Toughness at Moscow
WHEN General Martel, with all the prestige of a former Commander of the Royal Armoured Corps, went out to Moscow in April, 1943, to take charge of the British Mission, he found that military liaison did not exist. He decided to get " tough " with the secretive Russians, and within limits he achieved results. During an early visit he paid to the Russian front, the Soviet commander wanted to withhold facts about Russian dispositions and strength. The General reacted. "Trying to look very angry, I spoke out strongly and said ' Do you imagine that I have come all the way out from England to put up with tomfoolery of that sort? I have never been so insulted before in my life. I certainly do not propose to put up with that kind of treatment for a moment '." The information was thereupon pro- duced, and the General felt confirmed in his policy of toughness. He pursued it for four months, and got on with the Russians pretty well. He believes that useful—though still inadequate—liaison was established, and that, in particular, he was able to save the Russians heavy casualties in the early summer of 1943 by explaining in detail how we had dealt successfully with Panzer offensives in North Africa. At the end of the four months, on orders from on high, "goodwill " was substituted for "toughness "—and that was the end of liaison!
Ile book gives many illuminating illustrations of the difficulties which were encountered in dealing with the Russians before General Martel's arrival. After two of our northern convoys had been knocked to pieces in the summer of 1942, many wounded sailors were picked up and taken into Archangel. The Russians had a small hospital, but were unable to cope with the numbers. A British merchant-ship arrived in the port with a medical detachment ready to set up a hospital.
"The Russians, however, refused to allow them to land. In the town were large numbers of wounded men. Many had lost limbs ; they were undergoing untold suffering. Within a hundred yards were the British medical personnel waiting to come ashore and help them. They were not allowed to land because they did not possess visas.... They had to return through these dangerous waters without having accomplished anything at all."
General Martel had somewhat better opportunities than most foreigners in Russia to form a view about the Red Army, and his shrewd and friendly appraisal of the Russians' fighting qualities and shortcomings has historical value, though it is presented in a lament- ably disjointed and sketchy way.
The pity is that the General did not confine himself in this book to the military and liaison matters of which he has special knowledge. The narrative—which is so badly planned that had it been a battle it would undoubtedly have ended in disaster—strays into many fields where the writer lacks both the background and the training to make useful judgements. Indeed, there is more than a flavour of to66 and All That. "Some of the people who come from the more distant parts of Russia are very rough and coarse," the General tells us. And again, " We (the British) have always owned the sea. and except for the Pacific we propose to continue to own the sea, in trusteeship, for the rest of the world." It is impossible even to skip such sentences without impatience. More dangerous are many of the General's obiter dicta about the Russian set-up. He has seen a few things and heard a few things, but he has not digested any of them. He tells us: "The greatest and most important body in Russia is the Red Army." What about the Communist Party? Again, " I do not think that anyone but the State as yet owns any factory in Russia, but the capitalist class is increasing rapidly." And, finally, "It is unlikely that Socialism or Communism will last for any great length of time in Russia." Only a very brave soldier could make a statement like that!
At a time when the need for factual knowledge about Russia is so great, it is regrettable that a man like General Martel—authoritative and interesting in his own sphere—should make such misleading assertions. They will be quoted, and the ripples of error will spread. Reading these things, I almost feel like offering the General my views
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