Chapter 1049: The Caucasus Oil Fields

In the dead of night, inside the largest oil production base in the Baku oil fields, a dozen or so Soviet officers sat with blank expressions in an empty conference room. The giant red star on the roof looked dim. This place had once been the industrial wellspring of the entire Soviet Union, and every resident of Baku had been proud of their role in driving the nation’s industrial development.

In those days, the grand hall here hosted song and dance troupes every day. In those days, one could even see expensive Mercedes-Benz cars on the roads. A year ago, someone would polish that giant red star on the ceiling of the grand hall every day… But now, all of that was in the past. Time had left nothing here but a gray mark.

No one cared anymore if there was dust on the ceiling, and no one cared about the former glory this building represented. The German army was now just ten kilometers away. Those trenches, those sandbags, and the barbed wire in front of them—that was their new national border.

“Those fools don’t dare to face death. They would rather sell their souls just to live a little longer, however wretchedly.” A Soviet general, sitting in his place, spoke to his comrades with considerable regret. “These men have forgotten the oath they swore to Comrade Stalin… They should be hanged from the lampposts!”

Most of the others remained silent. At least for today, everything they had held onto had, like a flower in a mirror or the moon in the water, quietly shattered. An empire that spanned Eurasia, the largest in human history, was now truly on the verge of falling apart.

And these men, who had participated in the founding of this country, who had witnessed its glory firsthand… the truth they had believed in, the man in Moscow they had followed their entire lives—all of it had collapsed, and it seemed it could no longer be sustained.

These officers were all Stalin’s confidants. They had been assigned to the Caucasus to ensure that everything here followed Stalin’s will. But now, the Stalin they believed would never fail was besieged by the German army in Moscow. The country they believed would never fail had now been shattered by the elite troops of the Third Reich.

Now, a feeling of desolate confusion welled up from the depths of their hearts. They wanted to be loyal to their country, to sacrifice themselves for their leader, but they couldn’t find a reason to convince themselves. The name that had once crushed them with its weight now seemed to have no ability to care about the distant Baku, because 17 kilometers in front of his chair was now the German front line.

“Comrade General! Even if the current situation is not in our favor, we must still do something for our country.” A young major stood up and looked at his disheartened colleagues, struggling to encourage them. “At the very least, before we are sacrificed, we cannot just watch the Germans steal our motherland’s resources in Baku.”

“The demolition of the oil depots and equipment, how are the preparations on your end?” The lead general suddenly spoke. He was loyal to Stalin, and he also knew that if the Soviet Union completely collapsed, then he, a former die-hard Stalin supporter, would absolutely not meet a good end.

So he had no other way out, only to walk the path to darkness. Others might have a choice, but he had none. It was for this reason that he now more firmly supported the decision to destroy the Baku oil fields, and was carrying out this order with all the power he could find.

The young major, who had to inquire about these matters every day, answered without hesitation. “Comrade General! Please rest assured! My men still control the entire storage area. If necessary, with just one large fire, we can destroy the entire storage area… The fire will blot out the sky, and the explosions will probably last for days.”

Hearing this good news, the lead general nodded. He knew his confidant’s words were reliable. What he was most worried about now was not the storage area, but the more important oil production equipment, and the factories that refined and converted the oil. If these oil field facilities were not completely destroyed, then just to destroy the reserved oil would not mean much to them.

With Germany’s industrial power, those terrifying German workers could restore oil extraction in less than ten days. That would truly be a disaster for the Soviet Union. Thinking of this, the general looked at two of his subordinates, who were sitting on the other side with their heads bowed. He knew that the question he was about to ask would only receive a not-so-good answer, but he had to ask. “Then, the oil fields…”

“Those troops have mutinied! Comrade General! The officers under my command have been bought by those damn politicians! They are guarding the oil fields, not letting anyone suspicious get close,” an officer who had lost his troops and had been driven out of the oil fields replied gloomily. He actually didn’t want to be sitting here either. But unfortunately, his men had not even given him a chance to choose a side before they had taken his army away. And this unlucky officer, having lost his army, could only helplessly choose his own camp.

“Comrade General! Mobilize the Baku city defense division, detach a regiment, and send them to the oil fields…” the young general said, radically stating his own thoughts. He was an officer who hated the Germans, his position was firm, and his methods were ruthless. This young man had not even thought of compromising. For the past few days, he had been gathering his own forces to cause as much trouble as possible for the German occupation of Baku.

“It’s too late. If we start to fight among ourselves now, the German army will really take the opportunity to charge in,” the general said, shaking his head and rejecting his confidant’s suggestion. He knew that those politicians, who were bent on surrendering, were already on their guard against him. As long as he mobilized the city defense troops, then the several nearby co-defense divisions would also be mobilized, and in the end, it would only make the situation worse.

“There’s no need to trouble ourselves! In fact, we can’t do any better,” the general said. Thinking of this, he gave a bitter smile and let out a long breath. “Hah! The war that belongs to us ends tonight. Have the soldiers light the fires. Blow up the storage area, and dedicate everything we have to our motherland!”

“Long live the great Soviet leader, Comrade Stalin!” the young officer stood up, stood at attention, and shouted. The others also stood up, but their shouts were not so loud. After all, knowing that they were certain to die, few people still had such high spirits to sing someone else’s praises.

Walking out of this dilapidated auditorium, this Soviet general straightened his collar. He knew his time was short, so he turned his head one more time and looked with reluctance at the faces behind him, some young, some old. “Comrades, long live the Soviet Union!”

The young major didn’t say much, because he had more important things to do. After glancing at the general, he got into his car without a backward glance. The car quickly started up and drove towards the defense sector he was in charge of. The other officers also had their own things to do. They had to lead the armies in their hands, on their respective positions, and fight to the last moment.

And in the negotiation site arranged by the German M Army Group in the Caucasus, the two sides had finally signed their names on the agreement. There were no reporters taking pictures, no applause and no congratulations. They were just signing a document of unconditional surrender, with the German army protecting their “property.” As for whether what they called property was legal or not, Manstein couldn’t be bothered to check.

As long as it didn’t involve the German army’s oil field equipment, Manstein was even willing to apply for a large sum of money for these greedy Russian oligarchs. In fact, after the German army occupied Baku, these fellows had only one place to go in the future, and that was the new Russia, which would be born as a German vassal state. Akado would not keep these people, who would even sell out their own motherland, as pets, let alone put them in important positions. And these people, after taking the money, would not stay in Germany for long. After all, these wealthy and powerful people were all very insecure.

“All Soviet troops on the front line are to lay down their weapons now! Await our reorganization and disbandment!” Manstein said, his hands behind his back. He glanced at the document brought by the Führer’s special envoy and spoke in a cold voice to the few Soviet representatives who had signed it.

The other side quickly nodded and bowed, fawning. “Your Excellency, General, believe me, most of the men are under our control. Apart from a few saboteurs, everything is in hand… As for those units that have not laid down their weapons after 10 minutes, you can deal with them as you see fit. They are not covered by this agreement.”

“Order the troops to advance into the city of Baku immediately! Suppress all resistance! Ensure the absolute security of the oil fields and storage areas!” Manstein, full of confidence, gave his final combat order for the Caucasus campaign to the group of officers waiting by his side. He knew that in a few minutes, most of the garrison would lay down their weapons. There was really not much fighting left.

But unfortunately, when he returned to his command post, he received the news that the Caucasus oil field’s petroleum reserve area was on fire. A large number of oil tanks were exploding, setting the black night sky ablaze, and the sound of resisters’ gunfire was also coming continuously from the distance. He felt that he had been played, that he had been thoroughly set up by a bunch of idiots.

If it weren’t for the fact that there had been no large-scale battle in the oil extraction area, and the German army had quickly occupied most of the refineries and other facilities, Manstein would have been tempted to tear up the agreement he had just signed and to hang those damn Russian oligarchs. But fortunately, most things had still gone smoothly. By daybreak, the largest oil-producing region in the Caucasus had been incorporated into the map of the German Third Reich.

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