“I’ll deal with this, Kapitan.”
He extended his hand in a way that dared his authority to be challenged.
“Have your men escort the Commissar to my office immediately. I’ll return them to you when I have completed my interrogation.”
The Ukrainian Governor did not complain and went with the two guards.
“Log this in your report, Comrade Kapitan. I’ll deal with this and lodge my own report with your commander.”
Not waiting for an answer, Kaganovich strode off in the wake of the ‘prisoner’ and escort, catching up with them on the threshold of his personal domain.
“You two remain here and guard this entrance. You, Comrade Commissar, come with me and prepare to justify your actions.”
The guards shut the door and set themselves at an alert position, fully aware of the seriousness of their orders.
1104 hrs, Saturday, 21st September 1946, Lieutenant General Kaganovich’s office, the Kremlin, Moscow, USSR.
Keeping their voices low, the two men embraced each other and kissed in the traditional Russian fashion.
“So, that gives us twenty minutes?”
“More if we need, Comrade.”
“So, let us be quick, Ilya Borisevich.”
“Tea, Nikita Sergeyevich?”
“Thank you.”
And as Kaganovich poured, Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev delivered his information.
1108 hrs, Saturday, 21st September 1946, the Kremlin, Moscow, USSR.
“Finally! Welcome Comrade Mayor General. We heard there was some trouble with security… that rogue Khrushchev apparently?”
Whilst it was clear that Stalin and Beria were well informed, the statement was put more like a question, encouraging a further response.
“Yes, Comrade General Secretary. Fortunately Comrade Leytenant General Kaganovich was passing and he stepped in quickly to prevent any problems.”
The General Secretary moved on effortlessly.
“So, what’s the latest news you bring us?”
“Almost the same as the last time I briefed you, Comrade General Secretary. None of GRU’s assets have detected any sign of double-dealing by the Allies. Everything is being done according to the schedules devised by the Camp Vár delegations. Our Air Force reports no more incidents, and that our own reconnaissance missions have not been impeded. I’m assuming that you’ll have seen the same reports I have, Comrade General Secretary?”
“You may assume that, Comrade Nazarbayeva.”
“So… the only military incidents of note were the collision between the two vessels in the Baltic and the death of some of their troops on a booby-trap, neither of which have posed a problem to our negotiators in Sweden, who have issued guarantees that have been adopted by Red Banner Forces HQ.”
“Guarantees? Specifically?”
“Booby traps, Comrade General Secretary. There will be no more booby traps.”
The report from Sweden had actually been a little inaccurate, as the Allied delegation had been extremely vocal, angry, and threatening about the deaths of eleven Canadian soldiers, something that Beria knew and Nazarbayeva did not.
As always, the smallest victory brought a light to Beria’s eyes.
“So, Comrade Nazarbayeva, what have you discovered?”
Beria emphasised ‘have’ in the manner of a teacher to an under-performing student, something not wasted on either her or Stalin.
“They continue to improve their technology. New vehicles and weapons are appearing, although the older equipment appears to be being improved or is being recycled to the other… err… lesser nations.”
Beria piped up as Nazarbayeva took a breath.
“As you recall, Comrade General Secretary, the NKVD report indicated that many of the Amerikanski tanks were being allocated to the Dutch, Spanish, and French. We also found that a considerable number of the British Comet tanks had been given to the treacherous Poles.”
Nazarbayeva understood well enough that Beria was harping but was unconcerned as she knew that she held a few nuggets of her own.
Continuing without realising that he was not getting a rise out of the woman, Beria added more information to overshadow the GRU report.
“NKVD assets have identified a new tank division being assembled in America, comprising assets removed from their Pacific forces and newly-trained personnel. My agents have also confirmed that it will be bound for Europe to replace a number of divisions, who will return to their homeland.”
This was not news to Stalin and he all but ignored Beria’s words, instead silently encouraging the GRU officer to continue.
“Comrade General Secretary, I can confirm that the new division is called the 17th Tank, and that is slated to replace the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Tank Divisions who are already out of the line and transferring their equipment to the French and Spanish. The new division is also already forming on European soil.”
She checked her notes before continuing, not fully understanding that she had just scored a major point on Beria, who was now silently seething.
“A GRU asset in Antwerp has confirmed that the new dock facilities are operational, and have seen the passage of a large number of weapons and vehicles in the last two weeks…”
Stalin and Beria both said nothing, but their looks were sufficient to give her a moment’s pause.
“I investigated the matter, Comrade General Secretary. Apparently, my agent’s house was occupied by some enemy troops and so communicating was a problem, hence the delay.”
A nod drew a line under the matter.
“It has been difficult to establish exactly what the types of vehicles were. My agent was familiar with the M-46 Pershing II and Super Pershing types, and reported that these were not of either of those vehicles, but much larger and heavier. My intelligence interpretation section have concluded that the new influx of in excess of ninety vehicles, based upon the best description my agent could supply, are almost certainly either or both of the rumoured super heavy tanks, the M-29 Chamberlain or M-30 Hancock.”
Again Beria steamed as Stalin shot him a piercing look, surrounded by a mocking smile, as both men knew that the recent NKVD report had all but committed itself to stating that the M-29 and M-30 were drawing board warriors, and no imminent threat to the balance of power.
“We must thank the GRU for being so efficient whilst your own service is crippled by the Allied codebreaking efforts, eh Lavrentiy?”
The contemptuous tone was apparent to both Beria and Nazarbayeva, and the NKVD Marshal blushed noticeably.
At least his own force had discovered that the damned Allied codebreakers were reading NKVD codes. Had the GRU discovered it, the humiliation would have been total.
“Indeed, Comrade Secretary. Our communications have been badly hurt by this discovery… but better my men found out about the problem than the damned Allies discovered our inner secrets.”
Stalin had pressed Beria for a long time over whether any aspect of Raduga could be compromised.
He had staked his reputation on that not being the case, and no one ‘in the know’ thought it was simply his reputation that rested on him being absolutely correct.
Stalin moved on.
“So, Comrade General… what’s your view of these new arrivals… combined with the reports from Southern France, Portugal, and Italy?”
As usual, Nazarbayeva had an opinion and ventured it immediately.
“I see nothing really hostile here, Comrade General Secretary. If my department and the NKVD are correct, we are actually seeing a large reduction in Amerikanski forces, certainly in terms of numbers. I suspect that we’ll see more and more units returning to their various homelands in the near future. Only one Brazilian unit remains… the Spanish have returned four full divisions to the Pyrenees for conversion training to Amerikanski equipment, and two more divisions have returned to Spain as garrison troops.”