Seeing the long queue in front of the small wooden table of the recruiting officer, Lobachev had a satisfied smile on his face. But after a moment www.biquge.info he restrained the smile on his face, leaned closer to Rokossovsky and whispered: "Comrade commander, what you just said, if it is reported, there may be trouble. ”

Rokossovsky only smiled faintly at Lobachev's concerns, and he said lightly: "Comrade Military Commissar, our current task is to do everything possible to block the German attack, and as for these details, we don't need to pay too much attention to them. As long as we can continue to win the war, the Supreme Commander himself, even if he knows, will only laugh at it. ”

When the two left Yatsevo and returned to the headquarters, Malinin reported to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, the number of recruits has been counted, a total of 638 people, of which 35 are veterans, 211 have participated in militia training and know some superficial military skills......"

After Malinin finished his report, he looked up at Rokossovsky and asked: "Comrade commander, I don't know which division these recruits should be assigned to?" ”

Even if Malinin didn't ask, Lobachev wanted to know how Rokossovsky thought about it, after all, in the previous battles, the attrition of the divisions was relatively serious, and the replenishment of the higher authorities came very slowly. Now there are new recruits, even new fighters who have not undergone any military training, they are still in high demand. Facing Rokossovsky, he asked tentatively: "Comrade commander, do you want to replenish all the recruits to the 108th Infantry Division?" You know, they held on to the Wapi River, and they suffered the greatest casualties. ”

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Rokossovsky shook his head and said: "No, you can't add all the recruits to the 108th Infantry Division." In the early stage of the battle, they had already suffered a particularly serious attrition, but now they have replenished more than 600 new troops at once, and due to the lack of combat backbones, the combat effectiveness of the troops will be diluted. Therefore, it is more appropriate to distribute the recruits evenly to each division, so that there will be enough combat backbone to lead the recruits, which will help the troops form combat effectiveness in a short period of time. ”

In the next half month, the German army concentrated its main attention on the Southwestern Front besieged near Kiev, and in the entire defense zone of the Western Front, except for some company-scale battles, it can almost be described as calm.

Rokossovsky also used this time to visit Yershakov, commander of the 20th Army, so that the headquarters of the three groups maintained strong ties with each other and ensured close cooperation between the various joints.

Since Rokossovsky was particularly close to Lukin, knowing that the wound on his leg had not yet healed and that it was difficult to move, he and Lobachev often visited him at the command post of the 19th Army. The parties met more than once to discuss issues related to the posture of the two army groups. Both were convinced that it would be difficult for the enemy to break through the defensive areas of the two armies, since there was reliable cover at the junctions. The two sides also studied the question of how to support each other when the enemy's forces broke through in a certain section, and recorded it in writing.

However, the silence in his own defense zone and in the defense zone of friendly troops alerted Rokossovsky. He summoned several of his division commanders to the headquarters and studied with everyone: what exactly are the Germans going to do if they have been standing still?

Although Rokossovsky knew very well in his heart that the Germans were trying to completely eliminate the Southwestern Front, then turn north, carry out a surprise attack on the defense area of the Western Front, open a gap in the defensive line, and then rush to Moscow in one go. However, in his memory, this period of history is very vague, and he only knows that the Soviet army was forced to retreat in the direction of Moscow under the blows of the German army. But when, where, and on what scale the Germans will strike at the troops of the Western Front, he does not know. Therefore, after explaining the current situation, he asked his subordinates sitting in front of him: "Commanders, tell me what the Germans really want to do, and why are they holding their troops in front of us?" ”

After his words, the first to stand up was Colonel Lidyukov. The colonel asked bluntly: "Comrade commander, I would like to ask, what does the front army command think about this situation?" ”

"Colonel Lidyukov." Malinin took over the topic and said: "The command of the front did not provide us with any particularly important information. In general, after the change of commanders of the front, the intelligence support work of the commanders of the various group armies was very poorly organized, and we were not even clear about many things that happened within the territory of the front, let alone what happened outside the scope of the front. ”

When the commanders below heard Ma Lining say this, they immediately whispered in their ears. Although the scene was a little chaotic, Rokossovsky did not stop it, he wanted to hear what unique opinions his subordinates would have.

After everyone gradually quieted down, Lidyukov asked loudly: "How can this be, the front command does not provide us with the necessary information, we are like blind and deaf, how can this battle be fought?" ”

"That's right, Colonel Lidyukov, you have a point." As soon as Malinin finished speaking, he immediately chimed in: "We did not get any useful information here at the front headquarters, so we sent troops to reconnoitre, and found that there were only German infantry in front of us, and their armored units were missing. ”

Rokossovsky knew that if he didn't tell the inside story that everyone didn't know, then the whereabouts of the German armored forces would be discussed as a major topic for a long time. So he continued: "As for the German armored forces, according to my judgment, they should have been transferred by the Germans all in the direction of Kiev, and are coordinating their Army Group South to besiege our Southwestern Front. As long as our troops are fighting, then their armored forces will not be able to be withdrawn back for the time being. ”

"But, Comrade Commander." Colonel Graznov, who was sitting next to Lidyukov, stood up and said with a serious expression: "I heard that the Supreme Command has given an order to the troops of the Southwestern Front to break through the encirclement, and our army, after organizing two large-scale breakout operations, once opened a gap in the German defense line, but soon it was closed by the German counter-assault. Although the fighting in the encirclement continues, I feel that the troops of the Southwestern Front are already very unlucky......"

"Comrade Colonel, please pay attention to your words." Before Gryaznov could finish his words, he was interrupted by Lobachev, who stood up and said to Gryaznov with an angry face: "I don't know where you heard the rumors, but I can tell you with certainty that as long as there is one commander and fighter left, they will not stop fighting, and I am sure that they will succeed in breaking through the encirclement." ”

Rokossovsky heard Lobachev's righteous words, the muscles in his face couldn't help but twitch violently, and he knew very well in his heart that the battle of Kiev had come to an end on September 26, and in this one-sided battle, most of the 5th, 21st, 37th, and 26th armies of the Soviet army, and part of the 40th and 38th armies, were annihilated. Nearly one million Red Army commanders and fighters, in addition to those who died in battle, more than 600,000 became prisoners of war. The Battle of Kiev was the largest encirclement and annihilation battle in the history of human warfare of the German army, and it was the pinnacle of the German army in its heyday. Through this battle, they not only achieved their strategic objectives, but also created extremely favorable conditions for a series of subsequent offensives. The situation on the Soviet-German battlefield became more unfavorable to the Soviet army, and the southwestern and southern defenses were so precarious that Stalin had to mobilize large numbers of troops from the Far East and Siberia to re-establish a new line of defense close to Moscow.

Seeing that Lobachev still looked angry after teaching Gliaznov a lesson, Rokossovsky hurriedly came out to play a round: "Okay, comrades commanders, in order to cope with the possible new battles, it is necessary for us to reconnoiter the movements of the German army. Beginning this evening, several divisions approaching the German defense line will send reconnaissance groups to cross the Wopi River and go deep into the German army to carry out reconnaissance, and they must find out the situation of the Germans. ”

Rokossovsky then spoke about the training and defense of the troops, and then adjourned the meeting. Let the division commanders immediately return to their units and arrange for the reconnaissance team to go deep behind enemy lines to reconnoitre.

After seeing the division commanders leaving one after another, Lobachev still said to Rokossovsky with an unhappy face: "Comrade commander, you see, this Gryaznov is really too pessimistic, thinking that our troops will be in danger of being wiped out if they fall into the encirclement of the German army. If I didn't know what he had achieved after the outbreak of war, I would have taken him for a panic. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, Malinin suddenly hurriedly walked over, handed a telegram in his hand to Rokossovsky, and said with a panicked expression: "Comrade commander, a telegram has just been sent from the headquarters of the Front. ”

Just as Rokossovsky looked down at the telegram, Lobachev criticized Malinin and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are also an important commander, you must be calm at all times, how can you panic like a recruit?" ”

Rokossovsky glanced at the contents of the telegram, knowing that the history in his memory had finally happened as scheduled, although the telegram used a very tactful tone to describe the results of the battle of Kiev, but he knew very well how badly the Soviet army was defeated in this battle.

When he handed the telegram to Lobachev, he sighed and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, look at this telegram. The opinion published by Colonel Gryaznov is not a defeatist rotation, but a bloody fact. Our Southwestern Front, under the blows of the Germans, was almost completely annihilated. ”

Lobachev was taken aback by Rokossovsky's words, and he took the telegram and carefully read it. After reading it, he jumped up from his seat and exclaimed in surprise, "This... This... How... Possible? How could we be defeated by the Germans when we have an army of millions? …”

Kazakov took the telegram in Lobachev's hand, leaned in front of his eyes and read it carefully. After reading it, he looked at Rokossovsky and asked: "Comrade commander, I have a question, our Southwestern Front is not only well-equipped with more troops, but also almost all of its commanders and fighters are veterans with rich combat experience, how can it still be defeated by the Germans?" I can't figure it out. ”

Although Rokossovsky understood that the main reason for the battle of Kiev was Stalin's serious mistakes in command, his self-righteousness and arbitrariness repeatedly rejected the correct advice of Zhukov and other subordinates, which eventually led to a crushing defeat. His biggest mistake was that he gave the order to defend Kiev regardless of the actual situation, and in his opinion no city in the Soviet Union could fall into the hands of the enemy, and the great insult to the Russian nation by the fighters. It was precisely in order to save this face, even when Kiev was besieged, he blindly ordered to defend the city, refused to abandon the city, and even canceled the retreat order issued by the commander of the Front, Kirponos. As a result, not only did they lose a large number of troops, but they also lost even more land.

Rokossovsky knew in his heart that if he told the real reason, he would probably be sent to a military tribunal, following in the footsteps of General Pavlov, so he could only avoid the important and say lightly: "I think the reason for the fiasco of our army may be the backward communication equipment and the lack of experience and means to resist the German armored forces." ”

"Is it that simple?" Kazakov asked rhetorically, with some disbelief.

"Yes, it's that simple." Rokossovsky stubbornly said: "In fact, although we suffered a crushing defeat in the Kiev region, we delayed the German offensive in the Moscow direction. The Supreme Command of the Lieutenant bought precious time by strengthening the defenses in the Moscow direction and forming a large strategic reserve. ”

Rokossovsky's words somewhat restored the confidence of several commanders who were affected by the news of the crushing defeat in Kiev. Kazakov put down the telegram, straightened his back and asked: "Comrade commander, what are we going to do next?" ”

"Although the reconnaissance reports of the divisions will not be fed back until tomorrow at the earliest, we must not wait passively, but take active action." Speaking of this, Rokossovsky said to Kazakov: "Without artillery, it will be difficult for our defensive positions to block the attack of the German armored forces, and you have to make all the artillery ready for battle, ready to strike at the incoming enemy with artillery fire." ”

Early the next morning, the 108th Infantry Division sent several prisoners. According to their confessions, tank and motorized units that had been transferred to the south have reappeared on the west bank of the Wopi River, preparing to force their way across the Wopi River again at some point to attack Yaltsevo.

Immediately after the prisoners were taken away, Malinin asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, what measures should we take to meet the imminent German offensive?" ”

"Chief of Staff, call the commanders of the divisions and say that the Germans will soon launch a new offensive and that they will have to strengthen their defenses, especially the divisions deployed on both sides of the main Vyazma-Smolensk road." After Rokossovsky finished his order, he ordered Malinin: "Give me the command of the 19th Army, and I will talk to General Lukin." (To be continued.) )