World War Three 1946 Series Boxed Set: Stalin Strikes First

by Harry Kellogg

  Skinner’s felt that it was essential to win the war before the situation got out of hand. It was a race against the clock with the odds favoring the Reds.

  Hummm, new subject, the ubiquitous challenge of oil. US Army G2 estimates that once Operation Backdoor shuts the door (heh) on Baku that Moscow will be on its last reserves. Units in the Pyrenees will be immobile along with the Red Fronts facing Walker and Operation Triple Cross. Further, the NATO Taskforce in the Black Sea will effectively stop anything from moving on the water and within 200 miles inland. This interdiction should limit the Red’s crude oil transportation capabilities by 80%.

  The loss of access to fuel should be almost instantaneous with the vast majority of USSR units forced to defend in place. Millions of Red soldiers will be left stranded with no hope of rectifying the situation.

  Stavka’s Plans

  G2 has learned that the Stavka has amassed a strategic fuel reserve near Moscow. The question is where will it be used? Best estimate is that an all-out effort will be mounted to break out Zhukov and to open the supply route from Baku and adjacent areas. Zhukov does have a large enough supply of fuel that he was going to use for an offensive aimed at Griswold and the US 15th Army in the south.

  Whoa all this information is getting too much for my limited abilities to keep up with. Plus the pain emanating from my right pointer finger is really wearing me down.

  He was sure that the experience of being attacked by a spoon is something he would never forget.

  Bottom line is that Zhukov will get the last shot at saving Stalin’s ass.

  By Fiat

  He peered cautiously around the corner. He was within stone’s throw of the Transcaucasia Front’s Headquarters. His target, Marshall Zhukov, was less than a block away. Mario Fiat had to figure out a way to communicate with Zhukov. Mario was going to make Zhukov an offer he couldn’t turn down, an offer that would save tens of thousands of Soviet lives.

  But first, he had to make contact. Zhukov’s best friend had been captured near Sevastopol. Having custody of this valued friend was Fiat’s leverage. Mario hoped that their friendship was such that Zhukov would be compelled to meet with him. Gaining access to the Marshall was the key to making his plan even remotely feasible.

  Zhukov’s friend was the blind genius Konstantine. Until Mario met the man, he did not believe that the fellow existed. Konstantine was in fact the mythical advisor that Zhukov and Stalin trusted completely.

  Fiat spent days talking with the myth. Both men enjoyed the mental exercise and challenge that they presented to the other. Neither man felt intimidated. Both felt as though they had known one another their entire lives. Yet they had grown up in totally different worlds.

  Konstantine’s was a world of darkness. He was teased and bullied in the small village where he was born. Blind from birth yet of towering intellect he soon devised ways to not only survive but to expertly manipulate and control his would-be tormentors.

  The bullies always seemed to get into arguments among themselves when they attempted to harass Konstantine. Somehow, the situation would invariably turn in the blind boy’s favor. Soon the bullies stopped trying and started to seek his advice and counseling.

  To his mother, it was astonishing to see her blind son leading his bigger and older converts in whatever direction he chose. Whether the outcome for the boys was good or bad, it didn’t matter. It was a case of the blind leading the sighted.

  Gradually, Konstantine’s reputation caught the attention of higher ups in the Soviet military. Subsequently he was enlisted as an intelligence agent during the “People’s War."

  His brilliant observations and the ease in which he could seemingly read the minds of his enemies soon brought him to the attention of Marshall Zhukov and eventually Stalin himself.

  Mario Fiat on the other hand, was raised with a silver spoon in his mouth. As the son of a wealthy lumber baron in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin he and his family enjoyed the finest imports available.

  When he expressed an interest in learning to play the organ, his mother installed a full pipe organ in the living room. The project required the removal of the second story of the mansion. The pipes towered over the Vestibule and Main Hall with the Grand Staircase intertwined.

  It was quite a sight and Mario didn’t think anything of it when he was six. Just how privileged he was started to sink in when he was eight and played with the Head Groomsman’s son. He soon learned that everything he took for granted was anything but ordinary.

  The fact that such a diverse a group could coalesce around a blind theorist was rather exceptional. On one hand, was a former bon vivant turned master spy and on the other a psychopathic mass murderer, with one of the greatest military minds in between. All fast friends with Konstantine.

  Mario was going to use their complex relationship to convince Zhukov to defect. Hopefully taking as many of his men with him as he could. Fiat had proof positive that if Zhukov survived the coming battle, Stalin would have him killed rather than face him as a rival.

  While debating with Fiat, Konstantine eventually defected on his own volition. If Zhukov’s most trusted friend could see the error of his ways than so could the Marshall. Logic dictated Konstantine’s apostasy and rejection of the Communist cause. Mario would bet his life that the combination of Stalin’s growing insanity, Konstantine’s renunciation and Zhukov’s own dire situation will be enough to persuade the Marshall to join in the anti-Stalinist crusade.

  NATO was not waging war on the Slavic peoples of the world but on Stalinism and all it stood for. Millions of former Soviets came to the same conclusion. Insurgents were joining the rebellion at the rate of ten thousand a day and growing.

  Getting the Marshall to turn and bring his men with him would save tens of thousands of lives. Zhukov’s situation was now totally hopeless. He had to be convinced of that and Mario was the man to do it.

  Konstantine had told him that he would have to overcome the Marshall’s long held beliefs by logical fiat. The pun was not lost on Mario.

  Power and Compulsion

  The NATO landing in Novorossiysk slammed the trap shut on the Armies of the Transcaucasian Front. To their total surprise Zhukov and close to a half a million Soviet military personnel were caught in their high mountain fortress. The Stavka never imagined an amphibious invasion via the Black Sea.

  Shortly before he lost contact with Moscow, Zhukov had been contacted by a former aide to Beria. The man claimed that, not only was Lavrenti Beria alive, but he was planning on taking over the government after he killed Stalin and Khrushchev. Zhukov took the information at face value and read on. After all, there was nothing he could do about what was happening in Moscow.

  However, the next revelation was life altering for Marshall Giorgi Zhukov. According to the note, Beria was going to sue for peace as soon as he gained power. For public consumption, Beria would extol the armed forces to fight to the end. But in secret, he was planning on betraying the homeland as well as the revolution they had all fought and sacrificed for. The millions of people who died, bringing the glories of Communism to the masses, had been in vain. The former slaves of the Czar would now become the slaves of the Capitalist pigs.

  The end result of an Imperialist victory was evident. Everyone had seen propaganda of American children forced to work in coal mines and their poverty before the war. Just months ago America and several western European countries were caught using Germans as slave labor. How can Beria surrender to men like that? How could he betray the revolution?

  Zhukov was still reeling from this information when he noticed a small package. It just appeared on his desk chair after he returned from a staff meeting. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied with the kind of twine used to bail hay.

  At first, he thought of calling the guard and having him deal with the object. Then something made him pick up the package and examine it. He couldn’t quite place what was so compelling about the parcel. Suddenly his mind jumped to the answer. The packa
ge had a familiar odor. It smelled like his close friend and confidant Konstantine!

  Throwing caution to the wind he opened the package and neatly displayed in a jewelry box was Konstantine’s ring. It could only be his and it could only mean that something had happened to his friend.

  A wave of grief overcame him and he almost missed the small note just barely sticking out from the back of the box. He eagerly opened it and read the few lines.

  GOGA, KONSTANTINE IS QUITE WELL. HE SENDS YOU HIS GREETINGS. PLEASE GO OUTSIDE THE NORTH ENTRANCE FOR A CIGARETTE AT 19:13 HOURS.

  What was going on?!?!? Only Konstantine called him Goga and that was in private. Given the ring and accompanying note Zhukov was filled with grave concern. What to do…what to do?

  With his world falling apart around him. He decided to have that cigarette. His pistol would be in his pocket along with his hand. He was prepared to use it. He had killed before and would not hesitate to do so again.

  In the end, it was his olfactory nerve which had triggered Zhukov’s memories and affected his decision. Memories are powerful, especially in times of stress. The memory of a smell was particularly compelling. Giorgi was led by his nose and driven by fond memories to meet with the man or woman who he thought held Konstantine prisoner.

  Little did he know that Konstantine was anything but a captive. In reality, Konstantine had willingly given up his most prized possession in the hopes of convincing his old friend to join him in the quest for self-determination.

  He was actively helping the rebellion and the Freedom Force being organized by former White Russians and anti-Stalinism groups.

  Konstantine was feeling compelled as well. He was bound by the power of truth and the logical consequences of his beliefs. The blinders of absolutism had been raised by Mario Fiat. A true force of nature had been unleashed as Konstantine began using his formidable powers to actively destroy what Stalin had built.

  Zhukov would be one of the first to feel that power.

  Chapter Nine: How to Succeed or Try Dying

  Figure 42 - One of many funerals in Moscow in 1947

  Deadly Dose

  She carefully measured out the final dose as directed. She had no remorse about killing Stalin. The monster ordered the murder of her mother based on a false rumor. When she was 12 years old she witnessed the gruesome death of her beloved parent

  Reportedly, Stalin never killed anyone personally. He probably didn’t have the guts for it. He deserved to die a million times over.

  The snake venom she was administering (administering…what a strange word…so benign) was the deadliest known. She had been told by her handler that the poison came from Australia. It was so diluted that it had taken months and many doses to reach this critical juncture. She could have been discovered at any time. The venom was crystalized and hidden in the special salt that was imported for Stalin’s personal use. Anyone tasting the mixture would never suspect how deadly it was.

  The effect was cumulative. Stalin’s kidneys were the first to go. Somehow, he survived. All of his organs would eventually fail. It was apparent from his color that the liver was next. He was turning yellow and his breath had a terrible smell.

  Putting the salt on Stalin’s food was one of her chief occupations as an assistant to the Head Cook. Her prey was very particular that the seasoning be just the right amount for every food and its portion. She became an expert at determining his mood. Like most paranoid personalities know, any kind of routine can lead to an opportunity for those planning harm. Stalin was definitely not a creature of habit because he understood the dangers that lurked.

  One of the rare exceptions was his salt obsession. That addiction would lead to his excruciating death as all his organs shut down one by one. The poison's effects were similar to scurvy in regards to the loss of teeth, shortness of breath, bone pain and neuropathy.

  Luckily, no one connected the unusual death from kidney failure of Ivanna the scullery maid to Stalin’s own near-death experience. Ivanna’s malady had coincided with Stalin’s own kidney problems. She must have been taking Stalin’s salt and using it for her own purposes.

  The assistant cook supposed that someone higher up in the unfolding plot had suppressed information. No one remarked on the fact that two very different members of the household had simultaneously experienced kidney failure. Earlier Stalin had a reprieve from death after receiving a kidney transplant.[clxxvi]

  Stalin was finally on his deathbed and failing fast. The last time she saw him, he looked as if he were dead already. She yearned to tell the world that it was her, Natlya Kozlov, who had killed the greatest mass murderer of all time.

  She made the final arrangements for her escape. All the actions needed were in place except for the initial ride to the farmhouse. She had to make sure Yuri would follow his crotch. Luckily, he was handsome and it was a pleasure to lead him on. She would miss him most of all.

  They had agreed that they should wait at least three days after Stalin’s death before initiating the plan. Leaving immediately would likely cast suspicion on her. A telegram would come informing Natlya that the aunt who raised her was missing and her uncle wished her home. This news would launch her escape.

  That night Stalin breathed his last. Natlya had the pleasure of being in the room. His breathing was labored and he was wincing in pain. His last words were “make it stop.” Whether he was answered by God or not is for others to decide.

  Natlya was leaning towards the devil, who must have been elated to have this most heinous of souls added to his collection.

  Joseph Jugashvili

  Stalin's given name was Joseph Jugashvili. Stalin was only his pseudonym and was a combination of the Russian words steel and Lenin. Joseph Jugashvili figuratively died in 1912 and Stalin was born at the age of 34. Now both were dead at the age of 68.

  The news took a while to be assimilated by most people. Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov happened to be the first one of the Ruling Circle to learn of Stalin's death. He was paying an obligatory visit to the despot and was present when the doctor informed the staff to prepare the body. Georgy immediately commandeered a phone and called Lazar Kaganovich, who in turn felt obligated to notify the supposedly deceased Khrushchev. Deep in his hiding place Lavrentiy Beria was also advised that Stalin was dead before many others in the Soviet elite received the news.

  Life without Stalin was going to be unsettling for many of the Soviet population. He had been in power for over 40 years. He was the Soviet Union. Only other members of the ruling elite understood that Stalin had perverted the ideal of communism into his own personality cult. Now it was time to move on.

  Most believed that Khrushchev was dead, with hundreds having witnessed him being shot in the head. Of the five remaining members of the Ruling Circle, Malenkov held the most power. With Nikita's reported assassination, Georgy became the obvious choice for becoming General Secretary of the Soviet Union.

  Due to his families ties with Lenin, Malenkov experienced a swifter than average rise within the Communist Party. Georgy had cohabitated with Valeriya Golubtsova for decades. They had three children together. The couple's relationship was significant in that Valeriya's mother was an associate of Lenin. Both his partner's career and that of Malenkov leap frogged over others.

  During World War Two Georgy oversaw the production of Soviet aircraft. The USSR was second only to the US in aircraft production with over 138,000 built from 1940-45. [clxxvii] His planes eventually cleared the skies over the Soviet Union of Nazi aircraft. Malenkov was in excellent position to rule the USSR and was planning on doing just that.

  The official announcement of Stalin's death came on 30 July 1947. Some wept, some rejoiced and some prayed for the first time in decades. Many ordinary people of the Soviet Union just wanted peace and to be left alone. Those wishes were now a real possibility.

  The French were in open revolt with many regional communist officials being hung by local citizens. In the Scandinavian countries, The Resistance
was openly fighting their occupiers. Belgium and Denmark were virtually free of Red Army units and taking prisoners by the thousands.

  The Red Army in Western Europe was ceasing to exist by attrition. Apart from the half a million men on the Pyrenees Line in Spain, many units were surrendering to the nearest NATO officer. For the most part, the Soviet soldiers were being treated with humanity and respect when they surrendered peacefully.

  They were promised a one-way ticket home and food for their journey. Some were talked into joining the Freedom Force. Many took off their uniforms and just started heading east.

  Families along the way found it much easier to give the ex-soldiers food, then to have their homes looted. The former Red Army military personnel were required to turn in their guns and arms before they were given safe passage. By the hundreds and then by the thousands they started the long journey home.

  Most had no idea if their wives, lovers, children, parents or siblings were still alive. Were their homes still intact? Who was now in command? Would they be shot for leaving their posts?

  There were so many questions and no answers they just took one step after the other. Once it is said and done, you can always take one more step...one more step...one more step.

  That Bodes Well

  Georgy Zhukov was very good at hiding his true feelings from his staff. Inside, his guts were churning as he thought about his upcoming meeting with the unknown spy. The go-between claimed connections to Konstantin. Just speaking to the agent could get Georgy killed even though Stalin was recently dead.

  To his relief the briefing on the planned attack was short and to the point. His chief of staff had done a good job. Zhukov answered a few questions from junior staff.