Red Moscow

At dawn, Zakharov left Sokov's headquarters. Take the plane sent by Konev and return to the Front Army Command.

As soon as Zakharov entered the headquarters, Konev greeted him, shook hands with him, and asked with a smile, "Comrade Chief of Staff, did everything go well with Sokov this time?"

"Yes, Comrade Marshal, it went very well." Zakharov let go of Konev's hand and asked tentatively, "Is Comrade Ivanov still there?"

"Of course, of course he's still there." Konev nodded and said, "Do you want to talk to him now?"

"Yes, I need to speak to him immediately."

"He's in the room we've arranged for him, and you can find him there."

If someone nearby heard the conversation between the two, they must be confused and have no idea what they are talking about.

Zakharov nodded at Konev, turned and walked out of the headquarters to Ivanov's residence.

This Ivanov is the deputy chief of staff from the General Staff Department. His mission this time is to consider Sokov's ability and conduct some tests on him. In order to avoid appearing too abrupt, he went directly to the headquarters of the front army and asked Zakharov to replace him.

Zakharov's conversation with Sokov last night was just part of the test. He deliberately brought up the fact that the Allied forces opened up the second battlefield, just to hear what kind of judgment Sokov would make, and to test whether this judgment is correct in the future.

Ivanov opened the door and saw that the person standing at the door was Zakharov, with a surprised expression on his face: "Comrade Zakharov, you are back so soon?"

"Yes, I'm back." When Zakharov shook hands with the other party, he asked politely: "Can we go in and talk again?"

"Yes, yes." Ivanov turned sideways quickly, made way for Zakharov, and said at the same time: "Come in, dear Matvey Vasilyevich!"

After Zakharov entered, he closed the door casually, and beckoned him to sit down at the round table in the middle of the room.

"Zakharov, tell me quickly, how is your test result this time?"

"The situation may have some deviations from our predictions." Zakharov saw a map on the table, or a map of Europe, and dragged it in front of him, pointing his finger and said: "Comrade Ivanov, according to According to your judgment, if the Allied forces want to open up a second front and carry out landing operations in the northern part of France, the best place to land is undoubtedly Calais."

"That's right, that's my analysis." Ivanov nodded and said, "If the Allied forces want to start from England and land on the northern coast of France, Calais is undoubtedly the best choice."

"Yes, Comrade Ivanov, after listening to your analysis, I also think this choice is the most appropriate."

Ivanov could not help frowning when he heard the meaning behind Zakharov's words, "Zakharov, is it possible that Sokov's judgment is different from mine?"

"Of course, of course it's different." Zakharov said with a grin, "But after analysis, Comrade Sokov believes that the most likely place for the Allied forces to land is in Normandy."

"What, Normandy?" After hearing this, Ivanov immediately shook his head like a rattle: "The Allied forces are not fools, they did not land in Calais, where the voyage is the shortest, but choose Normandy, which is far away, how is this possible. "

After staring at the location of Normandy for a while, he shook his head and said, "It seems that Sokov's level is not as good as the legend says, at least he made a serious misjudgment in judging where the Allied forces landed."

"Comrade Ivanov, don't draw conclusions so early." Zakharov interrupted him. "I suggest that you listen to Sokov's complete analysis before making an evaluation."

"Okay." Ivanov took out a pen and paper, then raised his chin at Zakharov: "Tell me, I'll take notes here."

"First of all, it is obviously unrealistic to launch an attack from Italy. His judgment and your judgment on this point are completely consistent." Zakharov began to report to Ivanov about the conversation with Sokov: "But later said When he arrived at the landing site in France, his judgment deviated from your analysis..."

Zakharov continued to tell what Sokov said to him. At the beginning, Ivanov still looked indifferent. But the more he listened to him, the more dignified his expression became. At the end, he interrupted Zakharov's narration from time to time, asked some detailed questions carefully, and recorded them one by one in the notebook.

After the conversation between the two ended, Zakharov found that two hours had passed. He even felt that he was not tired of this conversation with Ivanov when he assisted Konev in commanding a campaign.

Zakharov yawned and said to Ivanov: "Comrade Ivanov, do you have any questions? If not, I want to go to rest. I am old and sleepy when I stay up late."

"It's okay, you go to rest." Ivanov wanted to seize the time to digest what he heard, wishing that Zakharov would leave early. Hearing that the other party wanted to leave at this moment, he said smoothly: "If I have anything wrong If you understand, I will talk to you in detail.”

Zakharov came out of Ivanov's room and did not go to rest as he said, but went straight back to the headquarters. He felt that there was a lot to talk about and that he needed to talk to Konev.

Seeing Zakharov come back, Konev nodded at him, raised his hand and looked at the time: "Your conversation with Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff took almost two hours. It seems that you talked a lot. .”

"Yes." Zakharov pulled out a chair and sat down, and said weakly, "I feel that I am more tired than helping you command a battle once I have a conversation."

"Tell me what's going on."

Konev was present when Zakharov went to Sokov's headquarters to talk to Ivanov. Therefore, there is no need to hide many things from Konev.

However, after the conversation, Zakharov looked around for the sake of confidentiality. Seeing that the staff officers closest to him are all seven or eight meters away, they should not be able to hear the conversation between him and Konev. But he still lowered his voice and said, "Comrade Marshal, you know that before I went to Sokov's headquarters, Ivanov gave me two questions."

"I remember." Konev nodded and said, "One is to ask why the Allied forces can't attack the German army from Italy, and the other is if they want to land on the northern coast of France, where will they choose as the landing site?"

"Well, due to various factors, the Allied forces will definitely not launch an attack on the German army from Italy. This is something we all reached a consensus on. And Sokov also made an accurate judgment." Zakharov said with a wry smile : "The biggest difference today is the location chosen by the Allied forces to land on the northern coast of France. The two have completely different views."

"Didn't Ivanov choose Calais?" Konev said, a little puzzled, "From the perspective of landing operations, this is undoubtedly the best landing point. Even if the Germans resist tenaciously, The follow-up forces of the Allies can also pass through the channel in a steady stream of various ships and land at Calais."

"Sokov believes that since we all think that Calais is the best place to land, obviously the Germans can also think of this." Zakharov explained: "He specifically emphasized that the Germans wanted to prevent the Allies from landing in Calais. If they come to land, they must build strong fortifications there and deploy heavy troops for defense. If the Allied forces forcefully choose to land there, I am afraid that even if they pay a heavy price, it will be difficult to achieve their strategic goals."

The expression on Konev's face became serious. He looked at Zakharov and asked, "Where does Sokov think the Allied forces will land?"

Zakharov looked down at the table and found that the map of Ukraine was placed on it, so he ordered the staff to find a map of Europe and spread it on the table. After the staff officer left, he pointed to the location in Normandy and said to Konev: "Comrade Marshal, Sokov firmly believes that the Allied forces will definitely choose to land in Normandy."

Konev looked down at the map on the table. After carefully comparing Calais and Normandy, he shook his head and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have never doubted Sokov's military command ability. But this time , I am on the side of Deputy Chief of Staff Ivanov, Sokov's judgment is wrong. The Allied forces are going to land on the northern coast of France, and the location they choose will definitely not be Normandy, but Calais."

"Comrade Marshal, I think your judgment may have been biased this time." Zakharov looked at Konev and defended Sokov: "After my conversation with Comrade Sokov, I think There is a high probability that his judgment is correct."

"Oh, Comrade Chief of Staff, so you have no doubts about Sokov's analysis?"

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Zakharov nodded and said, "I talked with Comrade Sokov for a long time, and it was very detailed. Especially on some details, I have asked repeatedly. His The thinking is clear and the accuracy should be high.”

"You didn't arouse his suspicions when you asked these questions?"

"No, definitely not." Zakharov shook his head and said, "I communicated with him alone. In order not to make him suspicious, I also said that there is a vacancy for the position of deputy chief of the General Staff. I want to compete for this position." position, so you must have a unique perspective on some things.”

When Konev heard it, he was happy: "Comrade Chief of Staff, your reason is very strong. If I hear you say that, I'm afraid I won't have any doubts."

After confirming that Sokov was not suspicious, Zakharov tentatively asked Konev: "Comrade Marshal, you and I both know what Sokov's military skills are. Why did the superior arrange this assessment?"

"I think there are two possibilities." Konev frowned and said: "One is that someone is dissatisfied with the position he holds and the rank he holds, and deliberately stumbling behind him. The other is that the superior may have other important uses for him. That’s why Ivanov was specially sent to investigate him.”

"Comrade Marshal, which situation do you think is most likely?"

"I don't know." Konev replied very simply, "We only need to implement the orders of the superiors, and there is no need to discuss them at all."

A staff officer came over and reported to the two of them: "Comrade Marshal, Comrade Chief of Staff, I just received a call from the airport. The deputy chief of staff, General Ivanov, intends to return to Moscow immediately. I wonder if we should let him go?"

Konev and Zakharov glanced at each other, both seeing shock in each other's eyes. But in front of their subordinates, both of them behaved calmly. "Since the deputy chief of staff is going back to Moscow, let him leave." Konev pretended to be calm and said: "Remember to send a few fighter jets to escort, so as to avoid any unexpected things on the way."

As soon as the staff officer left, Zakharov couldn't wait to say: "Comrade Marshal, it seems that our deputy chief of staff wants to report my conversation with Sokov to Moscow as soon as possible."

"It seems so." Konev said to Zakharov: "Since Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff has left, this matter will come to an end here, don't talk about it again." Seeing Zakharov's worried face He even tried to comfort the other party, "Don't worry, there will be news in a few days, and then we will know what's going on."

Besides, after Ivanov returned to Moscow by plane, he immediately came to the General Staff and reported to Antonov what he knew.

After listening to Antonov, he also instinctively felt that Sokov's judgment was wrong. May I ask which army would choose a longer route instead of taking the short route?

While Antonov was getting some details from Ivanov, the phone on the desk rang. He picked up the microphone and stuck it to his ear, and Stalin's familiar voice came out of the receiver: "Comrade Antonov, I heard that Ivanov has returned from the front, right?"

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Antonov said respectfully: "He has returned from the front."

"What was the result of the consideration?"

Antonov was silent, for a moment he didn't know how to answer Stalin's question.

Seeing Antonov's delay in speaking, Stalin became a little impatient: "Comrade Antonov, why don't you speak?"

"Comrade Stalin, the situation has deviated from what we predicted." Antonov said respectfully: "Please allow me to report to you in person."

"Yes." Stalin readily agreed to his request, and at the same time said, "Remember to bring Ivanov with you. I'm afraid only he knows some things."

"Okay, Comrade Stalin, we'll be there in five minutes!"

Five minutes later, after listening to the report, Stalin walked back and forth in the room with a pipe in his hand and frowning, wondering whether Sokov's analysis was correct or wrong.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, he finally stopped, looked at Antonov and asked, "Comrade Antonov, tell me your opinion. If you were the commander of the Allied forces, where would you choose the landing site?" ?”

"Comrade Stalin, if I were to make a decision without thinking, I would definitely choose Calais. After all, it is very close to the British mainland, and it won't take long even by boat." Antonov said cautiously: "But After reading Sokov's analysis, I think what he said seems to make sense."

"So, you agree with him, thinking that the Allied forces will choose to land in Normandy?" However, Stalin did not hear any answer to his question. He looked at Antonov angrily, and saw that the other party was also frowning and thinking hard, so he said in a slow tone: "Comrade Antonov, what do you think in your heart, you might as well say Come and listen."