red moscow

Chapter 3003

After Rokossovsky and his convoy took a side road, the number of refugees fleeing along this road was indeed much smaller, and although the road conditions were poor, the speed of the vehicles increased. In just one hour, they entered the city of Moscow.

The convoy reached the street where the staff headquarters was located, but was blocked by a checkpoint and could not proceed any further.

Upon seeing this, Rokossovsky immediately ordered the driver to stop and wait on the side of the road. He and Lobachev then showed their identification to the soldiers on duty at the checkpoint and walked to the General Staff building not far away.

Before entering the building, the two men were subjected to another thorough search. The officer on duty said expressionlessly, "Commanders, please hand over your weapons."

The two men had no objections and immediately took out their weapons and handed them to the officer on duty.

After registering the two men's gun numbers, the officer on duty wrote a receipt and handed it to them: "When you come out, use this receipt to collect your guns from the duty room."

Before the war, Rokossovsky was a frequent visitor to the General Staff, and he knew the Chief of the General Staff's office like the back of his hand. But this time, he found many things different. For example, all the nameplates on the doors had been removed, and he had no idea what kind of offices were behind those closed doors.

Seeing Rokossovsky standing motionless in the corridor, Lobachev couldn't help but ask curiously, "Comrade Commander, aren't we here to see Comrade Vasilevsky, the head of the General Staff group? Don't you know which office he's in?"

"I really don't know." Rokossovsky pointed to the offices with their doors closed and no nameplates, and said with a wry smile, "These days, all the offices don't have nameplates anymore. I really don't know where the office I'm looking for is."

“If all else fails, we can go downstairs and ask the officer on duty if he knows where the General Staff group’s office is,” Lobachev suggested to Rokossovsky.

"Okay, let's go downstairs and ask the officer on duty. He should know."

The two men hadn't walked far when an office door on their right suddenly opened, and a general with three gold stars on his collar stepped out. He glanced casually at Rokossovsky and his companion, then closed the door and prepared to leave.

Rokossovsky immediately recognized the general who had just come out of the room as Lieutenant General Ivanov, the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and quickly called out to him, "General Ivanov!"

Ivanov stopped when he heard Rokossovsky's shout and looked at Rokossovsky with a puzzled expression, trying to see who was calling him.

After seeing Rokossovsky's face clearly, Ivanov asked with some surprise, "Oh, it's General Rokossovsky. Why aren't you commanding the battle at the front? What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Deputy Chief of the General Staff!" Rokossovsky quickly explained his purpose: "I have been ordered to come and see Vasilevsky, the head of the General Staff group."

"Oh, so you're looking for General Vasilevsky." Ivanov, having ascertained Rokossovsky's background, reached out and pushed open the door he had just closed, saying politely, "He's inside, please go in." Without giving Rokossovsky a chance to speak, he turned and left.

Although the door was ajar, Rokossovsky did not immediately push it open; instead, he knocked twice on the door first.

Someone inside said, "Please come in!"

Rokossovsky and Lobachev straightened their military uniforms before entering the office.

Behind the desk facing the door sat a general wearing the rank of major general. Hearing someone enter, he asked without looking up, "Is there anything else?"

Rokossovsky recognized the general as Vasilevsky, whom he was looking for, and quickly said, "Hello, General Vasilevsky! I am Rokossovsky, and I have been ordered to come and report to you!"

Vasilevsky looked up, and upon recognizing Rokossovsky, immediately rose from behind his desk and shook hands with him. "Hello, General Rokossovsky, I've been waiting for you for quite some time." "There was a slight mishap on the way, which is why I'm late," Rokossovsky said briefly, then tentatively inquired about the reason for his visit: "I wonder what business you have with us here?"

“It’s like this, General Rokossovsky.” After gesturing for the two to sit on the sofa next to him, Vasilevsky began, “A few days ago, Chief of the General Staff Marshal Shaposhnikov agreed to your withdrawal of troops to the Istra Reservoir area, but for some reason, your troops have not yet taken their positions. We called you here today hoping that you could give us a reasonable explanation for this matter.”

When Rokossovsky realized that Vasilevsky had summoned him for the very reason he had suspected, he felt much more at ease. He then recounted to Vasilevsky in detail how he had obtained Marshal Shaposhnikov's approval to issue a retreat order to his troops, and how, during the retreat, he had received a stern order from General Zhukov, forcing him to urgently notify all units to cancel the retreat to the Istra Reservoir and return to their original defense zones as soon as possible.

While Rokossovsky recounted the facts, Vasilevsky diligently took notes in his notebook. After Rokossovsky finished speaking, Vasilevsky put down his pen, looked up at Rokossovsky, and said, "General Rokossovsky, I have read your request to withdraw your troops to the Istra Reservoir to construct new defenses, and I think it is an absolutely correct decision. Your troops here can hold the defensive front with a small force, while freeing up more troops for in-depth defense."

However, General Zhukov's decision to cancel your retreat order cannot be entirely dismissed. After all, his thinking was that even if you couldn't hold off the German advance in the existing area, you could still tie down a large number of enemies, thus buying us valuable time to stockpile supplies and build up our forces.

“You’re right, Comrade Vasilevsky.” Rokossovsky nodded and said, “I thought the same as you, so after receiving Zhukov’s telegram, I decisively ordered the troops to stop retreating and return to their original positions as soon as possible.”

“If possible, I think you should try to stay on your current positions for as long as possible, so that the enemy cannot get close to Moscow in a short time,” Vasilevsky said, looking at Rokossovsky. “If you have any difficulties, feel free to tell me. As long as it is within my ability, I will definitely find a way to solve it.”

"What we lack most is manpower. As the battle has progressed, the units under the army group have suffered more than half of their casualties, and their combat effectiveness has been greatly weakened. If we can get reinforcements, we will be more confident in holding our current positions."

Vasilevsky's face showed an embarrassed expression: "Comrade Rokossovsky, we are sending new reserves to the front almost every day, but because there are too many troops that need to be supplemented and reinforced, we cannot meet the requests of every unit."

When Vasilevsky said he couldn't provide any reinforcements, Rokossovsky, disappointed but still unwilling to give up, asked, "Even if there are no reinforcements, what about equipment? For example, the tanks and artillery that the troops desperately need. You know, my troops have many tank and artillery soldiers, but because their original equipment was lost in battle, these specialized troops have to be used as ordinary infantry, which is a complete waste."

Upon hearing Rokossovsky's words, Vasilevsky picked up a thick booklet from the table, flipped through it, and then looked up and said, "General Rokossovsky, although I cannot replenish your troops, I can provide your forces with a batch of newly manufactured artillery and tanks, so that those artillerymen and tank crews who are currently being used as ordinary infantry can once again use the technical equipment they are familiar with."

Rokossovsky and Lobachev exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes: "This is wonderful! With these tanks and artillery, we can increase our firepower and inflict greater casualties on the enemy."

After chatting for a while, Vasilevsky said to the two men, "It's getting late. You should stay in the city and rest for the night. Return to the front lines tomorrow morning." With that, he picked up the phone on the table, dialed a number, and said into the receiver, "This is Vasilevsky. Come to my office."

After hanging up the phone, Vasilevsky said to Rokossovsky and Lobachev, "I'll have someone take you to your hotel in a bit."

After thanking the other party, Rokossovsky suddenly remembered that he had met Deputy Chief of the General Staff Ivanov before entering the room, and couldn't help but ask, "We just met Deputy Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Ivanov at the door, and he seemed to be in a low mood."

Vasilevsky showed a moment of surprise, but quickly regained his composure. He then pointed to his collar insignia and explained to Rokossovsky, “Comrade Rokossovsky, as you can see, my rank is lower than Comrade Ivanov’s. The Supreme Command originally intended for General Ivanov to be the head of the staff group, but due to a serious mistake he made in his work, which displeased the Supreme Commander, the position fell to me.”

Rokossovsky had always been puzzled. Ivanov had been the deputy chief of the general staff for several years, and in terms of both seniority and rank, he was far superior to Vasilevsky, a newcomer who had only recently joined the general staff. So why wasn't he the one in charge of the staff group? After hearing Vasilevsky's explanation, he realized that Rokossovsky had made a serious mistake, angering Stalin, which led to him losing the position of head of the staff group. It was truly a pity.

There was a knock on the door, and Vasilevsky called out, "Come in!"

The door opened, and a lieutenant walked in. He approached Vasilevsky's desk, stood ramrod straight, and asked respectfully, "Comrade General, what are your instructions?"

Vasilevsky pointed to Rokossovsky and Lobachev and said, “Lieutenant, these two are commanders who have returned from the front. Take them to a nearby hotel, arrange a room for them, and let them get a good night’s rest.”

(End of this chapter)