Record of Direct-Line Negotiations with the Commander of the 54th Army, 20 September 1941

Source: Tom 18

Source: Tom 18

20 September 1941, 23:00

Volkhov: At the apparatus, Marshal Kulik.

Moscow: Here is Stalin. Hello. Can you answer the question I put to you about the arrival of new units?

Kulik: Answering. Hello. Today the first 4 echelons arrived. The 161st Rifle Division is moving at a rate of 10 echelons per day; the others have not yet appeared.

Stalin: We are thinking of including your entire army, with you at its head, in the Leningrad Front. This is necessary for full coordination of actions on your front. I hope you will have no objections?

Kulik: Answering. I have very poor communications with Leningrad. Communications with Moscow are fully assured. It would be better if the General Staff coordinated our actions.

Stalin: But the General Staff has less communication with the Leningrad Front than you do. It is very difficult for the General Staff to coordinate your actions with those of the Leningrad Front. How shall we proceed?

Kulik: I believe the coordination should be carried out by the Operational Directorate of the General Staff. I see no other way. Management of the other aspects of my army will be difficult until we link up with Leningrad. Once we link up, then I consider it correct to be included in the Leningrad Front.

Stalin: In that case, might we arrange it so that in operational terms your army is subordinated to the Leningrad Front, while in all other respects your army is considered subordinate to the Stavka?

Kulik: I believe we should leave the existing arrangement until we link up.

Stalin: Very well, we shall wait a few days. I ask that you submit today your plan for the capture of the Mga station and the link-up with the Leningrad Front, with an indication of the timetable for advance by days.

Kulik: I request permission to submit it tomorrow by the end of the day, as I have sent commanders for reconnaissance of the terrain, taking into account the arrival of new divisions.

Stalin: What sort of reconnaissance do you need? You must direct all your forces toward the defeat of the enemy in the Mga area and beyond.

Kulik: I am reconnoitering the Maluksa area and to the northeast. I want to find the enemy's flank so as not to lose it.

Stalin: In searching for flanks, you may lose time, and during this period the Germans may take Leningrad, and then no one will need your help. In these two days, the 21st and 22nd, you must punch a hole in the enemy's front and link up with the Leningraders, otherwise it will be too late. You are very much behind schedule. You must make up for lost time. Otherwise, if you continue to fall behind, the Germans will have time to turn every village into a fortress, and then you will never be able to link up with the Leningraders.

Kulik: I had planned to go over to the offensive after the arrival of new divisions, since the existing forces have proved insufficient. I do not know exactly when the divisions and the tank brigade will arrive. I have just returned from the battle. Fierce fighting went on all day for the capture of Sinyavino and Voronovo. The enemy counter-attacked several times, and despite our devastating fire (today I used both RS [rocket launcher] battalions), he committed all his reserves but had no success. On the front, the enemy has now replaced his units -- that is, the 20th and 21st Divisions -- with new ones, the 126th and 122nd Divisions and a separate brigade, which are fighting much more stubbornly than those we had thoroughly beaten. Yesterday, to save his position, the enemy staged a parade of his bomber aviation (more than a hundred aircraft in a compact formation) and struck our rear areas. He did not hit the combat formations of our units, since they have moved very close to the enemy and the front line is zigzag-shaped.

Stalin: The new divisions and the brigade are being given to you not for the capture of the Mga station, but for developing success after the capture of the Mga station. Your current forces are entirely sufficient to take the Mga station not once but twice.

Kulik: I report that with the current forces, without committing new units, the Mga station cannot be taken. In four days of fighting, we have suffered approximately 10,000 killed and wounded. I therefore ordered today to consolidate on the existing positions, dig in, and spend tomorrow bringing the units into order and absorbing replacements. I repeat that these four days of fighting were very fierce, with the manpower of both sides being ground down, and the enemy had already by the end of the third day replaced his battered divisions with fresh ones. Such is the situation at this moment.

Stalin: It appears that you are giving the beaten enemy a respite. By doing so you strengthen the enemy and make your own future advance more difficult. This is very bad. Submit your plan for the continuation of the offensive as quickly as possible, with an indication of the timetable for advance. On what date will you submit the plan?

Kulik: September 21 by 20:00.

Stalin: Submit it on the morning of September 21 by 12:00.

Kulik: Very well.

Stalin: All the best.

Stalin, Shaposhnikov.

Kulik: All the best.

Kulik.

The Blockade of Leningrad in Documents of Declassified Archives. Pp. 44-46.

TsAMO RF. F. 96a. Op. 2011. D. 5. L. 120-123.