Opening Moves (The Red Gambit Series) (30 page)

Beria and Stalin had been celebrating the undoubted advantages that their plans had secured as a result of Churchill’s removal from power in the UK General Election, confirming Stalin’s view that such democracy undermined a country’s stability and welfare.

Their crowing was interrupted when Pekunin arrived bearing bad tidings.

The contents of that report had been discussed and they all now waited in the General Secretary’s office for the arrival of another.

The telephone rang and a brief message was relayed.

Stalin did not even acknowledge the caller and returned the handset to its proper place.

The doors opened and in strode Major-General Ivan Makarenko, commander of the 100th Guards Rifle Division ‘Svir’.

He stood before Stalin for the first time but, unlike many, he seemed unafraid.

“Comrade General, how is the planning for your task going?” Stalin obviously knew but he had chosen to approach this man differently.

“It is complete, Comrade General Secretary. Comrade General Pekunin was able to supply the last piece of the jigsaw two days ago.” That the last piece of the jigsaw was the precise location of Symposium Paderborn and the strength of its military presence went unsaid. For Pekunin it had been a close run thing and Beria had enjoyed watching him sweat for a day or two before he passed on the information his NKVD agents had acquired just in time.

“We now practice mock attacks upon targets chosen because of the similarities to the symposiums. In three days we will be ready Comrade General Secretary.”

Beria questioned the statement on behalf of all the listeners.

“Three days Comrade Makarenko? Surely you will need longer?”

“That is not the case Comrade Marshall. Once we had the precise locations, we need only to have some knowledge of the area and target. The more time we have the better but we will be relying on surprise and firepower. That will not increase with time, so three days will get the basics into my boys.”

That was quite some speech and marked the fact that this was Makarenko’s first time in his present company.

“Why then are you here in Moscow Comrade, and not practising with your division?”

Makarenko straightened and spoke with real emotion.

“Colonel Erasov, my second in command, was killed in training Comrade General Secretary. I am here to honour him when he is buried today. It is my wish to tell his wife and four sons how proud they should be of their father, who fought from the first day that the Germanski violated the borders of our Motherland.”

Stalin nodded and spoke softer words. “Tell his family that the party feels their loss”. Despite the difference in tone, there was no warmth or sincerity there.

“Thank you Comrade General Secretary, I will.”

“We will not delay you further but do not dally here in Moscow. There is a new development. Comrade General Pekunin?”

Stalin indicated Pekunin and lit up a cigarette.

The GRU General addressed Makarenko directly.

“News has reached us of a new symposium; one run by the French. It too must be eliminated. All we know for now is that it is probably in Alsace. Comrade Marshall Beria and I have assets working tirelessly to locate it. In the meantime you must change your plan to include this new location and allocate the necessary forces to its total destruction.”

Makarenko’s face had grown cold.

Handing over a folder with all the new information Pekunin spoke with conviction.

“I know you can do this Ivan Alexeyevich, and you know I will have that information as soon as I can.”

A nod to Pekunin, a salute to his commander, and Makarenko strode from the room.

From the first moment he had been handed his orders he knew it was a suicide mission. Projections for his troops to fall in with advancing Soviet columns were unrealistic and he knew his troopers were mainly going to death or captivity.

Moreover, that was with only three targets. He mused fatalistically. ‘
Now, at least, death would come quicker
.’

As Makarenko departed those present turned to other matters. Stalin spoke directly to Pekunin but with words intended for both present.

“The location of this new French operation. We must give Makarenko his three days.”

In the intelligence world, acquiring information was rarely done to timescale but, in Stalin’s case he didn’t care, so he laid out the requirement anyway.

Beria unexpectedly came to Pekunin’s rescue.

“Comrade General Secretary, I have all of my assets in the area focussed on this one task. By sharing information with our GRU colleagues we are removing possible locations from the list each hour.”

Beria looked at Pekunin who took up the baton.

“Comrade Marshall Beria’s staff and mine have managed to reduce the possible locations down to a manageable number and we have both dispatched agents to investigate the remaining potential locations.” Beria risked a swift glance at the GRU man, because even the number left would take their agents days to check thoroughly unless they received something that would allow them to focus specifically.

“We have acquired much intelligence these past months when our officers have mixed with the Western Allies, as the capitalists have loose tongues. GRU and NKVD officer numbers have been substantially increased for every official liaison to assist in intelligence gathering but we must be careful to avoid causing suspicion for our Allies.”

“However, as part of our plan has been to reduce these liaisons for own operational security, as well as causing and provoking minor incidents to keep both sides more apart, there has been less opportunity for this sort of intelligence acquisition.”

Pekunin was very careful to keep his voice neutral in that delivery, as those mainly responsible for the plan to reduce interaction between the armies were listening to him now.

“The shooting down of the RAF planes yesterday evening will greatly affect relationships, as it was planned to do, but will certainly reduce the effectiveness of the liaisons in providing us with information, most certainly with our former comrades from Britain and her cronies.”

Pekunin handed the baton back to Beria.

“However, our agreement with the Western Allies regarding specific German prisoners is holding, and we have three groups touring their prison camps looking for war criminals. From Comrade Pekunin’s reports we have established some likely names for the symposium personnel and have yet to find any in the allies’ camps.”

“That in itself is disturbing Comrade General Secretary. We would have expected to find some of the names on our list by now.”

Stalin was inwardly amused as the two intelligence leaders presented a unique united front for his benefit and as it suited the party’s purpose, he would say nothing to disrupt it.

Beria concluded.

“In any case, we are sure to find something of note during these visits and liaisons, as well as through our own direct efforts. As you point out correctly, it is just a matter of time Comrade General Secretary and we must give Makarenko his three days.”

“Very well comrades, we must move on. But first tea”

The normal procedure of phone and orderly followed.

When the three of them were alone again Stalin puffed deeply on his pipe and spoke.

“Comrades, have the order for Operation Sumerechny [Twilight] sent out today for implementation immediately. I want the bastards out of the way or in the ground as soon as possible.”

Although neither of the other men was surprised, they exchanged glances.

Sumerechny was the codename for phase thirteen, the mass movement of German POW’s and general execution of officer prisoners.

Beria spoke first.

“We have made a further assessment Comrade General Secretary. Using the rolling stock that is bringing our forces to their rallying points to remove the prisoners, we can have most of the problem resolved before Kingdom initiates. Combined with those numbers for whom we intend different disposal, I anticipate the whole eastern area will be cleared, one way or another, by Day+8, provided there are no increased calls on NKVD or GRU troops in the interim. We have designated certain German prisoner groups as worker groups who will perform the labouring tasks required before they too join their comrades.”

“Comrade Marshall Beria and I have already agreed that we can transfer additional assets from our units in the Ukraine and elsewhere if necessary, allowing for the fact that that would slow down the resettlement programmes there.”

Looking at Beria for support, Pekunin continued.

“We have not actioned this yet but it is in line with your edict on priorities.”

It was only a few seconds silence as Stalin thought it through, but it seemed longer to the GRU officer.

“The Ukrainian monkeys can wait a while longer. Transfer the assets if it becomes necessary, ensuring sufficient left in place for security. I don’t want those damn Slavs starting anything that could damage our western operations.”

The orders flowed around Europe and by midday on the 28th, large contingents of German prisoners were moving eastwards. Driven on foot by their guards, most were glad to be leaving their accommodation but all shared the trepidation that accompanied a clear move to the east and away from their homelands.

Other groups of Soviet security troops were tasked very differently and the killing started.

Military officer figures, Captain had been selected as the lowest rank to be liquidated, were herded away from the large groups on some pretext.

The plan was simple.

Move the German prisoners away from the logistical routes so they could not cause problems. Use the returning transport to expedite the move swiftly. Kill as many German officers as possible.

Katyn had been cited in Stalin’s office and it was a fair comparison.

From camps the length and breadth of Soviet occupied Europe, columns of men were on the move whilst assassination squads worked feverishly before moving on to the next assignment.

As was bound to happen, some camps realised what was happening and there were outbreaks of rebellion. In such cases, five in total, everyone was killed out of hand. In those five camps alone Seven thousand prisoners were efficiently murdered. Flamethrowers were employed to burn the bodies in their huts after the surviving prisoners had stacked their comrades and been shot in turn.

One incident outside of Ostrava saw a column of nine hundred and fifty prisoners denied use of the bridge over the Opava River.

Men who had been run into the ground for hours previously were forced into the water in a bid to reach the other bank. Comrade struggled to help comrade; those who could swim attempted to assist those who could not through ability or injury. They drowned in their hundreds.

Less than two hundred men formed on the other side and of them, only one hundred and twenty-six made it to the railway line, the rest falling dead or dying on route.

About two thousand men crowded into a modest steamer were lost in the Baltic when it ran into a floating German mine off Danzig.

Trains crammed with prisoners flowed eastwards in the daytime and back again at night, filled with very different cargoes.

Some trains hauled only bodies to special sites where they were swiftly interred and all traces removed.