Zhukov did not express his opinion on the time proposed by Rokossovsky, he sat in his seat and thought for a while, got up and walked to the high-frequency telephone placed on the wall, and after dialing the number, he said into the microphone: "I'm Zhukov, give me Vasilevsky's office!" ”

After a few moments, after the phone was connected, he said into the microphone: "Hello, Alexander Mikhailovich, I'm Zhukov. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 I just talked to Rokossovsky and Vatutin, and they believe that the time we have set will not allow the attacking force to complete the build-up of troops and technical equipment, so it is necessary to postpone the offensive even more. ”

After Vasilevsky waited for Zhukov to finish speaking, he immediately said in embarrassment: "Comrade Zhukov, you know, the German army has advanced to the banks of the Volga River and occupied 80% of the entire city, dividing the defenders of the city into two narrow pockets. In addition, the Volga River began to freeze, making it impossible to ship supplies to the defenders of the city by boat. If the offensive is delayed, I fear that the troops holding on to the Mamayev heights and the northern city will not be able to support them. ”

"Comrade Vasilevsky," Zhukov said resolutely, "you and I both know that although we began to plan a counteroffensive outside Stalingrad as early as September, the time was still too short for our troops, and if we did not have the necessary supplies to support the counterattack, then the great counteroffensive we launched would not be able to achieve the desired results." ”

"Well, Comrade Zhukov, since you say so, then I will immediately report to Comrade Stalin and see what his opinion is." After expressing his attitude, Vasilevsky then asked: "I wonder when Rokossovsky thinks it is most appropriate to postpone the attack?" ”

Zhukov turned his head to look at Rokossovsky, who was sitting at the conference table, and then replied decisively: "As long as the original attack is postponed for ten days, they will be able to make all preparations before the attack." ”

After making the call, Zhukov walked back to the conference table and sat down, and then said casually: "Okay, the commanders of the army groups outside should be in a hurry, let them all come in." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, Rokossovsky immediately stood up and walked briskly towards the door. Before he entered this room, it was the territory of Vatutin's Southwestern Front; But with the return of the 21st Army, it was once again under his jurisdiction, so he accepted the job of opening the door without hesitation.

Rokossovsky opened the door and shouted to the commanders of the army group standing outside: "Comrade generals, please come in." His words seemed to be a command, and a dozen generals outside the door poured into the conference room through the open door.

After all the commanders of the army group were seated, Zhukov stood up, held the edge of the table with both hands, leaned forward slightly, and said to everyone with a smile on his face: "Hello, comrades generals! You have been summoned here today because of an order from the base camp to turn the Don Front, the Stalingrad Front and the South-Western Front into the offensive and crush the German forces under Stalingrad! ”

Most of the generals present had participated in the great counteroffensive under the city of Moscow, and when they heard Zhukov mention the counteroffensive again, they couldn't help but start whispering to each other. Zhukov did not stop this situation that affected the discipline of the meeting, and he slowly looked around the commanders who were present, as if to see how many people he was familiar with.

When calm returned to the conference room, Zhukov began to speak again: "Comrades, the fighting in the Stalingrad area has been going on for three months, and although our troops holding the city have suffered huge losses and have been divided into two parts by the Germans, the Germans have never been able to completely occupy Stalingrad. Now we have finally waited for the day of the counterattack, when we are going to annihilate Paulus and his troops at Stalingrad. ”

With that, Zhukov beckoned to the door, and a staff officer who had followed him from Moscow walked in through the door. When the staff officer came to his side, Zhukov nodded at him and ordered: "You tell the generals here about Operation Uranus." ”

The staff officer walked to the wall, picked up the explanatory stick placed on the wall, drew a large circle near Stalingrad, and said: "Comrades generals, the code name of our offensive operation is 'Operation Uranus', and its purpose is to relieve the German siege of Stalingrad, and at the same time encircle and destroy the German Army Group South and other German units in the Caucasus......

While the staff officers were explaining, the commanders of the various armies sitting below were immersed in taking notes, and when they heard the numbers of their troops, they looked up at the map and figured out where their offensive positions were.

After Zhukov and other staff officers introduced the "Operation Uranus", he stood up again, and after scanning his eyes over everyone, he asked briefly: "Does anyone have a problem?" ”

As soon as his words fell, the first to stand up and speak was the commander of the 65th Army, General Batov. He looked at Zhukov and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander-in-Chief, according to the order, the 65th Army will play the main role in 'Operation Uranus'. Together with the 24th Army on the right side, our army group will take part in the main assault. Break through the front of the German defenses, annihilate the enemy in front of them, then enter the rear of the defending enemy on the flanks and in the Don area, and attack on Vildach in the southeast.

The Germans laid several layers of minefields around the area they occupied, pulled several barbed wire, and anti-tank trenches eight meters wide and three meters deep to avoid attacks from our flanks and rear. As you know, our army group has just been formed, and its technical equipment is very limited, and if we rely solely on infantry to break through the tight defenses of the German army, we will inevitably pay a huge price......"

While Batov was talking, Zhukov did not speak, just looked at him quietly. After he finished speaking, he said slowly: "Don't worry, Comrade Batov, when we attack, we will carry out artillery preparation for up to two hours, and we will definitely be able to destroy the German fortifications." As for the technical equipment, Rokossovsky, can you add something to them? ”

Seeing that Zhukov threw the question to himself, Rokossovsky quickly nodded and said: "In front of the 65th Army are the elite units of the German army, if they want to attack smoothly, they must be reinforced with soldiers and weapons, and I will transfer troops from other areas to strengthen them." ”

After Rokossovsky said this, he turned his gaze to Major General Kalanin, who had been silent, and asked: "Comrade Galanin, do you have any difficulties?" ”

Galanin, who was named by Rokossovsky, hurriedly stood up and replied in a loud voice: "Report to the commander of the front, we can find a way to overcome the difficulties." ”

In response to Galanin's statement, Rokossovsky nodded and said with emotion: "General Galanin, the task of your 24th Army in this campaign is extremely arduous and complicated. After the battle has begun, you should attack between the two rivers, with their right flank close to the Don, break through the enemy's defenses and advance towards Vilgach, while at the same time preventing the enemy in front of the 65th and 21st armies from advancing on the east bank of the river. If there are any difficulties, just raise them, and the front army will find a way to solve them for you. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." "I will ask my superiors for support when we need it," Garanin said gratefully. ”

After Galanin sat down, Batov suddenly remembered a key matter, so he stood up again and asked Zhukov: "Comrade Deputy Commander-in-Chief, when the staff officer just introduced the entire battle plan, I didn't seem to hear him mention the specific implementation time of the campaign. ”

"That's right, Comrade Deputy Commander-in-Chief." As soon as Batov's words fell, the commander of another army group chimed in: "Only when we know the specific date of the attack can we go back and make preparations." ”

Hearing everyone's questions, Zhukov looked at Rokossovsky and Vatutin, who were sitting on the left and right, and was considering whether to call Vasilevsky again and ask Stalin if he agreed to change the date of the attack. Just then, the high-frequency phone rang just right.

The staff officer picked up the phone and listened for a moment, then turned to Zhukov and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander-in-Chief, it's the phone number of the Chief of the General Staff. ”

Zhukov got up and walked over, took the earpiece and put it in his ear and asked: "Hey, Comrade Vasilevsky, how is the situation?" ”

"Comrade Zhukov," Vasilevsky's excited voice came from the earpiece: "The Supreme Commander himself has agreed to change the time of the offensive and officially implement Operation Uranus on November 19 and 20!" ”

"Great, that's great." Hearing that Stalin agreed to change the date of the attack, Zhukov's heart also breathed a sigh of relief, the original five-day preparation time was indeed a little shorter, not to mention the replenishment of troops and weapons from the rear, and even the adjustment of the deployment of troops could not necessarily be completed within five days. The campaign was now launched ten days late, giving all the attacking forces plenty of time to prepare.

Zhukov returned to the conference table and said to the generals attending the meeting with a smile: "Comrade generals, I now officially announce to you that the time for the offensive of the Don Front and the Southwestern Front is the early morning of November 19; And the date of the offensive of the Stalingrad Front is November 20. ”

After saying that, he turned his eyes to Rokossovsky and Vatutin, and asked them with his eyes if they wanted to speak. Seeing that the two of them shook their heads at the same time, they announced loudly: "This is the end of today's meeting, comrades generals, everyone can go back to their respective units." ”