The Tristan Betrayal - By Robert Ludlum Page 0,123
into the Balkans brazenly. Clearly, Churchill is pinning all his hopes on America and Russia entering the war."
"Correct," interjected von Brauchitsch.
"Therefore we must crush the Soviet Union by force," Schmundt continued, "and therefore eliminate the hope of Russia joining the war on behalf of England. And thus establish Germany as the master of Europe. The quicker we smash Russia, the better."
"You can't be serious," von Brauchitsch objected. "When was the last time you read your history? Do you want us to repeat Napoleon's mistakes and lose the war on the frozen steppes of Russia? Napoleon, too, failed to invade the British Isles. We will be destroyed if we attack Russia!"
"Have you forgotten that we defeated czarist Russia in the last war?" Schmundt shot back.
For the first time Hitler spoke up, in a low, almost inaudible voice. He had been listening, considering. The other men leaned forward to hear him. "And then we shipped Lenin to Russia in a sealed train, like a plague bacillus."
The other men chuckled politely. "That it was," said Hitler's adjutant. "But let the plague not spread. We cannot allow the Balkan peninsula to be Bolshevized. We cannot allow the Soviets to seize our oil fields in Romania "
"What you're proposing is madness," von Brauchitsch interrupted. "It would mean war on two fronts, which must be avoided at all costs. None of us wants that. We should be isolating Britain. This requires cooperation with the Soviet Union."
"It is a one-front war! Britain is no threat it's merely an annoyance," said Schmundt. "Britain is already defeated we must make her admit it. Crush Russia, and England will give up count on it!"
"You say 'crush Russia' as if it is a child's game," said Haider, "when the truth is that the Red Army is a colossus."
"The Russian 'colossus," " replied Schmundt scornfully, "is a pig's bladder prick it and it will burst."
"To attack Russia would be the sheerest lunacy," said Haider. "It would be suicide. We have no choice but to maintain the so-called friendship pact."
Canaris cleared his throat. "May I offer some pertinent information?"
There was silence, so he continued. "The Abwehr has received some valuable intelligence from Moscow." With a dramatic flourish, he produced from his briefcase a folder thick with typewritten documents, which he handed around, beginning with the Fuhrer.
Hitler took out his reading glasses. The men were rapt in concentration.
After a moment, the Fuhrer looked up. "This is genuine?" he exclaimed.
"My document experts confirm it, based on the paper, the ink, the stamps, the signatures, and so forth," replied Canaris.
"Mein Gott in Himmel!" said Schmundt. "The Red Army is a house of cards!"
"What is the source?" asked von Brauchitsch suspiciously. "One of your agents in Moscow?"
Canaris shook his head. "Getting intelligence in Moscow is fiendishly difficult. It is easier for an Arab in a flowing burnoose to walk unnoticed through Berlin than for a foreign agent to pass through Russia. No, the source is a general officer high in the Commissariat of Defense Ministry."
"A turncoat?" Haider said. "A traitor?"
"On the contrary," Canaris replied. "A loyal general who remains loyal. We have a source who is, shall we say, close to the general."
"This source is reliable?"
"The source," Canaris said, "is of the sort who's the most reliable of all. Not a professional, but a civilian. A simple person with no knowledge of intelligence games."
"A secretary, then," Haider put in.
"In fact, it is his daughter."
Schmundt looked up from the document. "The Bolshevik military is in ruins since the purges," he said. "But they are rearming and quickly."
"In two years," said Canaris, "they will be powerful again."
"How soon can we attack?" Hitler asked of Schmundt.
His adjutant allowed himself a victorious smile. "After the winter. Early spring of next year. Certainly by June we will be ready."
Hitler stood up, and the others quickly followed. "Fate itself has presented us with an opportunity," he proclaimed, "but we must move quickly. I have not created this magnificent army only to have it rot. The war will not end on its own. I want preliminary plans for a blitzkrieg against the Soviet Union drawn up at once."
Chapter Twenty-Six
Moscow, November 1940
The dead drop location made Metcalfe uneasy. It was too exposed, too much out in the open; there was only one way to get to it and probably no alternative egress. He would not have chosen this location, but he had no choice; Amos Hilliard was the control in this instance, and he had selected it.