Red Moscow

"We and the 70th Army's attack on the Modlin Fortress successfully attracted part of the attention of the German army." Batov said: "Thus reducing the artillery fire suffered by the 48th Army during the offensive."

"Even so, it is not an easy task to seize the triangle." Rokossovsky continued to ask, "Do you know the specific battle process of Misha?"

"Yes, Comrade Marshal, I understand." Seeing that Rokossovsky was eager to know the performance of the 48th Army in battle, Batov repeated what he knew to him.

Rokossovsky was silent after listening. He put himself into the role of Sokov, wondering if he was in the situation at that time, whether he could command the troops to take the triangle.

Hearing that there was no sound from the receiver, Batov thought that Rokossovsky had hung up the phone, so he tapped the receiver lightly with his fingers, hoping to hear if there was any movement on the other side.

"Batov, what are you typing?" Rokossovsky's voice came from the receiver again.

"Comrade Marshal, I didn't hear you, so I thought you hung up the phone."

"Hey!" Rokossovsky sighed softly, and said, "I was wondering just now, if I were in Misha's position, would I be able to successfully defeat the enemy from the hands of the Germans when the friendly forces were defeated?" Take the Triangle. Regrettably, I found that I could not do it at all. In addition to causing unnecessary casualties to the troops, under the current conditions, it is impossible to complete this combat mission at all."

"Comrade Marshal, I'm really sorry." Batov knew that Rokossovsky's call today meant that his days in the First Front Army had entered the countdown, and the last battle made him feel irrelevant. He blushed and said to Rokossovsky: "Our performance has disappointed you."

"Batov, don't be so downcast." Rokossovsky comforted Batov and said, "No one in this world is a general who wins all the time. It is inevitable to lose one or two battles. You must not memorize anything." Thinking burden, so as not to affect the next battle, understand?"

"I understand, Comrade Marshal." Batov said, "Where do you plan to deploy us?"

"I plan to deploy your three armies on the left flank of the Front Army," Rokossovsky said. "Because the terrain on the right flank is too high, it may be quite difficult to launch an attack from this direction, so I plan to choose the direction of attack on the left flank." , so when you come to the Second Front Army, you will undertake this arduous main attack task."

Batov, who was eager to save his face, heard this, and asked impatiently, "Comrade Marshal, when will we be able to transfer?"

"Don't worry, Batov." Rokossovsky said into the microphone: "I still need to communicate with Marshal Zhukov about your specific departure time and see what he has to say. But you can make preparations first. , when friendly troops come to take over your defense, you will be able to set off."

After finishing the call with Batov, Rokossovsky called the headquarters of the First Front Army again, and he wanted to discuss with Zhukov about the mobilization of troops.

It was Malinin who answered the phone, and when he heard Rokossovsky's voice, he exclaimed: "Comrade Commander, when did you leave the hospital?"

"I just got out of the hospital yesterday." Rokossovsky replied: "The condition was not serious at first. After lying in the hospital for two days, I almost recovered. I thought I had more important things to do, so I Discuss with the dean and let him agree to discharge me from the hospital."

"You still have to pay more attention to your body. After all, the aftereffects of that injury are too serious for you." Ma Lining asked with concern: "The weather has changed a lot during this period. Is your back still hurting?"

After the counter-offensive under the city of Moscow began, Rokossovsky's headquarters was hit by German artillery shells when he was commanding troops to fight. He was seriously wounded and lay in the hospital for several months. After the injury healed, there were sequelae. When it was windy and rainy or the temperature dropped severely, the vest would be painful. That's why Ma Lining asked this question.

"It's much better." Rokossovsky said with a smile: "When I was discharged from the hospital this time, the military doctor gave me a new type of anti-inflammatory drug, and the effect was much better than the previous drug. The climate change in the past two days, I I don't feel anything."

After a pause, he tentatively asked, "Is Marshal Zhukov there?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Ma Linin said, "He is sleeping in the next room. Do I need to wake him up?"

"Yes, wake him up," Rokossovsky said. "I have something important to talk to him about."

A few minutes later, a drowsy Zhukov came in from the outside and picked up the microphone on the table: "Koschka, I'm Zhukov!"

"Georgy Konstantinovich, I'm sorry to interrupt your rest." Rokossovsky said apologetically on the phone: "I want to talk to you about making the 48th, 65th and The return of the 70th Army Group."

Zhukov was silent for a moment, and then said in a gentle tone: "Koschka, I want to discuss something with you."

Rokossovsky suddenly had an ominous premonition when he heard Zhukov, who had always been tough, talk to him in such a peaceful tone. He tried hard to control his emotions, and asked in a steady tone: "Say it, Georgi Konstantinovich, if you have anything to say, just ask."

"The three armies that the Supreme Command is going to transfer from the First Front Army, in order to compensate, the 33rd Army of Admiral Tsvetayev was assigned to us." Zhukov said slowly: "I want you Take this army back, and leave Misha's 48th Army behind. What do you want?"

"What, keep Misha's 48th Army?!" Hearing Zhukov's proposal, Rokossovsky rejected it without thinking: "No, no, the transfer of troops is decided by the Supreme Command. Can it be changed at will? Regarding the plan of replacing the 33rd Army with the 48th Army, I disagree."

Originally, Zhukov reserved his opinion on the plan of transferring three group armies and transferring one group army arranged by the base camp. In the offensive battle that ended not long ago, he saw the capabilities of Sokov's troops with his own eyes, and made him feel that it would be a bit wasteful to hand over such a good army to Rokossovsky, so he will A plan was proposed to exchange the 33rd Army for the 48th Army.

But what he didn't expect was that Rokossovsky refused so simply. But Zhukov is also a person who does not give up easily. He continued: "Koschka, if you are worried that my plan will be opposed by the Supreme Command, you can rest assured. Anyway, I am the deputy commander-in-chief. , it should be no problem for the Supreme Command to revise such a small order."

"Marshal Zhukov." When Rokossovsky saw that Zhukov insisted on keeping Sokov's troops, he couldn't help being a little annoyed, and his address to Zhukov also changed, from the original nickname to a business-like one. Surname: "Misha is my subordinate, and I will not compromise on this."

Sokov, who was far away in the headquarters by the Narew River, did not know that Rokossovsky and Zhukov had a serious dispute over his stay. He only felt his nose itching, and couldn't help but sneezed a few times.

Ponejielin, who was sitting next to him, looked at Sokov with a smile. Every time Sokov sneezed, he said next to him: "I wish you health!"

Sokov knew that it was a Russian tradition to say auspicious words when someone sneezed. He wanted to reply a few words, but the sneeze was endless, and he didn't stop after more than 20 slaps.

Sokov's strangeness attracted the attention of other people in the headquarters. Sidolin, who was talking to the director of the communications corps, saw Sokov sneezing incessantly, and hurried over and asked with concern: "Comrade commander, do you have a cold? Or, I'll ask the military doctor to help Do you check your body?"

"No, no." In order not to continue sneezing, Sokov pinched his nose with his hands and replied in a low voice, "I'm fine. It may be an allergic reaction caused by something. Just wait a while."

After finally waiting for the sneezing to stop, Sokov breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank God, the damn sneezing finally stopped."

The phone rang, and it was Sidolin who answered the phone. He listened for a moment, with a shocked expression on his face, then turned to Sokov and said, "Comrade Commander, it's Chief of Staff Malinin, he said Marshal Zhukov and Marshal Rokossovsky are quarreling over you."

When Sokov heard this, he was immediately at a loss, thinking that he didn't seem to have done anything recently, how could the two marshals have a dispute over him?

In order to find out what was going on, he pointed at Sidolin with his hand and said, "Chief of Staff, ask General Malinin what's going on?"

"Okay." Sidolin agreed, and then asked Ma Linin: "Chief Ma Linin, can you tell me what happened, why did the two marshals have a dispute over our commander?"

Ma Linin made the phone call from another room, so he didn't have to have any scruples when speaking, and he didn't have to deliberately lower his voice, so he said bluntly: "Marshal Rokossovsky called today to discuss with Marshal Zhukov. The three armies joined the Second Front Army. However, Marshal Zhukov proposed that the 33rd Army of Admiral Tsvetayev should be returned to the establishment, and your 48th Army should remain in the sequence of the First Front Army. Marshal Kosovsky naturally disagreed, so the two had a dispute."

He finally said: "I estimate that in the end, both parties will seek Sokov's opinion, so I called you in advance to let him have a mental preparation."

After putting down the phone, Sidolin repeated what Malinin had said to Sokov and Ponejielin, and finally said: "Comrade Commander, I don't know what you think, you are staying in the First Front Army , or go to the Second Front with Marshal Rokossovsky?"

Sokov did not answer the question immediately, but looked at Ponejielin and said, "Comrade Deputy Commander, I would like to hear your opinion on this matter."

Ponegerin did not expect that Sokov would suddenly throw this problem to himself. After hesitating for a while, he said cautiously: "In all fairness, I hope to stay in the First Front Army. After all, this army is the main force to attack Berlin. He would be the first unit to enter Berlin, with more time to build his exploits.

But considering your relationship with Marshal Rokossovsky, there seems to be nothing wrong with going to the Second Front. Although it is impossible to establish such a great feat as the capture of Berlin, it can also establish a good record in the battle to capture East Prussia. "

What Ponegerin said was not said, and the final decision on which army to stay in was still in Sokov's hands.

Just when Sokov began to think about his future, Zhukov and Rokossovsky had already reported the matter to Stalin, and both wanted Sokov's troops to remain in their front army formation.

After listening to what the two said, Stalin couldn't help laughing, "I really didn't expect that Xiaomisha would become your hot commodity."

Zhukov said: "Misha has been in the First Front Army for more than half a year, and he is already familiar with the environment here. If he is allowed to stay, I think he can give full play to his military commanding ability."

Rokossovsky and Zhukov had different concerns. He felt that what Stalin just said had something to say, so he tentatively asked: "Comrade Stalin, I would like to ask, besides Marshal Zhukov and me, who else is there?" Is anyone interested in Misha?"

Zhukov couldn't help being taken aback, thinking that what Rokossovsky said made sense. If it was just a dispute between himself and the other party, Stalin had already made a decision, but from his tone, it seemed that he wanted Sokov to join his army. People, not just myself and Rokossovsky.

So he also echoed: "That's right, Comrade Stalin, I don't know who else is interested in Misha?"

Seeing that both of them guessed something from their own words, Stalin did not hide anything, but said truthfully: "You are right, besides the two of you, there are indeed people who want Misha to be part of his army." .”

"Who is it?" Zhukov and Rokossovsky asked in unison, their voices full of anger.

"It's General Cherniakhovsky, the commander of the Belarusian Third Front." Stalin said, "He feels that the combat effectiveness of the several armies under him is mediocre, and he hopes that I can send him a strong force to improve other forces. The combat effectiveness of the troops. What he is optimistic about is precisely the 48th Army of Xiao Xiaosha."

Zhukov and Rokossovsky never dreamed that Sokov, who made them fight so hard, would have been missed by others. is very disadvantageous.

After thinking about this, Zhukov changed his mind and even proposed to Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, I think Misha's 48th Army should stay in Rokossovsky's Second Front Army."

When everyone was surprised, he continued: "According to the resolution of the headquarters, the left wing of Rokossovsky's Second Front Army should be equipped with a powerful assault force, but when my First Front Army encounters difficulties, it can Help me out. And Misha's troops are suitable for the role of assault force, so I still think he should be assigned to the Second Front Army."