Re: Blood and Iron

The Tsar’s death had come rather suddenly after Bruno left his family’s palace. He had lied when he said he had a year left to live. He had died before the end of winter.

Though for the life of him, Bruno could not fathom how Nicholas had managed to appear so presentable at the gathering. He must have conjured every ounce of strength, and had his best makeup artists conceal the truth from him and everyone else.

The Funeral was held in Peter and Paul Cathedral, within Saint Petersburg. It was the traditional resting place for the members of the House of Romanov.

Bruno remembered little of the ceremony. He only that he stood, silent and still, dressed in the full regalia of a Russian Field Marshal. A rank he had earned during the Revolution of 1905, when, as a foreign volunteer, he helped crush the first sparks of communism on Russian soil.

It was a surreal experience. Bruno had fought so hard to save Nicholas and his house, and certainly he had received a better end in this life. Not only that, but his family still lived, and still held power.

But… To see his efforts ultimately pass before his very eyes. It was something he didn’t want to come to terms with. The world he was changing, the timeline it created, it still moved forward, and took the souls within it the same as the one he had come from.

By the end of the ceremony, Bruno had said his good-byes properly. To a man he had once admired, to a man he had saved, to a man he had grown accustomed to. But never close.

Alexei and Elsa stood before Bruno, the young boy dressed like the soldier he always wanted to be, but never could be because of his condition. His words were ultimately what awoke Bruno from his stupor.

“I wanted to thank you, on my father’s behalf. He said it a thousand times to be sure. But he never once stopped admiring you, and what you did for our family all those years ago. And in his final days I had never seen the man so happy. Whatever you said to him in private that night when he made us all aware of his condition, it made his death one that he did not regret.”

Bruno stirred and then said nothing. He did not know what to say, how to respond. He had seen the letter Nicholas left him.

Its words stilled crossed his mind whenever he tore open another piece of parchment. Words that echoed a similar sentiment to what Alexei had just expressed.

In the end, Bruno simply bowed his head and said what he wish he could say to Nicholas.

“”Thank you, Your Majesty. Your words mean more to me than I can express.” But forgive me, I need a moment to myself.”

Bruno then turned away and walked out of the cathedral, gaining some much needed fresh air to properly clear his head.

Elsa leaned in close to her husband and hugged him tightly. Whispering in the Tsarevich’s ears her thoughts.

“I have never seen my father so disheartened… Well… Once I have, when Erich died.”

Alexei himself understood the heartbreak. He himself was still going through it. He had lost his father, and now the weight of the world fell upon his shoulders.

Russia was still at war with Japan, and the troops in the field did not yet know their Tsar was dead.

He would have to seize control after his coronation and navigate the den of wolves that would seek to destroy him. He did not have time to grieve, and neither did Bruno.

For that, he felt a far greater understanding of what Bruno was going through than he ever would have been able to comprehend until this very moment. Alexei grabbed his wife’s hand and comforted them with a gentle kiss.

“He will be alright, love. Duty comes first… Your father knows this better than anyone, and now… I know it, too.”

Elsa did not argue, but the expression on her face was one of concern. As much as she loved and adored her father, she feared Alexei might try to emulate his behavior. And if that were the case, the gentle boy she had fallen in love with would have to die, and be replaced with a wolf. Or worse… A bear.

—

The unburnt banner of the German Reich now flew above Iwo Jima. Tens of thousands of German Marines had landed on the island, supported by five thousand German Paratroopers.

If not for German amphibious warfare doctrine, and the use of special operations forces to dismantle Japanese fortifications prior to the contested landing, along with others behind enemy lines harassing Japanese soldiers and supply lines further inland.

It would have been a meat grinder of the most mythic proportions. But the Germans had adapted to amphibious assaults quite expertly.

For a nation whose dedicated Marine component dated its founding back to 1915, they had advanced decades ahead of the rest of the world in terms of doctrine.

Amphibious armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, and light tanks drove directly from the assault ship to the shores, carrying men, and firepower with them.

From there they dismantled enemy fortifications, and dropped their infantry components, allowing full scale assault and protection.

The Japanese had little to counter the advanced weapons and tactics the Germans used, and the last of the Volcano islands fell into German hands a day after Russia had seized Seoul in the Korean Peninsula.

From here Germany and its Luftwaffe could begin the bombardment of Okinawa and the Japanese mainland. All the while the Russians would do the same after they seized Busan.

Two more battles needed to be waged for Japan’s forces to be fully trapped on the mainland. And when that occurred surrender was the logical option. But with the death of their Emperor a year prior, and the refusal to surrender even after total defeat becoming a norm.

Russian and German leadership alike began to fear the possibility that this war would not end unless the Japanese mainland as a whole was invaded. And if that came to pass, the cost would be measured not in victories — but in millions of lives.

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