cesare class, which were supposed to be undergoing refurbishment, had completed their renovations, and the Litoreo classes, which should have been finishing construction, were also completed.

In contrast, the Russian Black Sea Fleet meant to face the Red Fleet was not particularly strong.

It comprised two newly built Ekaterina class aircraft carriers, three Imperatritsa Mariya class battleships, 10 cruisers, 60 destroyers, and 80 submarines.

Including the Baltic fleet and the Pacific small fleet would make it comparable, but under current circumstances, it didn’t seem feasible, and the Black Sea Fleet was significantly outmatched by the Italian Red Navy.

Even if they united with the Turkish navy, the power gap remained.

If only the British Mediterranean fleet were present, they would definitely win, but on the surface, this looked to be quite a tough battle.

So much so that Inigo Campioni, the admiral of the Red Navy, was laughing while receiving reports from lookouts.

“Hahaha! Is that all they’ve got to face us? Alone without the British Mediterranean fleet or the Baltic fleet? Fine! I’ll take them down before the Baltic fleet arrives!”

“It seems their flagship is the battleship Anastasia, named after their Tsar.”

“Oh? They are using a battleship as their flagship and named it after the Tsar?”

At the words of the young officer, Inigo Campioni’s eyes sparkled.

The battleship Anastasia. A ship bearing the name of a Tsar who audaciously claimed to be the Emperor of Eastern Rome.

For the sake of Italy’s ambition to create a Red Rome, it must be destroyed.

Meanwhile, the Black Sea Fleet made solid preparations before the battle.

“The Turkish fleet has joined us.”

“Have we located the enemy fleet?”

Admiral Kuznetsov asked with a spirited voice.

Even if they were numerically disadvantaged, they had a strategy prepared in advance, so there was no reason they couldn’t.

“Yes. They’ve also picked up on our presence.”

Now that Britain had retreated from the Mediterranean, the Italians were acting as if they were the masters of the sea.

“It’s ridiculous that the Italians are acting like they own the place now that Britain has pulled out of the Mediterranean. But that ends today! We must smash the Italian navy in this battle. Are we ready?”

“Yes. The J2 rocket launchers have been installed in Constantinople, and the army’s aviation units are preparing their torpedo bombers!”

“The submarine command is also readying the U-boat fleet!”

With such an inadequate force, it would be madness to fight head-on.

Unfortunately, the Black Sea Fleet had no plans of doing so.

Of course, at first, they hoped that the Italian Red Fleet would be as miserable as their army and fall for their trap.

– Thus, the Black Sea Fleet and the Turkish allied fleet pretended not to notice the Italian fleet and mindlessly rushed into the Aegean.

“Distance 10,000 meters!”

Bang!

Naturally, they had to take a hit from the Italian Red Fleet.

The Red Fleet, which created a hit, gradually closed the distance while disregarding the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

“Alright, we need to lure them in. Let’s fight them with our full strength at the start! Once the firing data is calculated, we’ll open fire!”

Having retired old ships and revamped the Black Sea Fleet, they looked decent on the surface but were still vastly inferior compared to the Red Fleet.

“Turning to the port! Open fire with all main guns!”

Boom Bang!

In response to the Red Fleet, the 15-inch main guns of the Black Sea Fleet let loose.

 

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