By evening, two regiments of Kirillov's division were stationed in defensive positions west of Yaltsevo. The remaining regiment www.biquge.info the pen "Fun" pavilion, in addition to two battalions holding on to the original fortifications, also sent one battalion into the deserted city.

General Carmela, who went to the warehouse, also gained quite a lot. Not only did he get back dozens of cannons, but he also contained two artillery batteries that had lost contact with their superiors from the vicinity. But after these artillery commanders and fighters naturally became his subordinates, they were all deployed by him in the forest behind the defensive position, even with men and artillery.

Since the main forces of the combat cluster were deployed to the west of Yaltsevo, it would not be so suitable if the headquarters were to be located in the east of the city, because there it was impossible to observe everything that was happening on the battlefield in time, which Rokossovsky obviously did not want to see, so he also moved the headquarters to the west of the city, in the forest not far from the artillery position.

No sooner had the command been set up than he received a call from Timoshenko. Comrade Marshal seemed to have just heard some good news, so he could hear the unbearable joy in his voice: "Comrade Rokossovsky, has your command been built?" ”

"Report Comrade Marshal," Rokossovsky respectfully reported, "I have just established my command in the forest west of Yaltsevo, from which the defensive positions of our troops can be clearly seen. ”

"It was absolutely right to set up the command close to the front line." After Temoshenko finished speaking with appreciation, he excitedly added: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I have good news for you. ”

According to Rokossovsky's understanding of Timoshenko, people who have reached his level know how to control their emotions, and since this news can make him lose his temper so much, then it must prove to be particularly important good news, so he asked with a smile: "Comrade Marshal, I don't know what good news it is?" ”

"Just an hour ago," Timoshenko said in an agitated voice, "one of our troops annihilated the German assault forces in the middle of Yatsevo and Smolensk. According to the reports we received, the enemy lost 1,793 people and 65 tanks destroyed. This was a great victory since the beginning of the defense of Smolensk......"

When Rokossovsky heard this, he couldn't help frowning, because he was only twenty or thirty kilometers away from Smolensk, and if such a fierce battle really broke out, he could hear the sound of gunfire and see the smoke of the battle. It's a pity that apart from the sneak attack on his own small German army, there is no longer a shadow of the Germans. However, he could only secretly guess about this matter in his heart, but he couldn't say it to Timoshenge.

After putting down the phone, he called Tarasov in front of him and asked cautiously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, did you send scouts in the direction of Smolensk?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." When Tarasov heard Rokossovsky's question, he immediately nodded his head like a chicken pecking rice, "When Kirillov's division entered the defensive zone west of the city, I once sent a five-person reconnaissance team in the direction of Smolensk, but so far, I have not received any reports from them. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I just received a call from Marshal Timoshenko, who said that one of our troops, in the area between us and Smolensk, annihilated a large German force, killed 1793 enemies and destroyed 65 tanks......"

As soon as Rokossovsky's words were said here, cheers immediately erupted in the command headquarters, and the staff officers in the room shouted in unison: "Ula! Ulla!! Ulla!!! ”

After the command finally calmed down, Rokossovsky continued to say to Tarasov: "Chief of Staff, although Comrade Marshal said that this is the battle report he received, I feel that such a war report is not very credible. Because we are only twenty or thirty kilometers away from General Lukin, we should be able to see if a battle does break out in the middle. So you should send a reconnaissance team ......"

Before Rokossovsky could finish his words, he heard someone at the door asking in a loud voice: "May I go in, Comrade Commander?" ”

"Please come in, Colonel Kirillov." The person who heard the door speak was Kirillov, Rokossovsky said politely towards the door.

When the elderly Kirillov walked into the command headquarters, Rokossovsky did not wait for him to raise his hand and salute, but took the initiative to hold his hand, shook it and asked: "Comrade Colonel, how is it, have all your troops been deployed?" ”

"If we say that we have entered the position, even if the deployment is completed, then I think I can tell you, Comrade Commander, that my deployment has been completed." Kirillov said with a solemn expression: "But the actual situation is that the defensive position we entered is a defense fortification that has not been completely completed, and there is not even a single cannon in the place where the cannon should be installed." And those machine-gun firing points either do not have a top cover, or the firing range is too narrow, which is not conducive to the exertion of firepower at all......"

While Kirillov was talking, Rokossovsky did not interrupt him, patiently listening to his complaints, while at the same time echoing a few words from time to time. After complaining, Kirillov suddenly asked as if he remembered something: "By the way, Comrade Commander, before I came in, I heard cheers from the command headquarters, is there any good news?" ”

"You guessed it, Comrade Divisional Commander." Tarasov, who was standing next to him, said with a smile: "Marshal Timoshenko called not long ago and said that one of our troops had achieved a lot of success, killing 1,793 enemies and destroying 65 tanks in the middle of us and Smolensk. This is really a great victory, and if the news is shared with the commanders and fighters, it will certainly have a morale-boosting effect. ”

After listening to this, Kirillov not only did not show the slightest joy on his face, but on the contrary, asked with a puzzled expression: "Comrade Chief of Staff, where did you just say that the battle took place?" ”

Tarasov glanced at Rokossovsky with an inquiring gaze, and seeing that the other party had no objection, he replied truthfully: "Between us and Smolensk!" ”

"That's not right!" Kirillov said with a puzzled face: "Comrade commander, if you want to destroy such a large-scale enemy, you will have to fight for at least four or five hours, or even longer. But my troops retreated from that direction today, and we didn't meet any formed units of our army along the way, so there must be something wrong with this! ”

"Comrade division commander, this news was told to Comrade Commander by Marshal Timoshenko himself." In response to Kirillov's questioning, Tarasov's face showed a dissatisfied expression, "Could it be that our Marshal of the Soviet Union will lie and deceive us?" ”

"Chief of Staff, that's not what I meant." Kirillov hurriedly waved his hand and explained: "I still say the same thing, if such a large-scale battle is to be carried out, it is impossible to end it without a few hours. However, on the way down our division, we did not find any formed units of our army at all. And in order to prevent the Germans from rushing quickly to Moscow, several bridges from Smolensk to this were blown up, and I and my troops were wading across the river, which is why our division did not have heavy weapons. ”

Rokossovsky originally only suspected that the battle report that Timoshenko said was wrong, but now when he heard Kirillov say this, his suspicion increased a little. Of course, he didn't suspect that Timoshenko was lying, after all, someone else was a Soviet marshal who was full of words, how could he casually make up such a lie to deceive his subordinates? Once it is exposed, it will have a huge impact on his prestige. The only explanation is that someone below reported false information to Timoshenko.

"Comrade Colonel," Rokossovsky said, looking at Kirillov, "I hope that you will immediately send a reconnaissance detachment, preferably on a motorcycle, so that the delay on the road will be shorter, so that they can figure out what is going on in this battle as soon as possible." Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Kirillov straightened up and reported: "I'll go back and arrange manpower to conduct reconnaissance in the direction of Smolensk......"

"What, are you going to send people to reconnoiter in the direction of Smolensk?" Before Kirillov could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a man who had just walked into the command.

Rokossovsky turned his head and saw that it was Carmela, the chief of artillery, who had come in. He nodded at the other side, and then explained: "I received a call from Marshal Timoshenko not long ago, and he said that in our vicinity, a great battle broke out, which ended in the complete victory of our army. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about it, so I'm going to have Colonel Kirillov send a reconnaissance detachment to find out what is going on. ”

"What, a battle in which our army will be completely victorious?" After hearing this, Carmela looked at Rokossovsky in confusion and asked in surprise: "When did this happen, why didn't I know anything about it?" ”

Rokossovsky replied with a bitter face: "Comrade Carmela, don't say that you don't know, I don't know anything about this reunification. It stands to reason that we should be aware of such a large-scale battle, but until now, no one knows exactly where it took place, or whether it achieved the kind of results they reported to their superiors. In order to figure this out, it was necessary for us to send reconnaissance units to the Smolensk direction to conduct reconnaissance. ”

After waiting for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, Carmela asked tentatively: "Comrade commander, if I am not mistaken, the big battle you are talking about should have taken place between us and Smolensk, right?" ”

"That's right, according to Comrade Marshal, it should be ......"

Before Rokossovsky could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Carmela. He said with a serious expression: "Comrade commander, although we have not yet sent a reconnaissance detachment to conduct reconnaissance, I can tell you very responsibly that this must be a lie, an outright lie!" ”

Although Rokossovsky was also skeptical about such a result, he still felt a little abrupt when he heard Carmela unceremoniously point it out at this moment, and he tried to justify: "Although we are only a few dozen kilometers from Smolensk, the superiors did not say that the battle took place on the road between the two cities. ”

In the face of Rokossovsky's feeble defense, Carmela walked to the table, pointed to the map and said: "Comrade commander, I also retreated from the direction of Smolensk, although I have lost contact with my superiors, but I am familiar with the situation in this area, at least between us and General Lukin, there are no formed troops. If you think about it, it is impossible to achieve such a result without using the strength of an army group to destroy so many German tanks and kill nearly 2,000 soldiers. ”

Carmela's words became the last straw that crushed everyone's psychological bottom line. So far, although there has not been a final confirmation, everyone knows in their hearts that this brilliant result is probably deliberately reported to Timoshenko by someone with ulterior motives, perhaps to cover up his defeat.

Seeing that Rokossovsky did not speak, Carmela continued: "Comrade commander, I suggest that the Kirillov Division, the Mikhailov Division, the Artillery Battalion, and the Headquarters each send a reconnaissance team to conduct reconnaissance in the middle of Yatsevo and Smolensk to find out whether this battle report is true or false. He paused, glanced at everyone, and then asked, "I wonder if you agree with my proposal?" ”

"I agree." Rokossovsky was the first to stand up in agreement.

"I agree." Chief of Staff Tarasov then expressed his opinion.

"I have no opinion." Colonel Kirillov expressed the same opinion as everyone else.

In war, many things can be done efficiently. In less than an hour, the feedback from several squads was placed in front of Rokossovsky.

Tarasov's face turned blue when he looked closely. He looked up at Rokossovsky and said angrily: "Comrade commander, this so-called brilliant result must have been forged by some spy who penetrated into our army. The aim was to make our command command make a mistake in the transfer of troops, which ultimately led to the failure of the entire defensive operation. ”

Carmela, who had read all the reconnaissance information, nodded and echoed: "Comrade commander, what the chief of staff said is right. In order to prevent our superiors from being misled by this false war report, we should report the information we have detected to Marshal Timoshenko as soon as possible to prevent him from being deceived. (To be continued.) )