Chapter 05
Bobrova
6 April, 1939
Bobrova continued down the hall, towards the planned government meeting. She was flanked by her associate, Nikolai Vavilov. She had been summoned to attend a meeting of high ranking officials to discuss the current state of Russia’s efforts to modernize itself and bring it into a state equal to other countries around her borders. It was being held at one of the palaces around Petrograd. Accompanied by some Okhrana agents and soldiers, they were led to a room and both were welcomed in.
Bobrova immediately took in all who were in attendance. Maksim Lobanov was there, of course. Alexander Kerensky, the prime minister, was there. Pyotr Wrangel, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces, was there. Ludmila Menshikov, the head of the Okhrana, was there as well. Vasiliy Chemtsov, a member of the military command in charge of mechanized warfare production and doctrine, was there. Mikhail Drozdovskiy, another member of the military command, and the one in charge of infantry weapon production and doctrine, was there. Finally, Alexander Kolchak, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, was there.
All of these individuals were seated at a long table, having taken a seat on either side of it. There was one chair at the far end, though it was currently unoccupied. Bobrova was actually surprised that neither Wrangel nor Kerensky had taken the spot, as it seemed fitting for either of them. Why had it been left alone? That answer was soon given as the door at the other end of the room was opened, and two soldiers walked in. Wrangel stood up, and everyone else, Bobrova included, stood up. She blinked at who entered. It was the Tsarina Anastasia herself. She wore a simple green dress, covered in intricate, lacy designs down the front, with black, high heeled boots peeking out from the front. The soldiers took a spot on either side of the chair, and the Tsarina took her seat. As soon as she was seated, Wrangle motioned with his hands, and everyone else sat.
Anastasia folded her hands on her lap and smiled at all those present. “I thank you all for attending this meeting. I know we have many things to discuss, and you all have time that is most precious. Therefore, if you will forgive my forwardness, shall we simply begin? Wrangel, please tell us what you have to share.”
Bobrova was happy it was not her who was going first, for the sight of the famed Tsarina was still awe-inspiring. No doubt to Wrangel, Kerensky, and others who had already met her a thousand times over, she was as mortal as any other woman in the Empire. Nonetheless, Bobrova had not yet had a chance to see her in person, let alone this up close. For certain she had listened to the speeches, she had seen the photos in the newspapers, and she had seen the news reels – yet it was nothing like seeing her in person. Here she was, the girl who had survived the murder of her entire family, and who had lived a life in exile as a peasant only to be summoned back to the throne. It was like someone from a fairy tale, or perhaps one of the legends of the old empire, coming right out of the pages and appearing before you in the room.
At the Empress’ behest, Wrangel cleared his throat. “In February, we began a program to rethink our military doctrines, to bring them up to speed. This was completed not too long after, and we have begun to review the state our army, to ensure it will be a match for any nation along our borders.” Wrangel frowned. “We also did a few war games, to review the status of our armies.”
Anastasia nodded. “What did you find?”
“Sadly, I fear our armies are not quite ready. We reviewed what might happen, for example, if Poland formed their alliance with the Baltic states, as they are trying to do, and we went to war with them. We found that, while we might have initial success, their combined forces would stall our armies well past their borders, and the entire war would become a standstill. It may be a while before our forces will truly be something to reckon with.”
By the way the Tsarina’s brow furrowed and her hands began to tap one another on her lap, it was clear that she was unhappy with that response – but knew there was nothing she could do. “We shall have to remedy that sooner rather than later.” She turned to Maksim. “What do you have to report?”
Maksim’s eyes gleamed with pride. “Well, as you know, last November, we began the process of incorporating all formerly Russian land with the Empire. This was completed by the end of the year. Obviously, the question of Swedish lands is still something of a trump card, but we have troops stationed in the area to keep any potential rebellion quelled.”
Wrangel nodded. “General Anton Turkul was sent in with his men. They had formerly been assigned to keep the Bolsheviks in check. Now they’re making sure that law and order is maintained in formerly Swedish territories.”
“Yes,” said Maksim. “After this, we began to make plans for expanding further.”
“Further?” Bobrova asked.
“Why, yes,” said Maksim, eyeing Bobrova as if her head had just fallen onto the table. “There is still land that should be ours. Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, chunks of Poland and Romania… all of it is formerly Russian. For example, we recently supported votes in the regions of Northern and Southern Bessarabia… and all of them voted to return to Russia.”
Bobrova had heard about the votes held in Romania. It had caused no shortage of controversy in Romania, and many of the more left-leaning forces in the Duma had compared it to the land grabs made by Hitler’s Germany. Of course, those were historically Russian lands, inhabited by many Russians and other Slavs, and supporters of the Tsarina had seen it as merely her continuing to live up to her promise to return the land that rightfully belonged to the Russian Empire. Add to this the fact that it was done peacefully (even if the results of the vote for contested), as well as the fact that a major war had most of Europe distracted elsewhere, and you had the recipe for a land grab that was met with very little resistance.
Anastasia turned to Ludmila Menshikov. “Menshikov, what do you have to share?”
Menshikov gave a curt nod, then leaned forward on the table. “We’ve been to greatly upgrade our intelligence capabilities. We have found ways to obtain blueprints, have incorporated a cryptology department among our staff, and created a radio interception group, which we expanded to its full potential. We are now working on a cypher department to better encrypt our communications, both on an intelligence and government level.
“That is good news,” the Tsarina said. She turned to Bobrova, and, to the minister’s delight, smiled. “Now, Miss Bobrova, what do you have to share in regards to the Empire’s industry?”
Bobrova looked over her notes.
“We have expanded the drilling of aluminium in Petrograd and Kamensk. We have also continued efforts to increase the infrastructure in the middle of the country, and to expand the number of factories we have producing military-grade weapons. In December of last year, we began researching an upgrade to our computer systems to make them more modern and head of other countries. Last year, we have updated our rifles to a more up to date model of the Mosina rifle, and our artillery has been upgraded to a standard seen in most countries shortly after the Great War. Our support equipment has also been upgraded. We began in June of last year to begin the process of upgrading our infantry equipment in general. We also began to form the T-35* as a prototype for a modern heavy tank, which we completed at the start of March. We’re now working on a model called the T-28 – more of a ‘medium’ model. In regards to the navy, we began to upgrade the shells used by our warships. Otherwise, the upgrades have been slow going. We have begun to expand the shipyards along the Sea of Azov, however.”
Anastasia nodded. “And what about-”
There was a knock on the door. One of the soldiers opened it, and received a slip of paper from someone on the other side. He walked over, handed it to Wrangel, and saluted. Wrangel stood up and began to read the first part of it. A frown immediately fell over his face.
“What is it, Wrangel?” Anastasia asked.
Wrangel looked up into the air.
“There’s been a coup in Romania.”
The room erupted in murmurs.
“Prince Michael led a coup against his father, King Carol II,” Wrangel explained. “He was backed by the military.”
“Oh my!” Maksim said. “Does it say why?”
“I can tell you why,” Wrangel said. “Dissatisfaction with the war effort. The Germans are steamrolling over Czechoslovakia while Romania sits on its rump. Now, our Empire takes Bessarabia from them. The people weren’t satisfied with the king’s weak leadership. There were protests all over the country after those votes were held, demanding Carol abdicate. If the military hadn’t stepped in, the people would have done so in a full blown revolution.” Wrangel pursed his lips as he read the other held of the communique. “Well now, this is interesting… Michael has broken the alliance with Czechoslovakia and France. He’s apparently attempting to end the war with Germany and Italy.”
“Surely they won’t do it,” Kolchak said.
“No, they won’t.” Wrangel offered the sheet to the Tsarina, who merely shook her head. “The war will continue, I imagine. Hitler no doubt desires the oil feeds Romania has… and he will get what he wants. He’s shown that so far.” Wrangel sat back down in his chair. “And that, my friends, means the Third Reich will come to our very doorstep…”
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* Author’s note: It’s called in-game a T-76, but it’s historically the T-35. I chose to go with the historical name to avoid confusion.