The capture of the main city of Warsaw was not entirely an exciting event for Rokossovsky. Although he is now a marshal of the Soviet Union and commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, he was able to achieve such a record because of the history he knew, which helped him a lot. If history really deviates from the original track, how to fight the next battle has made him a little confused.

After hearing Malinin's question, he was silent for a long time, and then replied: "Comrade Chief of Staff, although our troops will show extraordinary bravery and tenacity in battle in order to join up with friendly forces in the West Bank. But the Germans will not be resigned to their defeat, they will definitely find ways to strengthen the defense and prevent our army from advancing towards the Vistula. ”

Malinin thought for a moment, and then made a proposal to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, according to intelligence, the 4th Guards Infantry Corps of Lieutenant General Glazunov is crossing the Vistula one after another. Among them, the 57th Guards Division of Major General Shemenkov could rush to the Vilanov Palace in an hour. ”

"Great, that's great." Hearing that Glazunov's Guards was crossing the river, Rokossovsky suddenly felt much better, as long as the troops of this corps could enter the city of Warsaw as soon as possible and take the initiative to attack from the west bank, then the troops on the east and west banks would be able to join forces in a short time. He hurriedly asked Malinin: "Chief of Staff, what do you think of Grazunov?" ”

Malinin didn't know the purpose of Rokossovsky's question, shook his head and said: "I'm sorry, comrade commander, I don't quite understand what you mean. ”

When Rokossovsky heard Malinin say this, he realized that he had not made it clear to the other party, and hurriedly added: "I want to ask Lieutenant General Glazunov, who will take over the command of General Zakharkin in the West Bank, do you think it is appropriate?" ”

To Rokossovsky's question, Malinin was silent, and in his head he diligently recalled the material about Glazunov. After a long time, he spoke: "Comrade commander, General Glazunov was a former paratrooper, and back in 1941, together with the troops, he went deep behind enemy lines more than once. After the reorganization of the Airborne Corps into the Guards Infantry Division, he was appointed deputy commander.

You also know, deputy, this is a position that is often not mentioned in combat reports and orders. When a battle is won, the honor goes first to the commander. But General Glazunov didn't care about this, he was energetic, decisive in the face of problems, always appeared in key places to help the main job to complete the work. Probably because of his outstanding performance on the battlefield, he was appointed commander of the 4th Guards Infantry Army. ”

Rokossovsky knew Malinin's character, and if he was willing to give him a detailed introduction to the history of a commander, it would indicate that he was in favor of the commander taking up an important post. Therefore, as soon as Rokossovsky finished speaking, he immediately instructed him: "Immediately send a telegram to Glazunov ordering him to take over the command from the deputy commander of the Front, General Zakharkin, as soon as he enters the city of Warsaw." He commanded the city's seven infantry divisions for the defense of Warsaw. ”

Malinin recorded Rokossovsky's order in a notebook, and was about to convey it, but was stopped by military commissar Terekin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you wait a minute. After Malinin stood still, he turned to Rokossovsky and said, "Comrade commander, under such an important situation, will the replacement of the former enemy's commander-in-chief have a negative impact on our next battle?" I suggest you think about it again. ”

"Comrade Military Commissar, I feel the need to have a good talk with you." Seeing that Terekin did not agree to replace Zakharkin, Rokossovsky hurriedly said to him with a serious expression: "General Zakharkin, I was transferred to our Front when I was transferred to the First Ukrainian Front as the acting commander. If he had been more decisive and had listened to the advice of the commanders below, the results of our front army at that time would have been much greater than it is now. ”

Rokossovsky said this, deliberately silent for a moment, wanting to hear if Terekin had any different opinion. But Terekin remained silent. He went on to say: "Our four divisions are in Warsaw, and it stands to reason that General Zakharkin, who is in charge of command in the city, can completely adjust the operational deployment according to the specific situation. But what about the actual situation? When the division commanders saw the fighters, the first thing they thought of was not to report to Zakharkin, but to send a telegram to us asking for instructions. If you think about it, there are only four divisions, and all of them are ineffective, if the number of troops in the city is increased to seven, how chaotic will his command system be? ”

In order to prevent others from having similar thoughts, Rokossovsky asked Malinin to summon all the other commanders in the command headquarters after speaking. Orel, Maksimenko and others, who were busy, didn't know what was going on, so they all gathered around and asked: "Comrade commander, is there something wrong?" ”

Rokossovsky glanced around, and when he saw that in addition to Orel and Maksimenko, there were also the heads of the fronts, such as the head of the war department, Bowikov, the director of the political department, Galadzhev, the head of the intelligence department, Vinogradov, and so on. ”

The newcomers didn't know what was going on, and they all looked at each other, but it was Malinin who explained to them that they understood what was going on. When I heard Rokossovsky ask: "I intend to recall General Zakharkin in the city of Warsaw, there is the commander of the 4th Guards Infantry Army, General Glazunov, as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy in the city of Warsaw, I wonder if everyone agrees?" Raise your hand if you agree! As he spoke, he took the lead and raised his hand.

Seeing Rokossovsky raise his hand, Malinin immediately raised his hand without hesitation. And Orel and Maksimenko, who had personally experienced Zakharkin's poor command level, also raised their hands to agree to the replacement. The remaining seven commanders hesitated for a moment before raising their hands. In particular, the director of the political department, Galadzhev, stared at Terekin for a long time before reluctantly raising his hand.

When Terekin saw that the senior commanders of the Front Army present had agreed to replace the former enemy commander-in-chief in Warsaw, he could only sigh and said faintly: "Since the comrades have agreed to change the former enemy's commander-in-chief, then I will obey the collective decision." As he spoke, he raised his hand high.

The bill to replace the commander-in-chief of the former enemy in Warsaw was thus unanimously passed. Malinin immediately sent telegrams to Zakhargin and Glazunov, respectively, announcing to them the latest resolution of the Front Command.