Seeing Red (Army, that is)

Part 1:Forward,Comrades!

The Kremlin,Moscow,USSR

April 11th,1941


 * Marshal of the Red Army Georgi Zhukov isn't normally a man given to believing in supernatural phenomena;even if he were not a diehard Marxist,his rigorous military mind is skeptical of the notion that it can ever be possible to read another man's mind.And yet,as he listens to his leader and fellow Communist CPSU General Secretary Joseph Stalin,he is tempted to think that perhaps Stalin has in fact been listening to his thoughts."Comrade Marshal,"the mustached Georgian says,"the invasion of Yugoslavia has made it clear that we must strike a blow against the German fascists and do it quickly.... Hitler cannot be relied on to keep his word.Therefore,Comrade Marshal Zhukov,I charge you with the task of devising and carrying out in as short a time as possible a suitable campaign plan for the invasion and conquest of the German Reich."


 * The last words are barely even out of Stalin's mouth before Zhukov leaps to his feet saluting his patron."I shall have it ready for you by tomorrow,Comrade Chairman!"the stocky marshal pledges.

Imperial Foreign Ministry Headquarters,Tokyo,Japan

April 19th


 * The applause is almost deafening as Foreign Minister Vycheslav Molotov shakes hands with his Japanese counterpart Yosuke Matsuoka.The just-signed neutrality pact between Tokyo and Moscow is already being lauded by state-controlled radio and newspapers in both Japan and Russia as a masterstroke of peacemaking,guaranteeing that the tragedy of the 1938-39 Siberian conflict will never be repeated.


 * For Marshal Zhukov,the new treaty couldn't have come at a better time;