After Stalin finished speaking, Zhukov stood up and asked, "Comrade Stalin, our guerrillas and resistance organizations in the enemy's rear are distributed in Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvian, Estonian and the vast territory of Russia. If the rank of commander is too low, we should command such a large guerrilla force, Maybe a lot of people down there are still in command. "
Stalin took his pipe from his mouth, held it in his hand, nodded at Zhukov twice, and asked, "what's the rank of general Romanov?"
"Major general, comrade Romanov is a major general." In order to give Stalin a deeper impression, Zhukov specially stressed: "he was a general before the war broke out."
After listening to this, Stalin thought for a moment, and then said decisively, "Comrade Zhukov, what you have said is very reasonable. As far as I know, many commanders of the guerrillas behind the enemy have served as military commanders in the regular forces. If Romanov's rank is too low, it is really possible that his command will be ineffective. Well, comrade vasilevsky, "seeing that vasilevsky got up from his seat, Stalin told him," when drafting the order later, we will add in the order for the promotion of Romanov's rank, and we will temporarily appoint him to the rank of lieutenant general. "
Although Romanov's rank was only promoted by one level, when I heard Stalin's command personally, I was relieved. I said that since Stalin can promote Romanov's rank, it means that he will let bygones be bygones and bygones be bygones. Even if my capture is revealed later, the probability of success will be greatly improved.
Stalin stood up and said in a heavy voice: "comrades, in view of the current bad situation in Kiev, this proud city with numerous legends, we have to give up again." With these words, he seems to be several years old. After sitting back, he stares at the table in front of him and does not speak.
When I saw Stalin's gaffe, I immediately understood why he was so angry when I just proposed to abandon Kiev, because this city is so important to him that last time, in order to decide whether to abandon Kiev or not, he even removed Zhukov as chief of general staff, just let me go out and punish him twice, It's very kind.
Although Stalin did not speak, no one dared to interrupt his thoughts. After a while, he woke up from his meditation, swept the people around the meeting table, raised his hand and announced, "OK, that's all for today's meeting. Let's go back to work." Seeing that everyone stood up from their seats, he added, "Zhukov and Ustinov stay, and khrushiev and Rita also stay."
I see that Stalin left us alone after he announced the end of the meeting, and I can see that he wanted to know the harvest of our visit to the United States as soon as possible. Although Molotov reported to him by telegram every day, there was no detailed report in person after all.
As there were only five of us left in the room, Stalin asked us to sit near him so that we could listen to the report better. First of all, he said to khrushiev with a smile, "Dear Andre vasilijevich, tell Comrade Zhukov and Ustinov what you have gained from your trip to the United States."
"Yes, comrade Stalin." He agreed, got up from his seat, took out a stack of documents from his briefcase and handed them to Stalin respectfully. At the same time, he said with a smile: "maybe it was the Red Army that annihilated the German army in Stalingrad and greatly inspired the confidence of Britain and the United States in the final victory, Therefore, in the negotiation of the lease act, the US side showed great cooperation. In addition to meeting our normal needs, it also gave us a lot of extra materials. "
Stalin held his pipe in his mouth and took the stack of documents from khrushiev's hand. He looked at it quickly, and suddenly the movement of his hand stopped. Just as everyone was staring at him, trying to hear what he would say, there was a smile on his face. He took out one of them and said with great interest: "President Roosevelt is very generous this time. Originally, they only provided us with 1000 tons of special armor plates per month. Now it has increased to 3000 tons, which is a double of the total."
"Can you show me, comrade Stalin?" Hearing Stalin say so, Ustinov quickly stood up from his seat and asked Stalin respectfully.
After Stalin handed Ustinov his list, he walked back and forth with his pipe in his mouth, but this time his mood was much better. After two laps, it was estimated that Ustinov had finished reading the above contents. Then he stopped and asked with a smile, "Comrade Ustinov, do you have any ideas after reading this list?"
Shaking the list in his hand, Ustinov said excitedly: "if the US side can really provide so many armor plates, then the output of our new tanks will be multiplied."
Stalin nodded and asked Zhukov, "Comrade Zhukov, if the output of our new tanks can be greatly increased, can we gain an advantage over the German army in armored forces?"
"Comrade Stalin, there is no doubt about that." Zhukov stood up and said slowly and firmly: "according to our recent tests on the battlefield, a small team composed of six new t-5455 tanks can easily defeat a German tank battalion, but only one of our tanks was broken. After rush repair, we finally drove back to our defense zone." At this point, his face could not help but smile, "0:28 record, comrade Stalin, this can be said to be a miracle."
When I heard this, I was surprised. I didn't expect that Ustinov had put the t-5455 tank into actual combat after I had only been away for half a month, and he had achieved such amazing results. T-5455 can achieve such good results. If T-72 can overcome the technical difficulties and put it into the battlefield in large quantities, then in the future, the battlefield in the Soviet Union and Germany will be full of Soviet armor.
At this time, I heard Stalin ask: "what are the weaknesses of this new type of tank?"
Zhukov and Ustinov looked at each other and the latter reported: "Comrade Stalin, please allow me to report to you. Because our current technology can't be compared with that of several years later, the new tank is only a simplified version. Compared with later tanks, its air defense capability is very weak. Last night, the area where the new tanks were parked was attacked by the German army. Two of them were blown apart by bombs dropped by the German army, and another one was broken by the explosion. The body of the car was also seriously damaged, and it is being repaired nervously. "
"Comrade Stalin," Zhukov and other Ustinov said as soon as they finished, they went on to say, "if we can't control the air in the Kursk region in our hands, then no matter how many new tanks we put in, we will be completely lost under the enemy's bombs."
"Comrade Zhukov, you are quite right." Perhaps Stalin was in a good mood when he just saw that the amount on the US aid list exceeded his imagination. At the moment, he still kept a smile on his face and said, "judging from what we know, after the German army has captured Kiev, it will concentrate its main forces in Kharkov and near Kursk. We have reason to believe that the Germans intend to fight with us on a large scale in the region. As for the issue of air supremacy, comrade Zhukov will consult with air force commander Novikov later. "
"General khrushiev," Ustinov looked at khrushiev and asked politely, "I don't know when these armor plates will arrive at home?"
"In a month at the most." "After all, we are too far away from the United States. It may not take too long for a huge transport fleet to cross the long Arctic ocean route," he said helplessly
"Comrade Stalin, I have a suggestion." After listening to khrushiev, Ustinov turned to Stalin and said, "I suggest that the production of the T-34 tank be temporarily stopped and the new type of t-5455 tank be produced. In this way, we can provide no less than 300 new tanks to the troops in the Kursk region by the end of June. "
I think Ustinov is very reasonable. As long as all the tank factories are converted to new tanks, then when the battle of Kursk breaks out in July, the central front army and Voronezh front army equipped with hundreds of new tanks will be able to take the initiative in the whole battlefield.
Did not expect that Stalin after listening, but waved his hands and repeatedly said: "no, resolutely not." Seeing the puzzled expression on our faces, he specially explained: "although the new tanks are much more powerful than the main battle tanks in the army, after all, the test time is still very short. If we equip the army on a large scale, what should we do in case of failure on the battlefield? Therefore, in order to be on the safe side, the production speed of the new tank should be kept at the current level. By the end of the year, when all aspects of technology are more mature, the production of the new tank should be increased. "
"I see, comrade Stalin." After listening to Stalin's words, Ustinov reluctantly agreed and sat down again.
Stalin turned his attention to me again, and asked curiously, "Rita, when President Roosevelt called me two days ago, he mentioned to me that you helped the US military formulate a plan to open up a second battlefield."
"Yes, comrade Stalin." When I heard Stalin asking me, I quickly stood up and replied respectfully, "I just put forward my own views on the plans they made."
"It's not easy for you to come up with ideas that are convincing to all Americans." Stalin came up to me and patted me gently on my right shoulder to show his appreciation“ Even if the American's final battle plan is different from what you suggested, can you tell us what this plan is about? "
"Yes, comrade Stalin. Britain and the United States plan to land on the coast of France and open up a second battlefield... "I talked about the" overlord plan "that I knew, and at the end, I specially emphasized:" in fact, the original battle plan was put forward by British General Sir Morgan, and I only made appropriate modifications. "
When I finished, Zhukov asked, "did President Roosevelt or General Marshall mention to you when the allies will implement this landing plan?"
As early as on the return flight, I thought about how to answer Stalin's question. Although Zhukov was asking at the moment, I answered truthfully: "according to my analysis, the implementation of the Allied landing plan will not be earlier than next May."
"Next May?" Stalin could not help frowning when he heard this time. He dozed his pipe heavily on an ashtray. After pouring out the ash, he began to fill the pipe again. At the same time, he was puzzled and asked, "Why are they going to delay for a year?"
"Comrade Stalin, please listen to me." I saw Stalin's dissatisfaction on his face, and I was afraid that he would drive me out of the penalty station again. I hastened to explain in detail: "because Britain and the United States need to gather a large number of troops and accumulate a large amount of strategic materials, in this way, the time may not be too short."“ How many troops do you think Britain and the United States will put in? " The person who asked the question this time was Zhukov. I organized the information in my head and estimated that I would say what I knew in an ambiguous tone: "according to their operational plan, Britain and the United States will invest 1.8 to 2.2 million combat troops, plus logistics personnel, and the total force may be close to 3 million."“ Three million? " When he heard the number I said, ustinofton's eyes brightened. He excitedly said to Stalin, "Comrade Stalin, since the Allied forces have really put so many troops into the European battlefield, the pressure on us in the Soviet German battlefield will be greatly reduced. Maybe it will only take us a year to recover all our territory. " Stalin, who packed the tobacco and put his pipe back in his mouth, just laughed, struck a match, lit the tobacco and said slowly, "if the allies can really put in so many troops, it will be worth fighting alone for another year. Comrade Zhukov Zhukov immediately turned to Stalin and waited for him to go on. Stalin took a puff of his cigarette, took his pipe away from his mouth, and said to Zhukov, "since Rita is still recovering from illness, she can't go back to the front line to command the troops in a short time. I'll consider letting her work for you for a while to supervise the construction of the fortifications of the central front army and the Voronezh front army. What's your opinion?" Zhukov looked back at me and said to Stalin, "I have no opinion, comrade Stalin." After a short pause, he continued, "but what position should I assign he