Due to the abundance of things in the troops, Rokossovsky did not intend to stay in Moscow. So as soon as the meeting was over, he left the Kremlin in Zhukov's car and rushed to the airport.

On the way, Zhukov asked bluntly: "Koshka, when will your troops be deployed?" There was a hint of anxiety in his tone.

Rokossovsky understands Zhukov's attitude very well, after all, the vanguard of the First Belorussian Front is now only 60 kilometers away from Berlin, and if the tanks attack with all their might, it will only take a day and night to reach the city of Berlin. He hurriedly replied: "Comrade Marshal, the units that will take over the defense of the First Front will all be in place tomorrow and will not affect your plans to attack Berlin. ”

After receiving Rokossovsky's promise, the expression on Zhukov's face became much more relaxed, and he bowed his head slightly and said: "That's good." As long as your troops can take over our defense on time, I can put more troops into the battle for Berlin. ”

"Comrade Marshal," Rokossovsky suddenly remembered the Zelauv Heights that had caused Zhukov to suffer a great loss, and hurriedly reminded him: "The Zelauf Heights are the last barrier to protect Berlin, and as long as they are taken, our troops can advance unimpeded outside Berlin." I fear that the enemy will be heavily guarded there, and that there will be a fierce battle. ”

"Koschika, you're overthinking." In response to Rokossovsky's reminder, Zhukov said disapprovingly: "Although the terrain there is dangerous, as far as I know, the Germans did not build any strong permanent fortifications. As long as artillery is used for saturation shelling, coupled with bombardment by aircraft, the enemy's positions will be completely destroyed. By the time the shelling and bombardment are over, our infantry, under the cover of tank clusters, will easily seize the enemy's positions. ”

Seeing that Zhukov was so confident, Rokossovsky couldn't say anything, he couldn't tell the other party, saying that according to the records in the history books, the troops under your command were head-to-head and bleeding on the Zelauf Heights, and finally paid a huge price to barely break through the last line of defense of the German army on the outskirts of Berlin.

"Comrade Marshal," Rokossovsky asked, changing the subject, "I wonder which troops you intend to send to the task of capturing Berlin?" ”

"Needless to say," Zhukov said with a smile on his face, "the honor of seizing Berlin will definitely be given to Katukov's 1st Guards Tank Army and Chuikov's 8th Guards Army." The two of them are commanders of our army, and I want to give them such an honor, and no one should raise any objections. ”

Hearing Katukov's name, Rokossovsky couldn't help but chuckle in his heart, secretly thinking that although Katukov had a good relationship with Zhukov at this time, he would soon turn against each other because of whether or not to enter Berlin before Konev, which would lead to his disqualification from being promoted to marshal.

Although this history was known, Rokossovsky was not capable of changing it, so he could only sigh softly. Zhukov heard Rokossovsky sighing, and couldn't help but ask curiously: "Koschika, why are you sighing?" ”

Rokossovsky, naturally, did not say what he really thought in his heart, but said perfunctorily: "I was thinking, maybe my troops have not yet reached Berlin, and your troops have already occupied the city. ”

Zhukov was full of confidence in his capture of Berlin, and at this moment he was even more happy to hear Rokossovsky say this. However, he did not get carried away, but raised his hand and patted Rokossovsky on the shoulder twice, and said amiably: "Koschika, don't be discouraged. You know, even if we succeeded in capturing Berlin, we had the help of you and Konev. Without your help, the enemy in the rear of our army alone would have left us with a lot of anxiety, and where would we be able to concentrate our forces on Berlin with all our might. ”

The car came to the airport, and since the two were going to separate planes and go to different battlefields, Zhukov shook Rokossovsky's hand and said: "Koschika, we'll see you after victory, good luck!" ”

"Comrade Marshal!" Rokossovsky smiled and said: "See you after victory!" ”

When Rokossovsky returned to the headquarters, it was already early in the morning. Bogolyubov, who was on duty, hurriedly greeted him and asked with concern: "Comrade Marshal, why did you come back so soon?" ”

"When the meeting is over, I'll come back." Rokossovsky sat down at the table, poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, did anything happen in my absence?" ”

"Comrade Marshal, if you don't come back tonight, I'll call Moscow as soon as it's dawn." Bogolyubov said with a smile: "Shevchak they are back." ”

"What, Shevchak they are back?" Rokossovsky asked with some surprise: "Didn't they get stuck in the aircraft factory in Breslau and how did they get out?" ”

"It's a miracle that they got out." "They were identified by the enemy and trapped in the aircraft assembly shop," Bogolyubov said. It was Colonel Shevchak's men who abducted two German test pilots and forcibly ordered them to take off in a Belonze disc and fly out of the city of Breslau.

Due to the white cross of the Germans on the disc, when they landed, they were also mistaken as Germans by our ground air defense units, and dozens of anti-aircraft guns fired at them at the same time......"

Dozens of anti-aircraft guns fired at the same time ?! When Rokossovsky heard this, he was immediately shocked into a cold sweat. He knew very well in his heart that when the flying object landed, let alone dozens of anti-aircraft guns, even if it was attacked by several anti-aircraft guns, it was possible to be destroyed, and he hurriedly asked nervously: "Were they shot down?" ”

"Nope." Bogolyubov shook his head and said: "The Belonse disc flies at a very fast speed, and our anti-aircraft artillery fire simply misses it. Colonel Shevchak felt that it was not safe to land at the airfield, so he ordered the test pilots to land the disc more than a dozen kilometers from the city. ”

Upon learning of the capture of one of the Belonse discs of the German army, Rokossovsky's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and he hurriedly ordered Bogolyubov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately send someone to protect the disc from destruction by the enemy." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Marshal." Bogolyubov replied: "As soon as the disc landed, our troops deployed nearby rushed over. As soon as Colonel Shevchak identified himself, a cordon was set up to protect the disc. ”

After the report, Bogolyubov paused for a moment, and then asked tentatively: "Comrade Marshal, do you need to report to the Supreme High Command about the seizure of the Belonse disc?" ”

"There's no hurry." Rokossovsky waved his hand and said: "After dawn, I will first go to see the Belonse disc and find out what is going on with this flying machine, and then it will not be too late to report to the Supreme Command." By the way, when will the units that will take over the First Front be all in place? ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's question, Bogolyubov said with some embarrassment: "Comrade Marshal, since the road conditions are worse than we thought, the scheduled date for the pick-up may have to be postponed. ”

"No, the troops must arrive at the designated position within the specified time to take over the defense of friendly forces." After Rokossovsky said this, seeing Bogolyubov's embarrassed expression, he added: "Of course, if it is difficult for all the troops to reach the designated position, you can send the vanguard to take over the defense of the friendly army, and do not affect the friendly army's attack on Berlin." ”

"Comrade Marshal, is the operation of the First Front attacking Berlin really about to begin?"

"That's right," said Rokossovsky, nodding his head, "now that the German heavy army group in Pomerania has been annihilated by us, the enemy no longer has the strength to stop our advance on Berlin." Therefore, the attack on Berlin is imminent, but we must not affect the time of the start of the battle because we are not in time. ”