red moscow

Chapter 3002

Just as Zakharov was about to explain further to Rokossovsky, a huge explosion came from outside, rattling the windows of the room.

"What happened?" Zakharov shouted to the side, "Where outside was there an explosion?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a staff officer rushed in from outside, looking anxious, and said, "Comrades Commanders, a shell has landed and exploded on the street not far from headquarters. It looks like the enemy is preparing to shell the city. For your safety, you should move to the basement first."

Rokossovsky and Zakharov did not refuse the staff officer's suggestion. They called Lobachev and followed him to the basement without incident.

The group had barely entered the basement when the Germans began shelling the city.

Hearing the rumble of artillery outside, Zakharov said with some surprise, "It seems the Germans are getting impatient. They haven't even annihilated the troops in Green City, yet they dare to launch a direct attack on us. Aren't they worried that during the attack, they might be attacked from the flank and rear by the tank division inside Green City?"

Rokossovsky sneered and then said, "Comrade Deputy Commander, I think the fact that the enemy dared to shell Klin at this time shows that they are fully capable of containing the threat from Green City. There is no need to worry about their flanks and rear being attacked by our friendly forces during the attack."

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Zakharov couldn't help but feel a little nervous: "Comrade Commander, I wonder how large an offensive the German army will launch this time? I'm worried that with our current strength, we probably won't be able to hold the city."

"Hold on for as long as we can," Rokossovsky said solemnly. "The more enemy forces we tie down here, the more they can commit to other fronts."

After a pause, he suddenly remembered Zakharov mentioning the withdrawal of troops from Klin, and his face hardened as he asked the other man, "Comrade Deputy Commander, you just said that we should be prepared to withdraw troops from the city at any time. What exactly is going on?"

"Comrade Commander, I was just about to explain this to you when I was interrupted by the sudden artillery fire from the Germans."

"Then tell me, what exactly happened?"

“Here’s the situation,” Zakharov recounted to Rokossovsky his conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Sokov when he was in Sunhill. “I had a special talk with him.” Zakharov then explained in detail how they had discussed how to defend the city. He concluded by emphasizing, “Since you also believe the city is indefensible, we should make plans early and open several secret passages leading out of the city. When we launch our counterattack, small units can use these passages to sneak into the city, harass the enemy, and assist the main force outside in recapturing the city.”

Rokossovsky thought for a moment and said to Zakharov, "Using the city's sewers to create secret passages leading out of the city is indeed a good idea. However, I think that creating only secret passages in the south of the city is far from enough. We should create secret passages all around the city. This way, when our army launches a counterattack, we can use these secret passages to send more troops into the city, thereby creating greater chaos for the enemy."

“Well, that’s fine. After the enemy’s shelling ends, I will arrange for people to open a secret passage leading out of the city as soon as possible.” After saying this, Zakharov paused for a moment and began to persuade Rokossovsky: “Comrade Commander, I am in charge of the defense of Klin. There is no point in you and Comrade Military Commissioner staying here. You should return to headquarters as soon as possible.”

Rokossovsky did not object to Zakharov's suggestion, nodding and saying, "Alright, after the shelling is over, the military comrade and I will return to headquarters."

The German bombardment of the city lasted for half an hour before abruptly ceasing. Subsequently, their infantry, under the cover of dozens of tanks, launched an attack on the defensive positions in the north of the city.

Rokossovsky and his men emerged from the basement and saw that many buildings outside were on fire due to the shelling, with thick smoke and flames billowing from the shattered windows. Countless residents, young and old, fleeing their homes, carrying suitcases and packages, fled south along the streets.

Seeing this, Rokossovsky said to Zakharov, "Comrade Deputy Commander, many buildings in the city are on fire. You should organize people to put out the fires first. Also, you should arrange for another group of people to guide these residents to leave the city from the south."

Zakharov knew very well that although most of the fleeing residents were heading south along the streets, some might have been so terrified that they had wandered headlong into the north, where battle was about to break out. If they unfortunately entered the fighting zone, their chances of survival were slim.

“Yes, Commander. I will arrange for people to guide these residents to evacuate the city immediately.” After saying this, Zakharov reminded Rokossovsky again: “The battle is about to begin, you and the Military Commissioner should leave the city as soon as possible.”

After Rokossovsky and the others got into the car and were about to tell the driver to start driving, they heard a shout from not far away: "Wait a minute, Comrade Commander, wait a minute!"

Rokossovsky quickly said to the driver, "Wait a minute, comrade driver!" Then he opened the car door, looked at the officer who was rushing over, and asked, "What is it?"

The officer approached Rokossovsky, and without even saluting, said breathlessly, "Comrade Commander, this is a telegram forwarded from the Army Group Headquarters..."

Fearing that something unusual might have happened to Malinin after he left, Rokossovsky grabbed the telegram from the officer's hand and quickly scanned it.

Lobachev, sitting next to Rokossovsky, shared the same sentiment. Seeing Rokossovsky reading the telegram, he also leaned over and tilted his head to look at the contents.

After reading the telegram, both men breathed a sigh of relief. Zakharov, who had just walked away, learned that Rokossovsky had received a telegram and turned back to ask, "Comrade Commander, has something happened with Chief of Staff Malinin?"

“No. The situation on Chief of Staff Malinin’s side is very stable.” Rokossovsky shook his head and said, “It was a telegram from the General Staff, asking me and Comrade Military Commissioner to return to Moscow to report to the head of the General Staff in person.”

Zakharov considered a possibility and asked with concern, "Comrade Commander, is the reason you are being sent back to Moscow at this time because of the fall of Volokolamsk, and your superiors intend to hold you accountable, remove you from your post, and then send you to a military court?"

In response to Zakharov's concerns, Rokossovsky smiled: "Comrade Deputy Commander, you're overthinking it. I think it's about the retreat orders from two days ago. After all, the retreat to the Istra Reservoir was approved by Marshal Shaposhnikov, the Chief of the General Staff, but it was abruptly halted by General Zhukov during the retreat. The troops received two completely contradictory orders in a very short period of time, so naturally they needed to explain to their superiors."

"Oh, I see." After understanding what was going on, Zakharov nodded slightly. "Then I wish you a safe journey!" With that, he reached out and closed the car door for Rokossovsky.

After the vehicle started, Rokossovsky rolled down the window and shouted to Zakharov, "Comrade Deputy Commander, if anything happens, remember to contact Colonel Malinin immediately. He will find a way to help you solve the problem."

Zakharov waved to Rokossovsky and shouted, "Don't worry, I will!"

After leaving Klin, the vehicle could not pick up speed because the road ahead was blocked by fleeing refugees.

Seeing the crowds ahead, the driver couldn't help but get anxious: "Comrade Commander, the road ahead is blocked by refugees. If we don't leave here soon, once the German planes appear, we'll be stuck here and get bombed."

Rokossovsky understood the driver's words perfectly well, but he hadn't brought many guards with him this time, and relying on them to clear the roads was clearly unrealistic. He sighed softly and said, "It's alright, let's just drive slowly. Maybe at the fork in the road ahead, the fleeing crowd will disperse, and then we can speed things up."

The convoy finally reached a fork in the road, but few refugees left the main road. They clearly believed that only by following the road they had started on could they reach a safe place.

Seeing this, the driver stepped on the brakes, stopped the car at the intersection, and turned to Rokossovsky, who was sitting in the back seat, to ask for instructions: "Comrade Commander, what should we do? The road ahead is still blocked by refugees."

Rokossovsky looked ahead and realized that his earlier guess was wrong. The road ahead was still completely blocked by refugees. Under these circumstances, it was obviously unrealistic to ask the convoy to speed up.

After figuring this out, he asked the driver, "Driver, will we be able to get to Moscow if we take this road?"

“Of course, of course.” The driver pointed to the road next to him and said, “We’ll take this road. Although it’s a bit of a detour, at least we don’t have to worry about refugees blocking the way and affecting our speed.”

Rokossovsky glanced at his watch. An hour had passed since he left Klin, and his car had only moved less than two kilometers. At this rate, it would probably be late at night by the time he arrived in Moscow.

Thinking of this, he said to the driver, "Driver, let's take the road next to us."

The driver agreed, immediately started the vehicle, and drove onto the side road.

Although the vehicles following behind did not understand what was happening, they saw that the commander's jeep had entered the side road and followed suit.

While Rokossovsky's convoy was on its way, Shaposhnikov, far away in Kuibyshev, called Vasilevsky, the head of the General Staff group remaining in Moscow: "Comrade Vasilevsky, has Rokossovsky arrived at the General Staff Headquarters yet?"

“No, Comrade Marshal,” Vasilevsky replied. “I haven’t seen General Rokossovsky yet; he must be on his way to Moscow right now.”

"What's going on?!" Shaposhnikov muttered. "The telegram was sent to him two or three hours ago, why hasn't it arrived yet?"

"Comrade Marshal!" Vasilevsky sensed a hint of displeasure in Shaposhnikov's tone and quickly defended Rokossovsky, saying, "I think General Rokossovsky might have been delayed on the way. But don't worry, I will call you immediately to report as soon as I see him."

Shaposhnikov was satisfied with Vasilevsky's reply, gave him a few more instructions, and then hung up the phone.

(End of this chapter)