Marshal, the Germans will take the offensive tomorrow at dawn. The main blow will be struck on the Holm-Zhirkovski-Gzhatsk line. Auxiliary strikes will take place near Vyazma and Rzhev. Artillery preparation will be combined, using chemical and conventional shells. In the direction of the main attack the enemy will use only volatile gases that do not linger on the ground, so that they themselves do not suffer from their own toxic chemicals during the attack. It is most likely to be phosgene and cyanogen chloride, the latter being more likely, as it has a shorter period of latent action and old-style gas masks are ineffective against it. The Germans have few infantry, and will make extensive use of persistent poisonous substances to cover the flanks of the breakout – various mixtures of mustard gas and lewisite.”
There was silence on the phone for a few seconds.
“Comrade Nagulin, is this intelligence data or your own analytical conclusions?”
I could hear the tension in Shaposhnikov's voice.
“Analytical conclusions, Comrade Marshal.”
There was another pause in the conversation.
“Are you absolutely sure you weren't wrong in your inferences?” asked the chief of general staff, not trying to hide a heavy sigh.
“Absolutely.”
“What about sarin?”
“There might be sarin, but it is unlikely to be in large quantities.”
“I heard you, Lieutenant Colonel. If your information is confirmed, be ready to leave for Moscow immediately. Wait for the order.”
The outer front of the encirclement collapsed and crumbled like a house of cards. I was afraid of something like that, but I still wasn't expecting such a crushing effect. When von Kleist got his hands on the new weapon, he decided to use it to its full capacity in order to maximize the effect of surprise, although it was somewhat marred by the Abwehr's botched operation with sarin bombs.
Kleist was supplied with an abundance of chemical munitions, of all types, for every conceivable purpose, and an hour before dawn the Wehrmacht began its first massive use of chemical warfare agents in this war.
Heavy howitzers and aviation were the first to engage. Thousands of high-explosive shells and bombs, among which were many munitions filled with phosgene and cyanogen chloride, hit the front lines of the two infantry divisions of the Kalinin Front.
Combat gases quickly dispersed over the area, poisoning those Red Army soldiers who did not have time to put on gas masks. Of course, after the order of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command and especially after the gas attack on the anti-aircraft gunners, the readiness of the Soviet troops for chemical warfare was increased, but the fighters, who had never used gas masks in combat before, did not have time to react to the danger in time. Many soldiers' gas masks were ill-fitted or faulty, or in some cases were simply missing.
The death of comrades from bullets and shrapnel was a familiar sight for the Red Army men during the past six months of the war, but death by poisoning was something completely different, previously unseen and terrible. By the time the German attack began, the morale of Soviet fighters was, to put it mildly, not at its best. In some places there was outright panic, and the German tanks, which had taken the offensive, broke through the first line of defense almost without resistance.
Only the Soviet troops in the central section of the breakthrough were attacked by flying gases, which practically never stayed on the ground and quickly dissipated even by a light wind. On the flanks the Germans used a completely different tactic. Mustard gas and lewisite in the form of special winter mixtures were used here to keep these poisonous liquids from freezing in the cold.
In addition to bombs and shells, German bombers made extensive use of airborne spray devices, creating wide swaths of contaminated terrain behind the flying planes. The dominance of Luftwaffe fighters in the air and the fact that the air defense assets were disorganized by the chemical attack did not allow the Soviet side to stop these actions, and zones of chemical contamination, impregnated with skin-explosive poisons, formed on the flanks of Kleist's tank group rushing forward.
To protect against mustard gas and lewisite, a gas mask is not at all sufficient. Their main target is the skin of enemy soldiers. The Red Army men who were attacked had anti-mustard gas capes in their kit, but their effectiveness in real combat conditions was extremely low, especially in the case of the combined use of chemical weapons and conventional ammunition.
Any meaningful resistance in the infected areas was out of the question. Surviving fighters were eager to leave as quickly as possible the area that had been chemically attacked, and they left their positions without orders. However, the Germans, too, were in no hurry to occupy the trenches left by the Red Army. Their goal was quite different – to prevent Soviet counterstrikes under the base of the ledge, which was formed as a result of the breakthrough of the front and the development of the offensive by German tank divisions.
Wehrmacht infantry divisions occupied positions on the flanks of the tank formations that had gone forward, they fortified on the borders of territories flooded with mustard gas and lewisite and covered them with fire, preventing the Soviet chemical troops from decontaminating the terrain.
After breaking through the first line of defense, two regiments of Nebelwerfers concentrated behind the back of the advancing German troops. For the first time these multiple rocket launchers were used for their direct purpose – to fire chemical munitions.
The second and third lines of defense were broken by German tanks by mid-day. Here the resistance of the Soviet troops was more stubborn, but still could not stop the enemy offensive. The tactics chosen by Ewald von Kleist was bringing success to his divisions.
I arrived in Moscow four hours after the German offensive began. Shaposhnikov decided not to wait for me to get there on my own and sent a plane for me. Judging by the gloomy appearance of the Chief of General Staff, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was in a depressed mood.
“You were right again, Lieutenant Colonel,” the Marshal began without preamble, “You gave the exact time and place of the strike by Kleist's tanks, as well as the methods of the enemy to use chemical weapons.”
“Was it possible to stop the enemy?” I asked a direct question, knowing full well the answer.
“Kleist's tank and motorized units advanced 30–40 kilometers and continue to press our troops,” Shaposhnikov said softly and turned to the map. “The two rifle divisions covering the direction to Gzhatsk were almost completely destroyed. After your report yesterday, I ordered four tank brigades to be moved to the threatened area. That's almost half of our mobile reserves, but it makes no sense to throw them into a head-on battle against Kleist's tanks, which outnumber them – we'd only lose men and equipment. On the other hand, we can't strike from the flanks – everything there is flooded with poisonous substances. At least the Germans in the pocket have been quiet so far. Apparently, they simply don't have the fuel for a 100-kilometer march with fighting, but as soon as Kleist gets close, they will strike out to meet him.”
I looked at the map in silence. It seems that yesterday my words were not fully believed after all. I'm not sure about Shaposhnikov, but the other members of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, led by Stalin, apparently took my information cautiously, otherwise they would have drawn much more reserves to the site of the upcoming breakthrough. Except that it wouldn't have helped much.
Here and now the Germans were objectively stronger. Kleist was a competent tank commander who understood well what maneuver warfare was all about. This is not Göpner, who was put in charge
