Ten hours before the start of the counteroffensive, an unexpected big man suddenly appeared in the headquarters of the 16th Army. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 Info Rokossovsky was bending over the table to explain to Malinin how the troops should be deployed after the start of the counteroffensive, when the noisy command suddenly became silent. The first person to notice the abnormality in the command was Ma Lining, and after he looked up, an expression of disbelief suddenly appeared on his face, and then he stood up straight and raised his hand to his forehead.

Seeing Malinin's move, Rokossovsky felt very strange, and he also turned his head to look behind him, wanting to see who was sacred when he walked into the headquarters, and actually made Malinin lose his temper so much? After seeing the person clearly, he quickly turned around and straightened his body, followed the example of Malinin, raised his hand to his forehead, and shouted in a panic: "Comrade Stalin, the commander of the 16th Army, Lieutenant General Rokossovsky, reports to you that we are studying the counteroffensive, please instruct!" ”

Stalin, who was standing in the middle of the room, waved his hand at Rokossovsky and said: "Please continue!" After speaking, he turned to face the staff officers with clay and wood carvings, and said politely, "Comrades, please continue to work!" ”

The staff officers heard Stalin's order and rebuilt and began work, but as usual, they looked extremely restrained. An intelligence staff officer who was drawing was shaking his hands because he was too nervous, and drew all the straight lines on the map into wavy lines.

Stalin walked up to Rokossovsky, looked him up and down, and asked with a smile: "How is it, Comrade Rokossovsky, are the troops participating in the counteroffensive ready?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin. The troops participating in the counteroffensive have made all preparations for the war in the east and are ready to fight at any time. Seeing Stalin's sudden appearance in his headquarters, Rokossovsky secretly complained in his heart, saying that this was the front line, not the Kremlin, and if something happened to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief himself, he would not be able to eat and walk away.

After beckoning Stalin to sit down, he immediately instructed Malinin, who was standing next to him: "Chief of Staff, what are you still doing here, hurry up and pour a cup of hot tea for Comrade Stalin." ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky, I'm not here for tea." Stalin was polite, and then asked: "Do you think it is possible to defeat the enemy with this counterattack of ours?" ”

Stalin's question, so that Rokossovsky did not know what to say for a while, and in the memory of later generations he hastily organized, Zhukov hastily organized this counterattack, which ended in failure. Because not long after the launch of this counteroffensive, the German troops who took the lead relied on the superiority of their strength and technical equipment to fight against the Soviet army, and beat the patchwork Soviet troops all over the ground. However, if you think about it, the situation today seems to be different from the real history, for example, in the real history, Volokolamsk was occupied by the Germans as early as the end of October, and now it is mid-November, and the vanguard of the German army is still twenty kilometers away from the city.

Thinking of this, Rokossovsky replied with luck: "Comrade Stalin, if it is really possible to attack the enemy from two directions at the same time, I think it is possible to disperse the defensive forces of the German army, so that the goal of the counteroffensive can be achieved." ”

"The time of the final counteroffensive was 24 hours later than the time of the attack reported by Comrade Zhukov." After listening to what Rokossovsky said, Stalin said thoughtfully: "With such ample time for preparation, I think it should be no problem to attack from two directions at the same time." ”

The two then discussed some problems that might arise during the counteroffensive. While they were having a good conversation, Lobachev's voice suddenly came from the door: "I said, Comrade Commander, which big man has come to our headquarters, and how is it heavily guarded outside." If I hadn't reported my identity, the soldiers who were on guard outside wouldn't let me in. ”

Lobachev walked in from the outside as he spoke, and when he saw Stalin sitting at the table, he couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded, probably he never dreamed that the Supreme Commander-in-Chief himself would suddenly appear here. However, he quickly returned to normal, and after raising his hand to salute Stalin, he reported: "Comrade Stalin, Lobachev, a member of the Military Committee of the 16th Army, reports to you that you are welcome to come to us for inspection. ”

Stalin stood up with a smile, walked up to Lobachev, shook his hand, and said amicably: "You are the military commissar of the 16th Army, I have heard of your name for a long time, and today is the first time I have seen you." ”

Lobachev couldn't help but have a puzzled look on his face when he heard Stalin say this. However, Stalin did not notice the abnormality on his face, and continued to ask: "I wonder what you just did?" ”

"Comrade Stalin." Without waiting for Lobachev to answer, Rokossovsky next to him preemptively said: "Comrade Military Commissar went to the participating units to mobilize the commanders and fighters before the war. ”

"I see," Stalin said to Lobachev in a kind manner after listening to Rokossovsky's explanation: "With you loyal political workers, I believe that the pre-war mobilization of the commanders and fighters will definitely have the effect of boosting morale." In this way, it will be very helpful for us to achieve victory in the counteroffensive. ”

Stalin spent half an hour in the headquarters, and in addition to chatting with Rokossovsky and Lobachev for a long time, he also had cordial conversations with all the staff officers in the headquarters, and several of them were moved to tears. Finally, Stalin raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said to Rokossovsky and them: "It's not early, I should go back too." Here, I wish you a victorious counteroffensive! ”

Seeing that Stalin was leaving, Rokossovsky hurriedly asked with concern: "Comrade Stalin, I don't know how many people you have brought here?" ”

"A company of guards." Stalin said casually: "The fighters came by truck, and I came in an armored car, and there were no problems with safety on the road." ”

"No, no, Comrade Stalin, your guards are too weak." Rokossovsky knew that a company sounded like a lot of troops, but if he encountered the Germans halfway, especially with armored troops, it would not be enough to put the enemy in his teeth. So he turned his head and asked Ma Lining: "Chief of Staff, do we have any strong combat units near here?" ”

Malinin rushed from Rokossovsky's questioning, guessed what he was trying to express, and after a little thought, nodded and said: "Comrade commander, there is an engineer platoon of the 316th Infantry Division, and the platoon commander, Second Lieutenant Feltov, is a Komsomol member, and they have a certain anti-tank force. ”

"Very well, let them escort Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky instructed Malinin: "Chief of staff, you have to tell the second lieutenants to ensure the safety of Comrade Stalin, even if they sacrifice their lives." I see? ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." After a quick glance at Stalin, Malinin said in a firm tone: "Even if the fighters sacrifice their own lives, they will definitely protect the safety of Comrade Stalin." ”

……

Rokossovsky was relieved to see Stalin's armored car, escorted by the guard company and the engineer platoon, and then said to Lobachev beside him: "Thank God, Comrade Stalin has finally left. You don't know how worried I was about his safety when he was just in the headquarters. ”

"Comrade commander," Lobachev frowned after listening to his words, "didn't you find anything unusual?" ”

"Unusual places?" Rokossovsky was confused by Lobachev's words, and he asked puzzled: "Comrade Military Commissar, what are you talking about, you have confused me?" ”

Lobachev waved his hand first to let the staff officers who came out go back to the headquarters first, and when there was no one around, he lowered his voice and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, didn't you notice the abnormality that Comrade Stalin behaved?" ”

Lobachev said everything to this point, and seeing that Rokossovsky still did not understand, he had to continue: "I suspect that the person we just sent away is not Comrade Stalin at all. ”

"However, just ......now," Rokossovsky was halfway through his words, when he suddenly remembered that he had read an introduction to Stalin's stand-in in a document before, so he changed the microphone in time and asked tentatively: "Comrade Military Commissar, why do you say that?" ”

"Comrade Commander, did you see him smoking in the command?" In response to Rokossovsky's question, Lobachev first voiced the first doubt.

"Nope." Although Rokossovsky did not see Stalin many times, every time he saw him, he never left his pipe, and after staying in the command headquarters for so long today, he did not see his pipe. He felt that Lobachev was definitely more than that, so he continued to ask: "What else?" ”

Lobachev reminded Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, do you remember what Comrade Stalin said after meeting me? ”

Rokossovsky carefully recalled the situation at that time, and then said: "He seems to say that he met you for the first time or something, but I don't remember the specific content." ”

"That's right, he just said he was seeing me for the first time." Lobachev said with a wry smile: "Although the last time we went to Moscow, I did not wait to meet the Supreme Commander himself, but I had dealt with him many times back ten years ago. With his memory, it was absolutely impossible for him not to remember me as a person and say such a thing as the first meeting. ”

"Comrade Military Commissar," after listening to Lobachev's analysis, Rokossovsky felt that the Stalin he had just met might really be a stand-in, but he did not express his suspicions, but threw the question to Lobachev: "I wonder what conclusions you have reached? ”

When Lobachev answered Rokossovsky's question, he first looked around, and although there was no figure within a dozen meters of the surrounding area, in order to prevent the partition wall from having ears, he still leaned close to Rokossovsky's ear and whispered: "I suspect that Stalin, who just chatted with us in the command headquarters, is just a stand-in." ”

Hearing that Lobachev's judgment was completely consistent with his own speculation, Rokossovsky could not help but fall silent, and he began to think about what his superiors wanted to do when he sent a stand-in of Stalin to the front before the counteroffensive began.

After the two returned to the command headquarters and sat down at the table again, a thought suddenly popped into Rokossovsky's head, and then he leaned close to Lobachev's ear and whispered: "Comrade Military Commissar, I think it is necessary to report the news of Comrade Stalin's visit to us to Comrade Zhukov. ”

Lobachev thought for only a moment about Rokossovsky's proposal, then nodded in agreement: "Whether it's true or not, I think it should be reported to Comrade Zhukov." ”

Zhukov heard Rokossovsky's voice and asked: "How is it, Comrade Rokossovsky, are your counterattack units ready?" ”

"Yes, Comrade General." Rokossovsky immediately and respectfully replied: "They have already entered the established attack positions, and as soon as the time comes, they will attack the enemy's positions." ”

"Now that you're ready, what else are you calling for?" Zhukov asked with a bit of dissatisfaction in his tone: "Did you encounter difficulties and need me to help you solve them?" ”

Rokossovsky did not care about Zhukov's attitude towards himself, but said bluntly: "Comrade Stalin just now; Came to my headquarters. ”

"What?" Zhukov thought that he had misheard, and hurriedly asked: "What did you just say, Comrade Stalin went to your headquarters?" ”

"That's right, Comrade General." To Zhukov's question, Rokossovsky replied in the affirmative: "He has been here for almost half an hour, and he has just left. ”

"It can't be." After Zhukov heard what Rokossovsky said, he immediately raised his voice and said: "I was talking to him half an hour ago, and he was still in his office at that time, how could he appear in your headquarters, did he fly over with wings?" Comrade Rokossovsky, I see that you are drunk, why are you talking drunk. ”

"Comrade General, I'm not drunk." Hearing Zhukov say this, Rokossovsky was even more sure that his judgment was correct, Stalin, who had just come to his command, was just a stand-in, but he would not take the initiative to tell Zhukov his guess, but continued: "All the commanders in my command headquarters saw it with their own eyes, and when he left, I also sent an engineer platoon equipped with anti-tank weapons to escort him. (To be continued.) )