Stalin, having had a busy day, summoned Vasilevsky and Beria to his office in the evening to discuss Rokossovsky's proposals. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

When Beria arrived at Stalin's office, he could not help but be a little surprised to see Vasilevsky inside, because he had the impression that Stalin had never summoned him and the acting chief of the General Staff of the Red Army at the same time, except for meetings.

He came to Stalin and said respectfully: "Comrade Stalin, I have come by your order, please give your instructions!" ”

"That's right, Comrade Beria." Stalin took out a cigarette from the cigarette case on the table, crushed it, filled the cigarette butt, and said to Beria unhurriedly: "Today I asked Vasilevsky to visit Rokossovsky, who was recuperating in the hospital, and he made a proposal to our acting chief of the General Staff, saying that he hoped to use the commanders and fighters of the internal guard forces to fill the grassroots commanders lost in the battle. Do you have any thoughts on this? ”

After listening to Stalin's words, Beria looked at Vasilevsky with a look of surprise and asked: "Comrade Acting Chief of the General Staff, I would like to know under what circumstances General Rokossovsky made this proposal to you?" ”

Vasilevsky heard his suspicions from Beria's tone, after all, the Ministry of Internal Affairs was not treated well by the commanders of the regular troops, and Rokossovsky's offer to let the members of the Internal Guard Forces act as the grassroots commanders of the troops seemed to be nonsense.

He turned his head to look at Stalin next to him, and asked him with his gaze whether he should return to the question of whether he should return to Beria. Stalin, who had just lit his pipe, nodded at Vasilevsky, signaling that he could answer.

After receiving official permission, Vasilevsky spoke: "Comrade Beria, I first asked General Rokossovsky how we could replenish our grassroots commanders, who had suffered heavy losses, as soon as possible. He replied that the officers and men of the Internal Guard should be chosen, since they were all fighters who were incomparably loyal to the Motherland and Comrade Stalin,... High vigilance, strong battlefield adaptability... If we can enrich them into the army and serve as commanders at the grassroots level, we will certainly be able to greatly enhance the combat effectiveness of the troops. ”

Hearing this praise for his subordinates, Beria's heart burst into laughter, although he tried to maintain his composure on the surface, but the slightly upturned corners of his mouth had already exposed his inner thoughts.

"How is it, Comrade Beria." After taking a puff of his cigarette, Stalin took his pipe from his mouth, looked at Beria and asked: "What do you think of Rokossovsky's proposal?" ”

Instead of immediately answering Stalin's question, Beria began to tell him about the Internal Guard Forces: "Comrade Stalin, shortly after the outbreak of the war, we formed 15 divisions of the Internal Affairs Forces, which included 10 infantry divisions and 5 motorized rifle divisions. These units are composed of officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Border Guard and Internal Guard Units, and the shortfall is made up by the reserve forces. In these units, officers from the internal affairs troops served as political workers, and officers from the regular units of the Red Army held the post of staff officers.

It is undeniable that after the formation of these units, they made great contributions in the battle to defend our great motherland and resist the German offensive. Regrettably, they also suffered huge losses in the battle and were greatly weakened. Now that the troops have just been replenished, and both officers and soldiers lack actual combat experience, I think it is inappropriate to send them to various units to serve as commanders at the grassroots level at such a time. ”

Beria's answer surprised Stalin and Vasilevsky. Before Beria came to the office, both of them thought that he would agree without hesitation after hearing this plan, but they didn't expect him to politely refuse.

Beria was also a person who was good at observing words and feelings, and when he saw the difference in the expressions of Stalin and Vasilevsky, he knew that what he said was different from their expectations, and hurriedly added: "Although these commanders and fighters newly integrated into the internal guard units lack combat experience. However, what is needed in the army is not only military officers, but also political work cadres, for example, instructors at the battalion and company levels, which can be completely held by officers of the internal security units, who have a high theoretical level and are extremely loyal to the motherland. ”

Stalin waited for Beria to finish speaking, nodded with satisfaction, pointed at the two men with his fist clenching his pipe, and instructed: "The two of you shall immediately prepare an order to draw those officers from the internal guard units and fill them into the units of the front to serve as political workers. ”

"Only officers?" After listening to Stalin's order, Vasilevsky noticed that the other party only mentioned officers, but did not mention sergeants and soldiers, and hurriedly asked tentatively: "What about sergeants and ordinary soldiers?" ”

"I don't think the sergeants and ordinary soldiers of the Internal Guard are not yet suitable for the post of political workers," Stalin waved his hand downwards and said decisively: "It is better to transfer the officers first." ”

"What, the appointment to promote you to the head of the Bureau of Industry has been issued?" While Stalin was arranging for the replenishment of internal affairs officers into the combat units to serve as political workers at all levels, Rokossovsky and Borisova were chatting in the ward. When he heard the good news of Borisova, he couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Didn't you say that it was postponed indefinitely, why was it officially announced again?" ”

Borisova shook her head and said: "I don't know either. In the afternoon I received a call from the city leader Tronov, telling me to immediately rush to his office, I thought something big was wrong. As a result, I found out that my appointment had been officially issued, and that I would be officially appointed in a week. ”

When Rokossovsky heard Borisova say this, he immediately understood in his heart that it must have been the phone call made by Pos Krebeshev to the city leaders that played a key role. However, instead of asking Borisova for merit and reward, he reached out to shake the other party's hands and expressed his sincere congratulations to her: "Borisova, congratulations, congratulations on obtaining a higher position!" ”

When Borisova heard this, she said with a bitter face: "If you are promoted, your work will be busier in the future, and as a result, I may not be able to visit you for a long time." ”