The death of Panfilov made Rokossovsky understand one thing, although he knew this history, it was impossible to change the status quo of the Soviet army's defeat and retreat in the early stage of the war and the death of a large number of high-ranking generals with his own ability. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

In order to protect Panfilov's safety, he repeatedly told Panfilov and Egorov not to use the remaining guard platoon at will. The guard platoon is only responsible for ensuring the security of the division headquarters until it has its own permission. Unexpectedly, seeing that his defense area was broken through by the Germans, Panfilov couldn't hold his breath, and without asking for instructions, he sent the only guard platoon in his hand to the battlefield, which made the damned Germans take advantage of the loophole.

Rokossovsky put down the phone, sat down at the table and quietly thought about a question, if the person who served as the commander of the front some time ago was not Konev but himself, would he definitely make a difference in the situation of the war? The answer is no, in that situation at that time, let alone himself, even Zhukov would not necessarily be able to win the battle.

What Konev inherited from Timoshenko was a mess, and communication between superiors and subordinates was difficult due to poor communication. Many units that had been wiped out by the Germans or had almost lost their combat effectiveness still existed in the formation of the Front. Some areas marked with Soviet troops on the map were actually occupied by the Germans a long time ago, but the front army did not grasp this information in time. According to this kind of erroneous intelligence, it is normal to go and command troops to fight and lose the battle.

When Lobachev saw Rokossovsky put down the phone, he sat there in a daze, his eyes staring straight ahead, his eyes unfocused. At first, he didn't care, thinking that Rokossovsky was sad about Panfilov's sacrifice, but after several minutes, the commander still maintained that posture and did not move, he couldn't help but be a little anxious, raised his hand and pushed Rokossovsky, and asked anxiously: "Comrade commander, what's wrong with you?" ”

Rokossovsky was shaken several times by Lobachev in succession, and finally woke up from his contemplation. He looked at Lobachev, who looked nervous, and said a little embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, Comrade Military Commissar, I was thinking about things just now, and I was thinking too much. What's the matter with you? ”

"It's okay, it scared me." After Lobachev said this, he couldn't hold back the curiosity in his heart, so he asked: "Comrade commander, what were you thinking just now?" ”

What Rokossovsky thinks about can only be thought about in his heart, and he must not take it out and say it, otherwise there will be a big mess. Because of this, he smiled bitterly and did not answer Lobachev's question, but turned the topic to the candidate for the new commander of the 8th Guards Division, "Comrade Military Commissar, now that General Panfilov has died, who do you think should be the commander of this division?" ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Lobachev, after hearing this question, immediately called Malinin over and said to him with a serious expression: "General Panfilov has died, who do you think should take his place?" ”

Malinin thought for a moment, then turned to Rokossovsky and said: "Comrade commander, I think it is better to let the deputy division commander, Major General Leviakin, take over." Since the formation of the unit, he has been in the unit as General Panfilov's deputy, and the commanders and fighters in the division are very familiar with him, and I think it is most suitable for him to take over. ”

Lobachev waited for Malinin to finish speaking, and after nodding his head, he said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, I agree with the chief of staff, I don't know your opinion?" ”

"Since everyone thinks that General Leviakin can take over the post of division commander, let's notify him of his official appointment." After Rokossovsky said this, he paused for a moment, organized the vocabulary in his head, and then instructed Malinin: "Chief of Staff, please convey to Leviagin that he hopes that he will carry on the legacy of General Panfilov and make new contributions to the defense of Moscow by giving full play to the glorious traditions of the division." ”

To such a cliché spoken by Rokossovsky, Malinin nodded and replied decisively: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander, I will convey your words to Comrade Leviakin." ”

While Malinin was on the phone, Lobachev quietly asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, do you think we can hold Volokolamsk?" ”

Rokossovsky shook his head and said slowly: "In the face of the powerful German offensive, the loss of Volokolamsk is only a matter of time. We now have to think about retreating our troops to new areas and reorganizing new defenses at the right time. ”

"Give up Volokolamsk?" Lobachev couldn't help but be taken aback when he heard Rokossovsky say this, he looked left and right, and saw that Malinin and the others were busy, and no one noticed them, so he lowered his voice and said: "Comrade commander, didn't the superiors order us not to retreat a single step?" If you give the order to retreat without permission, will you get yourself in trouble? ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Military Commissar." Rokossovsky knew what Lobachev was worried about, and he was afraid that if he abandoned his position and retreated to the rear without asking for instructions, he might bring himself killed, so he reminded himself so tactfully. In order to reassure Lobachev, Rokossovsky said with full certainty: "I will report the retreat to Marshal Shaposhnikov, and only after obtaining his consent will I give the troops a formal order to retreat." ”

Lobachev was worried that his conversation with Rokossovsky would be accidentally overheard by the staff officer next to him, and then spread out, which would cause unnecessary panic, so he lowered his voice and asked: "Comrade commander, I don't know where you plan to retreat your troops?" ”

"Right here," Rokossovsky said to Lobachev, dotting his hand on the map, "the Istrian reservoir, where we can use the mountains, rivers and lakes to build new defensive positions and continue to resist the German offensive." One advantage of being here is that our defensive front is greatly reduced, so that we can rely on our limited forces to hold off the German onslaught. ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's analysis, Lobachev also had some idea in his heart, he nodded and said: "Comrade commander, if it is really like what you said, it is indeed a good choice for us to retreat our troops to the Istrian reservoir area. (To be continued.) )