Fulcrumvale: :rofl:
anonymous4401: Did you ever doubt it would?
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February 26th, 1936
General Konev walked hurriedly down a Kremlin corridor, holding tightly onto his dossier of papers, fully aware that he was late for his meeting.
As the newly promoted Lt. General turned a corner, he nearly ran into General Zhukov going the opposite direction. Before they could collide, Zhukov reacted in time to grab Konev and stop him.
"Dammit Konev," Zhukov muttered. "Why are you so late?"
"Because the train got in a half hour late, that's why," Konev replied bitterly. "And I don't want to hear anything more out of you about it."
"Well, come on," Zhukov relented, walking to the doors to Stalin's conference room. "Fortunately whatever meeting their having is going late, but it's safe to come in."
Zhukov grabbed the door handle and paused, looking over his shoulder at his fellow general. "And let me do the talking."
The two generals stepped inside the conference room. It was nearly empty save for Stalin, seated in his usual chair at the head of the table, General Voroshilov, who was in the process of collecting a multitude of scattered papers, Minister Yagoda, and Stalin's little-known aide-de-comp.
As Konev sat down, his eyes wandered inadvertently down to one of the paper's spread out over the table, labeled
Operation Gargantua in bold.
The paper was immediately snatched up by Yagoda, who regarded the general with a superior smugness. "Some thing's aren't meant to be seen by all,
comrade."
"So, what brings you two here?" Voroshilov asked, eyeing Konev and Zhukov.
"You are dismissed, comrade," Stalin said, lighting his pipe.
Voroshilov stiffened and shot a suspicious look at the two before gathering up the rest of his papers and leaving.
"I take it your train ride to Moscow was satisfactory, comrade?" Yagoda asked Konev with a broad grin.
Konev had to resist the urge to shiver at that demonic grin. He had heard the rumors of the NKVD chief and frankly, wouldn't have put it past Yagoda to have purposefully delayed the train to make him late. And Konev was not a paranoid individual.
"It was," Konev said tersely.
"So," Stalin's aide spoke up, "Sorry to have kept you two waiting."
Zhukov opened his mouth to speak but Konev interrupted. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been introduced yet."
The aide hesitated slightly before smiling. "How inconsiderate of me. Alexei Stukov is my name."
Konev nodded. "Pleased to meet you."
Zhukov cleared his throat, glaring slightly at Konev warningly. "We are here to report on armoured research and development. We've compiled a report as per your instructions. I hope you find it satisfactory."
"I'm sure we will," Yagoda commented more to himself than anyone.
Zhukov's brow furrowed in annoyance. Zhukov spent more time in Moscow than he, and was forced to interact with Yagoda more often.
"That will be enough, comrade Yagoda," Stalin said firmly.
Stukov had been unconcerned by the exchange. "Is the Mogilev facility fully operational yet?"
"Yes, comrade. The armoured divisions have finished reorganizing into corps. Modernization and testing will begin shortly."
"What can we expect in terms of results?" Stalin asked.
"If the project is maintained we can assuredly expect faster, stronger, and more powerful armoured designs within the next five years, far better than any we can expect any other country to muster."
"And will they be adequate to replace our cavalry corps?" Stukov asked.
Zhukov smiled appreciatively for his soft-ball questions. "They will deliver results on the battlefield no cavalry corps could dream of accomplishing."
Stalin nodded, looking convinced. "I will review your reports, but baring any unforeseen problems, I authorize the project receive full funding. The armoured corps will receive another three divisions in the next three years and plans will be made for a fourth."
"Thank you, Comrade Stalin," both generals said at once.
As the two left, Konev couldn't help but keep a smile from his face. The Soviet Union would have the strongest, most powerful tanks in any future war.
"Comrade Yagoda," he heard Stukov say as he left. "We were looking over your recent performance and were very... disappointed."
Something about the way that final word was spoken sent a shiver down Konev's spine. He had a feeling Zhukov would not be bothered by the man for much longer.