Chapter 10

"Captain Hesemann! Hey, Captain Hesemann!"

Hesemann, who was busy drafting a "personnel transfer plan" as part of the "Tirpitz Plan," responded and looked up. He saw Captain Kesselring, carrying a leather briefcase, walk into the small office like an office worker. As Ludendorff's adjutant, Hesemann had a small office in the General Staff building, right next to Ludendorff's office, which he shared with a major named Reinhardt.

However, the latter, like a lackey, followed Ludendorff around all day, so the office was mostly empty. Hesemann was actually just starting his first day at this office, and he would only stay for a few days before heading back to Switzerland.

"Oh, Captain Kesselring, you're here."

"Yes, I'm here. They said there's a top-secret mission for me to complete and that I should report to the adjutant of a general, a captain named Ludwig von Hesemann. I assume that's you?"

"That's me." Hesemann's eyes twinkled as he stood up from behind his desk and walked over to Kesselring, the future "Nazi," and shook his hand. "Albert, you're in luck! We have a very important mission to complete... This mission will make us majors in a few months."

In the Imperial German Army, a promotion from captain to major was a significant step. Without the right opportunities, many would be stuck at this level for years. Participating in the operation to support the Bolsheviks' rise to power was clearly a chance to make a big leap. Hesemann didn't have many acquaintances in the General Staff, so he thought of Kesselring, the future Nazi Field Marshal—a highly capable leader who excelled in both air and ground warfare.

Hesemann thought that if he could give Kesselring a promotion opportunity and make him a friend, it would certainly not be a bad thing.

"Really?" Captain Kesselring was skeptical.

Hesemann nodded and added, "If we're lucky, we'll both be lieutenant colonels by the end of the war."

"Lieutenant colonels?" Kesselring rolled his eyes, almost suspecting that Captain Hesemann had had too much to drink. A promotion to lieutenant colonel at around 30! Did Hesemann think he was a member of the German royal family?

"Ludwig, are you just teasing me?" Kesselring asked.

"Take a look at this document first."

Hesemann handed the nearly completed "personnel transfer plan" to Kesselring and pulled a chair for him to sit next to his desk.

"Bolsheviks! Russia! Good heavens, we're going to send those anarchists to Russia?"

The Bolsheviks and Russian anarchists had some connections, but they were not the same. However, for a lower-ranking officer like Kesselring in the Second Empire, it was not easy to distinguish between the two.

"The Bolsheviks are not anarchists; they just want to overthrow the Tsarist government and establish their own. Our mission is to help them establish a government in Russia, which will undermine the Tsarist army and help us win the Eastern Front!"

"I see... If it succeeds, that would be great." Kesselring carefully examined the plan Hesemann had drafted.

Hesemann's "personnel transfer plan" was quite simple: it involved gathering the exiled Bolsheviks in Zurich, Switzerland, then having them board a "special train" to the northern German port of Sassnitz, from where they would sail to Trelleborg, Sweden, and then, with the help of Swedish Social Democrats, take a train through Sweden and Finland to Petrograd.

Since the Swedish Social Democrats were part of the Swedish coalition government, and the Social Democratic Party of Finland (which had its own government and parliament, with the Tsar as the Grand Duke) was the largest party in Finland, and the Bolsheviks had not yet split from the Social Democrats, Lenin and the Bolsheviks could travel through Sweden and Finland without much danger. The only risk was the sea crossing from Sassnitz to Sweden, where there was a chance of being attacked by Allied submarines. To mitigate this, Hesemann's plan included flying the Swedish flag on the ships and arranging for destroyer escorts to ensure that Lenin and Hesemann were safely delivered to Russia.

"Ludwig, are we going to stay in Russia for a while?" Kesselring put down the draft plan and asked in a low voice. "I don't think our mission is just to escort them back, right?"

"After completing the escort mission, one of us will stay with Lenin, and the other will remain at the General Staff as a liaison officer."

Hesemann shrugged, "I don't have many acquaintances in the General Staff, Albert. Could you come and be this liaison officer?"

"Stay in Berlin?" Kesselring studied Hesemann's slightly plump face, frowning. "What can I do?"

"Of course, very important things," Hesemann poured Kesselring a cup of coffee, using beans he had brought back from Switzerland. "Sending Lenin and the Bolshevik leaders back to Russia is just the beginning. The next task is even more challenging: we need to help the Bolsheviks win power in Russia and ensure that the German Empire benefits from this process."

Kesselring lifted the coffee cup and took a sip, savoring the rich aroma that had been absent from his life for at least two years.

Seeing Kesselring enjoying the coffee, Hesemann continued to pitch his plan.

"Albert, although the Russian Revolution is a monumental event, we are not the main players... We won't be the ones in the spotlight, and we won't be mentioned in any history books about the Russian Revolution. We will be the unsung heroes behind the scenes, and at the same time, the middlemen of the revolution."

"Middlemen of the revolution?" Kesselring gently placed the coffee cup down. "What do you mean?"

"Middlemen," Hesemann smiled, gesturing with his hands, "means convincing both sides and doing everything possible to facilitate the deal."

In simpler terms, it meant deceiving both sides and profiting in the middle. Hesemann estimated that the Russian Revolution was a highly profitable venture! Participating in it could not only lead to a promotion but also a substantial financial gain.

However, Hesemann alone couldn't pull off such a big deal—no matter how close he became with Lenin and Stalin. He needed a team to manage the transactions with the Soviet Union, ensuring that the pro-Soviet activities (which were also a crucial part of Germany's post-WWI revival) were well-organized and under his control.

But Hesemann was just a captain with limited influence. The only person he knew relatively well in the General Staff was Kesselring. So, before leaving Berlin and while he still had influence with Ludendorff, he proposed bringing Kesselring and Karl Stöckhausen, whom Kesselring had previously sent to assist him, into the fold.

"Convincing both sides?" Kesselring frowned. "Sounds like a Jewish merchant."

"Pretty much," Hesemann laughed. "I'll be in Petrograd, staying with Lenin, and responsible for negotiating with Lenin and the Bolsheviks to get the highest possible price for everything Germany provides... such as loans, weapons, military advisors, armed intervention, and of course, peace! You will be responsible for lobbying the bigwigs in the General Staff to accept the conditions I negotiate with Lenin and the Bolsheviks. This is not an easy task, and it's no easier than convincing Lenin."

"Am I supposed to do this alone?" Kesselring was a bit hesitant, knowing how stubborn the German bigwigs could be.

"How could that be?" Hesemann shook his head. "Sending the Bolsheviks to Russia is part of the Tirpitz Plan, which is jointly managed by the General Staff and the Foreign Ministry. A special team called 'Tirpitz' will soon be established to handle this. We are just the foot soldiers in this team. General Ludendorff and Foreign Minister Kühlmann are the ones in charge, and some mid-level officials will also be involved. But no major task can be accomplished without the foot soldiers, right? And we will be two of the more important foot soldiers. Albert, do you want to join?"

Kesselring smiled, "Of course, I want to join! This is a chance to become a major. Ludwig, I owe you one!"

"Come on, we're friends, aren't we? Friends should help each other."