Chapter 241
After the meeting was over, Yuri walked out of the meeting hall with his medal, ready to go to the General Staff immediately, and then to the Equipment Department to finalize the truck issue. This would complete the mission of this trip to Moscow. He didn't think about meeting Stalin, after all, Stalin must be in a bad mood because of his cold, and Yuri didn't want to cause trouble for himself.
However, there is always a gap between ideas and reality. Just when Yuri walked to the parking lot and was about to get in the car to leave the Kremlin, Poskrebyshev suddenly appeared and disrupted his entire plan - he did not want to meet Stalin , but Stalin wanted to meet him.
Forced to give up the idea of leaving immediately, Yuri followed Poskrebyshev into a black Volga sedan.
Stalin was not in the Kremlin at the time, but was recuperating in the Kuntsevo Villa. The villa was not far from the Kremlin, only a ten-minute drive at most, and was right next to Poklonnaya Hill.
"In the afternoon, Comrade Vyacheslav Mihajlovich met with Mikolajczyk, who came all the way from London," Poskrebyshev said as the car started moving. "He rejected the proposal to negotiate with the Polish National Liberation Committee and proposed to launch a large-scale uprising in the near future, requiring us to use the air force to bomb the airport outside Warsaw."
Yuri had a focused expression on his face, listening carefully to what the other party was saying.
Vyacheslav Mihajlovich naturally refers to Molotov, and Mikolajczyk is the current Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile. In name, the national army active in Poland obeys his command.
As for the Polish National Liberation Committee, it was established the day before yesterday. It was a merger of the Polish Patriotic League and the Polish National Assembly of People's Representatives. It was formed with the support of Moscow and included all left-wing political parties in Poland, with the Polish Workers' Party as its core.
"Comrade Stalin believes that Mikolajczyk is not bluffing," Poskrebyshev continued. "Faced with our rapid advance on the front line, the Polish National Army is indeed likely to launch a large-scale armed uprising at the same time as our attack on Warsaw, in an attempt to seize Warsaw first, or at least prevent us from fully controlling the city . If such a situation occurs, it will be very passive for us. Comrade Stalin wants to hear your opinion. You'd better come up with a countermeasure in advance, otherwise the task of attacking Warsaw may be handed over to the First Ukrainian Front."
Yuri frowned and was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly, indicating that he understood what the other party meant.
Warsaw is a very important strategic node for both the Soviet Union and Germany, because the city controls the corridor leading to the German mainland. Once it is captured, the Soviet army will have opened up a passage to Germany.
However, what the Polish government-in-exile was going to do was indeed disgusting. If they successfully launched an uprising and captured the city during the Soviet attack on Warsaw, the Soviet army would lose the legal basis for actually controlling the city. Most importantly, if the city was really handed over to the Polish government-in-exile, the subsequent chain reaction would bring great passiveness to the Soviet side - if Warsaw was handed over, would other places be handed over? Should the Soviet Union recognize the legitimacy of the Polish government-in-exile?
This series of problems would put the Soviet government in a very embarrassing position internationally, and Stalin absolutely did not want to see such a situation.
Looking back on the past, before the Soviet army attacked Warsaw, the National Army in Warsaw did launch an uprising, which was the so-called "Warsaw Uprising" - not the Warsaw Jewish Uprising.
However, that uprising was obviously a failure because they misjudged the timing. The Soviet army suffered a disastrous defeat outside the city of Warsaw and was forced to postpone the plan to attack Warsaw. So, after two months of persistence, nearly 20,000 insurgents in Warsaw surrendered to the Germans. In this uprising, the entire Warsaw was almost razed to the ground, and more than 200,000 Poles died in the uprising.
That inexplicable uprising later led to a series of disputes. Whether it was Britain, the United States, Poland or the Soviet Union, the three parties all argued for many years, each claiming to be right, leaving the Germans as spectators watching the show.
The memories of the previous life can no longer be used now. After all, the Soviet army is currently advancing smoothly on the offensive front. By the time they reach the outskirts of Warsaw, the reinforcements from the German army may not have arrived yet.
What if the national army really launched an uprising and captured the city first when the Soviet army arrived at the gates of Warsaw? Yuri was not really worried about this possibility.
He was very clear about the situation of the so-called Polish National Army. It was more like a group of armed civilians than an army. They did not have much combat experience at all. If it were not for their advantage of being familiar with the city, they would probably not have been able to hold out for even half a month in the face of the German attack.
Furthermore, even if they really took the city first and successfully supported the Soviet army to enter the city, the city would not belong to them. The Soviet army's direct attack on them would indeed have a certain international impact and would be detrimental to the shaping of the country's image. But what if the Polish army attacked them? Don't forget that Yuri still has two Polish army groups as reserves.
At that time, as long as the two armies nominally commanded by the Polish National Liberation Committee clashed with the national army, the Soviet army would have a reason to intervene in the dispute, disarm both sides, and reorganize them on the spot. As for who would lead the reorganized army, it would not be up to the Polish government in exile to decide.
A weak country has no diplomacy, this is a conclusion proven by countless vivid examples in history. However, those Poles hiding in London do not understand this . They always hope that Britain and the United States can give them enough assistance and support, but they don’t know that they have been betrayed by their so-called allies as early as the Cairo Declaration was announced.
When the car arrived at the Kontsevo Villa, Yuri got out of the car outside the green belt in front of the villa and walked into the small building side by side with Poskrebyshev.
Unlike later generations, the Kontsevo Villa at that time was not very luxurious. Both the decoration and furnishings were relatively simple. There were just more corresponding service staff, most of whom were Comrade Stalin's health doctors.
Yuri was waiting in the living room on the first floor while Poskrebyshev went upstairs to report. Nearly ten minutes later, Stalin, dressed in casual clothes, actually came down from upstairs.
"Comrade Stalin," Yuri hurriedly stood up and saluted.
"Please sit down, Comrade Yuri Arispovich," Stalin said as he came down the stairs and pointed to the sofa in front of Yuri.
Yuri waited until he was seated before carefully sitting down in front of the sofa.
"Has Alexander Nikolayevich explained the situation to you clearly?" Stalin asked, leaning back in the sofa, his spirits a little depressed.
"It's clear now," Yuri nodded and said carefully, "I plan to deploy the 1st and 2nd Polish Fronts to the Warsaw front, allowing them to play a more critical role in the upcoming Battle of Warsaw."
Stalin obviously understood his intention, smiled and said: "We must ensure that the Polish National Liberation Committee has absolute control over the two army groups. In addition, west of the Curzon Line, the control of the war zone is in the hands of our troops, and the control of the liberated areas should be jointly controlled by the Military Committees of the various fronts and the Polish National Liberation Committee. We must ensure that a new government that is inclined towards Moscow is established in post-war Poland. This is a basic principle. No, not only Poland, but all Eastern European countries should follow this principle."
"I will pay attention to this work, Comrade Stalin," Yuri responded affirmatively at first, and then changed the subject, "However, in view of the complexity of the war on the front line, I suggest that the corresponding work can be led by the Military Committee of each front. Comrade Nikolai Alexandrovich of the First Belorussian Front has experience in this area and is fully capable of the specific work of rebuilding Poland's post-war political structure."
Stalin did not express his opinion directly. He frowned and thought for a while, then said: "We must do a good job of reorganizing the Polish National Army. You need to ensure that all armed forces that are hostile to us are eliminated during the advancement of the troops. This is a political task and is very important."
"Yes, Comrade Stalin, I will make the arrangements." Yuri nodded and said.
In fact, as a soldier, he lacked sufficient enthusiasm for this kind of mopping-up work. After all, it could only bring him notoriety but no honor. However, as Stalin said, this was indeed a political work and he not only had to do it, but also had to do it well.
In fact, although the Soviet Union, the United States and Britain had already determined the fate of post-war Poland at the Cairo Conference, Stalin was still very cautious about entering Poland. He even asked several fronts in the direction of Poland's offensive to form several propaganda teams with Polish-speaking soldiers to publicize the Soviet army's policy to the Poles in the offensive direction: the Soviet Union had no intention of occupying Poland, and after defeating German fascism, the Poles would decide their own destiny and establish a completely independent country.
In addition, the Polish Patriotic League and the Congress of People's Representatives also took action more than ten days ago, ordering the People's Army guerrillas in Poland to cooperate with the Soviet offensive, mainly to do a good job in ensuring the safety of the people in the rear.
But then again, the Soviet army had to gain something from its attack. At least, no one wanted a new regime hostile to Moscow to emerge in Poland after the war.
