Half a month later, at a military meeting in Stalin's office in the Kremlin, Rokossovsky publicly proposed that the main direction of attack be chosen in the swampy area.

In response to Rokossovsky's suggestion, Stalin asked lightly: "Comrade Rokossovsky, you should understand that in the swampy forest area, our large forces cannot be deployed, so it will be difficult to deal a heavy blow to the Germans. ”

"Comrade Stalin, please listen to my reasons." After waiting for Stalin to finish, Rokossovsky continued to express his opinion: "As you say, it is impossible to deploy large forces in the forests and swamps, and according to the reconnaissance we have conducted, the enemy excludes the possibility of our offensive in this direction, so their defense in this area is not as well-developed as in other areas. According to our research, in the swamps not only our infantry can pass, but even tanks and self-propelled guns can pass if the roads are paved with wood. ”

Having said this, he picked up a map in front of him, pointed to the red and blue markings on it, and continued to say to Stalin: "Because of this, I propose to use our right flank, the 3rd, 48th, 65th and 28th armies, to launch the main attack on Bobrusk......"

After listening to this, Stalin looked at Rokossovsky and asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, yesterday Zhukov and I had a discussion, and his opinion was to launch an offensive in the swampy area. I didn't expect to listen to your point of view today, and it actually coincided with him, I want to ask, why do you have to let our army choose the swamp area as the direction of attack? ”

"This road is very difficult, Comrade Stalin." After waiting for Stalin to finish speaking, Rokossovsky carefully said: "However, there is a possibility of success." At this point, he paused for a moment, looked around, and saw that the commanders attending the meeting were all sitting in their positions with expressions on their faces, even Zhukov. He added with some panic, "We have taken into account all the difficulties that may arise, Comrade Stalin. ”

Unexpectedly, the panicked expression on his face was captured by Stalin, who said in a mocking tone: "But I don't think you think you have thought it all." Then he raised his hand and pointed to the door, "You go to the room outside and think about it, where should we choose the main direction of attack?" ”

Hearing Stalin say this, Rokossovsky hurriedly cast a pleading gaze to Zhukov. But after Zhukov glanced at him, a bitter expression appeared on his face, and Rokossovsky knew that at such a time, Zhukov just wanted to help himself, but there was nothing he could do, so he could only pick up the map, put his arm under his arm and walk out of the room.

Seeing Rokossovsky coming out of the inside, Boskrebeshev, who was sitting outside, asked strangely: "Why, General Rokossovsky, the meeting ended so soon?" ”

Rokossovsky shook his head and said: "Comrade Stalin asked me to come out and think about it. ”

"Oh, I see." Perhaps Boskrebeshev was used to seeing this, and he gestured to the empty sofa next to him, "Sit down, General Rokossovsky, maybe you'll be here for a long time." ”

"Thank you!" Rokossovsky rejected Poskosov's kindness: "I think I'm better standing. ”

And in the inner room, Stalin, seeing Rokossovsky leaving, sat up straight and said to everyone: "Comrades, let's listen to Comrade Vasilevsky's opinion next. ”

As soon as Stalin's words fell, Vasilevsky quickly got up from his seat and turned to walk towards the map hanging on the wall. Stalin continued: "You all know that the campaign for the liberation of the Crimea under the command of Comrade Vasilevsky was carried out very successfully. After that, Comrade Vasilevsky and Comrade Zhukov worked together to develop a plan for the entire summer campaign. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Vasilevsky still in place, so he nodded at the other party, "Let's begin, Comrade Vasilevsky." ”

Having received Stalin's permission, Vasilevsky said respectfully: "Comrade Stalin, when drawing up the summer battle plan, we first took into account the opinions of the commanders of the various fronts present at this meeting. "The summer campaign of 1944 that we are going to carry out this time is to carry out a series of large-scale operations from the Baltic coast to the vast area of the Carpathian Mountains. The operational plan for this summer campaign will be carried out in such an order......"

After Vasilevsky gave a detailed account of the combat operations on the various fronts, Stalin spoke again: "Now I propose that this operation be named 'Bagration' in honor of our predecessor, the Russian commander-in-chief who won us glory in 1812. At this point, he turned his gaze to Vasilevsky, "Comrade Vasilevsky, please continue. ”

"After the start of the battle for Bagration," Vasilevsky continued, pointing to the map, "when the German command realized that a decisive battle was going to be fought here, that is, in Belarus, and their reserves were transferred from the south, then Marshal Konev's First Ukrainian Front could take the opportunity to launch an offensive on Lviv." …… In the end, as a result of these powerful offensives, the enemy will inevitably be defeated, and then we can turn to the Balkan offensive and turn our forces directly to Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Hungary......"

After Vasilevsky returned to his seat and sat down, Stalin turned to Zhukov, who was sitting precariously on the side, and asked: "Do you have anything to add, Comrade Zhukov?" ”

When Zhukov heard Stalin ask himself, he quickly fixed his eyes on Stalin and said unhurriedly: "Comrade Stalin, I worked in the Belarusian Military District for a long time before the war and am familiar with the situation in the combat area. In these swamps and forests, it is impossible to fight with a large number of tanks. So I suggest," he stood up, straightened his back and continued, "only use a small number of tank brigades as a breakthrough force for the offensive, and leave the four tank armies of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th on the right flank of the First Ukrainian Front in place, and prevent them from being dispatched for the time being." In this way, it is possible to give the Germans the illusion that when they find out that our tank armies are all on their feet, they will mistakenly believe that our active direction is not in Belarus, but in Ukraine!

Secondly, the tank army, which will not be used for the time being, will be a strong reserve for us to launch the second phase of the offensive;

Thirdly, it would also allow the left flank of Rokossovsky's attacking forces to be reliably safeguarded. ”

After listening to Zhukov's opinion, Stalin was silent for a moment, then nodded and said: "I agree!" Then he looked at the door where Rokossovsky walked out and said, "Call Rokossovsky in, he's been thinking about it long enough." ”

Rokossovsky strode in from the outside room and stopped not far from Stalin. Stalin stood up and came behind Rokossovsky and asked in a mocking tone: "Comrade Rokossovsky, after thinking about it for so long, I wonder if you have changed your original mind?" Where should we put the direction of the main attack? Are you still ready to make it through the swamp? ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky replied resolutely: "Attacking the enemy through the swamps should be a good choice for us. I'm sure it's the right choice. ”

Stalin stared at Rokossovsky for a while, and a smile appeared on his face, "Since the commander of the front has always insisted on his opinion, this shows that he made such a decision after careful consideration." As he walked to his seat, he said: "Comrade Rokossovsky, give me the map." ”

Rokossovsky hurriedly stepped forward and handed the map in his hand to Stalin, who was already sitting in his place. Stalin took the map, looked at it again in red and blue pencils, and then picked up a pen and wrote his name on it.

Seeing Stalin sign his name on the map, Rokossovsky immediately understood in his heart that he had agreed to his suggestion to choose the direction of the attack in a swampy area that the Germans did not expect.