Knowing that Rokossovsky had succeeded Vatutin, as acting commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Khrushchev immediately rushed from his office. He held Rokossovsky's hand tightly and said excitedly: "Great, Comrade Rokossovsky, I am relieved that you will be the commander." Believing in the attempts of the Germans to reoccupy Kiev, they will be completely crushed. ”

Seeing that Khrushchev trusted himself so much, Rokossovsky couldn't help but smile and said: "Comrade Khrushchev, I can't imagine that you have so much confidence in me. ”

"Together we once eliminated Paulus in Stalingrad," Khrushchev said with a smile: "I know very well what you are capable of, and Comrade Stalin's decision to send you to the 1st Ukrainian Front is absolutely correct. ”

After Rokossovsky beckoned Khrushchev to sit down in the conference room, he lowered his voice and said: "Comrade Khrushchev, as an old friend, I would like to ask you a question privately. ”

Khrushchev nodded, looked at Rokossovsky and said: "If I guessed correctly, Comrade Rokossovsky, you should want to ask, since the situation near Kiev is so bad, why didn't the base camp take remedial measures earlier?" ”

Seeing that Khrushchev guessed his thoughts, Rokossovsky did not deny it, just nodded, and then stared at Khrushchev, waiting for him to say the answer he wanted to know.

"Comrade Rokossovsky, you should understand that in the world anti-fascist war, the situation in the main theaters of war has taken a fundamental turn, and the allies have gained the initiative in the strategic offensive. In order to discuss the question of speeding up the course of the war and the arrangement of the post-war world, the leaders of the Soviet Union and Britain met in Tehran from November 28 to December 1, 1943. Khrushchev said: "It is precisely because of this meeting that the replacement of the commander of the front has been postponed for the time being. ”

After hearing this, Rokossovsky said in his heart that this might be just one of the reasons, and the main reason was that Stalin had illusions about Vatutin, thinking that he would soon be able to crush the German counterattack, and the Soviets would then be able to return to the offensive near Kiev. It was precisely because of this fluke that the situation became extremely unfavorable for the Soviet army.

Seeing that Rokossovsky was silent, Khrushchev waited for a moment before opening his mouth and asking: "Comrade Rokossovsky, you are now the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, I would like to hear how you plan to crush the German offensive on Kiev?" ”

"I have ordered the troops of the 40th Army to launch an attack on the German flank from the Fastef area in order to delay their advance towards Kiev." Rokossovsky pushed the map in front of Khrushchev and said to him: "And the 60th Army of General Chernyakhovsky will continue to organize a stubborn defense in the area east of Korostin, holding off the enemy from the northwest direction of Kiev." ”

Khrushchev stared at the map for a while, and then asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I would like to ask, why not transfer the 1st Guards Tank Army, deployed in the Brovary area, to the west of Kiev to block the German offensive?" ”

"Katukov's troops?" When Rokossovsky heard Khrushchev say this, he couldn't help but be stunned, and then asked rhetorically: "His troops are stationed in Brovaria?" ”

Seeing that Khrushchev nodded in affirmation, Rokossovsky immediately called the chief of staff, Bogolyubov, and asked in a stern tone: "Comrade Chief of Staff, let me ask you, why is General Katukov's 1st Guards Tank Army in Brovari, dozens of miles east of Kiev, while the map shows Priluki, which is hundreds of kilometers away?" ”

"Comrade Commander," Bogolyubov replied with some panic, "since the 1st Guards Tank Army has just been transferred from the base camp reserve, their position on the map has not yet been modified. I thought you knew about it, so I didn't mention it when I reported on the situation......"

"Nonsense, it's nonsense." Rokossovsky said angrily: "The transfer of the tank army to such a big thing is not reflected on our operational map, so that the head of the front army cannot formulate the corresponding operational deployment based on accurate information......

In the face of Rokossovsky's scolding, Bogolyubov could only endure silently and could not refute. In the end, it was Khrushchev who came out to play a round: "Okay, Comrade Rokossovsky, General Bogolyubov cannot be blamed for this, don't look at him as the chief of staff of the Front, but in fact, he has not been in office for a few days, because the Germans have been constantly attacking our army, so he simply does not have enough time to straighten out internal affairs." ”

Rokossovsky, who had made a fuss, originally regretted it a little, and felt that he should not be so impulsive, and when he saw Khrushchev coming out to play a round, he said along the way: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, give an order to General Katukov and let them rush to Kiev overnight." Strive to launch a counterattack against the German 48th Panzer Army in the Jetmyr area tomorrow morning, and strive to drive them back to Zhytomyr and stabilize the defense line of our army. ”

When Khrushchev waited for Bogolyubov to convey the order, he tentatively asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade Rokossovsky, after Katukov's tank army joins the battle, will it be able to crush the German offensive on Kyiv?" ”

"Where is it so easy," Rokossovsky said helplessly, shaking his head: "At present, the German army holds the initiative on the battlefield, and even if we invest more forces, it is impossible to defeat them in a short time." The first task at the moment is to stabilize the front far from Kyiv, and only after our army has regrouped its forces can we launch another offensive campaign. ”

As long as there is a heavy enemy group near Kyiv, then the city may be lost again, and Khrushchev, as the first secretary of Ukraine, will not be able to carry out his work, so he asked worriedly: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I wonder when our troops will be able to counterattack the enemy again?" ”

"It will take half a month at the earliest." Rokossovsky said helplessly: "The main thing is that the current situation is worse than I imagined, and if you want to completely reverse the situation, it will take at least half a month to prepare." ”

"I understand, Comrade Rokossovsky." Khrushchev said with a serious face: "Without the destruction of the enemy near Kiev, we will not be able to carry out local work, factories will not be able to resume work, schools will not be able to reopen, collective farms will not be able to resume farming...... In this way, the areas we have recovered will not only be unable to support the army, but will also become a burden to the army, which we do not want to see. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Khrushchev," Rokossovsky said with a smile and comforted him, "even if we can't crush the German offensive in the short term, we are capable of holding them back, and by stubborn fighting, they can't get a step closer to Kyiv." ”

"When you say that, I'm relieved, Comrade Rokossovsky." Khrushchev said and stood up, stretched out his hand to Rokossovsky, and said in a friendly voice: "Then I will wish you good luck." ”