“By widening the circle of those aware of the Nagulin report, we make it inevitable that this issue will be brought to the top,” said the Marshal, hesitating a little.
“Did you have any doubts that this document would end up on Comrade Stalin's desk?” Beria seemed genuinely surprised. “In any case, it is impossible not to show such information to the Commander-in-Chief, even if we come to the conclusion that it is all nonsense, and that we are deeply indifferent to the fate of President Roosevelt and the outcome of the US war with Japan.”
“Here you are, comrade Nagulin, saying that citizen Korolev is not guilty of sabotaging the development of the Project 212 rocket,” Stalin looked at me carefully from under his bushy eyebrows. “But during combat tests of this product in the breakthrough of the front on the Volkhov River, none of his six missiles hit the exact target. The damage to the German columns was done, but it was rather the merit of the warhead of the missile, and Korolev had nothing to do with its development. ”
“Comrade Stalin, I chose the targets, not Korolev. And these targets were extremely uncomfortable for cruise missiles. Basically, they couldn't be used at all against moving enemy troops, but I just didn't have any other options. I needed to distract the Germans for at least a minute so that Colonel Kudryavtsev's bombers could attack the columns without interference. And even in such unfavorable conditions, the task set before the missile launchers was accomplished. I believe that the "product K-212" showed its best side.”
“Not everyone agrees with you, Comrade Nagulin, but I won't argue about it now. We will continue the cruise missile development project, but the status of designer Korolev will remain unchanged for now. Let him prove by deeds that his missiles are worth the resources spent on them, and then we'll get back to this conversation, especially since both he and you will soon have that chance,” Stalin grinned.
I didn't ask any follow-up questions. It was my first one-on-one meeting with Stalin, and I did not consider it possible to rush the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, preferring to wait patiently for him to elaborate his thoughts himself. Stalin, taking his time, held out his hand and pulled up a thick folder that had been lying on the edge of the table. It seemed that the Chief was about to move on to a discussion of the main issue for which I had been summoned to his Kremlin office.
“I have carefully read your report, Comrade Nagulin, and the comments of other comrades who have also been introduced to this case. Believe me, the most highly qualified specialists were involved, but their conclusions were very ambiguous. You base your prediction on the fact that attempts on Hitler and Roosevelt will be organized in the near future, with every chance of success. This is a very bold statement, Comrade Nagulin. They had tried to kill Hitler more than once before, but nothing came of it, and the American president's guards don't eat their bread for nothing. This is the weakest point in your analysis. All of the subsequent events that you write about are indeed very well justified, almost all the comrades who have read your report agree with this. But what you propose requires a serious change in the foreign policy of the USSR and in the strategy of war with Germany. You were not the first to think of the fear of possible opposition from England and the United States to our march into Europe, which, as the course of the war shows, is becoming almost inevitable. Nevertheless, I must give you credit, since you were the first to be able to piece together all the facts and, supported by calculations and analyses, to show in a reasoned way how great is the probability of a direct military conflict with the West. There is an opinion that your idea of "lazy war" is worthy of careful consideration. Combined with a strategy of rapprochement with the United States, it could really lull our opponents' vigilance and knock very serious arguments for entering the war on Germany's side out of their hands.”
Stalin paused for a moment, leafing through several documents in the folder.
“All the comrades who have read your report agree that it is of a very high level, but for such an important decision to be made is not enough. If the postulate of Hitler's imminent death proves wrong, following your plan will lead the USSR to disaster or, at the very least, to enormous and totally unjustified losses in manpower and material resources.”
The Commander-in-Chief was silent again, and now his gaze was clearly demanding a reaction from me.
“Nowhere in my report does it say that a decision needs to be made right now,” I tried to answer as neutrally as possible. “On the contrary. Haste in this case is extremely detrimental. A month and a half has passed since the blockade of Leningrad was broken, and our army is still not ready for strategic offensive operations, and it is unlikely to be ready for them before mid-spring. Accordingly, the arrival of our troops to the state border of the USSR along its entire length, even in the best of circumstances, will not take place until the end of this year or even the middle of next year, and until then neither England nor the U.S. would see any serious cause for concern, especially if we carry out the measures provided for in my report, which are designed to give the Western powers the impression that the Soviet Union is liberating its territory out of its last strength and is unable to make a quick dash westward.”
“I remember your suggestion,” Stalin nodded, looking thoughtfully at the map, “Smolensk, Kiev, Minsk, the Baltics, Odessa… We still have a lot of work to do, Comrade Nagulin, you're right. If we manage it by the end of the year, it will really be a great success. Good. Consider that the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command have heard your point of view and taken it more than seriously, but we will take a decision on your report a little later, when the situation is more certain. And now I have a more concrete matter for you, which cannot wait.”
The Chief gave me a sharp look in the eye, and I didn't want to disappoint him.
“I'm ready, Comrade Stalin, give the order.”
“In the operation to break the blockade of Leningrad you, Comrade Nagulin, showed yourself a competent commander, capable of organizing a breakthrough of the enemy's defense and ensuring the unimpeded entry of the shock army into it. Of course, the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts did not achieve everything that was planned, but it is still a very great victory. Your success has been noted by the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, and now it's time to repeat it under different conditions and on a somewhat larger scale. You're right, we're not ready for a really big offensive, but we have another enemy besieged city. It is an important city that must not be given to the Germans under any circumstances. The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command give you three days to complete your current business in Moscow. We know that you are supervising the work on a new turbojet engine for our aviation, and this work should by no means stop after you leave. But only three days! And then you're flying to the Crimean front as a representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command[2]. Sevastopol needed to be unblocked, and Lieutenant-General Kozlov was never able to build on the initial success of the Kerch-Feodosiya landing. Manstein is outplaying him on all directions, and this situation must be fundamentally changed. If necessary, you can remove Kozlov from the command of the front – you will have the appropriate authority, but to do it or not, you will decide on the spot.”
Chapter 3
Erich von Manstein was well aware that together with his 11th Army he found himself on the periphery of the maelstrom of events that in a matter of months changed the entire course of military action on the Eastern Front. He began the war against the Soviet Union as part of Army Group North, commanding the 56th Motorized Corps, which invaded the Baltics. In the first week of fighting his corps crossed more than 200 kilometers and came to the Western Dvina, where it successfully repulsed a tank counterstrike by Soviet troops.
It seemed that the war was developing quite favorably, and Manstein even had the thought that Hitler was right, and before winter Red Army would be completely defeated, but already at the beginning of July his corps suffered a serious defeat at the hands of Lieutenant-General Morozov's army near Soltsy. Two groups of Soviet troops, supported by more than two hundred