Chapter 142 A Call from the Big Secretary
A fine drizzle enveloped the entire Moscow, gently washing the city covered with the dust of war. However, it could only wash away the dust, and the scars still stubbornly retained their traces, which were difficult to erase.
Coming out of the Belorussky subway station , Yuri walked slowly along the sidewalk on the street. The rain hit the umbrella above his head, making a crackling sound.
On the lampposts erected on the street, there are hexagonal radio speakers shaped like morning glories. This time, the radio is broadcasting the good news of the Soviet Red Army's all-out counterattack - in the past two days, all the news on the radio is good news: first, within a week, the German army broke through the carefully constructed defense line five times in a row, and then advanced into the Donets Basin, and as of yesterday, the Soviet army recaptured Zaporizhia, a strong military town located at the bend of the Dnieper River.
According to the radio broadcast, the German army was completely helpless in the face of the swift attack of the heroic Soviet Red Army. Their continuous retreat proved that the end of German fascism had been revealed and the victory of the Soviet people was just around the corner.
The radio was singing praises for the Southwestern Front's swift offensive. During this period, Comrade Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin became a hero. The Southwestern Front under his command advanced rapidly on the front line and continuously conquered the German defense line, which was invincible. Since the offensive campaign in the Kharkov direction began, he has received three commendations from the headquarters.
Listening to the broadcast, Yuri stopped in front of a state-owned bakery. He raised his umbrella and looked up at the location of the radio speaker.
Including yesterday's time, he had given Vatutin two suggestions as the Chief of the Operations Department of the General Staff. The general content of both suggestions was to slow down the offensive in the southwest of Kharkov and strengthen the defense as much as possible to guard against the threat from the Don Army Group commanded by Manstein.
However, these two suggestions did not receive any response. Vatutin even tactfully told Yuri through Antonov that as the Minister of Operations, he was in the rear and did not understand the situation on the front line, so he should stop interfering with him, a front commander.
Now, there is an atmosphere throughout the Soviet Union, an atmosphere of celebration. The official tone and view is that this brutal war is expected to end before the end of this year. At least, the heroic Soviet Red Army will be able to drive the invading German fascism out of the country.
Compared to most people, Yuri was definitely not so optimistic, because from the German resistance at this stage, he saw the tactics he had adopted on the outskirts of Stalingrad - the tiered defense tactics during retreat.
That's right, Manstein was using this tactic in the direction of Kharkov. The German army in the Kharkov direction was not retreating, but retreating in a rhythmic and planned manner. They would conduct a very tenacious defense almost every time they retreated 50-80 kilometers. Such tactics made the already exhausted Voronezh Front and Southwestern Front even more exhausted, because every time they advanced a certain distance, they had to fight a difficult battle. In order to break through the German positions more effectively, the two fronts had to repeatedly strengthen the offensive forces on the front, and in the absence of reserve forces, such an attack would inevitably continue to weaken the defense lines on both wings.
Yuri believed that if nothing unexpected happened, the German army should be deploying troops on the southern and southwestern fronts of the Southwestern Front. Once they began to launch a counterattack, the southern front of the Southwestern Front would collapse within a few days. In this way, Kharkov, which the Soviet army was trying to capture, would become the crematorium of the Red Army.
Originally, Yuri was not so pessimistic. After all, the battle in the Stalingrad direction had ended and the German Ninth Army had been completely destroyed. As a result, the Don Front commanded by Rokossovsky was idle, and they should be able to provide support for the offensive in the Kharkov direction.
But a few days ago, Yuri's expectation was shattered. The Rokossovsky Corps was transferred to the Gomel and Smolensk directions. The headquarters gave them a task, which was to attack the German Orlov combat group. In this way, the Rokossovsky Corps was actually inserted into the central position of the Bryansk Front and the Voronezh Front. It was threatened by the German Kursk Group on the front and the German Group in Kharkov on the flank. In addition, many subordinate units of the headquarters could not arrive in time. Therefore, it had no ability to provide support to any friendly forces. The headquarters was equivalent to locking up a heavy group of troops that was most suitable as a reserve.
The conservative offensive strategy made Yuri an outsider within the current General Staff, and it was inevitable that his status and authority would be excluded. During this period, he, the Chief of Operations, basically became a decoration. It can be predicted that if the Soviet army in the Kharkov direction wins, his tenure as the Chief of Operations will come to an end.
After walking slowly along the street for less than ten minutes, Yuri came onto Leningradskaya Street and walked north for more than 200 meters before stopping at the entrance of a two-story building along the street - this was his new address in Moscow. The house was granted to him by the General Staff. As a general, he was entitled to such treatment.
At the entrance of the small building, a military jeep was parked on the roadside, with a machine gun mounted on it. Three soldiers in raincoats were standing or sitting on the jeep, vigilantly observing the surrounding situation. Recently, saboteurs bribed by German fascism have been active in Moscow. The State Security Committee is actively organizing investigations, and on the other hand, it has arranged internal security personnel to provide protection for major military generals and government staff.
Seeing Yuri holding an umbrella appear on the street, three soldiers hurriedly jumped out of the car and stood on the roadside to salute him.
After returning the salute to the soldiers, Yuri walked straight to the door of the building, handed an umbrella to a guard at the door, and then pushed the door open.
The small building looked shabby from the outside, but the inside was obviously newly renovated and extremely luxurious - the Soviet Union was in a difficult situation during the war, but no matter how difficult it was, it could not frustrate high-ranking generals like Yuri. Moreover, the war situation had improved greatly now, and American aid continued to flow in. The Kremlin could still afford a little luxury.
Yuri walked through the corridor and went straight into the living room on the first floor. At this moment, a woman was sitting on the sofa in the living room, quietly reading a book. Hearing the footsteps outside the hall door, the woman raised her head, looked at Yuri curiously, and asked, "Why are you back so early?"
"There was nothing to do at the ministry, so I just came back," Yuri answered casually, taking off his military coat.
The woman was Geryosha, Yuri's lover. Her existence was no secret to the upper circles in Moscow. Even Stalin knew about it. Perhaps it was because of this that this once pitiful woman now lived a comfortable life. Her job changed repeatedly, and now she has been transferred to the Moscow Municipal Party Committee as a clerk with no work to do.
"Is something going wrong? I see you seem to be in a bad mood." Standing up, Gerlyosha walked over, took Yuri's coat, hung it on the hanger by the door for him, and said.
"Nothing, just some work stuff," Yuri rubbed his eyes and said with a sigh of relief. He didn't like talking about the war with women because that was not something women should worry about.
"Where's Arseny?" Yuri walked to the sofa, sat down and asked casually.
"I went to the Supply Department and received a call this morning saying it was from the General Staff..." said Gerlyosha.
But before she could finish her words, the phone on the table suddenly rang. The ringing sound was very urgent, as if urging her.
Yuri reached for the receiver, but before he could speak, he heard a deep voice: "Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich?"
"I'm Yuri," Yuri replied.
"My name is Poskrebyshev," the voice said. "Please come to my office in the Kremlin right now."
After saying this on the phone, the person hung up. The call was brief, but the message was clear.
Yuri certainly knew who Poskrebyshev was. He was Comrade Stalin's personal secretary, and he had been working in this position from 1928 to the present. He was one of Stalin's closest people.
"What's the matter?" Seeing Yuri put down the receiver and stand up, Geryosha asked in surprise.
Yuri didn't say anything, just shook his head, then walked to the entrance of the living room and took his coat from the hanger.
"I have to rush to the Kremlin. I probably won't be back until noon. Have your lunch by yourself." Yuri put on the coat he had just taken off, said casually, and turned to walk out.
As Stalin's personal secretary, Poskrebyshev held a military post, but because he was very low-key and rarely dealt directly with military generals, Yuri couldn't figure out why he called him. Could it be that there was a change in the war on the front line? It was possible, but military affairs were always handled by Stalin's second working secretary, and Poskrebyshev shouldn't have made this call.
With all kinds of questions, Yuri rushed to the Kremlin in the shortest time possible.
As the presidential building No. 1, when Yuri arrived, it was as deserted as usual. Apart from the limited three or five internal security soldiers, there was no one around.
Yuri ran all the way to the second floor and as soon as he climbed the stairs, he saw the bald Poskrebyshev standing outside Stalin's office.
"Comrade Beria is inside," Poskrebyshev stepped forward when he saw Yuri appear, and said in a low voice , "The National Security Council has received intelligence that the German army has completed its assembly on the southern line of the Southwestern Front, and the Southwestern Front's defense along the Mius River is very weak..."
