In the face of such a rapid Soviet offensive, the Germans also realized the seriousness of the problem, and in order to keep Konotop, the German commander transferred all his reserves to this area.

The movement of the German troops was discovered by Soviet reconnaissance planes at the first time. After receiving this information, Rokossovsky made a special call to Chernyakhovsky, and after giving a brief account of the movement of German troops, he asked with a smile: "How is it, Comrade Chernyashovsky, are you confident of breaking through the strong defenses of the German army in the Konotop direction?" ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Chernyakhovsky said confidently: "No matter how many troops they transfer to the Konotop area, the commanders and fighters of our army, whose morale is high, can completely defeat them." ”

"Looks like you're confident, General Chernyakhovsky." Rokossovsky knew that what Cherniakhovsky said was true, and the troops of the 60th Army were currently progressing well, and even if the Germans moved troops to strengthen the defense in the Konotop direction, they would not be able to stop their continued advance. However, he was worried that Chernyakhovsky would underestimate the enemy, and specially reminded him: "The Germans are not willing to lose, so no matter what advantage you are in, you must not take it lightly and blindly underestimate the enemy." Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Chernyakhovsky said sincerely: "Even if the Germans are in a desperate situation, our troops will definitely not underestimate the enemy. ”

"That's great." In response to Chernyakhovsky's reply, Rokossovsky nodded with satisfaction and said happily: "Then I will wait for your good news in the command." ”

There were several other chiefs of the Front sitting at the table, and as soon as Rokossovsky put down the phone, Ponomarenko said with a guilty face: "Comrade commander, I apologize to you for my words a few days ago. ”

When Rokossovsky heard him say this, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, but soon remembered that when he first shifted the direction of his main attack to the side of the 60th Army, Ponomarenko was the only one who opposed him. However, time passed, and the other party also realized his mistake, and he did not intend to delve into this matter at all, so he waved his hand and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, it is normal to have a little dispute in work, so as to avoid the commander from making mistakes in making decisions. ”、

Although Ponomarenko has always been at odds with Rokossovsky, at this moment he finally realized why everyone supported Rokossovsky, because this commander had real information, so he said sincerely: "Last time you proposed to change the direction of the main attack, I was the only one who raised objections. At that time, I thought in my heart that everyone, including you, was wrong, and that you would suffer a big loss in the next battle. But as it turned out, I was wrong, and I was completely wrong. Comrade Commander, I apologize to you, and I ask you to accept my apology. ”

Rokossovsky hurriedly stood up, stretched out his hand to Ponomarenko, and said politely: "Actually, I have long forgotten what happened last time. Still, I accept your apology. The hands of the two were tightly clasped together, and all kinds of contradictions and misunderstandings in the past came to naught at this time.

After waiting for Rokossovsky to sit down again, Malinin said with a smile: "Comrade commander, the active actions of General Chernyakhovsky's troops have advantageously contained a large number of German troops, and the frontal pressure on General Batov has also been greatly reduced. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff is right." Deputy Commander Trubnikov continued: "Not only the 65th Army is advancing, but even the 48th Army on their right flank is smoothly advancing into the depth of the German defense. In a word, now the troops of the entire Central Front are advancing in great strides. ”

……

Stalin, in the reports of Vasilevsky and Zhukov, was particularly pleased to learn that the Central Front was progressing well. "Before the start of the offensive campaign, I always thought that the unit that had achieved the greatest results should be Vatutin's Voronezh Front, after all, they were greatly replenished in the Battle of Kursk. And for Rokossovsky? He shook his head and continued, "The troops of our Central Front suffered heavy losses in the early battles, and their combat effectiveness will inevitably be affected, so I am not optimistic about them. ”

He put his pipe in his mouth, re-lit the match and said: "But I didn't expect that Rokossovsky gave me a big surprise, and it was very remarkable that his troops actually entered the territory of Ukraine after only a few days of fighting." ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Vasilevsky waited for Stalin to finish speaking, and hurriedly added: "General Chernyakhovsky is a very good commander, and it is precisely because of his superb command art that the troops of the 60th Army can advance by leaps and bounds in the German defense line." ”

"Comrade Vasilevsky," Stalin said he should use a special way to reward the commander who had achieved great results, and asked Vasilevsky: "What is the rank of this Commander Chernyakhovsky now?" ”

Vasilevsky glanced at Zhukov and saw that the other party was just staring at the map in front of him with an expressionless face, so he continued: "Comrade Stalin, Chernyakhovsky is currently with the rank of lieutenant general. ”

"Grant him the rank of general." As soon as Stalin waited for Vasilevsky to finish speaking, he immediately said without hesitation: "When you go back later, you will draft the promotion order and give it to me to sign." ”

"Comrade Stalin, I'll see if the matter of the promotion of Chernyakhovsky will be put aside first." After Zhukov waited for Stalin to finish speaking, he straightened up and said: "Now Comrade Konev, the commander of the Steppe Front, is only with the rank of general, and he has been this rank since the beginning of the war. If we let a commander of an army group have the same rank as him, I fear that he will have some bad thoughts in his mind. ”

Regarding Zhukov's concerns, Stalin said unequivocally: "Comrade Zhukov, since you are worried that Konev will have any bad thoughts because of his low rank. Later, when Vasilevsky drafted the promotion order, Konev's name was also filled in, and he was officially promoted to the rank of general, in recognition of his heroic tenacity and superb command skills in the Battle of Kursk. ”

Hearing that Stalin was going to promote Konev to the rank of general, a smile appeared on Zhukov's face, and he quickly nodded and said: "Comrade Stalin, this is very good, I thank you on behalf of Konev." ”

After the order for promotion was signed by Stalin, Vasilevsky and Zhukov left Stalin's office and returned to the office of the Chief of the General Staff. Vasilevsky looked at Zhukov and asked: "Comrade Marshal, do you see that the order for promotion to the rank was announced by me, or by you?" ”

Zhukov said without hesitation: "The order for the promotion of General Chernyakhovsky will be announced by you; I was responsible for informing Konev of Konev's promotion order. After speaking, he walked up to a telephone that could make outside calls, picked up the microphone, dialed a number, and after hearing the operator's voice coming from the receiver, he said in a deep voice: "I'm Zhukov, give me the command of the Steppe Front, find General Konev." ”

Konev couldn't help but show a surprised expression on his face when he heard that the communication soldier who answered the phone said that Zhukov was looking for him, because since the troops entered the battle, the person who contacted him had always been Vasilevsky, why did he suddenly become Zhukov today, did something happen?

With a feeling of anxiety, Konev took the microphone in the hand of the communications soldier, put it close to his ear and said: "Hello, Comrade Marshal, I am Konev, what instructions do you have?" ”

"Instructions don't talk, but there's a good thing to tell you." Zhukov smiled and said: "Comrade Konev, allow me to congratulate you. ”

"Congratulations to me?" Konev asked confusedly: "Comrade Marshal, what is going on, you have confused me." ”

"Comrade Konev, a few minutes ago, Comrade Stalin personally signed the order for promotion, officially promoting you to the rank of general." Zhukov said sincerely: "I congratulate you again!" ”

"Really, Comrade Marshal?" After listening to Zhukov's words, Konev felt a big pie falling from the sky and smashed right on his head, he couldn't believe it was true, and instinctively asked: "Did the Supreme Commander himself really promote me to the rank of general?" ”

"Of course it's true." Seeing that Konev was a little incoherent because of his excitement, Zhukov did not reproach him, but continued: "Together with you, the commander of the 60th Army, Chernyakhovsky, was promoted to the rank of general because of his outstanding performance in the current offensive campaign. ”

Although Zhukov did not say a lot of things, Konev knew in his heart that he could get this promotion, and Zhukov couldn't help but play an irreplaceable role in it, and he couldn't help but say gratefully: "Thank you, thank you, Comrade Marshal." Please rest assured that my troops will achieve satisfactory results in the next offensive against the base camp. ”

Seeing that Konev understood his intentions, Zhukov nodded with satisfaction and said in a friendly manner: "Comrade Konev, I will personally report to Comrade Stalin the great results you have achieved. ”

……

In the ensuing battle, not only did the 60th Army go well, but even the 65th Army, which had been struggling in the early stage, bottomed out, not only increasing the speed of their attacks, but also overcoming the obstacles of the Bryansk and Snelysk Forests, and by September 5 they had advanced 125 kilometers to the west, capturing a large number of prisoners and capturing a large amount of booty, including artillery, tanks, guns and other military supplies.

At the same time, the 65th Army, located on the right flank of the 48th Army, with the cooperation of the Batov troops and the left flank of the Bryansk Front, also began to advance.

As the front advanced westward, the 65th and 48th armies were soon faced with the wide Desna River, which the Germans attempted to use to block the Soviet advance.

Rokossovsky, who was staying at the headquarters of the Front, after learning about the situation at the front, called the head of logistics, Antipinkko, and the chief of the engineering corps, to the front and asked: "Comrade two generals, our offensive troops are now blocked by the wide Desna River, I would like to ask about the readiness of the equipment for crossing the river?" ”

"Comrade Commander," said Anjipinkko first, who confidently said, "Our logistics department has prepared a large amount of equipment for crossing the river, and if we carry out a forced crossing, we will be able to cross 2,000 people at a time." ”

"With two thousand people at a time, you've done a good job of preparation." After complimenting Anti Pienko, Rokossovsky turned his gaze to the chief of the engineering troops: "What about you, General Proyakov. How long will it take for your engineering units to erect pontoon bridges over the river for tank traffic? ”

"Report to Comrade Commander," Proyakov said cautiously, "if our troops can establish a landing ground on the opposite bank, then my engineers can erect pontoon bridges for tanks and artillery in eight hours." ”

"What, it takes eight hours to erect a pontoon?" Rokossovsky was obviously not satisfied with Proyakov's reply, and he asked with a frown: "If you increase the number of people, how much time can you advance?" ”

After thinking for a moment, Proyakov replied: "Comrade commander, if you can add us an engineer battalion, we can reduce the time for building the bridge to six hours." After saying this, he saw that Rokossovsky was still frowning, and hurriedly added, "This is already the limit, and it is absolutely impossible to speed it up again." ”

Rokossovsky thought about it calmly, and felt that Proyakov was definitely an expert in building bridges and paving roads, and had more say than himself, so he nodded and said to the two: "It seems that both of you are almost ready, then send troops and materials to the river as soon as possible, so that our troops can start the operation of forcibly crossing the Desna River as soon as possible." ”

"Comrade Commander," Rokossovsky had just finished explaining his task to the two generals, and Malinin came over, handed the telegram in his hand to Rokossovsky, and said: "This is a telegram from the commander of the 13th Army, General Pukhov, whose troops have just arrived at the Desna River half an hour ago. ”

Rokossovsky waved the two generals away, then looked down and carefully read the telegram he had just received. After reading it, he walked to the wall without saying a word and looked up at the map on the wall. After looking at it for a while, he turned to Malinin, who was standing aside, and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, now we have troops of three armies on the east bank of the Desna River. If the river-crossing operation is launched at the same time, first, there will not be so much equipment for crossing the river, and second, the formation will be dense, which will easily cause unnecessary casualties. ”

Malinin understood Rokossovsky's character and knew that he must have other plans when he said this, so he hurriedly asked him for instructions: "Comrade commander, then how do you plan to arrange the 13th Army?" ”

Rokossovsky picked up the stick, which was leaning against the wall, pointed to the map, and said: "Chief of Staff, immediately call back General Pukhov and ask his troops to attack along the eastern bank of the Desna River and cross the river south of Chernihiv in order to advance towards the Dnieper and force the crossing from the march." And the idea was to build a powerful landing ground in the Chernobyl zone on the west bank of the river, at the mouth of the Teterev River. ”