The situation on the battlefield was constantly changing, and on the fourth day of the offensive launched by the Central Front, Rokossovsky realized that something was wrong. Batov's troops fought fiercely with the Deko for four days, but they advanced only 20 to 25 kilometers; But the Chernyakhovsky troops went exceptionally well.

Faced with this situation, Rokossovsky decided to adjust the direction of the main attack. Therefore, he summoned several leading members of the Front Command for an emergency military meeting.

After Malinin finished telling everyone about the current offensive situation, Rokossovsky stood up and said: "Comrade commanders, judging from the current situation, if we still let the 65th Army take the lead in the attack, it will be difficult to achieve great results in addition to causing heavy casualties to the troops. Therefore, I intend to make adjustments to the existing direction of the main offensive, transferring our main forces to the left flank of the front. ”

When Ponomarenko heard this, he couldn't help but interject and asked: "Comrade commander, if we redeploy our troops at such a time, and we don't say whether the base camp will agree, even if we agree, frequent troop movements may cause chaos, and I think we will lose more than we gain by doing so." ”

"Comrade Military Commissar," said Rokossovsky, before Deputy Commander Trubnikov continued, "the situation on the battlefield is changing at any time, and we must adjust the offensive deployment of our troops according to these changes. Therefore, I agree with Comrade Commander to transfer our main forces to the left flank of the Front. ”

"And what do you mean, Comrade Chief of Staff." Seeing that Trubnikov was in opposition to himself, Ponomarenko turned his head and asked Malinin, hoping that the other party would support his point of view.

After a moment of silence, Ma Linin spoke: "Comrade Military Commissar, I agree with the opinion of the two commanders, if we want to win the battle, we need to adjust the original deployment in a timely manner according to the situation on the battlefield. ”

Seeing that both the deputy commander and the chief of staff agreed with Rokossovsky, Ponomarenko could only pin his last hope on his peers, and now he asked Terekin: "Comrade Terekin, I would like to hear your opinion?" ”

Hearing his question, Terekin smiled and said: "General Ponomarenko, I am a political worker and am not very familiar with military affairs, so I never interfere in the command of the commander. It's the same this time. ”

Ponomarenko, who hit a wall one after another, saw that he could not find supporters, so he could only smile bitterly and say to Rokossovsky: "Since this is the case, Comrade Commander, then I have no opinion." ”

Rokossovsky waited for Ponomarenko to finish speaking, and then asked Malinin: "Chief of Staff, have you sent out the reserves for Chernyakhovsky?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Malinin hurriedly replied: "I have sent the reserves of the Front to strengthen the 60th Army so that they can liberate Glukhov from the Germans in the shortest possible time. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Ponomarenko suddenly asked again, "May I ask, what is the shortest time you are talking about?" ”

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Ma Lining's face showed a bitter expression, and he replied with some embarrassment: "I think it may take two or three days." ”

"Don't say two or three days," Ponomarenko said with some weirdness, "I don't think I will be able to capture Grukhov in a week." ”

Rokossovsky hurriedly came out of the round: "Let me say a few words, we have to adjust the deployment and strengthen the main forces to the left flank of the front, and we need to wait until the 60th Army successfully liberates Glukhov, do you have any opinions?" ”

After a moment of silence in the room, the voice of reply sounded one after another: "No! "No comments!"

After the meeting, Rokossovsky privately said to Malinin: "In order to strengthen Chernyakhovsky's troops, we should reassign him to the air force, as long as they can control the air supremacy on the battlefield, then it will be very difficult for the Germans to stop the pace of their offensive." ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Malinin readily agreed: "I will call General Rudenko and ask him to send the air force to support General Chernyakhovsky's troops." ”

……

At this moment, in a forest just twenty kilometers from Glukhov, Cherniakhovsky's forward command was located here, and he was holding a telephone to talk to a division commander in the city: "Hey, Comrade Colonel, how is your situation there, is the German resistance stubborn?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander," the division commander hurriedly replied, "we have already occupied most of the eastern part of the city, and the Germans continue to resist stubbornly only in a few streets. ”

"When will you settle the fight?" Hearing that most of the city had already been occupied by his own troops, Chernyakhovsky did not know how comfortable he was, so he asked with great interest: "Can the battle be settled before dark?" ”

"It may be a little difficult...... "As soon as the division commander said this, he suddenly heard Chernyakhovsky's "um", and he understood that the commander was not satisfied with his answer, and quickly changed his words: "I think as long as the development continues at the current speed, there will be no problem in occupying Glukhov before dark." ”

"Very good, Comrade Division Commander." After hearing his satisfactory answer, Chernyakhovsky nodded with a smile, and then made a wish to the other party: "As long as you can take Glukhov before dark, I will personally write a report to the commander of the Front, asking him to award your division the honorary title of 'Glukhov Division'." ”

For the Soviet servicemen who admired honor, it was a supreme honor to receive the number of the unit named after the city, so the division commander immediately said in a resolute tone: "Comrade commander, please rest assured, I will personally go to the front, and our division will definitely take the whole of Glukhov before dark." ”

It gets dark early in August, and before seven o'clock, it's pitch black outside. However, the division commander, who commanded the troops in the battle in the city of Glukhov, fulfilled his promise and succeeded in capturing the entire city of Glukhov before dark.

Rokossovsky was also overjoyed when he learned that Chernyakhovsky's troops had successfully liberated the city of Glukhov, and he called Malinin and Orel to him and said to them: "Chief of Staff, it seems that the 60th Army has found a weak point in the German defense, and we must lose no time in taking advantage of this, so I have decided to immediately transfer the main forces of the Front to the left flank, and we should deploy troops and technical equipment here as soon as possible." You record my orders. ”

Seeing that Malinin had prepared the pen and paper, Rokossovsky continued: "Immediately withdraw the 13th Army from the right flank of the Front and throw it into the junction of the 65th and 60th armies, so as to avoid the two attacking armies being divided in the German counter-assault." Also, Comrade Orel. "In addition to the transfer of the 13th Army to this area, we also need to withdraw Bogdanov's 2nd Tank Army from the existing area and, together with the 13th Army, go to the junction of the two armies." ”

Terekin, who was sitting on the side, waited for Malinin and Orel to leave, and hurriedly said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, I have received a report from General Chernyakhovsky that he wants to award the honorary title of 'Glukhov Division' to which division captured the city of Glukhov. You see, what do we do about it? ”

"The awarding of honorary titles is a matter for the base camp," Rokossovsky felt that since the division that captured the city of Glukhov and behaved so prominently, even if they were awarded an honorary title, it would not be a big deal. However, everything had to be done according to the order, so he continued: "Comrade Military Commissar, report this matter to your superiors." ”

After completing such a large circumvention adjustment, it is definitely necessary to report to the High Command. Rokossovsky picked up the high-frequency telephone, pondered it for a while, and decided to call the General Staff anyway, report the matter to Vasilevsky, and through him let Stalin know about it.

Vasilevsky received a call from Rokossovsky, and was still a little surprised in his heart: "Comrade Rokossovsky, when you called me, did something unexpected happen?" ”

"Comrade Chief of the General Staff, not what you think." Rokossovsky hurriedly explained to Vasilevsky: "Chernyakhovsky's troops, having managed to liberate the city of Glukhov before dark, are continuing to advance into the depth of the German defense. ”

"What, liberated the city of Glukhov?" Although Vasilevsky knew where Glukhov was even if he didn't look at the map, he stubbornly found this place on the map, tapped it with the pencil in his hand, and said: "I didn't expect Chernyakhovsky's troops to go so well." ”

"Yes, Comrade Chief of the General Staff." Rokossovsky continued: "It was precisely because of the smooth advance of the 60th Army that we discovered the weakness of the German defense, and therefore I intend to use this advantage to concentrate the main forces of the Front in this area in order to form a quick breakthrough. ”

Vasilevsky hurriedly put a small notebook in front of him, and asked into the microphone: "What do you think?" Comrade Rokossovsky. ”

"I intend to transfer the 13th Army from the right flank of the Front to the junction of the 65th and 60th armies." Rokossovsky briefly reported his thoughts to Vasilevsky: "At the same time, General Bogdanov's 2nd Tank Army will also be transferred to the area, so that a powerful assault group can be formed there and achieve the goal of quickly rushing into the depth of the German defense." ”

After recording what Rokossovsky said, Vasilevsky bowed his head slightly and said with satisfaction: "Very good, Comrade Rokossovsky, you are very thoughtful. In the name of the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, I agree with you to adjust the plan of deployment. Act now, my comrades, and I hope that you will be able to defeat the fascist invaders as soon as possible. ”

……

With the addition of the 13th Army and the 2nd Tank Army, Chernyakhovsky, who was moving forward to continue the offensive, had no worries, he concentrated his superior forces and continued to advance in depth of the German defense.

The battle continued until the evening of August 31, and Chernyakhovsky was talking to Rokossovsky on the phone when a staff officer approached and placed the message he had just received in front of him. As Chernyakhovsky spoke, he looked absentmindedly at what was on the telegram.

When he saw the contents clearly, he suddenly stood up from his seat with a happy expression on his face. Rokossovsky heard that he suddenly did not move here, and asked with some displeasure: "General Chernyakhovsky, what's wrong with you, why don't you speak?" ”

"Comrade commander," Chernyakhovsky said to Rokossovsky in an excited voice, after rereading the telegram twice, "according to the telegram just received, my troops have advanced sixty kilometers and expanded the front of the breakthrough to one hundred kilometers. Even more excitingly, my troops have arrived in Konotop. Did you hear that? It's Konotop! ”

Konotop?! Hearing Chernyakhovsky speak of the name of the place in such an excited tone, Rokossovsky repeated it somewhat absent-mindedly, and then looked down at the place on the map.

"Here, Comrade Commander." I happened to be passing by, and I happened to hear Malinin in the conversation between Rokossovsky and Chernyakhovsky, pointed to a certain point on the map, and said excitedly: "Here, Konotop!" The arrival of our troops here means that we have re-entered the territory of Ukraine. ”

Malinin's explanation made Rokossovsky understand why Chernyakhovsky, who had always been a calm person, would behave so gaffely when referring to the place name.

After taking a few deep breaths, Rokossovsky said to Malinin: "Chief of Staff, since we are making such good progress on the left flank, then immediately devote all our existing mobile forces in that direction. We are to seize the opportunity when the Germans have not had time to repair the weak points of their defenses and build up our defenses in the Konotop area. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Malinen nodded and said: "Not only do we know the importance of Konotop, but I believe the Germans also know in their hearts that they are bound to engage in a fierce tug-of-war with us in this area, so it is absolutely necessary for us to build a strong defense here." Even if the attack fails, we will have a place to regroup. ”

"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff, that's what it means." Seeing that Malinin understood his intentions, Rokossovsky nodded with a smile and said approvingly: "Then you should start carrying out my orders immediately." ”