As the gray mist of dawn gradually faded over the city, the tanks that had remained on the streets throughout the night roared back to life.
The remarkably disciplined German soldiers cleared away the remains of the bonfires, loaded the burnt oil drums onto their tanks, packed their gear, shouldered their weapons and supplies, formed up along the street, and waited for the order to move out.
In the open space at the intersection, Viktor, now neatly dressed, shook hands with Captain Hecht for the final time.
The two exchanged military salutes.
Captain Hecht removed his sidearm and presented it to Viktor as a farewell gift.
It was a brand-new Walther P38 pistol.
Engraved on its grip was a lion fighting a reindeer, which Captain Hecht explained was his family’s coat of arms.
As a parting gift, Viktor gave Captain Hecht his own sidearm.
Unfortunately, he had no family crest to offer, and his pistol bore neither his name nor any personal mark—only its serial number.
Interestingly, as Viktor escorted Captain Hecht back to the German lines, the German captain deliberately stopped to salute the stubborn Polish traffic policeman they passed.
In Captain Hecht’s words, anyone who wished to preserve the dignity of their country deserved respect, even if the methods they chose were naive and somewhat ridiculous.
Finally, the German troops withdrew westward from central Lviv, raising clouds of dust as they departed.
Less than half an hour later, large Soviet Army formations, transported by truck, poured into the city from the opposite direction.
Almost simultaneously with the Red Army’s arrival, the loudspeakers throughout Lviv came to life.
A female announcer with a clear, magnetic voice repeatedly broadcast a message in Polish to the hundreds of thousands of citizens of Lviv:
As of today, the wicked and disgraceful Treaty of Riga has been officially abolished.
The vast territories of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine—including Lviv—that were once occupied by Polish chauvinists have officially returned to the embrace of the Mother Soviet Union.
Notably, the broadcast never once mentioned the “Polish government” or the “Polish state.” Every such reference had been replaced with the term Polish chauvinists.
In other words, Moscow refused to recognize that Poland had ever possessed legitimate sovereignty over these territories.
According to this narrative, the Poles living in Belarusian and Ukrainian lands were merely another ethnic minority, no different from the Jewish population.
As the announcement echoed repeatedly across the city, the Soviet Army began taking control of Lviv’s key institutions.
The police headquarters and city defense offices were the first to be secured, followed by the city hall, banks, transportation authorities, the municipal water supply, and other essential public facilities.
During this process, sporadic exchanges of fire broke out, but the resistance was too weak, and the fighting often ended within ten minutes.
At three o’clock in the afternoon, the broadcast that had been playing repeatedly throughout the day finally changed.
A serious male voice announced in Russian to all the citizens of Lviv:
The Lviv Regional Directorate of the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, established to defend Soviet authority and safeguard the interests of the people, has officially been formed.
Temporary offices have been established in every district of Lviv.
Proletarian citizens of Lviv are encouraged to report all anti-Soviet elements, Polish chauvinists, separatists, Polish spies, as well as bourgeois agents and profiteers to these offices.
For a time, a thick cloud of Red Terror descended over the entire city of Lviv.
At the same time, whether by design or because of a loophole in the policy, the main roads leading into and out of Lviv, though controlled by the Soviet Army, were not strictly guarded.
Apart from vehicles entering or leaving the city, pedestrians were allowed to pass with little to no restriction.
As a result, that very evening, tens of thousands of Poles and Jews fled along the roads leading to the western outskirts of Lviv.
Although a small number were intercepted by Soviet troops, the vast majority successfully escaped the city and entered German-controlled territory.
For those who managed to flee the Red Terror, they may have believed they were fortunate.
Reality, however, would soon show them that entering the German-controlled zone was only the beginning of their tragedy. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Moscow had no intention of carrying out a large-scale massacre of the Polish population in Lviv; the international consequences would have been far too severe.
The purpose of deliberately creating this atmosphere of Red Terror was to frighten the Poles—who made up the overwhelming majority of the city’s population—into voluntarily leaving Lviv and crossing west of the Curzon Line into German-controlled territory.
After all, a city with a Polish majority was, from Moscow’s perspective, a dangerous city.
…….
In the center of Lviv, inside the old Opera and Ballet Theatre, the vast auditorium was packed.
Everyone seated below the stage wore either military uniforms or official service uniforms.
Viktor and several of his subordinates were seated in the front row on the right-hand side.
This section was occupied entirely by members of the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs wearing their distinctive blue caps.
At this moment, a commendation ceremony honoring distinguished service during the Lviv campaign was being held.
Those in attendance included commanders from various units of the Kyiv Military District, ranging from mid-level officers to frontline commanders who had distinguished themselves in battle.
Personnel from the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs were also present, including members of both the Border Guard and the State Security Main Directorate.
The ceremony was of exceptionally high importance.
As a result, it was personally presided over by Comrade Voroshilov of the People’s Commissariat of Defence, who had traveled specially from Moscow.
Over the past few days, the Soviet Red Army had successfully recovered all of the territories of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine lying east of the Curzon Line.
However, one rather awkward fact remained: because the Soviet offensive had begun late and advanced relatively slowly, cities such as Brest, Kovel, Novovolynsk, and Chervonohrad had first been occupied by the German Army before later being handed over to the Soviet Union.
Although these territories ultimately came under Soviet control in accordance with the Soviet-German agreement, they had not been liberated from Poland by the Red Army itself.
Instead, they had been transferred by Germany, an ally at the time.
The final result was the same, but the process was admittedly less glorious.
Lviv, however, was an exception.
The German Army had never entered the city.
Instead, it was secured first by forces organized under the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs—or more precisely, by personnel under Viktor’s command.
These men not only protected Lviv’s strategic positions and vital facilities but also prevented the Germans from entering the city.
No matter how one looked at it, this was an achievement that greatly pleased Moscow.
Moreover, one only had to consider how significant the recovery of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus was to the Soviet Union.
The Propaganda and Agitation Department was certain to publicize the campaign throughout the country.
And from a propaganda standpoint, which sounded more inspiring—the liberation of Lviv, or the liberation of Kovel and Novovolynsk?
The answer was obvious.
For this reason, Moscow attached great importance to the commendation ceremony in Lviv.
Viktor and his team were also to be presented to the public as heroes.
As a reward for successfully carrying out the Lviv Plan, Viktor and his team received a collective commendation and were awarded the Order of Lenin.
However, for Viktor and his comrades, the greatest regret was that, due to the nature of their work, neither their real names nor their photographs would appear in any of the subsequent propaganda. This chapter was copied from novelping(.)com without permission.
All of the credit would officially belong to the Lviv People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs.
“Do you feel even a little regret?” Major General Serov asked.
Seated beside Viktor in a corner of the front row, Serov had quietly come to Lviv for the ceremony.
As he watched Boris and Antip—representing the entire Lviv People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs—walk onto the stage to receive their medals from Voroshilov, he smiled and turned to Viktor.
“After all, you deserve the largest share of this honor.
At a moment like this, you’re the one most qualified to stand on that stage.”
Viktor lowered the hand supporting his chin, turned to look at his sharp-tongued superior, and shook his head.
“There’s no need to seek glory under the spotlight,” he replied.
“Besides, you’ve always emphasized the importance of the team.
Without them, relying on my own abilities alone, this plan probably wouldn’t have succeeded.”
Although Major General Serov showed little emotion, he was clearly pleased with the answer.
“Viktor, you have a talent for security work,” Serov said.
“At the very least, your ability to stay low-profile, remain practical, and think boldly has already proven that.
Of course, those qualities alone aren’t enough to become an outstanding security officer.
You’ll still have to continue proving yourself in your future work.”
Viktor said nothing and simply nodded.
“For quite some time, the workload in Lviv will remain extremely heavy,” Serov continued.
“Building the organizational structure, suppressing counter-revolutionary activities, and establishing a functioning security apparatus will all require enormous effort.
Furthermore, according to Moscow’s directives and the practical needs on the ground, the Lviv Directorate must quickly recruit and train capable intelligence personnel from among the Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Moldovan, and Gagauz populations.”
He paused briefly before continuing.
“At present, Moscow’s provisional plan is to establish two secret training schools in Lviv for intelligence and espionage personnel.
To carry out this work properly, you’ll also need to devote part of your attention to overseeing those schools.”
“We’re critically short of manpower,” Viktor replied without objection, merely frowning as he spoke.
“At the moment, the entire People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs is suffering from a severe manpower shortage,” Major General Serov said bluntly.
“In that regard, I can’t provide you with any support.
You’ll have to solve that problem yourself.”
Viktor felt a headache coming on.
He knew very well that everything Major General Serov had just mentioned was only the core of the work awaiting him.
There were undoubtedly countless other responsibilities that hadn’t even been brought up.
Of course, for Viktor, who had been reborn into this era, the biggest problem wasn’t how difficult the work would be.
The real problem was that he knew perfectly well what the future held.
In just over a year, the brutal war between the Soviet Union and Germany would erupt.
And when that happened, Lviv would inevitably become a frontline city.
For that reason alone, he didn’t want to stay here.