A few days after the parade on Red Square, Zhukov, the commander of the Western Front, received a phone call from Stalin from Moscow. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Stalin got straight to the point and asked: "Comrade Zhukov, how is the situation of the Germans now?" ”

"Comrade Stalin," Zhukov quickly got up from his seat, straightened up and replied: "The enemy suffered serious losses in the previous stage of the operation, and is replenishing his forces and adjusting his deployment. Although there will not be a large-scale attack on us in the next few days, once they have completed their build-up, they will move on again. ”

"Comrade Zhukov." Stalin asked slowly: "Where do you think the enemy will carry out their main assault on our lines?" ”

Zhukov glanced down at the map in front of him, and then replied: "We estimate that the enemy will launch the most fierce attack from the Volokolamsk region. It is likely that the Guderian tank cluster bypassed Tula and launched a surprise attack on Kahira. ”

After listening to Zhuke's analysis, Stalin said to himself: "I believe with Shaposhnikov that a counter-assault should be carried out on the enemy in order to crush the assault that the enemy is preparing. A counter-assault was to be carried out in the Volokolamsk area, and another from the Serpukhov area to the flank of the German 4th Army. According to the intelligence we have, the enemy is massing a large number of forces there and preparing for a surprise attack on Moscow. ”

Hearing Stalin say this, Zhukov frowned slightly, "Comrade Supreme Commander, what forces do we use to carry out these counter-assaults?" On the basis that the Western Front does not have forces to maneuver, we currently have only defensive forces. ”

"In the Volokolamsk area it was possible to use the corps of the right flank of the Rokossovsky Army, as well as tank divisions and cavalry corps under the command of Dovator. In the area of Serpukhov it was possible to use Belov's cavalry corps, Gottman's tank division and part of the forces of the 49th Army. ”

"Comrade Stalin." Regarding this deployment of Stalin, Zhukov hurriedly raised his own objections: "I don't think it can be done yet. We cannot throw the last reserves of the Front into a counter-assault that is uncertain of victory. As soon as the enemy's assault groups moved on to the offensive, we did not have the forces to consolidate the defensive positions of the armies. ”

"Your front army now has six army groups, isn't that enough?" Stalin said angrily.

Zhukov replied: "But, Comrade Stalin, you must know that the entire line of defense of the Western Front has been significantly lengthened, plus the bend is currently more than 600 kilometers long. We have very few reserves in the deep zone, especially in the center of the defensive line. ”

Seeing that Zhukov was always stubborn and refused to obey his orders, Stalin said angrily: "On the question of counter-assault, it was thus decided. You're going to report your plans tonight. ”

Zhukov's attempt to persuade Stalin again to counterattack at this time would have been unwise and would have exhausted the limited reserves of the Front, but after Stalin had just said what he had just said, he hung up the phone and did not give him a chance to speak at all.

The phone call with Stalin made Zhukov's mood low, and he stared at the map in front of him, pondering the feasibility of a counteroffensive. After careful consideration, he felt that under the present circumstances, the conditions for a counteroffensive were not yet ripe, and that if the last reserves of the front army were to be thrown into an extremely problematic preemptive counter-assault, then after the forces were exhausted, there would be no strength to strengthen the weak sections of the defensive line.

Just as Zhukov was about to call Stalin and tell him about the results of his solemn consideration, he saw the military commissar Bulganin walking in from outside with his head down.

Bulganin stood opposite Zhukov and said with a bitter face: "Comrade commander, I have just been reprimanded. ”

Hearing Bulganin say this, Zhukov couldn't help but ask strangely: "By whom is he reprimanded?" ”

"Who else could it be? Comrade Stalin, of course. Bulganin smiled bitterly and repeated to Zhukov what Stalin said: "He said: 'You and Zhukov have achieved some small results, and you become proud. But we will try to restrain you!' He asked me to come to you at once and quickly organize a counter-assault. ”

"Please be seated, Comrade Military Commissar." Seeing that Stalin was pressuring himself through Bulganin, Zhukov knew that this immature counteroffensive could not be avoided. He pointed at the stool across the table, pressured Bulganin to sit down, and then said: "We will first call the chief of staff, Sokolovsky, and ask him to inform the two army commanders, Rokossovsky and Zakharkin, so that the troops are ready for a counterattack." ”

Sokolovsky, having received the notice, quickly walked into Zhukov's command room and asked respectfully: "Comrade commander, what instructions do you have?" ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Zhukov glanced at Bulganin, who was sitting across from him, and then instructed Sokolovsky: "Call the two commanders of the 16th Army, Rokossovsky and the 49th Army, Zakharkin, and tell them to immediately prepare for a counterattack against the enemy in front of them." ”

"What, to strike back at this time?" Hearing Zhukov say this, Sokolovsky's eyes widened and he tried to persuade Zhukov to change his attention: "Comrade General, we don't have so many reserves, and the time is not yet ripe for a counteroffensive......"

"Alright, Comrade Chief of Staff." Zhukov did not wait for him to finish speaking, then interrupted his later words and said unceremoniously: "The order to counterattack was given by the Supreme Commander himself, and no matter what difficulties we have, it must be carried out unconditionally." Do you understand? ”

"Understood." Hearing that the order for this counterattack was given by Stalin himself, Sokolovsky did not dare to continue to express any objections, so he could only ask stubbornly: "Comrade commander, I wonder when our counterattack will begin?" ”

Zhukov raised his hand and looked at his watch, then said with a blank face: "I give them two hours to prepare." When the time comes, it is necessary to launch an all-out counterattack against the enemy in front of you. ”

…………

When Rokossovsky received a call from Sokolovsky, Chief of Staff of the Front, he thought he had misheard, and hurriedly asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the order you gave is correct, right?" You must know that the enemy in front of us, whether in terms of troops or technical equipment, is several times more than us, and they also have air supremacy on the battlefield. ”

"That's right, Comrade Rokossovsky, you are right about the order you have heard, that is, to launch a counteroffensive against the enemy in front of you, and the battle will begin in two hours." In order to arouse Rokossovsky's sufficient attention, Sokolovsky also deliberately emphasized: "The order for the counteroffensive is given by the Supreme Commander himself, and can only be carried out and not discussed." You have to launch a counter-offensive against the enemy in two hours, you know? ”

Hearing that Sokolovsky had moved Stalin out, Rokossovsky could only grit his teeth and reply: "Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front, I obey the order." ”

Seeing Rokossovsky put down the phone with a pale face, Lobachev hurriedly asked with concern: "Comrade commander, what happened, why is your face so ugly?" ”

Rokossovsky did not answer Lobachev's question, but turned his head and called Malinin in front of him and asked bluntly: "Chief of Staff, how many troops can we draw out now to carry out a counterattack on the German army?" ”

Malinin suddenly heard Rokossovsky's question, and immediately kindly reminded him: "Comrade commander, our current forces are barely enough for defense, and we simply do not have the strength to counterattack the Germans......"

"That's enough, don't ask me any more difficulties." Rokossovsky slapped the table, interrupted Malinin's words, and said to him angrily: "This is a counterattack order issued by the Supreme Commander himself, as long as he can gather enough counterattack troops, even if all the troops on the position are withdrawn, he will not hesitate." ”

Seeing that Rokossovsky was angry, and hearing that it was the order personally issued by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief himself, Malinin did not dare to raise any objections, and hurriedly frowned and quickly calculated how many mobile troops his army still had. After a tense calculation, he raised his head to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, if we want to carry out a counterattack, we can draw one regiment from the 316th Infantry Division and the 126th Infantry Division; two regiments each from the 18th and 78th Infantry Divisions of the militia; Together with Colonel Katukov's tank brigade, a battle group was formed to carry out a counterattack on the enemy. But ......"

"But what?" Seeing that Malinin was halfway through his words and stopped going on, Rokossovsky asked a little anxiously: "Can they launch a counterattack against the enemy in two hours?" ”

"No, Comrade Commander." Malinin shook his head and said: "Although I know that this is an order personally given by the Supreme Commander himself, as a party member, I can't tell lies, and I definitely can't gather the scattered troops in two hours." ”

"How long will that take?"

Malinin thought for a moment and then replied decisively, "It will take at least ten hours." ”

"Well," after listening to Malinin's words, Rokossovsky nodded and said: "I will personally call Comrade Zhukov and report to him on the actual situation of our army group." ”

But before Rokossovsky could call Zhukov's command, Stalin's phone came in first. Hearing Stalin's voice coming from the earpiece, Rokossovsky hurriedly made a silencing gesture to the people around him, and then said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Stalin!" ”

Stalin admired Rokossovsky and called him to find out for himself what these commanders thought of the counteroffensive. He asked amiably: "Comrade Rokossovsky, presumably you have already received the order for Zhukov to give you a counteroffensive, right?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky replied affirmatively: "Order us to launch a counteroffensive against the Germans in front of the defensive positions in two hours?" ”

"Is there any difficulty?"

"There will be difficulties, but we will try to overcome them." Rokossovsky deliberated again and again and decided to report to Stalin the biggest problem of the moment: "The higher authorities ordered us to launch a counteroffensive against the German army within two hours. However, the forces we can use are too spread out to be massed, and there is simply not enough time to assemble, so I fear that we will not be able to attack on time. ”

"How much time will it take to assemble the counteroffensive forces?" Stalin then asked.

"Ten hours at least."

After hearing Rokossovsky's statement of this time, Stalin thought for a moment, then nodded and said: "I understand, I will call Zhukov and ask him to postpone the offensive." ”

After Stalin had finished calling Rokossovsky, he called General Belov of the Cavalry Corps. He asked bluntly: "Comrade Belov, do you have any difficulties there?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." When Belov heard Stalin's question, he immediately reported to him about the difficulties he was facing: "My troops continue to have a large number of submachine guns and machine guns, and you know, after a long battle, many of my cavalry fighters have turned into infantry fighting on foot, and in terms of firepower they cannot be compared with the Germans. ”

Stalin pondered for a moment about Belov's question, and then said briskly: "Don't worry, Comrade Belov, I will give 1500 submachine guns and two new batteries of 76-mm cannons, and at the same time send three aviation divisions to support you in the battle." ”

After calling Rokossovsky and Belov separately, Stalin picked up the battle plan reported by Zhukov on the table and read it again, and then discussed the details of the counteroffensive with Shaposhnikov, who was far away in Kuibyshev. When all this was done, he dialed Zhukov's command again.

After hearing Zhukov's voice, Stalin said slowly: "Comrade Zhukov, I have seen your counterattack plan and considered it very thoroughly, and I believe that this counterattack will definitely achieve good results." ”

After Zhukov waited for Stalin to finish speaking, he said with a blank face: "Comrade Stalin, I have sent the order to counterattack to all participating units. In another hour, we will be able to start the counteroffensive. ”

"Comrade Zhukov, I called you just to inform you that the time of your attack will be postponed for 24 hours." After Stalin said this, without waiting for Zhukov to ask why, he preemptively said to him: "I just called and asked, Rokossovsky's troops are too scattered, and it is impossible to complete the assembly in two hours. In order to prevent the Germans from maneuvering with their reserves in the event of a counteroffensive by our troops, we must launch a counteroffensive at the same time in both Volokolamsk and Serpukhov sectors so that the enemy loses sight of the other, so it is necessary to allow sufficient time for the build-up of Rokossovsky's troops, which are the main forces of the counteroffensive. (To be continued.) )