“Our Navy has performed miracles in the Atlantic, way beyond what was hoped, and they are to be congratulated. But that is now over, and we will struggle to even maintain our control over the Baltic, unless we give them something more to work with.”
More than one present wondered if they had any sort of control over the Baltic after the previous day’s events.
“Our soldiers have performed magnificently, driving back the Capitalists to the Western borders of Germany itself, and sometimes beyond. But they are at the limit of their advance, their capabilities and, in some cases, their endurance.”
He took the plunge, not sure if the guarantees he had been given would hold good, or whether he was about to become a sacrificial scapegoat on the altar of Stalin’s plans.
“If we hold now and permit our forces to recover and rearm, build up our resources, gather more intelligence, and plan thoroughly, then our victory is assured.”
Stalin looked around to see if there were any doubters. One or two hard-liners stood out, but he rapidly convinced himself that there would be no issues.
“It is my recommendation, based upon my directknowledge of the situation and recent reports, that the main attacks are called off until we can improve the supply situation and provide replacement men and equipment to all our forces in the field. That does not mean that we should not continue to probe and keep the Capitalists off-balance, but we must give our soldiers time to train, re-arm and recover.”
“Thank you, Comrade Marshal.”
“If I may, Comrade General Secretary. I was handed this report in error as I waited to be admitted. The contents have a bearing on this meeting.”
The handed the report to Stalin who read it and, in turn, passed it to Beria.
The piece of paper, bearing the signature of the Chief Meteorological Officer of the Red Army, was unequivocal.
The discussion went on for some time after Zhukov had left, but was never in doubt. Not that it had been in doubt from the moment Stalin had decided upon the course of action some hours previously, but he had wished to avoid the normal blood-letting and banishments that went with such matters.
The vote was taken and there were no dissenters. A quick discussion followed on another matter, and ended in similar agreement.
An hour later, Konev received his orders and the news that Marshal Zhukov was now placed above him as the new Commander of Soviet Ground Forces.
As for Yugoslavia, Tito was furious that some of his commanders had launched an unauthorised attack on the Allies, and would have sanctioned those responsible. However, the support he needed for such an action would not have been forthcoming, so he chose the path of Janus.
On one hand, he permitted the forming of a volunteer army, which he would send to fight with the Russians in due course, having finally halted the attacks on Trieste, and in the other places that had seen flare-ups.
On the other hand, he sent trusted emissaries to the Allies, with conciliatory messages, citing the British attack as a cause, explaining that he would keep Yugoslavia out of the war, but that he could not prevent a volunteer unit from being formed to fight with the Russians. He deliberately did not mention how big the force would be.
To Tito, that kept him in play with both sides and, importantly, maintained the borders of his new country.
“Preliminary reports indicate that we’ve given their air force another good going-over this morning. They keep on coming, but less of ’em, Sir.”
“Good news, Walter.”
He had poured a coffee whilst his CoS spoke and pushed the mug across to Bedell-Smith.
“Thank you, Sir. Navy says that the torpedo boats got in amongst them again last night ,but it got a bit messy. We lost quite a few boats. Cunningham’s pulled them back for now.”
Both men sampled their drink in silence, Bedell-Smith understanding that Eisenhower was now doing some quality thinking.
Three officers arrived together, and were silently motioned to chairs. They also knew the routine.
“So, Spectrum Red has been a success, in as much as we have inflicted heavy casualties on Soviet naval and aviation forces. Our losses have been incredibly light, thank the lord.”
He motioned Von Vietinghoff towards the coffee service.
“The Poles will profit from it in time as well,” he spared Rossiter a nod in acknowledgement for his contribution to that side of the planning.
“On the ground, we are coming to a halt, despite what George says. Will we make Cologne and encircle them?”
The shaking head betrayed his thoughts on the matter.
“Do we call the rest of Spectrum off?”
“No, I don’t think so, Sir.”
McCreery spoke with an unusual forcefulness.
“Sir, we’ve just pulled off a magnificent coup against their northern forces, but that cannot cloud our judgement.”
Eisenhower looked at British General and invited further comments.
“Sir, I think we must try and complete the opening phase of Spectrum Blue whilst the assets are in place and the men still have the capacity. It’s going to get colder, so my people tell me, and we may get to the point where Mother Nature may dictate to us. I spoke with General Bradley this morning and he shares the same view.”
He added a quick afterthought.
“If we stop Blue now, all those French boys will have died for nothing too.”
McCreery was getting no negativity from his audience and Bradley’s agreement counted for a lot with Ike.
“The air force can continue their mission regardless, in fact, they must, or months of good work will be lost as the enemy rearms and restocks.”
He acknowledged the arrival of a coffee poured by Von Vietinghoff.
“White has been successful, and laid the groundwork down for the rest of Spectrum in the spring. We can’t abandon that, Sir.”
Eisenhower waited for Von Vietinghoff to finish drinking before addressing him direct.
“And your view, General?”
The German wasted no time whatsoever.
“I agree with Generals McCreery and Bradley. Finish up Blue, and then postpone until we are properly ready.”
Eisenhower nodded at the unequivocal statement.
“Walter?”
“Sir, the way I see it, we can stop Blue now, without prejudicing the greater aims of Spectrum. Blue will be finished, of course, but we can develop some of the other alternatives we discussed, and maybe get an improvement overall.”
Ike nodded at his CoS’s words, wondering if Bedell-Smith was just playing Devil’s Advocate.
“Well, one thing’s for certain. A decision is needed soon. George is pushing hard and about to cut loose some more of his force on a flanking move, and Field-Marshal Guderian has pushed a tank division up front, ready for a full push on eastern Cologne.”
That was only news to Rossiter, who, as he put it, did not normally concern himself with the trivia of frontline battles.
The sound of footsteps interrupted everyone’s train of thought, and Eisenhower raised his eyes to find Group Captain James Stagg clutching paperwork as if his very life depended on it.
Stagg had obviously moved swiftly, a bead of sweat on his forehead despite the coolness of the room.
“Jimmy, what’s got you so fired up?”
“The weather’s changing, General, and not for the better.”
Everyone, even Rossiter, was suddenly wholly attentive.
“All our data reports indicate the temperature will drop dramatically, starting next week, probably Tuesday.”
“Yes, you briefed us on that last week, Jimmy. Has that changed?”
“Yes, Sir. I now believe that we will see low temperatures of a record nature.”