Rokossovsky learned from Timoshenko that the thick paper bags dropped by the German army were filled with ordinary dead rats and insects, which did not carry any viruses that could infect people at all, but were just a mental tactic to scare the commanders and fighters of the Soviet army. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

After finding out the truth, Rokossovsky put down the phone and sat at the table in a daze. He didn't expect that this little trick of the German army would actually deceive countless people, not only making his entire group army panic, but also causing Timoshenko to be confused, and even the supreme commander himself was alarmed.

Seeing Rokossovsky sitting at the table, his eyes staring ahead without focus, Lobachev coughed lightly, and then asked in a low voice: "Comrade commander, since the superiors have tested those samples and found nothing dangerous, can the blockade and quarantine of the commissariat be lifted?" ”

"Ah, Comrade Military Commissar, what were you just talking about?" Lobachev's voice was soft, but it woke Rokossovsky from his musings. He looked up at Lobachev, who was standing in front of him, and asked with a blank expression: "I seem to hear you asking me something?" ”

"Comrade Commander, that's right." Lobachev hurriedly repeated what he had just said: "Now that we already know that there is nothing dangerous in the thick paper bags dropped by the Germans, can the blockade of the concession be lifted?" You must know that there are still fifty or sixty wounded there, and they need to be sent to the field hospital for surgery as soon as possible. ”

"Chief of Staff," Rokossovsky shouted at Malinin, who had just finished answering the phone, and when he walked in front of him, he instructed him: "Call the temporary checkpoint and ask them to lift the blockade of the area of the Willinghouse." In addition, she called Borisova again and said that after laboratory tests, there was nothing dangerous in the thick paper bag dropped by the Germans, and asked her to send the wounded who were stranded in the camp to the field hospital as soon as possible. ”

"Understood." Malinin agreed, but stood still.

Seeing him like this, Rokossovsky couldn't help but ask strangely: "Chief of Staff, do you have anything else?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Malinin reported to Rokossovsky: "I have just received a call from Colonel Orlov, commander of the 108th Infantry Division, that the Germans are moving troops on the west bank of the Wopi River, and it seems that they are planning to launch another forced crossing tomorrow day. ”

Rokossovsky, who was holding back a nameless fire in his belly, heard Malinin say this, and immediately looked down at the map spread out on the table. Malinin came over and pointed to the map and said: "Comrade commander, the Germans, having found that they could not break through the defensive line formed by us and the 19th and 20th armies for the time being, changed the direction of the offensive and carried out a large-scale detour from our south. Now they have captured Glinka and Yelnya one after another, and are advancing towards Ugra in an attempt to capture Vyazma and encircle our three armies. ”

Rokossovsky waited for Malinin to finish, then snorted, and then said in a disdainful tone: "I will definitely not let these fascist bandits succeed." After speaking, he looked up at Malinin, "Chief of Staff, you must draw up an offensive plan immediately, and we will teach the Germans a hard lesson, so that they will not dare to concentrate all their forces and carry out a large-scale roundabout operation against Vyazma." ”

"Comrade commander," Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Malinin's face couldn't help but show an embarrassed expression: "The total strength of our army group is now only more than 30,000 people, and the Germans are in absolute superiority in terms of strength and weapons and equipment, and they still have air supremacy. Attacking us at this time is tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg. Once the main force is lost, we will not have the strength to hold the existing line in the ensuing battle. ”

After listening to Malinin's worries, Rokossovsky waved his hand at him and said confidently: "Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff, what you are worried about will never happen." He spread his palms and patted on the map, "Inform Colonel Orlov to withdraw the main forces of the division to the second line of defense that had been constructed in advance, leaving only a small number of troops to defend by the river." ”

Without waiting for Malinin to speak, Kazakov, who had been listening, couldn't help but interject: "Comrade commander, if the main forces of the 108th Division are really withdrawn to the second line of defense, won't the enemy be able to easily cross the Vopi River?" ”

"Comrade Chief of Artillery," Rokossovsky said, looking at Kazakov and smiling, "I am just going to let the Germans cross the Wopi River, and then we will attack again and eat this enemy that has penetrated deep into our defense zone in one bite." ”

After listening to what Rokossovsky said, Kazakov stared at the map on the table for a long time, and then said slowly: "Comrade commander, if I am not mistaken, you are planning to deliberately let the enemy on the west bank cross the river, and the 108th Infantry Division will block their way, and at the same time send two or three more divisions of troops to attack from the flank of the German army and annihilate this enemy in one fell swoop. ”

"That's right, Comrade Chief of Artillery." Seeing that Kazakov had guessed his intentions, Rokossovsky cast an approving look, "That's how I intended it." ”

"Comrade Commander, I beg your pardon." Kazakov pointed to the south of Yaltsevo and said with a worried face: "Now to the south of us, at least three German infantry divisions and one armored brigade are assembled. Once we encircled and annihilated the German forces that rushed to the east bank, these enemies would certainly not stand idly by, and if they attacked from the rear of our flanks, we would then be faced with the enemy on the flanks and backs, and even the possibility of being counter-surrounded. ”

"I agree with the director of artillery." After Kazakov finished speaking, Malinin chimed in: "If we want to annihilate the enemy rushing to the east bank in the shortest possible time, we must use at least three or four divisions. In this way, our forces in other defensive areas will become weak, and once we are attacked by the Germans in the front and rear, not only will we not be able to fulfill our combat intentions, but on the contrary, we may be counter-surrounded by the Germans, or even be severely damaged. ”

Although Rokossovsky's plan to lure the enemy into the depths came up with a flash of inspiration, he had the confidence that he would win. First of all, the distance from the Wapi River to the second line of defense of the 108th Division was only a few kilometers, and the Germans could only deploy one regiment in such an area, and there was not necessarily any heavy equipment such as tanks and artillery, and it was easy for the attacking troops to achieve the desired results from both flanks; Secondly, in Rokossovsky's memory, the reserve front under Zhukov's command was going to begin a counterattack on the enemy on August 30 and successfully recaptured Yelnya. A friendly attack would inevitably contain a large number of German troops, so that their own troops would be able to calmly eat the Germans who had broken into the east bank of the river.

However, Rokossovsky certainly did not foolishly tell Malinin that Zhukov's reserve front was about to launch a large-scale counteroffensive against the Germans in the Yelnya region south of Yaltsevo. He didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble. He pretended to think for a moment, and then said: "You can rest assured, our encirclement and annihilation battle against the German army will be carried out at night. Even if the Germans knew that their troops were under attack by us, they did not dare to move their troops at night, and could only watch their friendly troops being eaten by us. ”

Although Malinin has not been with Rokossovsky for a long time, he also knows that the commander likes to fight at night. Because in the night battle, the aircraft and artillery relied on by the German army were useless, while the Soviet army could take advantage of the advantage of being familiar with the terrain and seize the initiative in the battle. Seeing that Rokossovsky was so confident at this moment, he nodded and said: "Okay, Comrade Commander, after I finish the call, I will draw up a battle plan. ”

After Malinin left, Kazakov asked Rokossovsky tentatively: "Comrade commander, what is the task of our artillery in this counterattack?" ”

In fact, even if Kazakov doesn't say it, Rokossovsky is ready to let the artillery perform well in this war, especially the rocket artillery battalion that had an amazing performance last time. Since Kazakov asked about this first, Rokossovsky also said smoothly: "Comrade Chief of Artillery, you immediately send artillery observers to the Vopi River to mark the area where the Germans may be camping so that they can be used as targets for our artillery strikes. ”

"When was the shelling taking place?" After hearing this, Kazakov frowned and asked: "Day or night?" ”

"Now that the Germans have air supremacy on the battlefield, if they fire artillery during the day, it will be easy to expose the position of our artillery, so let's wait for the night to attack the enemy's camp with artillery fire." In order to make Kazakov clear about his intentions, Rokossovsky also made a point of explaining: "When the enemy is attacked by our troops at night, they are already in a state of panic, and if they come under another round of artillery fire from our army, they will fall into complete confusion." In this way, our offensive will be much smoother. ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's explanation, a smile appeared on Kazakov's face, and he pointed to the map and said: "I understand, Comrade Commander. I sent observers to mark this area and give our artillery a more accurate target to fire. ”

"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Artillery." Seeing that Kazakov turned around and was about to walk out, Rokossovsky hurriedly stopped him, "I want to ask you, when fighting at night, can you use rocket artillery battalions to cover the enemy's camps with fire?" ”

Kazakov hesitated for a moment, and then muttered: "Didn't Comrade Marshal say last time that if you want to use a rocket artillery battalion, you must ask him for instructions in advance, and you can use it only after obtaining permission?" ”

"This time the situation is special, so there is no need to ask for instructions." Rokossovsky thought that Timoshenko would be stepping down in a few days, and it became irrelevant whether to apply to him for the use of rocket artillery battalions. After he said this, seeing that Kazakov was still a little hesitant, he hurriedly added: "If the superiors investigate it, I will take responsibility." (To be continued.) )