Chapter 1692 Takeover of Troops

  Early before the Battle of Kursk, Zhukov and Vasilevsky, as representatives of the base camp, were sent to the Kursk area to be responsible for the coordination between several front armies.

  Vasilevsky is usually stationed in the Voronezh Front Army, and Zhukov stays there most of the time because he has more common topics with Rokossovsky. The shelling before the battle started was an order he personally issued.

  As for the Voronezh Front Army, Zhukov seldom asked about the battle plan of the Front Army because Vasilevsky was in charge. He believed that Vatutin's ability was sufficient to handle various situations.

   But what is unexpected is that since Vatutin was defeated in the Dnieper River in early 1943, he was dismissed as the commander of the Southwest Front Army and changed to the commander of the Voronezh Front Army.

In the early stage of the Battle of Kursk, the German army launched a fierce attack on the Soviet defense line from the south. The area under Vatutin's jurisdiction was broken through by the German army for about 35 kilometers from the front, and it was almost pierced. The front army mobilized two group armies to help in time, and this round was really bad luck.

  In contrast, Sokorovsky's Central Front Army carried no less defensive pressure than the Voronezh Front Army. However, the German army tried its best and only advanced about 12 kilometers forward, and then could no longer advance. The gap between the two command capabilities can be seen from this.

   Later, when the counter-offensive was launched, Vatutin continued to ask Stalin for reinforcements, and it was not until Konev's entire Steppe Front Army was placed in the direction of his responsibility that the enemy was completely defeated.

  In the battle to break through the Dnieper River, after Rokossovsky's troops took the Ukrainian town of Nezhin, Kyiv was within easy reach. However, the Voronev Front Army under the command of Vatutin fought extremely hard, not to mention more than a hundred kilometers away from Kyiv, and progress was very slow.

Vatutin, who was eager to become the liberator of Kyiv, took advantage of the advantage of being close to the water, and kept lobbying Vasilevsky. Finally, he persuaded the other party to change positions with Rokossovsky's troops and let his troops Gained a chance to liberate Kyiv. Rokossovsky's troops were transferred to Belarus.

  In all fairness, whether it is Rokossovsky, Konev, or Zhukov, Vasilevsky, it is very interesting to do this to take care of the face of their colleagues. Their idea is very simple. Now that the Soviet army is victorious on all fronts of the battlefield, no matter how good Vatutin is, he probably won't be able to make a fool of himself.

   Unexpectedly, not long after the liberation of Kyiv, Vatutin once again fell into a big fight in Zhytomyr. Manstein ordered the German army to launch a counterattack in Zhitomir. Although the scale was small, it received miraculous effects. It not only recaptured Zhitomir, but also defeated the Soviet army.

  Seeing that the defense line in the Kyiv area showed signs of collapse, Stalin urgently appointed Rokossovsky as the representative of the base camp to Kyiv to assist Vatutin in commanding the Ukrainian First Front Army to resist the German attack and prevent Kyiv from losing again.

   Before Rokossovsky left Moscow by plane, Zhukov personally saw him off at the airport and had a conversation with him: "Koschka, I have a piece of advice for you!"

   "What advice?"

   "After you arrive in Kyiv, you must take over the command of the troops as soon as possible."

  Although in the conversation between Rokossovsky and Stalin, the other party also expressed the intention of letting him replace Vatutin to command the Ukrainian First Front Army if necessary, but this matter is of great importance and must be treated with caution. Hearing that Zhukov had the same meaning at this moment, he couldn't help asking curiously: "Comrade Marshal, as far as I know, the relationship between you and Vatutin is also good. Why did you give me such a suggestion?"

"In the past, Vasilevsky and I were accommodating to Vatutin because he was the favorite general of the Supreme Commander himself, but we didn't expect him to be so good. He was defeated by the German army when he had the upper hand. "Zhukov said angrily: "If you go to Kyiv this time, if you want to quickly turn the tide of the battle, the top priority is to firmly control the command of the troops in your own hands. The overall combat effectiveness of the Ukrainian First Front Army is still good. Yes, it's a pity that I met a commander who is not good enough to fall into the current predicament."

After saying this, Zhukov paused for a moment, and then continued: "Think about it, how many victories the 27th Army has achieved in the hands of Misha? The Germans would be scared to death when they heard the designation of this army." Trembling. But with Sokov's departure, the combat effectiveness of this unit plummeted, and finally it was unable to participate in the battle to liberate Kyiv due to heavy casualties."

  The two had a common topic, and they chatted for hours. The pilot responsible for sending Rokossovsky to Kyiv was anxious, but seeing that it was Marshal Zhukov talking to Rokossovsky, he didn't dare to disturb them, so he could only stand aside and worry.

   Fortunately, Rokossovsky noticed that the pilot was waiting anxiously, and quickly said to Zhukov: "Comrade Marshal, the pilot is still waiting to take me to Kyiv. If there is anything, we can talk on the phone."

"Okay." Zhukov nodded to Rokossovsky and said: "Koschka, you remember. Although Vatutin is now the commander of the Ukrainian First Front Army, with his ability, at best He can be a commander of a group army, but he is simply not qualified for the post of commander of a front army."

   Zhukov’s words reminded Rokossovsky of Sokov, and he tentatively asked: “Comrade Marshal, do you think Misha will be capable of serving as the commander of the Front Army in the future?”

"That's enough." Don't see that Zhukov took great care of Sokov, but he rarely commented objectively on this matter: "Judging from the results he has achieved so far, he is a qualified army commander. But since he has not received systematic military theory education, he may not be able to command a force of hundreds of thousands of people.”

After hearing Zhukov's evaluation of Sokov, Rokossovsky said with a chuckle: "Comrade Marshal, I thought you would say that he is definitely qualified for the post of commander of the front army. I didn't expect your thoughts and me too."

   "I think, if you really want him to become the commander of the front army in his own right, in addition to going to a military academy to study military theory, it's best to stay at your headquarters for half a year and learn how to command a large army to fight."

Regarding Zhukov's statement, Rokossovsky said modestly: "Comrade Marshal, you are really flattered. If you want to instruct him to master the skills of fighting with large corps, it is best to follow you. You have more experience than me. After all, before the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, you beat Japan in the Far East."

"That's different." Zhukov shook his head and said, "Little Japan's weapons and equipment are not comparable to those of the Germans, even if they are compared with us, they are at an absolute disadvantage. Our victory depends entirely on our strength and strength." The advantages in equipment are crushing." After saying this, he raised his hand and looked at his watch, and found that it was getting late, so he gently pushed Rokossovsky's shoulder with his hand, "Time It's getting late, hurry up and get on the plane, the situation in Kyiv needs to be reversed by you."

   Rokossovsky was still very nervous on the plane to Kiev. He felt that when he arrived in Kyiv, he would directly seize the command of the troops from Vatutin. Would it be a bit unreasonable?

   But when he arrived at the headquarters, after a brief conversation with Vatutin, he found that the other party only wanted to ask his superiors for more reinforcements and technical equipment, but he had no countermeasures at all for how to deal with the situation in front of him. Under such circumstances, it would be nonsense to reverse the current unfavorable situation if you still give the other party some sympathy.

After thinking about this, Rokossovsky said to Vatutin: "Comrade Vatutin, from now on, I will temporarily take over the command of the Ukrainian First Front until the German army attacking Kyiv is completely smashed. "

"Why?" Hearing that Rokossovsky wanted to deprive himself of his command, Vatutin couldn't sit still: "Why should I give you the command of the troops? Who gave you the right? "

"Comrade Vatutin," Rokossovsky said calmly in the face of the furious Vatutin, "For your mistakes in command, the Supreme Command is very dissatisfied with you, so I was sent here. After the conversation just now, I found that if you continue to command the troops, it is basically an impossible task to smash the German attempt to recapture Kyiv. From now on, I decide to take over your command temporarily, and then follow my way, to direct the troops to fight the German troops rushing towards Kyiv."

   Bogolyubov, who had just returned from a phone call, happened to overhear the conversation between the two.

  Knowing that Rokossovsky intends to take over Vatutin's command, he couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. As the chief of staff of the front army, he knows better than anyone else what the situation is like during this period. However, under such an unfavorable situation, Vatutin acted in panic. Apart from asking for reinforcements and equipment from his superiors, he had no good countermeasures at all.

How could Vatutin give up his command so easily? He continued to roar: "Comrade Rokossovsky, although you are the representative of the headquarters, you can only assist me in command, not replace me in command. I will report exactly what happened to the Supreme Commander himself."

"Comrade Vatutin," although Vatutin was furious, Rokossovsky said with a normal expression, "whatever you want to do, just do it. I think that even if you contact the Supreme Commander himself, I'm afraid You won't get the results you want."

   Rokossovsky's words made Vatutin realize that since the other party dared to say something to replace him, it must have been ordered by his superiors, even Stalin himself. If you call to complain regardless of your grievances, you may be reprimanded.

"Okay." Vatutin can be regarded as a character who knows the current affairs and is a hero. Seeing that handing over the command power is a done deal, he is no longer stubborn: "I will hand over the command of the troops to you, I hope Don't let me down with your performance."

"Don't worry, General Vatutin." Seeing that Vatutin agreed to hand over the command of the troops, Rokossovsky heaved a sigh of relief. There will be someone to hold back. "I will never let you down. If something goes wrong, I take all responsibility."

Now that Rokossovsky had reached this point, Vatutin no longer insisted, but called all the people in the headquarters, and ordered in front of them: "Comrades, from now on, The First Ukrainian Front Army is under the command of General Rokossovsky, if you have anything to report or ask for instructions, you can go to him directly.”

  When Vatutin said this, he thought that many people would stand on his side and say a few words of sympathy. But he didn't expect that after he finished speaking, he saw the expressions of relief on the faces of most people, and his heart suddenly became cold as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Comrades," Rokossovsky waited for Vatutin to finish speaking, and then continued: "From now on, I will be in command of the Ukrainian First Front Army. I hope that everyone will abide by their duties and fully assist us Get to work. Do you understand?"

   "Understood!" The people in the room replied loudly in unison.

"Now that you understand everything, let's go back to our respective jobs and continue working." After Rokossovsky finished speaking, he called Bogolyubov to him and told him, "Comrade Chief of Staff , You immediately report to the commanders of the various armies that I have taken over the command of the troops, so that they know what to expect."

  Bogolyubov also agreed loudly, but he did not leave immediately, but asked tentatively: "General Rokossovsky, do you have any new deployments to hand over to the troops below?"

   Rokossovsky stared at the map and said: "I think that Major General Pukhov's troop organization is still complete. Immediately order them to advance to Koroszhan and assist the 60th Army to seize the city."

Hearing Rokossovsky's order, Bogolyubov couldn't help being taken aback, and then reminded Rokossovsky: "General Rokossovsky, did you make a mistake? You know, now The most dangerous situation is General Moskalenko's 38th Army, which urgently needs support."

   "Comrade Chief of Staff." Rokossovsky waited for Bogolyubov to finish, and then asked: "Even if we send the 13th Army to support the 38th Army, will they stop retreating?"

  Bogolyubov thought for a while, then shook his head and said: "Even if the 13th Army is invested, it will be very difficult to completely block the German attack."

"Since we can't stop it, why should we put all our precious vitality into areas that are destined to fall into a stalemate?" Sokov clicked his finger on the map and said to Bogolyubov: "If the 13th Army can Assisting the 60th Army in capturing Korosten, in addition to being able to coordinate with the troops of the Belarusian Front, can also disperse the German troops attacking Kyiv, thereby achieving the purpose of weakening the German offensive force."

   When Bogolyubov heard it, what Rokossovsky said seemed to make sense. Staring at the map and pondering carefully, sending the 13th Army to reinforce the 60th Army in the northwest direction can be said to be a stroke of genius. As long as the troops occupied Korosten, coupled with the 3rd Guards Tank Army in the southwest, the German army that was rushing towards Kyiv faintly formed an encirclement trend.

  He said quickly: "Understood, Comrade Commander. I will immediately convey your order to the 13th Army, and let them rush to the Korosten area as soon as possible to support the 60th Army fighting there."

  (end of this chapter)