I Became Stalin?!

Chapter 147:

Chapter 147

Draba, a small village about 150km northwest of Sarajevo.

There was a heated debate at the headquarters of the Yugoslav People’s Army, which had settled here.

“We can liberate the Dalmatian coast by ourselves, without Soviet support! Please order the offensive now!”

“Um…”

“Comrade Tito!”

The commander of the Soviet First Balkan Front, Rodion Malinovsky, ‘advised’ the Yugoslav People’s Army to refrain from a wasteful offensive until the final offensive.

In fact, since the Yugoslav People’s Army, the national army of the Yugoslav Republic, was not the Soviet army, this advice was nothing more than advice. Many former partisans and current People’s Army generals wanted to engage in active combat, even if they did not launch a full-scale offensive into Croatian territory.

But Tito was taking a different and cautious stance than usual. He pondered with his chin resting on his hand, and several officers pleaded with him in a sorrowful voice.

“We are not Soviet puppets…”

“Watch your mouth!”

But as soon as the word puppet came out, Tito roared and glared at the officer who said it. He covered his mouth with a gasp, but Tito still frowned.

“You have such a short-sighted view… Well…”

Who knows who in this place would relay the words to the Soviet Union, to Stalin’s secretary-general. He had to be careful even with his words.

Tito was interested in the integration of the Yugoslav nation and the expansion of its influence as a regional power in the Balkans. 

And he also realized that cooperation with the Soviet Union was absolutely important for that.

‘Without the Soviet Union… we can do nothing.’

It was the Soviet Union that smashed Germany, which had smashed the two great powers of Britain and France, by itself. 

It was obvious that the great powers that had been more powerful than Yugoslavia would lose their influence on the international stage as a defeated country or as a suspect of collaborating with them.

In order to secure its own position in this situation, Yugoslavia needed a delicate balancing act.

He had to cooperate with the Soviet Union in the war and earn credit, but he should not be a puppet who obeyed the Soviet Union’s orders completely. 

The Soviet Union’s influence in the socialist bloc was inevitable, but at least it had to be an independent planet with its own satellite, not a satellite state.

“For now… let me think a little more. Our army also needs maintenance, doesn’t it? Let the soldiers enjoy the liberation of Belgrade a little more.”

“Yes, sir. Uh…?”

“Comrade commander! Comrade commander!”

A strange noise began to be heard from somewhere. As everyone panicked, a soldier ran into the headquarters, gasping for breath.

“It’s the enemy! The enemy has appeared!”

***

“Damn it! A surprise attack!”

“This way! This way! Please evacuate, comrade commander!”

At the news that hundreds of airborne troops were parachuting, the staff of the headquarters were in a frenzy.

This place was more like a villa than a base. Now that Belgrade had been captured, it was right to have the government and the military headquarters in the capital, but Tito liked this place where he had led the partisans, so he came here to have a meeting.

He also wanted to avoid the Soviet eye. Anyway, there was no time to regret in this emergency situation.

“Huff, huff, huff…”

“Get in the car!”

Tito, wearing a cumbersome Yugoslav marshal’s uniform, hurriedly came down through the emergency escape hole in the floor. In front of the exit, two heavy Soviet-made armored vehicles were waiting for him.

‘Damn it… I was wondering how to avoid becoming a satellite state of the Soviet Union, and now I’m running away in a Soviet-made vehicle…’

The driver, who had come to teach him how to operate the armored vehicle, looked at him briefly and spoke in fluent Serbian.

“Comrade commander, this vehicle will now be driven by a Yugoslav driver and escort you to escape. Please escape safely.”

“What, what?”

Tito stared blankly at the back of his driver, who ran out with a heavy rifle, not even knowing that Iza could speak Serbian.

He honestly had no thoughts when he saw him, who looked like a professional fighter rather than a technical instructor. But looking at his running form, he seemed like a special forces member.

He felt like he knew why Marshal Malyonovsky had that expression when he sent the Soviet instructors.

“Sigh…”

He was probably an NKVD agent sent by the Soviet Union to escort and monitor Tito.

NKVD chief Beria could assassinate Hitler if he wanted to, but he thought that it applied to him as well, not Hitler. He felt a chill down his spine.

“Let’s get out of here quickly!”

“Yes, Comrade Commander!”

The two armored vehicles split in different directions and ran away. They had to move to a safe area as soon as possible and head to Belgrade, where the main force of the Yugoslav army was stationed.

“Damn it…”

How much did the Soviet Union know? Tito became more and more curious.

Could we escape from the Soviet Union’s grip?

***

“Damn it!!!”

The prisoner’s testimony that he had not installed any defensive facilities on purpose for camouflage seemed like a lie. 

There was no counterattack when the commandos entered at first, but as they approached, a heavy machine gun started to spit fire.

“Ahh!”

“Watch out! It’s a booby trap!”

He thought the agent who came with him was staggering, but he heard a loud bang from both sides.

The directional mine that was hidden in the bushes exploded, and the unlucky agent fell down, wounded by the fragments that flew with the explosion.

They hid such a thing near the headquarters. 

They had to be crazy. Even Schorzeny himself, who volunteered for the beheading operation several times, would stick out his tongue.

“Damn, we’ll all escape at this rate…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence and threw his body to the side to avoid the machine gun fire.

Tatatatatata! 

The subordinate who was running behind him was not as agile as him, and he fell down without even screaming.

“Did they know our plan?”

“…That, that might be possible.”

“Damn it!”

There was no way to escape. If this place was guarded like this, the offensive of the 15th Mountain Division, which was supposed to follow up, would not work.

The prisoner testified that there were at least two divisions and one mobile brigade of the Yugoslav People’s Army stationed in this area. Tito’s close guards were few, but there was enough force to defend the area. 

The 15th Mountain Division, which suffered heavy losses in the battles with the Soviet and Yugoslav armies, was not an easy opponent.

“Let’s capture Tito first! We’ll take him hostage and escape!”

“Yes!”

Among the 300 paratroopers, dozens of them were sacrificed by the heavy weapons and booby traps as they approached the hut.

If the approach route was like this, what would be waiting inside?

***

“Get it out!”

“Yes!”

There was everything in the underground warehouse. 

From Tito’s personal collection of enemy uniforms and various personal items to weapons for the guards.

And among those weapons, there were also various heavy weapons that the Soviet Union had provided for the Yugoslav army. 

The headquarters had kept the prototype that they had received for testing in the warehouse, and the Soviet ‘torturers’ and Spetsnaz’s elite agents had memorized where it was.

“Hehehehe, the ammo is a bit scarce, but…”

“Wow, you had that too?”

“Yeah. This is the trend these days.”

Ten agents operated the machine gun installed for protection and showed the German troops a hot taste, while detonating the various booby traps they had installed.

No matter how much they were paratroopers or special forces, they were equal humans in front of heavy weapons. How could they compare to human flesh when even unarmored vehicles could be turned into burning scrap metal in an instant?

With this firepower, they could tear apart one or two infantry platoons that came rushing. 

They were confident about that. And on top of that, there was the ‘high-speed grenade launcher’ that the young genius Kalashnikov had developed.

This grenade launcher, which could spray hundreds of 40mm grenades per minute, was more effective than a machine gun in hitting infantry units.

“Hahahaha! Come and see!”

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