After asking for the names and residences of Lida's mother and child, Rokossovsky stood up and beckoned to the stretcher bearers standing next to him to carry Lida and the other seriously injured into the ambulance. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Seeing the departure of a dozen ambulances full of wounded people, Lobachev asked Rokossovsky curiously: "Comrade commander, who are you going to send to transfer Lida's mother and child?" ”

"Borisova," Rokossovsky said without hesitation, "she is a lesbian and has a wealth of local experience, so I think it is only fitting that I leave this matter to her." ”

"Well, that's what I think about too." Lobachev added: "If we send two male commanders directly, we may frighten Lida's mother and child, and it would be better for a lesbian to come forward in this kind of thing." By the way, where do we go now? ”

"Where else can I go, of course, back to the headquarters." Rokossovsky quickened his pace as he spoke, "Although the Germans have not had time to attack us in the past two days, we cannot take it lightly. If we don't stay at the headquarters for a long time, it may affect the rest of the battle. ”

Regarding Rokossovsky's later statement, Lobachev said approvingly: "That's right, Comrade Commander, your considerations are correct. Our post is at the command headquarters, and if we stay at the grassroots level while the battle is going on, there is indeed a possibility that the fighters will be delayed. ”

When the two walked into the headquarters, they saw Malinin and Kazakov sitting at the table. The former is looking up at the roof in a daze, while the latter is staring at the map with a frown.

"Chief of Staff, is there anything new?" Rokossovsky walked briskly towards the table, raising his voice and asking Malinin.

If someone interrupts someone who is thinking about a problem, it will cause a brief gap in his reflexes. Hearing someone call his order, Malinin paused for five or six seconds before he saw that it was Rokossovsky standing in front of him, and quickly stood up and replied: "Report to Comrade Commander, I am thinking about which direction the German army will attack us in the next battle. ”

Rokossovsky raised his hand and pressed down, motioned for him to sit down, and then asked: "Chief of staff, did you think of that?" ”

"General Kazakov and I, after studying, felt that it was unlikely that the Germans would be able to force their way across the Wopi River from the front, because our artillery and machine-gun fire would be able to wipe out the enemy crossing the river in the river." Malinin glanced at Kazakov, looked up at Rokossovsky and said: "So I guess they will definitely cross the river from other directions." ”

"I don't want any 'estimate' from you," Rokossovsky said somewhat unceremoniously, "I just want to know, from that direction do you think the enemy will cross the Vopi River and attack our army again?" ”

"I think there will be two directions." Pointing to the map, Malinin analyzed it to Rokossovsky and said: "Last time, three divisions of our army group crossed the river by wading through the shallows of the lower reaches of the Wopi River. I believe that this crossing point is already known to the Germans and will become their preferred crossing point. ”

"Even if we set up a defensive operation on the east coast here, I don't think it will be easy to stop the Germans." Rokossovsky stared at the map for a while, and then said to Kazakov, who had always remained silent: "Comrade Chief of Artillery, do you think that if the artillery positions are deployed very close to the river, will it be possible to cooperate with the infantry to hold the positions?" ”

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Kazakov raised his head and looked at Rokossovsky, and a wry smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "Comrade commander, the situation is not so simple. If the Germans had only this crossing point, there would have been no problem in deploying an artillery battalion near the river. But now the Germans could cross the river from upstream, cross the Wopi River upstream, detour back to the north of the 108th Infantry Division, and attack from their flanks. ”

Kazakov's words made Rokossovsky worried, the upper reaches of the Vopi River were the defense area of the 19th Army, and Konev had the final say on how to defend it. If you rely too much on them, once in battle, friendly forces cannot hold back the German onslaught, then the weak flanks of the 108th Infantry Division, deployed by the river, will be exposed to the enemy.

"So you two are thinking about it." Rokossovsky only understood at this time why, when he first came in, he saw that Malinin and Kazakov both looked worried, and it turned out that he was worried about how to prevent the enemy from crossing the river.

"That's right, I'm thinking about it." Malinin and Kazakov replied in unison.

"Comrade Commander, what should we do?" Lobachev asked anxiously.

"If we hadn't sent our troops across the river to fight the other day, we would have been able to place three divisions by the river now, so that our troops would be able to hold back the enemy from any direction." Rokossovsky said with some annoyance: "But after the battle two days ago, our three divisions have been crippled, and there is no spare strength to deploy on the riverside. ”

"So what are we going to do?" Malinin asked, "We can't let Colonel Orlov's 108th Infantry Division fight alone." ”

"Don't worry, I won't let them fight alone." After Rokossovsky said this, he ordered Malinin: "Pick up Colonel Orlov for me, I have something to explain to him." ”

After the phone was connected, Rokossovsky said into the microphone: "Comrade Colonel, maybe tomorrow or this afternoon, the enemy will launch a new attack on the defense area of your division, and you must be ready for all battles." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Orlov said confidently: "Our division has long been ready for battle, no matter how many enemies come, we will wipe them all out in the river." ”

"Comrade Colonel, the enemy is not a fool, they will not cross the river in the same way after two successive failed forced crossings." Seeing that Orlov was a little blindly optimistic, Rokossovsky hurriedly poured cold water on him and said: "They may cross the river from the upper or lower reaches of the Vopi River, and then detour back to your two wings to give you a surprise blow." ”

"So what are we going to do?" Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Orlov couldn't help but panic.

"You immediately send men five kilometers behind you to build a new defensive position in the forest or on the hills." Rokossovsky commanded in a flat tone: "As soon as your two flanks are attacked by the enemy, you let the troops alternately cover and retreat towards the second line of defense, where you will continue to resist the German attack." Do you understand? ”

Orlov was a commander who only knew how to obey, and after hearing Rokossovsky's order, he did not ask why, but directly agreed: "Understood, comrade commander, I will arrange for men to build fortifications." ”

When Rokossovsky put down the phone, Malinin asked with some confusion: "Comrade commander, why did you order Colonel Orlov to build new fortifications five kilometers behind them?" ”

"Do you think the 108th Infantry Division will be able to withstand an attack on both flanks?" Rokossovsky did not answer Malinin's question directly, but asked everyone. Seeing that everyone shook their heads blankly, he explained: "The reason why I ordered Colonel Orlov to build fortifications five kilometers behind the position had two intentions. First, a few kilometers behind the new fortifications are the fortifications on the periphery of Yatsevo, who, after the failure of the defense, can retreat here and organize a new defense. Secondly, on both sides of the new positions, there are a large number of forests, and we can use the cover of trees to move troops to the sides of the enemy and give them a surprise blow. If we're lucky, we might be able to wipe out all the enemies across the river and relieve the pressure on our next battle. ”

"I see." After listening to Rokossovsky's words, everyone immediately understood his goal of letting the troops retreat, and this method of luring the enemy into depth could not only reduce the casualties of the troops, but also inflict heavy losses on the enemy. After Ma Lining figured out the reason, he immediately exclaimed: "Comrade commander, this tactic of yours is really amazing, I believe that even if the enemy successfully crosses the river, don't want to take advantage of anything." ”

"We don't have a lot of troops at our disposal right now." At the thought of the troops in his hands, Rokossovsky's heart was extremely uncomfortable, but even if he wanted to replenish it, he couldn't help it. With 24 divisions in his hands, it was far from enough to hold a defensive front with a frontage of 300 kilometers, so he could only dig into his own troops: "Chief of Staff, you reorganize the three divisions that have been withdrawn from the West Bank and deploy them in the rear of the 108th Infantry Division. ”

"Understood, I'll go now." After Malinin finished speaking, he stood up and saluted Rokossovsky, then turned and walked out of the headquarters.

As soon as Malinin's back disappeared from the door, Lobachev asked Rokossovsky with a frown: "Comrade commander, do you need to report this matter to your superiors?" ”

"Why?" Rokossovsky didn't know why his military commissar said this, so he looked at him with some surprise and asked in surprise: "With such a deployment, I can completely make my own decisions and don't need to report to my superiors, right?" ”

"Comrade Commander, I think this kind of deployment you just mentioned is very appropriate. However, Rokossovsky's mood was relatively calm when he listened to Lobachev's first two words, but when he heard the word "but", he couldn't help but chuckle in his heart, and only listened to the other side continue: "If the two flanks of the 108th Infantry Division were attacked by the enemy and forced to retreat to the second line of defense, someone privately reported this to the commander of the Front, it might cause you trouble." ”

Rokossovsky's brows furrowed when he heard Lobachev say this, he knew that the military commissar had a very reasonable point. Don't look at Timoshenko, who usually seems to be very talkative, but if he knows that your troops have withdrawn from their positions without his permission, he will be furious, and even if the troops have entered a new defensive position, he will order his troops to return to their original positions in the face of the enemy's bullets.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but hesitate. Although this tactic of his own, after being tested in practice, the effect is very good. But for the Soviet army, which was accustomed to attacking, it was still an unfamiliar new tactic, and it would certainly be difficult for an old soldier like Timoshenko to accept.

Just as Rokossovsky hesitated, Lobachev continued: "Comrade commander, if you find it difficult to speak, I will make this call. Even if Comrade Marshal blames him, all the responsibility will be borne by me. ”

Lobachev's words warmed Rokossovsky's heart, and as soon as he grabbed Lobachev's hand, he said gratefully: "Thank you, Comrade Military Commissar, you will call Comrade Marshal for this call." ”

After receiving Lobachev's call, Timoshenko asked with some surprise: "Comrade Lobachev, do you have anything to do?" Where is Rokossovsky? ”

Lobachev heard Timoshenko's question, looked up at Rokossovsky, paused for a moment, and said hesitantly: "Comrade Marshal, the commander of the army group went to the grassroots units to inspect the defense, I called you, there is something wrong, I want to report to you." ”

"Say, Comrade Lobachev." Timoshenko said politely: "If you have any problems, just say it." ”

"That's right, Comrade Marshal." Lobachev cautiously said: "Judging from the current situation, the enemy on the west bank of the Wopi River will soon attack us again. This time, they will not take the method of forcing the crossing head-on, but may cross the river from the upper or lower reaches of the river, looking for areas where our army's defenses are weak. In order to prevent the two flanks of the 108th Infantry Division, stationed on the east bank of the river, from being devastated by the enemy, we worked on a new tactical ......"

"New tactics?" Lobachev's words aroused the interest of Timoshenko, and he asked curiously: "Comrade Lobachev, can you tell me, what is the new tactic?" ”

Rokossovsky stood nearby, and when he saw Lobachev reporting to Timoshenko about the new tactics he had just mentioned, he was silent, just putting his headphones to his ears, and the expression on his face was cloudy, and he guessed that his military commissar might be being rebuked by Timoshenko.

Rokossovsky heard what Timoshenko had said, but Lobachev pressed his headphones to his ear, and he couldn't hear a single sound. After a while, he saw Lobachev's face flushed, and suddenly raised his voice and said into the microphone: "Comrade Marshal, I think that in the current situation, it is absolutely necessary to adopt such a new tactic. Our forces are limited, and it is completely unnecessary to hold on to our positions and fight a war of attrition with the enemy......"

At this point, Lobachev suddenly stopped, apparently Timoshenko interrupted him again, and Rokossovsky saw that his fingers clenching the microphone turned white.

"Comrade Marshal, please rest assured." After a while, Lobachev spoke again, "After getting along with Comrade Rokossovsky, I think he is an excellent commander with rich combat experience, and this new tactic of his will also prove to be effective......

After Lobachev put down the phone, he raised his hand and took off his military cap, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said to Rokossovsky in a low voice: "Well, Comrade Commander, after my efforts, Marshal Timoshenko has fully agreed with you in battle, using the new tactics of the kind you just proposed!" (To be continued.) )