Iron Cross

"Delay them and shoot them all!"

Wearing a pair of black-framed eyes and a gentle look like a Soviet political cadre, Andrei Andreevich Vlasov sat contentedly on an Sdk251 command armored vehicle. He was dressed in German military standards. The officer's uniform, with the rank of general, looks majestic. What's even more frightening is that just a few minutes after he arrived on the battlefield, he gave orders without hesitation to a group of selected Red Army prisoners.

The soldiers hesitated, not knowing whether this was just a false threat from the big shot or a real order. They were all confused about whether they should execute it or not. Now, except for a shield-shaped armband and a rank symbol different from the Red Army to indicate his different status, the overall appearance of the officers and soldiers of the Russian Liberation Army looks basically the same as that of the German army. They fly the tricolor flag of the Romanov dynasty. The double-headed eagle logo is embedded in the middle. Although Vlasov is the supreme leader of the Russian Liberation Army and the Russian National Liberation Front, he did not stay at the Southern Army Group headquarters in Rostov. Instead, he commanded the troops to fight on the front line.

"Comrade Chairman, it's not nice to shoot prisoners of war..." Colonel Kononov, commander of the 4th Infantry Division of the Russian People's Liberation Army who accompanied him behind him, advised in a low voice.

"You should be able to tell that they are not ordinary people, they are the blue hats and political cadres of the Internal Affairs Force." Vlasov pointed angrily at the trembling 17-year-old young soldiers and 40-year-olds in the prisoner of war team on the other side. The many-year-old bearded soldier shouted, "What's wrong? These are Stalin's lackeys and the most vicious executioners of the Russian people. Look what they have done."

Everyone was silent and no one was blind. Comparing the two, you can see the difference: Although the officers and soldiers of the Russian People's Liberation Army cannot compare with the German army in spirit, at least most of them are young adults, and those over 35 years old are basically Officers, and the Red Army officers and soldiers all had their heads drooped, and their faces were ugly. Only the specially selected internal affairs troops and political cadres looked pretty good.

"They sent all the old people and children to the front line. If they fight for two more years, all the Russian men will be dead!" Vlasov violently slapped the steel plate of the armored vehicle and shouted to the prisoners, "Do you have anyone?" Are you willing to work with us to overthrow the tyrant Stalin? Let me first say that I only want soldiers over 18 years old and under 35 years old. If you are over 35 years old and are willing to swear allegiance to New Russia, you can be assigned a piece of land to become a farmer or work in a factory. Be a worker."

No one responded for a long time, and the scene suddenly became deadlocked. Vlasov's face froze, but soon a voice came from the prisoner team: "Can you divide the land?"

"Yes!" Vlasov pointed to the people around him, "They are all assigned to the ground."

"You are lying. They are all at war. Who will farm?"

"Liar? Why should I lie to you? The purpose of fighting is to allocate more land. After serving in the army for two years, the land will be doubled. Those with military honors and officers can allocate more land. As for farming, don't worry. Those who live in the liberated areas , the land is farmed by the family; if the family is in the enemy-occupied area, a piece of land will be rented to others in the liberated area, and when the war is over, they can request to be allocated a new piece."

Liberated area? Occupied area? Only then did a bunch of prisoners realize that the so-called liberated areas refer to the areas currently controlled by the Germans, while the occupied areas refer to the territory still in the hands of the Red Army.

"How much tax do you charge?" The person who had just spoken out walked out of the queue and asked boldly, "Don't be like those people who collected all the surplus grain from the farmers, even the rations."

"Is there such a thing?" the prisoners whispered among themselves: Doesn't all the land belong to collective cooperative farms? Where are the farmers?

"You have a good memory." Vlasov suddenly laughed, "I guess you are 40 years old."

"That's right, I'm 46 this year... Damn it! I also had sex with Bai Gouzi back then, and worked hard to win the country. I didn't expect that it would turn out like this. The promises I made were all nonsense!"

"I am Vlasov, secretary, tell them the policy!"

"For ordinary people, the agricultural tax is 20%; for those who need the government to provide seeds and tractors to help with farming, 35%; as long as one person in the family is a soldier, he is considered to be a military dependent. The agricultural tax is exempted for two years and halved for three years, and an additional tax is paid for those who are sacrificed, injured, and those who have made meritorious service and received awards. There are exemptions.”

The prisoners were shocked when they heard Vlasov's name - this was defined by Comrade Stalin as the most vicious enemy of the Bolsheviks. They thought he looked scary and looked quite normal. But more people are concerned about the policy of “two exemptions and three half reductions” and ask what it means.

“It’s tax-free for the first two years, and only half for 3-5 years!”

"really!"

Vlasov and Kononov both laughed: "The Russian National Committee has issued notices and leaflets, haven't you seen them?"

"What are you looking at? They were all taken away by the blue hats." The prisoner opposite asked worriedly, "Is there really a tractor?"

"Yes! Not only will there be tractors, but the German head of state also helped us get diesel. We can start farming in the spring. It doesn't matter if you don't know how to farm. You can work in the factory. The more you work, the more you will get!"

Someone in the crowd whispered: "Aren't you going to be exploited by the capitalists?"

"Exploitation? If Stalin took it away, wouldn't it be called exploitation? Who is not a capitalist in Germany or France, and who doesn't live a better life than us? Even the Romanians can eat better than us."

"It's done! It's done!"

After hearing the good news about tax-free land allocation, older people who had experienced the years before the October Revolution were the first to be moved to come forward. Once someone took the lead, a group of people followed, noisily and willing to join the Russian Liberation Army.

"General, my name is Sarayev, can you give me a pistol? If you don't have a pistol, a dagger will do." said the 46-year-old veteran who was the first to stand up just now.

Vlasov nodded, and Kononov gave the other party his gun. The guards around him looked at Sarayev alertly, and would stop him immediately if he dared to take any action. The prisoners looked at Uncle Sarayev, who was usually called a good old man, standing majestically opposite the group of special screening prisoners, and felt that he was so strange today.

Sarayev walked up to a blue hat and spat in his face: "Serov, are you here too? My nephew just made a few jokes, and you slandered him as a deserter. Not only did you shoot him, but you also Are you going to drag his body to the public?”

"Don't kill me, don't kill me...I...I have no choice but to do it."

"You can tell Stalin such nonsense." Sarayev pulled the trigger without hesitation. A bloody hole appeared on Serov's forehead and he fell down with a look of reluctance. Sarayev respectfully returned the pistol to Kononov, "Sir, I believe you! But I can't be a soldier. I want to farm."

Vlasov smiled: "You did a good job! So, would you like to be a preacher? With the rank of second lieutenant, you don't have to fight. You just need to go to prison camps to preach policies and influence those who have been deceived." "

"Second Lieutenant?" Sarayev showed a trace of confusion in his eyes, and said firmly after a moment, "In order to liberate more people, I agree!"

"Chairman, will the Germans really give us diesel?" Kononov asked in disbelief after the prisoners were taken away.

"I met the head of state yesterday, and he promised me personally. He is at least more credible than Stalin. He will not lie to us, and there is no need to lie to us about this matter."

"If there is diesel, there is hope for spring plowing."

"It should be said that our cause is promising." Vlasov patted Kononov on the shoulder, "Work hard, and maybe you will have the opportunity to be a founding marshal in the future - didn't the Bolsheviks do the same thing?"

Vlasov did not brag: after a winter of tempering and formation, the total strength of the Russian People's Liberation Army has expanded to one group army and 12 infantry divisions (the masters of German standards). Except for the armored strength, which only has some light tanks, the rest of the equipment Not bad at all, a full set of standard Soviet-style equipment. Since the German army allocated a large number of captured 122mm and 152mm caliber artillery to the Russian People's Liberation Army for use, and the logistics supplies were relatively abundant, the firepower density and ammunition delivery level far exceeded the average Red Army troops. The Soviet army's traditional artillery doctrine was fully developed. Moreover, the Russian People's Liberation Army is composed of experienced and young soldiers and officers. Its training level and actual combat capabilities are far superior to those of the hastily formed new Red Army units.

In this Battle of Spring Awakening, in addition to the Russian People's Liberation Army taking the lead, Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic countries all sent troops to participate in the offensive and performed extremely actively. In the words of Lieutenant General Weller, chief of staff of Army Group South: "They were almost screaming. The bravery and determination of Stalin's troops in fighting are far beyond my imagination! If Stalin had 8 million more troops, we would never be able to win the war in this life."

"Führer, do you really want to provide diesel to these Eastern countries and New Russia?" Speer also asked Hoffman this question.

"Why not? You think I'm kidding?"

"No, because the number is a bit large, I think..."

Just in March, at the request of Hoffman, the German army organized oil (mainly diesel) to be transported to the Eastern Front, totaling up to 500,000 tons. In Europe and the United States, this figure seems very average. In the Soviet Union, it is a product refined from 2 million tons of crude oil. But for Germany, which lacks oil, especially natural crude oil, this diesel is a very important strategic material. A U The diesel consumed by a boat in a single battle is basically about 200-250 tons. 500,000 tons of diesel is enough for Dönitz's U-boats and supply ships to dispatch all of them to perform three-month combat missions.

Everyone initially thought that the head of state had other purposes for mobilizing the 500,000 tons of diesel to the Eastern Front. Unexpectedly, it was actually going to be provided to Eastern countries for spring plowing. This made many people restless. There was a fierce debate among all parties over the 500,000 tons of diesel. scramble.