The Arctic Circle in the cold winter is a real white world, the ice field reaches its peak of the year, and even the sea at the edge of the polar circle is floating with large pieces of drift ice, the temperature drops to minus twenty or thirty degrees, and the hulls and decks of passing ships are frozen with a layer of ice, but the north wind cannot penetrate the thick mountain rocks, and in the "refuge", the last bastion of the Third Reich, a hidden place east of the North Cape of Norway, the temperature in each cave is kept above zero degrees thanks to the energy generated by geothermal energy. In the magnificent and sacred imperial base camp, the room temperature in the office is above 15 degrees, and it is as warm as spring.

In the Führer's office, modeled after the layout of the Imperial Chancellery, the gray-haired old man hunched slightly, holding a magnifying glass in his left hand, examines an area that is about to happen on a large, specially marked world map.

"My Führer, the doctor told you not to work more than four hours a day, and although your physical condition has recovered well recently, I don't think it is better to work hard at the moment."

This one-eyed man, dressed in the traditional marshal's uniform of the Third Reich Wehrmacht and wearing the Order of the Imperial Knighthood, was none other than Erwin, a military god-level figure who had made the allies extremely jealous and even plotted assassination. Rommel, who was also the true guardian of the "Sanctuary" base. He directly commanded the last elite of the empire, which was divided into three arms: land, sea and air force, and the total number of people was equivalent to a regular division. In terms of individual quality and equipment, this army can be called the first, but this base is isolated from the sea, and it is less than 400 kilometers from the Soviet border, once exposed and besieged by Soviet troops, even with Rommel's tactical genius it is difficult to turn the tide.

The old man who studied the map responded with a soft "oh", his intented gaze moving slowly with the magnifying glass, and after a while he asked in German with a Linz accent: "If Joseph. Stalin died, and the USSR would immediately fall into division? ”

"Probably not, my Führer! A strong army is a bulwark to the consolidation of power, and the generals of high prestige will not sit idly by and watch civil war and division unfold. Rommel replied, "But if the United States and the Soviet Union were to fight each other because one side was robbed of its expertise and technology in core weapons, and the other side was assassinated as an absolute leader, the situation would be more favorable to us than the division of the Soviet Union!" ”

"You're right! You're right! The old man repeated the words twice as if muttering, and at this moment the focus of the magnifying glass was on Moscow, the place where he had been defeated. After a while, he said to himself in a volume that others could hear clearly: "Regardless of victory or defeat, the battlefield will be in the wilderness of Central Europe, which is our homeland...... It will be our people who will be devastated by the war, how terrible, how terrible! Ah, Joseph. Stalin, the man of the dictatorship, did not allow anyone to approach his absolute position, so there was no one other than him who could control the overall situation, and even if the Soviet Union did not fall into a split immediately, it would be difficult for the marshals in military power to keep their minds at odds, and we should co-opt and support one of them at the right time, and let a man who was not so hateful of Germany ascend to the position of leader of the Soviet Union, which would be very beneficial to our revival. This is a critical opportunity! ”

Presumably accustomed to the Führer's way of speaking, Rommel did not immediately pick up, but waited until he asked him clearly what he thought, and then replied tepidly: "Therefore, whatever strategy we ultimately adopt, the assassination of Stalin is an extremely important opportunity." On this point, I am on the same page as the lad. I believe that the Soviet Union, as powerful as it has never been, can still find a suitable opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Alexander II. ”

The old man looked sideways at the empty wall and thought for a moment: "The fate of Alexander II is indeed miserable, but I think this way will be very suitable for our old opponent." Yes... Ha... I wish that day would come sooner. Roosevelt went, Stalin went, and Churchill's old fellow, although he was not in power, should have gone to God sooner! They must not have imagined that I would live longer than them, they must not have imagined! ”

"So......" Rommel took the opportunity to advise, "take care of your health and wait patiently for your recovery." ”

"Hmm... Well... Rehabilitation, I'm recovering. Well, my only marshal, send a report to our lads! Let him take our warriors and do it! What are the requirements, what needs to be cooperated, just mention, we will do our best to meet. The old man raised his head and thought for a moment, "Once the date of Stalin's death is determined, we should be ready to give that special gift to his successor!" ”

"Everything is in place." Rommel replied respectfully.

The old man turned around and said, "That's it!" It's really time for me to go and rest for a while, I have to get injections and medicine every day, and even a mosquito doesn't want to bite me! ”

Rommel opened his mouth, and finally said in a voice that he could only hear: "But there is not a single mosquito here all year round......"

"Every year on February 23, the Red Army Day in Soviet Russia is celebrated, and military parades and celebrations are usually held in St. Petersburg, now Leningrad, in the presence of high-ranking Russian figures, including Stalin. ”

In the suite study of a luxury hotel in Stockholm, Lynn and Andri, along with Lynn's colleague and assistant Burhold. Zenaman sat on the couch and listened to the handsome man with the English mustache in front of him tell the story in pure German. On the mahogany coffee table in front of them was a small tourist map, marked in Russian.

"According to the information we have so far, as the first Red Army Day after the end of the war, the Soviet side of Russia prepared a grand military parade and mass parade, and issued invitations to envoys, military attachés and important people of various countries in the Soviet Union. From the rehearsals we have observed, the military parade will be held here, on the Champ de Mars, and the mass procession throughout the city will also be used here as a starting point. ”

One of the most famous attractions, the Champ de Mars is located on the banks of the Neva River, and the simple lines and coloring on the map are not enough for people who have never been to the city to imagine what it looks like.

"Although there is no definite internal information, we estimate that Stalin will not stay in Leningrad for long, most likely to attend the celebrations of the day and the dinner in the evening, and the main generals of Soviet Russia, such as Zhukov and Chuikov, may also stop by to inspect various barracks and military installations."

Although this Gunther was originally a member of the German [***] Intelligence Bureau and is now a Soviet and Russian intelligence officer of the Intelligence Department of the Imperial Strategic Staff. Mitigo had just brought in information from Soviet Russia, but in Lynn's opinion, it was far from the basics needed for a successful assault. In view of the strategy formulated by the Führer and the High Command, by the time the Soviet-German war broke out, the two major German military intelligence agencies had sent as many as 1,000 spies to Eastern Europe, who went around to spy on Soviet intelligence and even directly guide the German army when it attacked. However, with the collapse of the imperial power, the German spies who remained in Eastern Europe at the end of the war generally had only three outcomes: they were dug up by the Soviets, lived incognito, and were organized by the Western front, and very few actually remained to continue to serve the Reich. In the situation of self-preservation, it is unrealistic to want them to obtain more and deeper intelligence information.

As a strategic planner and action planner, Lynn asked, "Major, have you been to that square yourself?" ”

The intelligence officer, dressed in British attire, may be in his early thirties, but his lean awl face makes him look younger than his actual age.

"Been there. The square is very large, as if it was a royal meadow and a military parade training ground in Tsarist times, the square faces the river on one side, the summer garden on the other, and the Pavlovsky barracks on the other, which is also very large, and there are no obtrusive buildings around, so it is difficult to deploy snipers if you want to organize assassinations here. ”

Lynn hadn't revealed who he was going to deal with by assassination before, but the instructions for gathering intelligence were indeed easy to make people directly associate with this. He closed his eyes and sketched a simple scene in his mind, in the military parade attended by the head of state and many dignitaries, the strictness of the security work can be imagined, every window within the range of guns and bullets should be monitored or directly guarded, and the whole city is on alert, and the mobilization of the military and civilians also makes it difficult to obtain space for peripheral attacks. Nevertheless, from the Roman consul Julius. Caesar to King Gustav III of Sweden, Tsar Alexander II, from Abraham. Lynn to Garfield, McKinley, Kennedy, these leaders who have been assassinated in various ways show that assassination is still an effective method of destruction until modern times, and even at the end of the 20th century, the plane of the former president of Rwanda was shot down by two surface-to-air missiles, such assassination methods were even more violent...... "What kind of weapons can we get in Soviet Russia at the moment?" When asked this question, Lynn remembered his funny "Danish fellow" Diglio, whose operation led to the successful shipment of a large number of weapons including MG42 light machine guns, MP44 assault rifles, and hand grenades into the United States, without which the raid on Las Amos would undoubtedly be much more difficult.

The major, who was in charge of intelligence affairs in Soviet Russia, replied: "Although the Russian political axe has been working for the last six months to collect weapons lost on the battlefield, Mosin. Nagant rifles, PPS submachine guns, and all kinds of ammunition and explosives are still not difficult to obtain, but if the demand is large, then it is necessary to see the actual situation. ”

"What about large-caliber mortars?" Lynn asked casually.

The Major shook his head decisively, not to mention heavy artillery, rocket artillery, and tanks.

In fact, the common people of Soviet Russia during this period were still relatively simple in their thinking.

Lynn then turned to Andriy and said, "It seems that we still have to rely on us to bring in the weapons. ”

In wartime, if you can master the intelligence network of the Third Reich, your status is obviously very high, but it is a pity that Andri's current situation is not as good as when he was the chief of security in the Gestapo, especially after Rommel temporarily took charge of the Imperial Strategic Staff, Andri's authority was even more invisibly restricted.

"You can use submarines to transport them to Finland or Estonia first, and then find a way to transport them in by land, no matter which way you go, it's still quite difficult." Andriy had a confused expression.

At this time, Lynn missed Lorence very much. Bach, who was always as steady as a mountain, and was able to use his wisdom and talent to overcome all kinds of difficulties, without his various clever arrangements, the battle of Los Amos would not have been able to achieve the results later, and it might even become a second failed Potsdam raid. Now that the God of War is imprisoned in distant North America, everything that needs to be done has to be done by Lynn himself, and there is not much time left, and it will be February 23 in half a month.

"It's better to find a way to get a picture of the Soviet armament in Leningrad, even if it's just a part of what you observe." Lynn said to Major Mitigo.

The beautiful awl face and mustache nodded: "I'll try to arrange it." ”

Lynn continued: "Rent a few big houses near the river in the suburbs in advance, get some convenient transportation, you don't have to worry about the funds, we will fight for you a special fund for you to bring back directly this time." ”

The Major visibly felt the weight on his shoulders growing, and he replied with a serious expression, "Okay." I'll do that as soon as I get back. ”

Lynn consulted Andriy and Zenaman for advice, saying, "On the combatant side...... How much do you think is appropriate? ”

Andri, who has been mixing intelligence and housekeeping for many years, gave a sophisticated, slick but informative answer: "On the premise of being able to complete the task, the more streamlined the better." ”

Zenaman is an honest and honest man, and he pondered carefully: "For special assassination missions, to ensure the smooth operation of the whole process and arrange the evacuation of personnel, 10 to 20 people are more appropriate, but if you can find opportunities such as planting bombs, poisoning and shooting, less than 10 people can also be completed, but such a task does not seem to be suitable for night combat troops with strong melee capabilities." ”

Zenaman's last sentence made Andriy look at Lynn with some uneasiness, and saw that this colleague, who did not easily express his inner emotions most of the time, still sat upright and thought about things in a hurry, so he did not take the initiative to interject.

After a while, Lynn said calmly: "In the strategic plan I submitted to the Führer, the assassination of the leader of Soviet Russia, the destruction of US atomic weapons manufacturing facilities, and the creation of a new industrial base are all predetermined contents, but the precise implementation time has not been determined. Now that both have been successfully implemented in their own ways or are actively being carried out, it is time for the assassination plan to be put into action. ”

Major Mitigo's surprise was written in his eyes at the already unfamiliar words of "Führer", and he stared at Lynn in a daze, probably wondering if the sentence was meant to be said to himself or if it was true. Agents like them, who were outside of Germany proper, only knew that the Third Reich continued in an alternative way, and that they had only heard of the "refuge" bases and the secrets of the Führer's life and death.

Lynn saw the young intelligence officer's strangeness, and tried to judge his true thoughts and reliability from his reaction. In the eyes of senior performers, expressions can be disguised, but that kind of heartfelt admiration and longing is difficult to "artificially create".

After pondering for a moment, he said: "With conventional thinking, the military parade is crowded with people, the environment is complicated, and the leaders are in unsheltered positions, which is the ideal environment for carrying out assassinations, shooting, bombs and even assaults, but in fact, it is not. Assassinations at grand parades require breaking through the vigilance of perimeter troops, and on such occasions all military personnel are in a state of high mental tension, unless they have long-range precision weapons or critical internal responses that the enemy does not expect, neither of which we currently have. ”

Having said that, Lynn thinks of rockets and remote-controlled bombs, which are the leading countries of the Third Reich and throwing knives, which were put into actual combat and achieved technical success during the war, but due to various reasons such as the attention of those in power, the psychology and tactics of opponents, and the limitations of the times, they have not been able to become superstars that change the tide of war, but the trend of technological development is destined to be the protagonists of future wars. It's a pity that the top brass of the empire fled in a hurry before the defeat, and actually gave up the expert equipment for rockets and remote-controlled bombs, and only retained a small number of technical information of key surnames.

The three of them listened silently.

"As far as space is concerned, the dinner of the day is an opportunity that we can take advantage of, and I suggest that it be the first plan, find out the location of the dinner in advance, mix in as much as possible, whether the Russian leader is present or not, and plant bombs using radio detonators at key locations - this is more reliable than traditional time bombs. As for the second plan, I would like to follow the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and launch an attack on the way after the Russian leader watched the military parade. ”

Although he is not a direct supervisor, after all, Lynn holds the position of the chief strategic staff officer of the base camp and the commander of the "Spring Thunder Operation", presumably these Andries have also explained before, and Major Mitigo continued to respond at first, and then turned into a silent nod later.

Lynn still understands how many people do how many things, and he felt that the main things had been said, so he said to Andri: "These tasks are heavy enough, can you send more men to the major?" ”

"Additional manpower is definitely needed." Andriy replied, "It's just that our intelligence department is still in the stage of adjustment and recovery, there are too few skilled intelligence officers suitable for operating in Soviet Russia, and the temporary selection from the Guards is too hasty, so for the sake of now, we can only try to contact and activate the intelligence personnel who are still lurking in Russia to see if we can increase our strength in a short time, but there is a certain risk in doing so." ”

"Although it takes a long time for a professional intelligence officer to train, I want to ...... Some low-intensity missions don't have to be carried out by formal intelligence officers, and we can select some people from the Guards who are more familiar with Russia, such as my deputy Gordon, who is as smart as a cheetah and as good as a tiger when they are out of the cage. After a trip to the United States that shocked the world, Lynn was completely confident in saying this, after all, the members of the operation he personally selected to bring to the United States were not inferior in performance to those professional intelligence officers with a single mind and a single style who were not inferior to Colonel Burtrim.

(To be continued)