Lejtel's headquarters was located in a corner on the left side of the church hall separated by wooden teaching aids. As soon as Rokossovsky and Terekin walked into this space, they immediately felt that the noisy sound of typewriters, the sound of the telegraph operator, and the voice of the communication soldier shouting into the walkie-talkie outside had invisibly weakened a lot.

Immediately after Rokossovsky and Terekin were seated, a soldier came up with a plate and placed in front of them teapots, cups, saucers with sugar cubes, plates with dried sausages and biscuits, and canned stewed meat.

Leitel looked at the things on the table and said to Rokossovsky with a smile: "Comrade Rokossovsky, we think you must be hungry, eat something at the bottom of the bed first, and then we will talk when we are full." ”

Rokossovsky had simply eaten something when he set out in the morning, and he was already so hungry that his chest was pressed against his back, and when he saw the food in front of him, he thanked Leitel and began to eat.

Reitel took a sip of tea from the teacup in front of him, and then said: "Comrade Rokossovsky, after we and the Voronezh Front successfully repelled the enemy in this area, a gap of several tens of kilometers wide appeared between the units of the two Fronts, which was tantamount to exposing our weakest flank to the enemy. Now, as soon as your troops come, our three fronts will be able to connect the fronts, and our flanks will be safe. ”

Rokossovsky, who was eating, did not speak, but just nodded, agreeing with Leitel's statement. Leitel continued: "Comrade Rokossovsky, it can be seen that Comrade Stalin has great trust, otherwise he would not have entrusted such an important task to the troops under your command. ”

Rokossovsky was shocked when he heard Lejter's words, and his left hand unconsciously pressed on the left pocket of his military coat. In this pocket, there was a Browning pistol captured from Marshal Paulus. The reason why he always carried this pistol with him was because he could not forget that he had been arrested in the Great Purge, where he had his ribs broken and his front teeth knocked out during the torture, and that he had prepared to commit suicide when he was arrested by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Although Rokossovsky now has the memories of later generations, he knows that in the coming years, he will be smooth sailing. But I don't know how, when he saw Paulus's pistol, he still kept it by his side, and he stayed with him at any time.

Seeing that Rokossovsky did not speak, Leutel thought that he was thinking about something important, and after waiting for a while, he continued to ask: "General Rokossovsky, I wonder what you plan next?" ”

Rokossovsky looked at Leitel and said: "According to the order of the base camp, our troops will launch an offensive on February 15 in the Yelets area, against the German troops in front. ”

"It's great." As for the upcoming offensive in the Yerets region, Itel obviously did not know the specific plan, and when he heard Rokossovsky's troops say this, he immediately said excitedly: "Our army has been ordered to switch to the offensive from February 12, and then the security of the left flank of our army will be entrusted to you." By the way, when will your troops be able to enter the designated positions? ”

Rokossovsky moved aside the plate on the table, revealing the map below, pointed to the Yerets region and said: "General Leitel, due to the terrible situation of our transports, so far only one or two divisions of troops have entered the designated positions, and the rest of the troops are either still in the Stalingrad region or on their way here. But rest assured, I will immediately order the troops that have arrived at the appointed position to cover your left flank. ”

Hearing that only one or two divisions had entered the assigned position, Leitel had a look of disappointment on his face. He said with some displeasure: "General Rokossovsky, our offensive is still a week away, but your troops are still on the way. I fear that in the event of an offensive, the enemy will enter the junction of our two fronts through the gap that our troops have not yet had time to close, and cut us off from each other. ”

Rokossovsky did not expect Leitel to be so pessimistic about the current situation, and hurriedly arranged for him to say: "I have left my deputy in Stalingrad and asked him, with the cooperation of the local railway department, to speed up the transportation of troops." General Leitel, I think we should study the matter of joint operations between the two fronts! ”

In the following hours, the two sides held consultations on the coordination of the two armies. In the end, the two sides finally reached a consensus, and the details of their cooperation were recorded in writing, as well as Rokossovsky's assurances that the left flank of the Front troops would not be attacked from the German side during the advance of General Leitel's troops.

In the evening, one of the communications staff officers who accompanied him came to report to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, I have just received a telegram from the command of the Front that the new command has been established in the Yelets region. ”

"What about the Chief of Staff?" Rokossovsky turned his head to look at the staff officer who came to report and asked: "Where is General Malinin?" ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff has arrived at the new command." The communications staff officer respectfully reported: "He is waiting there for you and Comrade Military Commissar." ”

After listening to the staff officer's report, Rokossovsky stood up and said to Leitel with apologies: "General Leitel, I'm sorry, my new command has been established in the Yelets region, and I need to return to the command headquarters immediately to command the troops, so I will leave you first." ”

Returning to the new command in the Yerets region, as soon as Rokossovsky entered the door, he asked Malinin, who was looking at maps and telegrams: "Chief of Staff, how is the situation?" ”

"Comrade commander, the situation is bad." Malinin put the telegram in his hand on the map and said with a sad face: "According to the scouts' report, the situation in the area where our front troops are about to fight is even worse than we imagined. ”

"Tell me," Rokossovsky frowned, "how bad is it?" ”

"Comrade commander," Ma Linin reported, "since the area where we are massing our troops has just been liberated from the enemy, there are no conditions for accommodating large groups of troops, combat equipment and materiel. If we are to fight here, then the construction of positions, roads, organization of logistics, etc., can only be carried out in parallel with the preparations for our offensive. ”

Malinin's report made Rokossovsky realize that the current situation was indeed worse than imagined, and after he nodded, he continued to ask: "What about the situation of railway transportation?" ”

"Comrade Commander, please look here." Pointing to the map spread out on the table, Malinin said: "There is only one branch of the Kastornoye-Kursk railway, a very short section of the Livny-Malmezh railway along the front. And the trains on this branch line can only reach Higra station. In other words, it was impossible to transport our troops directly to their destination by train, and our tactics had to brave the bitter cold and walk on foot in thick snow in many sections. ”

Rokossovsky's eyebrows twisted into a pimple, and he asked with a serious expression: "Chief of Staff, how can this be?" ”

Ma Linin shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly: "Comrade commander, the continuous snowstorms have buried the road, and now there is thick snow everywhere outside. The section of the road from Zolo Tukhino to Budanovka is covered with snow and cars can only drive on the railway embankment. ”

After learning about the specific situation in the combat area, Rokossovsky walked back and forth in the house with his hands behind his back, thinking about how the troops could quickly enter the designated offensive position in such a harsh environment.

After walking back and forth in the house for more than ten minutes, Rokossovsky stopped, looked out of the dark window, and the snow falling on the window, and suddenly remembered in his mind that the Chinese army with an iron will, they had been intercepted in front and pursued in the rear, and they had successfully completed the strategic transfer after a long journey of 25,000 miles without food and clothing. Even if the troops of the Soviet army cannot be compared with the army of China and cannot complete the 25,000-mile Long March, then it is still possible to let them march hundreds of kilometers on foot, right?

Thinking of this, Rokossovsky turned to Malinin and said: "Chief of Staff, send a report to several army commanders and tell them that due to the current lack of sufficient wagons, trucks and wagons to transport troops, most of the infantry divisions will switch to the method of marching on foot to the Yerets area. ”

"What, on foot?" Rokossovsky's words startled Malinin, and he hurriedly persuaded: "Comrade commander, in such bad weather, let our troops advance on foot, I am afraid that because of the bad weather, a large number of non-combat attrition will be caused?" ”

"This is the only way to get the troops into the designated positions within the allotted time." Rokossovsky hardened his heart and said: "In this case, the fighters can only march with machine guns, anti-tank guns and even mortars on their shoulders." As for artillery and tanks, it is possible to remain in place and wait for rail transport. ”

"On foot marches, even if the soldiers can carry weapons with them, the amount of ammunition will be very limited." Malinin continued to talk about his worries: "Such a lightly armed unit, even if it enters the designated position, is simply not capable of launching an attack on the defensive positions of the German army. ”

Although Rokossovsky understood in his heart that what Malinin was talking about, if he did not do this, most of the troops would not be able to enter the designated position at all within the time limit set by Stalin, so he ordered with a strong attitude: "Chief of staff, this is an order, carry it out immediately!" ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say these words in such a strong tone, Malinin knew that this order could not be changed, and hurriedly lay down on the table to draw up an order according to Rokossovsky's intentions, turned around and handed it to the communications staff officer who was waiting on the side, and asked him to immediately send it to the headquarters of the various army groups.

After handing over the telegram to the communications staff officer, Malinin said to Rokossovsky with a bitter face: "Comrade commander, at present, our logistics units and bases are too far away from the assembly areas of the troops, which greatly increases the difficulties in the support work of the combat troops. Moreover, the soldiers would be extremely tired after a long journey along the snowy road, and in addition to not getting enough rest, I feared that the combat effectiveness of the troops would be greatly reduced. ”

"I understand, Comrade Chief of Staff." Rokossovsky said unexpectedly: "I know in my heart all the difficulties we are facing at the moment. But no, Comrade Chief of Staff, if we do not take some extraordinary measures, how can we allow the troops to enter the designated area at the specified time and launch an attack on the enemy at the specified time? ”

The two were discussing the situation facing the troops when the high-frequency phone on the desk rang. Ma Linin was close and answered the phone casually. After listening for a moment, he handed the microphone to Rokossovsky and said: "It was Comrade Chief of the General Staff who came to you!" ”

Rokossovsky spoke enthusiastically into the microphone: "Hello, Comrade Chief of the General Staff, do you have any instructions?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Rokossovsky." Vasilevsky asked on the phone: "Now that there are nine days left before you start your offensive, I would like to ask, how many of your troops have now entered the designated positions?" ”

"Comrade Chief of the General Staff, due to bad weather, as well as difficulties with transportation, we currently have only one or two divisions of troops in the assigned positions." In response to Vasilevsky's question, Rokossovsky replied with some humility: "The remaining troops will be able to enter the designated area one after another in about two days at the earliest. ”

"Too slow, Comrade Rokossovsky." After hearing this, Vasilevsky said with some dissatisfaction: "Your movements are too slow. At this pace of your march, it would not have been possible to launch a full-scale attack on the enemy on the 15th of February. I am here to remind you that Comrade Stalin is very optimistic about you, and you must not let him down. ”

"Comrade Chief of the General Staff, due to bad weather, as well as difficulties with transportation, we currently have only one or two divisions of troops in the assigned positions." In response to Vasilevsky's question, Rokossovsky replied with some humility: "The remaining troops will be able to enter the designated area one after another in about two days at the earliest. ”

"Too slow, Comrade Rokossovsky." After hearing this, Vasilevsky said with some dissatisfaction: "Your movements are too slow. At this pace of your march, it would not have been possible to launch a full-scale attack on the enemy on the 15th of February. I am here to remind you that Comrade Stalin is very optimistic about you, and you must not let him down. ”