I quickly recovered from my surprise, took a deep breath, and tried to ask in a calm tone: "Comrade Political Commissar, do you know why Commander Lu Dao gave such an order?" ”

"I don't know what to do!" On the other end of the phone, the political commissar muttered in a complaining tone: "I only know that when the order is clear, it is to immediately carry out the order, not to discuss the right and wrong of the order." ”

Hearing him say this, I sighed softly and said, "Then you should follow the order of Comrade Commander and lead the two regiments 1073 and 1075 to withdraw to the Istrian ,...... first."

"What about you and the commanders and fighters of the 1077th Regiment?" The commissar couldn't wait to interrupt me and asked.

"For the main forces to be transferred, someone must stay behind to cover. I intend to lead the 1077th Regiment with General Leviagin and stay in the city for another two more days to attract the enemy's main forces so that you can safely retreat to the assembly point. ”

"However, you are the commander of a division, and your duty is to return to the headquarters to command the troops, not to fight the enemy face-to-face like ordinary soldiers." He tried to convince me: "Besides, you are still wounded, and staying in a place where the fighting is fierce and the medical conditions are poor will not help you recover from your injuries. ”

"Thank you for your kindness." Although I would now like to leave this dangerous city and return to the rear security headquarters, we are now surrounded by German troops on all sides, and it is not so easy to retreat. Rather than risk breaking through at this time, it is better to stay in the city and deal with the German army, and wait until the time is ripe to jump out of the encirclement. So I said to the political commissar on the other side of the phone in a casual tone: "You first transfer with the main force of the division outside the city, and after I complete the task of containment, I will lead the troops to join you as soon as possible." ”

"But......" The commissar tried to persuade me, but I was mercilessly interrupted: "Execute the order, comrade commissar!" ”

Hearing that my attitude was so resolute, he had no choice but to agree.

Hanging up the phone, I looked at Leviakin, who was standing in front of me with a confused face, and asked before he could speak: "Comrade General, can our phone here talk directly to the headquarters of the group army?" ”

He shook his head with a bitter face and said: "It turned out that there was a high-frequency telephone that could be used to communicate directly with the headquarters of the group army, but it was blown up during the transfer yesterday. Now we can't reach them unless the army group command calls us first. ”

I sat down on a bench next to the table, my eyes fixed on the map spread out on the table, and I tapped my fingers lightly on the table. Although my eyes were looking at the map, I didn't see anything drawn on it, but I kept thinking about why Rokossovsky would suddenly give the order to retreat?

"Comrade Division Commander!" Leviakin, who was standing opposite me, propped his hands on the edge of the table, leaned forward, and asked me in a low voice: "Why do you think Comrade Commander would suddenly give such a strange order?" ”

I shook my head at first, and was about to say something, but suddenly I remembered a scene from the movie "The Battle of Moscow": Rokossovsky ran to the headquarters of the Western Front to Zhukov and asked him for permission to withdraw his troops to the Istrian region to organize a new defense. As a result, Zhukov mercilessly rejected the request, and in desperation, he had to call the General Staff of the Red Army, Marshal Shaposhnikov, again with a request to withdraw the troops. This time he was fortunate that the Chief of the General Staff, after consulting Stalin, agreed to Rokossovsky's plan of retreat.

Since Rokossovsky gave the order to retreat at this time, according to the history at my disposal, it was the Supreme Commander-in-Chief who agreed to the plan of withdrawing the troops to a new section and reorganizing the defense. Now that I know the ins and outs of things, I'm able to make targeted decisions.

I looked up at Leviagin in front of me, spread my palms out on the map, and said to him in a casual tone: "Comrade General, where is the Istrian River, please point it out to me!" ”

Leviagin glanced down at the map, then decisively pointed to a place with his index finger. I looked at the place where his finger was, and the name of the place spelled out the Istrian River. Although I already knew the reason for Rokossovsky's order to retreat, I pretended to point my finger around the name of the place, and then said thoughtfully: "Oh, I see, I see! ”

"Got what?" Leviakin asked me confused.

"I understand that the commander, General Rokossovsky, gave the order and withdrew the troops here." As I spoke, I deliberately pointed my finger at the place name.

Levyagin asked me very cooperatively: "What are you for?" ”

"The enemy forces are rapidly massing in the direction of Klin, and the threat from the north is increasing. The onslaught on the left flank of our army group has not stopped. All this forced General Rokossovsky to think about new measures to improve the posture of our army group and stop the enemy's advance. Today, the battles on the center and left flank of the entire army group are taking place 10~12 km west of the Istrian reservoir. If my estimation is correct, Comrade Commander would have considered that the reservoir itself, the Istrian River and its adjoining areas were the best areas for defense, and that the occupation of the area would allow for the formation of a strong defense with only a small number of troops. In this way, the army group could put some of its troops in the 2nd echelon, build a defense in depth, and throw most of its troops in the Kling direction. ”

"Really?" Although I listened to my analysis, Leviakin habitually asked a rhetorical question.

"That's right." I replied to him very dryly, with confidence in my tone.

He stared at the map with a frown, trying to digest what I had just said, when suddenly the phone on the desk rang. He reached out and grabbed the microphone and said loudly: "I'm General Leviakin, where are you?" The other party replied, and before I could understand what he was saying, he had already held the microphone and stood upright, and said in a respectful tone: "Hello, Comrade Commander." ”

Hearing him call the commander, I immediately guessed that it was Rokossovsky calling, and quickly pricked up my ears to listen to the conversation between the two on the phone. Unexpectedly, Leviagin handed the microphone directly over and said in a low voice: "Comrade Commander wants to talk to you personally." ”

I took the microphone, put it to my ear, and greeted Rokossovsky on the other side: "Hello, Comrade Commander. ”

"Have you received an order to retreat?" He asked with concern.

"Got it."

"Do you know why I made the decision to retreat?"

"Zhilu Dao!"

"Oh," he said with interest, "tell me your reasons!" ”

I looked at Leviakin, who was listening carefully to my conversation with Rokossovsky, and repeated the analysis aloud.

"Great!" After listening to my analysis, Rokossovsky excitedly said: "It's amazing! I didn't expect you to be able to judge my intentions so accurately. After a slight pause, he asked with concern: "Is your division ready to retreat?" ”

"I have ordered the political commissar to lead the 1073 and 1075 regiments to retreat first, and the 1077 regiment led by me and General Leviagin will serve as the follow-up cover task and continue to stay in the city and deal with the German army."

"No way!" He said categorically: "You must also obey the order, abandon the existing defensive positions, and immediately organize the troops to move to the Istrian River." ”

"Comrade Commander," I did not directly refuse him, but changed the subject, "I feel that this order to retreat from you may be opposed by the commander of the Front, General Zhukov. ”

"Hehe," he said with a smile on the other end of the phone, "you know Comrade Zhukov so well." To tell you the truth, I first asked him for this retreat, and he refused without hesitation. Then I made the same request to the Chief of the General Staff, and only after obtaining his consent did I give the order to the troops belonging to the army group to retreat. I have worked with Shaposhnikov as early as peacetime, and I believe that his reply was undoubtedly agreed by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, or at least informed of him. So I immediately drafted an order for the troops to transfer the main forces to the Istrian reservoir at night, and ordered individual units to remain in their positions and continue to maintain contact with the Germans, in order to contain their forces and cover the entire retreat. ”

"But......" I hesitated, but still finished what I wanted to say: "I think that with the character of General Zhukov, even if this operation is approved by the Chief of the General Staff and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, he may still oppose it." ”

Hearing my unfounded thoughts, Rokossovsky laughed on the other side of the phone, and he teased: "Dear Comrade Leda, you think too much. ......" Before he could finish speaking, I suddenly heard someone talking next to him: "Report to Comrade Commander, I have just received a telegram from the commander of the Front, General Zhukov. ”

"Read!" Rokossovsky did not cover the microphone, but directly ordered his subordinates, probably at the same time he wanted me to hear what Zhukov's telegram was about.

"It's me who is commanding the front! It's no one else! I now revoke the order to transfer troops to the side of the Istrian reservoir. I ordered to stay where I was, and not to retreat a single step. General Zhukov. "The content of the telegram was short, but it was daunting.

After listening to the telegram, Rokossovsky did not speak for a long time, and if it were not for the sound of his breathing, I would have thought that he hung up. After a long time, I heard him sigh and say, "Zhukov is right." With Moscow behind us, we have no way back. ”