After the funeral of Vatutin, two weeks later, the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts were merged, with the former commander of the 2nd Front, Marshal Konev, as commander. Zhukov, on the other hand, came to Belarus as a representative of the base camp to direct and prepare for the summer offensive that would soon be launched.

Rokossovsky, who was in his command, received Zhukov, and he asked with a smile: "Comrade Marshal, before the start of the summer offensive, on behalf of all the members of the command, I hope that you will stay here to guide the work. ”

"I want to stay here for a long time, but I can't, Comrade Rokossovsky." Zhukov waved his hand and said: "Since the base camp formed the Second Front of the Belorussian Front in mid-February, the Third Belorussian Front was formed last week. The base camp gave me the task of being responsible for the operational coordination of the three fronts' armies in the summer offensive. ”

Regarding the disbandment of the Second Belorussian Front shortly after its formation, but it was soon reconstituted on the basis of the Western Front, Rokossovsky was very concerned about the composition of the commander of this unit: "Comrade Marshal, the Second Belorussian Front is on our left flank, and the enemy there can always receive support from the Ukrainian enemy, so it is very important to have a good commander. ”

After listening to this, Zhukov looked at Rokossovsky in confusion and asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, what do you want to express, I didn't understand too much?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Marshal." Rokossovsky hurriedly explained: "The commander of the Second Front, it turned out to be General Kurochkin, who had fought with the enemy for a long time in this area, and the post of commander was more competent. And the new commander, General Petrov, nicknamed 'General of Defense', was able to organize troops for effective defense under the frantic attack of the German army. ”

Hearing this, Zhukov interrupted Rokossovsky and asked with some impatience: "Comrade Rokossovsky, what exactly do you want to express?" ”

"Our upcoming summer offensive is an offensive campaign, not a defensive one." Faced with Zhukov's question, Rokossovsky replied: "A general who is good at defense is not necessarily good at attacking. Personally, I think that General Petrov is perhaps not suitable for this position. ”

"The appointment of Petrov as commander of the Second Front was a decision of the Supreme High Command." Zhukov said to Rokossovsky with some dissatisfaction: "You can't think that he is not suitable for the post based on personal preference. You must know that the appointment of a commander by a higher authority is due to careful consideration of his overall quality, and it is absolutely not a whim who can appoint a commander in an important position. Do you understand? ”

Perhaps thinking that this topic was too heavy, Zhukov took the initiative to change the topic after a pause: "Now that there are only more than two months left before the start of the summer campaign, how is your replenishment of troops going?" ”

"Since April 20, we have been supplemented by our superiors one after another." Rokossovsky replied: "However, the various additions are slow and in small quantities, so we can only solve these problems on our own." ”

Zhukov got up from his seat and said to Rokossovsky in a commanding tone: "Take me to see." ”

Rokossovsky took Zhukov and Terekin to the location of the reserve of the Front, and after the car stopped near a forest, Rokossovsky took the initiative to introduce Zhukov: "Comrade Marshal, stationed here is the 304th Infantry Division, which has not received the necessary replenishment since they were disabled by the Germans in the Kalinkovich area. ”

The three of them walked along the forest path that had been trodden out by the warriors towards the forest. Along the way, you can see soldiers in twos and threes, holding their weapons and sitting under the trees to chat, drink tea, and eat.

After walking some distance, Zhukov stopped, carefully looked at the fighters around him, and then asked Rokossovsky with a displeased face: "Comrade Rokossovsky, if I am not mistaken, these fighters in new uniforms are either too young or too old, where did you find such recruits?" ”

When Rokossovsky heard Zhukov's question, he said with a sad face: "Comrade Marshal, from December last year to the end of April this year, we did not receive any replenishment of troops and ammunition from our superiors, so we had to rely on ourselves to find a way. Since there are almost no young adults in Belarus, we have relaxed the age of recruits to 14 to ~~60 years old. ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's answer, Zhukov couldn't help but gasp, "My God, when you were 14 years old and still a child, you drafted them into the army." If I'm not mistaken, during the defense of Moscow, you used to send children under the age of 18 home to study, saying that they were the future of the Motherland and that there was no need to sacrifice your young life on the battlefield. ”

"Yes, Comrade Marshal, I did say so." Rokossovsky nodded and said: "But we have no choice, if we blindly wait for our superiors to replenish our troops, if we want to replenish the troops, it will take at least seven months, if we train for a period of time, and when we are put into battle, it will be almost October." We cannot wait until October to attack the enemy, so that they will have plenty of time to prepare for the defense. ”

Zhukov nodded, but did not speak, but walked towards the nearest warriors.

The soldiers, who were sitting under the big tree eating lunch, suddenly saw several senior commanders walking towards him, and quickly stood up from the ground, straightened up and saluted them.

Zhukov walked up to an old soldier and stopped, looked at his hands behind his back, and asked in a friendly manner: "Comrade warrior, what are you eating?" ”

"Report Comrade Marshal." The old soldier saw clearly that it was actually a marshal standing in front of him, and hurriedly swallowed the food in his mouth hard, and then replied respectfully: "We are eating the second battlefield." ”

"What?" The old soldier's answer made Zhukov feel at a loss, and he hurriedly asked: "What are you eating?" ”

"The second battlefield," said the old soldier, stretching out his hand behind his back, so that Zhukov could see the canned stewed meat he held in his hand, and explained with a smile: "The soldiers call this American canned stewed meat the 'second battlefield'." ”

Zhukov couldn't help but laugh dumbly after hearing this, he turned his head to look at Rokossovsky and said, "Rokossovsky, your warriors are still quite imaginative. ”

"Comrade Marshal," the veteran asked cautiously, "will the Americans really open a second battlefield?" ”

"What's the matter, comrade warrior." Zhukov looked at the fighters and asked with a smile: "If the Americans do not open up a second battlefield, we will not be able to win this war?" ”

"How can this be, even without the help of the Americans, we can still defeat the German devils." The veteran cautiously said, "But if someone helps us, we have a better chance of winning." ”

Zhukov chatted with the old soldier a few more times before following Rokossovsky towards the division headquarters. On the way, Terekin asked curiously: "Comrade Marshal, do you have any inside information, when will the Americans open a second battlefield behind the Germans?" ”

When Zhukov heard Terekin's question, he stopped and said to him: "General Terekin, I would also like to answer your question, but it is a pity that I do not know at all when the Americans will open a second theater of war, and even if they will really open a second theater of war, I don't know. ”

After listening to the test, Rokossovsky couldn't help but feel itched, and he almost told the two senior commanders in front of him the specific time of the Allied landing in Normandy without reservation. But his sanity stopped him from doing so in time, and not to mention whether they would believe what he said, even if what he said came true in the future, it would arouse everyone's suspicions: how do you, a commander of the front army, who stays at the front every day, know something that even the Supreme Command does not know?

It was on the basis of this consideration that Rokossovsky continued to remain silent, quietly listening to the conversation between Zhukov and Terekin, wondering in his heart whether he should appropriately adjust some tactics according to the history he had mastered in order to achieve greater results.

"Comrade Rokossovsky, what are you thinking?" Zhukov saw that Rokossovsky had not spoken, so he turned his head curiously to look, and saw that his subordinate was walking forward with his head buried, and at the same time he was still muttering something in his mouth, and he hurriedly asked: "I see that you have been wandering, and you seem to be thinking about some important question." ”

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Rokossovsky knew that his expression could not deceive anyone, so he answered honestly: "I am thinking about the direction of the lord." ”

Zhukov thought of the conversation between Rokossovsky and himself after Vatutin's funeral, and asked tentatively: "Do you still plan to attack in swamps and forest areas?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Marshal, I think so." Rokossovsky confidently said: "The enemy would not have expected us to attack in such an area, so their defenses would not be too strong, so that our troops, after the offensive had begun, would be able to quickly break through the defenses they had built." ”

"But, Comrade Rokossovsky, have you ever considered whether the plan would be approved at the base camp if you really made the forest and swampy areas the main direction of the offensive?" Zhukov asked with some concern: "Not only the base camp, I'm afraid even your subordinates will not agree to do this." ”

Rokossovsky knew that what Zhukov said was true, and in real history, Rokossovsky was once kicked out of the conference room by Stalin at a military meeting held by the Supreme Command because he insisted on his battle plan, and now he is facing the same problem.

Now that he knew the chosen direction of operation, and finally obtained Stalin's permission, Rokossovsky said with confidence: "Don't worry, Comrade Marshal, I think that both the Supreme Commander himself and my subordinates, after careful analysis, will find that the route I have chosen is the most convenient and the closest shortcut. ”

Seeing that Rokossovsky was so stubborn in insisting on his choice, Zhukov was not easy to persuade again, after all, his identity was only a representative of the base camp and could not give a finger on the operations of the 1st Belorussian Front.

Zhukov's words were soon fulfilled. At a military conference held in the evening of the same day, as soon as Rokossovsky's plan was finished, it was immediately opposed by many army commanders. In particular, the commander of the 65th Army, Batov, said with a tough attitude: "Comrade commander, I do not agree with your plan. You know, forests and swampy areas are not conducive to the movement of troops, and if the Germans build a defensive line in the direction of our attack, then we will not be able to advance even with great sacrifices. ”

When Batov finished his opinion and sat down again, Zhukov threw a helpless look at Rokossovsky, and spread his hands together, hinting at the other party: "How about it, I'm not wrong, right?" This offensive plan of yours will be unanimously opposed by everyone within the front army, let alone handed over to the Supreme Command. ”

In the face of the fierce opposition, Rokossovsky had long been prepared in his heart. He neither explained to everyone, nor did he criticize Batov, who was against him. Instead, he calmly asked Batov: "General Batov, if you can get adequate supplies, when will your troops be able to attack?" ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's question, Batov's troops hesitated for a while before he stood up and replied: "Comrade commander, if the higher authorities can provide us with the supply of soldiers and ammunition, I think within a week, we will be able to relaunch the offensive against the German army." ”

"Soldiers, I don't have anything else here. But I can give your troops not enough ammunition from them. Rokossovsky looked at Bartov and said, "But your troops must renew their offensive against the enemy in front of them within a week." ”

To Rokossovsky's order, Batov hesitated only a moment, and then replied decisively: "Don't worry, comrade commander, I assure you that my troops will attack the enemy on time in a week. ”

After the meeting, Zhukov asked Rokossovsky: "I don't understand, why are you in a hurry to order Batov to launch an offensive against the Germans, when it is clear that this is not the right time for the offensive?" ”

"Comrade Marshal," Rokossovsky replied with a smile on his face, "in front of Batov, there are two paths to choose. One is what I call forests and swamps; On the other side, the road is much smoother, which is also conducive to the deployment of large troops. I just wanted Batov to carry out an offensive so that they would understand which path was most suitable for our attack. ”