When Stalin heard this, he didn't say anything, but pointed with his fist, which was holding his pipe, at the door behind me. Having just experienced, I knew that he was asking me to go out again, so I quickly turned back, opened the door and walked out.

Watching me walk out of the office, Boskrebeshev couldn't help but smile dumbly, he pointed to where I had just stood, and went back to his work.

I stood in the office of Poskorebeshev in an upright position, my mind racing as he wondered why Stalin had asked me to come out of the penalty station. I remember that when he was still defending Moscow, Zhukov proposed to abandon Kiev and withdraw his troops to the east bank of the Dnieper River to build a new defensive line. It was because of this incident that Stalin was enraged, as a result of which he was removed from the post of chief of the General Staff of the Red Army and demoted to the rank of commander of the reserve front. Although the military rank has not been reduced, the real power has been greatly weakened.

As a general who was highly regarded by Stalin, Zhukov was demoted without saying anything just because he put forward a proposal to abandon Kiev according to the situation at that time. And today, I have angered Stalin on the same issue, and I don't know what kind of way he will deal with me, and it may be light to remove me from my post, and if I don't get it right, I will be directly imprisoned in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The thought of this made my hair tingle and a chill came down my spine, and the chill spread rapidly to all sides, enveloping my whole body in an instant.

Just as I was thinking about scaring myself, the bell on Boskrebeshev's desk rang again. He looked up at me, who looked nervous, pointed to the closed door, and whispered, "Comrade Oshanina, you can go in." ”

When I opened the door tremblingly, I found Stalin sitting at the conference table. See me re-enter the door. He looked up at me and asked, "Leda, I wonder what kind of results you have come up to after thinking about it outside for so long?" ”

I took a deep breath, stabilized my emotions a little, and then mustered up the courage to say: "Yes, Comrade Stalin. After much consideration, I felt that the only way to save the defenders of Kiev was for them to abandon the city and break through to other places where the Germans were weak. ”

After saying this, I stared nervously at Stalin, fearing that he would immediately burst into rage. Unexpectedly, he slowly turned his head and said to a general who was sitting next to Zhukov: "Comrade Vasilevsky, what is the conclusion of your General Staff?" Is it necessary for us to hand over the cities we have recaptured so hard to the Germans again? ”

The Chief of the General Staff, with whom I am not very familiar, General Vasilevsky, rose from his position. "Comrade Stalin, we once organized the ground forces to attack in the direction of Kyiv, but unfortunately our attempt failed under the stubborn defense of the Germans. In addition, the formation of transport planes airdropping supplies to Kyiv is often intercepted by German fighters, so it is simply impossible to provide them with enough supplies. So we think that in the current situation, if General Rybalko's troops are allowed to continue to hold out. There will be a danger of total annihilation. When he had said that, he stood there motionless. Just looked at Stalin nervously with his eyes.

Stalin got up from his seat and walked up and down the open area of the room with his pipe in his mouth, as if thinking about what Vasilevsky had just said. None of the people sitting around the table spoke, but their eyes followed Stalin's movements.

I don't know how long it took, Stalin stopped, turned around and asked Zhukov, who was sitting in his seat: "Comrade Zhukov." What do you think? ”

Zhukov turned around, put one arm on the back of his chair, looked up at Stalin and said: "Although General Vasilevsky did not say whether Kiev should be abandoned or not, judging from the various information we have, there is no point in holding on to Kyiv. If this fight continues, this elite unit under the command of General Rebalko is in danger of being completely annihilated. So, Comrade Stalin, the time has come for us to make up our minds. ”

When Stalin fell silent again, I became a little impatient, thinking to myself that Rybalko's troops had been fighting the Germans for several days in the city, and that they would soon be exhausted, and that if they were not given the order to break out as soon as possible, they would be annihilated when they ran out of ammunition and food.

Although I was well aware of the crisis in the Rebalko Ministry, at this moment, before Stalin had expressed his opinion, I could not say anything, but followed with anxious eyes the Supreme Commander himself, who was walking around the room.

Stalin finally walked up to me, looked at me, and then turned to the generals sitting around the conference table and asked: "Comrades, generals, tell me where to retreat if the defenders of Kiev are allowed to break through?" Knowing that the hundreds of kilometers of road from Kyiv to Kolsk were all defensive areas of the German Army Group Center and Manstein's Department, it was simply an impossible task for Rebalko and his men to safely retreat to Moscow. ”

"We can send planes to fetch Rybalko and Romanov," Vasilevsky heard Stalin's question, and hurriedly came up with an idea for him: "Let the deputy who took over their post lead the remaining troops in the city to break through to the east." Even if the troops are broken up during the march, as long as the senior commander is still there, then we can rebuild the force in the shortest possible time. ”

"What about your opinion?" After listening to Vasilevsky's proposal, Stalin could not immediately express his opinion, but went on to ask Zhukov: "Comrade Zhukov, what do you think?" ”

Zhukov did not sit in his position again this time to answer Stalin's question, he stood up and said slowly: "If you want to send planes to Kyiv, I suggest that you take out the commanders of several divisions, they are all commanders with rich combat experience, and if anything is good, it will be a huge loss for us." ”

"In principle, I agree with Zhukov's comrades and send planes to pick up Rybalko, Romanov and several divisional commanders. Comrade Novikov," said Stalin, turning his head at a very small angle, looking at a commander sitting at the conference table dressed as an Air Force Commander, "you are going to send a few more fighters, but escort the transport plane that will pick up Rybalko." Always make sure they're safe on the road. ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin!" The commander-in-chief of the Air Force, Novikov, who was named by him, hurriedly got up from his seat and assured him: "I will send six warplanes to escort the transport planes and ensure the safety of General Rybalko." ”

When I heard that a few of them had decided the fate of the defenders of Kyiv with understatement, I couldn't help but feel anxious, no matter how great the losses of the troops were. At least there are tens of thousands. If command is lost, the troops will be thrown into disarray, and under the powerful offensive of the German army, they will soon be crushed. I have a few words to say for the defenders of Kyiv, but in these circumstances I have no right to speak without Stalin's permission.

Just when I was in a hurry, Stalin turned around. When he saw the anxious expression on my face, he asked unhurriedly, "Leda." Since Kyiv was captured by the troops under your command, then tell me, is our arrangement appropriate? ”

Hearing Stalin's question, my mind raced and I struggled to figure out how to answer his question. This matter is the most important, and if you answer it incorrectly, it will offend many people at the same time, so I must answer carefully. At the end of a short period of reflection. I replied: "Comrade Stalin, I think that the whole program could be adjusted a little. ”

"Adjustment?!" After Stalin listened. Raised his eyebrows and asked, "What kind of adjustment method?" ”

"If all the commanders are removed, the troops in the city will be thrown into chaos because they will lose their unified command." I deliberately slowed down my voice and tried to make my proposal more convincing: "To avoid this, we have to leave a senior commander behind." Let him command and lead the troops to break through. ”

"Who do you think would be more appropriate to keep?" Vasilevsky asked curiously: "You must know that the troops in the city are not subordinate to each other, and if only one divisional commander is left, it will not be able to take on such a heavy responsibility at all." ”

Vasilevsky's words made everyone's eyes focus on me. Wait for me to come up with a convincing answer.

As for the candidates to stay, I had already considered the candidates for the stay when I was just standing in the outside room, and since everyone was waiting for my answer, I said generously: "Let the commander of the 79th Infantry Corps, General Romanov, stay in command of the troops, and wait for the defenders to jump out of the enemy's encirclement, not necessarily immediately move closer to Moscow, but stay near Kiev to fight guerrillas, so that the Germans cannot rest assured and boldly gather their forces in the direction of Kursk." ”

"Guerrillas?!" After Stalin spat out the word, he shook his head with a frown, and began to circle the room again with a pipe in his mouth.

Vasilevsky, who knew Stalin's character, hurriedly said to me: "Comrade Oshanina, we have quite a few partisans in the enemy's rear, according to incomplete statistics, at least a dozen or two hundred thousand, but they did not play a very big role except for attacking the German supply lines and sparsely armed villages and causing some trouble to the enemy. Rather than leaving more than 10,000 men idle behind enemy lines, it is better to risk letting them break through to the east, to join our main forces in the Kursk region, and further consolidate the existing defensive zone. ”

"Comrade Chief of the General Staff," I replied cautiously to Vasilevsky, glancing quickly at Stalin, who was still pacing, "you have a point, although we have as many as a dozen or two hundred thousand partisans behind the enemy, and many of them are small units that were scattered at the beginning of the war, and their combat effectiveness is not weak. However, because of the dispersion of their forces and the lack of a unified command, their role behind enemy lines is limited......"

"Leda, please wait." As soon as I said this, I was suddenly interrupted by Zhukov, who asked with a surprised expression on his face: "If I am not mistaken, are you planning for Comrade Romanov to organize these scattered partisans, establish a unified command, and turn the enemy's rear upside down?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Marshal." I didn't expect that before I finished my words, Zhukov actually guessed his intentions, no wonder he would be called "invincible and peerless handsome" by later generations, it seems that there is still some truth. I added to what he said: "As far as I know, on the territory of Ukraine there are hundreds of partisans. But a considerable part of them were pro-German, and in addition to colluding with the Germans to plague our people, they also often attacked the transport lines of our army. There is also a part of the people, who do not take refuge, and want to fight both the Germans and our army. ”

When Stalin heard the conversation between me and Zhukov, he also stopped, stood there and asked with interest: "Leda, let me ask you, how do you plan to let Comrade Romanov deal with these mixed partisans in Ukraine?" ”

"Comrade Stalin, there are three ways." When I said this, I paused for a moment, and when Stalin made a gesture for me to continue, I continued: "First, for the partisans who are on the same front as our army, we should try to merge them into our ranks. The second is to divide and co-opt the partisans who are neither with the Germans nor with us, and to ensure that they remain neutral in the event of a battle, even if they cannot fully surrender to us. Finally, the guerrilla scum that has completely fallen to the Germans must be wiped out cleanly, completely, and completely. ”

When I had finished speaking, a smile appeared on Stalin's face, and he raised his hand and pointed in the direction where I had just been sitting, and said amiably: "Leda, go back to your place and sit down first." After saying that, he walked past me, returned to his place and sat down, and said to the senior commanders present with a smile: "Everyone has heard what Lida just said, the way to deal with the guerrillas in Ukraine, right? ”

All the people replied in unison, "I heard!" ”

"Any disagreement?" Stalin asked again.

"Nope!" Everyone replied neatly again.

"Comrade Vasilevsky," seeing that everyone's opinion was unified, Stalin said to the chief of the General Staff: "Immediately after you return, draw up an order that we will form a partisan army, and all partisan and resistance groups behind enemy lines will be under the command of this army. The commander was General Romanov, and he appointed the commander of the army. (To be continued.) )

PS: Heartfelt thanks to book friends snock, ★ poison ★, xxxxxxjj, Cangzhi Meteor EX, Peibin, tonnyted, a555a children's shoes for their two votes! Thank you for your valuable votes for Winter Food, jackkk2007, winxxx, Ashes of Sycamore, zxx479, Cat Back from Africa, AHG, Bad OnLine, digex, and Lonely Nameless Children's Shoes!