OPERATION CAUCASIAN OIL

"The oil . . . and other light substances too close to Russia′s interests. So wrote the great Russian scientist DI Mendeleev. And this is not an exaggeration, because the special strategic role of oil products illustrate how almost all the major wars of the past XX century.

With regard to the Caucasian oil, in anticipation of and during the Great Patriotic War, she became the hunted not only by Nazi Germany, but also from the future of our allies in the anti-Hitler coalition. To some it may seem incredible, but in January 1940, France and Britain were planning an operation to weaken the military might of the Soviet Union, intending to destroy the oil industry in the USSR in the Caucasus and suppress transportations on the Black Sea. Details of the training operations in the historical literature is almost absent, and in the West that it preferred not to spread. We captured documents on Operation Caucasian oil "almost 55 years lay in special depositories of State Security and the Central State Archive of Russia.

The idea was expressed by Prime Minister Edouard Daladier of France in a note dated 19 January 1940, intended for the attention of members of the ruling cabinet. Daladier offered to two senior military officials - Chief of General Staff of the Army Army Gen. Maurice Gamelin and the Chief of Naval General Staff, Admiral Jean Darlan think about and express concerns about "intended use for the invasion of Russia in order to destroy the oil fields. " Had in mind three possible actions: interception in the Black Sea oil tankers en route to Germany, the direct invasion of the Caucasus or the support of liberation movements of the Caucasian Muslim peoples. As seen from captured documents, the intention Daladier met with strong support in the British ruling circles. Even the Anglo-Soviet economic ties did not prevent the development of these plans. It would have been the unleashing of aggression against a sovereign state or, at least, the conversion of the North Caucasus region into a hotbed of armed rebellion.

What were the reasons?

Formally, the reasons why France and Britain to deal seriously with the development plan, there were many: a treaty of friendship concluded between Germany and Russia in 1939, the Germans opened up access to Soviet oil, the Soviet invasion of Western Ukraine and Western Belorussia September 17 of that year; Soviet-Finnish War, launched by the Red Army on Nov. 30, 1939. By the way, fighting against Finland led Paris and London to make threatening statements. December 14 the League of Nations at the request of the British and French representatives "for aggression" to exclude the Soviet Union of its members. By mid-January 1940, when Finland received from England and France, large quantities of weapons and equipment, between London and Paris had agreed to send in February and March to help the Finns expeditionary force of up to 150 000 people. Situation created explosive.

However, the plans for the destruction of the Caucasian oil had a conflict in the north of Europe, only a relative link. In fact, it was a long-term military strategy, evidenced at least by the fact that after the termination of the Russo-Finnish war preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union continued to be well under way.

Photo — «Operation Caucasian Oil»

Why is the object of aggression is precisely the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, with their raw materials? The fact that oil is produced mainly Azerbaijan, Grozny, and Batumi. Their abundance of the Red Army could not complain - on the eve of war production, for example, aviagoryuchego in the USSR for two-thirds dependent on imported high-octane components. Although by the time we have actively developed fields of the Ural-Volga oil region, increased oil production in Kazakhstan and Sakhalin Island, the proportion of nekavkazskih areas in the same year, 1940 was only 13. 5 per cent. Disable the Baku and Grozny oil fields, refineries and oil companies - meant to "put on starvation rations" Soviet aircraft and armored vehicles or make them completely dependent on the West. In the case of fighting the loss of the oil region could prove fatal for the country.

"Military action against the oil regions of the Caucasus should be directed against the major, the most important centers of the oil industry. It is - its production, storage and export of oil, concentrated in three locations: Baku, Grozny, Batumi . . . "So wrote March 22, 1940 General Gamelin, who became commander of allied land forces, in a memo to Paul Reynaud, who replaced Daladier in office Prime Minister in March of that year. The output from the system of Baku and Grozny oil fields, the general pointed out, is "of great interest for the allies," for "place the Council in a critical situation, as for the fuel of Soviet motorized units and agricultural machinery needs Moscow almost all oil extracted by now. "

The second argument Gamelin - "Germany will face the fact of termination of oil revenues from the East and had to be content with what she receives from the Nordic and Balkan countries. " However, shipments of oil from the USSR in the Reich was not so great that they play a strategic role, and the General could not know about it. Over the 17 months since the late 39 th to June 41 th, Germany has received from the USSR 865 thousand tons of oil. At the same time, the volume neftepotrebleniya in the Reich only one in 1940 totaled 7. 5 million tons. Hitler received from Stalin only as much Caucasian oil, as Soviet leader saw fit to grant him, and neither ton more. Surprisingly, Gamelin argued in his project on its relevance for Germany in such terms, as though she was already in the undivided before the Fuhrer.

Why? Perhaps because the French general, looking ahead, trying to wishful thinking? . . Until May 10 - the start of the German offensive on the Benelux countries and France - in Western Europe took solace in the hope that after Poland Hitler still try to attack the Soviet Union. Delete the Baku and Grozny oil fields, that they are not then in the hands of the Germans, when they will move to the Caucasus - this is what the thought haunted the Western strategy. Perhaps there was another calculation: helping Hitler to undermine the Soviet military strength before the invasion of the Soviet Union, in Paris and London had expected the real guarantees of nonaggression in their country.

Here are excerpts from the plan Gamelin: "The air attack on the Baku and Grozny should be carried out either from the territory of Turkey (Diyarbakir region - Wang - Erzurum), either from Iran or from Syria and Iraq (Cizre and Mosul) .

Photo — «Operation Caucasian Oil»

At this point in the document is marked as a person more familiar with the document. Maybe it was the Prime Minister himself Reynaud, who wrote: "At present, the operation is aimed at Syria. "

The then under French mandate of Syria had several bases, from which one could fly in any sort of direction with all the goods, without the knowledge of the local administration. Harder was the case with the independence of Turkey and Iran: first needed to obtain the consent of the governments of these countries to build an air base or fly through their airspace.

Gamelin: ". . . the bombing of Baku, to be held by modern heavy bombers to the number of 6 to 8 groups. Due to lack at the present time, aircraft of this type most of them have to put the British . . . "Again, someone′s remark in the margin:" This is inaccurate, now we can put more planes than England. "

One way or another, but the plan Gamelin was approved by the state leadership of both countries. In the future, began to work coordinating groups of British and French military officials to develop specific parameters of the operation, dubbed "Caucasus oil. "

March 28 during the next debate on the bombing of Baku, England and France suddenly diverged: the French insisted on speeding up the action, the British have taken a more equivocal position, fearing the Soviet Union and Germany. But not for long.

The minutes of joint meetings of 4. 5 in April 1940 recorded that the air of the Franco-British forces will be directed "against oil refineries and port facilities in the city of Batumi, Poti, Grozny, Baku. " As a possible object of attacks and named the port of Odessa. "During the first 6 days will be destroyed from 30 to 35 percent of all oil refineries and port facilities of the Caucasus . . . The operation will be used from 90 to 100 aircraft in groups of six French and three British squadrons. The French group . . . will be staffed by two groups of "Farmanov-221 and four groups of" Glenn Martin ", equipped with additional fuel tanks, for every flight they will lose a total maximum of 70 tons of bombs on hundreds of refineries. "

Similar work was engaged in the British command. At the headquarters of the British Royal Air Force had developed its own plan, coded abbreviation "MA-6", according to which strikes on targets in the Caucasus and the Black Sea coast performed nine groups of British bombers. The destruction of Baku allotted 15 days, the Terrible - 12, Batumi - only 1,5 days.

However, analysts warned that "the effectiveness of the operation may be significantly reduced in the case of" possible appearance of German fighters. " It turns out that the British and French did not rule out that the Luftwaffe would take under the protection of the Caucasian oil fields and Black Sea ports!

If this absurd plan materialize, the consequences could be fatal, and especially to France and England. Hitler was such an action would only be on hand. Stalin probably would have tried to strike back. It is possible that in fact in alliance with Germany. However, all this speculation.

While in Moscow and did not know all the details of the preparation of the Anglo-French aggression in the Caucasus, the available information allows to note the growing threat of the southern borders of the USSR.

Photo — «Operation Caucasian Oil»

March 29, speaking at a meeting of the Supreme Council, Molotov said that "Any such attempt would cause on our part to retaliate against the aggressors, and the danger of playing with fire should be quite obvious to the powers hostile to the USSR and those of our neighbors who be an instrument of this aggressive policy against the USSR. " In addition to these serious warnings, Stalin received and specific military action. Another 31 December 1939 People′s Commissar of Defense ordered the troops to strengthen the Transcaucasian Military District by calling up reservists in excess of peacetime. January 10, 1940 in Baku was transferred 31-Rifle Division of the North Caucasian Military District, and from 20 February command of the Soviet Air Force was engaged in the elaboration of measures to strengthen the defense of Baku. In early April, in the Caucasus began arriving troops from the Finnish front.

9 and 11 April Commander of the Air Force ordered long-range aviation regiment of the Transcaucasian and Odessa military districts to "begin the study of the Middle East theater, paying particular attention to the following items: Alexandria, Beirut, Haifa, Aleksandreta, Port Said, Nicosia, Larnaca, Famagusta, Aleppo, Suez, Istanbul, Izmir, Sinop, Samsun, Trapezond, Moudania, Smyrna, Gallipoli, Ankara, Kyrykale, the Bosporus and Dardanelles. It should in strict confidence to work out possible routes, the payloads and carry on 2 training flight over its territory with the range and navigational conditions, relevant theater in the Near East, including bombing and air combat fighters from occurring. Established number of troops of the Transcaucasian Military District has grown from 15 February to 1 July 1940 in 3,2 times.

Meanwhile, the British made the aerial photographs of Baku, on the basis of which were drawn maps to indicate the flight ends.

April 17 Chief of French forces in the eastern Mediterranean, Army Gen. Maxim Weygand Gamelin reported that the period of completion of the operation is better moved to the end of June - early July, as the training airfields in the Levant, initiated transfer here bombers, equipping them with extra fuel tanks, aerial bombing sites, training of pilots, shipping by rail fuel, ammunition, and equipment were to be from 2,5 to 3 months.

But history, as always, ordered on their own, severely punishing hapless politicians and generals for their shortsightedness. May 10 began with Hitler′s blitzkrieg on the Western Front, and by the end of June, an independent state, France has ceased to exist.

When Paris fell, authorities Ribbentrop and Goebbels brought the contents caught up in the hands of the winners of the Franco-British documents on the plans for the Caucasus oil fields to the general public. In 1945, these materials as Soviet trophies were taken from Germany to the USSR.

When the British took away his legs barely from Dunkirk, they seem to have forgotten about their aggressive plans against the USSR, and after Germany attacked the Soviet Union united with him in the anti-Hitler coalition.