Chapter 591: Go
Standing at the Wolf’s Lair sentry post, Gascoigne asked his assistant to help him straighten his uniform. He had arrived exhausted and didn’t want to appear unwell in front of the Führer.
At about the same time, the officer at the checkpoint had finished inspecting his documents. He respectfully handed the leather officer’s ID back to Gascoigne and saluted. “You may pass, General Gascoigne!”
This was the security check procedure that had been meticulously arranged according to the security plan he and Heydrich had designed. Only today did he witness its strictness. Although there were Wehrmacht intelligence officers here who knew him, he was still stopped by the SS who were also on duty. To pass through such a checkpoint was by no means an easy matter.
He and his assistant passed through the checkpoint and continued forward, step by step deeper into the Wolf’s Lair, finally stopping in front of a large door. He knocked lightly on the door, and only after hearing Anna’s “come in” from inside did Gascoigne apprehensively push the door open and walk in.
“My Führer, Gascoigne reporting as ordered,” Gascoigne said, standing at attention and giving a very solemn German salute. There are always some people who will be loyal to their leader. They are born soldiers, followers, the cornerstones that make up a solid fortress. Gascoigne was one of these people. He was loyal to Akado from the depths of his soul. He regarded his intelligence work as his life. Even his colleague Heydrich praised him as a true soldier of the Reich.
“I’m sorry to have rushed you here. But there are indeed many thorny problems that need you to handle,” Akado said with a smile, pointing to the documents on the table. “You know about the Beehive matter, don’t you?”
Gascoigne nodded. “Yes, my Führer. The intelligence sent back by Beehive has been confirmed for its accuracy by the SS intelligence channels responsible for security. The Soviet Union is indeed investing its efforts in developing new weapons.”
“And the other piece of intelligence? The Soviets developing new weapons is to be expected. After all, we can’t stop them from catching up to us. But the other piece of intelligence is definitely worth our in-depth study. With this piece of intelligence, we can even make a move on the Balkan Peninsula,” Akado said, standing up. He placed the intelligence on the coffee table in front of Gascoigne and said with a smile, “What do you think about the Soviets’ winter offensive plan?”
“My Führer, as far as I know, we began preparing antifreeze and cold-weather gear for winter operations ten years ago. All the equipment now used at the front has undergone extreme cold-weather testing. If our weapons can’t operate, then the enemy can only fight with wooden sticks,” Gascoigne said, full of confidence when he mentioned the preparations for winter warfare. The intelligence department had also participated in this plan, responsible for a lot of deceptive false intelligence and cover work. Although he only had a side understanding of it, from the scattered clues, he could see the vastness and comprehensiveness of the entire preparation work. Therefore, Gascoigne was also very certain of the preparations Akado had made.
Akado also nodded. After all, he had personally advocated and inquired about the entire wintering plan for the Eastern Front. He knew how well-prepared Germany was, so he was also full of confidence in the German army’s operations this winter. He smiled and pointed to the report forms on his desk, showing off to Gascoigne, “The stockpiling and distribution of winter clothing is being carried out in secret. At least this winter, not a single soldier of the German army will be cold. This is the result of our continuous efforts.”
He paused, then continued, “The Soviet side is waiting for its own secret weapons. They hope to be equipped with some new weapons before winter arrives, to catch us off guard in the winter. But it is a pity that we have already grasped all of their plans. So we know that they are not yet ready to launch an immediate counter-attack.”
He pointed to the Balkan Peninsula and said to Gascoigne, “Order Beehive to comprehensively collect the plans for the Red Army’s war preparations and the stage they have reached. I need to know their ammunition reserves, troop training, and even the movements of every single general. Gather all the intelligence you can for us.”
“I have already given the order. A portion of General Kluge’s troops will be detached to form the J Army Group with new recruits, to partition the Balkan Peninsula with Italy and Turkey, and to create a German seaport in the Mediterranean!” he said, tapping the map and finally saying firmly, “I have already issued the High Command’s order for this plan. I have approved the Army’s nomination for the commander of the J Army Group, an expert in armored warfare, General Hermann Hoth.”
“So you’re saying, my Führer, that the Balkan War is about to begin?” Gascoigne asked excitedly. His intelligence department had been active there for a full seven years, just to cooperate with this military operation. Now the time had come to test the Army Intelligence Department. Whether it would be a great success or a complete failure would be decided in the next few days.
Mentioning the Balkan War, Akado still sighed. “Our diplomatic efforts have failed. Greece and other countries have naturally sided with the United States and the British Royal Family. After all, we have brought Turkey into the Axis. As long as they are not fools, they can guess that we will certainly compromise with Turkey on the Balkan issue.”
Greece and Yugoslavia were no fools. The main reason their diplomats had been flirting with Germany was that they were afraid that Germany would sell out the Balkan interests to win over Turkey. Now that Turkey had joined the Axis, the situation was clearer than ever. The Balkan countries, such as Greece, naturally began to fully lean towards the United States and the British Royal Family. The United States, to cause trouble for Germany, had also taken the opportunity of the Soviet attack on Germany to send a lot of military supplies to the Balkan Peninsula.
Now, the last fig leaf had been torn off, and the flames of war in the Balkans were about to ignite. Italy was sharpening its knives in the west, Turkey was eyeing them like a tiger in the southeast, and Romania and Germany were pressing down from the north like a great mountain. The people of the Balkan region had also taken up arms to defend their homeland. But compared to the nearly one million Axis troops around them, the British garrison and the local armies here seemed too small in strength.
Britain only had three battalions of combat troops here (the rest had all been transferred to North Africa), and another regiment was stationed on Crete. Greece had 10 divisions, about 150,000 men. The other countries, all told, had another 20 divisions and 330,000 men. It seemed that nearly 500,000 troops was a decent number, but these forces lacked heavy weapons and an air force, nor did they have any naval power to provide support.
However, for the local people, they were determined to defend their homeland to the death. These people calmly faced the impending invaders. Many were even optimistic, thinking that the opponent only had 200,000 men (the number of troops dispatched by the German army was about 200,000). The commander-in-chief of the Greek army even optimistically estimated that as long as they stopped the German offensive, the offensives in the other directions would cease. He even declared to reporters in public that if the German army were to invade the Balkan Peninsula, then this would become the turning point of the war.
It was clear that the Greek army was not like their commander, who could only talk. They knew that they had no way to stand against the more than 1,000 tanks and nearly a thousand planes that the Germans had assembled, so they began to dig defensive works at important defensive points and to establish strong defensive positions.
After thinking for a while, Akado finally remembered that Gascoigne was still standing in the room, so he gave an embarrassed smile and continued, “I called you here not because of the impending Balkan War, but because there is an important situation that I want to discuss with you and see how to handle.”
“Oh? What situation?” Gascoigne asked hastily, suddenly being spoken to by the Führer after he had come to his senses.
“This is the record of the sorties sent by the air force, as well as the combat record of intercepting enemy aircraft. See if there is anything strange about it,” Akado said, finding a record from a stack of documents on his desk and handing it to Gascoigne. “Don’t look at the matter of Hartmann shooting down his 100th plane yesterday. I was indeed very surprised by that, but that’s not what I want you to see.”
“The few people the Führer sent to the front are now all hot commodities. That Rein, and now there’s another Hartmann,” Gascoigne said with a compliment before he began to seriously read the record. The reason he had reached his current position was not through flattery. He knew that the Führer had called him here to get him to do work, not to say complimentary words.
“My Führer, from the records, since July, the number of sorties flown by the Soviet Red Air Force has been almost close to zero. But after July 23rd, the number of Soviet aircraft sorties has suddenly increased. This is not right. There is no reason to take off and die for no reason,” Gascoigne said with a frown, having seen the abnormality in the Soviet aircraft sorties after the 23rd at a glance.
“Look at this again,” Akado said, handing another document to Gascoigne. This was not a piece of intelligence, but an order. This operational order was issued by the Army General Staff, and its content was to order the tank units on the Eastern Front to concentrate in the direction of Kiev in batches to carry out the work of adding thicker armor.
“The news has been leaked… wait… it’s not that it was leaked, but that the other side has discovered it,” Gascoigne said, immediately drawing his own conclusion after reading it. “The order was issued on the 21st. If the news had been leaked, then the other side would have taken action on the 21st. The fact that the other side only began to take off in large numbers to attack on the 23rd clearly means that they received the news later.”
“The SS intelligence department has also reached this conclusion,” Akado nodded. “Electronic reconnaissance has found an enemy radio station near Kiev. It is not very active, so its specific location cannot be determined. But there is indeed a Soviet intelligence department working in Kiev, providing some discovered intelligence to the Soviet high command.”
“My Führer,” Gascoigne stood at attention. “Leave this to me. I will round up these people as soon as possible. After all, I am quite familiar with this kind of work.”
Akado smiled. “I will wait for your news. Go!”
Published: 2025-09-09T03:02:14.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-01-11T13:45:07.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c591-go-138474142
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