In order to allow the troops to enter the Yerets region as soon as possible, in the next two days, Rokossovsky adopted the method of assembling part of the troops and pulling out part of them, but he did not expect that as soon as the troops were mobilized, there would be big trouble.

After answering a phone call, Malinin said to Rokossovsky with a grim face: "Comrade commander, something is wrong!" ”

"What's the matter?" Malinin's words startled Rokossovsky, and he immediately nervously asked: "Chief of staff, hurry up and tell me, what is going on?" ”

"I just got a report that our army has only one single-track railway that has just been repaired." Malinin said worriedly: "It is obvious that it is impossible to transport the troops of several army groups to Yerets in a short time by this railway alone. ”

"In addition to trains, we can also transport troops by road, by truck or horse-drawn carriage." Hearing that Malinin was worried about this, Rokossovsky said with some disapproval: "In order to transport so many troops to Yelets in a short time, regardless of relying only on railways, it is necessary to cooperate with roads." ”

"Trucks are used to transport military supplies, after all, there are hundreds of thousands of our troops in Stalingrad, and the daily consumption is an incalculable astronomical amount." "So not only can't we be supplied with trucks, but we don't even have a limited number of horse-drawn carriages. ”

"This situation should be reported to the base camp immediately," Terekin suggested, "and without changing the existing conditions of transportation, our troops will simply not be able to reach the designated combat area within the specified time." ”

Hearing that the situation had changed, Rokossovsky's heart became a little uneasy, and after thinking about it for a long time, he decided to report the matter to the headquarters according to Terekin's proposal.

A few minutes later, Rokossovsky used a high-frequency telephone to connect the General Staff in Moscow, and reported the current situation to Antonov, the deputy general staff who answered the phone, hoping that he would provide him with the necessary help.

After listening to this, Antonov was silent for a long time before he replied: "General Rokossovsky, we immediately noticed the problem of insufficient railway transport capacity, so the base camp and the NKVD established contact and prepared to send special personnel to the railway transport department to supervise and guide the work, hoping to increase the transport capacity of the railway in a short time." ”

"That's great." Although the news Antonov said was good news for Rokossovsky, he always felt obedient in his heart, as if something was wrong. "If the railway transport capacity can be increased, then we will be able to transport all the troops participating in the war to the Yelets region in a short period of time."

As soon as the problem of insufficient railway transport capacity was solved here, a new problem was put before Rokossovsky, and the chief of the reconnaissance chief, General Vinogradov, reported: "Comrade commander, the Germans have confirmed that Paulus did not die in battle, but laid down their arms and surrendered to our troops, so they are taking measures to prepare for the return of Field Marshal Paulus to Germany." ”

"General Vinogradov," Rokossovsky could not help but break out in a cold sweat when he heard that the Germans were preparing to rescue Paulus, and he immediately asked: "Where did you hear this news?" ”

"According to the report of my men," Vinogradov continued, "in the vicinity of the town of Zavaregino, where Paulus was being held, several detachments of German airborne troops were discovered, and while attempting to pass through our lines, they exchanged fire with our guards. ”

"Chief of Staff," Rokossovsky heard this, and immediately turned his head and asked Malinin: "Have you received a report of an attempt by the Germans to approach the town of Zavaregino?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Malinin nodded and said with certainty: "In the past two days, there have been three or five detachments of German airborne troops trying to approach the town of Zavaregino, but they were all wiped out by the guards of our army. Since the number of enemies is too small, I did not report back to you. ”

After listening to Malinin's explanation, Rokossovsky felt that there was nothing remarkable about this matter, so he did not take it to heart, but continued to ask Vinogoradov: "Comrade Director, is there anything else to report?" ”

Although Vinogoradov saw that Rokossovsky was a little indifferent to himself, he still truthfully reported: "Ten minutes ago, a German plane appeared in the sky over the town of Zavalygino. But it was just an ordinary reconnaissance plane, it neither bombed nor strafed, and after only a few circles in the air, it flew away. ”

"A German reconnaissance plane appeared in the sky over the town of Zavaregino?" Rokossovsky frowned and asked, "Tell me, what are the Germans going to do, are they really going to send troops to rescue Paulus?" ”

"Comrade commander, we cannot rule out this possibility." As soon as Malinin waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, he immediately continued: "So it is absolutely necessary to strengthen the defense of the town of Zavaregino. ”

"Since the town of Zavaregino currently houses only 24 German generals, we have only one company of troops there." Vinogorodov said with a serious expression: "In order to prevent possible rescue actions by the enemy, I suggest that troops should be transferred to strengthen the defense there. ”

"General Vinogoradov is right," Terekin said approvingly, "if the Germans really save Paulus and the other generals in the town of Zavaregino, then our great victory in the defense of Stalingrad will be completely lost, and therefore it is absolutely necessary to strengthen the town's defenses." ”

Rokossovsky felt that Terekin and Vinogorodov were very reasonable, and after ordering Malinin to send elite troops to strengthen the defense of the town of Zavaregino, he again called Moscow by high-frequency telephone, just over the issue of railway transport, this time about how to deal with Paulus, so he reported directly to Stalin.

After listening to Rokossovsky's report, Stalin was silent for a long time before he spoke slowly: "Comrade Rokossovsky, do you know? A few hours earlier, NKVD Beria had reported to me that the Germans, through the Red Cross, had made a request to us to exchange my son, Joseph, for Paulus. ”

"Exchange Joseph for Paulus?" Rokossovsky couldn't help but be shocked when he heard Stalin mention this, and he may not remember anything else, but in real history, he remembered how Stalin replied to the German request in a categorical manner. However, he still habitually asked, "Then how did you answer?" You know, Joseph is your son, and for his safety, even if you exchange Paulus, it's worth it. ”

Unexpectedly, after Stalin waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, he said slowly: "Comrade Rokossovsky, my reply to the Germans is: I will never exchange a marshal for a soldier." ”

Hearing Stalin's reply, which really matched his own memory, Rokossovsky secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and then continued to ask: "Comrade Stalin, what should we do with Paulus?" Should he remain in the town of Zavaregino, or should he be transferred somewhere else? ”

"Let them stay there for the first time," said Stalin dryly, "as to where they will stay in the future, I need to consult with Comrade Beria, and I will inform you when there is a result." ”

Just as Rokossovsky was about to put down the phone, Stalin suddenly said again: "Are there any problems with the transportation of your troops?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Stalin." Seeing that Stalin personally inquired about the issue of railway transport, Rokossovsky hurriedly explained: "At present we are facing a big problem in the problem of railway transport, and we have only a single-track railway that has just been repaired. It is clear that it is simply impossible for this railway to transport such a large number of troops in a short period of time. ”

"I've discussed this with Beria." Stalin said unhurriedly: "He will send his right-hand man, Comrade Lunev, to the railway department to sit down and supervise the transportation work of the railway department." I believe that with the arrival of Comrade Lunev, the problem that you are having trouble now will soon be solved. ”

…………

According to everyone's idea, with Lunev, a heavyweight of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in charge of transporting troops by rail, the efficiency of transporting troops could be greatly improved. Regrettably, the real thing is the opposite, and the local railway troops under pressure from Lunev have not only failed to improve their efficiency, but have fallen into chaos.

Before the arrival of the commissioner Lunev in the railway department, there was a detailed schedule for the transportation of the troops, but by the time he took office, everything was thrown into chaos. The 65th Army, which was supposed to go to Yerets, was still waiting for the trains, but the railway troops carried the rest of the troops away. The supplies of the artillery units were delivered to the designated places, while the horses and vehicles that towed the artillery and transported the ammunition remained in place. Sometimes there are situations where the troops are transported by train to station A, while their technical equipment is sent to station B.

Hearing about all the mistakes that had occurred, Rokossovsky was furious, he pointed his finger at Malinin and asked loudly: "Chief of staff, you can tell me what is going on, why has the movement of our front army become such a mess?" ”

Ma Linin said with an aggrieved face: "Comrade commander, since the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs arrived in the railway department, they have threatened those responsible that if they cannot provide the transportation capacity of the railway, they will be sent to a military court. The men were frightened, and in order to speed up the transportation of the railway, they had to order all the trains, load all the troops they met onto the trains, and send them in the direction of Yelets. Due to the lack of unified scheduling, the troops that should have been transported were still waiting at the station or the concession center, while the troops that should not have been transported were sent to the Yerets region. ”

Figuring out that the chaos in front of him was caused by the random orders of Lunev, a layman, Rokossovsky couldn't help frowning, he looked at Malinin and asked: "Chief of Staff, how many other formed units remain in the Stalingrad region so far?" ”

Without looking at his notebook, Malinin replied without hesitation: "Comrade commander, due to the failure of the railway transport troops to allocate wagons on time, we have 169 logistics organs and units that remain in the Stalingrad region. ”

"What, and so much more?" When Rokossovsky heard this number, he couldn't help but feel a headache. He gently tapped his forehead with his fist and said to himself: "It seems that the real situation here should be reported to Comrade Stalin." ”

"Yes, yes, yes." Although Rokossovsky's voice was not loud, Malinin, who was standing in front of him, heard it clearly, and immediately said excitedly: "It should be immediately reported to Comrade Stalin to stop this situation of laymen commanding insiders, so that our troops can be transported to the front line as soon as possible." ”

After receiving Rokossovsky's call, Stalin asked a little puzzled: "What, Comrade Rokossovsky, is it true that you said that when the comrades of the Ministry of Internal Affairs arrived in the railway department, they not only did not improve their work service, but caused chaos?" ”

"Absolutely right, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky, who was anxious to transfer his troops to the Yerets region, and therefore did not have to worry about offending the people of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, truthfully reported: "Since the comrades of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are laymen in the work of railway transport, they mistakenly interfered in the work of the railway department, which led to the fact that the whole situation got out of control. ”

"What, and so much more?" When Rokossovsky heard this number, he couldn't help but feel a headache. He gently tapped his forehead with his fist and said to himself: "It seems that the real situation here should be reported to Comrade Stalin." ”

"Yes, yes, yes." Although Rokossovsky's voice was not loud, Malinin, who was standing in front of him, heard it clearly, and immediately said excitedly: "It should be immediately reported to Comrade Stalin to stop this situation of laymen commanding insiders, so that our troops can be transported to the front line as soon as possible." ”

After receiving Rokossovsky's call, Stalin asked a little puzzled: "What, Comrade Rokossovsky, is it true that you said that when the comrades of the Ministry of Internal Affairs arrived in the railway department, they not only did not improve their work service, but caused chaos?" ”

"Absolutely right, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky, who was anxious to transfer his troops to the Yerets region, and therefore did not have to worry about offending the people of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, truthfully reported: "Since the comrades of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are laymen in the work of railway transport, they mistakenly interfered in the work of the railway department, which led to the fact that the whole situation got out of control. ”