Due to the influence of weather and road conditions, the movement of troops of the Central Front until the evening of February 24 saw only part of the 65th Army, the 2nd Tank Army, the 2nd Cavalry Army and 2 Snow Infantry Brigades from the base camp reserves on a 150-kilometer front in the areas of Cherny, Mikhailovka, Koneshevka and Makarovka. And the 21st Army was still on its way to Stalingrad to Yerets.

Having learned about the current state of the troops, Rokossovsky asked Malinin: "Where is General Tarasov?" Did his troops get into our designated positions? "Tarasov was the commander of the 70th Army, and his unit was the only one in the entire Front that was fully manned, so Rokossovsky was very concerned about their movements.

Malinin looked up at Rokossovsky and said: "Not so long ago, General Tarasov called and said that he was on his way to the headquarters, and I think in a few minutes he will be here." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard someone outside at the door asking loudly, "Can I come in?" ”

Rokossovsky heard that this was an unfamiliar voice, and it would definitely not be a staff officer in the headquarters or something, it could only be the commander of the 70th Army, Tarasov, whom he and Malinin were talking about. Thinking of this, he shouted outside, "Please come in!" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, a round-faced general of medium stature and broad shoulders walked in. Seeing Rokossovsky and Malinin standing at the table, he took two quick steps, came to the two of them, raised his hand and saluted: "Report to Comrade Commander of the Front, Major General Tarasov, Commander of the 70th Army, report to you, I am waiting for your orders, please instruct!" ”

Rokossovsky raised his hand to return the salute, then shook the other party's hand and said: "General Tarasov, you have worked hard all the way. Hurry up and take a seat! ”

After Tarasov sat down, Rokossovsky smiled and said to him: "Comrade General, tell us about your troops." ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's question, Tarasov quickly got up from his seat and replied respectfully: "Comrade commander, my unit has just been formed, and its members are mainly composed of border troops and NKVD internal guard troops. It now has the 106th, 140th, 162nd, 175th and 181st infantry divisions, as well as a number of tank and artillery units. ”

After Ma Lining waited for the other party to finish speaking, he preemptively asked, "Comrade General, where are your troops deployed now?" ”

Tarasov pointed to the map on the table: "My troops have reached the Yelets, Livny, Fadezhzadonsk regions, and have built defensive strips in Yasnaya Polyana, Sitrosna, and Bobrovo, 70 kilometers northwest of Kursk. ”

Probably fearing that Rokossovsky would reproach his troops for being too busy, Tarasov also explained with a red face: "Comrade commander, according to the original plan, our unit should be stationed in the designated area within a week. But as you know, due to heavy snow closures, our transportation was disrupted, and our soldiers had to march on foot to the designated assembly points, resulting in delays. ”

When Tarasov was defending himself, Rokossovsky's mind was thinking that the state of the roads in Russia is really bad, the roads between the cities are in disrepair, they are basically gray and muddy on sunny days, and now the roads are closed by heavy snow, and after a while there will be a thaw in the Spring Festival, and the movement of the troops will be even worse.

Seeing that Rokossovsky was slow to speak, Malinin hurriedly reminded him in a low voice: "Comrade commander, General Tarasov is still waiting for your order." ”

"Do you understand your mission?" Rokossovsky looked at Tarasov and asked, and after the other party nodded in affirmation, he continued: "After the offensive begins tomorrow, your army group, as the right flank attacking force of the front, will advance in the direction of Dmitrovsk, and you must decisively and quickly wedge into the German defense line and cooperate with the offensive of friendly and neighboring troops......"

After Tarasov left, Malinin sighed and said: "Comrade commander, although the base camp postponed the attack for ten days, the road conditions were not conducive to the movement of troops, which led to the fact that part of our 21st Army and 65th Army were still on the way, weakening our offensive forces. If only there was some means of transport that could quickly transport our troops to the designated place in such bad weather and bad road conditions. ”

Malinin's words made Rokossovsky start thinking again. In later generations, the Russian army created a ground-effect aircraft called the "Caspian Sea Monster", which can transport 850 officers and soldiers to the designated location at a speed of 800 kilometers per hour. Moreover, this aircraft is also equipped with powerful firepower, so even if it encounters enemy forces, it has enough self-defense capabilities.

However, he thought about it, and the Alekseev Central Design Bureau began manufacturing and producing this weapon in 1963 at the request of the Navy, and made its first successful flight in 1966. With the current level of production in the Soviet Union, if you want to stop such a flying machine, first, the technology is not up to par, and second, the production cycle is too long, and maybe by the time it is produced, Berlin will have already fallen.

Although it is not realistic to manufacture ground-effect aircraft, it can be suggested that relevant parties try hovercraft with simple production technology. Hovercraft are not only fast and capable of navigating at a certain height above the water, but also on beaches, swamps, water nets and snow-covered terrain. Although the speed and payload capacity are not comparable to that of ground-effect aircraft, they can provide the speed of troop transportation in the case of heavy snow and road closures in winter.

Malinin looked at Rokossovsky, who was speechless, and felt very strange in his heart, he said in his heart What is wrong with the commander today, why should he be distracted? Just now, when Tarasov was reporting to him, he had been absent-minded; Now another person stared intently at the map in front of him, looking like he couldn't give up.

He hurriedly coughed heavily, and after Rokossovsky's attention was attracted by himself, he cautiously asked: "Comrade commander, we still have many troops that have not yet reached the designated offensive positions, and tomorrow's offensive will still be carried out as scheduled?" ”

Hearing Malinin say this, Rokossovsky's eyebrows rose and he asked in surprise: "Tomorrow's attack on the enemy is an order given to us by the base camp, not to mention that only one army group has not reached the designated position, even if more troops do not arrive, we must launch an attack as scheduled." ”

…………

In the early morning of February 25, thousands of artillery pieces of the Central Front simultaneously launched a fierce artillery bombardment of the German frontal positions. After the half-hour artillery preparation was over, the commanders and fighters, who had long been ready to attack, launched a charge against the enemy's position.

Batov's 65th Army was the main force of today's offensive, and although there were still two of them on the march, their strength was strengthened rather than weakened because the three divisions of the Bryansk Front deployed in the area were placed under his command. Their main direction of attack is in the Mikhailovka and Lyukez regions.

Attacking to the right of Batov, Tarasov's 70th Army, was advancing in the direction of Dmitrovsk; On the left was the tank 2nd Army of Lieutenant General Rogin, which advanced towards the Shevsk attack.

On the left flank of the Front, a mixed infantry cavalry regiment under the command of General Kryukov, which commanded the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps, 2 snow infantry brigades and 1 tank regiment, launched a fierce attack on the Germans in the Khutol-Mikhailovsky and Novgorod-Seversky directions.

After the offensive began, Rokossovsky waited less than an hour before receiving good news from Batov: the 65th Army, with the cooperation of the 70th Army, had successfully captured Komalichey and Lyudezh and drove the remaining enemy far away from these two areas.

Lieutenant General Rogin's 2nd Tank Army also performed very well, they managed to break through the strong German lines and successfully capture Sherekina-Budoy.

And Kryukov's infantry cavalry group attacked without any decent resistance. The enemy in front of them was almost instantaneously crushed, so much so that they became the farthest troops wedged into the German lines.

Seeing this successive battle reports, the commanders of the front army headquarters were all overjoyed. Malinin even optimistically said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, I did not expect the Germans to be so vulnerable, you see, how long our offensive began, their line of defense almost completely collapsed." ”

In Rokossovsky's later memory, although there was a gap between the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk, he keenly felt that something was wrong with the situation, and the Germans did not put up stubborn resistance after being attacked, but took the initiative to abandon a lot of positions and retreat back, and there must be some conspiracy in it.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly ordered Malinin: "Chief of Staff, send a message to General Kryukov ordering his infantry cavalry group to immediately stop the offensive against the Germans and turn to the defense on the spot in the Shevsk area." ”

When Malinin heard such an order, he couldn't help but be taken aback, and he hurriedly reminded Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, I think the reason why our army is making rapid progress is because the German army was eaten by us at Stalingrad with an army group, which led to the discouragement and lack of morale of the army, so in the face of our army's attack, they simply could not put up decent resistance. ”

Seeing that his chief of staff, who was already a little carried away by the series of victories, Rokossovsky immediately said with a straight face: "Comrade Chief of Staff, although we surrounded and annihilated Paulus's German 6th Army in the Stalingrad area, the enemy's strength did not suffer much loss. In today's battle, they retreated so quickly, they must have played some kind of trick, and we must not take it lightly, otherwise we will suffer a big loss. ”

When Malinin heard Rokossovsky say this, he immediately realized the seriousness of the problem and hurriedly agreed: "I understand, Comrade Commander, I will send a telegram to General Kryukov, ordering his troops to stop the offensive and move to the defense on the spot, so as not to fall into the trap of the Germans." ”

After the offensive began, Rokossovsky waited less than an hour before receiving good news from Batov: the 65th Army, with the cooperation of the 70th Army, had successfully captured Komalichey and Lyudezh and drove the remaining enemy far away from these two areas.

Lieutenant General Rogin's 2nd Tank Army also performed very well, they managed to break through the strong German lines and successfully capture Sherekina-Budoy.

And Kryukov's infantry cavalry group attacked without any decent resistance. The enemy in front of them was almost instantaneously crushed, so much so that they became the farthest troops wedged into the German lines.

Seeing this successive battle reports, the commanders of the front army headquarters were all overjoyed. Malinin even optimistically said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, I did not expect the Germans to be so vulnerable, you see, how long our offensive began, their line of defense almost completely collapsed." ”

In Rokossovsky's later memory, although there was a gap between the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk, he keenly felt that something was wrong with the situation, and the Germans did not put up stubborn resistance after being attacked, but took the initiative to abandon a lot of positions and retreat back, and there must be some conspiracy in it.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly ordered Malinin: "Chief of Staff, send a message to General Kryukov ordering his infantry cavalry group to immediately stop the offensive against the Germans and turn to the defense on the spot in the Shevsk area." ”

When Malinin heard such an order, he couldn't help but be taken aback, and he hurriedly reminded Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, I think the reason why our army is making rapid progress is because the German army was eaten by us at Stalingrad with an army group, which led to the discouragement and lack of morale of the army, so in the face of our army's attack, they simply could not put up decent resistance. ”

Seeing that his chief of staff, who was already a little carried away by the series of victories, Rokossovsky immediately said with a straight face: "Comrade Chief of Staff, although we surrounded and annihilated Paulus's German 6th Army in the Stalingrad area, the enemy's strength did not suffer much loss. In today's battle, they retreated so quickly, they must have played some kind of trick, and we must not take it lightly, otherwise we will suffer a big loss. ”

When Malinin heard Rokossovsky say this, he immediately realized the seriousness of the problem and hurriedly agreed: "I understand, Comrade Commander, I will send a telegram to General Kryukov, ordering his troops to stop the offensive and move to the defense on the spot, so as not to fall into the trap of the Germans." ”

Just as Malinin was about to turn around and leave, Rokossovsky stopped him again and asked: "Where is the 16th Army?" ”