When Vashukin and Maslov returned from the telecommunications room, the five of them held an impromptu military meeting in Rokossovsky's office.

The first to speak was Vashukin, the highest-ranking officer, who said with a look of dismay: "Comrade commanders, I have contacted the commander who has just arrived in Ternopil. He said that we had received such orders several times in the last two months, but in the end they were all gone. The order received this time may still be a false alarm. At this point, he turned his head to look at Rokossovsky, "The commander asked me to tell you that you are not allowed to act rashly without receiving orders from your superiors. ”

Kamenev immediately chimed in: "That's right, Comrade Military Commissar, now the situation is clear that the reason why Moscow gave orders to the military districts to enter combat readiness was to prevent possible provocations by the German army. But will they dare to attack us? You must know that we have hundreds of thousands of troops on the territory of Ukraine, and the offensive launched by the German army is bound to be crushed by us. ”

When Rokossovsky heard this, he couldn't help but sigh and said in his heart that before the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet propaganda machine was always constantly propagating the strength of the Red Army and that any aggression against the Soviet Union would be easily repulsed. Because the strength of the Soviet army was overestimated, the troops did not enter a state of combat readiness at the beginning of the war, and even when attacked, many troops had to ask the top for permission before counterattacking, and as a result, precious time was wasted and many advantageous fighters were delayed.

Coupled with the fact that the German offensive took place on Sunday, which happened to be a day of rest, most of the Soviet units remained in peacetime, and the deployment of troops was rather scattered and did not have any combat readiness. The troops are often unable to communicate with each other, and there is also a lack of means of transportation to quickly deliver the assembled troops to the battlefield, making it difficult to form an effective combat force in resistance.

Maslov hung his head and said: "Regardless of whether the Germans will really provoke us, I think it is absolutely necessary to prepare the troops for battle." Moreover, we are conducting combat readiness exercises, and it is convenient for the troops to enter the first level of combat readiness. ”

Putukhin waited for Maslov to finish speaking, slapped the table with his hand and said: "The higher authorities ordered us to transfer the planes of the military district located at the forward airfield to the field airfield and hide it. Does this command need to be executed? If the planes are not transferred, it doesn't matter if the Germans don't do anything, and if they launch an air strike, all the fighters we park at the airport will be reimbursed, and you must know that there are many modern fighters in them that are newly equipped troops. ”

Vashukin glanced at him and said: "Comrade Putukhin, don't take the topic away, what we are going to discuss now is how to deal with this order from Moscow. ”

Kamenev spoke again and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, does this need to be said? Of course, we should do what the leadership of the military district wants, and do not take any action for the time being, so as not to provoke the Germans and make them find a reason to provoke us. ”

Hearing Kamenev's irresponsible words, Rokossovsky said angrily: "Comrade Political Deputy Commander, I would like to draw your attention to one point: according to the regulations, the commander should be ready to carry out combat missions in any case. Now that all signs are pointing to a large-scale German offensive against us, we must do something about what might happen. ”

An imperceptible smile appeared on Maslov's face: "I think Comrade Commander is right, since our troops are conducting exercises and carrying out combat mobilization among them, there is no need to worry about causing panic among the residents of the city. ”

If Vashugin had heard Maslov say this a few hours ago, he might have scolded him. But what happened today put him in a dilemma, he didn't know that he should listen to the commander of the military district, and ignored the orders issued by Moscow; Or should Rokossovsky be trusted and prepare the grassroots troops for battle.

Rokossovsky, perceiving Vashukin's ambivalence, hurriedly struck while the iron was hot and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, if you can't get noticed, we'll wait." ”

"Wait, wait for what?" Vashukin asked with a blank expression.

"If the Germans had gone on the offensive, they would have behaved unusually." Rokossovsky confidently said: "As soon as this situation arises later, it will prove that their attack on us is about to begin." ”

Rokossovsky's words aroused great interest in Vashukin, who curiously asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, may I ask what kind of abnormal manifestations there are?" ”

"Quite simply, before the attack, there will be a strange, unusually calm on that side of the border." Rokossovsky, fearing that Vashukin, a military layman, would not understand, and specifically explained to him: "The enemy ceases all activities and communications and maintains sufficient silence for some time before the signal for the offensive is given. If this happens, it means that the enemy's offensive against us is about to begin. ”

"Is that really the case?" When Vashukin heard Rokossovsky say this, it was still a little unimaginable, and he turned his head and asked Putukhin beside him: "Comrade General, did you say that such a situation would occur?" ”

Rokossovsky saw that Putukhin nodded at Vashukin and agreed with his statement, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, deliberately pretending to be sorry, and said: "It's a pity that I can't contact the troops on the border, otherwise I would have learned from them about the enemy's every move in time." ”

"I'll take care of that." After speaking, Vashukin grabbed the confidential phone on his desk, dialed a number, reported his name and position, and then ordered the other party: "Immediately connect me to the Peremyshli Border Guard Corps and find Lieutenant Colonel Tarukin." ”

As soon as the phone was connected, after Vashukin finished talking about his identity, he couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how is the situation there, and is there any movement from the Germans on the other side?" ”

Lieutenant Colonel Tarukin heard Vashukin's question and immediately replied: "It is calm at the moment!" Now not only is the roar of the tank engine inaudible, but nothing can be heard. Even the radio watchman, who had intercepted the German radiophone, had just reported to me that he had heard no sound, as if all the people on the other side of the border had died. ”

"I see, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Vashukin raised his hand and looked at his watch, then said: "It's one o'clock in the morning, I'll call you again in half an hour." ”

Vashukin hung up the phone with a blushing face, looked up and said to Rokossovsky: "At the moment there is silence on the other side of the border, and no sound can be heard, as if all the Germans on the other side have disappeared at the same time. ”

"Comrade Military Commissar," said Putukhin, with a serious expression, "if Rokossovsky is right, then the Germans will attack us in a few hours." We should immediately report this to the commanders and chiefs of staff so that they give the troops the order to enter combat readiness. ”

"Okay, I'll try." Vashukin picked up the phone on the desk again and dialed the military district command in Ternopil. When Pulkaev's voice came out of the earpiece, Vashukin said in a serious tone: "Hello, Maxim Alekseevich, according to all the current indications, the Germans may attack us in a few hours or even less. I hope that you and Comrade Commander will immediately issue an order to the troops, to prepare all the troops for combat and to bring the first echelon into defensive positions close to the state border. ”

"Comrade Military Commissar, what's wrong with you, are you sleepy?" Pulkaev said unkindly: "This order issued by Moscow, perhaps, like those previously received, will not be carried out." Therefore, we should not casually give such orders to the troops at such times that may cause panic. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff......" Hearing Pulkaev say this, Vashukin tried to refute. But as soon as he spoke, he was interrupted by the other party: "Okay, Comrade Military Commissar, let's talk about this matter after you return to Ternopil." Get some more sleep while it's still early. ”

When Vashukin held the microphone with a blind voice and trembled with anger, Rokossovsky wasted no time in asking: "Comrade Military Commissar, what should we do now?" ”

After Vashukin put down the phone, he took two deep breaths, and after his emotions calmed down a little, he looked at Rokossovsky and asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, let me ask you, if I give you the right to command the troops, how do you plan to deploy it?" ”

"Immediately raise the battle alert to the troops, arm the fighters and immediately move to the combat area!" Rokossovsky articulated his plans clearly, adding: "It is not enough for us to have one army, I feel the need to mobilize Fedyuninsky's 15th Infantry Corps as well." ”

"Comrade commander, but the number of cars in the troops is limited, and there is no fuel and no ammunition." Maslov said with a sad face: "The army has just been equipped with a batch of advanced artillery, but there is no ammunition to match. ”

Hearing Maslov's complaints, Putukhin also asked worriedly: "Yes, Comrade Rokossovsky, without ammunition, your troops will not be able to fight even if they reach the front line?" ”

"Don't worry about ammunition or cars." Rokossovsky said lightly: "Outside the city there are warehouses under the direct jurisdiction of the State Defense Committee, from where we can replenish the ammunition and cars we need. In addition, the military representatives at the bus station, on my orders, also detained a batch of buses to transport our troops. ”

"Not bad, Comrade Rokossovsky, you are very thoughtful." A rare smile appeared on Vashukin's face, and he said approvingly: "With enough cars, your troops will be able to reach Cowell in the morning and start a counterattack against the German invading troops." ”

"Comrade Military Commissar, I think this matter should be cautious." Kamenev jumped out at an inopportune time to persuade Vashukin: "Whether the Germans will attack us or not is just our speculation, if we hastily send out troops, once the superiors hold us accountable, we will all be sent to a military court." ”