Red Moscow.

Chapter 2788

In the next week, the battle continued in the Mtsensk area. Although the tank brigade was at a disadvantage compared to the German army in terms of strength and equipment, due to Katukov's excellent command, the tank brigade achieved victory. Not a bad record. During the eight-day battle, 133 enemy tanks were destroyed, 2 aircraft were shot down, and nearly 2,000 German officers and soldiers were killed.

Precisely because of the outstanding performance of the tank brigade, the Orlyol-Tula defense battle commanded by Potapov was recognized by the Supreme Command.

In a meeting of the Supreme Command held shortly afterwards, Voroshilov proposed to Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, General Zhukov returned to Moscow from Leningrad two days ago and took over Konev's command of the Western Front. They are To strengthen their strength, I propose to reorganize the 5th Army and make General Potapov its commander again."

Regarding Voroshilov's proposal, Stalin did not immediately express his position. Instead, he looked at the people attending the meeting and asked: "Comrades, what do you think of Marshal Voroshilov's proposal?"

Marshal Shaposhnikov, who was sitting under Stalin, glanced at everyone's faces and spoke first: "Comrade Stalin, judging from the results of the recent Mtsensk defense battle, if the Third Army is reorganized The 5th Army, and allowing General Potapov to continue to serve as commander, will surely achieve more brilliant results.”

Two marshals were the first to express their stance and set an example for everyone. When the others spoke, they also agreed to rebuild the 5th Army. After all, the German army was getting closer to Moscow, and it was always good to have one more unit to defend the city. However, there are different opinions on whether to let Potapov serve as the commander of the group army. The youngest people's commissar Ustinov said: "I think the candidate for the commander of the 5th Army is still worthy of discussion. You know, the 1st Guards The army is responsible for defending Oryol-Tula. If General Potapov is transferred back, who will take his place? "

"When the 1st Guards Army was formed, someone once suggested that General Lelyushenko should serve as the commander of the army." Voroshilov said: "I think he can completely replace Potapov. Duty to command the 1st Guards Corps."

After saying this, Voroshilov looked at Stalin who was sitting there smoking, and asked respectfully: "Comrade Stalin, what do you think?"

Stalin took the pipe out of his mouth, knocked it on the ashtray, and then said: "I agree that Comrade Lelyushenko will succeed Potapov as commander of the Guards Corps. Marshal Shaposhnikov "If we want to reorganize the 5th Army, what troops do you think we can provide now?"

Shaposhnikov took out a small book, looked at it, and then said: "Comrade Stalin, the newly formed 5th Army should include the 132nd and 133rd Infantry Divisions, the 18th, 19th Tank Brigades and 20th Brigade, 36th Motorized Regiment, as well as 4 anti-tank artillery regiments and 5 Guards Mortar Battalions.”

But as soon as Shaposhnikov finished speaking, Stalin frowned: "Marshal Shaposhnikov, I remember that the 36th Motorized Regiment is affiliated with the 1st Guards Army. If it is organized into By joining the 5th Army, doesn’t that weaken the strength of the 1st Guards Army?”

"Comrade Stalin," Shaposhnikov saw the displeasure on Stalin's face and quickly explained to him: "Even if we rebuild the 5th Army today, I'm afraid it will still take a few days to rebuild the units I just mentioned. Arrive at the designated position. The only troops currently available to General Potapov are the 36th Motorized Regiment."

"Oh, that's it." Stalin took out two cigarettes from the cigarette case, crushed them with his fingers, then stuffed the tobacco into the pipe, and said slowly: "Marshal Shaposhnikov, do you think the third cigarette should be replaced?" Where is the 5th Army deployed?”

"Comrade Stalin, the main force of the Western Front, Bryansk Front and Reserve Front, was surrounded by the German Army Group Center in the Vyazma area. The situation west of Moscow is extremely dangerous. I suggest that we can build a front line in Mozhaysk The new defense line, based on the fortification troops, plus the troops I just mentioned, will form a new 5th Army, so that they can form combat effectiveness in a very short period of time. "

"I think it's okay." After Stalin agreed to Shaposhnikov's suggestion, he brought up another matter: "By the way, regarding Lieutenant General Rokossovsky, the commander of the 16th Group Army, he led the army commander without authorization How do you think we should handle the issue of our troops leaving the unit and completely losing contact with their superiors?”

"Comrade Stalin, abandoning his troops on the battlefield and running away is an act of cowardice and must not be tolerated." Molotov, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said: "I suggest that an investigation team be set up immediately and go to the Western Front Headquarters , launch an investigation into this matter.”

Stalin agreed with Molotov's proposal: "I agree with Molotov's proposal. An investigation team should be immediately set up to go to the Western Front Headquarters to investigate Lieutenant General Rokossovsky's bad behavior of abandoning his troops and escaping without authorization. Launch an investigation. I think the members of the investigation team are composed of Voroshilov, Molotov and Bulganin. As soon as the meeting is over, you will rush to the Western Front Headquarters. "

"Okay, Comrade Stalin, as soon as the meeting is over, we will immediately go to the Western Front Headquarters to investigate the matter." Voroshilov asked tentatively: "If the matter is true, then how should we deal with Rokoso "

"Needless to say, he will definitely be sent to a military court." Molotov said angrily: "When the battlefield situation was most critical, as a group army commander, instead of organizing troops to resist, he threw Dismissing troops and escaping, this kind of bad behavior cannot be tolerated.”

After the meeting, Voroshilov, Molotov and Bulganin took a plane and flew directly to the Western Front Headquarters.

When they arrived at the headquarters, they learned that General Zhukov had not officially taken office yet, and that the commander of the troops was still General Konev. After discussion, Voroshilov and two others decided to talk to General Konev and let him He explains the recent defeat of the Western Front.

Faced with Voroshilov's accusation, Konev was naturally unable to admit that it was due to his failure in command that led to the retreat of the Western Front troops, and he immediately started a debate with Voroshilov. Molotov and Bulganin sat nearby without saying a word, watching the two people argue with red faces.

Fortunately, at this time, Zhukov came in from the outside, and the argument between the two parties came to an end for the time being.

Voroshilov stepped forward, held Zhukov's hand, and said with a smile: "Comrade Zhukov, we meet again."

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Zhukov nodded and said, "We haven't seen each other for a month. The last time we met was in Leningrad. I took over the command of the Leningrad Front from you."

Although Voroshilov left Leningrad in despair, he was not discouraged at all. Facts have proved that the decision of the Supreme Command was correct. As Zhukov took over the command of the Leningrad Front, he quickly stabilized the situation, blocked the German troops who tried to break into the city, and defeated their attempts to occupy the city again and again. It was only when Stalin saw that the situation in Leningrad had stabilized that he transferred Zhukov back to Moscow.

After the two briefly exchanged greetings, Zhukov took the initiative to put in a good word for Konev: "Comrade Marshal, I think your criticism of General Konev is somewhat inappropriate. He has been the commander of the Western Front for less than a month. , but it was obviously inappropriate for a commander as good as him to blindly criticize him for four weeks."

Hearing Zhukov speak kind words for himself, Konev cast a grateful look at him. From the moment Voroshilov's three-person team entered the door, he was filled with despair, thinking that like General Pavlov, the first commander of the Western Front, he would be escorted back to Moscow and undergo a military court. In the end, he ended up with his body and head missing. But Zhukov's words gave him hope. Before Zhukov and Konev could carry out the handover ceremony, the door was pushed open and two veteran commanders walked in from the outside.

Zhukov had sharp eyes and recognized at a glance that the people entering the door were Lieutenant General Rokossovsky, the commander of the 16th Army, and Lobachev, the military commissar of the Army.

Seeing the appearance of the two people, everyone's eyes widened in surprise.

Molotov, who had been sitting motionless, stood up, came to Rokossovsky, and asked with a serious expression: "General Rokossovsky, I want to ask you, as the 16th Army Commander, why did you abandon your troops and run away at the most critical moment?"

When Rokossovsky heard what Molotov said, he had a look of astonishment on his face. After taking a deep breath, he said to Molotov: "Comrade Molotov, I did not escape. "I was ordered to hand over the troops to the commander of the 20th Army, General Yershakov, and then lead the members of the Army Headquarters to the Vyazma area to receive new troops."

Voroshilov also came over and asked, "How do you prove that everything you said is true?"

Rokossovsky took out a square piece of paper from his shoulder bag and handed it to Voroshilov: "This is the order I received. On it is the commander of the Front Army Kone. General Husband, and the signatures of Military Commissar Bulganin."

Hearing Rokossovsky mention his name, Konev did not deny it, but nodded and said: "Yes, let General Rokossovsky go to Vyazma to accept the troops, indeed That's the order I gave."

"Comrade Rokossovsky," Zhukov also asked at this moment: "Since General Konev gave you an order to receive troops in the Vyazma area, why didn't you organize a defense there and run to the headquarters? What to do?"

"Comrade Zhukov." Rokossovsky said helplessly: "I was ordered to go to Vyazma to receive the troops. Unexpectedly, when I got there, I found that there was no one there. And it happened that the German vanguard troops broke in again. I had no choice but to leave the city with the members of the command. "

"What's going on, General Konev?" Voroshilov glared at Konev and asked dissatisfied: "Didn't you ask Rokossovsky to go to Vyazma to receive the troops? Why is there such a person there? No one?"

Read the error-free version in 6Ⅹ9ⅩBookⅩ! 6Ⅹ9 Shuyiba publishes a novel for the first time. Read at Liujiu Book Bar

Faced with Voroshilov's doubts, Konev explained in feeble language: "According to the prior plan, there should be five divisions of troops in Vyazma, but unfortunately, these troops were all Got entangled in the battle with the enemy and was unable to reach the designated location as ordered."

Everyone present knew that what Konev said about our troops being entangled by the Germans was just a euphemism. The actual situation was that these troops were surrounded by the Germans and could not reach Vyazma on time. area.

As soon as Rokossovsky finished explaining, the high-frequency phone on the table rang.

Molotov was closest to the phone. He reached out and grabbed the receiver and put it to his ear. Stalin's voice came from inside: "I am Stalin, who are you?"

"Hello, Comrade Stalin." Molotov quickly and respectfully identified himself: "I am Molotov."

"Did Zhukov take over command of the Western Front?"

Molotov did not answer the question immediately, but asked Stalin for instructions: "Comrade Zhukov is by my side. Do I need him to answer the phone?"

"Give him the phone!"

"Hello, Comrade Stalin, I am Zhukov!"

"Comrade Zhukov, the situation on the Western Front is very bad. You must immediately take over command and organize new defenses to block the Germans and prevent them from rushing towards Moscow." Stalin asked on the phone: "What can be done? Are you here?"

"Comrade Stalin, I will do my best." When Zhukov said this, he looked at Konev not far away and continued: "In order to better complete the new deployment, I need a deputy to go to Kalinin area, to command the troops there, and General Konev, the former commander of the Western Front, is very suitable for this position.”

"Since you think he is suitable, let him rush to Kalinin as soon as possible." After Stalin said this, he suddenly thought of Rokossovsky who "escaped from the battle": "By the way, the first man who abandoned his troops and fled Lieutenant General Rokossovsky, commander of the 16th Army, do you have any news about him?”

"Comrade Stalin, Rokossovsky is by my side." Seeing that Stalin had misunderstood, Zhukov quickly explained to him: "He did not abandon his troops and escape, but was following orders from Stalin and Bulganin. , handed over his troops to the commander of the 20th Army Yershako General Hufu then took the members of the Army Headquarters to the Vyazma area to receive new troops. However, these troops were surrounded by the German army and could not arrive at the designated location on time. As a result, Vyazma had no troops. to defend and have to give up.”

"So that's it. It seems that we misunderstood General Rokossovsky." After listening to Zhukov's explanation, Stalin's tone softened: "I heard that he is an excellent commander. He was in Yar some time ago. Cevo and Smolensk fought well. You should equip him with troops as soon as possible and let him organize new defenses in the existing area."

"Okay, Comrade Stalin, I will assign him a task as soon as possible."

(End of chapter)