Chapter 178 The Battle of Poland (41)

This is not the internet era of the future, where news spreads globally in an instant.

Until Stalin's chief of security, Mikhail, and his team arrived at the frontline headquarters, Voroshilov and Yezhov were still unaware that their lies had been exposed in a Spanish newspaper.

The two were discussing how to break through the Polish defense lines, even if it was just a small segment. Voroshilov came up with an idea. "I think we can concentrate the remaining troops' food and ammunition and launch an offensive in a specific area. This should break their defense lines."

Yezhov nodded hurriedly. "Sounds good. Please, Marshal, issue the order quickly." Every moment felt like mental torment to him now. If this offensive succeeded, he would leave this godforsaken place immediately, never setting foot on the frontline again in his life.

Voroshilov was about to pick up the phone to issue the order when the office door was violently pushed open, and several figures walked in.

Voroshilov bellowed, "Bold! Who are you?! Don't you know where you are?!" He recognized the leader of the group; the young man seemed familiar. With a thud, Yezhov, who had been sitting in the chair, fell to the ground. He had turned deathly pale, pointing shakily at the leader. "You, you are... Mikhail!"

Mikhail? Voroshilov finally recalled who this stern young man was; he was Stalin's chief of the security detail!

Voroshilov's legs went weak, nearly collapsing to his knees. He hurriedly grabbed onto the nearby table.

Seeing this, Mikhail had already understood. Without saying a word, he waved his hand, and the several burly men behind him approached, lifting the two and leading them outside.

"No, no, what are you doing? I want to see the leader! I want to see Comrade Stalin!!" Yezhov, thinking they were going to secretly execute him, struggled hysterically, clutching the table leg.

Mikhail coldly stated, "The Leader wants to see you."

Yezhov was stunned, his arms clinging even tighter to the table leg. "No, I want to stay here and fight! Just one day, no, just half a day, and we can capture the Polish defense lines... I will make up for my mistakes... Uh!"

Listening to his incoherent rambling, Mikhail impatiently signaled, and one of the burly men, who was holding Yezhov's arm, delivered a punch to the back of his head.

Yezhov collapsed limply on the floor. The two strong men lifted him, and while Voroshilov stood on shaky legs, they dragged them both out of the office. The others in the command post silently stood on either side of the corridor, watching their commander being taken away, not daring to breathe.

After Mikhail and his team left by car, the others looked at each other, and it took a while for them to return to their respective positions, pretending to be busy. The supreme commander had been taken away, so who would command here? After lingering for a while, they gradually resumed their duties, feigning business as usual.

.........

Berlin.

Wilhelm gathered several military high-ranking officers for a small meeting. "How is it going in Warsaw?"

Rundstedt reported, "Your Highness, at the latest by tomorrow, and if things go well, tonight, we will be able to occupy the entire Warsaw. However, this is limited to the surface. The Warsaw garrison commander, Karol Rómmel, led the remaining remnants of the army into hiding underground, continuing resistance. They occasionally emerge from some corner of the city to harass our troops, striking and retreating before we can react, disappearing back into the underground. Although we've destroyed many tunnel entrances, there hasn't been much improvement."

"While we've sent people for underground operations, the environment there is too complex, and with our limited manpower, the clearance operation has minimal effect, gaining us little advantage. So, there isn't an effective way to deal with these rats. Someone did come up with an idea, but..."

Seeing Rundstedt hesitating, Wilhelm couldn't help but be curious. "What idea?"

"Gas, pumping gas into the underground."

"No!" Wilhelm decisively vetoed the proposal. "Dealing with a weak opponent like Poland is not worth risking the world's condemnation by using gas." He had worked hard to establish a positive image for Germany. Currently, apart from England and France and their colonies, most countries internationally supported Germany.

In the previous World War, both sides developed various types of gas weapons, including mustard gas, phosgene, and chlorine gas, estimated to be at least 50,965 tons used in the war. According to official figures, the non-lethal casualties caused by chemical warfare agents during World War I were around 1,176,500 people, with at least 85,000 deaths. This is described in Remarque's novel "All Quiet on the Western Front."

After the war, major world powers reached a consensus on the "Geneva Protocol," banning the use of biological and chemical weapons in war. The treaty was signed on June 17, 1925, and officially took effect on February 8, 1928. In other words, using biological and chemical weapons, including gas, in warfare after the effective date is a violation of international law and subject to legal responsibility.

Wilhelm didn't want to use such a thing now and provoke other nations' disgust or even a declaration of war. "Anyone who dares to mention using gas in the future, I will strip him of his position. Unless the enemy uses it first, our gas will forever stay locked in the warehouse!"

"Your Highness is wise." Rundstedt originally didn't like such things, but seeing Wilhelm's resolute stance, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"This Rómmel, I originally thought of giving him a good position, but unexpectedly, he is so ungrateful." Wilhelm snorted lightly. "Then don't blame me for being impolite. Playing tunnel warfare with me?" That's something our ancestors played a long time ago! "Let you experience the power of fire."

"Use fire?" Rundstedt reminded. "Your Highness, the Vistula River runs through the entire city, and Warsaw's underground water source is extremely rich. Using fire may have little effect."

"Of course, it's not ordinary fire." Wilhelm smiled slightly. "Not long ago, Research Department 51 developed a good thing called solidified gasoline. It adds some additives to ordinary gasoline. Once you try to extinguish it with water, it will react chemically with water, releasing hydrogen to intensify combustion. Most importantly, it rapidly consumes oxygen in the nearby air during combustion, creating a deadly hypoxic area. These characteristics are just right for dealing with those rats underground." He then introduced other characteristics of solidified gasoline, such as forming a layer of flames that splashes in all directions after an explosion, emitting temperatures of around 1,000°C; it can stick to other objects and burn for a long time, and so on.

"It sounds like a good thing." The crowd exclaimed. "Your Highness, can this solidified gasoline be mass-produced?"

"Of course, the additives are common chemicals. As long as there is enough gasoline, we can produce as much as we want." In the original timeline of World War II, Germany did not have enough gasoline to squander even if they had this technology. But now, it's different. They can produce as much as they want.