Chapter 154 The Disliked
End of September 1941, Moscow, Kremlin.
As the Germans approached day by day, the atmosphere in the Kremlin became more and more serious. Everyone's face looked nervous, and their normal pace could not help but speed up.
At the end of the deep corridor, in a small conference room, Stalin, the highest authority in the Soviet Union, was listening to the latest report.
“Comrade Stalin, the German Second Armored Army only rested for less than a week after occupying Kiev. It has already moved eastward towards Moscow. It is currently located northwest of Moscow and is advancing towards Tula and Morok. Attempting to cut off our supply lines.”
"The enemy's 4th Army is currently located in the southwest and is trying to bypass Morlock and directly threaten our southern defense line."
The staff officer pointed to the two plier-like German marching charts on the map and reported.
Stalin showed no expression on his face. He picked up the pipe in his hand and put it in his mouth and asked, "Have the evacuation of the central agencies and municipal government agencies been completed?"
"Yes, Stalin Comrade, according to your instructions, some government agencies and important personnel have been moved to Kuybyshev"
"How is the defense mission arranged?"
"The 5th, 16th and 43rd armies have formed a peripheral defense line, and General Zhukov has built a complete defensive position."
"The city's defense force is commanded by General Artemyev. Citizens Already organized It has been organized, with independent workers' divisions and women's transport teams, and everyone is very enthusiastic about fighting the invaders."
Stalin nodded, noncommittal about the work of his subordinates, and walked slowly towards the huge map. Look up.
Minsk, Smolinsk, Kiev... one by one, large cities have fallen into the hands of the Germans, and now it is finally Moscow's turn.
"We can no longer retreat..." Stalin muttered to himself, and then immediately fell silent.
He couldn't show any weakness now, not at all.
"Comrade Stalin, good news! There is good news from Kiev!" A thin man wearing glasses suddenly opened the door of the conference room and shook the things in his hands.
There were no more than five people in the entire Kremlin who dared to act so rude in front of Stalin, and the person in front of him was one of them.
Lavrenty Pavlovich Beria.
The future No. 2 figure in the Soviet Union is now the deputy minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but in fact he has mastered the power of the entire Moscow underground police and is Stalin's true shadow.
"Calm down, Comrade Beria, what we need most at this time is to calm down! If there is any situation, you can tell us slowly." Stalin promptly stopped the overly excited behavior of his intelligence chief.
Beria unfolded the message in his hand and handed it over, "Comrade Stalin, I just got the news that the Southwest Front Army has not been completely eliminated. At least 30,000 people have broken out of Kiev's encirclement."
" Oh?" Stalin grabbed the telegram and read it carefully without caring about the gaffe.
The current supply of Soviet troops is also in jeopardy. Even women have begun to take up arms. The unplanned 30,000 people can completely turn the world upside down at some point.
"Good! Good! Very good!" Stalin put down the telegram in his hand. "Where are these troops now?"
"They broke out separately, and now they are slowly gathering in Voronezh. A small number of them have even restored their organization. And I have good news. General Kirponos is not dead, he is still alive." "Still alive." ? "The expression on Stalin's face changed again. If having 30,000 more remnant troops on hand can be considered a surprise, then the news that Kilponos is still alive is a bit complicated for the supreme commander.
Kilponos was the first to propose withdrawing large forces from the Kiev area, but was reprimanded by Stalin.
In the later Kiev breakout battle, Kilponos' Southwest Front Army was also one of the few tenacious teams, and now it even pulled out a remnant army of 30,000 people.
If Kilponos dies, then there is no problem. The central government can directly honor him according to the top grid. Stalin does not mind burying him behind the Kremlin wall, and by the way, he will be buried behind the Kremlin wall. The epitaph is covered with medals.
But now that he is alive, everything is different.
In order to ease his embarrassment, Stalin put down the telegram in his hand, "Comrade Beria, can you tell me in detail how they escaped from the encirclement?"
"Of course. , I have a detailed report here." Beria handed over a document that had been prepared long ago.
Stalin took the document, turned it over a few times, and then showed an expression of interest on his face.
"Oh? Our intelligence agent lurking around Guderian played a key role?" Then he looked through the documents carefully
"Use bombs to explode at the headquarters of the Second Army, paralyzing the enemy's command system for several hours, creating opportunities for the troops to break out, and even almost killing Guderian?"
"Yes, Comrade Stalin, we The intelligence agents are very good, they have been lurking for more than a year, and this time they finally played a key role," Beria replied with a blushing face after receiving the praise.
"Okay, let the intelligence agents involved in the operation come to Moscow immediately. I will personally award them with medals. I want everyone around me to know that intelligence agents are also the best fighters!" Stalin nodded with satisfaction. nodded.
"I have summoned the two intelligence agents back in advance. They will arrive in Moscow within four days." Beria smiled and nodded in reply.
Next, Comrade Stalin's mood improved significantly. Not only did he invite Beria to the smoking room for a rare chat in the name of relaxation, he even told a few jokes about the protagonists being Germans.
The whole process took more than half an hour, which is a treatment that many marshals do not get.
"Okay, Comrade Beria, that's it for today. I'm going to start working again." Stalin put out the pipe in his hand.
"Okay, Comrade Stalin, please also pay attention to rest, we can't do without you." Beria expressed his loyalty just right, and then withdrew.
Back in the office, the assistant who had been silent behind Beria walked up cautiously, "Sir, with all due respect, you didn't mention it in your report just now. It mentioned..."
A pair of cold eyes swept over
"What didn't I mention?"
"No, nothing..." The assistant bowed his head and backed away.
"I know who you are talking about." Beria took off his glasses and rubbed them with a cloth in his hands. "But how could I give up this kind of achievement to the British guys? Of course I can't even mention him in the report."
"But sir, the other party has already arrived in Moscow with General Kilponos. It should arrive in the next two days."
"Yeah, it's a bit troublesome." Beria put on his glasses and made a sound through his teeth.
"This guy has to shut up."
(End of Chapter)