In the days that followed, the changes in the situation of the enemy and the enemy on the battlefield proved the correctness of Rokossovsky's decision to suspend the offensive and switch to the defense on the spot.

Both the Southwestern Front under the command of Vatutin and the Voronezh Front under the command of Golikov were defeated by Army Group South under the command of German Field Marshal Manstein in the Kharkiv region after nearly a month of fierce fighting with superior strength and equipment.

At the same time that Field Marshal Manstein was awarded the Knight's Cross like a leaf for this victory, the Soviet army underwent a large-scale personnel adjustment. Colonel-General Golikov, who had lost the battle, was relieved of his post as commander of the Voronezh Front by Stalin and replaced by Vatutin, who had also lost the battle.

Golikov, who was removed from his post due to unfavorable operations, was not brought to a military tribunal because he had the confidence of Stalin. The general, who had served as head of the intelligence department of the Red Army, was appointed deputy People's Commissar of Defense for cadre work shortly after his return to Moscow.

In view of the fact that the situation on the battlefield was obviously unfavorable to the Soviet army, Stalin, after repeated studies with Zhukov and Vasilevsky, decisively made a decision that it was not appropriate to continue the offensive in the direction of Orel.

When Rokossovsky received a notice from Vasilevsky that he would not continue the attack on Oryol, but would transfer his troops to the defense on the spot, and the defensive areas were Gorokishe, Lesser Arkhangelsk, Trosna, Lyudezh, Kolenevo.

After Rokossovsky put down the phone, he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief, he called Trubnikov and Malinin in front of him, and said to the two: "The base camp has made a decision to stop the offensive in the direction of Orel and let our army go on the defensive. ”

"Great, that's great." When Malinin heard Rokossovsky say this, he was overjoyed: "In this way, we will have enough time to gather troops and stockpile supplies, and prepare for another full-scale attack on the enemy in the Orel region at the right time." ”

"Comrade Commander," Trubnikov asked with an expressionless face, "our 21st Army has been transferred from above, the strength of the front troops has been weakened, and I wonder when we will be able to replenish new troops?" ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander," Rokossovsky said to him with a smile after listening to Trubnikov's concerns: "Your concerns, the base camp has also taken into account, they are ready to replenish the 48th Army of General Romanenko to us." At the same time, we will also receive the 13th Army of Puzhenv and the sectors it occupies, the Voronezh Front's 60th Army of Chernyakhovsky and the sectors it occupies. ”

Malinin's eyes were fixed on the map, and as soon as Rokossovsky finished speaking, he couldn't help but say to himself: "Although the higher authorities have supplemented us with three army groups, the area we have to defend is much larger than before. ”

"That's right, the superiors have replenished our troops, and at the same time we have greatly increased the number of areas we have defended." Rokossovsky nodded and said: "After General Romanenko's 48th Army arrives at the designated position, we must adjust our defensive deployment as soon as possible and prepare to meet the possible attack of the German army." ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Trubnikov grinned wryly and said: "Not so long ago, it was we who attacked the German defense; Unexpectedly, in just a few days, everything was turned upside down. ”

Instead of agreeing with Trubnikov, Malinin went on to ask: "Comrade commander, from what direction do you think the Germans will attack us?" ”

"The Voronezh Front and the Southwestern Front, which are on our left side, are now on the defensive and are no longer able to attack the Germans." Rokossovsky pointed to the map and expressed his "judgment" to his two subordinates: "The German Army Group South, which has established itself in the Kharkiv region, will attack us from the Belgorod region in the south; At the same time, the German Army Group Center will carry out a surprise attack on our troops from the direction of Orel in order to achieve the goal of encircling and annihilating our troops in the Kursk region. ”

Rokossovsky's "judgments" are all from the memories of his later generations, and their accuracy is beyond doubt. After hearing this, Trubnikov and Malinin both nodded in agreement.

Malinin even said: "Comrade commander, if this is really the case, then we must put the main defense forces in these two directions." ”

"The Germans are cunning," Trubnikov also expressed his opinion: "They are trying to replicate the Battle of Kiev and annihilate our Central Front, Southwestern Front, and Voronezh Front in the Kursk region." But they forgot that it was not 1941 and that this conspiracy of theirs could not succeed. ”

"We must establish defensive positions in these two main defensive directions that the enemy cannot penetrate." Rokossovsky looked up at Malinin and said: "In our defense area, we must do a good job in the depth and echelon configuration. ”

Seeing that Malinen was recording his orders, he also deliberately added: "Remember, these defensive configurations must first be able to block the German tanks." The reason why our army lost in the battle was entirely because the fortifications could not hold back the enemy's tanks, and after the troops were routed by the German tanks, they were surrounded and annihilated by the German infantry that followed up. Therefore, the success or failure of the anti-tank army is the key to our army's resistance to the German offensive, and the anti-tank operation must not lead to a major rout of the troops. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Ma Linin nodded and said with a serious expression: "I will convey your meaning to the commanders of the various group armies." ”

As Rokossovsky "analyzed", the Germans simultaneously launched attacks from the north of Orel and Belgorod to the south, attacking the Central Front and the Voronezh Front, which were located in the middle of them, in an attempt to wipe out Rokossovsky's and Vatutin's troops in this area. But since Rokossovsky had long been on the defensive, the Germans stopped this futile attempt after a week of continuous attack.

Although the German offensive was unsuccessful, they held two important salients in the area firmly under their control. One is the salient east and southeast of Orel, and the other is the salient east and northeast of Kharkov. Rokossovsky's and Vatutin's troops were held between the two German salients, 200 kilometers west of the Kursk arc.

In early April, as soon as the front of the two sides stabilized, Rokossovsky received a call from Moscow. Stalin smiled on the phone and asked: "Hello, Konstantin Konstantinovich, how is your situation there, did the Germans trouble you?" ”

"Hello, Comrade Stalin." Hearing that it was Stalin's voice, Rokossovsky quickly got up from his seat, straightened up and replied: "The German army has not taken any hostile actions since the sneak attack launched two days ago was repulsed by our troops, and the entire front has now calmed down. ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's report, Stalin only gave a soft "um", and then continued: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I now officially inform you that in order to understand the real situation on the battlefield and the needs of your troops, I will send the Minister of Logistics Khrulev and the Deputy General Staff Antonov to you. ”

"I don't know what kind of transport they will take and when they will arrive?" Hearing that representatives of the base camp were coming to inspect it, Rokossovsky asked specifically for safety reasons: "I can send someone to meet them!" ”

"They will go to your headquarters by plane, escorted by a squadron of fighters, and there will be no danger along the way." Stalin, after taking a puff of his cigarette, said the time of the arrival of the representatives of the base camp: "About ten o'clock in the morning, it will be there for you." ”

Rokossovsky originally thought that there were only two people, Khrulev and Antonov, but when the representative of the base camp entered the headquarters, he found that he was accompanied by a general with an ordinary appearance and medium build.

After shaking hands with Rokossovsky, Khrulev pointed to the strange lieutenant general beside him and said: "Comrade Rokossovsky, let me introduce you, this first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus and chief of staff of the Central Command of the guerrilla movement, Lieutenant General Ponomarenko. Not so long ago, he was personally appointed by Comrade Stalin as the military commissar of your front. ”

After hearing the news, Lieutenant General Ponomarenko served as his own military commissar, and after hearing the news, Rokossovsky paused for a moment, then turned his head to look at Terekin on the side, and asked with some surprise: "What about Comrade Terekin?" Will I remain in the troops, or will I go back to Moscow with you when you return? ”

"You misunderstood," Antonov heard Rokossovsky say this, and hurriedly stepped forward to hold his hand, comforting him: "The Supreme Commander himself thinks that you should strengthen the leadership, so he sent General Ponomarenko with the words Terekin work. ”

Knowing that the other side was only here to strengthen the leadership of the troops, and not to replace Terekin, Rokossovsky hung the stone in his heart and fell to the ground. He stretched out his hand to Ponomarenko and said in a friendly voice: "Welcome, Comrade Ponomarenko, welcome to become a member of our Central Front Command. As for the question of who is higher and lower in the positions of the two military commissars, he is not asking, because Ponomarenko is a lieutenant general, and Terekin is only a major general, and it must be a leader with a high rank and a low rank.

Terekin didn't care that the other party's military rank was higher than his own, and he still stretched out his hand to the other party with a smile on his face: "Hello, General Ponomarenko, welcome to the Central Front." ”

After a brief pleasantries, a group of people sat down around the conference table in the middle of the headquarters. The first to speak was Khrulev, head of the logistics department of the Red Army: "Comrades of the Central Front, we are here today to gain an in-depth understanding of the issues related to the situation of your Front, so I hope that you will know everything and say everything. ”

As soon as Khrulev's words fell, Deputy Commander Trubnikov stood up and said politely: "Can you say two words?" After seeing Khrulev nod his head in approval, he began to speak in a steady stream: "...... The roads are already in terrible condition, and now it's the spring snow season, which makes our transportation situation even worse...... A lot of logistics departments have not yet reached the deployment area of the troops, which makes it difficult for us to replenish......"

After patiently listening to Trubnikov's speech, Antonov said politely: "We have just listened to some of General Trubnikov's views on logistics, and next, we are going to talk about how you plan to organize your troops for defense in the Kursk salient?" ”

Hearing Antonov's question, whether it was Trubnikov, Malinin or Terekin, they were silent, and invariably turned their eyes to Rokossovsky.

"Comrade Deputy Chief of the General Staff," Rokossovsky, seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on himself, knew that only he could answer this question. So he coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and then said: "I think that the area where the Germans are most likely to launch a decisive attack is the Kursk arc. Having failed to achieve their objectives in the winter and spring offensives, they will strive to accomplish the goal of destroying our troops in the arc in the summer operations. ”

In response to Rokossovsky's statement, Antonov asked noncommittally: "Comrade Rokossovsky, how do you think that the focus of the German army's next offensive will be the Kursk arc, rather than a direct attack on Moscow?" ”

After listening to Antonov's question, Rokossovsky secretly wondered in his heart that the question raised by the deputy chief of the General Staff may also be what Stalin was worried about.

"Comrade Deputy Chief of the General Staff," Rokossovsky, seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on himself, knew that only he could answer this question. So he coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and then said: "I think that the area where the Germans are most likely to launch a decisive attack is the Kursk arc. Having failed to achieve their objectives in the winter and spring offensives, they will strive to accomplish the goal of destroying our troops in the arc in the summer operations. ”

In response to Rokossovsky's statement, Antonov asked noncommittally: "Comrade Rokossovsky, how do you think that the focus of the German army's next offensive will be the Kursk arc, rather than a direct attack on Moscow?" ”

After listening to Antonov's question, Rokossovsky secretly wondered in his heart that the question raised by the deputy chief of the General Staff may also be what Stalin was worried about.