When Rokossovsky arrived in an armored car to the forest where the 60th Army was located, he saw that the personnel of the headquarters, under the command of the chief of staff, were busy setting up antennas, setting up tents, carrying communications equipment, and so on. I don't know who has sharp eyes, but when he saw Rokossovsky coming out of the armored car, he hurriedly shouted: "Comrade Comrade Commander of the Front Army is here!" ”

At his shout, everyone stopped what they were doing, straightened their backs and stood in place, saluting Rokossovsky, who was walking briskly.

The chief of staff hurriedly trotted in front of Rokossovsky, raised his hand and saluted, and reported: "Report Comrade Commander, members of the command of the 60th Army are creating a new command, please instruct!" ”

Rokossovsky raised his hand and returned the salute, and said casually: "Comrades, continue to work." After everyone resumed their work, he forced the anger in his heart and asked, "Chief of Staff, where is your commander?" ”

The chief of staff nodded at a shack a few dozen meters away and replied, "The general has been working too hard these days, and he is resting in that shack." ”

Rokossovsky nodded, and strode briskly towards the location of the shack, leaving the chief of staff standing still, looking at his back with a worried expression.

Coming to the shack, a sentry standing guard next to him hurriedly raised his hand to salute Rokossovsky, and at the same time said: "Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front. ”

Although Rokossovsky had already heard the snoring coming from inside, he habitually asked: "Is your commander inside?" ”

"Yes," replied the sentry with a quick nod, "he is resting." Need me to wake him up? ”

"No need." After Rokossovsky said this, he stood still, took out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket, and took one out and put it in his mouth. However, he groped all over his body, but could not find a match, and at that moment, a smoking lighter was handed to him.

He looked up from the hand holding the lighter, and saw that the Chernyakhovsky he was looking for was standing in front of him with a hippie smile. He lit a cigarette from the lighter, and then asked lightly: "Comrade General, have you woken up?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." After Chernyakhovsky finished speaking, he unceremoniously took out a cigarette case from Rokossovsky's pocket, took out a cigarette and lit it: "I know that you will definitely come back, so I sleep with one eye open." No, I was sleeping when I suddenly heard your footsteps, so I quickly got up. ”

"Tell me," Chernyakhovsky's teasing eased the tension, but Rokossovsky did not forget where he was here. He looked at the other party and said with a serious expression: "Why do you want to go against the orders of the front army command and adjust the direction of the attack without authorization?" ”

"Comrade commander," Chernyakhovsky replied, taking two puffs, throwing the unfinished cigarette butt on the ground, crushing it with his toes, "I have carefully observed that it is quite possible to expand the landing ground by moving the troops south along the Dnieper." ”

Chernyakhovsky said, glanced at the new command in the distance, and felt that it should be ready for use, so he made a gesture of invitation to Rokossovsky and said to him: "Comrade commander, let's go to the headquarters and talk." ”

The two walked into the headquarters that had just been set up, and saw that the map had been placed on the wooden table in the middle of the room. Pointing to the map, Chernyakhovsky said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, please see, to the west and north of ours, almost all of them are swamps and forests, and there are many rivers, which is not conducive to the deployment of mechanized troops, and it is very unfavorable to expand the landing field in this direction.

If you look at the south, along the Dnieper River to Kiev, there are open plains, which make great use of the rapid march of mechanized troops, so after much thought, I decided to order the troops to go south and take Kyiv directly. ”

"Nonsense, it's nonsense." As soon as Rokossovsky and Chernyakhovsky finished speaking, he said angrily: "You only see that the road to the south is flat, but you do not think that this terrain is beneficial to both the enemy and us. Not only can you attack, but the Germans can also constantly launch counterattacks. You have only one army group, and in the early battles, you were severely weakened. And the German army in Kyiv is strong, they can rely on the city and continuously throw all their forces into your counterattack. ”

"But, Comrade Commander," Chernyakhovsky stubbornly said, "this direction is very tempting for us, and as long as our tactics are properly applied, I should have absolutely no problem attacking Kyiv." ”

As soon as the phone in the headquarters was set up, the bell rang. Chernyakhovsky picked up the phone, spoke into the microphone and said: "I'm Chernyakhovsky, where are you?" …… Yes, Comrade Commander of the Front Army is with me, please wait a moment, I will let him answer the phone. ”

Chernyakhovsky handed the microphone to Rokossovsky and said to him: "It's Marshal Zhukov's phone. ”

Hearing what Cherniakhovsky said about Marshal Zhukov's phone call, Rokossovsky couldn't help but feel sorry for him, saying that he would actually change the direction of action and report it directly to the higher authorities. But fortunately, he was highly educated, so he didn't get angry on the spot, but took the microphone and put it in his ear and said, "Is it Marshal Zhukov?" I'm Rokossovsky, what are your instructions? ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky," Zhukov said slowly into the microphone, "I have just been ordered by Comrade Stalin to call General Chernyakhovsky and praise them for their great results in the battle to force the crossing of the Dnieper. I also asked him about his next plan of action, and he said that he intended to order his troops to move south along the Dnieper River and directly attack Kyiv. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief himself expressed satisfaction with this idea of his. ”

Hearing Zhukov say this, Rokossovsky realized that he was wrong to blame Chernyakhovsky, and it was not he who overstepped the level to report, but Zhukov took the initiative to call him, so that he understood his next battle plan. Thinking of this, Rokossovsky said into the microphone: "Comrade Marshal, I think that the plan to go south along the Dnieper River is very undesirable. Since the terrain here was favorable to both the enemy and us, it was easiest for the Germans to organize a counterattack in this direction. Moreover, it is also close to Kyiv, from which the enemy can throw all his forces into battle, and I fear that with the strength of the 60th Army, it will not be able to withstand the counterattack of the Germans. ”

Zhukov waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, and then was silent for a long time before he spoke: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I am calling you this to tell you that Comrade Stalin very much approves of this battle plan, and he believes that by doing so, he can liberate Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, from the hands of fascist Germany as soon as possible. ”

He deliberately accentuated the words "capital of Ukraine" in order to emphasize the importance of the matter. Rokossovsky is also a smart person, and when he heard Zhukov say this, he understood in his heart that from this moment on, in what direction the 60th Army would attack, it didn't matter what he said, it was all commanded by Stalin remotely.

He could only nod his head and said helplessly: "Okay, Comrade Marshal, since the Supreme Commander himself has spoken, then I will resolutely obey his orders. Let the troops of the 60th Army, moving south along the Dnieper, go to attack Kiev. ”

Hearing that Rokossovsky had agreed to let his troops go south to attack Kyiv directly, Chernyakhovsky's face showed a look of joy, and he turned his head to look at the officers who were still busy nearby, and found that everyone had a happy look on their faces, and it seemed that they had heard what Rokossovsky had said.

After Rokossovsky put down the phone, he said to Chernyakhovsky: "General Chernyakhovsky, I congratulate you, the Supreme Commander himself has agreed to your plan to go south along the Dnieper River to directly capture Kyiv. I wish you all the best of luck! After speaking, he shook hands with the other party, took a big stride, and left the headquarters without looking back.

……

Rokossovsky returned to his headquarters, and as soon as he entered the door, Malinin greeted him and said anxiously: "Comrade commander, you can come back, something is wrong!" ”

"Something is wrong?" Rokossovsky was taken aback by Malinin's words and nervously asked: "What's wrong?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Malinin said with a serious expression: "Not long after you left the headquarters, Marshal Zhukov called, and he said that he had something important to inform you. ……”

Before Malinin could finish speaking, Rokossovsky pointed at him and said: "Chief of staff, you don't need to say, Marshal Zhukov has already called me, and he said that the Supreme Commander himself has agreed to Chernyakhovsky's plan to let his troops go south along the Dnieper River to attack Kyiv. ”

"Comrade Commander," Hearing Rokossovsky's words, Malinin couldn't help but be a little anxious: "But according to our analysis, if the 60th Army really goes south along the Dnieper River, not only will it not be able to take Kiev, but it may be heavily damaged by the enemy's superior forces." ”

Rokossovsky let out a long sigh and said helplessly: "Chief of Staff, I think so too. But there is no way, this plan has been approved by the Supreme Commander himself, and none of us has the right to change his decision, so we can only carry it out according to this plan. You immediately call General Pukhov and ask him to set up the troops of the landing ground on the right bank of the Dnieper as early as possible, and immediately divide part of the forces and move closer to the landing ground of the 60th Army. ”

"Is it really that serious?" Ma Linin asked nervously: "Are you worried that the enemy will seize the landing ground established by the 60th Army?" ”

"It's entirely possible." Rokossovsky said with some confidence: "Once the landing ground established by the 60th Army is occupied by the Germans, then the troops going south are in danger of being encircled. I don't know how long they can stay in the enemy's encirclement without logistical supplies. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Malinin hurriedly continued: "I will immediately contact General Andipienko and ask them to give priority to supplying the 60th Army to ensure that they have sufficient reserves of ammunition and various supplies." ”

…………

Over the next week, the units of the 60th Army, as planned, carried out a swift assault in the direction of Kyiv. In the first two days, the progress of the troops was very smooth, and a total of 40 kilometers of advance were made.

However, the German army, which had been defeated, soon regained its strength and began to carry out a non-stop counterattack against the Soviet army. Chernyakhovsky, who was still optimistic about attacking Kyiv, finally realized the seriousness of the problem at this moment. The situation was moving in the direction of Rokossovsky's analysis, the Germans used Kiev's troops and began to carry out a non-stop offensive against them, and the territory occupied by the commanders and fighters of the 60th Army with sacrifices was lost little by little under the enemy's counterattack.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Chernyakhovsky could only call Rokossovsky for help: "Comrade commander, the situation is not good, the German army has concentrated superior forces and is carrying out a fierce counterattack in the area occupied by our army. Although our commanders and fighters fought stubbornly with the enemy, our defensive line moved back little by little to the north. I hope you will find a way to help us before we are driven down the river by the Germans. ”

"General Chernyakhovsky," although Rokossovsky was dissatisfied with Chernyakhovsky's assertions, when he saw that his troops were facing an unfavorable situation, he did not see death and did not save him, but took the initiative to say: "You must hold on, I will immediately send the air force to support you." ”

As soon as he finished the call with Chernyakhovsky, he called Rudenko and ordered: "General Rudenko, I order you to immediately send air forces to carry out intensive bombardment of the German troops on the right bank of the Dnieper River and assist Chernyakhovsky's troops in consolidating the defensive line. ”

"Comrade commander," Rudenko said with some embarrassment when he heard Rokossovsky's order: "Now that the defense lines of the enemy and us on the right bank are entangled together, our air force can easily bomb its own people if it carries out bombing. ”

"General Chernyakhovsky," although Rokossovsky was dissatisfied with Chernyakhovsky's assertions, when he saw that his troops were facing an unfavorable situation, he did not see death and did not save him, but took the initiative to say: "You must hold on, I will immediately send the air force to support you." ”

As soon as he finished the call with Chernyakhovsky, he called Rudenko and ordered: "General Rudenko, I order you to immediately send air forces to carry out intensive bombardment of the German troops on the right bank of the Dnieper River and assist Chernyakhovsky's troops in consolidating the defensive line. ”

"Comrade commander," Rudenko said with some embarrassment when he heard Rokossovsky's order: "Now that the defense lines of the enemy and us on the right bank are entangled together, our air force can easily bomb its own people if it carries out bombing. ”