The Road to Berlin (146 page)

4 THE DRIVE T O THE WESTERN FRONTIERS: OCTOBER 1943-MARCH 1944

In the 1960s a growing number of substantial and authoritative
Soviet military monographs
(dealing mainly with the period 1944–5) appeared. The material for this chapter, particularly Soviet operations in the western Ukraine, has been drawn largely from such studies, perhaps best exemplified by the work of Colonel (now Major-General) A.N. Grylev, whose first study
of
the Ukrainian offensive appeared in 1953 but which was superseded by his
Za Dneprom
(Voenizdat 1963, 228 pp.) and latterly
Dnepr Karpaty Krim. Osvobozhdenie Pravoberezhnoi Ukrainy i Kryma v 1944 goda
(Nauka 1970, 352 pp.). Both are immensely detailed operational narratives based largely on Soviet military records (as befits General Grylev’s position as a chief General Staff historical analyst); they may not be very readable but they are invaluable, as is a work such as G.M. Utkin’s
Shturm ‘Vostochnovo vala’
. Nor am I alone in acknowledging the high standard of such work. (Equally, I should point to the comprehensiveness
of
the
Fremde Heere Ost (FHO)
material, which seems in 1944 to have exhibited increasing acuity.)

Allen, W.E.D. and Muratoff, Paul,
The Russian Campaigns of 1944–45
(Harmondsworth: Penguin Books 1946), pp. 22–69, the third Russian winter campaign. (Though sometimes disparaged and more often simply ignored, this is good exploitation of Soviet war communiqué material.)

Heidkämper, Otto,
Witebsk. Kampf und Untergang der
3.
Panzerarmee
(Heidelberg: K. Vowinckel 1954), ch. XI, ‘Vermutete Feindabsichten …’, pp. 62–4; ch. XII, ‘Die erste Winterabwehrschlacht um Witebsk’, pp. 65–94, also pp. 94–101, Abwehrkämpfe nordwestlich Witebsk’, pp. 117–20; ch. XVI, ‘Auflockerung der 3. Panzerarmee’, pp. 124–7.

Ionescu, Ghita,
Communism in Rumania 1944–1962
(London: OUP 1964). See ch. 2, from Teheran to the 1944
coup
, here pp. 71–81 on Rumanian attempts to disengage from the war, an excellently informed and referenced account.

Manstein, Erich von,
Lost Victories
. See ch. 15 on the defensive batdes 1943–4, beginning (p. 486) with the battle for Kiev, moving to the second battle of the Dnieper bend (Hitler’s refusal to countenance withdrawal of German southern wing, German plan to concentrate at Rovno), pp. 490–508; German counter-stroke against Soviet breakthrough in direction of Uman, pp. 508–9; Hitler’s agreement to abandonment positions east of Dnieper bend and Nikopol, pp. 512–17; the Cherkassy pocket, position of Fourth
Panzer
Army and loss of Rovno, pp. 518–19; comparison of Soviet and German strength, spring 1944, pp. 520–22. (This is an indispensable analysis and operational narrative, upon which I have drawn heavily to depict the German side.)

Philippi, Alfred and Heim, Ferdinand,
Der Feldzug gegen Sowjetrussland
, pt 2, ‘Der Feldzug des Jahres’, I, ‘Fortgang der sowjetischen Winteroffensive …’, loss of the Dnieper line, Soviet offensive (Leningrad), AGp Centre defensive battles, ‘die höchst kritische Lage der Ostfront Ende Februar 1944’, collapse of German front south of the Pripet, formation of new German front on the borders of Galicia and Rumania, pp. 230–45.

Seaton, Albert,
The Russo-German War
, ch. 25, German defeat at Leningrad and in the Ukraine: Soviet offensive/Leningrad, pp. 408–12; offensive into western Ukraine, pp. 412–31 (including Soviet attack on the Crimea). This is a very comprehensive treatment, leading up to April 1944.

Werth, Alexander,
Russia at War
, pt 7, ch. II, Ukrainian microcosm, Werth’s eyewitness account of the Korsum battlefield, very vivid in its own right, pp. 771–812; also ch. III, Odessa and the effects of Rumanian occupation, pp. 813–26. (While assisting in the editing of Alexander Werth’s manuscript for
Russia at War
, I was able to delve much more deeply into this remarkable collection of contemporary reporting and contemporary records.)

South and South-West Fronts, Kiev, Belorussia,
Soviet strength and Soviet plans pp.
137
–
149

IVMV
, 7, pp. 229–38, reduction of German forces Taman peninsula, dearing of the North Caucasus, preparations to attack the Crimea, planning of Kerch assault landing, Marshal Timoshenko
Stavka
co-ordinator (p. 234), 20.11.43 North Caucasus front redesignated Independent Coastal Army (note to p. 237), investment of bridgehead north-east of Kerch a move to recover the Crimea, but front stabilized here until April 1944.

IVMV
, 7, pp. 257–71, liberation of Kiev, forcing the Dnieper and the Sivash.

Alferov, Colonel S., ‘Peregruppirovka 3-i gvardeiskoi tankovoi armii v bitve za Dnepr (oktyabr 1943),
VIZ
, 1980 (3), pp. 16–24. (Redeployment of 3rd Guards Tank Army.)

Bagramyan, I.Kh.,
Tak shli my k pobede
, pp. 261–85, Stalin promotes Bagramyan to full general and appointment Front commander (1st Baltic) 18 November 1943, Front offensive aimed at Gorodok and Vitebsk, Gorodok taken 24 December, only partial fulfilment of
Stavka
plan.

Collective authorship,
Na vechnye vremena. Na věčne časy
(Moscow: Voenzidat 1975), pp. 96–104, Czech Brigade (1-ya OChBr), Kiev operations. (Also
SWN
, No. 717, 18.11.43, Major-General Jan Kratochvil, ‘Czechs at Kiev’.)

Grylev, A.N.,.
Za Dneprom
, pp. 44–53, Kirovograd operation (2nd Ukrainian Front). Also
Dnepr. Karpaty
… ,
op. cit
., pp. 47–55.

Gorbatov, General A., ‘Nastuplenie 3-i armii severnee Gomelya’,
VIZ
, 1962 (8), pp. 30–43. (3rd Army, Gomel operations, with a disclaimer about the role of 3rd Army by Marshal Rokossovskii.)

Grechko, A.A.,
Gody voiny 1941–1943
, pt 2, ‘Taman svobodna’ (Taman operation), pp. 540–58.

Grechko, A.A., ‘V boyakh za stolitsu Ukrainy’,
VIZ
, 1963 (11), pp. 3–17: liberation of Kiev (November 1943).

Koniev, I.S.,
Zapiski komanduyushchevo frontom
, pp. 82–93, the Kirovograd operation.

Koniev, I.S., ‘Kirovogradskaya operatsiya’,
VIZ
, 1969 (5), pp. 66–74: 2nd Ukrainian Front operations (Koniev, Front commander), Kirovograd, January 1944.

Krainyukov, Lt.-Gen. K., ‘Osvobozhdenie Kieva’,
VIZ
, 1963 (10), pp. 67–79. (Liberation of Kiev, version advertising Khrushchev.)

Kreizer, General Ya., ‘Sivash-Sevastopol’,
VIZ
, 1969 (5), pp. 75–7, opening stages of developing Sivash bridgehead (10th Rifle Corps/51st Army), Tolbukhin’s operational plan for further offensive, Voroshilov as
Stavka
‘representative’. (See also
Shtemenko.)

Malinovskii, Marshal SU R.Ya., ‘V boyakh za osvobozhdenie Sovetskoi Ukrainy’ in
V bol’shom nastuplenii
(Moscow: Voenizdat 1964), pp. 22–38. Cf. G.M. Utkin,
Shturm ‘Vostochnovo vala
’, ch. 5, Zaporozhe operation (pp. 288–300), also Dnepropetrovsk (pp. 300–10).

Monin, Colonel M., ‘Iz istorii boevovo sodrushestva sovetskikh i chekhoslovatskikh voisk,
VIZ
, 1969 (2), pp. 31–41 (Czechoslovak units in Red Army operations).

Moskalenko, K., ‘Kievskaya operatsiya’,
VIZ
, 1973 (12), pp. 51–8 (Kiev operation).

Utkin, G.M.,
Shturm ‘Vostochnovo vala’
, pp. 365–402, liberation of Kiev.

Vaneyev, G.I.,
Chernomortsy v Velikoi Otechestvennoi voine
(Moscow: Voenizdat 1978), pp. 270–95, Kerch amphibious landing operation, planning, landing of assault elements 18th and 56th Army, bridgehead operations.

Partisan movement/re-organization

IVMV
, 8, pp. 156–63,
GK0
(State Defence committee) decree 13 January 1944 (p. 160), abolishing
Partisan Central Staff (TsShPD)
, intensifying partisan operations and ‘political work’ among population.

Note on Soviet strength January 1944

IV0VSS
, 4, table p. 20: total Soviet manpower 6,736,000 (including 331,000 navy, 266,000 air force and 571,000 reserves; note also, in the figure for reserves, 75,000 airborne troops/
Stavka
reserve).

Soviet Plan operatsii/directives for winter offensive, 1944

IVOVSS
, 4, pp. 18–26; also S.M. Shtemenko,
General’ny shtab
… , pp. 199–202 (translation,
The Soviet General Staff
, pp. 198–201).

Teheran Conference (1943) pp.
149
–
162

Diplomatic history/diplomatic documents. The indispensable material is supplied in
The Conferences of Cairo and Teheran
(US Department of State, Washington, 1961) and most expressly Winston S. Churchill,
Closing the Ring
, vol. V of
The Second World War
. These have been extensively utilized and analysed elsewhere, my purpose here being to highlight Soviet materials and interpretation.

Wheeler-Bennett, Sir John W. and Nicholls, Antony,
The Semblance of Peace
(London: Macmillan 1972 and 1974). See pp. 143–67, Teheran and Second Cairo. (This is perhaps the most astringent view of Teheran, based on a very wide range of sources.)

Woodward, Sir Llewellyn,
British Foreign Policy
, vol. II, ch. XXXIV (VI), the Teheran Conference, pp. 599–603; see also ch. XXXV, Great Britain and Soviet-Polish relations to end 1943, here pp. 635–50, and the Polish question at Teheran, pp. 650–51.

Soviet documentation/analysis

Gromyko, A.A. (Chief Editor),
Tegeranskaya konferentsiya rukovoditelei trekh soyuznikh derzhav
—
SSSR, SShA i Velikobritanii
, Sbornik dokumentov. (Moscow: Politizdat 1978.) This collection is intended to be definitive, being correlated with US publication and UK PRO holdings: as such, it supersedes the version published in the journal
Mezh. Zhizn
(1961) and amends the composite volume
Tegeran–Yalta–Potsdam
(1967, 1970 and 1971 edns). After an introduction (pp. 6–40), pt 1 consists of correspondence exchanges between the ‘Big Three’ (pp. 43–86), minutes of conversations in pt 2 (pp. 89–170, note publication from Soviet archives of Stalin–Roosevelt talk, 1.12 at 1520 hrs, pp. 168–70), pt 3 covering the communiqué and declarations.

IVMV
, 8,
Teheran conference
, pp. 30–39; Second Cairo Conference, pp. 39–42.
(Note:
I do not know of any substantive Soviet
documentation
relating to German plans to assassinate the ‘Big Three’ at Teheran—reportedly Operation
Long Jump
. There are two examples of ‘documentary fiction’: Viktor Egorov,
Zagovor protiv Evriki
(Moscow: Sov. Rossiya 1968) and A. Lukin, ‘Zagovor ne sostoyalsya’ in
Front bez linii fronta
(Moscow: Mosk. Rabochii 1970), pp. 328–49.)

Berezhkov, V.M., ‘Tegeran, 1943 god’,
Novaya i noveishaya istoriya
, 1967, no. 6, pp. 87–99.

Israelyan, V.L.,
Antigitlerovskaya koalitsiya
, ch. XV, on the Teheran conference, emergence of a genuine ‘coalition strategy’ based on Soviet–American agreement on the course of military operations in 1944 (priority for
Overlord)
, pp. 322–49.