After listening to Rokossovsky's report, Stalin surprisingly did not get angry, but said with a pleasant face: "Yes, Comrade Rokossovsky, the campaign we have organized has indeed not taken into account the problem that bad weather will affect the normal transportation of our troops. From your report, we do need to recalibrate our strategy. Tell me first, where are your first armies? ”

Rokossovsky didn't expect Stalin to become so talkative, and he originally planned to bear the other party's thunderous anger. After a brief hesitation, he gave Stalin a detailed report on the exact location of the units to which the Front belonged.

After figuring out the specific location of the various units of the Central Front, Stalin stared at the map in front of him for a while, and then said in a consultative tone: "Comrade Rokossovsky, according to the current distribution of troops, I intend to adjust your campaign tasks. ”

Rokossovsky hurriedly put the pen and paper in front of him, and after preparing for the record, he said respectfully into the microphone: "Comrade Stalin, please speak, I will start recording immediately." ”

"Rokossovsky, I order you now." Stalin, with his eyes fixed on the map in front of him, began to dictate the order to Rokossovsky: "Starting tomorrow, with the forces of the 21st Army, the 70th Army and the 2nd Tank Army, strike north in the direction of Orel, in coordination with the Bryansk Front and the left flank of the Western Front, crush the enemy Orlov group." ”

After dictating the order, Stalin paused for a moment, estimating that Rokossovsky had finished recording his order, before he opened his mouth to confirm: "Have you written it down?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." In fact, Stalin's new order was so brief that Rokossovsky only had to listen to it once to memorize it. But out of respect for Stalin, he nevertheless took note of it in his notebook, and then respectfully replied: "I have already recorded your orders." ”

"Good!" Stalin ordered: "Then execute it as soon as possible!" ”

Seeing Rokossovsky put down the phone, Malinin immediately asked: "Comrade commander, is the Supreme Commander himself planning for us to adjust the direction of the offensive?" ”

Rokossovsky knew that the telephone he was using was a little leaky, and not only Malinin, but also several commanders sitting nearby should have heard the order that Stalin had just given. So he nodded and said to his subordinates: "Comrade Stalin has adjusted our campaign tasks, and now what we have to do is to stop all the troops and, after a slight adjustment, relaunch the assault in the direction of Orel to the north. ”

Malinin was the first to express his opinion: "Comrade commander, in any case, we should first of all rescue the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps trapped in Shevsk, otherwise once they are heavily damaged or annihilated by the enemy, it will have a great impact on the morale of our army. ”

Rokossovsky agreed with Malinin's statement very much, and in the memory of later generations, the Kharkov battle launched by the troops of the Southwestern Front and the Voronezh Front would end in a crushing defeat in a few days. If one's own troops also lose one unit in an organized manner at such a time, it will be a very fatal blow to the morale and morale of the army.

Thinking of this, he decisively gave the order: "Order Batov and Kryukov, to launch an attack on Shevsk at all costs, and must be relieved by the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps, which is besieged by the Germans." ”

"Comrade commander," said Deputy Commander Trubnikov, who had just arrived from Stalingrad, looking at the map on the table with embarrassment, "the Germans destroyed the ice of the Shev River with bombs and shells, making it impossible for our troops to cross the river. If we don't solve this difficulty, I think it will be very difficult to rescue the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps. ”

After Trubnikov's words were finished, whether it was Malinin, Terekin, Kazakov and Orel, all of them nodded in agreement with his statement.

"Commanders, comrades," Rokossovsky said his thoughts to everyone, tapping lightly on the map with a red and blue pencil, "I think so, since the force crossing from the front of the German army cannot be successful, then we can change the place and let the troops cross the river, either upstream or downstream of the Shev River." Although the ice in most areas was shattered by German artillery fire, the temperature is now low, and it only takes a day, night or even a few hours for the river to freeze again. ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's idea, Trubnikov nodded and said approvingly: "I agree with this proposal of Comrade Commander, the reason why the main forces of the Kryukov group have repeatedly failed in the past two days is related to our inability to cross the Shev River. Now we only need to cross the river in a different place, and this problem can be solved. ”

"But, Comrade Deputy Commander." After hearing this, Terekin immediately expressed his opinion: "What should we do if our maneuver is discovered by the Germans and they preemptively blow up the ice in the area where we are going to cross the river?" ”

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on himself, Rokossovsky coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and continued: "I think so, the main force of the Kryukov group, still staying on the west bank of the Shev River, is in a posture of preparing to cross the river and attack, so as to attract the attention of the enemy on the other side of the river; At the same time, two divisions of our 65th Army turned north, crossed the river by surprise from upstream, and then flanked the enemy who was holding on to the east bank of the river. As a result, we have a much higher chance of breaking the siege with the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps. ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's opinion, Malinin frowned and thought for a moment, and then spoke: "Comrade commander, according to the situation of the two days of fighting, although the number of German troops who cut off the Kryukov cluster is not large, at most only one regiment, their will to fight is very strong, which can be seen from their ability to stubbornly withstand our multi-faceted attacks. ”

Rokossovsky heard from Malinin's words that he had other considerations, so he modestly asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what do you have good ideas, just say it." ”

"To relieve the siege of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps as soon as possible, infantry alone is far from enough." Malinin looked up at Rokossovsky and said with a resolute expression: "I think it is also necessary to put the units of the tank army into battle." ”

"Tank Army?" Although Rokossovsky has always wanted to use this unit, it is a pity that Lieutenant General Rokin's troops are coming, but the tanks used for combat are still in transit, so he can't let the tank crews charge like infantry, with submachine guns and rifles, braving the enemy's dense firepower, right? For him, every tankman with rich combat experience is a valuable asset of the troops, and no one has the right to let them die in vain. "But their tanks are still in transit, and the combat effectiveness of tank crews without tanks is estimated to be no match for ordinary infantry."

"Comrade Commander, there is a situation I forgot to report to you." As soon as Orel waited for Malinin to finish speaking, he immediately rushed to say: "The 30 tanks of the tank army arrived in the Yelets area five minutes ago. Lieutenant General Rogin is commanding the troops to accept the tanks, believing that after a short period of inspection and maintenance, they will be able to enter the battle immediately. ”

Hearing that 30 tanks of the tank army had arrived on the battlefield, Rokossovsky felt that the plan just proposed by Malinin was completely feasible, so he bowed slightly: "Okay, since General Rogin's tanks have arrived on the battlefield, then let them hurry up and prepare and be ready to fight at any time." ”

Honestly, with the arrival of tanks from the tank army, the situation again became favorable for Rokossovsky's troops. Two infantry divisions of the 65th Army, as well as a tank brigade of the 2nd Tank Army, took advantage of the darkness to successfully cross the river from the upper reaches of the Shev River and launched an attack on the flank of the German troops cutting off the Kryukov cluster.

The inspiring battlefield began at three o'clock in the morning and lasted until dawn, when the sound of gunfire on the battlefield gradually became sparse. The 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps, which had been besieged by the Germans for several days, finally broke through the German encirclement and joined forces with the troops who came to the rescue.

After learning that the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps had been rescued, the stone hanging in Rokossovsky's heart finally fell to the ground. Although the cavalry army has been rescued, the enemy pressing from the north is still aggressive. In order to prevent the Germans from rushing across the Shev River and threatening the flanks of the Front troops, Rokossovsky decisively ordered two infantry divisions and a tank brigade to relieve the cavalry corps to spread out in a wide area on the east bank of the Shev River in order to prevent a possible German offensive.

The cavalry corps broke out of the encirclement, and Rokossovsky's next task was to direct the troops to carry out a surprise attack in the direction of Orel. Before that, however, their first assault was in Orlov, where a large number of elite German troops were gathered.

There was a disagreement within the front army about the fact that the assault task group would be carried out by that army. Deputy Commander Troubnikov was the first to state: "Comrades, from the current point of view, Batov's 65th Army is the strongest, and I propose that they be responsible for the assault on the Orlov area and drive the Germans out of the said area. ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander, I do not agree with you." As soon as Trubnikov's words were finished, they were immediately refuted by Malinin. The chief of staff pointed to the map and said: "Although General Batov's troops are the strongest in combat effectiveness in the entire front, you see, their deployment is too scattered, and it is difficult to concentrate troops in a short period of time to carry out a surprise attack on the Orlov area, which is heavily defended by the German army. I think it's still General Tarasov's 70th Army, which is closest to the Orlov region. ”

Without waiting for Rokossovsky to express his opinion, the head of the communications corps, Maximenko, sent a telegram: "Comrade commander, this is a telegram from the Voronezh Front. ”

Rokossovsky took the telegram and after a quick glance at its contents, a look of joy appeared on his face. Seeing his joyful appearance, Terekin couldn't help but ask: "Comrade commander, is there any good news?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Military Commissar, this can be considered good news." Rokossovsky casually handed the telegram to Trubnikov, and then said to everyone with a smile: "Thanks to the active actions of our front, it has greatly helped our left neighbor Voronezh Front, successfully attracting and pinning down most of the enemy troops from their position. In this way, their 60th Army was able to advance smoothly and to a large extent alleviate the unfavorable situation of the Voronezh Front, since the enemy forces had switched to a full-scale counteroffensive from them. ”

After Rokossovsky finished speaking, the surrounding command began to whisper, they did not expect that the tactical actions taken by their troops would greatly alleviate the unfavorable situation of the friendly forces.

After everyone finished talking, Rokossovsky began to give the offensive task: "Since Batov's 65th Army is too scattered, it is impossible to complete the assembly in a short time; And Chistyakov's 21st Army, due to later supply reasons, could not serve as the main force for attacking the Orlov region. Therefore, I am ready to entrust this glorious and difficult task to the 70th Army of General Tarasov. ”

Seeing Trubnikov's sad face, Rokossovsky also deliberately explained to him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, the reason why I gave the task of attacking Orlov to the 70th Army is, first of all, because they are deployed in that direction; Secondly, this is a force made up of border guards, well-trained and excellent soldiers who can fight in any conditions. I had high hopes for them, so I sent them to the right flank to launch the final assault on the Germans in the Orlov area together with the Bryansk Front. ”

Trubnikov, perhaps thinking that Rokossovsky had a point, did not object again, but just nodded his head in agreement with his deployment.

Rokossovsky's gaze swept over every commander present, and he habitually asked: "Does anyone have any questions?" ”

"Comrade Commander," as soon as his words fell, the artillery commander, General Kazakov, raised his right hand, "I have a question. ”

"Tell me, General Kazakov." Rokossovsky said politely.

"If the 70th Army is tasked with attacking Orlov," Kazakov asked, looking at Rokossovsky with an expressionless face, "then do we need to provide them with artillery support?" ”

"You're right." Hearing what Kazakov said, Rokossovsky immediately realized that he had forgotten to consider the issue of artillery support, and hurriedly said: "Artillery commander, please immediately contact the 70th Army and ask them if they need artillery support!" ”