Red Moscow

"Is there any problem?" Shtemenko asked with some surprise: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, what do you think is not simple about him."

"Did you know? When Marshal Vasilevsky and I went to meet the Supreme Commander himself, he proposed that Rokossovsky be the representative of the base camp to go to the Ukrainian First Front Army to assist in commanding operations."

"My God!" Shtemenko exclaimed, "He guessed it right."

"That's right." Antonov nodded and said, "It seems that General Sokov is still very far-sighted, and his ideas actually coincide with the decision of the Supreme Commander himself."

"Yes," said Shtemenko, nodding his head, "I think this should be the reason why the troops under his command can often win battles."

"It's a pity!" Antonov sighed and said, "If he hadn't been injured, I believe that the 27th Army would have achieved greater results and made greater achievements in the battle to liberate Kiev."

From Antonov's words, Shtemenko heard what he meant. If Sokov had not been injured and had been commanding the 27th Army, the unit would not be unable to participate in the battle because of heavy losses. If this force were to stick to Zhytomyr, perhaps the German 48th Panzer Army would not be able to occupy the city at all.

"Comrade Chief of the General Staff," Shtemenko asked tentatively, "After General Rokossovsky went to the First Ukrainian Front, can the current situation be reversed?"

"I don't know." Antonov shook his head and said thoughtfully: "But tomorrow at the latest, Rokossovsky will go to Kiev as a representative of the headquarters to assist Vatutin in commanding operations. He can reduce the danger to Kiev."

During the war years, the Russians who wanted to procrastinate also showed high efficiency. Early the next morning, Sokov's plane landed at a complete military airport in Kiev.

A group of people stood beside the runway, and the front commander, General Vatutin, stood at the front. He stared blankly at the taxiing plane, wondering why Stalin suddenly had the idea to appoint another commander of the front army as the representative of the base camp to assist his own troops in command. Could it be that he wanted the other party to replace him?

The bald middle-aged man next to him in military uniform is Khrushchev, Ukraine's number one secretary. He was originally a military commissar of the Front Army, but with the liberation of Kiev, his focus of work shifted from the army to the local government. He was busy all day with factory resumption, store opening, and rescue of Kiev citizens.

Today I learned that Rokossovsky was coming to Kiev as a representative of the base camp, so I immediately rushed from my office to greet Rokossovsky at the airport.

Next to Khrushchev was Major General Kryniukov, who succeeded him as a military commissar. The latter is now whispering about the problems he encountered after taking office, and humbly asked Khrushchev how to solve the problem.

Behind the three stood Bogolyubov, the new Chief of Staff of the Front Army. Just two days after he took office, he encountered the 38th Army's abandonment of Zhytomir's breakout, which made him very depressed. He knew very well that if Kiev was lost, maybe he would be the chief of staff. Therefore, his whole person looks depressed.

Seeing that the plane was stabilizing on the runway, Khrushchev turned his head and said to the expressionless Vatutin, "Comrade Vatutin, General Rokossovsky has arrived, let's go meet him."

As soon as the group came to the plane, Rokossovsky, who was wearing a military coat, had already got off the plane. Vatutin stepped forward and shook his hand, and said insincerely: "Hello, Comrade Rokossovsky, on behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the Ukrainian First Front, I welcome you!"

While shaking hands with Vatutin, Rokossovsky said with a smile: "Comrade Vatutin, hello! I hope that in the days to come, we can work together to smash the Germans' attempt to retake Kiev." .”

"I'm sure we'll have a good time working together."

Khrushchev stepped forward and held Rokossovsky's hand tightly, and said excitedly: "That's great, Comrade Rokossovsky, you will assist Commander Vatutin in command, and I will take the lead." I am more relieved. I believe that under the leadership of the two of you, our heroic commanders and fighters will definitely smash the German attempt to reoccupy Kiev."

Seeing that Khrushchev had such confidence in himself, Rokossovsky couldn't help laughing and said, "Comrade Khrushchev, I never thought you had such confidence in me."

"We once fought side by side in Stalingrad and defeated the invincible Paulus." Khrushchev said with a smile, "I know very well what your abilities are. I have reasons to believe that Comrade Stalin Your decision to send the First Ukrainian Front was absolutely correct."

When returning to the headquarters by car, Rokossovsky wanted to ask Khrushchev about the situation of the front army, so he smiled and said to Khrushchev: "Comrade Khrushchev, can you sit in the same car as me?" car?"

"my pleasure!"

On the way, Rokossovsky asked in a low voice: "Comrade Khrushchev, as an old friend, I would like to ask you a private question."

Khrushchev nodded, looked at Rokossovsky and said, "If I'm not wrong, you want to ask, since the situation near Kiev is so bad, why didn't the base camp take remedial measures earlier?" The remedial measures mentioned refer to the dismissal of Vatutin and let other commanders replace him.

Seeing that Khrushchev guessed his thoughts, Rokossovsky did not deny it, but just nodded, and then stared at Khrushchev, waiting for him to say the answer he wanted to know.

"Comrade Rokossovsky, you should understand that the world anti-Japanese war has fundamentally changed the situation on all major battlefields, and the allies have taken the initiative in strategic offensive. In order to discuss the acceleration of the war process and the arrangements for the post-war world Question, the leaders of the Soviet Union, Britain, and the United States will meet in Tehran from November 28 to December 1, 1943." Khrushchev said: "It is precisely because of this meeting, in order to maintain the stability of the situation, some Things were inevitably delayed."

After listening to Rokossovsky, he thought that the reason why Vatutin had not been dismissed, apart from this possibility, was that Stalin had illusions about Vatutin and believed that he was capable of smashing the German counterattack. And then he re-entered the offensive near Kiev. It is precisely because of this fluke that the situation deteriorated in a short period of time, making the situation of the Soviet army extremely unfavorable.

Seeing that Rokossovsky was silent, Khrushchev knew that he was thinking about something, so he didn't bother him. After seeing Rokossovsky let out a long sigh and sat up straight, he asked again: "Comrade Rokossovsky, as a representative of the headquarters, you are here to assist Vatutin in commanding operations. I would like to hear how you plan to smash the German attack on Kiev?"

"I plan to order the 40th Army to assist the 7th Guards Tank Corps to launch a fierce attack on the German 25th Armored Division in the Fastev area, forcing the enemy to reinforce this area, so as to delay their advance to Kiev. "Rokossovsky carefully studied the situation of the enemy and the enemy in this area on the plane in Kiev, so when he heard Khrushchev's question, he could say without hesitation: "And Chernyakhovsky The general's 60th Army continues to organize a tenacious defense in the area east of Koroszhan, blocking the enemy from the northwest of Kiev."

The two were talking when the car stopped, and when they looked outside, they had already arrived at the headquarters.

A group of people came to the meeting room. When Vatutin asked Rokossovsky about the next battle plan, Rokossovsky repeated what he said in the car.

Khrushchev stared at the map for a while, and then asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I would like to ask why the first tank army deployed in the Brovari area was not transferred to the western part of Kiev. How about stopping the German attack?"

"What?" Rokossovsky was taken aback when he heard Khrushchev's words, and then asked, "Katukov's troops are stationed in Brovari?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," seeing Khrushchev nodding in affirmation, Rokossovsky's expression suddenly became serious, and he asked Bogolyubov in a stern tone: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I ask You, why is it that General Katukov’s First Tank Army is deployed in Brovali, dozens of miles east of Kiev, but why is it displayed on the map in Priluki, hundreds of kilometers away?”

"General Rokossovsky," Bogolyubov replied in a panic to Rokossovsky's question, "Since the First Tank Army has just been transferred from the reserve team of the headquarters, they are on the map. The location has not been modified yet. I thought you knew about it, so when you reported the situation just now, you didn’t specifically mention it..."

"It's nonsense, it's nonsense." Rokossovsky said angrily: "The mobilization of the tank army is not reflected on our combat map! The combat deployment made by the head of the front army based on inaccurate information, Can it be won?"

Although Rokossovsky was criticizing Chief of Staff Bogolyubov, Vatutin, who was sitting aside, felt his face was burning. Because during this period of time, he was commanding the battle based on these inaccurate battle reports.

Faced with Rokossovsky's reprimand, Bogolyubov could only choose to endure in silence, with no room for refutation. In the end, it was Khrushchev who came out to smooth things over: "Comrade Rokossovsky, in fact, General Bogolyubov cannot be completely blamed for this matter. You must know that he, the chief of staff of the Front Army, has only been in office for a few days. Since he took office, The Germans are constantly attacking, so that he doesn't have enough time to sort out the work in his hands. Under such circumstances, a little mistake is inevitable."

Rokossovsky, who was angry with Bogolyubov, also realized that he was a bit too picky. He had just taken office a few days ago, and he might not even recognize the division commander below. If he wanted him to perform as a staff officer immediately The long responsibilities are indeed a bit overwhelming. Now that Khrushchev came out to smooth things over, he said smoothly: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, give General Katukov an order to rush to Kiev as soon as possible and launch an attack on the German 48th Panzer Corps in the Jetmir area. Counterattack to stop their advance, so that our army has enough time to strengthen the defense line."

When Vatutin heard that a counterattack was going to be launched in the Jetmir area, he tentatively asked Rokossovsky: "General Rokossovsky, when Katukov's tank army joins the battle, we can crush the German army." An attack on Kiev?"

"It's not that easy," Rokossovsky shook his head, and said helplessly, "The initiative on the battlefield is already in the hands of the Germans. Defeat them within time. I think our top priority now is to keep the front line stable away from Kiev, and we can launch an offensive against the Germans only after our army has re-assembled heavily."

Thinking that as long as there is a heavy enemy group near Kiev, the city may be lost again. As Ukraine’s number one SHU, he remembered Khrushchev, and he couldn’t help feeling anxious. He asked worriedly: “Comrade Rokossovsky, I wonder, when will our forces be able to strike back at the enemy again?"

"It will take half a month at the earliest." Rokossovsky said helplessly: "According to my understanding, the current situation is worse than I imagined. It will take at least half a month to completely reverse the current unfavorable situation." months of preparation time."

"Comrade Rokossovsky, I understand what you said." Khrushchev said with a serious face: "If the enemy near Kiev is not completely wiped out, we will not be able to carry out local work with all our strength. At that time, factories cannot resume work, schools cannot reopen, and collective farms cannot resume farming... In this way, the areas we regained will not only be unable to support the army in combat, but will also become a burden to the army, which we do not want to see."

"Don't worry, Comrade Khrushchev," Rokossovsky comforted him with a smile: "Even if we can't crush the German offensive in a short period of time, we are fully capable of blocking them so that they cannot approach Kiev. to your work."

"I'm relieved if you say that, Comrade Rokossovsky." Khrushchev finally heard what he wanted to hear. He stood up and stretched out his hand to Rokossovsky, saying friendlyly: "I It's time to go back to work, I wish you a happy cooperation with General Vatutin, and smash the enemy's attack on the city as soon as possible."

After Khrushchev left, Vatutin, who was in a slightly transparent state, asked Rokossovsky with a bitter face: "Comrade Rokossovsky, since you are the representative of the headquarters, I wonder what we should do next?" How to do it?"

"Of course it is to order the troops that are in contact with the enemy to continue to resist, so as to buy us precious time to consolidate Kiev's city defense." Rokossovsky knew Vatutin's character very well and knew that he likes to engage in active attacks, so he reminded him first He said: "Comrade Vatutin, I know that many troops are coming to Kiev today, but even when they arrive in Kiev, we cannot immediately throw them into the counterattack."

"Why?" Vatutin retorted: "The sooner our troops launch a counterattack, the less prepared the enemy is, and the greater the chance of victory."

"Comrade Vatutin, you have a gambling mentality." Rokossovsky said bluntly: "The newly arrived troops don't know anything about the situation here, so they rush into battle, even if they can win at first. Some victories, but will soon suffer setbacks in the next battle due to unfamiliar terrain and ignorance of the enemy's situation. We must accumulate strength and wait until the strength is strong enough to launch a new round of offensive against the German army .”