Just as Shaposhnikov was explaining their new tasks to Khozin and Fedyuninsky, Rokossovsky, who was on the front, also received the last order from the commander of the Western Front, Marshal Timoshenko: "The troops will move north after dawn and take over the defense area vacated by the 20th Army." Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Rokossovsky couldn't help frowning after reading Timoshenko's order. He handed the order to Lobachev, and then said inexplicably: "I don't understand why the commander of the front would give such an order." Is it really appropriate to rashly change the defense area of the troops under the current situation of the great enemy? ”

After reading the order, Lobachev handed it to Malinin, and after a moment of silence, said slowly: "Comrade commander, if it weren't for the signature of Marshal Timoshenko on the back, I would have thought it was an order forged by the Germans. The two armies numbered nearly 100,000 men, and a change of defense zone would inevitably cause unnecessary confusion, and if the Germans attacked at such a time, our defensive line would be in danger of being breached. ”

After Lobachev finished speaking, the room fell silent. Only Malinin was still holding the order, looking at it over and over again, as if trying to understand what it was trying to say.

After a long silence, Rokossovsky asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you have any opinions?" ”

"We should call the Front Command and ask what this order is all about." Malinin hesitated and said, "Maybe this is a wrong order. ”

"No, Comrade Chief of Staff." As soon as Malinin's words were finished, Lobachev retorted: "I know Semyon Konstantinovich very well, although he is a soldier, he is very cautious in his work, and he will never make such a low-level mistake. ”

Malinin looked at Kazakov, who was sitting beside him, trying to find out his attitude towards this command, which was so surprising to everyone, only to find the latter sitting there motionless with his eyes squinted.

"Okay, no more talking." Rokossovsky took the order from Malinin's hand, folded it and put it in his jacket pocket, and said in an official tone: "Everyone is not in the army for a day or two, you should be very clear about the order, the order of the superior is not allowed to be discussed, it can only be carried out." Since the higher authorities have given us such an order, then let's carry it out. ”

After he said this, he saw that Kazakov seemed to be about to fall asleep, and hurriedly called the other party's real name and patronymic and asked: "Vasily Ivanovich, what are you thinking?" ”

"Comrade Commander." Hearing Rokossovsky call his name, Kazakov opened his eyes, raised his head and said: "If we want to adjust the defense area, our artillery positions are no longer suitable to stay in the current area, and I am thinking about where to deploy our artillery." ”

"After the adjustment of the defensive line, in addition to the east bank of the Vopi River, the city of Yaltsevo will also become another focus." Rokossovsky pointed to the map in front of him and said to Kazakov: "The establishment of new artillery positions should first take into account the fact that in the event of a battle, the necessary artillery support can be provided to the defenders in these two places. ”

"I see, Comrade Commander." Although Rokossovsky made only a brief remark, Kazakov quickly found several areas on the map suitable for the establishment of artillery positions according to his ideas.

Rokossovsky turned to Lobachev and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, it's already September, and the long winter is coming. You should urge the logistics department to provide winter clothing for our troops as soon as possible. ”

"Comrade commander," Lobachev said with a smile as soon as Rokossovsky finished speaking: "On the first day of September, I applied to the logistics department of the front army to provide our commanders and fighters with cotton clothes. After all, the temperature has dropped to 15 degrees Celsius, and our commanders and fighters are still wearing summer uniforms, and if we don't get up to the problem of winter clothes as soon as possible, I fear that they will freeze on a cold night. ”

Seeing that Lobachev had already thought of what was ahead of him, Rokossovsky nodded with satisfaction, and continued: "In addition, many residents of the city of Yaltsevo have recently returned to the city one after another. I went to take a look, and many food stores and clothing stores were open again, and police officers appeared on the streets. If it weren't for the rumbling of artillery in the distance, I would have thought it was back in peacetime. ”

"Comrade Commander, I was just thinking about discussing this matter with you." As soon as Lobachev waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, he immediately said impatiently: "Many buildings in the city have been blown up when enemy planes bombed them. Many residents returned to the city because their homes had been blown up and had to build simple houses on the ruins. I think we should take advantage of the time when the Germans stop their offensive and send troops to help them rebuild their homes. ”

Rokossovsky shook his head and rejected Lobachev's proposal after thinking for a moment: "No, Comrade Military Commissar, in the present situation, the first task of our commanders and fighters is to block the enemy's attack, not to help the inhabitants rebuild their homes. You should be well aware that the enemy is stronger than we are, and has recently stopped attacking us, mainly because they intend to draw forces south to besiege the Southwestern Front. After they have solved the problem in the southwestern direction, they will concentrate their forces and launch a new round of attacks against us again. ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say such a serious problem, Lobachev smiled disapprovingly, and then asked: "But, Comrade Commander, are we going to leave the homeless inhabitants to fend for themselves in simple houses on the ruins, which have no shelter from the wind and rain?" ”

"Not so, Comrade Military Commissar." Rokossovsky waved his hand at Lobachev and explained: "Although I do not agree to send commanders and fighters to help them rebuild their homes, it does not mean that I will leave them there and ignore them." What I mean by this is to send a number of troops into the city to maintain order, and to place these homeless people in relatively intact empty houses, after all, there are many owners of houses who will not return soon after leaving the city. ”

"That's a good idea." Lobachev hurriedly took out his notebook, wrote down everything Rokossovsky said, and then looked up and asked: "Are there any other precautions?" ”

"Also," Rokossovsky remembered many negative comments about the Soviet army in later generations, and hurriedly added: "For the troops stationed in the city, military discipline must be strictly enforced, and robbery or theft will never be allowed." If it is found, it must be severely punished. ”

"Comrade Commander, are you making a bit of a fuss." When Lobachev heard Rokossovsky say this, he hurriedly put down the pencil in his hand and said with some tears and laughter: "I believe that our commanders and fighters will never do such a thing." ”

"Comrade Military Commissar, this is not my upline." Rokossovsky said with a serious expression: "But I have seen with my own eyes that many soldiers broke into those empty rooms, rummaged through the cabinets, and put the issued jewelry, beautiful shirts or food into their backpacks. ”

"Ah, could there be such a thing?" Lobachev was taken aback by Rokossovsky's words, and he asked with some disbelief: "Are you telling the truth?" Have you really seen such a fighter? ”

"Yes, I've seen it with my own eyes." After answering Lobachev's words, Rokossovsky muttered in his heart: I saw it in later documentaries.

"I've never thought about the question you're talking about." When Lobachev returned to his book, he muttered: "In order to avoid the situation you have mentioned, I think it is necessary to send additional special patrols in the city to prevent and stop indiscipline in the troops. I suggest that this work be entrusted to the comrades of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. ”

"Okay," Rokossovsky nodded and said approvingly, "I'll leave this matter to you." ”

Early the next morning, Zhukov rushed to Leningrad, where the situation was critical, with two of his deputies, to fulfill his duty of turning the tide. Rokossovsky's 16th Army and Lukin's 20th Army also began defensive operations.

On the surface, the dispatch of nearly 100,000 people must be a mess everywhere. But in reality, this is only true in the city of Yaltsevo. It turned out that the troops of the 20th Group Army stationed in the city were going to leave the city, and the 16th Group Army, which had taken over the defense, was going to enter the city, and the two sides were huddled together near the city gate.

In the relatively chaotic rear, the Wapi River is much calmer. Colonel Orlov's 108th Infantry Division, which was originally stationed here, still held on to the original defense area, but the 38th Infantry Division of Colonel Kirillov, which was originally on the left flank, was transferred to the right flank, and the left flank was taken over by the 20th Infantry Army of the 61st Army.

The work of adjusting the defense was not completed until the evening. Since the attention of the German troops was focused on the Kiev direction, they took a blind eye to this redeployment operation carried out within the Western Front.

Finally, after dark, Rokossovsky was about to call Timoshenko to report that the defense work had been successfully completed, when the phone on the desk suddenly rang. Malinin walked over and picked up the microphone, and after listening for a while, he removed the microphone from his ear, covered the microphone with his hand, and said to Rokossovsky with a complicated expression: "Comrade commander, it was a call from the commander of the Front Army. ”

"Is it Marshal Timoshenko?" Rokossovsky said as he reached out to answer the phone.

Unexpectedly, Malinin shook his head vigorously and said in a low voice: "Comrade commander, it is not Marshal Timoshenko, but General Konev who called. ”

"What, a call from Konev?" Hearing Malinin say this, Rokossovsky was stunned at first, but he quickly understood that Timoshenko had stepped down and Konev had taken his place. He took the microphone, put it to his ear, and said politely: "Hello, General Konev, allow me to congratulate you on becoming the commander of the Western Front. ”

"Thank you, Comrade Rokossovsky." Konev said dryly: "The task of redeploying the troops has been completed, and I now announce to you the personnel changes within the command of the Front: Marshal Timoshenko has been appointed commander-in-chief of the south-western direction, responsible for leading the troops there and fighting stubbornly with the Germans. And after I leave office, my 19th Army will be taken over by Lieutenant General Lukin. And his 20th Army was taken over by General Yershakov. ”

Although Rokossovsky had heard about the changes in the commanders of the various army groups for a long time, when he really heard that it was put into practice, he could not help but feel a little too abrupt. After waiting for Konev to finish speaking, he politely asked: "Comrade Commander of the Front, does our army group have new combat missions in the recent period?" ”

"Not for the time being, your task is to hold your own defensive zone." After Konev said this, he held the microphone and thought for a while, and then continued: "However, Comrade Rokossovsky, I think that although the enemy has not made any moves, we can take the initiative to take action and carry out a small counterattack on the area occupied by the Germans, completely disrupting their deployment. What do you think of me? ”

When the superiors ask their opinions, only fools and people who lack a string in their heads will disagree with their superiors. Rokossovsky was clearly not one of these two people, so he replied without thinking: "That's right, General Konev, this idea of yours is very good, and I think it will be very helpful to turn the situation of friend and foe in the defensive areas of the Western Front." ”

"Since that's the case, then you should draw up a counterattack plan as soon as possible." Seeing that Rokossovsky agreed with him, Konev said casually: "It is better that I will be able to see your battle plan for counterattacking the Germans in front of me on my desk early tomorrow morning." ”

"Okay, General Konev." Even if Konev didn't say it, in Rokossovsky's plan, he planned to send troops across the Wopi River to attack the Germans on the west bank. However, the strength of one of his own group armies is still a little thin after all, and if he can cooperate with several other group armies, then the results achieved will be very ideal. Therefore, he readily agreed to Konev's arrangement: "I made the plan overnight, and tomorrow morning, you will be able to see the battle plan I have drawn up on your desk." ”

"Very well, Comrade Rokossovsky." After Konev finished speaking, he hung up the phone without waiting for Rokossovsky to say anything more. (To be continued.) )