Every June 22, on the tragic date of the start of the Great Patriotic War, fierce disputes erupt over who is to blame for the fact that the USSR was ill-prepared for Hitler's attack.
After the Victory, in the years of the debunking of the personality cult, Marshal Zhukov wrote a report blaming all the failures of the first years of the war on Stalin … But he did not read it to the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Was everything about him true?
Others blame Stalin for failures - he did not believe the intelligence reports, fell into confusion after the attack and generally gave incompetent orders. According to some myths, he almost locked himself in the country for several days, without giving any orders, worried.
How was it really?
Let's try to investigate - using documents, hours and minutes - what happened in the last days before the war, when exactly Stalin learned about the date of the attack on the USSR, how he reacted. And why did Marshal Zhukov already in 1956 write a report that he had not yet voiced, smashing to smithereens Stalin's role in the war?
MARSHAL'S FAIRY TALES
Let's start with the Zhukov Report, which he prepared in May 1956, shortly after Khrushchev's "exposure of the personality cult," and was going to read it to the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. Why from him? Yes, because it is with this Report that all our "public with bright faces" are now worn about - as with the main proof of Stalin's guilt in the catastrophe of the first days of the war: "The brainless and forgetful erect monuments to the mustache. And this is what Marshal Zhukov (not a foreign agent) wrote …”And much that we used to hear and read about the beginning of the war in textbooks is based precisely on the concept of this Report. Although serious historians have long called it the tales of Marshal Zhukov.
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The report was sent for approval to Khrushchev, who shortly before that had appointed Zhukov the USSR Minister of Defense. Khrushchev generally had a special relationship with Zhukov. When in 1957 the top of the country decided by a majority vote to remove Khrushchev, Zhukov intervened. He announced that the army would not support the "conspirators"!
It is difficult to say whether the Report was an initiative of Zhukov himself or a request from Khrushchev, who remembered that the marshal was offended by Stalin. The Generalissimo repeatedly demoted Zhukov in positions, for example, for his marauding behavior in Germany after the Victory. At Zhukov's dacha, they found floors covered with layers of old carpets, walls hung with museum paintings. While Stalin himself decorated the walls of his home with reproductions cut from magazines …
One may ask: why is it difficult to say? Because within a year and a half after the anti-Stalinist Report, Khrushchev will dismiss the marshal, fearing that he will seize power from him. And 10 years later Zhukov, apparently wishing to absolve himself of the blame for the Report, will write in his "Memoirs and Reflections": "Stalin was a worthy Supreme Commander-in-Chief! And, frankly speaking, he proved himself to be an outstanding organizer”.
Marshal Zhukov.
HEAVY BREATHING INTO THE PIPE, I COULD NOT SAY ANYTHING
So what was in the Zhukov Report? Here are the excerpts:
“Comrades!… I must say that the personality cult of Stalin in covering the war led to the fact that the role of our people, the Armed Forces, was belittled, and the role of Stalin was exaggerated beyond measure. There was a gross distortion of facts, a suppression of failures, and the achievement of success was attributed exclusively to Stalin …
As a result of Stalin's ignorance of the obvious threat of an attack by fascist Germany, our Armed Forces were not put on alert in a timely manner so that, as Stalin said, "not to provoke the Germans to war."
Stalin explained the failures of the first period of the war by the fact that fascist Germany attacked the Soviet Union suddenly. This is historically incorrect. There was no surprise. The surprise was invented by Stalin to justify his miscalculations.
June 22 at 3 o'clock 15 minutes. the Germans began fighting on all fronts. At 3 o'clock. 25 minutes Stalin was awakened by me and he was informed that the Germans had started a war … Timoshenko and I (People's Commissar of Defense - Ed.) Asked to give the troops an order for retaliatory actions. Stalin, breathing heavily into the telephone receiver, could not say anything for several minutes, and answered repeated questions: “This is a provocation. Do not open fire. Tell Poskrebyshev (Stalin's secretary - Ed.) To summon Beria, Molotov, Malenkov by 5 o'clock, and Timoshenko and you to arrive."
Stalin confirmed his idea of provoking the Germans when he arrived at the Central Committee. The announcement that German troops had already broken into our territory did not convince him. Up to 6 hours. 8 minutes he did not give permission for retaliation.
As you can see, from the first minutes of the war in the Supreme leadership in the person of Stalin, complete confusion manifested itself, using which the enemy seized the initiative …
Stalin found it necessary to write in his order: "The population of our country, with love for the Red Army, is beginning to be disappointed in it, and many curse the Red Army for giving our people under the yoke of the German oppressors, while it is leaking to the east" …
Why did Stalin need to issue orders that dishonor our army? I believe that in order to divert the guilt and discontent of the people from myself for the mistakes made by them personally in the leadership of the troops."
HITLER DIDN'T KNOW WHEN TO ATTACK
And now let's try to answer whether Stalin knew when the war would start, and why, as some say, he let intelligence warnings go deaf ears ?!
It's hard to believe that a cautious man like Stalin would ignore intelligence if it provided him with the exact date of the attack. But none of the scouts could name the exact date in advance. And not only because Berlin confused Moscow and the whole world in its intentions. But also because the prolonged rains in May - June 1941 did not make it possible for Hitler himself to determine this date! Hitler understood that in muddy roads he could not count on a lightning-fast tank strike through the impassable mud.
Here is an example of an intelligence report from the 1st Directorate of the NKGB on March 24, 1941: “The action against the USSR is timed to end April or early May. These terms are associated with the intention of the Germans to preserve the harvest for themselves. But the rains will adjust the timing towards summer …
There are documents that speak of the sentiments in Hitler's entourage - to continue the war with England, Germany is in dire need of oil, metal and bread. All this can be quickly obtained only in the East, and for this it is necessary to start a war with the USSR, while the bread there is still green, and it will be impossible for the Russians to burn them during the retreat …
To quote the diary of Hitler's propaganda minister Goebbels:
“May 24, 1941 We are diligently spreading rumors around the world about the landing in England …
June 14, 1941 British radio stations declare that the concentration of our troops against Russia is a bluff with which we cover up the preparations for the landing in England. This was the purpose of the idea!
June 15, 1941 From an intercepted radiogram … Moscow puts the navy on alert. It means that the matter there is not so harmless."
These words of Goebbels testify: Stalin said that he did not believe in the German attack on the USSR, but he took measures!
And only 6 days (!) Before the war, Goebbels wrote the following:
“June 16, 1941 Yesterday … the Fuehrer summoned me and explained: the attack on Russia will begin in about a week … We must continue to spread rumors: peace with Moscow! Stalin is coming to Berlin!
June 17, 1941 All preparations have already been accepted. It should start on Saturday night at 3.00 am."
Here it is! The day and hour of the war were determined in Berlin only 5 days in advance. But the dates were fixed earlier, and they were shifted every time. That again and again confused Soviet intelligence and increased Stalin's distrust of it.
We read further:
June 22, 1941 The attack on Russia still begins. At night at 3.30 … Stalin must fall …"
WARNING PER HOUR
And yet there are documents that testify when Stalin knew for sure that the war would begin on June 22, 1941.
Moreover, the leader, who still saw possible provocations in intelligence reports, suddenly believed in this message so much that he immediately convened the top military leadership and in the evening of June 21, 1941 ordered to issue a "top secret directive (no number)" on bringing the troops of the western districts to full combat readiness!
Who transmitted the data to which Stalin reacted immediately? It was the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov, who received information via diplomatic channels and immediately (at 18 hours 27 minutes
June 21) who brought her to the Kremlin. It was at this time that an extraordinary meeting between Stalin and Molotov took place. Together (38 minutes!) They discussed the information, from which it followed that "on 22 - 23.06.41," a surprise attack by the Germans … "is expected. This will become the basis for the "top-secret directive", which will be worked out by those invited to Stalin at 19 hours 5 minutes.
Here is an extract from the Visitor Register of Stalin's office in the Kremlin:
June 21, 1941
1. T. Molotov 18.27 - 23.00
2. T. Voroshilov 19.05 - 23.00
3. T. Beria 19.05 - 23.00
4. T. Voznesensky 19.05 - 20.15
5. T. Malenkov 19.05 - 22.20
6. T. Kuznetsov 19.05 - 20.15
7. T. Tymoshenko 19.05 - 20.15
8. T. Safonov 19.05 - 20.15
9. T. Tymoshenko 20.50 - 22.20
10. T. Zhukov 20.50 - 22.20
11. T. Budyonny 20.50 - 22.20
12.t. Mehlis 21.55 - 22.20
13.t. Beria 22.40 - 23.00
The latter came out at 23.00.
And one more document I received from the writer Ivan Stadnyuk. This is the revelation of Molotov, who admitted that, strictly speaking, Hitler did not attack without declaring war, as it is still believed, but declared it an hour before the attack … More precisely, he was going to announce it an hour before, as the German ambassador to Moscow reported by phone. von Schulenburg, who asked Molotov to urgently accept him in order to present a memorandum on the beginning of the war …
Molotov makes an appointment with the ambassador at the People's Commissariat and immediately calls Stalin at his dacha. Stalin reacted: "Go, but accept the ambassador only after the military will report that the aggression has begun …"
Apparently, Stalin still hoped that everything would be okay. And if it doesn't, then it was necessary to show the world that Hitler violated the Non-Aggression Pact between the USSR and Germany and did it at night, suddenly.
An hour before the war, at night, it is really difficult to take a serious retaliatory measure, which Hitler was betting on.
After the attack, Schulenburg made a statement to Molotov at 5:30 in the morning that Germany had decided to go to war against the USSR … Why was this fact hidden? Would Hitler look more decent if he declassified him?
THE LEADER DIDN'T SLEEP
Another "Zhukov's tale" has recently been discovered. It's about the story of the marshal (more detailed than in the Report), how he woke up Stalin and reported on the attack of the Germans. Let's compare it with other documents.
“In the morning of June 22, People's Commissar Tymoshenko, Vatutin and I were in the office of the People's Commissar of Defense. At 3 hours 7 minutes the commander of the Black Sea Fleet called me and informed me of the approach of unknown planes … At 3 hours 30 minutes the chief of staff of the Western District reported on the German air raid on the cities of Belarus. About 3 minutes later, the chief of staff of the Kiev district reported on the raid on the cities of Ukraine. At 3.40 the commander of the Baltic region called and reported on the raids on Kaunas and other cities.
The People's Commissar ordered me to call Stalin. I'm calling. Nobody answers the phone. Finally I hear the sleepy voice of the guard general on duty.
- I ask you to urgently connect with Comrade Stalin.
- What? Now? - the head of security was amazed. - Comrade Stalin is sleeping.
- Wake up immediately: the Germans are bombing our cities!
… Three minutes later Stalin approached the apparatus. I reported the situation and asked permission for retaliatory actions."
So, according to Zhukov, he woke up Stalin after 3 hours and 40 minutes. Meanwhile, Stalin did not sleep at that time. There is evidence of Stalin's driver Mitrokhin: “At 3.30 on June 22, I gave Stalin a car at the entrance to the dacha in Kuntsevo. Stalin went out accompanied by Rumyantsev … "This is the same" guard general on duty "who, according to Zhukov's recollections, should also have been sleeping, since he would wake them up with Stalin only after 3.40 in the morning …
And the diary of Marshal Budyonny (in 1941 - Deputy People's Commissar of Defense - Ed.) Does not leave a stone unturned from the "Zhukov's tales".
We read: “At 4.01 on 22.06.41 People's Commissar Timoshenko called me and said that the Germans were bombing Sevastopol, and should Stalin be reported? I said that I must report immediately, but he said: call you! I immediately called and reported not only about Sevastopol, but also about Riga, which the Germans are also bombing. Stalin asked where the People's Commissar was. I replied that I was nearby (I was already in his office). Stalin ordered to give him a pipe."
So the war began!
LET'S BREAK ON THE BORDER
By the way, what did the military leaders whom he summoned to the Kremlin advise Stalin? We read Budyonny's diary: “… On June 21, at 19 o'clock, Tymoshenko, Zhukov and I were summoned. Stalin informed us that the Germans might attack tomorrow, June 22. What should and can we do before dawn ?!
Tymoshenko and Zhukov said that "if the Germans attack, we will crush them at the border, and then on their territory." Stalin thought and said: "This is not serious." And he turned to me: "What do you think?" I suggested:
Firstly, immediately remove all aircraft from the motions and bring it to combat readiness … Secondly, move the troops to the border … Behind this line of defense deploy a reserve front …
Stalin said: "Your considerations are correct …"
After that, Stalin asked to convene the Politburo …
And he informed him that during the exchange of views it turned out that our People's Commissar of Defense and the headquarters are dealing with defense issues superficially, thoughtlessly and even frivolously …"
And one more fact. The western border of the USSR, moved in 1939, had not yet been properly equipped. In Budyonny's diary, there is a murderous confession: "The People's Commissar of Defense (Timoshenko) is making a defensive line along the entire new border and removed all weapons from the former fortified areas, dumping them in heaps along the border … The dumped weapons … fell into the hands of the Germans."
It would seem, what is there to add? But the chorus is still heard: not only scouts, but also Zhukov warned Stalin about the beginning of the war, but he did nothing.
As we can see from the documents, Stalin did a lot. Gave instructions, directives … Was that enough? Was it possible to act differently? Probably. But history does not know the subjunctive mood.
And so that no one decides that we are whitewashing Stalin, we will bring his confession at a reception on May 24, 1945. Then Stalin repeated twice that the government headed by him had many mistakes, for which any other people had long ago driven out such a government.
The same "encryption without a number" with the order "No. 1" of the People's Commissar of Defense, received by the headquarters of the Western Special Military District.
Back on June 21, in the evening, Stalin instructed Chief of the General Staff Zhukov and People's Commissar for Defense Timoshenko to send this directive in order to bring the troops of the border districts on alert in connection with a possible surprise German attack on the morning of June 22. Why was its transfer to the headquarters of the districts finished only on the night of June 22? Why only the People's Commissar of the Navy Kuznetsov, having received an encrypted message, immediately put the fleets on alert? There are many versions.
From "Zhukov in every possible way slowed down the sending of the encrypted message," which is most likely unrealistic, because this would be a violation of Stalin's order, to the work of German saboteurs who destroyed communications. The fleets could be put on alert by radio communication, which was on all ships …
NIKOLAI NAD