The order to appoint Rokossovsky as commander of the Bryansk Front was brought by Major General Baghramyan, who arrived by plane from Moscow to replace him. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

When Rokossovsky and Baghramyan met, they shook hands and then simply hugged each other. Rokossovsky said excitedly: "Comrade General, I did not expect that we would meet again one day. ”

"Yes, Comrade Rokossovsky." Baghramyan, a general who escaped death from Kyiv, could not help but say emotionally: "Compared with those commanders and soldiers who sacrificed, the two of us are lucky." The commanders of the Southwestern Front and above were all lost in Uman or Kiev, and even the commander of the Front, General Kirponos, as well as the military commissar and chief of staff, could not escape the fate of sacrifice. ”

After the two old comrades-in-arms exchanged heartfelt complaints, Rokossovsky began to introduce the members of the command to Baghramyan one by one. In the end, he said regretfully: "Leaving the 16th Army and bidding farewell to this harmonious and strong collective, I feel very uncomfortable. I have shared the pain of defeat and the joy of victory with my comrades-in-arms, and I know this army well, its commanders, and they know me, which is of great significance in war. ”

Seeing that Rokossovsky was a little sad, Bagramian hurriedly comforted him and said: "Don't worry, Comrade Rokossovsky, I believe that after you arrive in the new environment, with your ability, you will soon be able to gain the trust and respect of your comrades." As he spoke, he raised his hand and looked at it, urging, "The plane that picked you up to Moscow is still waiting outside, you should hurry up and leave, don't let the Supreme Commander himself wait too long." ”

Rokossovsky and the members of the command, after saying goodbye, got on the plane that sent Baglamyan to take up his post, and flew directly to Moscow without even Zhukov leaving his post.

Two hours later, Rokossovsky met with the Supreme Commander himself in that famous office. Stalin held his pipe in his left hand, shook hands with Rokossovsky with his right hand, and said with a smile: "Hello, Konstantin Konstantinovich, welcome back to Moscow!" ”

Hearing Stalin call himself by his real name and patronymic, Rokossovsky couldn't help but puff up, because he knew that Marshal Shaposhnikov was the only one who could enjoy this kind of treatment. But he quickly came to his senses, held Stalin's hand tightly with both hands, shook it and said: "Hello, Comrade Stalin, I have been ordered to come and report to you!" ”

"Please come here, and I'll give you a brief overview of the current situation." Stalin, having let go of Rokossovsky's hand, took him to a map by the wall, pointed to it and said: "In order to strengthen the defense of the southern side of Moscow, we have formed a new Voronezh Front, which is located between the Bryansk Front and the Southwestern Front, and the commander is General Golikov, and the vacated post is for you." At the same time as he was assigned to the Voronezh Front, along with the entire command apparatus and part of the army. Therefore, you have to reassemble a new command structure. ”

Stalin, speaking of this, deliberately paused and observed Rokossovsky's expression. Seeing the look of embarrassment on his face, he added: "Comrade Rokossovsky, if you feel that there are competent members in the command of the 16th Army, you can tell me, and I will arrange them to the headquarters of the Bryansk Front as soon as possible." ”

Knowing that he could use his team in the new command, Rokossovsky couldn't help but feel a burst of ecstasy. After some thought, he solemnly proposed to Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, I would like to have four people, including the Chief of Staff Colonel Malinin, the artillery commander Major General Kazakov, the head of the armored forces, Colonel Orel, and the chief of communications, Colonel Maksimenko, join the command of my Front. ”

"No problem, I'll arrange it right away." After Stalin wrote down the names of several people in his notebook, he suddenly frowned and said: "Why, among the four excellent commanders you want to transfer, there is only one general, which is very inappropriate." ”

When Rokossovsky heard Stalin say this, he couldn't help but be stunned again, and said in his heart, Could it be that Stalin thought that the positions of these people he had mentioned were too low, and he was unwilling to let them handle the transfer? Just as he wanted to open his mouth to ask Malinin how many of them would justify it, he heard Stalin continue: "From now on, I will officially confer the rank of major generals on Malinin, Orel, and Maximenko, and this order will take effect." ”

"Great, that's great." Seeing that Stalin did not hesitate to promote three of his right-hand men to the ranks, Rokossovsky was simply overjoyed, and hurriedly raised his hand to salute Stalin and expressed his gratitude to him: "Thank you, Comrade Stalin, on behalf of Malinin and the three of them, I would like to express my sincere thanks to you!" ”

At this moment, Boskrebeshev opened the door and walked in, and stood quietly by the door. Stalin saw his appearance and hurriedly asked: "What's the matter?" ”

"Comrade Stalin," Boskorebeshev replied respectfully, "General Kozlov is outside, waiting for your reception!" ”

"Let him in." Stalin commanded briefly.

Seeing that someone was coming to meet Stalin again, Rokossovsky hurriedly said goodbye and said: "Comrade Stalin, since you still have important work, please allow me to leave now!" ”

Unexpectedly, Stalin waved his hand and said to Rokossovsky: "Don't worry, you sit down first." ”

A moment later, a general walked into the office with his head held high, and when he came to Stalin, he stopped and reported to Stalin without squinting: "Comrade Stalin, Kozlov has been ordered to report to you, I am waiting for your orders, please instruct!" ”

After listening to the other party for a while, Stalin snorted softly, and then said: "Comrade Kozlov, I heard that you once complained to people that we did not deal with you justly? ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Kozlov truthfully replied: "The representatives of the Central Committee you sent hindered my command of the troops, which led to the defeat of the campaign. ”

Stalin circled Kozlov twice, and then asked with interest: "Tell me, how did he get in your way?" ”

Kozlov looked at Stalin and replied: "He obstructs my command, and he has to hold a meeting when the troops should act; He even gave contradictory orders to the troops. It can be said that to some extent, he has completely replaced me as a commander. ”

"That is, he got in your way." Stalin continued to ask unhurriedly: "But you are the one who commands the front?" ”

"That's right, it's me. I am the commander of the Front. ”

When Rokossovsky heard this, he finally remembered who was talking to Stalin. This General Kozlov is supposed to be the commander of the Crimean Front, Lieutenant General Dmitry Timofeevich Kozlov, who is now holding the rank of major general on his badge, probably because he was demoted because of the defeat in the campaign.

Stalin tapped his pipe on the edge of the ashtray, poured the ash into the ashtray, and continued to ask: "The party and the government have handed over the front army to you. Do you have a high-frequency phone? ”

"Yes." Kozlov replied with some confidence.

"Then why didn't you report it to me?" Stalin asked with a serious expression: "Even if you report only once, saying that someone is obstructing your command, I will personally inquire into this matter." ”

"I dare not accuse your representatives."

When Stalin heard this, he slammed the table, pointed his finger at Kozlov and said: "It turns out that you lost the battle because you did not dare to pick up the phone and report to me, then of course we will punish you." ”

Then he picked up a piece of paper on the table and read: "This is the loss of your Crimean Front in the battle: from May 8 to 20, the Crimean Front lost 176566 men, 347 tanks, 3,476 artillery pieces and mortars, and 400 aircraft. ”

After reading the contents of the document, Stalin again walked up to Kozlov: "Several leaders of your front, as the main responsible persons for the defeat of the campaign, we will definitely deal with them accordingly: Comrade Mekhlis, political commissar of the 1st class army, was dismissed from the post of deputy People's Commissar of Defense and director of the General Political Department of the Red Army, and his military rank was demoted to the rank of political commissar of the army; Dismissal of the commander of your front army, and the rank of lieutenant general was demoted from lieutenant general to major general; He was dismissed from the post of military commissar of the front army of Comrade Shamanin, a division-level political commissar, and his rank was demoted to brigade-level political commissar; Dismissed from the post of Chief of Staff of Major General Comrade Vechne. ”

Stalin turned his head to look at Rokossovsky and asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, do you think it is fair that the Supreme High Command was dealt with by the leadership of the Crimean Front?" ”

Rokossovsky hurriedly got up from his seat and replied loudly: "Comrade Stalin, I think that the result of this treatment of the person concerned is very fair. You did not send them to a military court, but only transferred them to a secondary direction and reduced their rank, as well as a kind of protection for them. ”

To Rokossovsky's statement, Stalin nodded with satisfaction, and then said to Kozlov: "Did you hear everything, Comrade Kozlov? ”

"Hear me, Comrade Stalin." Kozlov hurriedly replied.

"Now that you've heard it, let's go back and reflect on it first." Stalin waved his hand at the other party and said: "When you figure it out, we will consider arranging a new job for you." ”

After Kozlov left his office, Stalin turned to Rokossovsky and said to him: "Comrade Rokossovsky, you are now also a commander of the Front, and I hope that you will learn from Kozlov's lesson, and if you encounter a representative sent by your superiors to interfere with your command, and when it is critical to win the battle, call me immediately." Do you understand? ”

"Understood." Rokossovsky hurriedly replied: "Comrade Stalin, rest assured, I will definitely learn this lesson." ”