Red Moscow

Just as Sokov called a meeting of his battalion commanders, a dozen kilometers northwest of Orlovka, there was a city called Malija Ivanovka, where Rokossovsky's Stalingrad Front Army The headquarters is located here.

The headquarters at the moment was full of people. Except for the chief of staff Ma Linin and the military commissar Terekin and other front army leaders, the rest were the commanders of the various armies. They rushed here to attend the meeting after receiving the notice from Ma Linin. However, when they got here, they found that although the main leaders of the front army were there, they did not see the shadow of the commander Rokossovsky.

Batov, the commander of the 65th Army, walked up to Malinin and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the commander called us here for a meeting, but he didn't see anyone. Can I ask, where is he going?" Yet?"

Malinin and Batov have a good personal relationship. After hearing his question, he quickly replied in a low voice: "During the attack two days ago, the 67th Tank Brigade belonging to the 4th Tank Army did not break through the German defense line. Heading towards Orlovka, are you going to meet up with the friendly troops going north?"

Batov knew about joining forces with the 62nd Army that was standing in Stalingrad. Therefore, in the battle plan formulated by the Front Army Command, his troops should have rushed to Orlovka yesterday, and they should have rushed to Orlovka from the opposite side. The incoming defenders joined forces, but due to the tenacious resistance of the German army, his troops failed to break through the line of defense. Hearing Malinin mention this matter at this moment, he guessed that Rokossovsky was not at the headquarters and must have something to do with this matter, so he asked with concern: "How is the situation of the tank brigade, have you joined forces with your friendly forces in Orlovka?" ?”

Ma Linin shook his head and said solemnly: "Today we received news from the Southeastern Front that the tank brigade had been wiped out by the Germans on the road to Orlovka."

"What, the troops have been annihilated?" Batov was shocked when he heard the news, then he grabbed Malinin's hand and asked nervously: "Has Comrade Commander gone to the area where the tank brigade was annihilated? "

"Yes," Ma Linin nodded, and said in a positive tone: "Because our army has not yet had the strength to break through the German defense line, so he went by plane. Viewing the battlefield from the air is better than on the ground. .”

"My God, fly over the enemy's defense line by plane." Malinin's words made Batov's breathing quicken: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't you know that the plane he is on is in danger of being shot down by German anti-aircraft fire at any time Why didn't you stop him?"

"General Batov, it's not been a day or two since you've known Comrade Commander. Don't you know what kind of character he is?" Malinin shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said helplessly: " Do you think we can persuade him to change his mind about what he has decided?"

The words of Malinin and Batov shocked the rest of the army commanders. Everyone knew very well that once the plane Rokossovsky was on was shot down, there was almost no hope of surviving, but Rokossovsky left by plane long before they arrived here. I can pray silently in my heart, hoping that the commander can return smoothly.

Fortunately, the situation was not as bad as everyone imagined. Just when everyone was worried about Rokossovsky's safety, a voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Comrade Commander is back!"

Hearing that the commander had returned, all eyes turned to the door in unison, trying to figure out whether Rokossovsky had really returned. After a while, everyone saw the tall Rokossovsky walking in from the door, stood up quickly and saluted him.

"Comrade commander, you are all here!" Rokossovsky hurried to the table and sat down, raised his hand and pressed down, and said in an orderly tone: "Everyone sit down."

After everyone was seated, he said in an apologetic tone: "I'm sorry, commanders and comrades, I kept you waiting for a long time. I just took a plane to the front and went shopping around, so I wasted a little time."

"Comrade Commander," Batov stood up first after Rokossovsky finished speaking, "you are our supreme commander, and you have no right to risk your life."

"It can't be helped, Comrade Batov." Rokossovsky didn't care about the tone of Batov's conversation with him, but gestured to him, motioned him to sit down, and then said: "We and the city The 62nd Army's reunion failed, and as the commander of the Front Army, I felt it was necessary for me to go to the front to find out what happened."

"But have you ever thought that the enemy's anti-aircraft artillery will shoot down the plane you are on." Batov said unwillingly: "Once something happens to you, the entire front army will lose its unified command. into needless chaos."

"Batov, you are worrying too much. The plane I was flying was very low, and it could be said to be flying close to the ground." Rokossovsky said with a relaxed expression: "It is rare for the enemy to shoot down such an ultra-low-altitude flight." plane, so my safety is guaranteed."

Rokossovsky was unwilling to get entangled with Batov on this topic, so he turned his eyes to a general sitting in the crowd and asked, "General Kryuchokin, let me ask You, after your 67th Tank Brigade broke through the German defenses the day before yesterday, why did the follow-up troops not keep up, and as a result, Colonel Shidjayev and his tank brigade were wiped out?"

The person named by Rokossovsky was General Kryuchokin, commander of the 4th Tank Army, and Colonel Shidjayev who died was a tank brigade commander under him. Kryuchokin hurriedly stood up from his seat, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, and said: "Comrade Commander, there are many reasons why we have suffered such a huge loss in terms of technical equipment. First, because the organization Ineffective, the troops were scattered to participate in the battle, and lacked the necessary artillery support. So that after Colonel Shidjayev’s tank brigade broke through the German defense line, they were completely wiped out due to lack of backup.”

"Why don't you provide more tanks and soldiers to Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade?" Terekin couldn't help interjecting when he heard this, "You know, maybe a dozen more tanks , they will hope to join forces with the friendly forces going north and establish a solid fire support point in Orlovka."

"No way, Comrade Military Commissar." Regarding Terekin's accusation, General Kryuchokin quickly explained: "I have already given all the movable tanks of the entire tank army to Colonel Shidjayev, and also sent An infantry company accompanied them. Who knows that we did this, but still failed to allow them to join forces with the friendly forces in the city."

Rokossovsky originally had a grudge against Kryuchokin, but after listening to his explanation, he realized that he was wronged, so he sighed softly and said: "I just saw the wreckage of the destroyed tank in the air. It stretches for four to five kilometers, that is to say, after breaking through the German defense line, Colonel Shidjayev's troops rushed to the Orlovka area recklessly, trying to join forces with the troops sent there by the 62nd Army."

"In my opinion, Colonel Shidjayev's troops were annihilated because the troops eliminated by Chuikov were too slow." Knowing that Kryuchagin had done everything he could, Terekin shifted his anger again To the unit that joined the tank brigade: "Comrade Commander, do you know the number of that unit?"

"I know." Rokossovsky nodded slightly, and said, "It's Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's 73rd Infantry Brigade." After Terek Kinja took office, he didn't know much about the situation, so he added, "This army was originally used by the headquarters to defend Mamayev Hill. They achieved great results in the two-month battle. This time In order to quickly join forces with our army, Chuikov mobilized this unit to go north. When the plane hovered over Orlovka, I saw several destroyed German tanks on the ground. After communicating with the Southeast Front Army, Only then did I know that after Sokov led the troops here, he had encountered a German tank unit and had a fight..."

After Rokossovsky finished speaking, Terekin was silent for a long time before asking: "Comrade Commander, since our operation to join forces with the 62nd Army has failed, what should we do next?"

"After my observation, the enemy is very powerful and mobile in front of our army. They occupy a very favorable area. You must know that this area used to be the area where our army built a line of defense. There are many fortifications. .With our current strength, it is very difficult to break through the enemy's defense again." Rokossovsky said with a serious expression: "So we can only switch to the defense on the spot, wait for the right time, and then attack the enemy. The enemy is attacking."

"Turn to defense on the spot?" Hearing what Rokossovsky said, Terekin was a little unhappy: "Comrade Commander, the task of our front army is to rescue Stalingrad, not to stop here and do nothing."

"Comrade Military Commissar," Rokossovsky said in a calm tone to Terekin, who was furious, "it's not like we're doing nothing. Once we notice that the Germans are launching a new attack on Stalingrad, we will Let’s launch an attack on the frontal enemy, and firmly contain their active forces here, so as to reduce the pressure on the defenders in the city.”

"So that's the case." After Terekin figured out Rokossovsky's intentions, his expression became much more relaxed, and then he said: "Comrade Commander, we have summoned all the commanders of the armies here. If you have any tasks, just assign them to them."

Rokossovsky summoned the commander of the group army under him here, mainly to announce the cessation of the offensive and turn to the defensive on the spot. After he finished announcing the order, Batov said with some concern: "Comrade commander, have we obtained the permission of the Supreme Command to stop the offensive and switch to the defensive action on the spot?"

"General Batov," Rokossovsky said kindly, "I have already discussed this matter with the deputy commander, General Zhukov. He thinks that we should not waste our precious troops on such meaningless things. Counterattack. He believes that switching to defense on the spot is to accumulate strength and prepare for the next attack."

Knowing that it was Zhukov's permission to transfer the troops to the defense on the spot, everyone felt a lot more at ease. Since the deputy commander-in-chief said so, there is no need for everyone to attack the German positions in vain. Instead, they should use this time to replenish troops, weapons and ammunition, and wait for the start of a new round of offensive.

After all the commanders who participated in the meeting left, Malinin asked Rokossovsky with some concerns: "Comrade Commander, did General Zhukov say, when will we launch another attack on the German army?"

"Within ten days." Rokossovsky said with a bitter face: "General Zhukov feels that after ten days of replenishment, our troops should regain the strength to break through the German defense line, so the next round of attack will be in the early morning after ten days. initiated."

Hearing Rokossovsky's words, Military Commissar Terekin smiled, because in this way, the troops could launch an attack from the enemy's rear again and join forces with the defenders in the city; Frowning tightly, he felt that even if he waited ten days before launching an attack on the enemy, it would still be very hasty. The troops lacked the necessary soldiers and supplies to support a new counterattack, so it would be difficult to achieve the desired results.

Thinking of this, Ma Linin plucked up the courage to say to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, I think you should report directly to the Supreme Command and ask them to provide us with enough soldiers and technical equipment, otherwise it will be launched in ten days. It is still difficult for us to achieve any results."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I am the commander of the front army. Don't I know the current situation of the troops?" Rokossovsky waited for Malinin to explain his views, and said with a straight face and expressionless: "But ten It was Zhukov's order to launch another attack on the German army two days later. Not to mention that we can get limited supplies of soldiers and materials, even if there are no supplies, we must face the enemy within the specified time. The enemy attacked again."

"But an insufficiently prepared attack will only further weaken our army's strength." Ma Linin said anxiously: "Comrade Commander, you should find an opportunity to discuss with General Zhukov and cancel this meaningless attack."

Rokossovsky stared at Malinen and said: "Chief of Staff, I think it is necessary to remind you that no matter what price our army will pay in the new round of offensive, it is to prevent the German army from occupying Stalingrad. I don't want to hear about the pointless attack, understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." After being criticized by Rokossovsky, Malinin immediately realized that he was a little out of words, and quickly assured him: "I will not make similar remarks in the future. "