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10-11-November-1919
We traveled quickly along the roads that had been built to better connect our capitals, something that had originally been a project to facilitate trade that did not depend on the train with the other States of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Now it had become our main means of transport, allowing us to move at great speed along the roads while closely following the railway line that ran beside them.
Built for the same reason, a train line advanced near us, carrying the logistics absolutely necessary to reach Minsk and then continue the road toward Kiev. The train came loaded with fuel for the vehicles, since the journey was long and we would need several refills before reaching the capitals and taking control.
Reaching Minsk was approximately five hundred kilometers, and even traveling at the maximum speed we could maintain, it would take many hours of marching, far more than those vehicles normally had in autonomy.
So, for several hours, we crossed the lands of the Duchy, observing several of the new villages and much of the work being carried out. Everything continued with a certain normality, since construction works were the best way to put everyone to work at the lowest possible cost.
After long hours of travel, we reached the border with Ruthenia and it did not take long before we were stopped by the border guard.
''Who… who goes there?'' I heard someone outside the vehicles say when we stopped the march.
I opened the door of the armored vehicle and found a group of three soldiers in a booth, pointing a rifle at me.
''What is the matter, my good men? Is there any problem?'' I said with a smile.
''Oberst'' one said, straightening up and saluting me. The other two immediately followed his example.
''Can you raise the barrier, please? We have to pass. There are pending matters in Minsk, so, please'' I said, signaling for them to move the barrier that cut off the road toward Minsk.
''At your orders, Mein Oberst'' one of the guards said, moving the barrier.
It did not take us long to accelerate so we could pass.
The soldiers simply let us advance and we began entering the country with force.
We passed through some cities where our forces had still not arrived, since the operation was concentrated on Minsk and its surroundings. Even so, we did the necessary work: arresting the local politicians and capturing the guards of the League of Nations envoys while continuing our path.
We stopped to refill fuel and then resumed the march, crossing other cities. After almost ten long hours of driving, we finally reached Minsk.
As expected, there was a military presence in the city, although it was not the one one might have imagined upon arrival. At the entrance, we were received by guards of the occupation forces, which indicated that the plan had worked, since otherwise they should have been locked in their barracks.
When I got down, the guards watching one of the entrances and exits of the city saluted me. That was all I needed to confirm that the plan had gone well. We simply entered the city, moving through the streets while I observed the strong presence of occupation troops with their camouflage uniforms.
Upon reaching the center, we were once again in the heart of Ruthenia, where the greatest police and military presence in the area was located.
I got out of the vehicle and saw that it was about to get dark after hours of travel. I was received by the occupation officers of the area.
''Where is Ferdinand?'' I said, looking at the two officers who had stepped out of their ranks to receive me.
''Major Ferdinand is in the king's palace, Mein Oberst. The place is guarded.His presence prevented King Waldemar from evacuating the city, so he and his men remain present'' the officer said, straightening up while watching me fixedly.
''Any difficulty with the French troops that had arrived to occupy the city?'' I asked, observing the area, although I did not see many signs indicating any fighting inside Minsk.
''Few. The French troops were warned that there was a unit refusing to hand over its weapons. They went to try to subdue it, and that was when we had them surrounded. We blocked the streets with two armored vehicles and placed shooters in the windows. They were offered surrender before we opened fire, and the French broke when they saw themselves outnumbered everywhere. There was no great resistance. All the politicians are arrested, as are the members of the League'' the officer said, nodding his head.
''Excellent news. That means the plan went almost perfectly if there was no combat at all'' I said, very pleased to see that everything had gone much better than I expected, without having to reach urban combat.
I quickly headed toward the palace where Waldemar governed Ruthenia. I wanted to keep the king in the area, since Ruthenia was much easier to govern while that facade remained. The Hohenzollern's government was stable thanks to his people, and he had brought with him a great number of administrators. We only had to give him orders and maintain the appearance of the kingdom so it could be governed easily, without having to make major changes beyond cutting off the head of the snake.
When I reached the palace, I was temporarily stopped by the Hohenzollern guards, who allowed me to enter after identifying myself. It did not take long before I found myself with the king of the large glasses and Ferdinand, who were sitting in the same room, waiting.
''Here he is, King Waldemar. Karl has arrived, just as I said he would'' Ferdinand said seriously, observing Waldemar, who looked very nervous with everything that must have been happening while we cleaned Minsk.
''We are in trouble… Karl, you have gone mad. Peace hangs by a thread. We could reactivate the war if we do not do something. Besides, I am risking my neck by staying here. Now my name will be tied to yours… I did not want to participate'' Waldemar said, looking very nervous while steadying himself in his chair.
''You can always say we forced you, so do not worry. That will be your excuse if something goes wrong'' Ferdinand said, looking very serious.
''And… and how has everything gone so far?'' Waldemar said, placing a hand on his temples and clenching his teeth a little.
''According to plan. Little fighting. We are already in the thousands of prisoners. We have to make sure they are all treated well, because they will be a good negotiating card once they learn what happened'' I said, walking through the room while looking out the window.
''Are you now on your way to Kiev?'' Ferdinand asked, making a grimace with his lips while looking at Waldemar.
''Yes, but it seems the king is not very comfortable with his position, so keep him company until he feels more comfortable and tries to return everything to normal as soon as possible. Were there many problems with the local politicians?'' I asked, interested, once Waldemar's matter was resolved.
''No. Most of the politicians were quite understanding of the occupation policy, even with the aggressive education system you implemented so the majority would speak German as soon as possible. There were some radicals who came out of their hiding places, survivors of the previous Rada we eliminated, but there should be no difficulties. Many were willing to collaborate as long as we kept the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks away'' Ferdinand said.
''Yes, we have to stay alert in case one of the factions in the civil war decides to retake its territory by taking advantage of the chaos of the transition and the return of our power. That could unbalance the war. I do not like much that the Whites are winning. They are the ones who most want to recover all of Russia by force, and they are gathering a good force'' I said thoughtfully while looking east.
''We will have to rethink recruitment policies. At the very least, the police should be local. There are far too few Germans to maintain such a restrictive system of only Germans in the Ruthenian army. That is the first proposal we have to consider: beginning to train locals to prepare ourselves against any action by the Whites'' Ferdinand said, nodding.
''We will have to risk training the locals with military instruction so they can fulfill their duties. The good thing is that, by not doing it before, Germany did not ask us to send them to the front, so we have almost the entire population intact, except for the peasant conscriptions the Russians carried out. Recruit about ten thousand Ruthenians for the army and have them take defensive duties, preparing trenches in the area. We do not want surprises, so we must begin fortifying the front'' I said while walking through the room.
''That is what we will do'' Ferdinand said, looking at Waldemar.
''Waldemar, composure. We will get through this together… Well, it is my turn to move. It is almost six hundred kilometers to Kiev and I will have to have a conversation full of insults with Vasyl to secure Ukraine'' I said, adjusting my pistol in my pocket.
''What about Poland? Will we send men to Poland?'' Ferdinand asked before I left.
''It is difficult. Poland has the remnants of the Polish army. Although they were massacred on the western front, the Polish prisoners of war were released and must be returning home. They will be eager for revenge and will not want to yield easily, so attacking Poland will not be simple. In addition, we have no contacts with the local German garrison, which has surely already abandoned the place. We would be entering the wolf's mouth'' I said, hesitating at the possibility of attacking the Polish State.
''I understand. It may be better to take the diplomatic path and negotiate with them once we have Ukraine on our side. Once that happens, we will speak with the Poles and agree on borders, perhaps even a population exchange. Galicia and Lodomeria have claims from both nations, but for the moment they remain under Austrian control. Supposedly, there will be a plebiscite among the inhabitants'' Ferdinand said.
''Austria can barely control the Czechs while waiting for those plebiscites the Americans prepared, so perhaps we can divide those territories between Ukraine and Poland if we offer the Austrians cheap food or some of the countless Ukrainian resources'' I said thoughtfully.
''I understand. Go and finish this, because that Habsburg surely will not be happy to have you back in Kiev'' Ferdinand said, smiling at me while extending his hand.
''Completely. The situation must seem like a dream to Vasyl, and when he sees me he is going to lose his mind. But it is what we have to do. We did not bleed for years so our gains could slip from our hands. I did not invest my damned fortune into improving everyone's life just to end up poor. I expected to get an economic return from this, just like your family'' I said, shaking Ferdinand's hand, and he nodded.
And just as I had arrived at the palace, I disappeared, beginning our journey south and continuing our advance.
Much of the plan continued being applied in the peripheral cities, trapping the troops that had arrived not long ago. Now that the capital was taken, many forces were free to keep expanding the operation in a rational manner.
We only stopped for a couple of hours to sleep in the vehicles and on the train, since we had driven without rest for a very long time and were at the gates of entering Ukraine. We had to do it ready, because Vasyl still had his Habsburg guard in the city, and they might put up a fight if he decided to resist.
After a brief rest, at dawn, we reached the Ukrainian border post.
Once again, just like in Ruthenia, I got out of the vehicle and, with a smile, saw that the border guards were members of the occupation forces.
''Greetings, Mein Herzog. We were waiting for you'' one of the guards said, saluting me. ''Move the barrier. Our commander has arrived'' the soldier added to the others.
The barrier moved quickly and gave us free passage toward Kiev.
We simply directed the spearhead straight toward the city, without stopping at any moment. Within a few hours we were already before Kiev, where we found no resistance at all. Thanks to the Russian offensive from years ago, there were no settlements in the area, since everything had been evacuated.
That was why our presence went unnoticed until we were outside the city.
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