red moscow

Chapter 2996

"General Zhukov!" Rokossovsky struggled to control his emotions and spoke to Zhukov in a calm tone, "I implore you again to allow my troops to retreat to the Istra Reservoir area to organize a new defense. If we deploy there, by narrowing the front of our defenses, we can free up some troops as reserves and establish a second line of defense, thus minimizing the possibility of the enemy advancing unimpeded after the first line of defense is breached."

But Zhukov completely ignored Rokossovsky's request. He slammed his fist on the table and said in a hoarse voice, "Comrade Rokossovsky, I will repeat myself again, your army group's mission is to hold the existing positions by all means possible, and not retreat an inch. This is my order, understand?"

Rokossovsky gave Zhukov a resentful look, turned around and strode out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Once outside the room, Rokossovsky remembered his purpose for coming: besides getting Zhukov to allow his troops to retreat to the Istra Reservoir area for deployment, he also hoped to contact Konev through him and get permission to use the tank division stationed in Green City.

He wanted to go back and discuss the matter with Zhukov, but remembering his recent argument with him, he worried that his request might be rejected, so he stopped. However, he was reluctant to go back just like that. After much deliberation, he stopped a passing staff officer and politely asked, "Comrade Staff Officer, may I ask where your Chief of Staff's office is?"

“Look, it’s right there.” The staff officer pointed to a room not far away and said respectfully, “The office of General Sokolovsky, the chief of staff of the front, is over there.”

After thanking his staff officer, Rokossovsky strode toward Sokolovsky's office.

Sokolovsky, who was assigning tasks to several staff officers, showed a brief look of surprise upon seeing Rokossovsky's arrival. He quickly finished explaining the situation to his staff officers and then waved for them to leave.

Once he and Rokossovsky were alone in the room, he asked, "General Rokossovsky, you've come here to see the Commander, haven't you?"

“Yes, I just came out of his office,” Rokossovsky replied truthfully.

After pouring him a cup of hot tea, Sokolovsky tentatively asked, "Is there something you need from him?"

“Given the current situation, it is clearly unrealistic for us to continue holding our existing defensive positions,” Rokossovsky replied. “I came to see Zhukov today to get his approval for our withdrawal plan.”

After listening, Sokolovsky sat down in the chair opposite him, frowned, and said, "General Rokossovsky, if I may be so bold, your request will most likely be rejected by him. I advise you to give up this idea as soon as possible."

Upon hearing Sokolovsky's words, Rokossovsky's face showed a bitter expression: "Comrade Chief of Staff, to be honest, my request has been rejected by him."

After he refused your request, did he say anything else?

“What else can I say?” Rokossovsky shrugged, saying with a hint of helplessness, “The order is clear: hold our current positions and do not retreat an inch.”

"Since the commander has issued such an order, you have no choice but to carry it out unconditionally."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I've come to see you about something else."

"You need something from me?" Sokolovsky looked at Rokossovsky with a blank expression and asked, "General Rokossovsky, what could you possibly need from me?"

“That’s right,” Rokossovsky explained hastily. “The northeastern part of my army group is now also under constant threat from the Germans. Therefore, I’ve dispatched Deputy Commander General Zakharov to that area to oversee the defense of the city of Sun Mountain – Klin.” He added, “He reported to me that there’s a tank division of our army stationed about 20 kilometers from Klin, belonging to the 30th Army. He hopes I can have the front commanders discuss with Konev the possibility of placing that division under our command.”

After hearing Rokossovsky's words, Sokolovsky quickly offered his opinion: "General Rokossovsky, that tank division belongs to another army group, and that army group belongs to General Konev's Kalinin Front. Even if I and the commander negotiate, I'm afraid the other side will not agree to assign this tank division to us."

Seeing Rokossovsky's disappointed expression, he quickly added, "While it's unlikely that they'll give you their tank division, I think General Konev would agree to have them assist in the operation."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Rokossovsky had come specifically to see Sokolovsky, hoping he could negotiate with Konev to allow the tank division stationed in Greentown to assist the garrison in the upcoming battle. Hearing Sokolovsky bring this up, he quickly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, thank you so much!"

Having received Sokolovsky's promise, Rokossovsky did not linger at the front headquarters, as he had more important matters to attend to upon his return.

As Rokossovsky entered his army group headquarters, Malinin rushed up to him, eagerly asking, "Comrade Commander, what's the situation? Has General Zhukov agreed to our proposal to withdraw our troops to the Istra Reservoir area to set up new defenses?"

"I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, I'm afraid the news I bring will disappoint you." Rokossovsky shook his head and said, "Our proposal was rejected by Zhukov. At the same time, he gave us new orders, which are to hold the existing positions at all costs and not to retreat an inch."

Upon hearing this, Ma Lining immediately frowned.

Before Malinin could speak, Zakharov asked anxiously, "Comrade Commander, have you spoken to General Zhukov about the tank division?"

“No, Comrade Deputy Commander, I didn’t mention the tank division to Zhukov.” After saying this, Rokossovsky quickly added, seeing Zakharov’s dejected look, “Although I didn’t mention it to Zhukov, I did report it to the Front Chief of Staff, Sokolovsky. He has promised to contact General Konev. Although we don’t expect him to put the tank division under our command, getting them to assist us in combat shouldn’t be a big problem.”

Upon hearing this, Zakharov was overjoyed: "Comrade Commander, this is wonderful! As long as our friendly tank division can cooperate in the operation, our chances of holding Klin will greatly increase."

"Comrade Commander!" Ma Lining interjected, "Is our retreat plan canceled?"

"No, our evacuation plan will not be canceled."

"But wasn't your request rejected by Zhukov?"

“Although Zhukov rejected our request to retreat, we can request retreat from others,” Rokossovsky said. “They should agree.” “Who are you going to request retreat from?” Malinin asked, secretly wondering to himself, who else could directly command the 16th Army besides Zhukov?

The answer was revealed in the next moment.

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I intend to contact the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Shaposhnikov, directly and request his permission for my troops to withdraw to the Istra Reservoir."

With the help of the communications officer, they quickly got through to the General Staff.

When Shaposhnikov's aged and slightly weak voice came through the receiver, Rokossovsky immediately identified himself: "Hello, Comrade Marshal! I am Lieutenant General Rokossovsky, Commander of the 16th Army!"

“Oh, it’s General Rokossovsky.” Shaposhnikov asked in a completely flat voice, “What’s the matter with you calling me?”

"It's like this, Comrade Marshal..." Rokossovsky, upon hearing Shaposhnikov's question, quickly gave him a detailed report on the situation facing the 16th Army, and finally tentatively asked, "I requested a withdrawal from Zhukov, but he refused. Now I would like to ask, would you allow us to withdraw?"

Shaposhnikov looked at the enemy and friendly situation map in front of him and realized the seriousness of the problem. However, he did not express his opinion easily. Instead, he said politely, "General Rokossovsky, let me think about this. You can hang up the phone now. I will call you as soon as I make a decision."

After hanging up the phone, Shaposhnikov felt that the matter could not be delayed, so he immediately called Stalin to report on Rokossovsky's situation and tentatively asked, "Comrade Stalin, what do you think we should do about this? Should we allow them to retreat to the Istra Reservoir area to reorganize their defenses?"

After hearing this, Stalin slowly lit his pipe and asked, "Marshal Shaposhnikov, do you really think Rokossovsky's troops can stop the German offensive after they retreat to the Istra Reservoir area?"

"Comrade Stalin, I believe they are fully capable of holding the new defensive zone."

Stalin seemed unsatisfied with this generic answer and instead asked, "Can we really hold out?"

After a moment's thought, Shaposhnikov made a decisive decision and replied with certainty, "Comrade Stalin, I believe that Rokossovsky and his men will be able to stop the German advance in the new defensive zone."

After listening to the old marshal's words, Stalin nodded slightly and then instructed him: "In that case, call General Rokossovsky and ask him to allow his troops to withdraw to the Istra Reservoir area to organize a new defense."

Now that he had Stalin's permission, Shaposhnikov felt emboldened. After ending his call with Stalin, he dialed Rokossovsky's headquarters directly: "General Rokossovsky, this is Shaposhnikov!"

"Hello! Boris Mikhailovich!" Rokossovsky greeted Shaposhnikov by his given name and father's name with familiarity, and asked politely, "Do you agree with my army group's proposal to retreat to the Istra Reservoir?"

“I agree!” Shaposhnikov said. “After careful consideration, I think your proposal to retreat to the Istra Reservoir area to reorganize the defenses is entirely correct. Therefore, I allow you to immediately begin an orderly withdrawal to the Istra Reservoir area according to plan.”

After putting down the microphone, Rokossovsky excitedly pumped his fist and said to Malinin, Zakharov, and Lobachev, who were looking at him expectantly, "Marshal Shaposhnikov has agreed to allow our troops to withdraw to the Istra Reservoir area."

When Malinin heard this, there was no joy on his face. He asked seriously, "Comrade Commander, although Marshal Shaposhnikov agreed to our request to retreat, is it really appropriate to bypass the Front Headquarters at this time?"

“There’s nothing inappropriate about it,” Rokossovsky said with a smile. “I’ve known Boris Mikhailovich for many years before the war and I know his character very well. He must have consulted the Supreme Commander himself before making such a decision. In other words, the order to allow us to retreat to the Istra Reservoir was given by Comrade Stalin. Even if Zhukov knew about it, he probably could only watch helplessly.”

Rokossovsky's words gave Malinin some confidence, and he nodded vigorously, asking in return, "Then when will our troops begin to retreat?"

"Tonight," Rokossovsky replied without hesitation. "The withdrawal will begin tonight. Comrade Chief of Staff, you will later formulate a withdrawal plan and arrange for the troops under the army group to withdraw from their existing positions in an orderly manner, avoiding unnecessary chaos."

When Malinin called the commanders of the army group's subordinate units, Zakharov tentatively asked Rokossovsky, "Comrade Commander, may I return to Klin? I want to meet with the commander of the tank division as soon as possible to discuss the upcoming joint operations."

“Of course you can.” Rokossovsky nodded in agreement to Zakharov’s request and specifically instructed him, “When you pass through Sun Mountain City, remember to remind Misha not to let his guard down just because the enemy is not attacking the city for the time being, lest the enemy catch him off guard.”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Zakharov nodded in response, "I will convey your message to him."

An hour later, Zakharov appeared at Sokov's command post.

Upon seeing Zakharov, Sokov was also quite surprised: "Comrade Deputy Commander, you're back?!"

“Yes, everything that needed to be done has been done, so naturally I must return to my post,” Zakharov said. “Is there anything different here in Sun Mountain City?”

"No," Sokov answered decisively. "So far, we haven't found any trace of the enemy. They probably haven't recovered from their last defeat and won't launch an attack on our city until the conditions are right."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, before I came back, the commander asked me to pass on a message to you."

"What?"

"We cannot let our guard down just because the enemy is not attacking the city for the time being, otherwise we may be caught off guard."

(End of this chapter)