Red Moscow

As the situation developed in favor of the Soviet army, Konev felt that all the commanders of the group army should be called together to hold a military meeting and deploy the next stage of tasks to everyone.

He called Zakharov and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately call the commanders of the various armies and order them to come to the Front Army Command for a meeting before eleven o'clock in the morning. I have important combat tasks to arrange."

"Comrade Commander," Zakharov waited for Konev to finish speaking, and carefully reminded him: "The headquarters of the 27th and 53rd Army Groups are more than two hundred kilometers away from us. Are you coming?"

After being reminded by Zakharov, Konev immediately remembered that the two commanders who were staying by the Dnieper River at the moment were indeed too far away from him. It's impossible to get there. Thinking of this, he said to Zakharov: "Chief of Staff, then send a plane over to take Sokov and Managarov to the meeting."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." After listening to Konev's instructions, Zakharov thought to himself that this flight is an important commander of the two armies, but there must be no mistakes. Send the best transport plane to pick them up: "I will arrange this immediately."

…………

Sokov received a call from Zakharov and learned that he was going to have a meeting at the headquarters of the Front Army at eleven o'clock in the morning. He raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said in embarrassment: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, We are more than 200 kilometers away from the headquarters, even if we take a car, it will take more than four hours, and it is impossible to arrive on time.”

"You don't have to worry about this, Comrade Sokov." After listening to Sokov's embarrassment, Zakharov said with a smile: "I have already arranged a transport plane for you in accordance with the commander's order. Wait for the transport plane to arrive. Now, the main commanders of your two armies are all flying over for a meeting."

Hearing that he was going there by plane, Sokov couldn't help shivering. Ever since his superior crashed, he had a sense of fear of planes. In particular, the brutal driving style of the Soviet pilots also frightened him. If the main commanders of the two army headquarters took a plane to Konev's headquarters, if an accident happened on the way, it would be the end of the regiment's destruction.

Considering this, he tentatively asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, I would like to ask, can the meeting be postponed for two hours?"

"Why delay, General Sokov?" Hearing what Sokov said, Zakharov asked inexplicably, "Are you going to let all the commanders of the group army waste two hours waiting for you?" To make Sokov realize the seriousness of the problem, he also specifically emphasized, "Now the troops of all the armies are moving towards the Dnieper River. The commanders participating in the meeting cannot leave their troops for a long time. Do you understand?"

The reason why Sokov suggested that the meeting be postponed for two hours is to avoid possible air crashes. But since Zakharov made his words so clear, it seems quite inappropriate for him to push back and forth. In desperation, he could only bite the bullet and say: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, as soon as the plane sent by the headquarters arrives, we will take the opportunity to rush there."

"Comrade General," Sokov put down the phone and said to Managarov who was sitting next to him, "I just received a call from General Zakharov, Chief of Staff of the Front Army, saying that the headquarters plans to hold a military meeting and deploy the next Phase of the battle, let us rush to the meeting before eleven o'clock in the morning."

Managarov raised his hand and looked at his watch, frowning: "General Sokov, we are more than two hundred kilometers away from the headquarters. Even if the vehicle is moving at full speed, it may take four hours. Are you here?"

"You don't have to worry about this." Sokov said: "The headquarters will send a plane to pick us up, and we can arrive at the headquarters before the meeting starts."

"That's about the same." Managarov asked again: "Are all the main members of the Army Group Headquarters going?"

"Yes," Sokov said, looking at the chief of staff and two military commissars beside Managarov, nodding his head, "in addition to the commander and military commissar, the chief of staff must also participate."

"We're all gone, so what about the jobs here?"

"Don't worry, it seems that the Germans will not attack too aggressively today." Sameko interjected, "We can go after we arrange our work properly."

"Comrade General!" After Sameko finished speaking, Sokov added with a smile: "Nowadays, the scale of the German offensive is not large. launched an offensive."

An hour later, the roar of an aircraft engine was heard outside. Then, a staff officer came in and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, a transport plane has landed in the square outside the church."

"What, a transport plane landed in the square outside the church?" Derevyanko said in surprise, "Isn't this incredible?"

But Sokov had a calm face. He was very clear about the size of the square outside the church. Since decades later, a young West German piloted a light plane and landed in Red Square, so today there is nothing surprising about a transport plane landing on the square outside the headquarters.

"Comrade General, I guess the pilot who picked us up has arrived." Sokov said this to Managarov, then turned his head and told the staff: "Comrade Staff, bring the pilot in."

After a while, a pilot in a black jacket, led by a staff officer, walked into the headquarters and came to Sokov.

Although the pilot did not know Sokov, the staff brought him to Sokov. He naturally knew that this was the person he was looking for, so he immediately stood at attention and raised his hand to salute: "Hello, General Sokov, I was ordered to pick you up and the commander of the 53rd Army, and go to the Front Army Headquarters for a meeting."

A few minutes later, Sokov and his group followed the pilot to the transport plane parked in the square. Before boarding the plane, Sokov asked with great interest: "Comrade pilot, are you not worried about accidents when you fly the plane to land on the square?"

"General Sokov, when I used to transport materials for the frontier, I have landed on many complex terrains." The pilot replied: "Compared with those places, the square here is simply the most ideal runway for me."

Sokov chatted with the pilot in order to divert the fear in his heart. After all, the time since the last crash was not long. From the other party, Sokov knew that the other party was an excellent pilot who had carried out many dangerous missions, and now it was too easy to take him and others to the meeting.

After Sokov got on the plane, Lunev, who was sitting next to him, approached his ear and asked, "Comrade Commander, did the plane crash last time give you a psychological shadow, which is why you talked with the pilot for so long?" ?”

Seeing that Lunev had guessed his true thoughts, Sokov did not deny it, nodded slightly, and replied: "I want to find out how skilled this pilot is, so that I won't be worried when flying this plane."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Lunev comforted him and said, "Since the pilot can land the plane on the church square, it proves that his level is not bad, so you can take the plane he pilots with confidence. "

The plane flew in the air for about forty minutes before landing at a field airport not far from the headquarters of the Front Army. As soon as the plane came to a complete stop, several jeeps drove in from outside the runway and parked next to the plane one by one.

As soon as Sokov got off the plane, a major greeted him, raised his hand to salute him and said, "Hello, General Sokov, I am here to pick you up on the orders of General Zakharov. Please Get in the car!"

So everyone got into a few jeeps parked next to the plane and headed for the headquarters.

Zakharov, who presided over the meeting, saw Sokov and his party walk in from the outside, and immediately announced the start of the military meeting: "comrades commanders, everyone is here, and we will officially start the meeting. First of all, let me introduce to you, now The enemy's situation..."

After introducing the situation of the enemy and ourselves on the battlefield, Zakharov began to assign tasks to the commanders present in accordance with the plan discussed with Konev in advance: "... the 69th Army sent Belik and Breusovka direction to attack.

The task of the 7th Guards Army is to move forward to the Dnieper River in the Perevolochnaya, Borodayevka, and Old Orlik areas, and to seize the landing sites on the right bank.

The 57th Army is developing an offensive in the direction of Shuligovka. It should seize the ferry in the Pushkarevka-Soshnovka area on September 23 and occupy Shevchenkovo, Verkhov The landing site on the mining area.

The 5th Guards Army should pursue the enemy in the general direction of Koshubovka and Kobe, and the advance detachment of the army should occupy the Dnieper River crossings in the Sadka and Chkalovka areas on September 24. "

Every time Zakharov mentioned an army number, the commander of the army stood up and listened quietly to the tasks of his troops. After listening, he answered "yes" loudly and sat down again.

After Zakharov finished setting out the task, he turned to Konev and said, "Comrade Commander, the task has been set up, do you want to say a few words?"

Konev nodded, stood up, leaned forward slightly, put his hands on the edge of the table, and said to the commanders present: "Commanders, although we have successfully captured Poltava and tore apart the German The line of defense, and advance towards their defense depth, but we must not underestimate the enemy because of this. You know, the German army we have to face has 20 divisions..."

When Zakharov was speaking, Sokov thought to himself: Once upon a time, when a group army of the Soviet army faced a division of the German army, not only could it fail to defeat the enemy, but it was even defeated by the opponent. Now use the troops of the four armies to deal with the 20 divisions of the Germans, and the next battle will be very cruel.

"Comrade Commander," just as Sokov was contemplating, he suddenly felt someone touching his arm, and then heard Sameko's familiar voice: "Why didn't the superior assign us a task?"

Although Sameko's voice was not loud, at the moment when Konev's speech came to an end, the room fell into silence, and what Sameko said was very clear, and almost everyone present heard it.

Konev, who was sitting on it, couldn't help laughing when he heard Sameko ask Sokov a question. He then said to Sameko: "Chief of Staff Sameko, don't worry, I will not forget your army group. You know, the combat effectiveness of your army group is one of the best in the front army, so the enemy you are facing will be the most brutal."

Don't look at Konev's praise of Sokov's troops as one of the best in combat effectiveness, but none of the commanders present refuted him, because what he said were all facts. Not to mention the Prairie Front Army, even if the troops on all fronts were combined, no commander of the group army should pat his chest and say that the combat effectiveness of his troops can surpass that of Sokov's troops.

"General Konev," Sameko stood up and said emotionally: "No matter how brutal the enemy is, as long as they encounter our 27th Army, it will be the beginning of their nightmare. If they don't fight us, Once they fight us, it will mean their doomsday."

Sameko's speech was very arrogant, but the commanders present had such expressions, and they were not surprised at all. Some commanders even thought sourly in their hearts: No matter which army group Sokov is the commander of, that army will become a lingering nightmare for the Germans.

"Comrade Sokov," Konev cast his gaze on Sokov, and said kindly, "I'll assign you a task next."

Hearing that Konev was going to assign tasks to himself, Sokov and Lunev quickly stood up from their seats, straightened their backs, and said in unison: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, please give me an order."

After staring at Sokov for a while, Konev smiled and nodded, and began to assign tasks to them: "The task of your army is still to stick to the existing area with General Managarov's 53rd Army, and Get ready to attack." Konev continued, "After the other armies reach the designated positions, you can attack the Germans on the right bank of the Dnieper River."

"Sure enough, after the main force of the front army arrives at the designated position, it will launch a new attack on the enemy." Sokov thought to himself: "However, before the attack begins, the troops must have sufficient supplies, otherwise the battle will be delayed. After it starts, even if you want to add it, it may be too late."

After assigning the task to Sokov, Konev saw that Sokov did not speak, and asked specifically: "Comrade Sokov, is there any difficulty? If there is any difficulty, feel free to ask me, as long as I can If I do, I will do my best to fulfill your request."