The battle plan was approved by Stalin, and Rokossovsky was in a particularly good mood. As soon as the meeting was over, he hurried to the airport and flew back to Gomel.

As soon as he entered the headquarters, he instructed Malinin: "Chief of Staff, call Comrade Ponomarenko and ask him to take the time to come to my headquarters." ”

Seeing Rokossovsky's face full of joy, Malinin asked tentatively: "Comrade commander, has our combat plan been approved by the Supreme Command?" ”

"Yes, approved." Rokossovsky took out the map with Stalin's signature from his briefcase and solemnly handed it to Malinin, "Look, Comrade Chief of Staff, this plan was personally approved by Comrade Stalin. ”

Hearing that the battle plan had been approved, Terekin and Zakharkin also came over, and both of them smiled when they saw Stalin's signature on the map.

After reading the signatures on the map several times, Malinin asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, why did you call Comrade Ponomarenko?" ”

"Well, in our upcoming summer offensive, I hope to have support from the guerrillas to alleviate the resistance we are suffering when we attack. Comrade Ponomarenko is not only the first secretary of Belarus, but also the commander of the Central Command of the Belarusian partisan movement. Speaking of this, Rokossovsky, remembering that Malinin also held a position in it, hurriedly added: "You are also the chief of staff of the Central Command of the partisan movement appointed by your superiors. ”

When Zakharkin heard Rokossovsky and Malinin discussing the affairs of the partisans, he said with some disapproval: "Comrade commander, the partisans can only carry out some attacks in the enemy's rear, disrupt the enemy's lines of communication, and so on, and their role is very limited. ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander," Rokossovsky waited for Zakharkin to finish speaking, and immediately said with a serious expression: "Have you ever thought about how powerful it would be if we had 270,000 partisans operating on the territory of Belarus?" ”

"270,000?" Hearing this number, Zakharkin couldn't help but gasp, "There are so many guerrillas? ”

After Ponomarenko received a call from Malinin, knowing that Rokossovsky would not look for him for no reason, he hurriedly put down his work and hurried to Rokossovsky's headquarters.

When he met Rokossovsky, he said apologetically: "Comrade commander, I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Nowadays, there is a lot of work, factories have to be restored, collective farms are ready to be planted, cities are rebuilt and so on, in a word, I am busy every day. ”

After Rokossovsky beckoned Ponomarenko to sit down, he did not say any nonsense, but said straight to the point: "Comrade Ponomarenko, I just returned from a meeting in Moscow today. At the meeting, the chief of the General Staff briefed the commanders of the front armies on all fronts on the summer operation plan, and our front army will be the main force in this summer operation. ”

Hearing that the troops of the Front Army will participate in the upcoming summer operation as the main force, Ponomarenko's eyes could not help but light up, and then he asked: "Comrade commander, what is the specific operational deployment?" ”

"The battle plan will be introduced to you later." Rokossovsky was so anxious to implement the partisans that he did not bother to give Ponomarenko the details of the summer battle plan, but went straight to the point: "Before the start of this offensive campaign, I hope to get the favorable cooperation of the Belarusian partisans. ”

"The cooperation of the guerrillas?" When Ponomarenko heard Rokossovsky say this, he couldn't help but be stunned, and then asked rhetorically: "Comrade commander, as far as I know, in any previous offensive, we did not ask the partisans to cooperate, why did we suddenly mention this matter this time?" ”

"It's simple, Comrade Ponomarenko." Rokossovsky replied with a smile: "It is only by attacking from both sides that the Germans will be more scrambling, so that the resistance of our troops in carrying out a frontal attack will be greatly reduced." ”

Don't see that Ponomarenko is now presiding over local work, but after all, he has spent a lot of time in the army and knows more or less about military affairs, hearing Rokossovsky say this, he hurriedly asked: "Comrade commander, what are you going to let me do?" ”

"Gather together the middle and senior commanders of the partisan units behind enemy lines," Rokossovsky suggested to him, "assign them combat missions and try to turn the enemy's rear upside down before the battle begins." ”

Hearing this, Ponomarenko quickly took out a pen and paper and humbly asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, what are the specific tasks for the partisans?" ”

"The task we gave the partisans was," Rokossovsky said with a solemn expression, "to disrupt the rear of the German campaign, to prevent the Germans from sending reserves to the front, to inform our troops by radio about the movement of the German troops." In the case of the destruction of the German lines of communication, the destruction of their living forces and technical weapons, waiting for the opportunity to seize important settlements, bridges and ferries and hold them until the arrival of our troops. ”

After recording what Rokossovsky said, Ponomarenko asked: "Comrade commander, when do you think we should bring together the main leaders of the partisans for a meeting?" ”

Rokossovsky did not answer immediately, but asked rhetorically: "Comrade Ponomarenko, if you want to convene a meeting of important members of the partisans, how many days will it take?" ”

Ponomarenko thought for a moment, and then replied: "It will take four days at the earliest, because the partisans are scattered behind enemy lines, and it is very difficult to gather the commanders. Moreover, they still need to pass through the long German lines to get to us, and it will take time. ”

After explaining the details of the summer operation to everyone present, Rokossovsky said to Ponomarenko: "Our offensive will begin in late June, so your meeting should be held no later than the beginning of June. ”

Ponomarenko thought only for a moment about the time Rokossovsky said, then nodded in agreement: "Well, Comrade Commander, I will inform the heads of the partisans as soon as possible and let them go to Gomel for a special military meeting at the beginning of June. ”

Rokossovsky got up and stretched out his hand to Ponomarenko and said gratefully: "Comrade Ponomarenko, whether we can win the summer campaign depends on the strength of the partisans' actions behind enemy lines. ”