Several heavyweights, after confirming that the Allies were about to launch a landing operation in Sicily, gradually turned the conversation to the ongoing Battle of Kursk.

Vasilevsky opened his mouth and said: "Comrade Stalin, judging from the current situation, Vatutin's defense line is in danger of being broken through by Manstein at any time......"

Hearing this, Stalin waved his hand to interrupt Vasilevsky's words and asked impatiently: "What is Vatutin's request again?" ”

"Comrade Vatutin believes that at least one tank army will be transferred from the Steppe Front," Vasilevsky said with some confidence to Vatutin: "Only then will they have the possibility of repelling the German attack." ”

"The purpose of our establishment of the Steppe Front was to be able to provide reserves for both the Central Front and the Voronezh Front in the event of a large-scale battle in the Kursk arc." Zhukov said rather dissatisfied: "If the main forces are given to Vatutin, then what will happen to Rokossovsky's side?" ”

"That's right," said Stalin, as soon as Zhukov's words were finished, he expressed his support for him: "In the Armageddon that is at stake in the fate of the two countries, the members of our base camp should look at the big picture. If the main forces of the steppe front are given to Vatutin, what will we do if something unexpected arises with Rokossovsky? Comrade Vasilevsky, have you thought about this? ”

For the first time since Vasilevsky became chief of the General Staff, he was so severely criticized by Stalin, and he blushed and said: "Comrade Stalin, I understand what you mean. But now the situation there is very bad in Vatutin, and if it is not strengthened immediately, I fear that if the defensive line is forced, then our troops in the Kursk arc will be in danger of being surrounded by the Germans. ”

Since the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, Stalin has not heard the news of the encirclement of his troops for a long time, and he cannot help but be silent. At present, the five fronts of the Soviet army are all south of Moscow, and once there is a tragedy in which the two fronts are surrounded by the German army, it will not be long before the German army may come to the city again, and then I don't know if they still have enough strength to smash the German army's attempt to seize Moscow.

Seeing that Stalin was slow to speak, Zhukov knew that he was engaged in a fierce ideological struggle, and hurriedly suggested: "Comrade Stalin, I have an idea, I don't know whether to say it or not?" ”

"Say, Comrade Zhukov." Stalin tapped his pipe twice on the ashtray, "What time is it now, is there anything else that can't be said?" ”

"I would like to call Comrade Rokossovsky and hear his opinion." After Zhukov finished speaking, seeing that Stalin's face showed disapproval, he hurriedly added: "I believe that it is very necessary for our army's next battle." ”

"Well," Stalin thought for a while, then finally nodded and said, "You can mention the Allied affairs to him, but for the sake of secrecy, you don't want to say the specific location." ”

Zhukov nodded, got up and walked to Stalin's desk, picked up the phone on it, dialed it and instructed the operator: "Pick up Kursk, the Central Front, find Rokossovsky." ”

After a few minutes of waiting, the call was connected. As soon as he heard Rokossovsky's voice, Zhukov said solemnly: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I want you to announce a top-secret message now, so please let all the unrelated people leave." ”

Rokossovsky, who was answering the phone, looked left and right, except for Malinin, there were two military commissars and a deputy commander, strictly speaking, they were not unrelated personnel. But considering the tone of Zhukov's speech, Rokossovsky still covered the microphone and said to several front army leaders: "Comrade commanders, I'm sorry, Zhukov has something important to talk to me about, you should avoid it first." ”

After he had finished speaking, the commanders sitting at the table stood up one after another and walked outside, turning him into a no-man's land within ten paces. Only then did Rokossovsky let go of the hand covering the microphone: "Okay, Comrade Marshal, I'm the only one left, what do you have to say." ”

"That's right, Comrade Rokossovsky." Zhukov said carefully: "Not long ago, we received a notification from the Allies that they would launch an active offensive against the German army somewhere in the near future......

Hearing this, Rokossovsky accidentally blurted out: "Are the Allies ready to carry out a landing operation in Sicily?" ”

Zhukov was taken aback when he heard him say this, and after a short silence, he cautiously asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, why do you say that?" ”

"It's simple, I analyzed it based on a map." Rokossovsky saw that he had accidentally slipped his mouth, and hurriedly began to remedy: "If the Allies can carry out a landing operation in Sicily in the near future, then the German troops who are fighting our army will no longer be replenished from Europe. As the campaign progresses, the overall situation will become favorable to our army! ”

"Comrade Stalin!" Zhukov covered the microphone, turned his head to Stalin and said: "Rokossovsky has analyzed the possible military action of the Allies in Sicily, based on his own judgment, and has come to the same conclusion as we do. ”

"This Rokossovsky," Stalin stood up with a smile, and without even taking his pipe, he walked up to Zhukov and took the phone from his hand, "I'll talk to him personally." ”

"Hello, Konstantin Konstantinovich." Stalin smiled into the microphone and said: "I heard that you analyzed that the Allies would launch a landing operation in Sicily, do you tell me what good is it for them to do so?" ”

If Stalin had asked something else, Rokossovsky might have to think about it for a while, and since he asked about the Sicilian landings, he would have opened his mouth: "From a military point of view, the Allied landing operations in Sicily would have eliminated the air and sea power of the Axis powers on the island, controlled the Mediterranean, and forced Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini to step down." Once their operation was successful, they could use it as a starting point for launching a full-scale attack on Italy. ”

Stalin did not say no, but continued to ask: "Then do you think that the German army is capable of transferring European troops to reinforce the German army in the Kursk direction?" ”

"This is impossible, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky said confidently: "According to my judgment, not only will the German army no longer be able to get reinforcements from Europe, on the contrary, it is even possible that Hitler will transfer troops from the Kursk region to strengthen the defense forces of Europe." ”

Rokossovsky's "judgment" shocked Stalin, and he asked in an unbelievable tone: "Comrade Rokossovsky, do you really think that the Germans will withdraw troops from the Kursk region to strengthen their forces in Europe?" ”

"I think it's a big possibility."

"Well, Comrade Rokossovsky, since you think so, then there must be a reason for you." Stalin continued: "At the moment the situation there is very bad, his line is in danger of being broken by the Germans at any time, do you have any good advice?" ”

Rokossovsky originally wanted to ask Stalin for additional troops, but when he heard this, he knew in his heart that even if he made a request, it was estimated that he would not be approved, and from the analysis of various indications, Stalin was inclined to hand over the reserves to Vatutin's Voronezh Front.

Thinking of this, he opened his mouth and said: "Comrade Stalin, I think it is very inappropriate to constantly draw troops from General Konev's steppe front to strengthen the defense line of Vatutin. ”

"Why?" There was serious discontent in Stalin's tone.

"In the face of a strong German army, if we use refueling tactics, it will only increase unnecessary casualties." Rokossovsky pretended not to hear the displeasure in Stalin's tone, and said to himself: "So I think the most appropriate way is to throw the entire steppe front into battle." In this way, our army had two fronts south of Kursk, which was enough to crush Manstein's troops. ”

"Give all of Konev's troops to Vatutin?" After listening to this, Stalin tentatively asked: "Did I understand correctly?" ”

"Comrade Stalin, it is not Konev's troops that are handed over to Vatutin," Rokossovsky hurriedly corrected, "it is to put the units of the two fronts into battle at the same time in the south of Kursk, to crush Manstein's attempt to break through the defensive line." When the Germans were defeated, they would attack the areas occupied by the Germans in unison. ”

Don't look at Konev at the moment as the head of the front, but Stalin had a bad impression of him. First, during the defense of Moscow, there were frequent mistakes in commanding the Western Front, which led to the elimination of several army groups by the Germans; After being reappointed as the commander of another unit, he actually disobeyed orders on the battlefield and refused to carry out the orders issued by the base camp. Therefore, Stalin appeared hesitant about Rokossovsky's proposal.

Zhukov heard clearly the conversation between Stalin and Rokossovsky, and then persuaded: "Comrade Stalin, I think Rokossovsky has a good point, we can concentrate the forces of both fronts in the south of Kursk and crush Manstein's offensive attempts. ”

Stalin bowed his head slightly after hearing this, and then asked into the microphone: "Comrade Rokossovsky, if the steppe front is thrown into battle, then your forces there will become weak, and in the absence of reserves, it will be very difficult for you to block the German attack. ”

"Comrade Stalin, rest assured." Rokossovsky, hearing Stalin's concerns, immediately assured him: "After two days of fighting, we have prepared everything for defense, and we are confident that we will hold off the German offensive." ”

"Very well, Comrade Rokossovsky, I believe in you." Stalin smiled and said: "Then I will wait for your good news." ”

After Stalin put down the phone, he breathed a sigh of relief and said to Zhukov: "Well, Comrade Rokossovsky has already made it clear to me that he will not ask for help from the steppe front, and suggested that we throw all Konev's troops into the south of Kursk and fight side by side with Vatutin's troops. ”

When Vasilevsky heard Stalin say this, a smile suddenly bloomed on his face: "Comrade Stalin, this is really good. If Konev's troops had been thrown south of Kursk, Manstein's offensive would have been crushed by our two powerful Front units. ”

After Zhukov waited for Vasilevsky to finish, he mentioned another thing to Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, there is one more thing that I have not had time to report to you. The commander of the 60th Army and his military commissar seem to have a deep contradiction, and I am worried that if they continue like this, it will affect our next combat operations. ”

"What's going on, tell me about it?" Stalin said.

"Comrade Zaporozhyets, the military commissar of the 60th Army, is an old Bolshevik." Zhukov explained to Stalin: "Probably because of his age, his way of working seems a little outdated, and because of this, there is an irreconcilable contradiction between him and General Chernyakhovsky." ”

Vasilevsky knew that Zaporozhets was Stalin's old subordinate, and he was deeply afraid that he would blame Chernyakhovsky for this, so he preemptively said: "Comrade Stalin, General Chernyakhovsky is an excellent commander of the army group, and I think that if he continues to stay in office, he will definitely be able to achieve satisfactory results for us." ”

Stalin couldn't hear what Vasilevsky was saying, so he smiled and said: "Comrade Vasilevsky, I haven't said anything yet, why are you in a hurry?" He picked up the pipe from the ashtray, put it in his mouth, and continued, "Since Comrade Zaporozhets is not suitable for his current post, then transfer him back to Moscow as soon as possible, and as for his post, it will be enough for your General Staff to send someone to replace him." ”

Just as Vasilevsky nodded his head again and again, he suddenly heard Stalin say again: "No matter how capable a person was before, if his mind cannot keep up with this era, then he will face the end of being eliminated." Well, Comrade Vasilevsky, you hurry back to the General Staff and draft the order for Konev. ”

Vasilevsky stood up, said a loud yes, and turned and walked out of the office.

As soon as Vasilevsky left, Stalin's expression became stern, he looked at Zhukov for a long time, and finally asked with difficulty: "Comrade Zhukov, I want to hear a truth." Do you think Konev is really reliable? ”

Zhukov thought for a long time and replied decisively: "Comrade Stalin, please rest assured, I am willing to vouch with my life that General Konev's troops will completely crush the German offensive in the Kursk region." ”