Although the female secretary did not know what happened to Borisova, she still truthfully conveyed her words to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, Borisova said that she does not want to answer your call, and at the same time please do not call again in the future." Pen %Fun %Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Rokossovsky held the microphone with a blind voice in a daze, he didn't know why Borisova asked him to write or call her before leaving, only a few days, he actually turned his face and didn't recognize people, is it really the "needle in a woman's heart" is unpredictable?

While Rokossovsky was in a daze, Malinin was hurrying towards here. When he was still a dozen steps from the house, the sentry on duty stopped his way and said in embarrassment: "I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, the military commissar has just given an order that the commander is talking to Moscow, and no one can bother." ”

"Am I not okay with me?" Malinin asked coldly.

The sentry turned his head to look at the closed door, looked back at Malinin and shook his head, and said in embarrassment: "I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, an order is an order, and I must carry it out." ”

Seeing that the sentry was so insistent on his principles, Ma Lining didn't intend to embarrass him, so he could only sigh secretly and say, "Okay, then I'll come back later." ”

Just as Malinin turned to leave, the closed door opened, and Rokossovsky stood at the door and shouted at him: "Chief of Staff, what are you looking for me?" ”

"Comrade Commander, I have a situation that I want to report to you immediately." As he spoke, Malinin walked over to Rokossovsky, and this time the sentry did not stop him again, but flashed to the side in a playful manner.

"Come in and talk about it!" After Rokossovsky said this, he was the first to enter the house.

After the two of them sat down around the table, Rokossovsky asked again: "Chief of Staff, is there anything important?" ”

"Comrade Commander," Malinin took out a notebook from his briefcase and reported to Rokossovsky, "at the moment our army has completed the siege of the town of Maklaki on three sides, and does not know when the offensive against the Germans will begin?" ”

Hearing what Malinin said turned out to be this matter, the expression on Rokossovsky's face suddenly became relaxed, and he said casually: "It turns out that this is the case, then don't worry, wait a few days." ”

"Comrade Commander," Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Malinin couldn't help but feel a little anxious, and he said anxiously: "The commanders and fighters besieging the town of Maklaki are all staying in the ice and snow, and if they do not launch an attack here as soon as possible, it will inevitably cause unnecessary non-combat attrition. ”

Rokossovsky knew that Malinin's non-combat attrition meant that the commanders and fighters were frostbitten in the snow, and after a short thought, he replied: "Anyway, the enemy in the town of Maklaki is surrounded by us, and it will not be possible to escape in a short time." In this way, with the exception of a small number of troops left to monitor the enemy in the town, the rest of the troops will sweep the nearby strongholds, leaving this fortified German stronghold isolated, and by the time we attack, we will greatly reduce the casualties of the troops. ”

"All right, Comrade Commander." Malinin stood up and said helplessly: "Since you think so, then I will go and give an order to the troops, so that they can first clear the rest of the German strongholds outside the town of Maklaki." ”

After Malinin left, Rokossovsky sat alone in the house in a daze. After coming to this world, he tried hard to instill in his subordinates all the military theories and war views he had mastered in later generations, but as time went by and his understanding of reality deepened, he finally realized that he was a little too wishful thinking. Due to the huge differences between Eastern and Western cultures, many of China's correct concepts of war seemed so out of place in the Soviet Union more than half a century ago, not to mention those commanders of the older generation who were rigid in their thinking, and even Ma Lining, a new-edge officer with an innovative spirit, always had a skeptical attitude toward many of the orders he had issued.

For example, in the battle to capture the town of Maklaki, according to their own ideas, as long as the surrounding German strongholds are cleared, and then the German logistics supply is cut off through the automatic sled company, and then wait a few days, the combat effectiveness of the defenders in the town will be greatly reduced, and the casualties of the troops will be greatly reduced in the subsequent offensive battles.

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard a few knocks on the closed door. Before he could speak, Lobachev had already pushed open the door and walked in, and asked with a smile: "Comrade commander, how was the conversation with Borisova, did she say when she would come to see you in the army?" ”

Rokossovsky shook his head and said with a wry smile: "She didn't answer my phone at all, but asked the secretary to tell me not to call to bother her in the future." ”

"What, let the secretary tell you not to call her again?" When Lobachev heard Rokossovsky say this, his eyebrows suddenly twisted into a pimple. "On the day she left, I saw her constantly looking back in the direction of the village of Popkovo, looking reluctant," he said to himself. How did it take only a few days to become so ruthless? ”

He looked up at Rokossovsky and asked with a serious expression: "Comrade commander, did you say something on the phone today that made her angry, so she didn't want to deal with you?" ”

"How is this possible?" Rokossovsky said distraughtly: "The first time I called, her secretary said that she was out for a meeting; The second time I called, the female secretary said that she had returned, so I asked her to transfer the phone in. As a result, after a while, the female secretary told me that Borisova did not want to answer my phone and told me not to call her again in the future. ”

"What's the problem?" Lobachev said thoughtfully: "If it really doesn't work, I'll go back to Moscow in a few days and ask her in person." ”

"No, no, no." Lobachev's words startled Rokossovsky, and he hurriedly waved his hand to stop the other party, "My comrade military commissar, you must not go." If you go, it's going to be a big deal, and there's no room to turn around. ”

At present, the troops are still fighting, and Rokossovsky does not want to waste too much energy on these children's affairs, so he stood up and said to Lobachev: "Comrade Military Commissar, I beg you, do not go to Borisova, it will be easy for her to get off the stage." If she really has me in her heart, even if I don't contact her, she will take the initiative to contact me. Let's go, let's go back to the headquarters first, maybe there's something important waiting for me. ”

As soon as Rokossovsky and Lobachev walked into the command headquarters, they heard Maksimenko shouting at him: "Comrade commander, your phone. When he was about to take the microphone, the old colonel added, "It was General Zhukov who called." ”

Zhukov heard that it was Rokossovsky's voice, and he didn't have any greetings, so he asked bluntly: "Comrade Rokossovsky, what are you doing?" ”

"My troops have surrounded the town of Maklaki from the north, east, and south," Rokossovsky knew in his heart what Zhukov was going to ask, so without waiting for him to ask again, he preemptively said: "Before attacking the town of Maklaki, I will let the troops clear all the surrounding German strongholds." ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's report, Zhukov immediately discovered a loophole and immediately asked: "Why are there no troops in the west?" Aren't you afraid that the enemy will break through from this direction? ”

"Comrade General," said Rokossovsky confidently, "the west side of the town is a great plain with sweeping views, and now the snow is waist-high, and if the Germans want to escape from here, they will be intercepted by our automatic sled companies, and they will not want to escape even if they have paid heavy casualties." ”

"When are you going to attack?" Zhukov then asked.

"We'll have to wait a few more days."

"Why wait a few more days?" Zhukov asked puzzled.

"Comrade General, please listen to my explanation." Rokossovsky hurriedly replied: "The town of Maklaki is covered with waist-deep snow on all sides, and the enemy cannot escape from the town in such harsh natural conditions. In the same way, our troops are facing great difficulties in launching an attack on the town under such circumstances. In a few days, it will be snow season, and it will be easier for us to attack the town at that time. ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky, have you ever thought about it." After listening to this, Zhukov immediately raised his question again: "Once the spring snow season comes, the roads will become muddy, which is not conducive to the use of our tank units, and the attack on the town can only be completed by relying solely on infantry." Moreover, once the snow melts, our automatic sled batteries will be useless, and the enemy will be able to escape from our encirclement from the west. ”

"I've thought about what you're worried about." Rokossovsky continued: "As soon as it continues to melt, I will deploy a tank brigade a few kilometers to the west, specifically to intercept the enemy who has escaped from the town, and I believe that the number of enemies who will succeed in escaping by then will not be too many." ”

"Well, since you've thought things through so well, let's carry out the combat mission according to your plan." Finally, Zhukov also admonished: "Report your battle plan as soon as possible." ”

"Wait a minute, Comrade Zhukov." Hearing that Zhukov was going to hang up the phone, Rokossovsky hurriedly asked: "I wonder what the situation of the 20th Army is now?" ”

"Very bad," Zhukov said with great annoyance, "the troops were almost completely annihilated by the Germans, but fortunately Vlasov and the headquarters and his subordinate troops succeeded in breaking out of the encirclement and joining up with the troops we went to meet." Comrade Rokossovsky, let me remind you that Comrade Stalin has been in a very bad mood for the past two days because of this, and if you have not done well lately, you should wait to be scolded by him. ”

Rokossovsky put down the phone, gathered Zakharov, Malinin and several other key members, and said to them: "Comrade commanders, the situation of the friendly forces is very bad, General Vlasov's 20th Army was almost completely annihilated by the Germans in the battle......

"What, annihilated?" When Zakharov heard this, his eyes widened in surprise. The total annihilation of the troops by the Germans was not uncommon when the Soviet troops were retreating towards Moscow. But since the beginning of the great counteroffensive under the city of Moscow, everyone has heard of victory after victory, and it is not surprising to hear that a friendly army has been annihilated. So Zakharov asked half-convinced: "Comrade commander, is this true?" ”

"Yes, this news was told to me by Comrade Zhukov, and I am sure it will not be fake." After saying this, Rokossovsky made a decisive decision: "I would have liked to wait a few more days, when the snow around the town of Maklaki has melted, and then let the troops attack." But since apart from the fact that Vlasov's troops were destroyed, our offensive had to be brought forward. ”

Speaking of this, he asked Malinin: "Has the order to clear the troops of the nearby German strongholds been given?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander," Malinin nodded and replied affirmatively, "the order has been given, and I want to move Mali's troops, and they have already begun to move in the direction of the nearby strongholds." ”

As a senior commander, Rokossovsky naturally understood in his heart the disadvantages of changing the order at the moment, and since the order he had given to clear the strongholds had already begun to be carried out, the interruption of the mission at this moment would not only affect his prestige, but also cause unnecessary confusion in the troops.

Seeing that Rokossovsky was silent, Malinin asked tentatively: "Comrade commander, do you need to order the troops below to cancel the previous order?" ”

"No, not for now." Rokossovsky waved his hand and said, "Give the troops two days to clear the surrounding strongholds." When the two days are up, regardless of whether the task is completed or not, the battle must be withdrawn immediately, and after the regrouping is completed, an attack will be launched on the town of Maklaki. ”

Two days later, the offensive of the 16th Army on the town of Maklaki began. After a short artillery preparation, the Soviets simultaneously stormed the town from three directions.

After a brief panic, the attacking enemy launched a counterattack and notified distant artillery fire to intercept the attacking Soviet units.

The valiant commanders and fighters continued to advance under heavy artillery fire and a rain of bullets, using everything they could use, including craters, as shelter as they approached the village. They distinguish the sound of shells in the continuous explosions, judge the distance of the explosion point, look at the gap after the shell explodes, aim at the exposed fire point and shoot quickly, or roll and crawl from one crater to another.