Rokossovsky and they soon got the news of the liberation of Kyiv, Terekin said with emotion: "Comrade commander, it is your vision that is accurate, you said that the First Front of Ukraine can liberate Kyiv before the October Revolution Day, and they really did it." This is truly a remarkable victory. ”

After listening to Terekin's flattery, Rokossovsky did not speak, but just grinned, and then instructed Malinin: "Chief of staff, call the commanders of the armies and order them to rush to the headquarters as soon as possible, I want to convene an impromptu meeting." ”

The commanders of the group army, who received Ma Linin's call, came to the conference room of the headquarters one after another. Since Fedyuninsky was a newcomer, he had no acquaintances here, so he could only sit on the sidelines and quietly listen to the chatter of the commanders next to him.

The commander of the 61st Army, Belov, asked Batov: "Hey, I said General Batov, your 65th Army is now in charge of the main offensive of the Front, I wonder if this meeting is related to the new offensive?" ”

When Batov heard this, he spread his hands and said helplessly: "General Belov, don't ask me, I, like you, don't know anything." ”

"Hey, I said comrades, commanders," Romanenko, the commander of the 48th Army who walked in, saw that the commanders of the various armies were sitting in the room, and hurriedly pulled Borkin and asked: "General Borkin, I really didn't expect to see you here." By the way, do you know what the topic of today's meeting is? ”

Borkin smiled bitterly and said: "Comrade Romanenko, I just received a call from the Chief of Staff of the Front, General Malinin, informing me to come here for an emergency meeting, and as for what it is, I don't know. ”

After all the commanders of the group army and other important leaders had arrived, Malinin walked in through the door. He stood at the door, glanced at the leaders who were talking, and then raised his voice and said, "Comrade commander of the front army has arrived!" ”

Hearing Malinin's voice, the room suddenly became silent, and everyone stood up, focused their eyes on the door, and waited for Rokossovsky's arrival.

Rokossovsky and Terekin strode into the conference room, and with a blank face walked to their place and sat down. He raised his hand and pressed it down, and said to everyone: "Comrade commander, please sit down." ”

After everyone was seated, he spoke again: "Comrades, there are two things that have brought you here today. First, three hours ago, the First Ukrainian Front, commanded by General Vatutin, had successfully liberated Kyiv. With that, he paused and patiently observed the reaction of his commanders.

Hearing that friendly forces had liberated Kyiv, the people present were stunned for a moment, and then cheered. After a while, the room returned to calm, and when everyone stopped talking, Rokossovsky continued: "Comrades, friendly forces have liberated Kyiv and established great feats, and we must not be left behind. Therefore, the second thing to do today is to discuss how to liberate Gomel. ”

"Everyone knows that we have the German 4th, 9th and 2nd armies in front of us, and they have strong defensive positions, and it is very difficult to win from the front." Rokossovsky said: "Now that the initiative on the battlefield is in our hands, we can also learn from the First Ukrainian Front and use bold maneuvers to skillfully deceive the enemy to achieve our goals." ”

"Comrade commander," as soon as Rokossovsky's words were finished, Batov asked curiously: "I would like to ask, what are you going to do?" ”

"That's a good question," Rokossovsky said, giving Batov a thumbs up, "I think we can take a risk and pretend to concentrate our forces on one part of the Front, while at the same time preparing a surprise attack on another." At this point, his gaze swept over every commander on the field, and finally rested on Fedyuninsky, who shouted: "Comrade Fedyuninsky! ”

"Here!" Hearing Rokossovsky shouting his name, Fedyuninsky hurriedly agreed and stood up.

Rokossovsky turned his gaze to Kolpacchi again, "General Kolpacchi! ”

When Korpakchi also stood up, he said to the two men: "Your task is to constantly attack the Germans north of Gomel, so that the Germans will have the illusion that our initiative is north of Gomel. ”

Then he called out to Bartov, Belov and Romanenko, and said to them: "The offensive north of Gomel is only a feint to confuse the Germans, and the real offensive will be launched from the Loyev landing field." The main attack was Batov's 65th Army, while Belov's 61st Army and Romanenko's 48th Army were responsible for covering the two flanks of the main attacking force so that they would not be cut off by the Germans during the attack. ”

After explaining all the tasks, Rokossovsky said to the commanders present: "Comrade commanders, our official offensive will officially begin on November 10. Do you have any questions? ”

"Comrade commander, our logistical supply ......" Gorbatov lost no time in standing up and asked: "If we don't get enough supplies, it will be difficult for us to achieve any results in the next battle." ”

As soon as Gorbatov's words were finished, Borkin and Kolpakchi also stood up and said in unison: "That's right, comrade commander, if we do not get the necessary supplies, it may be difficult to play the necessary role in the next battle." ”

Rokossovsky did not immediately give any reply to the three of them, but turned his head to look at the Minister of Logistics, Andisenko, and asked: "Comrade Minister of Logistics, you have all seen the difficulties faced by the three armies of Borkin, Gorbatov, and Korpakichi. Can you find a way to solve the problem of ammunition and materiel supply for them? ”

Andipienko originally wanted to complain, but when he saw the cannibalistic gazes of the three army commanders, he hurriedly said: "Don't worry, comrades three commanders, I promise you that within a week, you will get the necessary supplements." ”

After listening to Anji's assurance, the three of them discussed a few words in a low voice, and then said in unison: "Okay, since Comrade Minister of Logistics has already given us a guarantee, then we will wait for another week, I hope this time we will not be empty and happy." ”

When Rokossovsky saw that everything that should be explained was done, he waved his hand at everyone and said: "Since there is no problem, then you should hurry back to your respective troops." ”