Chapter 1988

  Sokov originally thought that it would take a few days for Zhukov to arrive, and he had enough time to make all the preparations before his arrival. But to his surprise, at noon the next day, Zhukov, accompanied by Rokossovsky, came to the headquarters of the 48th Army.

   Seeing Zhukov and Rokossovsky suddenly appearing, Sokov couldn't help being taken aback, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute the two: "Comrade Marshal, Comrade General, why are you here!"

   Zhukov was also surprised. He turned his head and asked Rokossovsky: "Koschka, what's going on? Why is Misha here? Shouldn't he be in the 47th Army?"

   "Comrade Marshal, this matter is very complicated, I will explain it to you later."

Sokov greeted Zhukov and Rokossovsky to sit down, ordered someone to bring tea and snacks, and then asked Rokossovsky cautiously: "Comrade General, why did you think of coming to me with Comrade Marshal?" come?"

   Rokossovsky did not immediately answer Sokov's question, but turned to look at Zhukov, as if he wanted to get some instructions from the other party.

  Zhukov nodded, and said, "Koschka, Misha is not an outsider. If you have anything to say, just say it."

"Misha, the situation is like this." Rokossovsky said to Sokov: "Yesterday your 65th Army on the right launched an attack in the direction of Palić. Among them, the commanders and fighters of the 2nd Battalion of the 36th Regiment of a certain division , After a fierce battle, they successfully occupied the German Army's 217th position. But unfortunately, due to the heavy German artillery fire, they were still unable to move forward after paying huge sacrifices."

   "At that time, Marshal Zhukov and I were inspecting the 65th Army Group. After learning about the situation, we gave the Army Commander, General Batov, an order to temporarily stop his offensive operations in the direction of Palić."

   "At that time the marshal asked Batov: 'Pavel Ivanovich, do you think the attack in the direction of Palić will be successful? Also, what do you think about this attack direction?'

  Batov thought for a while and replied: ‘This direction is certainly attractive, the land is dry and there are no river obstacles. But the enemy is not an idiot either. They have set up powerful deep trapezoidal fortifications on the main commanding heights. If our army insists on attacking Paliqi, it will mean paying heavy casualties. '

  I interrupted and said: 'Yes, Bartov was right. If our army launches an attack in the direction of Palić, the Germans are completely expected. They are waiting for us to throw themselves into the trap. '

  Marshal thought for a while, then asked Batov: 'How is the situation on your left wing? '

  Batov said: "The terrain there is very difficult for troops to move. There are a lot of river banks and many swamps. It is not an ideal area for attacking." '

   Knowing that the terrain here is not conducive to launching an attack, the marshal decided to come and have a look. No, we're here. "

"Misha!" As soon as Rokossovsky finished speaking, Zhukov asked Sokov: "Two days ago, I read a plan drawn up by Rokossovsky, and he actually planned to fight against the enemy in the swamp area. The enemy launched an attack. My first reaction when I saw this plan was that it was too absurd, and the commander who made this plan should be sent to a military court immediately."

   Hearing what Zhukov said, Sokov was shocked into a cold sweat, because it was himself, not others, who made the plan. If he was really sent to a military court because of this matter, he might as well not have made this suggestion to Rokossovsky.

But Zhukov's next words made him put the heart hanging in his throat back in his stomach: "When I inspected the 65th Army yesterday and witnessed the casualties of the troops in the attack, I watched it again. Rokossovsky's battle plan was found to be a genius idea. Using areas that are obviously not suitable for combat as the main direction of our army's attack can have unexpected effects. As long as there are no accidents, we can easily Break through the German defense line and speed up the process of our army's liberation of Belarus."

   Hearing Zhukov's praise, both Sokov and Rokossovsky were secretly relieved.

  After a short pause, Rokossovsky said: "Comrade Marshal, on the way here, didn't you keep asking, who is the genius who came up with this combat plan?"

  From the tone of Rokossovsky's speech, Zhukov vaguely guessed who the person who proposed the combat plan was, but he still asked cautiously: "Who is it?"

   "Here, he is right in front of you." Rokossovsky said with a smile, "This genius attack plan was originally proposed by Misha."

Although he had already guessed that the attack plan he had seen was inextricably linked with Sokov, Zhukov was still shocked by Rokossovsky's confirmation at this moment: "Misha, it's really you The proposed attack plan?"

   "Yes, I proposed it."

   "Genius, you are simply a genius." Zhukov said happily: "I said that the person who can come up with such a plan is not an ordinary person. It seems that my guess is indeed correct."

Now that the conversation has reached this point, Rokossovsky said while the iron was hot: "Comrade Marshal, didn't you ask me why Misha appeared at the headquarters of the 48th Army instead of the headquarters of the 47th Army? "

  At this time, if Zhukov still can’t figure out the connection between the two, his marshal’s reputation is too vain: “Is it related to this plan?”

"That's right, Comrade Marshal, that's true." Rokossovsky nodded and explained to Zhukov: "At the beginning, he was arranged to worry about the commander of the 47th Army because he considered that the unit was stationed in the Kovel area. He was in command. This force can effectively contain the actions of the German army in that area.

  But the plan he proposed gave Ma Linin and me a refreshing feeling. After we carefully studied his combat plan, the more we looked at it, the more we felt that launching an attack from the swamp area was undoubtedly the best direction of attack. So we temporarily adjusted the appointment and appointed him as the commander of the 48th Army from the commander of the 47th Army. "

"Koschka," Zhukov said with relief after hearing Rokossovsky's words, "if we attack from the swampy area, we will really achieve unexpected results. Your adjustment of appointment may be recorded in the annals of history." Woolen cloth."

Seeing both Zhukov and Rokossovsky smiling, Sokov suddenly remembered that Rokossovsky had been kicked out of the conference room twice by Stalin after submitting his combat plan during a meeting at the Supreme Command. He cautiously reminded the two of them: "Comrade Marshal, Comrade General, I am a little worried now."

   "What are you worried about?" Rokossovsky asked curiously.

   "I am worried that after this plan is submitted, it will be rejected by the Supreme Commander."

  As soon as Sokov spoke, the air in the room suddenly froze. Both Zhukov and Rokossovsky fell into deep thought.

   I don't know how long it took, Rokossovsky sighed softly, and then said: "Misha is right, this plan that looks like a fantasy may indeed be rejected."

After waiting for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, Zhukov thought for a while, nodded, and said, "That's right, what Misha said makes sense. Put such a battle plan at the meeting of the Supreme Command , will definitely be opposed by everyone. If the Supreme Commander himself also objects, then this plan may be rejected."

   "So what should we do?" Rokossovsky asked.

"A meeting of the Supreme Command will be held next week," Zhukov said cautiously, "I suggest that you give this battle plan to Chief of Staff Antonov and Minister of Operations Shtemenko to have a look at it first. With their support, the chances of the battle plan being passed at the Supreme Command meeting will increase."

   After Zhukov finished speaking, he deliberately paused for a moment, and then continued: "Of course, I will also express my support for your offensive plan."

  Maybe seeing that the atmosphere in the room was a bit depressed, Zhukov changed the subject in time. He looked at Sokov and asked, "Misha, when did you take office?"

"yesterday!"

   "Yesterday?" Zhukov couldn't help being taken aback when he heard this time, and then asked, "How is the fortifications here?"

   "Report to Comrade Marshal, I have ordered the suspension of fortification work."

   "Paused, why?" Zhukov asked with some displeasure: "Don't you know, if there are no fortifications, once you are attacked by the German army, what do you rely on for defense?"

"Comrade Marshal, please listen to my explanation." Seeing the dissatisfaction on Zhukov's face, Sokov quickly explained to him: "The terrain here is not suitable for repairing fortifications. Often the soldiers have worked hard for several hours to dig The trenches, but in less than a night, the trenches are full of water, and it is not easy to drain it even with a pump."

   "Is it because of this that you ordered the troops to stop the construction of fortifications?"

"That's right, that's true." Sokov nodded, affirming Zhukov's statement: "I can't let the soldiers do useless work every day, which will cause them to consume a lot of energy and become exhausted. "

   "Misha," Rokossovsky knew Sokov better than Zhukov, guessed that he must have his reasons for doing so, and quickly reminded him, "Tell Comrade Marshal what you think."

"Comrade Marshal," Sokov continued, "according to my observations, the enemy does not have a tight line of defense here, but has set up scattered strongholds on some dry high ground, which means that they have no ability at all. Launch a large-scale attack on our army."

"It is precisely because of this consideration that I decided to build our defense by referring to the deployment of the Germans. So I ordered people to arrange artillery and machine gun fire points on the high ground in the defense zone to block the entire swamp. At the same time, I also Order people to build some shooting platforms that can be used by tanks near the edge of the swamp..."

   Zhukov patiently listened to Sokov's narration, and the expression on his face became softer the more he listened. By the time Sokov finished speaking, the expression on his face had changed from anger to appreciation: "Oh, it turned out to be like this. Good job, Misha. If you build up the defense of the troops according to your intention, It's very appropriate."

  He stood up and said to Sokov: "Let's go, let's go to the edge of the swamp and see how the enemy's defense is."

  Ten minutes later, Sokov took Zhukov and Rokossovsky, and some commanders they brought, to the edge of the swamp. There are no dense forests here, only some young trees, low bushes, and weeds half the height of a person.

Zhukov, who was walking through the area behind Sokov, couldn't help nodding his head when he saw this situation, and turned to Rokossovsky beside him and said, "Koschka, it seems that Misha's actions are totally wrong. Correct. Building fortifications in such a place will cost several times more manpower and material resources than building fortifications on the plain."

"That's right, Comrade Marshal." Rokossovsky echoed from the side: "This kind of terrain is indeed not suitable for building large-scale fortifications, but the defensive mode that Misha mentioned is the most suitable. "

The group walked forward for a while, and suddenly saw a bonfire in the grass in front of them. Pugachev, who was walking beside Sokov, couldn't help frowning, and said dissatisfiedly: "Whoever makes a fire here randomly, isn't it afraid?" Did it start a fire?"

"No, Comrade Military Commissar." Sokov turned his head to Pugachev and said with a smile: "It's too humid here, unless you pour gasoline on these grasses, you don't have to worry about fire at all. Soldiers stay here It’s not easy, let them light a fire and cook something, and they can have a hot meal.”

  Sokov saw five soldiers wearing rain capes sitting by the campfire, and one of them was an elderly veteran who was stirring in an aluminum pot with a spoon.

  Maybe hearing footsteps behind him, the veteran stopped what he was doing and turned his head to look back. Seeing a group of generals walking towards him, he put down his spoon in fright and shouted loudly: "Stand up!"

  Following his shout, the soldiers who were still laughing hurriedly stood up, straightened their waists and stood at attention, and hurriedly arranged their clothes, so as not to be criticized by the superior commander if they saw that they were disheveled.

Zhukov came to the campfire, bent down to look at the aluminum pot hanging on the shelf, saw the soup inside was gurgling and rolling, and asked the veteran with great interest: "Comrade veteran, what are you cooking? "

   "It's the second battlefield, Comrade Marshal."

   "The Second Battlefield?!" Zhukov asked the veteran with a confused expression on his face, "What is the Second Battlefield?"

   "Comrade Marshal, please allow me to explain to you." A young soldier who looked more active next to him explained to Zhukov: "It is the canned meat that the United States aided us. We all jokingly call it the 'Second Battlefield'."

  After hearing this, Zhukov chuckled, then turned to Sokov and said, "Misha, your subordinates are very humorous."

  Sokov grinned and replied: "Humorous people usually have a good attitude. Even in the worst environment, they can live happily."

   "Comrade Marshal," the veteran couldn't help asking Zhukov after waiting for Sokov to finish speaking, "How long will we stay here?"

   "What, old comrade." Zhukov heard the veteran's question, and asked with great interest: "Is it a little bit impatient to be lonely?"

"It's not that lonely, it's just that life is too boring." The veteran said, "I was thinking, if I can't send me to fight yet, I might as well let me go home. After a while, it will be time to grow potatoes. If I miss the season , there will be no potatoes to harvest in the fall."

  (end of this chapter)