When the preliminary plan of attack was drawn up, Vasilevsky asked the other assistants to leave, and asked Rokossovsky, who was sitting next to him: "Dear Konstantin Konstantinovich, I see that you seem to have something to say just now, and now there are only two of us here, you can speak freely." Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ”

Seeing Vasilevsky ask about his opinion, Rokossovsky got up and walked to the conference table, pointed to the map above and asked Vasilevsky: "Comrade Acting Chief of the General Staff, I would like to ask, since the 54th Army under the command of Major General Fedyuninsky is in the operational area of General Meretskov's Volkhov Front, then why not put his troops under the unified command of the Front?" ”

"General Meretskov also took into account the situation you mentioned, and he once proposed to us that the 54th Army be brought under unified command." Speaking of this, Vasilevsky said helplessly: "But this proposal was opposed by Lieutenant General Khozin and Comrade Zhdanov of the Leningrad Front, so the proposal was rejected.

Moreover, the other day, Comrade Zhdanov had just proposed to the Supreme Commander himself that, in order to effectively crush the German siege of Leningrad, it was proposed to merge the Leningrad Front and the Volkhov Front to form a new Leningrad Front, with Khotzin as the commander of the Front and General Meretskov as the commander of the Volkhov Battle Cluster. ”

"Comrade Acting Chief of the General Staff," Rokossovsky couldn't help frowning and asked, "Do you think it's appropriate for a lieutenant general to command a general?" ”

"Not suitable. After all, General Meretskov once held the post of Chief of the General Staff, and Comrade Khozhin could not be compared with him at all, both in rank and seniority. Vasilevsky shook his head and said: "But the Supreme Commander-in-Chief himself has agreed to Comrade Zhdanov's proposal, and I estimate that the order for the merger of the two fronts will be announced in these two days." ”

Alexander Mikhailovich, "Seeing that the merger of the 54th Army and the Volkhov Front was no longer possible, Rokossovsky did not continue to dwell on the matter, but turned to the battle plan that had just been drawn up: "In your new offensive plan, try to destroy the German forces in the Sinianavino area, so as to achieve the convergence of the two fronts. This plan looks perfect, but if it is implemented, I don't think it has much chance of success. ”

Since Rokossovsky was only a member of the table and had no right to speak, he was not consulted when the plan was made. At this moment, Vasilevsky heard him say this, and hurriedly urged: "Okay, don't go around in circles, tell me what you think about this offensive plan." Don't be official, just say whatever comes to mind. Can we take Sinavino? ”

"In mind, the direction of the offensive chosen by the General Staff Headquarters was very attractive, not only because of the shortest route of the Volkhov Front from Leningrad, but also because of the dense forests and swamps south of Lake Ladoga, which could hide the maneuvering artillery and armored vehicles of our troops, which could cause the suddenness of the attack. But ......," Rokossovsky said, patting his palm on the map and continuing: "The Signavino Heights, occupied by the Germans, is more than a hundred meters above the surrounding terrain and is one of the few dry clearings in this area where a good view can be obtained. The enemy is not stupid, in order to hold on here, they have strong and deep trapezoidal fortifications on the commanding heights, and our army to attack Signavino means to bring heavy casualties. ”

When Vasilevsky heard this, the expression on his face became serious: "But if we don't try to break the siege of the city by the German army and establish a stable lifeline for the city, then the soldiers and civilians in the city will die in large numbers due to lack of food." This phenomenon cannot be tolerated, so a new offensive must be carried out. ”

"Attack on Sinavino, as expected by the enemy, they have long been ready to repel our attack." Rokossovsky continued to express his opinion: "If there must be an offensive, I propose to change the direction of the main attack of the Volkhov Front. Circumventing the Sinavino Heights to the south, although the terrain would be more complex, with more forests and swamps, making it very difficult for the troops to move, it would have been possible to achieve the desired results beyond the expectations of the Germans......"

While the two were chatting, suddenly a staff officer came out and handed a document to Vasilevsky: "Comrade Acting Chief of the General Staff, this is the battle report of the Crimean Front that I have just received. ”

Rokossovsky knew that he was only an outsider and that he was not qualified to read such a war report until he was given permission. So while Vasilevsky was reading the telegram, he deliberately returned to his desk, picked up the teacup that was placed on it, and pretended to start drinking tea.

After reading the battle report, Vasilevsky walked up to Rokossovsky, handed him the battle report in his hand, and said: "Koschika, look, the situation of the Crimean Front is not good today." ”

After reading the battle report, Rokossovsky learned that after the troops of the Crimean Front smashed the German siege of Sevastopol in January, they began to launch counteroffensives against the German units that stayed around the fortress from February, but in the face of the superior artillery and air firepower of the German army, the troops suffered heavy casualties but did not achieve any results.

He frowned and asked Vasilevsky: "Comrade Acting Chief of the General Staff, if the contents of this war report are true, the situation facing the Crimean Front will be very dangerous. Their vital forces have been exhausted in the counteroffensive, which is very similar to what we were in the second half of last year. The only difference is that we could trade space for time, while they had no choice but to hold on to the fortress. ”

Vasilevsky's eyebrows twisted into a pimple, and he asked a little unsteadily: "Do you think our troops can hold Sevastopol?" ”

Rokossovsky shook his head after hearing this, and said with certainty: "As long as the Germans attack again, Sevastopol, which is already seriously underarmed, will fall." ”

"That's right, Comrade Zhukov also analyzed it this way two days ago." Unexpectedly, after listening to this, Vasilevsky actually nodded and agreed with Rokossovsky's opinion: "What we can do now is to let the troops of the Crimean Front do everything possible to drag the German 11th Army in Sevastopol and relieve the pressure on other battlefields." ”

Listening to Vasilevsky's advance of Sevastopol, Rokossovsky suddenly remembered the female sniper Lyudmila who he had heard Tatiana mention some time ago, and he felt that this was a good time, even if he made any request to Vasilevsky, it would not seem abrupt, so after hesitating for a moment, he said: "Comrade Acting Chief of the General Staff, I know that there is an important person in the fortress, and I hope you can rescue her before the fortress falls." ”

"Someone important?" Vasilevsky frowned and asked, "Who is it?" ”

"I heard of a female sniper named Lyudmila, who killed more than 300 Germans alone in the defense of Sevastopol. For such a hero, we cannot allow her to die in Sevastopol senselessly, so I would like to ask you to find a way to take her out of the fortress. ”

"I have a little impression of the person you are talking about, and some time ago, her deeds were reported in the "Red Star" and "Pravda" newspapers." Vasilevsky nodded and said, "That's right, for such a hero, we can't let her die meaninglessly in this kind of defense that has no chance of winning." Rest assured, I will immediately send a message to the commander of the fortress, General Ayyun Rachmaninov, and ask him to arrange for the dispatch of Lyudmila to Moscow as soon as possible. ”

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Rokossovsky got up and was about to take his leave, but was stopped by Vasilevsky. After looking Rokossovsky up and down, he reminded: "Koschika, since you are a general, it is a little inconvenient for you to enter and leave the staff headquarters in civilian clothes. Next time you come, you'll wear a military uniform. ”

After Vasilevsky finished speaking, Rokossovsky replied with a wry smile: "Comrade Acting Chief of the General Staff, do you know that after I was wounded in Sushinich, I was sent to Moscow naked, and my uniforms, documents, and weapons were left at the front. ”

"I see, I'm wrong about you." After Vasilevsky finished speaking, he picked up the phone on the table, dialed a number, gave a few orders to the other party, and then put down the phone and said to Rokossovsky: "Military uniforms and weapons, I will have someone send them immediately; As for your documents, if you need to reissue them, it may take some time, so I will give you a temporary pass first. But for your safety, I'll send you two more guards. ”

"I need uniforms, weapons and documents," Rokossovsky, thinking of Lyonka, who had nothing to do in the hospital all day, and rejected Vasilevsky about sending guards: "As for the guards, I already have the right person." ”

"The front sent you someone?" Vasilevsky asked curiously.

"It's not someone from the front," Rokossovsky said, shaking his head, "it's a wounded man I know in the hospital, he used to be the 324th Infantry Division, and now his injuries are almost healed, so let him be my guard." ”

After a while, an officer walked in and handed over the suitcase he was carrying to Vasilevsky. Vasilevsky put the box on the table, opened it and looked at it, then pushed it in front of Rokossovsky and said to him: "This is a military uniform and weapons prepared for you, as well as a special pass for the staff headquarters, and you can enter and leave here at any time in the future." ”