At the ensuing banquet, Wavell avoided sensitive topics and frequently toasted Rokossovsky and Lobachev, praising the heroic tenacity of the Red Army and the German invading army. It didn't take long for Write~Fun~Pavilion www.biquge.info to get drunk and get into the jeep parked outside the door with the help of his subordinates.

Lobachev and Rokossovsky stood outside the gate of the command headquarters, looked at the distant convoy, and said with emotion: "Comrade commander, I really didn't expect that Britain is now our ally. I think people who are a little older should remember that Britain was one of the foreign intervention forces in those days. ”

Rokossovsky turned his face to look at Lobachev and said with a smile: "Comrade Military Commissar, the British Prime Minister of the XIX century, Palmerston, once said: There are no permanent enemies, there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests. Today, this phrase has become the foundation of British diplomacy. They have formed an alliance with us today in order to keep the main German forces at bay and free up their hands to attack the British mainland. Once we lose the value of use, they may turn their backs and deny people. France was an old ally, but after surrendering to Germany last year, the British, fearing that the Germans would use French ships to attack the British mainland, sent troops to attack and severely damage the French fleet in the port. ”

"Ah, what else is going on?" Lobachev was taken aback when he heard Rokossovsky say this, and asked in surprise: "Where did you hear this rumor, is it reliable?" ”

"This is not a rumor, Comrade Military Commissar." Rokossovsky said vaguely: "This is the information I got from the prisoners when I interrogated them some time ago. ”

"The captives can't be spreading rumors, are they?" Lobachev, who had never believed that Britain would attack the French fleet, asked in a skeptical tone: "He also wanted to provoke contradictions between us and our British allies." ”

Rokossovsky didn't want to dwell on this matter any longer, so he changed the topic in time: "Okay, Comrade Military Commissar, it's time for us to go back to the headquarters, it's been long enough." ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Lobachev suddenly remembered that before they came to the 38th Infantry Division, the Germans had just launched the second river-crossing operation, and hurriedly asked with concern: "Has the Germans' river-crossing operation been powdered by us?" ”

"That's right, the enemy's second operation, again ended in failure." "Although they have lost a lot of troops and equipment to cross the river, they will certainly not be reconciled and will continue to try, so we must rush back to the headquarters as soon as possible so that we can take control of the situation," Rokossovsky said. ”

Just as Rokossovsky and Lobachev were returning to the command headquarters in the car, reclining on the back seat of the jeep, Wavell, who was still drunk and unconscious, suddenly opened his eyes and sat up straight. The adjutant sitting next to him saw Wavell open his eyes, and couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Your Excellency, General, are you awake?" ”

"I'm not drunk at all." Wavell turned his head to look behind him, and then asked his adjutant: "Colonel, what do you think of this General Rokossovsky?" Also, do you think the Red Army will be able to hold back the offensive of Nazi Germany? ”

The adjutant thought for a moment, then shook his head and said: "I think this Rokossovsky is too confident, the Russian army has been defeated and retreated under the powerful offensive of the German army, but he ignores the current situation of the Russian army's losses and generals, and he is ashamed to say that they will definitely win the final victory." ”

After listening to the adjutant's analysis, Wavell smiled, and then said, "Colonel, if someone else said what we heard today, I guess I would still have some doubts. But when General Rokossovsky said it, I think it is completely credible. Because of the series of victories he achieved after the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, he had the confidence to say such things. I think the military delegation will be able to return home in two days. ”

After hearing this, the adjutant asked with some surprise: "Your Excellency, General, aren't we going to return to China until the end of the month?" Why did you suddenly change the date of your return home? ”

"The Prime Minister sent us to Moscow to find out whether the Russian army had the courage to resist the German attack, and now that we have found the answer we want, there is no need to stay any longer." Wavell said with relief: "As long as the Russian behemoth does not fall, Hitler will not be able to draw enough strength to attack our British homeland." Therefore, when I return, I will make a proposal to Mr. Prime Minister and ask him to provide the necessary military assistance to Soviet Russia. ”

Rokossovsky returned to his command, and as soon as he entered the door, he asked Kazakov, who had taken his place as temporary commander: "Comrade Chief of Artillery, how is the situation on the banks of the Vopi River, has the enemy launched a third river crossing?" ”

"No, Comrade Commander, now that the wind and waves are calm on the Wopi River, the enemy may have lost too much equipment for crossing the river, so it is impossible to launch a new attack in the short term." As Kazakov spoke, he smelled the strong smell of wine on Rokossovsky's body, and quickly asked tentatively: "Comrade commander, have you drunk?" ”

Rokossovsky nodded and replied: "A few drinks with our English guests." Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Artillery, I can't get drunk on this little wine. ”

After Kazakov helped Rokossovsky sit down, he asked with concern: "Comrade commander, anyway, there is nothing to do now, the military commissar, the chief of staff, and I are here, you go and take a nap for a while." ”

After hearing this, Rokossovsky waved his hand and said: "Comrade Chief of Artillery, thank you for your kindness. No, I can't sleep. After speaking, he pulled the telephone on the table in front of him, pressed the microphone with his left hand, shook the handle vigorously with his right hand a few times, then grabbed the microphone and put it to his ear, and said to the microphone: "Hey, hey, hey, I'm Rokossovsky, give me Colonel Orlov of the 108th Division." ”

The phone went through quickly.

When Rokossovsky heard Orlov's voice, coming out of the earpiece, he immediately asked: "Comrade Colonel, how is your situation there?" Are the Germans still preparing to cross the river? ”

"No, Comrade Commander." Orlov replied, "There is no movement at all on the enemy's positions on the other side of the river, and it is estimated that they will not try to cross the river again today, after all, so many river crossing equipment have been destroyed by us, and it is impossible for them to swim over." After reporting on his work, the colonel suddenly asked cautiously, "Comrade commander, have you drunk?" ”

"Colonel, how do you know?" Rokossovsky was intrigued by Orlov's keen observations.

Orlov replied with a smile: "This is a good judgment, Comrade Commander. You're talking a little bit more now than you did a few hours ago, so I'm guessing you might have been drinking. ”

"Comrade Colonel, your observations are sharp." After complimenting him, Rokossovsky made a point of instructing him: "But if you use this observation against the Germans, I am sure you will soon become a general." Remember, keep an eye out for the crossing on the left flank of your line, where I think the Germans will concentrate their main forces in tomorrow's attack. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Orlov assured Rokossovsky that "I had an elite infantry battalion there, and in addition to four heavy machine guns and twelve light machine guns, there were two mortar groups." If the enemy does not come, it will be enough, and if it comes, I will discipline them and not return. ”

"Colonel, although you have made adequate preparations, you should not take it lightly. On the battlefield, anything can happen, so you need to think about how to deal with it. Seeing that Orlov was a little blindly confident, Rokossovsky had to pour cold water on him and told him: "The ferry should be used as a defensive position for your division, and Lieutenant Colonel Lemizov's 27th tank brigade is behind your defensive line. ”

"Understood." Orlov replied loudly: "I'll call Lieutenant Colonel Lemizov now." ”

Rokossovsky, who was still explaining the task to Orlov, suddenly saw Malinin, who was standing not far away answering the phone, gesturing to him, as if he was in a hurry, so he quickened his speech and said: "Comrade Colonel, in a word, the defense forces for crossing the river should be strengthened. I'm done talking, good luck! ”

He put down the phone and walked in front of Ma Linin, and asked in a low voice: "Chief of Staff, what is the important matter?" ”

Malinin handed the microphone in his hand to Rokossovsky, and then whispered: "Comrade commander, General Konev of the 19th Army wants to speak to you." ”

Konev?! Hearing this name, Rokossovsky's eyebrows couldn't help but rise, and at the same time he secretly guessed in his heart: What is he looking for me to do at this time? Is he going to announce to me that he has now taken over the post of commander of the Western Front, and then assign himself a few new combat missions?

With a stomach full of questions, Rokossovsky took the microphone and said politely: "Hello, General Konev, what instructions do you have?" ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky, have you been drinking?" Konev heard from Rokossovsky's voice that he had drunk alcohol, and a thorn suddenly felt in his heart. He said in a reproachful tone: "Now that there is a war, you need to command the troops to fight, how can you get yourself drunk?" ”

Rokossovsky heard the other party's dissatisfaction from Konev's tone. Thinking that Konev would not be long before he would take up the post of commander of the Front, and if he did not explain it clearly, he would leave a bad impression in the minds of the future immediate superior, so he smiled and said: "Comrade General, it is like this, not so long ago I went to receive a foreign military delegation from Moscow and had a few drinks with it. Don't worry, I'm still very sober, and it will definitely not affect the command of the operation. ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's explanation, Konev realized that he was wrong to blame the other party. After laughing twice, he got down to business: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I called you to ask how your troops are resting?" Can you go into battle in a short period of time? ”

Although Rokossovsky did not know the purpose of Konev's question, he still answered truthfully: "Half of the divisions in my army group have just been replenished with new recruits and are seizing time to train. At present, the contacts with the enemy are all units that have not suffered much attrition in the early stage of the battle. ”

"If I'm going to launch a counteroffensive against the enemy," Konev waited for Rokossovsky to finish, and then asked tentatively, "how many troops can you pull out to cooperate?" ”

"Counterattack?" Rokossovsky was surprised to hear Konev say this, and he asked in surprise: "Comrade General, with all due respect, without the support of the air force and artillery, the counter-assault we carried out against the Germans would have been very difficult to achieve. Their air force and powerful artillery fire can easily crush our attacking forces. ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Konev was a little unhappy again, and he raised his voice and said: "Comrade Rokossovsky, how can our troops, cultivated with an offensive spirit, carry out a passive defense in the face of the crazy offensive of the fascist bandits?" ”

After Rokossovsky waited for Konev to finish, he said unhurriedly: "Comrade General, can I tell me what I think?" ”

"If you have anything to say, just say it." Konev said angrily.

"Comrade General, I think that in the current situation, we should still focus on holding our positions." Rokossovsky cautiously expounded his views to Konev: "According to my observations in the past two months, I have found that the reason why our field conditions are easy to be eaten by the Germans, who are inferior in strength and firepower, is that they hesitate to attack and ignore the end when retreating, and this is closely related to the overall lack of training and the lack of officer quality. On the contrary, our troops perform better when they are in a well-fortified area and have been trained and prepared to fight independently. ”

After hearing this, Konev was silent for a long time before he said faintly: "Comrade Rokossovsky, according to you, then in the face of the enemy's attack, we can only stay in the fortifications and carry out passive defense, and cannot take the initiative to take offensive actions?" ”

"Air supremacy on the battlefield is in the hands of the Germans, and I think this cannot be changed for a long time." Rokossovsky ignored Konev's complaints, and said to himself: "Therefore, even if we are going to launch a counterattack, the time should be chosen at night." The Germans, deprived of aircraft and artillery support, would have been crushed in the face of our counterattack. ”

Konev was still angry with Rokossovsky, but when he heard what he said later, he immediately turned his anger into joy and asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, so you plan to cooperate with our 19th Army in launching a counterattack against the Germans?" ”

"Yes, Comrade General." Rokossovsky said along the way: "I will send the most elite troops to act with you and disrupt the original offensive steps of the German army. (To be continued.) )