After Zhukov waited for Stalin to finish speaking, he stood up and asked word by word: "Comrade Stalin, we are in the guerrillas and resistance organizations behind enemy lines, distributed in Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and the vast territory of Russia. ”

Stalin took the pipe from his mouth, held it in his hand, lit it twice at Zhukov, and asked: "What rank is General Romanov?" ”

"Major General, Comrade Romanov is with the rank of Major General." In order to make a deeper impression on Stalin, Zhukov also deliberately emphasized: "Before the outbreak of the war, he was already a general." ”

After hearing this, Stalin pondered for a moment, and then said decisively: "Comrade Zhukov, what you said is very reasonable, as far as I know, many commanders of partisan units behind enemy lines have served as military commanders in regular units, and if Romanov's rank is too low, there is a real possibility that his command will be ineffective. In this way, Comrade Vasilevsky," saw Vasilevsky standing up from his seat at the sound of the voice, and Stalin instructed him, "and when the order is drawn up, the order for promotion to the rank of Romanov will be added at the same time, and he will be temporarily appointed to the rank of lieutenant general." ”

Although Romanov's military rank was only promoted by one level, when I heard Stalin personally say this order, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, saying that since Stalin was able to promote Romanov's military rank, it showed that he was not guilty of his previous capture, and even if the matter of my capture was revealed in the future, the chances of successfully passing the test were greatly improved.

Stalin stood up and said in a heavy tone: "Comrades, in view of the current dire situation in Kiev, this proud city with countless legends. We had to give up again. After saying this, he seemed to be several years old, and after sitting back in his position, he stared at the table in front of him and did not speak for a long time.

When I saw Stalin's gaffe, I immediately understood in my heart. Why was he so angry when I first proposed to abandon Kyiv, because this city is so significant to him that last time he even removed Zhukov from his post as Chief of the General Staff for the sake of whether to abandon Kyiv, and just let me go out and punish me twice, which is already extraordinarily gracious.

Although Stalin did not speak, no one dared to interrupt his train of thought. It took a while. He came to his senses from his contemplation, glanced at the people sitting around the table, and waved his hand to announce, "Alright, that's all for today's meeting, let's all go back to work." Seeing that everyone got up from their seats, he added: "Zhukov and Ustinov stayed, as well as Khrulev and Lida." ”

I see that Stalin, after announcing the dismissal of the meeting, left a few of us alone. I understood that he wanted to understand the harvest of our visit to the United States as soon as possible. Although Molotov reported to him every day, it was not as detailed as the report in person.

Since there were only five of us left in the room. Stalin sat us down near him so that we could better hear the debriefing. He first smiled and said to Khrulev: "Dear Andrey. Vasilyevich, tell Comrade Zhukov and Ustinov about the harvest of your trip to the United States. ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Khrulev agreed and got up from his seat. He took out a stack of documents from his briefcase, respectfully handed them to Stalin, and said with a smile: "Perhaps it was the great victory of the Red Army in Stalingrad that greatly boosted the confidence of Britain and the United States in achieving the final victory, so in the negotiations of the Lend-Lease Act." The US side has been very cooperative, and in addition to meeting our normal needs, it has also given us a lot of additional supplies. ”

Stalin took his pipe in his mouth and took the stack of papers from Khrulev's hand. He flipped through it quickly, and suddenly the movement of his hand stopped, and a smile appeared on his face as everyone stared at him to hear what he would say. He pulled out one of them and said with interest: "President Roosevelt is very generous this time, they used to only provide us with 1,000 tons of special armor plates every month, but now it has increased to 3,000 tons, which is a full triple. ”

"Can you show me, Comrade Stalin?" Hearing Stalin say this, Ustinov quickly got up from his seat and asked Stalin respectfully.

After Stalin handed Ustinov the list in his hand, he walked back and forth in the room with his pipe in his mouth, but this time he was noticeably in a much better mood. After walking two laps, it is estimated that Ustinov has finished reading the above content, so he stopped and asked with a smile: "Comrade Ustinov, after reading this list, do you have any ideas?" ”

Ustinov shook the list in his hand and said excitedly: "If the United States can really provide so many armor steel plates, then the production of our new tanks can also be doubled." ”

After hearing this, Stalin nodded, turned his head and asked Zhukov: "Comrade Zhukov, tell me, if we can greatly increase the production of new tanks, will we be able to gain superiority over the German army in armored forces?" ”

"Comrade Stalin, there is no doubt about it." Zhukov stood up and said slowly and resolutely: "According to our recent tests on the battlefield, a small detachment of six new T-54/55 tanks can easily defeat a German tank battalion, while only one of our tanks had its tracks blown off, and after emergency repairs, we finally drove back to our army's defensive zone. Speaking of this, a smile couldn't help but appear on his face, "A record of 0:28, Comrade Stalin, this can be called a miracle." ”

When I heard this, I couldn't help but be surprised, I didn't expect that after only half a month of absence, Ustinov had actually put the T-54/55 tank into actual combat and achieved such amazing results. If the T-54/55 can overcome the technical difficulties and put it on the battlefield in large quantities, then in the future on the Soviet-German battlefield, it will be all the world of Soviet armored torrents.

At this time, I again heard Stalin ask: "Is there any weakness in this new type of tank?" ”

Zhukov and Ustinov looked at each other, and the latter reported: "Comrade Stalin, allow me to report back to you. Because our current technology cannot be compared with a few years from now. So the new tank that was built was actually just a simplified version. Its air defense was weak compared to the tanks of later generations, and the area where the new tanks were parked last night was subjected to German air strikes. Two of them were torn apart by bombs dropped by the Germans, and one had its tracks broken and its body was badly damaged, and it is currently being repaired intensively. ”

"Comrade Stalin." As soon as Zhukov waited for Ustinov to finish speaking, he continued: "If we can't control the air supremacy in the Kursk region, then no matter how many new tanks we put in, we will lose all under the enemy's bombs." ”

"Comrade Zhukov, you are quite right." Perhaps because he had just seen that the number of US aid on the list was beyond his imagination, Stalin was in a good mood, and at the moment he still maintained a smile on his face and said: "Judging from what we have learned, the German army will concentrate its main forces in Kharkov after seizing Kiev. and near the Kursk region. We have reason to believe that the Germans were intending to engage in a large-scale battle with us in the region. As for the issue of air supremacy, Comrade Zhukov will go to the commander of the Air Force Novikov for discussion later. ”

"General Khrulev," Ustinov looked at Khrulev and asked politely: "I wonder when this batch of armor plates will arrive in the country?" ”

"It will be a month at the earliest." Khrulev said helplessly: "After all, we are too far away from the United States, and the time it will take for a huge transport fleet to cross the long Arctic Ocean route may not be too short." ”

"Comrade Stalin. I have a suggestion. After listening to Khrulev, Ustinov turned to Stalin and said: "I propose to temporarily stop the production of the T-34 tank. The production of new T-54/55 tanks was switched. This will allow us to supply the troops of the Kursk region with no less than three hundred new tanks at the end of June. ”

I think Ustinov is very reasonable, as long as all tank factories are converted to new tanks, then by the time the Battle of Kursk breaks out in July, the Central Front and the Voronezh Front, which are equipped with hundreds of new tanks. can occupy the initiative of the entire battlefield.

Unexpectedly, after Stalin heard this, he waved his hands and said repeatedly: "No, resolutely not." Seeing the puzzled expressions on our faces, he also deliberately explained: "Although the new tank is much more powerful than the current main battle tank in the army, after all, the test time is still very short." What if we equip our troops on a large scale, and if something breaks down on the battlefield? Therefore, for the sake of prudence, the new tank will still maintain the current production rate, and wait until the end of the year, when the technology in all aspects is more mature, and then increase the production volume. ”

"Understood, Comrade Stalin." Ustinov heard what Stalin said, so he could only reluctantly agree and sit down again.

Stalin turned his attention to me again and asked curiously: "Lida, when President Roosevelt called me two days ago, he mentioned to me that you had helped the US military formulate a plan to open up a second battlefield. ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Hearing that Stalin was asking me, I quickly stood up and replied respectfully: "I have only given some of my own views on the plans they have drawn up. ”

"It's not easy for you to come up with an opinion that convinces even Americans." As he spoke, Stalin walked up to my side and raised his hand and patted me lightly on the right shoulder in appreciation. "Even if the Americans' final battle plan is different from what you suggested, can you tell us about this plan?"

"Yes, Comrade Stalin. Britain and the United States planned to land on the coast of France and open up a second battlefield...... "I told the three giants present about the "Overlord Plan" that I knew, and finally specifically emphasized: "Actually, the original battle plan was proposed by the British General Sir Morgan, and I only made appropriate modifications. ”

When I finished speaking, Zhukov was the first to ask: "Did President Roosevelt or General Marshall mention to you when the Allies would implement this landing plan?" ”

As early as on the return plane, I thought about how to answer Stalin's question, and although it was Zhukov who was asking at the moment, I answered truthfully: "According to my analysis, the implementation of the Allied landing plan will be carried out no earlier than next May." ”

"Next May?" Stalin's brow furrowed when he heard this, and he slammed his pipe on an ashtray a few times, poured out the ash inside, and then began to refill the tobacco again, and at the same time asked puzzledly: "Why are they going to drag it out for a year?" ”

"Comrade Stalin, please listen to my explanation." Seeing Stalin's dissatisfaction, and fearing that he would drive me out of the penalty station again, I hurriedly elaborated: "Since Britain and the United States have to gather a large number of troops and hoard a large amount of strategic materials, the time it will probably take will not be too short. ”

"Then how many troops do you estimate Britain and the United States will invest?" The person who questioned this time was replaced by Zhukov.

I organized the information in my head, and estimated that in an ambiguous tone, I said what I knew: "According to their battle plan, Britain and the United States will put in 1.8 million to 2.2 million combat troops, plus logistics and supply personnel, the total strength may be close to 3 million." ”

"3 million?!" Hearing this figure, Ustinov's eyes lit up, and he excitedly said to Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, since the Allies have really thrown so many troops into the European theater, then the pressure on us on the Soviet-German battlefield will be greatly reduced. It may only take a year for us to reclaim all of our territory. ”

Stalin, who had filled the tobacco and put his pipe back in his mouth, just smiled, struck a match and lit the tobacco, and said slowly: "If the Allies can really commit so many troops, even if we fight alone for another year, it will be worth it." Comrade Zhukov! Zhukov immediately turned his head to look at Stalin, waiting for him to continue.

After taking a puff of his cigarette, Stalin took the pipe away from his mouth and said to Zhukov: "Lida is still recuperating and will not be able to return to the front line to command the troops in the short term, I consider letting her work with you for a period of time, responsible for supervising the construction of fortifications of the Central Front and the Voronezh Front, I don't know what your opinion is?" ”

Zhukov, after turning his head to look at me, turned back to Stalin and said: "I have no opinion, Comrade Stalin. After a moment's pause, he continued, "But what position should I assign to her?" )