red moscow

Chapter 2583 Right and wrong merits and demerits

Although Sokov had known that Patton would die in a car accident, he was still surprised to hear the news from Zhukov. He instinctively asked, "Comrade Marshal, is his injury okay?"

"It's hard to say." Zhukov shook his head and said, "But according to our intelligence, his injuries are very serious. Whether he can survive depends on his fate."

Sokov knew that Patton, a big mouth who spoke without restraint, had offended many important people. Who knew whether this car accident was an accident or man-made. But no matter what, this general who once dominated the world in World War II would soon exit the stage of history.

After staying for a while, Sokov said goodbye and left.

After he left the house, he was stopped by Zhukov's adjutant and chatted with him for a while. When he was about to leave, the door he had closed opened and Malenkov walked out.

Seeing that Sokov was still in the office outside, Malenkov smiled and said to Sokov: "General Sokov, do you have time now?"

"Yes, Comrade Malenkov." Sokov had nothing to do. After hearing what Malenkov said, he realized that the other party might want to talk to him privately. This was a good opportunity to get closer to them, so he naturally would not let it go: "I'm waiting for your orders."

Malenkov smiled and waved his hand: "General Sokov, you are too polite. I just want to chat with you. If you don't mind, please come to my office and sit down."

"Ok."

Watching Malenkov and Sokov leave side by side, the adjutant hesitated for a moment, then pushed open the door behind him and went in to report to Zhukov.

"Comrade Marshal, Sokov left with Comrade Malenkov, probably to his office."

After listening to the adjutant's report, Zhukov said disapprovingly: "In a few days, the three of us will return to Moscow together. Let them get to know each other first. It's nothing big. Comrade adjutant, please remember your duties and don't ask about things that you shouldn't ask about."

The adjutant didn't dare to refute. After agreeing, he obediently left the office.

Sokov followed Malenkov to his office, and he was surprised to find that it was on the same floor as Zhukov's office, only a few rooms away.

After entering the office, Malenkov asked Sokov to sit on the sofa, then walked to the samovar and poured him a cup of hot tea. He also asked, "General Sokov, how many sugar cubes would you like?"

Even though Sokov had been in this era for several years, he still didn't like tea with sugar cubes, so he waved his hand and said, "Thank you, I don't want sugar."

Malenkov placed the hot tea on the coffee table in front of Sokov, and then sat on the sofa next to him: "General Sokov..."

"Comrade Malenkov!" Sokov said quickly, "You should call me by my nickname Misha, like Marshal Zhukov did."

"Okay, Misha." Malenkov did not act pretentiously and immediately changed his address to Sokov: "What do you think of Marshal Zhukov?"

"He is an unrivaled general."

Hearing Sokov's evaluation of Zhukov, Malenkov showed a meaningful smile on his face: "Misha, you think highly of him. But now someone is using this matter to make a fuss, trying to ruin his reputation."

Sokov thought that even if the people above wanted to take action, they should wait a little longer. It was only half a year since the end of the war, and Marshal Zhukov's reputation was at its peak. It would be a bit hasty to take action against him now.

Seeing that Sokov did not speak, Malenkov continued, "During the Battle of Moscow, Marshal Zhukov was the commander of the Western Front. Did you know this?"

"Yes, of course I know." Sokov nodded and replied.

"Marshal Rokossovsky was the commander of the 16th Army at the time. When the 5th Army on the left wing of his defense line and the 30th Army on the right wing were repelled by the Germans, his troops became an isolated force and were in danger of being surrounded and annihilated by the Germans at any time." Malenkov said: "In this case, withdrawing the troops to the Istra Reservoir area and re-establishing new defenses can not only shorten the defense front, but also have more available reserves, so as to better grasp the initiative on the battlefield. But unfortunately, Rokossovsky's request was ruthlessly rejected by Zhukov.

So Rokossovsky bypassed Zhukov and went directly to the Chief of the General Staff in Moscow, Marshal Shaposhnikov, asking him to allow his troops to withdraw. After receiving Rokossovsky's call, Marshal Shaposhnikov immediately reported the matter to Comrade Stalin. After repeated consideration, the Supreme Commander himself agreed to Rokossovsky's request to withdraw his troops.

"Yes, I've heard about it." Sokov nodded and said, "But not long after the 16th Army began to retreat, Zhukov got the news and immediately sent a telegram to Marshal Rokossovsky, forcing him to cancel the order to withdraw the troops and return to the original combat area."

"Yes, that's the case." Malenkov said, "Do you think Marshal Zhukov's approach is right?" Sokov couldn't help but start to ponder when he heard Malenkov's question. He first saw such a scene in the movie "The Battle of Moscow". At that time, he thought Zhukov's approach was completely correct. The 16th Army should stick to its original position unwaveringly to resist the German attack. But as he came to this era and saw Rokossovsky's combat area with his own eyes, he changed his mind and felt that the order Zhukov gave to Rokossovsky was questionable.

In later documents, there are different opinions on Zhukov's efforts to stop the 16th Army from retreating. The most common view is that the 16th Army should have held its ground, slowed down the German advance, and bought precious time for the rear reserve to gather. But the reality at the time was that if Rokossovsky's troops had retreated to the Istrian Reservoir area earlier and established new defenses, they would have been able to rely on the favorable local terrain to block the German attack.

Zhukov's insistence on his own way led to chaos in the 16th Army under Rokossovsky's command. Some troops that had just retreated to the designated location, after receiving the order to stop retreating and return to the original combat area, hurriedly returned to the original defensive position. Unexpectedly, the place had already been occupied by the German army. Their counterattack was not only unsuccessful, but also suffered heavy casualties, and had to retreat to the newly built fortifications again.

  Some people defended Zhukov by saying that Zhukov was under great psychological pressure because he shouldered the heavy responsibility of defending Moscow, and it was inevitable that he made some mistakes in his decision-making. But Zhukov was under great pressure, so was Rokossovsky under great pressure? You know, he used the 16th Army, which was seriously understaffed, to stubbornly resist the German attack in the combat area that originally belonged to the three armies. If it weren't for his extraordinary command talent and the skillful use of various tactics to block the German attack, the defense line would have collapsed long ago. If this really happened, it would not only be the small cities near Moscow such as Klin and Sun Mountain City that would be lost, but the enemy that broke into the town of Khimki would not be just a reconnaissance team, but perhaps a division-level combat unit. Facing the German army at the division level, could the defenders in Moscow, who were mainly militiamen, stop the Germans from rushing to Red Square?

"Comrade Malenkov," Sokov tried to force a smile on his face, "I'm afraid I can't answer your question. You know, when the 16th Army retreated to the Istra Reservoir area, I was a garrison squad leader in the town of Khimki."

Sokov's answer surprised Malenkov. He asked in astonishment: "What? Were you still a squad leader during the Battle of Moscow?"

"Yes," Sokov nodded and said in a positive tone, "To be precise, he is a corporal squad leader."

"Oh my God." Malenkov's face was full of shock. "During the Battle of Moscow, you were just a corporal squad leader, but in just four years, you have become a general. This promotion speed is really amazing."

"I'm just lucky."

"Just being lucky won't get you promoted as fast as you did." Malenkov waved his hand and continued, "Let's continue talking about Marshal Zhukov."

Sokov knew that Zhukov had committed a big mistake by canceling the 16th Army's retreat. In any case, Rokossovsky issued the order to retreat to the troops only after receiving the instruction of the Supreme Commander himself. Zhukov directly canceled the order, which was equivalent to slapping Stalin in the face. The situation was critical at the time and it was a time to use people, so the Supreme Commander himself could not care less. Now that the war is over, if someone makes a fuss about this matter, Stalin's heart will ache again.

"Please speak, Comrade Malenkov." Sokov wanted to know how much evidence others had on Zhukov, so he motioned for Malenkov to continue.

"During the Battle of Stalingrad, Zhukov commanded three armies to launch counterattacks against the German army in the northwest of the city, but the effect was very limited." Malenkov continued: "Some people say that if the three armies had not launched a futile counterattack in the north of the city, but had all been stationed in Stalingrad, perhaps the time it took us to win would have been greatly shortened."

"Comrade Malenkov, I don't agree with this statement." As soon as Malenkov finished speaking, Sokov immediately expressed his own opinion: "If we concentrate all our troops in Stalingrad, since there are no troops around the city to contain the enemy's forces, then the enemy will be able to complete the encirclement of Stalingrad. At that time, maybe the Battle of Stalingrad will become another Battle of Kiev."

The Battle of Kiev was the largest annihilation war in human military history. The Soviet Union's most elite Southwestern Front was almost completely annihilated by the German army. The commander, chief of staff and military commissar of the front were all killed, and more than 600,000 Soviet officers and soldiers became prisoners of the German army. This battle was a great humiliation for the Soviet army.

Hearing Sokov compare the Battle of Stalingrad with the Battle of Kiev, Malenkov was somewhat surprised and said: "Misha, if we concentrate all our forces in the city, will there really be another Battle of Kiev?"

"Of course, Comrade Malenkov." Sokov nodded first, then explained to Malenkov: "Although the three armies commanded by Marshal Zhukov did not make much progress in the counterattack, it was precisely because of their existence that a considerable number of German troops were tied up, making it impossible for them to concentrate all their forces to attack the city. In this way, the defenders in the city can hold on."

"really?"

"That's right." Sokov continued, "Our army's uninterrupted counterattacks in the northwest successfully tied down the German offensive. I was in Stalingrad at the time, so I was deeply touched. The German army was about to occupy the entire city, but because of the crisis in the north of the city, Paulus had to withdraw troops from the offensive troops to strengthen the defense in the north to prevent his flank from being threatened.

I remember that a tank brigade of our army successfully broke through the German defense line and advanced towards the factory area. Unfortunately, because the infantry did not follow up in time, the tank brigade, which lost the infantry cover, became the target of the German anti-tank troops. The tank brigade was completely wiped out when it was only two kilometers away from the factory area.

"That's such a pity." Malenkov couldn't help but sigh after hearing what Sokov said: "Under the circumstances at the time, if a tank brigade broke through the German defenses, entered the factory area of ​​Stalingrad, and joined the defenders there, it would be such an exciting thing."

"Yes." Sokov agreed with Malenkov's statement: "With the support of the tank troops, the defenders of the factory area may be able to launch a counterattack against the German army in some areas, thus gaining the initiative on the battlefield."

After chatting for a few more sentences, Malenkov suddenly asked: "By the way, Misha, where were your troops stationed in Stalingrad at that time?"

"Mamayev Kurgan!"

"What, Mamayev Kurgan?" Hearing the ground mentioned by Sokov, Malenkov stood up suddenly and said excitedly: "At that time, I read the battle report every day. It said that the infantry brigade that held on to Mamayev Kurgan repelled countless German attacks. The hill was full of German corpses and damaged technical equipment, but they were still unable to occupy Mamayev Kurgan. I never thought that it was the troops under your command that were defending Mamayev Kurgan."

"At the beginning, I commanded an infantry brigade," Sokov said with a smile, "but as the war progressed, my troops suffered heavy losses. In order to defend Mamayev Kurgan, my superiors sent the 41st Guards Division and asked me to be the commander of the division. In this way, I went from being the commander of an infantry brigade to the commander of a Guards division."

"Misha, if I were your superior, I would definitely do the same." Malenkov said, "Mamayev Kurgan not only connects the factory area in the north of the city with the living area in the south, but also protects the safety of the Volga River crossing. If the Germans occupy it, it means that the city's connection with the outside world will be completely cut off. It will be an impossible task for our army to defend Stalingrad."