Chapter 454: The Goddess of Winter Returns to Russia
When German troops, engineers, and factory foremen came to Russia two years prior under a two-year contract to bring the nation’s industry and production up to spec, nobody expected them to achieve so much in so little time.
But now, in the autumn of 1918, Russia was producing submarines, destroyers, aircraft, armor, and small arms — not only in line with the most advanced weaponry in the German arsenal, but also at similar production figures.
If Germany produced 100 E-25 series Panzer IIs in a month, then Russia produced 75. If Germany launched one U-boat every four months per dockyard, then Russia did the same.
And that was before one even began talking about the joint-development research the two nations had undertaken. Whether in nuclear physics, advanced chemistry, medicine, or engineering fields of all kinds, the two empires were rapidly solving their greatest challenges — and ushering in a new age of technology.
Meanwhile, railways were being reconstructed to accommodate high-speed trains, both for commercial travel and freight. Airstrips were being built across the twin empires at all strategic locations. The facilities to sustain those airfields were rising just as fast — not only for military applications, but for the growing world of civilian commerce.
The world had not even reached the 1920s. The new decade was still two years away. And yet technologically, Germany and Russia were already living in the 1930s, and in some areas, perhaps even beyond.
Currently, Bruno and his daughter Elsa were mid-flight — traveling from Germany to Russia aboard a Ju-52. Bruno made routine visits to Berlin and Saint Petersburg, not only for purposes of work but also to maintain the alliances he had fought so hard to forge between the two emperors and his own bloodline.
The best pilots the Reich could offer were at the helm, hopping between newly constructed airfields. Innsbruck to Saint Petersburg? With a military VIP flight, it was an eight-to-ten-hour journey — less than half a day compared to the two or three it would take by even the fastest trains.
Upon entering Russian airspace, the aircraft identified itself using the shared Enigma code — one of the countless innovations now standardized between the two nations. Within minutes, newly minted Russian Bf-109s intercepted them, their camouflage patterns slightly altered, their fuselages marked not with the Iron Cross, but the Russian Orthodox cross.
They didn’t come to challenge. They came to escort — a ceremonial honor guard welcoming Bruno back to the East. He was a man who had not only won the respect and admiration of the German people, but the veneration of the Russians as well. And this subtle act by the Russian Air Force was proof of such sentiment.