Stalin's General (54 page)

23
See T. P. Mulligan, “Spies, Ciphers and ‘Zitadelle': Intelligence and the Battle of Kursk, 1943,”
Journal of Contemporary History
, vol. 22, 1987; and V. Korovin,
Sovetskaya Razvedka i Kontrrazvedka v gody Velikoi Otechestvennoi Voiny
(Moscow: Rus', 2003), pp. 113–22.

24
See “Podgotovka k Kurskoi Bitve,”
Voenno-Istoricheskii Zhurnal
, no. 6, 1983.

25
A. M. Vasilevsky,
A Lifelong Cause
(Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1981), p. 272.

26
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 2, p. 182. On Prokhorovka, see further V. Zamulin,
Demolishing the Myth: The Tank Battle at Prokhorovka
(Solihull, U.K.: Helion, 2011).

27
Main Front: Soviet Leaders Look Back on World War II
(London: Brassey's Defence Publishers, 1987), p. 118.

28
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 2, pp. 194, 208.

29
A. Werth,
Russia at War, 1941–1945
(London: Pan, 1965), p. 619.

30
Ibid., pp. 551–52.

31
E. Mawdsley,
Thunder in the East: The Nazi-Soviet War, 1941–1945
(London: Hodder Arnold, 2005), pp. 274–75.

32
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, p. 213.

33
Rokossovsky,
A Soldier's Life
, p. 211.

34
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 2, p. 233.

35
V. Krasnov,
Zhukov: Marshal Velikoi Imperii
(Moscow: Olma-Press, 2000), p. 408.

36
The document may be found in ibid., pp. 409–12.

37
J. Erickson,
The Road to Berlin
(London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1983), p. 141.

38
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 2, p. 221.

39
A. Read and D. Fisher,
The Fall of Berlin
(London: Pimlico, 2002), p. 153.

40
The only source on this conference is Zhukov (Zhukov:
Reminiscences
, vol. 2, p. 225–31. Vasilevsky (
A Lifelong Cause
, pp. 307–309) mentions it, too, but he read Zhukov's memoirs before he wrote his own. There is no evidence in Stalin's appointments diary that such a conference took place but given its large size it would not have been held in his office anyway. Zhukov dated the conference mid-December but a detailed chronology of his whereabouts during the war indicates that it must have taken place in
the early part of the month. See S. I. Isaev, “Vekhi Frontoogo Puti,”
Voenno-Istoricheskii Zhurnal
, no. 10, 1991. This is quite a useful document but where there are gaps in the documentation the author accepts Zhukov's memoirs at face value.

41
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 2, p. 238.

42
The document is reproduced in Krasnov,
Zhukov
, p. 417.

43
In his memoirs Zhukov cited this second message but not the first and presented the episode as Stalin's rebuke not of him but of Vatutin: Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 2, pp. 247–49.

44
Ibid., p. 250.

45
Cited by Daines,
Zhukov
, pp. 421–22.

46
Shtemenko,
The Soviet General Staff at War
, vol. 1, chap. 11.

47
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 2, p. 257ff.

48
Copy of the order in the Volkogonov Papers in the Library of Congress Manuscripts Division.

49
Na Priyome u Stalina
, pp. 433–34. According to Shtemenko (vol. 1, p. 238) the meetings with Stalin were preceded by discussions on May 22 and 23 involving the General Staff, Zhukov, Vasilevsky, and various Front commanders.

50
Russkii Arkhiv: Velikaya Otechestvennaya Voina, 1941–1945
, vol. 16(4), Stavka VGK: Dokumenty i Materialy, 1944–1945 (Moscow: Terra, 1993), docs. 113–16. See also: D. M. Glantz and H. S. Orenstein,
Belorussia 1944: The Soviet General Staff Study
(London: Frank Cass, 2001), pp. 14–28.

51
Stalin's Correspondence with Churchill, Atlee, Roosevelt and Truman, 1941–1945
(London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1958), doc. 260, p. 215; doc. 274, p. 224.

52
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 2, pp. 273–74.

53
Marshal Zhukov: Polkovodets i Chelovek
, pp. 324–25.

54
An extract from Batov's memoir may be found in S. Bialer,
Stalin and His Generals: Soviet Military Memoirs of World War II
(London: Souvenir Press, 1970), pp. 417–20. When Batov's book was republished in the 1970s these disparaging passages about Zhukov were removed. See also Spahr,
Zukhov: The Rise and Fall of a Great Captain
, p. 149.

55
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 2, p. 279.

56
Stavka VGK 1944–1945, docs. 162–63, p. 120.

57
Erickson,
The Road to Berlin
, p. 228.

58
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 2, pp. 286–87.

59
Shtemenko,
The Soviet General Staff at War
, vol. 2, pp. 71–81;
Na Priyome u Stalina
, p. 438.

60
SSSR i Pol'sha, 1941–1945: k Istorii Voennogo Souza
(Moscow: Terra, 1994), doc. 7, p. 201.

61
Ibid., doc. 29, pp. 218–19. A translation of this document may be found in Shtemenko, vol. 2, pp. 93–94.

62
Ibid., doc. 55, p. 245.

63
Ibid., doc. 100, p. 310.

64
On Bagration and the failure to take Warsaw see A. Tucker-Jones,
Stalin's Revenge: Operation Bagration and the Annihilation of Army Group Centre
(Barnsley, U.K.: Pen & Sword, 2009).

65
Werth,
Russia at War
, p. 786.

66
Stalin's Correspondence with Churchill, Atlee, Roosevelt and Truman
, doc. 321, p. 254; docs. 322–23, pp. 254–55.

67
Shtemenko, vol. 2, pp. 102–104; and A. Chmielarz, “Warsaw Fought Alone: Reflections on Aid to and the Fall of the 1944 Uprising,”
The Polish Review
, vol. 39, no. 4, 1994, p. 421.

68
Stalin's role is explored in detail in G. Roberts,
Stalin's Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939–1953
(London: Yale University Press, 2006).

69
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 2, pp. 301–303.

70
Ibid., p. 310.

71
Ibid., pp. 296–300;
Liberation Mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Second World War
(Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1975), pp. 172–82.

72
Stavka VGK 1944–1945, doc. 234, p. 162.

73
Na Priyome u Stalina
, pp. 443.

74
Stavka VGK 1944–1945, doc. 248, p. 170.

75
Rokossovsky,
A Soldier's Life
, p. 267.

76
Zhukov,
Vospominaniya
, vol. 3, p. 175. These sentences were omitted from the Soviet-era edition of the memoirs.

  1
Na Priyome u Stalina
, p. 443.

  2
S. Bialer,
Stalin and His Generals: Soviet Military Memoirs of World War II
(London: Souvenir Press, 1970), p. 467.

  3
Stalin described Silesia as “gold” to Konev and instructed him to take care not to damage its industrial resources too much. I. Konev,
Year of Victory
(Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1969), pp. 5, 67–68.

  4
S. M. Shtemenko,
The Soviet General Staff at War, 1941–1945
, 2 vols. (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1970, 1986). The first volume was originally published in Russian in 1968, the second in 1973.

  5
On Shtemenko's wartime career, see G. Jukes, “Shtemenko,” in H. Shukman (ed.),
Stalin's Generals
(London: Phoenix, 2001).

  6
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 2, p. 319.

  7
O. P. Chaney,
Zhukov
, rev. ed. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996), p. 297. Chaney points out that when Zhukov was awarded the Order of Lenin on his seventieth birthday in 1966 the citation specifically noted his use of armored forces during the Vistula-Oder operation.

  8
After the war the Vistula-Oder operation was seen by the Soviet General Staff as the model for Blitzkrieg-type offensives: Interview with the chief of the Russian General Staff,
Krasnaya Zvezda
, May 7, 2005.

  9
Russkii Arkhiv: Velikaya Otechestvennaya Voina, 1941–1945
, vol. 16 (4): Stavka VGK: Dokumenty i Materialy 1944–45 gg (Moscow: Terra, 1993), doc. 40, pp. 326–28.

10
Cited by P. T. Kunitskii, “Padenie Berlina: Kogda Ona Moglo Sostoyat'sya?,”
Voenno-Istoricheskii Zhurnal
, no. 9, 2006.

11
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 2, p. 328.

12
“Marshal G. K. Zhukov: Nastuplenie na Berlin Mogu Nachat 19–20.2.45,”
Voenno-Istoricheskii Zhurnal
, no. 2, 1995.

13
Kunitskii, “Padenie Berlina.”

14
Konev,
Year of Victory
, pp. 5ff.

15
On Chuikov, see: R. Woff, “Chuikov,” in Shukman (ed.),
Stalin's Generals
. Chuikov's memoirs in English:
The Beginning of the Road
(London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1963).

16
A translation of Chuikov's article may be found in Bialer,
Stalin and His Generals
, pp. 500–505.

17
Cited by M. I. Golovin, “Uroki Dvukh Operatsii,”
Voenno-Istoricheskii Zhurnal
, no. 1, 1988, p. 25. The date of the conference is derived from Kunitskii, “Padenie Berlin.”

18
G. Zhukov, “Na Berlinskom Napravlenii,”
Voenno-Istoricheskii Zhurnal
, no. 6, 1965. A translation of this article may be found in H. E. Salisbury (ed.),
Marshal Zhukov's Greatest Battles
(London: Sphere, 1971). Chuikov responded to Zhukov's article in a letter to the editorial board of
Voenno-Istoricheskii Zhurnal
reiterating his view that Berlin could have been taken in February 1945. The journal's editor, N. G. Pavlenko, sent the letter to Zhukov for comment. Zhukov advised against publication because, he said, Chuikov's claims were “not corroborated by a scientific analysis of the situation at the time.” In August 1965 Pavlenko wrote to Chuikov on behalf of the editorial board rejecting the letter. He pointed out that Zhukov, with Stavka's full support, had striven until mid-February to take Berlin: “Neither Stavka nor the command of the 1st Belorussian Front refrained from attacking Berlin until 20 February.” RGVA F. 41107, Op. 1, D. 71, LL. 54–74.

19
V. A. Zolotarev and G. N. Sevast'yanov (eds.),
Velikaya Otechestvennaya Voina, 1941–1945
, vol. 3 (Moscow: Nauka, 1999), p. 251.

20
See Kunitskii, “Padenie Berlina,” pp. 5–6.

21
K. Rokossovsky,
A Soldier's Duty
(Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1970), p. 305.

22
I am grateful to Ambassador Beyrle for granting me this interview and for supplying information about his father. Joseph Beyrle's own story may be found at
www.506infantry.org/stories/beyrle_his.htm
. See also Thomas H. Taylor's account of Beyrle's exploits:
Behind Hitler's Lines
(New York: Ballantine, 2004).

23
F. D. Vorob'ev et al.,
Poslednii Shturm (Berlinskaya Operatsiya 1945g)
(Moscow: Voenizdat, 1970), pp. 44–45. See also J. Erickson, “Poslednii Shturm: The Soviet Drive to Berlin, 1945,” in G. Bennett,
The End of the War in Europe 1945
(London: HMSO, 1996), p. 21.

24
Cited by C. Ryan,
The Last Battle
(London: NEL, 1968), p. 142.

25
Na Priyome u Stalina
, p. 450.

26
The text of Stalin's message is reproduced in O. A. Rzheshevskii, “Poslednii Shturm: Zhukov ili Konev,”
Mir Istorii
,
http://gpw.tellur.ru
.

27
Konev,
Year of Victory
, p. 79. Konev dates this meeting April 1 but according to Stalin's appointments diary it took place on the 2nd.
Na Priyome u Stalina
, p. 450. Neither Zhukov nor Shtemenko mentions this incident in their memoirs, although the latter does mention the general belief in Stavka that the allies intended to take Berlin before the Red Army.

28
Na Priyome u Stalina
, p. 450.

29
O. A. Rzheshevsky, “Vzyat' Berlin! Novye Dokumenty,”
Novaya i Noveishaya Istoriya
, no. 4, 1995.

30
Bialer,
Stalin and His Generals
, p. 500.

31
I. S. Konev,
Zapiski Komanduushchego Frontom
(Moscow: Voenizdat, 1981), p. 404.

32
Zhukov,
Vospominaniya
, vol. 3, pp. 225–26. This passage was omitted from Soviet-era editions of Zhukov's memoirs.

33
On the battle for Berlin, see: A. Beevor,
Berlin: The Downfall 1945
(London: Penguin, 2002); A. Read and D. Fisher,
The Fall of Berlin
(London: Pimlico, 2002); Ryan,
The Last Battle;
and T. Le Tissier,
Marshal Zhukov at the Oder
(Stroud, U.K.: Sutton, 2008).

34
Cited by M. Jones,
Total War: From Stalingrad to Berlin
(London: John Murray, 2011), pp. 280–81.

35
Konev,
Year of Victory
, pp. 105–108.

36
J. Erickson,
The Road to Berlin
(London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1983), pp. 571–72.

37
Ibid., p. 578.

38
C. Bellamy,
Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War
(London: Macmillan, 2007), p. 664.