Half an hour later, I received a call from Rokossovsky from the settlement of Sverchikovo from a field cable phone saying that he had escaped and entered the defensive position of our troops. When breaking through just now, Chistyakov originally gave an order to discard all technical equipment and break out lightly, but Major Malafeev insisted on bringing all the anti-tank guns with him. When returning to the settlement, of the original sixteen anti-tank guns, only five remained, and the rest were lost in the process of breaking through.

Because Rokossovsky's communication equipment was blown up by German planes during the transfer, and the walkie-talkie carried by Chistyakov could not communicate with the Front Command, after learning about the specific situation, I used the walkie-talkie to report to Zhukov about Rokossovsky's escape and current situation.

After hearing this, Zhukov was silent for a long time before replying: "Just let him stay there first, and I will send someone to send him the additional troops and new communication equipment." You'll have to make sure he's safe until reinforcements arrive. ”

"Yes!" As a traverser, I knew better than him the importance of Rokossovsky in later life, so I made a solemn assurance to him very decisively: "Georgy Konstantinovich, rest assured that as long as there is still a soldier of the 8th Guards Division in the settlement of Sverchikovo, Commander Rokossovsky will never be harmed." ”

After finishing the phone call with Zhukov, I instructed Serebryakov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, call the deputy division commander, Colonel Chistyakov, and ask him to find a way to invite General Rokossovsky here and let the commander stay in the residential area. ”

"Comrade division commander is right, I agree! Comrade Chief of Staff, you will carry it out immediately. The political commissar echoed and expressed his support for me.

When night fell, we finally waited for Rokossovsky's arrival. In addition to him, there was his chief of staff, Colonel Malinin, and Chistyakov, who led the way. As soon as the three of them walked into the division headquarters, I saw them and said to several commanders around me: "Comrade commander is here!" After saying that, he took the lead in greeting him.

I walked up to Rokossovsky, raised my hand in salute after standing upright, and said excitedly: "Hello, Comrade Commander! Welcome to the headquarters of the 8th Guards Division. ”

After Rokossovsky returned the salute, he bent down slightly and grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously, although his face still had the usual serious expression, but the trace of emotion in his eyes had been noticed by me. Although he was grateful for my life-saving grace, he still whispered in his old tone, "Lida, thank you!" Then he let go of my hand, straightened up, looked past me, looked at the rest of the commanders behind me, and said loudly: "Hello, comrades! ”

"Hello Comrade Commander!" Everyone greeted him in unison and came forward to salute him and shake his hand one by one.

Although my rank is now higher than that of Chief of Staff Malinin, I did not put on a show and snub him, and still did the same as usual, and came forward to salute him and shake his hand.

After greeting everyone, Rokossovsky walked directly to the walkie-talkie and talked to Zhukov in the distance. The two began to talk politely, and the two sides quarreled about the reserves.

I can understand Rokossovsky's mood at this time, seeing that a major counteroffensive is imminent, and not only have his troops suffered defeats one after another, but even his own command has almost been defeated by the Germans several times, and even almost taken prisoner. To tell the truth, Rokossovsky's initial decision to retreat his troops to the Istrian region to organize a new defense is now quite correct. Originally, the troops of the 16th Army could have withdrawn safely and orderly to Istria, but the troops who had received the order to retreat had just begun to move, and because of Zhukov's obstruction, they were forced to hurriedly return to their original defensive positions. After fighting with the enemy for several days and being forced to retreat because he could not resist the frantic attack of the German army, Zhukov crossed Rokossovsky and directly gave the order to counterattack the retreating troops in Cumbre del Sol, resulting in the almost collapse of the already chaotic command system of the troops. However, the various units participating in the battle did not belong to each other and fought separately, and paid a heavy price, and achieved very few results.

Rokossovsky has been holding back a nameless fire in his heart for this, and now that the troops have suffered heavy casualties and lack of self-protection, how can they have the ability to participate in the counteroffensive? Asking Zhukov to point reserves to replenish his army group, but was unceremoniously refused, his anger broke out at this time. The quarrel between the two high-ranking generals would not have a good impact on anyone if it came out, so except for Political Commissar Yegorov, Deputy Division Commander Chistyakov, Chief of Staff Serebryakov, and Chief of Staff of the Army Group Malinin, I drove out the rest of the command, including the communications corps.

Rokossovsky and Zhukov argued for a long time, suddenly turned off the communication switch, and directly took the initiative to cut off contact with Zhukov. Seeing Rokossovsky's fierce behavior, several of us were even more silent, and we didn't dare to speak casually, so as not to touch his moldy head. There was a dead silence in the headquarters, except for Rokossovsky's heavy breathing in anger.

The phone on the table rang suddenly, and we looked at each other, not daring to answer the call easily, for fear that Zhukov would call Xingshi to ask for guilt. I thought that the bell would be broken when it rang twice, but I didn't expect it to ring tenaciously for a minute or two.

Everyone was looking at me and wanted me to answer the call. I stole a glimpse of Rokossovsky, and when I saw that he was still standing in front of the walkie-talkie, I couldn't help but hesitate. If Zhukov had called and I hadn't answered, I would have offended Zhukov; And if it does, it may become Rokossovsky's punching bag.

After much hesitation, I stepped forward to the table and leaned down, resting my elbows on the table, picking up the phone with my right hand, and cautiously saying, "Hello! I am Oshanina, commander of the 8th Guards Division. ”

"Hello, Comrade Leda!" A familiar Georgian accent came from the headphones: "I'm Stalin!" ”

When I heard that it was the Supreme Commander himself who was calling, I was so frightened that I quickly straightened up and said respectfully into the microphone: "Hello! Comrade Stalin! ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky is in your division command, right?" Stalin asked unhurriedly.

I glanced at Rokossovsky with the microphone in my hand, and realized that the call was from Stalin, and with a surprised expression on his face, he nodded slightly when he saw my inquiring gaze, and then I replied: "Yes, Comrade Stalin!" ”

Stalin simply said: "Give him the phone." ”

"Yes!" I said yes, handed the phone to Rokossovsky, who walked by, and then took a step back and stood next to me in an upright position.

"Comrade Rokossovsky," Stalin said in a stern tone, "what is the situation in the Istrian region?" ”

After briefly reporting the situation to Stalin, Rokossovsky continued: "Comrade Stalin, I will now tell you about our measures against the enemy. ”

But Stalin tactfully interrupted Rokossovsky, saying: "Comrade Rokossovsky, there is no need to talk about measures to ward off the enemy, he believes that you will be able to block the enemy's continued approach to the city of Moscow." ”

Towards the end of the conversation between the two, Stalin asked again: "Comrade Rokossovsky, please tell me the truth, is your 16th Army very difficult?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky reported the real situation to Stalin: "The units of the 16th Army have been dispersed, and the deputy commander General Zakharov and the 17th, 126th, 133rd infantry divisions and the 25th tank brigade under his command have been repulsed by the enemy from the vicinity of the Dmytrovo and Yakhroma regions and are retreating to the vicinity of the Moscow city. ”

After receiving an affirmative answer, Stalin said in a tone of understanding: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I understand your situation, please hold on a little longer, we will help your ......." Listening to the cordial and fatherly voice of the Supreme Commander coming from the earphones, I realized his concern for us, and at the same time made everyone deeply encouraged and confident.

In the early morning of the next day, the help promised by the Supreme Commander to Rokossovsky - 2 "Katyusha" rocket artillery regiments, 3 anti-tank regiments, 4 anti-tank gun batteries and 2 tank regiments, as well as 3,000 recruits, arrived in the city of Cumbre del Sol, all of which were added to the battle sequence of the 16th Army.