Chapter 1431 Rat Thrower

"Can't get in touch, Comrade Marshal." Ivanov wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his hands, and reported to Zhukov: "When I received the enemy's counterattack, the first thing I did was call the First Tank Army. I informed Commander Vatutin of this situation. But the staff officer who answered the phone told me that Commander Vatutin and General Katukov had gone to the front for inspection, but I don’t know where they are.”

"Nonsense, this is simply nonsense." Zhukov said angrily: "As the commander of the front army, he does not stay in his own headquarters, but runs around below. In an emergency like this, he is not in the headquarters. The troops are still in disarray."

"Comrade Marshal," Ivanov hastily explained to Zhukov when he heard Zhukov get angry: "When I found out that I couldn't get in touch with Comrade Commander, I immediately issued a combat order to the troops in the counterattack area... "

"What combat order?!" Before Ivanov could finish speaking, Zhukov interrupted him impatiently: "It is nothing more than ordering commanders at all levels to stand firm and not retreat a single step. Am I right, Ivanov?" General Vanov?"

   "Yes, Comrade Marshal, you are right."

"If you just ordered the troops not to retreat even one step, but didn't give them more clear instructions, then it means that you didn't give an order." Zhukov became more and more angry, and finally said: "I think I really can't leave your place, look , How long has Vasilevsky and I been away, and there has been such a big mistake. Wait, Vasilevsky and I will go back to you right away."

Zhukov put down the phone and said apologetically to Konev: "Comrade Konev, I originally wanted to stay with you until our army liberated Kharkov, but now I can't. There is a problem with the Voronezh Front. And Vasilevsky need to rush back immediately."

   "Marshal Zhukov," Konev asked curiously, "Why did Vatutin suddenly think of running to the troops below?"

"Comrade Konev, you don't know something." Zhukov said a little bit dumbfounded: "General Katukov's First Tank Army performed mediocrely in the Battle of Kursk; Tutin originally wanted Katukov to send troops to assist Sokov and attack from the west of the city.

   Unexpectedly, after the battle started, Katukov's tank troops were still marching on the road, while Sokov's troops had already rushed into Belgorod and planted the red flag on the top of the municipal building. As a result, Vatutin felt that his face was dull, and he always wanted to find a chance for Katukov's troops to perform. I guess he left the army today because of this. But I didn't expect that just after he left, the enemy would launch a counterattack in the direction of Bogudukhov and the Akhturka area. It was really unexpected. "

"Two Marshals, you can go back at ease." Konev believed that he could control the overall situation, so he didn't feel the slightest loss in his heart when Zhukov and Vasilevsky left, but said calmly : "The battle plan, I have just reported to you, wait until the enemy's main force is lured out of the city, and after consuming a lot of their vitality in the field, then launch the final general attack on Kharkov."

"Comrade Konev, although your plan will delay the time to enter Kharkov, it will speed up the process of the battle." Zhukov said to Konev: "I have approved your plan, so you can rest assured and boldly." Go ahead and do it, and if something goes wrong, I'll take care of it."

Sending off Zhukov and Vasilevsky, Konev returned to his headquarters and said to Chief of Staff Zakharov: "Chief of Staff, you call Comrade Sokov and ask when his troops will Can the attack on Djergach be resumed?"

  Zakharov obviously guessed what Konev was thinking, and quickly replied: "Comrade Commander, when you just sent the two marshals away, I called General Sokov and asked about this matter."

   Knowing that Zakharov had already called Sokov, Konev asked quickly, "What did Sokov say?"

   "General Sokov replied to me that his main force is moving in the direction of Jergach, and that the attack on the city will be resumed by noon at the latest."

Considering that Sokov's troops lacked artillery, tanks, and air cover, Konev said to Zakharov: "You tell Sokov that if you encounter any difficulties, just call me and I will think about it." There is a way to solve it for him.”

   "Report!" While the two were talking, there was a voice calling for a report behind them.

  Konev turned his head and saw that it was the head of the Intelligence Department of the Front Army, so he asked with interest: "Is there any important news for our intelligence minister to report to me?"

   "Comrade Commander," the Minister of Intelligence reported with a solemn expression: "According to a piece of intelligence we intercepted, the German army is storing a large number of precious cultural relics of our country in the city of Jergach."

   "Precious cultural relics?!" Konev asked in surprise, "What cultural relics?"

   "It is said that in addition to a large number of oil paintings, these cultural relics also contain precious manuscripts of Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky."

   "The precious manuscripts of Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky?" Konev's eyeballs almost fell to the ground when he heard the minister of intelligence say so, and he asked nervously, "What manuscripts are there?"

"According to the list we have, among these precious manuscripts are Tolstoy's "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina", Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker", "Fifth Symphony ", and Chekhov's manuscript..."

  Hearing the names of a series of precious manuscripts reported by the Minister of Intelligence, Konev couldn't help being shocked. She opened her mouth and looked at the other party, her face was full of horror and disbelief. It was a long while before he asked, "How the **** did these things end up in Djergach?"

  The Minister of Intelligence shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said helplessly: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I don't know why there are so many precious cultural relics stored in Jergach."

   "Comrade Commander," Zakharov said suddenly, "Could this be false news released by the Germans to divert our attention?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, please forgive me, I don't think so." The Minister of Intelligence looked at Zakharov and said: "According to the information we have, during the Battle of Moscow, the Germans occupied the city of Yasnaya Tolstoy Manor in the town of Polyana, and set up Guderian's headquarters there.

  After the enemy entered the manor, they looted all the valuables inside, dug up Tolstoy’s grave, and took away his funeral objects. The memorial halls of Chekov and Tchaikovsky, after being occupied by the Germans, did not escape the fate of being looted. I think these precious manuscripts should have been looted by the Germans at that time. "

After Konev and other intelligence ministers finished speaking, they nodded silently, and then said: "I heard that after the Germans dug up Tolstoy's grave, they buried some of the dead German officers and soldiers in Tolstoy's grave." Around Tai's tomb. After our army regained the town of Yasnaya Polyana, they dug up the damned German corpses and reburied Tolstoy's body. Because the person who provided the information did not mention The funeral objects were stolen, so I didn’t know that these precious manuscripts fell into the hands of the Germans.”

Zakharov was a participant in the defense of Moscow. Naturally, he knew that Konev had served as the commander of the Western Front twice, and that the re-burial of Tolstoy might be an order from him, so he asked cautiously: " Comrade Commander, shall we call Sokov and tell him about this so that he can be mentally prepared?"

"I think it's okay." After agreeing to Zakharov's proposal, Konev specifically told him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you have to tell Sokov that whether it is an oil painting or a manuscript, it is the most precious cultural relic in Russia. It must be well protected, and there must be no loss.”

   "Okay, Comrade Commander, I will call Sokov immediately and tell him what you mean."

  When Zakharov called Sokov's headquarters, Sokov was discussing with Sameko the time and route to attack Dergachi. Sameko picked up the phone and listened for a while, then handed the phone to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, it's General Zakharov calling, and the Front Army Command must have new instructions."

  Sokov put the microphone to his ear and said politely: "Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, may I ask you to call me, do you have any instructions?"

"Yes, General Sokov." Zakharov said solemnly on the other end of the phone: "We have just obtained a piece of information that the enemy has stored a large number of oil paintings and precious manuscripts in Gergach City. When you seize the city, you must find a way to protect these cultural relics."

   During the defense of Moscow, Sokov once seized a truckload of oil paintings that had been snatched by the German army, and he asked casually, "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, whose paintings are these?"

  Where did Zakharov know whose paintings were stored in the city? Hearing this question from Sokov, he could only evade it and say: "Paintings are important, but those precious manuscripts are even more important."

   "Precious manuscripts?" Compared to oil paintings, Sokov is not interested in these so-called manuscripts, but since Zakharov emphasized so much, he still couldn't help asking curiously: "I don't know how precious it is?"

"Tolstoy's "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina", Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker", "Fifth Symphony", and Chekov's manuscripts, do you think they are precious? ?”

Zakharov's words made Sokov tremble with fright. He never dreamed that there would be such precious cultural relics in the city that his troops were about to attack. He hurriedly asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, do you know oil paintings?" How many are there, and where are these precious cultural relics stored in Jergach? After finding out where the cultural relics are stored, I will order the troops to deliberately avoid these areas when attacking the city, so as not to damage the cultural relics. damage."

Unexpectedly, Zakharov's answer made Sokov's heart fall into an ice cellar: "I'm sorry, General Sokov, I don't know how many of these cultural relics are and where they are stored. Therefore, you Before attacking, you must figure out this problem, otherwise if something goes wrong with the cultural relics, I'm afraid you will bear the blame."

   "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Sokov was about to cry. You don't even know the number of cultural relics and where they are stored, but you asked me to ensure the safety of the cultural relics during the siege. Isn't this a difficult task? But Sokov also knew in his heart that even if the superior's order was wrong, he could not disobey it, so he could only bite the bullet and reply, "I will try my best to ensure the safety of the cultural relics during the siege."

  After Sokov put down the phone, he asked Sameko gloomily beside him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I'm sorry, the superior has assigned us a hell-level combat mission."

  Sameko directly ignored Sokov's hell-level difficulty, but asked bluntly: "What combat mission?"

"The enemy has stored a number of cultural relics looted from our country in the city, including a large number of oil paintings, as well as precious manuscripts of Tolstoy, Tchaikovsky and Chekov." Sokov said to Sameko: " The superior ordered us to protect the safety of these cultural relics during the process of liberating Jergachi."

  Seeing Sameko opened his mouth, Sokov guessed what he was going to ask, so he said first: "Don't ask me about the number of cultural relics and where they are stored. General Zakharov didn't tell me at all."

   "If we don't know the number of cultural relics and where they are stored, how can we protect them?"

"I think the current plan is to immediately send people into the city to investigate and find out where these cultural relics are stored." Sukov said: "As long as we find out the specific location, we can avoid these artifacts when we attack the city." place to ensure the safety of cultural relics."

   "Comrade Commander, where do you think these cultural relics will be?"

Sokov took the floor plan of Jergach, stared at it for a long time, and then said to Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think it is definitely impossible in the north of the city. If there are really cultural relics stored here, the Germans will definitely not They will attack us in this direction, so the direction north of the city can be ruled out."

"The remaining places are only the east, west and south of the city." Sameko stared at the map and said with a sad face: "Although Jergach is only a medium-sized city, it is necessary to find the cultural relics stored by the enemy in a short time." I am afraid it will not be an easy task.”

  He looked up at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Commander, where should we start?"

"To find clues, it's best to find the residents of the city." Sokov's mind turned quickly, and he quickly remembered the residents who escaped from the city with the 254th Division, so he said to Sameko: "We We can ask the residents who escaped from the city to see who among them has clues, so that our scouts can avoid searching aimlessly and wasting unnecessary time."

Sokov's idea made Sameko's eyes shine. He nodded and said, "Yes, why didn't I think of it. When the enemy transported cultural relics in, some residents must have seen them. As long as we find insiders, we can Find out where the cultural relics are stored."

  (end of this chapter)