“You are certainly right. In this case, however, the concentration of the enemy's mobile units is several times higher than it usually is. In fact, our armies are facing two tank groups, albeit somewhat tattered in previous battles and stretched over a fairly wide front. If we just try to find a weakness in their defense and try to make a breach there, it won't work, we'll only lose men and equipment.”
“Let's say,” the Senior Major did not argue, “but I haven't heard any concrete suggestions yet.”
“The only way to ensure the success of the breakthrough is to disorganize the enemy's troop control. It is necessary to strike the headquarters of the German motorized corps immediately before attacking from outside and inside the ring.”
“It's a great plan,” Sudoplatov grinned venomously, “And how do you want to do that, Senior Lieutenant? Perhaps you know the locations of these headquarters? Or do you think the Germans will let our air reconnaissance sniff out every square meter of their territory? Have you forgotten who has supremacy in the air now?”
“Comrade Beria told me that he had some very interesting photographs,” I answered calmly, without reacting in any way to the sneer in the voice of my immediate superior. “It shows what was left of the German convoy after a nighttime bombardment by one of the TB-3s whose pilots were receiving my commands from the ground. I was ten kilometers away, but the bombs hit the target.”
I was silent, but the famous saboteur took his time answering and just looked at me carefully, waiting for me to continue.
“I need a fast reconnaissance plane with an experienced pilot and three fighters to cover me. And then, when it gets dark, I need a dozen long-range TB-7 and Yer-2 bombers from among the planes that flew to bomb Berlin in August.”
“Don't you need a couple of armies to reinforce you, Senior Lieutenant?” Sudoplatov leaned back in his chair, looking at me as if I were some exotic curiosity, “We, if you have noticed, are dealing here with somewhat different issues, which are quite far from empty projects. I have only a month to make real saboteurs out of you, able to pass German barriers like a knife through butter, and I'll do it! And you, Comrade Nagulin, are suggesting that I should disobey orders, interrupt the group's preparations, and get on with your adventure, because of which I will have to distract very serious people from important matters.”
“200,000 of our fighters and commanders are waiting for help in the Kiev pocket,” I said slowly, emphasizing each word in my voice, “And they will stay there forever. They will be cut to pieces and killed individually, unless, of course, we change anything in the current breakthrough plans. You are an experienced commander, Comrade Senior Major of State Security, and you know very well that I am right. I only need 24 hours, one day and one night. You are my immediate superior, and I have no one else to turn to. Please remember the bridge over the Dnieper and the events that followed. I was not immediately believed then, either.”
Sudoplatov stood up and gave me a bad look. I stood up, too, but he gestured for me to sit back down.
“Wait here,” ordered the Senior Major, and left the office, closing the door tightly behind him.
“So, you missed him,” to Richtengden's surprise, the General said this phrase in a completely calm voice, “You failed to wrest Major Schliemann from the hands of Russian saboteurs, and now we are forced to assume that everything he knew, the enemy knows as well. This is all very unfortunate, don't you think, Colonel.”
“All responsibility for this failure lies solely with me, Herr General,” Richtengden answered clearly, looking his superior straight in the eye, “All my men and the "Brandenburg" fighters involved proved to be exceptionally competent specialists, and it was only my mistakes that caused the mission to fail.”
“Don't be in such a hurry to denounce yourself,” the General grinned with a corner of his lips. “Admiral Canaris instructed me to investigate the incident, and, believe me, I have carried out his orders with the utmost care. We have reconstructed the whole picture of what happened by questioning in detail all the participants in the events, from your men to the gendarmes and the infantry officers who carried out your orders. Those who survived, of course…”
The General was silent for a while, then thoughtfully poured some water from a decanter into his glass and took a couple of sips.
“No credible expert familiar with the case has found serious errors in your actions. This rarely happens, because some of them know you personally, and not always your relationship with these people is unclouded. However, their assessments agree – your actions in those circumstances were correct. Perhaps you were just unlucky. How is your arm, by the way? Does it bother you?”
“It's better, Herr General. Thank you, Sir.”
“Perhaps for the first time in this war we have encountered a factor beyond our understanding,” the General continued. “Your timely arrival in the vicinity of Kremenchuk put the counter-subversion operation back on track. You correctly assessed the actions of the enemy and led your men on the trail of the enemy group. Had it not been for this nighttime bombardment, which no one could have foreseen, the Russians would not have been able to land the transport plane on our territory and then get it in the air. Nevertheless, even under these circumstances you were able to inflict damage on the Russian transport plane. As a result, it crashed on an emergency landing, but unfortunately, it happened in the territory already occupied by the Soviet troops, and its passengers apparently survived.”
“It's a failure anyway, Herr General,” Richtengden shook his head, “and it's not the first one, if we remember on whose recommendation you involved Major Schliemann in the operation.”
“You're not yourself, Colonel,” the General frowned. “Or did the injury have that effect on you? You and I seem to have switched roles. You're the one who has to look for arguments in your defense, and I've done everything for you, so you're trying to argue with me.”
Richtengden remained silent. He no longer had the strength or desire to object.
“That's right,” the General looked closely at his subordinate and calmed down a little. “Nobody cancelled the order to destroy the Russian marksman, who, as it turned out, was also a spotter. The human intelligence has already been tasked to locate him, but I don't think it's going to be easy or particularly fast. Major Schliemann is a prisoner, and now you are the only Abwehr officer left, who knows our enemy's habits well. I want to hear your thoughts on what action we should expect from him next. And your suggestions, if, of course, you have any.”
“The Kiev pocket,” Richtengden answered without a second's hesitation.
“And more specifically?”
“The Russians will not be able to break our defenses. The motorized corps of Army Group Center will prevent them from breaking through the front, unless…”
“Go ahead, Colonel.”
“The marksman showed himself a master at targeting heavy artillery and aviation. The howitzers do not have enough range to support a strike directed from inside the ring, and our artillerymen will not sleep either – they will not let the Russians quietly smash our troops. Our aviation dominates the air, and no TB-3s or Red dive bombers can support the advancing Soviet units, even with an ingenious spotter. But this is in the daytime.”
“Do you think they will go for a breakthrough at night?”
“I am sure of it. The Russians had already used this trick at Uman, and they almost succeeded then.”
“Yes. But, as you correctly noted, "almost".”
“They didn't have air support that time, but they will have it now. I had already experienced the delight of a nighttime bombing once, and believe me, I wouldn't want to experience it again. ”
“I see you've given a lot of thought to the situation,” the General stood up and walked over to the map showing the current situation on the eastern front, “You are right, the Russians have already made two attempts to break through the encirclement, accompanied by counter-strikes from the outside.