Germany does not seek survival

Anyway, for Faust and the National Socialists, the revolutionary spark that Lenin ignited in Russia would also help the National Socialist revolution.

So Faust welcomed Comrade Lenin with open arms.

"Lenin... he is absolutely our revolutionary comrade in the National Socialist Party!"

Chapter 79: Target Petrograd

From Königsberg in East Prussia to Riga in Courland, there were endless convoys of cars connected end to end along the way. Thousands of horse-drawn carriages rumbled forward, carrying military dependents and immigrants from mainland Germany to the Baltic coast.

Trains were used to transport heavier baggage. Trains loaded with troops and supplies traveled back and forth on every railway. Countless carriages filled the transportation lines, and the humming and clanging of trains could be heard everywhere on the border between Germany and Russia.

Near Tallinn, which was located on the front line, the German army built many new mobile houses and enclosed a large area with wooden fences for the new troops arriving at the front to live in. In addition to the Grossdeutschland Regiment, three divisions of the Polish Corps and one division of the newly formed Courland Defense Army were also stationed in Tallinn.

According to the plan of the General Staff, the next step of the German army's operation on the Eastern Front is to cross Lake Peipus and Lake Pskov, so as to sweep across the gateway of Petrograd, the capital of Tsarist Russia. If the two cities of Narva and Pskov are successfully occupied, then they can consider directly attacking Petrograd.

In the city of Tallinn, the German army set up a new headquarters for the Baltic Army Group. According to the plan, it was reorganized from the original German Eighth Army Group. The Grossdeutschland Regiment, the Polish Corps and the newly organized Courland Defense Army would all fight under the organization of the Baltic Army Group in the future.

However, the senior generals of the army group had not yet arrived in Tallinn. Only some combat staff with the style of Junker elites had arrived in Tallinn first.

Each of their faces was filled with confident smiles, which was not surprising. The German army's victory in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga was truly brilliant. With only a loss of less than 10,000 people, they defeated the Tsarist Russian army of more than 200,000 troops, and in the process of the Russian army's retreat, they wiped out more than 100,000 Russian troops in one go.

As for the captures and seizures, the number is countless.

If such a glorious victory had taken place on the Western Front, it would have been enough to produce more than a dozen recipients of the Order of the Blue Max. No wonder the officers of the Baltic Army Group Headquarters are now full of hope for the prospect of victory.

Only the National Socialists thought otherwise.

Faust stayed with Manstein. The Eastern General Planning Group had achieved great success in the Courland nation-building project, so it was now receiving more and more attention from the General Staff. The various resources that Manstein could control and his decision-making power became much stronger.

Manstein also knew that Germany's minor victories on the Eastern Front could not change the Allies' overall passive predicament. After Ludendorff restarted unrestricted submarine warfare, Manstein became even more convinced of Faust's prophecy.

He told Faust, "For the past two years, Switzerland has become the scene of diplomatic intrigues between the Allies and the Central Powers. Members of Parliament, secretaries, military attachés, businessmen, journalists, artists... all kinds of people from both sides of the war have been assigned to various tasks. We, following your advice, Major, have successfully contacted the most inflammatory Russian revolutionary."

Faust first said "Oh". Lenin, the leader of the Russian Revolution, was in Switzerland. This was not a secret to the General Staff. The advice Faust provided to Manstein was actually just to repeatedly emphasize the importance of Lenin.

"The Russian Provisional Government has announced that all political prisoners previously wanted by the Tsarist government have been rehabilitated, and that all revolutionary exiles abroad are now able to return to Russia."

Manstein went on to say, "But this is only a superficial measure. According to the information we have, socialist revolutionaries like Plekhanov who support the war have been allowed to return to Russia from Britain, but Marxists like Trotsky are still being stopped at the border."

Faust briefly analyzed the situation: "There has always been a strong pro-German faction within the Tsar's court. The February Revolution that overthrew the Tsar was actually primarily a palace coup orchestrated by British and French diplomats to prevent the Tsar from making peace with Germany. Therefore, the newly elected Provisional Government would only be more hawkish on the war front."

Manstein said: "All the Allied border guards have received a list of names. They are rigorously searching for these radical Russian revolutionaries. If Lenin wants to return to Russia, there is only one way, that is, we help Lenin return to Russia via Germany."

Faust said, "Yes, so the General Eastern Planning Group should provide assistance to Lenin."

Manstein frowned. "To obtain permission from the enemy's general staff to set foot on and cross enemy territory during wartime is undoubtedly treason. If our assistance in Lenin's return to Russia were to be exposed, the Russians might suspect Lenin of being our spy. Then, Lenin's peace program would be ineffective, and the Russians would lose their trust in him."

Faust certainly knew that people in later generations had made up many stories about this issue, such as Zhenin, a German spy, and 500,000 gold marks, which were still very popular a hundred years later.

Lenin's return to Russia via Germany, coupled with the fact that he did want to facilitate a ceasefire in Russia, would inevitably arouse strong hostility among Russia's nationalist groups.

Historically, after Russia's armistice with Germany, the Red-White Civil War broke out immediately. The scale of the civil war and the damage it caused were far greater than those of the First World War.

Faust proposed an idea: "We can seek a compromise. There is still a prisoner exchange going on between our country and Russia, right?"

Manstein nodded. "What's your suggestion? After the Battle of the Gulf of Riga, we captured many prominent figures in the Russian army, including high-ranking officers and nobles. So both the Tsarist government and the newly elected Kerensky Provisional Government want to exchange some of these high-ranking prisoners for us."

Faust smiled and said, "Let's use this method. We can arrange a noble identity for Lenin, give him a false name, and include him in the prisoner exchange list. Then, Lenin can return to Russia legally."

Manstein also felt that this was a better plan. The plan envisioned by the General Staff was to directly arrange a sealed train to send Lenin back to Russia.

During this process, Lenin was completely controlled by the German army, and naturally all kinds of rumors were inevitable.

If Lenin could be sent back to Russia through the legal method of prisoner exchange, it would definitely reduce the resistance Lenin would encounter in Russia in the future.

Faust added: "The exchange of prisoners can be handled by a neutral country, preferably the Swiss government. All Germany has to do is arrange a false identity for Lenin and then hand him over to the Swiss government."

Faust lowered his eyelids, staring at the large map of Europe on the table, and gave Manstein some advice:

"After Lenin returns to Russia, he will be able to promote the growth of Russia's peace forces, and a future armistice between Germany and Russia will be inevitable. Germany can then transfer its main forces on the Eastern Front to fight on the Western Front. However, unrestricted submarine warfare will inevitably create an excuse for the United States to join the war. After the United States joins the war, even if Germany devotes all its efforts to the Western Front, it will still be defeated."

Manstein stared at Faust and said: "If Germany is doomed to lose the war, what is the point of us going to great lengths to fire Lenin, the cannonball, at Russia?"

Faust smiled broadly. "It's significant! If Germany is defeated, the Austro-Hungarian Empire will also disintegrate. Coupled with the collapse of Russia, Eastern Europe will be in turmoil. A series of new small countries may emerge between Germany and Russia. Germany and Russia will no longer have a direct border, and the space for cooperation between the two sides will increase dramatically."

"A revolutionary Russia with Lenin at the helm would not be accepted by Britain and France, and a defeated Germany could join hands with revolutionary Russia to prepare for the next war."

With Manstein's intelligence and talent, Faust pointed it out so clearly, so he could certainly see how the situation would develop. However, Manstein's temperament has always been like this. He never likes to put himself on the most risky front line.

Manstein smiled. "I took Major Faust's advice and used a prisoner exchange to return Lenin, the spark of revolution, to Russia. In the future, I will not take all the credit for this achievement in German history. If I write my memoirs after the war, I will definitely write clearly that it was Major Faust's idea."

Faust almost couldn't help rolling his eyes. Before doing anything, Manstein had already thought about how to pass the buck if the situation got out of control in the future!

Man Buqun, you are indeed...

Faust and Manstein shook hands: "It's a deal."

Manstein shook Faust's hand firmly, shaking it up and down. "One more thing. The General Staff is planning a new offensive due to the resounding victory in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga. They want to use war to force peace... The target of this new offensive is Petrograd."

Chapter 80: The Motherland Is Our Grave

After the German army achieved a greater victory than ever before on the Eastern Front, its appetite grew. If the German army could really capture Petrograd, it would indeed have the upper hand in negotiations with Russia.

For Faust, if the German army captured Petrograd, the historical variables would be too great.

Even if Lenin could return to Russia under better conditions, Petrograd would have become a German-occupied area. Could Lenin and the Bolsheviks who followed him have continued to win the historic victory of the October Revolution?

Such things are difficult for Faust to predict, like the flapping of a butterfly's wings and the unpredictable changes in history. No one can accurately predict every subtle change.

When many subtle changes accumulate, history can become unrecognizable.

Faust took a deep breath. In just less than half a year, he rose rapidly from a mere hunter in the German army to an army major. His promotion speed was not slow, but when it came to the issue of the German attack on Petrograd, our Major Faust still seemed too insignificant.

Manstein then told Faust: "The General Staff is particularly pleased with the performance of the Grossdeutschland Regiment on the Eastern Front. You will soon have new assignments. Especially you, Major Faust, the General Staff hopes that you will return to Berlin as soon as possible."

Faust was not surprised by this, as the Great German Regiment was originally formed as a model for a new type of chasseur unit.

Now that the model has been a huge success, if nothing unexpected happens, the General Staff will certainly hope to use the Großdeutschland Regiment as a training unit and replicate more similar units as soon as possible.

Faust might as well do Manstein a favor: "Major Manstein, the success of the Greater German Regiment is not due to me alone, but to the unity of every officer and soldier, and also to the cooperation between the Eastern Group and the Greater German Regiment. After I arrive in Berlin, if I have the honor of seeing Your Majesty again, I will certainly explain to Your Majesty the success of the Eastern Master Plan."

Manstein, the little fox, was very pleased with Faust's attitude. "The original conception of the Eastern Master Plan was proposed by you, Major. The credit lies primarily with you. Don't forget, your people were also involved in most of the Eastern Group's operations."

"Oh, how's Sorge doing?"

"He's very clever and has a great talent for languages. He already speaks Russian, and now he's quickly mastering Estonian."

Estonian is a very difficult language. Unlike any other language in Eastern Europe, it does not belong to the Indo-European language family, but to the Uralic language family which is closely related to Finnish. For Europeans, the learning threshold is more difficult than any other language in Europe except Basque.

Manstein admired Sorge very much. "Where did you find this talent? This guy has a natural talent for intelligence. Besides his strong language skills, he's also very good at collecting and organizing all kinds of news data. He can unravel the details of public reports and find important intelligence that many spies can't get."

Intelligence work during World War I still relied heavily on a small number of aristocratic diplomats with extensive connections. Spies were not like the secret agents of later generations. They were usually of aristocratic origin and had multinational ancestry. Sometimes they were spies, and sometimes they were just pure political brokers.

Sorge was a step above the secret service-style spies of World War II. He was also good at underground secret work, but he was even better at obtaining important intelligence by integrating public information.

This ability to integrate and analyze information was more valuable than gold in an era without computers, search engines, and artificial intelligence.

"And the Polish Legion?"

Manstein replied, "The Polish Legion will continue to fight on the Eastern Front, while the Großdeutschland Regiment will be transferred back to East Prussia. The General Staff's plan is to expand and train at least twelve battalions of assault chasseurs based on the Großdeutschland Regiment."

Faust understood that the Greater German Group had another opportunity to expand its military, and the National Socialist Party could also take the opportunity to spread its influence to more people.

However, unlike the initial formation of the Grossdeutschland Regiment, the National Socialist Party could completely control the Grossdeutschland Regiment, but it was unlikely that it would be able to control all of the newly formed twelve battalions.

Faust speculated that the soldiers of the new army would most likely come from Württemberg and other places, rather than continuing to be mainly composed of Bavarians.

After three years of war, Bavaria's manpower had become extremely depleted.

In addition, the National Socialist Party's unscrupulous recruitment of members in the Grossdeutschland Regiment, a regimental-level unit, has already reached its limit. If it continues to expand its influence, even if the General Staff no longer cares about political issues within the military, it should still pay attention to the existence of the National Socialist Party.

If we provoke the iron fist of the General Staff, it will be more trouble than gain.

The National Socialist Party now has hundreds of members, and there are more than a thousand more members in the Greater Germany Group who have also submitted applications to join the National Socialist Party, but are still in the probation stage.

This force is not weak. Next, we should not be obsessed with blindly increasing the number of party members, but should focus on improving the organization and discipline of the National Socialist Party.

"The official transfer order from the General Staff will be sent to Tallinn in the next two days. Major, you still have two days to prepare."

Manstein left Faust with another piece of advice: "Berlin is different from the front. The capital of the empire has long been an eagle's nest for all kinds of conspirators. In Berlin, you must be cautious in everything you do. A little caution will do you no harm."

Faust smiled slightly: "Thank you, Major Manstein."

Manstein knew very well how useful Faust was, but due to his temperament, he really didn't want to form an overly firm offensive or defensive alliance with anyone.

"I can only advise you not to get caught up in the vortex of struggle among the upper echelons."

Faust nodded. According to Manstein, Faust would be ordered to return to Berlin before the Greater German Regiment was transferred to East Prussia.

What exactly should we do?

Perhaps it was because Ludendorff was very interested in Faust. The upper echelons of the empire, the royal family, princes, political parties, military-industrial capitalist groups, as well as the revolutionaries hidden underground, were all on the verge of a war. With the February Revolution in Russia and the fall of the Romanov dynasty, I think the Hohenzollern dynasty would also feel a sense of grief!

After Faust returned to the headquarters of the Greater German Regiment, he first convened a party congress and announced that he would go to Berlin to "meet the emperor" two days later.

The man with a mustache was very happy. Hitler felt that Faust being summoned to Berlin to meet the emperor was definitely a sign that he would be further valued.

Rommel advised Faust: "Perhaps the General Staff has noticed the existence of the National Socialist Party."

The other officers also had their own thoughts. They were all happy about Faust's promotion, but they were also worried that the National Socialist Party's revolutionary conspiracy would be exposed.

Faust simply instructed everyone, "The Greater German Regiment will soon be transferred back to East Prussia. The General Staff has decided to expand the assault chasseur unit by twelve battalions, modeled after the Greater German Regiment. Once you're in East Prussia, remember not to expose the National Socialist Party's secrets. Everyone must observe confidentiality. This year will be the most critical..."

Rommel pointed to the calendar on the wall and said, "There are still eight months left in this year. What will happen in the remaining eight months?"

Faust also made no secret of it: "Manstein is trying to send Lenin back to Russia. Once Lenin returns to Russia, the second great revolution will break out in Russia."

"Lenin!"

The National Socialist Party developed for half a year. During this period, Faust obtained a large amount of materials about the socialist revolution and the international workers' movement through Sorge's channels. Reading clubs were often organized within the National Socialist Party, so everyone was familiar with Lenin.

"Russia's February Revolution was just a palace coup. Apart from the fall of the Tsar, there were no structural changes in Russian society."

Faust analyzed: "The next revolution launched by Lenin will be very different. Lenin's revolution will completely change Russian society. The storm of social change will also cross the trenches and infect Germany."

The man with the mustache clenched his fists: "We, the National Socialist Party, should control this trend."

Faust smiled knowingly and said, "I leave the Greater Germany to you, comrades. When I return to the Greater Germany, I believe the time will be ripe for revolution."

Faust had already established a very high prestige in the Greater German Corps. As soon as he said this, the facts gave a silent answer.

All the participants looked at Faust with reverence, not only looking at a war hero who led them to victory on the battlefield, but also looking at a red leader who would lead them to launch a great revolution.

The fire will start from Russia, but the biggest flames will definitely be in Germany.

After the Party Congress, Faust visited Piłsudski of the Polish Legion again and told him part of the information revealed by Manstein.

The Poles were very dissatisfied with the foreign monarch's plan for a Polish Kingdom, but Piłsudski did not take it seriously because he, like Faust and Manstein, firmly believed that Germany's defeat was inevitable.

Piłsudski said goodbye to Faust. He had great respect for this German war hero in the present, but what about in the future?

Piłsudski knew very well that in a few years, every German would become his enemy, and the man before him, Witt Faust, would most likely become one of the most vicious enemies of the Greater Poland dream.

Before leaving, Faust thought for a moment, then took out a leather military notebook and asked Piłsudski to write a message in it: "After this separation, I don't know when we will meet again, Mr. Piłsudski. When we meet again, perhaps you and I will be on hostile terms."

"Major Faust, you are always so pessimistic... But I am convinced that in troubled times, pessimists are more likely to have the last laugh."

Piłsudski was moved and wrote down Simonovsky's poem:

The oak is a tree, the rose is a flower, the deer is an animal, and the sparrow is a bird. Our homeland is our grave, and death is inevitable.

Chapter 81: The Empire's Harshness

Faust and Manstein had a simple lunch together in a restaurant in front of Tallinn Railway Station, and then boarded the train back to Berlin.

Faust only brought very simple luggage, a change of uniform, a few medals, and nothing else.

Manstein arranged for Faust a first-class carriage that was only for officers. The interior was spacious but there were only a few seats, which was a real luxury in 1917 when transportation capacity was tight.

Faust's seat is made of leather and is very comfortable to sit on. The armrests next to it are also made of oak. There is also an exquisite brass chandelier hanging in the car.

After the train started moving, attendants came with carts and provided the officers with free cigarettes, alcohol and high-end food.

The train rolled towards the heart of the empire - the Eagle's Nest Berlin. The clock of the world continued to move forward. Faust guessed that at about the same time, Lenin might have also boarded a train going in the opposite direction?

During the World War, the German army fired millions of devastating artillery shells, but none had the far-reaching and life-threatening impact of these two trains.

One train rushed towards the heart of Russia, and the other returned to the capital of Germany, and together they formed a torrential flood that destroyed the order of the old era.

Faust looked out the train window. The day had passed and the sun was slowly setting. The afterglow of the past dyed the silver stream into a golden river. After dusk, there was a long night.

The end of the long night will always come.