Bruno didn’t realize it, but the French had sent agents to Russia for the specific purpose of assassinating him. Instead, he was in the middle of readying his forces for the march on Tsaritsyn. It wasn’t exactly something that could reasonably be handled overnight.
Establishing a logistical network took time. And considering the vast territory of Russia, and the largely barren wasteland that it was. Creating this supply line was an effort of monumental undertaking.
The worst thing you could possibly do as a commander is to become over eager in the pursuit of victory, and in doing so advance beyond your supply lines. It was a mistake that many nations had made in history, and nearly every time it ended in complete and total disaster.
And many of these instances had taken place in Russia itself. Whether it was Napoleon’s march on Moscow, or Germany’s assault on Stalingrad. Both ended in defeat, and the consequences of which ultimately lost them the war.
Had Germany maintained its supply lines WW2 they wouldn’t have run out of critical resources such as cold weather clothing, ammunition, and most important of all fuel. Because of these shortages, the German army was horrifically defeated at Stalingrad, thus breaking the German advance into Russia and starting a whole new stage of the war that led the Red Army to Berlin in the end.
Bruno naturally would not make this mistake. Sure, he was fighting on behalf of the Tsar, rather than being a foreign invader. And hence could rely on the Russian railways to support his campaign to take Tsaritsyn.
But Russia was woefully underdeveloped. So much so that a lot of his time would be spent marching across open plains in the dead of winter. There was the option to wait until spring to begin his offensive.
However, this itself would ensure that Tsaritsyn fell into the Red Army’s hands. And in doing so, give them time to prepare for the assault. The result of which would no doubt incur heavy casualties to the Tsarist Forces and the Iron Brigade.
Attrition was a natural part of war, and in a way was natural selection itself. Those who died on the march to Tsaritsyn would be left to freeze, and become one with the Earth itself. Bruno simply did not have time under such constraints to prepare proper burials.
And it was because of these constraints both in time and resources that Bruno was frantically walking across Saint Petersburg where the bulk of his forces were gathered. Marching in and out of offices of various military departments, and political figures. Trying his best to get things in order before the long march began.
It was perhaps because he was walking so erratically through the streets and with much on his mind that Bruno did not notice he was being followed. Normally Bruno’s paranoia would keep his head on a swivel, but with so much to prepare for, and so little time to do it in, his mind was not focused on his surroundings, but rather how he would complete his objectives before the time to march began.
Eventually, after crossing a corner, Bruno came across a man blocking his path. The man was dressed by a local, but his facial features gave him away as a native to Western Europe. Bruno was about to question just who this man was when he realized a revolver was pointing at his chest.
The man simply pointed the weapon at Bruno’s chest and fired. The shot clearly piercing into his chest as Bruno stood there in shock. Several of the guards chased after the would be assassin immediately after he fired the shot, causing him to be unable to continue with his efforts, while others attended to Bruno.
Who appeared almost entirely unphased after being hit in the chest with a bullet? Instead, he felt around his own chest with his bare fingers. No doubt there was something wet rapidly spreading across his chest. But luckily for Bruno, when he pulled his fingers out from under his clothes this liquid was not blood, but rather the vodka in his flask. Which had taken the bullet for him.
After all, revolver cartridges of the era were incredibly anemic, especially in Europe. Bruno, of course recognized the pistol that had been used to shoot him. It was a French Revolver; he had after all seen them during his time in China.
Specifically, it was the French modèle 1873 revolver, a sidearm which fired the 11mm French Ordnance round. And while this might sound like a big and powerful cartridge to the uninitiated the reality was that it had roughly the equivalent velocity and stopping power of a .25acp.
To put this in perspective, the .25 ACP cartridge in the 21st century was considered inadequate for personal defense. So much so that a study found that of 68 people shot with the cartridge 35% of them were not even incapacitated, and only 25% of them were fatal injuries.
Meanwhile, the cartridge used to assassinate Bruno, which was roughly the equivalent of the .25 acp was even weaker. Gaining a similar performance of the .25 acp fired out of a 2 inch barrel pocket pistol, while being fired from a full sized revolver.
In other words, the steel flask which Bruno carried in his breast pocket, when combined with his thick wool winter jacket had quite literally saved his life. The fact that Bruno was still standing after being literally shot in the chest meant he was incredibly pissed off at whoever had tried to kill him.
Because of this, Bruno quite literally pulled out his own pistol, which fired the superior 9x19mm Luger, a pistol cartridge still used on modern battlefields, and self defense by the time Bruno had died in his past life. When he rounded the corner, Bruno found the man disarmed, and being held at gunpoint by his guards, who pointed their rifles at his face.
Bruno of course approached the man, holstering his pistol as he did so, before getting up in his would be assassin’s face. There was a fearsome expression on Bruno’s face, so much so that the man who had just tried to kill him was terrified.
Yet that did not stop Bruno from behaving with violence. He immediately punched the man in the face, while grabbing the back of his head with both hands. Where he deliberately kneed his would be assassin in the testicles three times. Once the man was throwing up the contents of his stomach while on his knees, Bruno ruthlessly kicked him in the head with a vicious soccer kick.
Which the steel toe of his boot immediately collided with the assassin’s skull, knocking him out on the spot. Where Bruno proceeded to stomp on his unconscious face. He was just about to kill his assassin, all the while screaming obscenities at the man the entire time.
“You stupid motherfucker! You actually fucking dare!?! I’ll fucking rip your intestines out and hang you with them you piece of fucking shit!”
Ultimately, as the man lie on the brink of the death, Brunos’ guards pulled him away. Any further violence would end the man’s life before he could be properly interrogated. And that was something which Bruno’s soldiers who were not nearly as enraged as their commander was, would not allow to happen.
Thus, two of the men pulled Bruno aside and calmed him down, while the other two lifted the unconscious assassin up. As they dragged him off to be transported to the hospital for treatment. Just enough that the man was stable. After all, he would be transported back to the Reich for interrogation, which would be a gruesome process in and of itself.
As for Bruno, despite his best efforts to assure the men he was okay, the bullet had pierced slightly into his flesh. It was a flesh wound, nothing serious, but the men beneath his command still insisted he get medical treatment. And because of this, Bruno was also evacuated to the German Reich for medical treatment.
For two reasons, one the medical industry in Germany was much better than in Russia at the moment. And two, Bruno was a man of supreme importance to the German Reich. Thus, when the Kaiser learned of this attack on the man he overreacted to it.
Thus, Bruno was ultimately sidelined for some time in regards to marching on Tsaritsyn. The attack on his life had ensured the Red Army’s takeover of the industrial city. And Bruno would instead have to march in the Spring.
Something that, while favorable to the soldiers during the march, would inevitably result in higher casualties when the bullets started flying. As for who was behind the attack, whether it was the Red Army or one of the German Reich’s adversaries on the global stage. This would be revealed soon enough.
