Everything for Victory

Petersburg, General Staff Headquarters of the Tsarist Russian Empire.

Grand Duke Nicholas, Acting Minister of War Lieutenant General Kuropatkin, Chief of the General Staff General Nikolai Obruchev, and others were discussing their next military deployments.

Grand Duke Nicholas had originally been inspector general of cavalry. But after Nicholas II's assassination, he had appointed himself commander of the Petersburg Military District with the backing of the Imperial Guard.

Normally, the tsar himself served as commander of the Petersburg Military District.

Grand Duke Nicholas's ambition was plain to see.

The Tsarist Russian Empire was currently divided into eleven military districts: the Petersburg Military District, Mosk Military District, Kazan Military District, Kiev Military District, Odessa Military District, Huasha Military District, Vilna Military District, Caucasus Military District, Turkestan Military District, Orenburg Military District, and Irkutsk Military District.

Originally, after Lüshun was leased, the Kwantung Russian Army Command would have been established. Then, the year after next, the Far East would have been separated from the Irkutsk Military District to form the Amur Military District.

But now Nicholas II had been killed by a bomb, and all of those plans had been suspended for the time being.

Everything would resume only after the civil war ended and a new tsar ascended the throne.

"Your Highness, Your Excellency, according to the intelligence we have obtained so far, the rebels are far stronger than we anticipated.

"In other words, the size of the force under Grand Duke Mikhail's command far exceeds our expectations.

"Grand Duke Mikhail is personally leading more than two hundred thousand troops north along the Volga River. We believe their objective is Kazan.

"Meanwhile, General Brusilov, chief of staff of the Caucasus Military District, led more than a hundred thousand troops south from the Don River basin. He has already occupied Donetsk and is now heading north from there."

General Nikolai Obruchev wore a grave expression.

"Damn it! Mikhail has already deployed more than three hundred thousand troops. Has he committed the entire strength of the Caucasus Military District to the civil war?

"Does he not intend to guard against the Ottomans?"

Grand Duke Nicholas cursed.

"Your Highness, it is clear that the army under Grand Duke Mikhail's command has exceeded its authorized strength.

"Because His late Majesty the Tsar favored him, an exception was made to raise the Caucasus Military District's troop strength to three hundred thousand. The other military districts, even the Petersburg and Mosk Military Districts, have only a little over a hundred thousand troops each.

"But now it appears that Grand Duke Mikhail has raised even more troops without authorization!"

Lieutenant General Kuropatkin explained.

"Hmph! I have every reason to believe Mikhail planned this long ago. He has wanted to launch a rebellion and seize the throne for a long time. He cannot possibly be unconnected to His Majesty the Tsar's murder, either!" Grand Duke Nicholas looked as though he had seen through Grand Duke Mikhail long ago.

Lieutenant General Kuropatkin and General Nikolai Obruchev both nodded repeatedly.

Seen from these angles, Grand Duke Mikhail was indeed highly suspicious.

"Transportation within the empire is in a terrible state. The rebels can therefore only rely on inland waterways and operational railway lines to transport troops and supplies. The General Staff believes Kazan will be the main focus of Grand Duke Mikhail's attack.

"And his ultimate objective is Moscow!"

General Nikolai Obruchev continued.

"He intends to be crowned in the Kremlin and become the new tsar. We must stop him! I will lead the Imperial Guard and the troops in Petersburg to Moscow at once. We will join the troops stationed there and meet the rebels in battle!" Grand Duke Nicholas made his decision.

He absolutely could not stand by and watch Grand Duke Mikhail be crowned in Moscow and become the new tsar.

"Grand Duke Mikhail's strength far exceeds our expectations. We must assemble more troops. The forces of the Huasha and Vilna Military Districts can also be transferred to Moscow," Lieutenant General Kuropatkin proposed.

"The Baltic coast and Poland are both unstable. Rebellions against imperial rule keep breaking out, one after another.

"Even if we draw troops from those two military districts, we can take no more than half.

"Otherwise, those places will descend into chaos!"

General Nikolai Obruchev proposed.

Grand Duke Nicholas nodded. Although he wanted very much to gather all his strength to suppress Grand Duke Mikhail,

the Baltic coast and Poland were already resisting the rule of the Tsarist Russian Empire.

If all the troops were withdrawn, those places might well break away from the Tsarist Russian Empire's rule entirely.

Especially with the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire eyeing them like tigers from the west.

"What about the Orenburg, Kiev, and Odessa Military Districts? Troops can be drawn from the Orenburg Military District and sent by rail to reinforce Kazan. The Kiev and Odessa Military Districts can send troops directly to attack along the Don River and strike Grand Duke Mikhail's lair."

Grand Duke Nicholas spoke as he looked at the map.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. The Orenburg Military District has not accepted our orders and has chosen neutrality instead.

"The Kiev Military District has done the same.

"The Odessa Military District did respond to us. But the warships of the Black Sea Fleet have already assembled outside the Port of Odessa. There are also signs that the Black Sea Fleet's marines are mobilizing. So General Alexander Kabanov, commander of the Odessa Military District, cannot move his troops."

General Nikolai Obruchev answered.

"Damn it! In that case, we don't have much of an advantage in troop numbers." Grand Duke Nicholas was furious.

"Your Highness, we still have a chance.

"Grand Duke Mikhail was too arrogant and chose to divide his forces. That undoubtedly gives us an opportunity to defeat them one by one.

"We can choose whether to gather our main forces and first surround and attack the rebels personally led by Grand Duke Mikhail, or those led by General Brusilov.

"If we can wipe out one rebel force first, the fighting that follows will be greatly to our advantage."

General Nikolai Obruchev offered his suggestion.

Grand Duke Nicholas nodded repeatedly, agreeing with the plan.

"Contact Lieutenant General Afanasy Kryuchonkin, commander of the Kazan Military District, and tell him to hold Kazan to the death. He must stop the rebel attack. Also, contact General Vladimir Kosel, commander of the Orenburg Military District. We must get him on our side and have him send troops to reinforce the Kazan Military District.

"Then assemble our forces and surround and attack the rebels led by Brusilov.

"We can wipe out that rebel force first, then surround and attack the rebels led by Mikhail.

"We must strive to end the fighting within three months!"

Grand Duke Nicholas appeared very confident.

Lieutenant General Kuropatkin and General Nikolai Obruchev both nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"Your Highness, perhaps we can send someone to bribe General Brusilov. If he is willing to betray Grand Duke Mikhail, it would not only deal the rebels a heavy blow, but also greatly damage their morale. It would be a tremendous victory for the imperial army!" Lieutenant General Kuropatkin proposed.

Grand Duke Nicholas's eyes lit up at once.

"That's a good idea! Send someone to contact Brusilov. If he is willing to pledge his loyalty to the empire, he can not only be pardoned, but also be appointed commander of the Caucasus Military District!

"Also, if he wants money or beautiful women, that's no problem. Anything he wants can be provided!"

To secure victory, Grand Duke Nicholas was evidently willing to use every means at his disposal.