With the establishment of the landing ground of the 3rd Army on the left bank of the Zusha River, the Bryansk Front had an offensive starting point from which to attack the city of Orel at any time. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

In late August, with the deterioration of the situation in the Stalingrad direction, the Soviet High Command was ready to take some necessary measures to pin down the forces of the German troops so that they could not continue to advance unscrupulously towards the banks of the Volga. Therefore, Rokossovsky and the commander of the Voronezh Front, Vatutin, were urgently recalled to Moscow.

The former commander of the Voronezh Front, General Golikov, has been transferred to the post of deputy commander of the newly formed South-Eastern Front and commander of the 1st Guards Army, responsible for support operations in the Stalingrad direction.

In Stalin's office, Rokossovsky met Vatutin, and after shaking hands, the two sat down to Stalin's right and left and began to discuss today's topic - the liberation of Voronezh.

Located at the confluence of the Voronezh and Don rivers, Voronezh was an important industrial and cultural center of the Soviet Union, as well as an important river port and the junction of the Moscow-Kiev railway line. Since the city was captured by Weix's 2nd Army, Vatutin has launched several counterattacks in an attempt to drive the Germans away from the city, but all of them have failed.

After Stalin lit his cigarette butt, he looked at Vatutin and said: "Comrade Vatutin, you and Rokossovsky have been called here today to discuss how to liberate the city of Voronezh. ”

Vatutin stood up and said respectfully to Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, according to the plan we have drawn up, we intend to force the crossing of the Voronezh and Don rivers in the near future and to launch another attack on the city of Voronezh from the east. At this point, he turned his gaze to Rokossovsky, "In order to achieve this operational goal, the 38th Army on the right flank of the Bryansk Front is needed to take active action on the west bank of the river crossing to contain the German forces." ”

After hearing this, Stalin nodded, then turned his head to Rokossovsky's side and asked: "Then what do you think, Konstantin Konstantinovich?" ”

Rokossovsky noticed that when Stalin called himself by his real name and his patronymic, a trace of envy flashed in the eyes of Vatutin. He froze and said: "Comrade Stalin, I think that if General Vatutin's battle plan can continue to be properly adjusted, perhaps we will be able to liberate the city of Voronezh, which is occupied by the Germans, in this offensive campaign." ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Stalin's eyebrows rose up, and then he asked curiously: "How to adjust?" ”

"As far as I know, General Vatutin has tried more than once to take Voronezh by attacking from the east. His operation was unsuccessful because our troops had to force their way across the Don and Voronezh rivers under heavy German artillery fire before they could storm the city. In this way, when our troops reach the city of Voronezh, their combat effectiveness will be weakened by repeated attacks. Rokossovsky suggested to Stalin: "I feel that it is possible to take advantage of the advantageous position of the 38th Army, which threatens the Germans north of Voronezh, to carry out the main assault not from the east bank of the Don, but from the west bank." To do this, we only need to transfer more troops to the offensive area in the form of a covert march. ”

Seeing that Stalin remained silent, Rokossovsky increased the speed of his speech: "If our army adopts this combat plan, it will allow our army to enter the rear of the enemy occupying the city by assaulting the flank of the enemy's Voronezh group. At the same time, such a strike will inevitably force the enemy to weaken their forces in the southwestern direction......"

After listening to Rokossovsky's plan, Stalin did not express his opinion, but after exhaling a smoke ring, he turned his head again and asked Vatutin: "Comrade Vatutin, do you have any different opinions about Rokossovsky's plan of operations?" ”

Vatutin stood up again, put his hands on the edge of the table, leaned forward slightly, looked at Rokossovsky and said: "Comrade Rokossovsky, it is undeniable that your proposal is very tempting. If an assault were carried out from the west bank of the Don, the roads there would be smooth, and there would be no obstruction of the Don and Voronezh rivers. But ......"

When Rokossovsky heard Vatutin say the word "but", he knew in his heart that the other party had rejected his proposal, but he was still looking at Vatutin with a normal expression, and listened to him continue with an impassive expression: "But the Germans are not stupid, and what we can take into account, they should be able to take into account." An attack from the west bank of the Don River will not have the effect of taking it by surprise, and our troops will inevitably pay huge casualties in the course of the attack. ”

From Vatutin's words, Rokossovsky sensed that the other side was worried that if the west bank of the Don River was the main direction of attack, his front army would be reduced to a supporting role, so he tried his best to oppose his proposal. Thinking of this, Rokossovsky added: "Comrade Vatutin, I ask you to think again about my proposal. If you do attack from the west bank of the Don River, you will still play the leading role with your Voronezh Front, and I will put all the troops I can collect under your command without affecting my own defense. ”

To Rokossovsky's proposal, Vatutin was unmoved, and he stubbornly said: "Comrade Stalin, in order to seize the city of Voronezh, we have already made a lot of preparations, and if the direction of the offensive is suddenly shifted to the west bank of the Don River, then everything we have done in the early stage will be in vain, and we will have to send people to reconnoiter behind enemy lines and reformulate a new combat plan."

If we do not act as soon as possible, it will become more difficult for us to seize this area after the Germans have strengthened their defenses in the Voronezh direction. The situation in the Stalingrad direction is very serious now, and if we win a victory on the west bank of the Don, we will be able to effectively contain a part of the German forces......"

Stalin was apparently persuaded by Vatutin's last words that the 4th Panzer Army of Hort and Boris's 6th Army were advancing towards Stalingrad, that the Soviets had made a stubborn defense, but the effect was not obvious, that the Germans had broken through the defenses of the 62nd Army and had successfully captured Karachi, and that it was possible to rush under Stalingrad at any time, so any action that could delay the German advance was necessary.

He gently knocked the soot from his pipe in the ashtray, and then said unhurriedly: "Since Comrade Vatutin has drawn up a detailed battle plan, the attack on Voronezh will be launched from the east bank of the Don River. In order to strengthen your forces, I am going to draw a few corps from the base camp reserve, as well as several Guards mortar regiments armed with M-31 rocket launchers to give you command. At the same time," he said, turning his head to Rokossovsky, "you should do everything possible to give them adequate support when the Voronezh Front attacks." ”

"Understood, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky hurriedly replied: "I will temporarily assign General Chibisov's 38th Army to the command of Commander Vatutin." ”

"As for how you will cooperate with each other, you will talk about it privately." Stalin waved his hand at the two and said, "I have something to deal with, so you can go out first." ”

Rokossovsky and Vatutin hurriedly raised their hands to salute Stalin, then turned and walked out of the office. After leaving the office, the two went to Vasilevsky's temporary office.

Seeing the two entering the door, Vasilevsky guessed the meaning of the two. While shaking hands with them, he politely asked: "Are you here to attack Voronezh?" ”

"That's right," Vatutin nodded, and said ambitiously, "Comrade Stalin has agreed to our plan of attack, Comrade Chief of the General Staff, I came to you to receive several corps of the base camp reserve. ”

Vasilevsky, who had just been officially appointed chief of the General Staff, nodded: "Comrade Stalin has called me to inform me of the matter of the reserves, and I have already arranged for someone to deal with the matter." And what about you, Comrade Rokossovsky, what is the matter with coming here? ”

"That's right, Comrade Chief of the General Staff." Rokossovsky hurriedly explained to Vasilevsky: "My 38th Army is now north of Voronezh, and when Vatutin's troops attack Voronezh, they will also be able to enter the battle. In order to allow Comrade Vatutin to command this unit more effectively, I intend to assign this group army to him first, and then let this army return to its command after the offensive campaign is over. ”

Vasilevsky first glanced at the large map on the wall next to him, and after finding the location of the 38th Army, he nodded and said: "Understood, Comrade Rokossovsky, I will deal with this matter as soon as possible." However, when you go back, you should inform General Chibisov in advance so that he can be mentally prepared. ”

Seeing that the affairs of the 38th Army had been arranged, and Vasilevsky and Vatutin were also ready to discuss the details of the offensive campaign, Rokossovsky felt that there was no need to stay here any longer, so he took the initiative to bid farewell to Vasilevsky: "Comrade Chief of the General Staff, you are going to discuss the battle plan for the liberation of Voronezh next, and it is not suitable for me to stay here, so I will leave first." ”

Vasilevsky did not hold back, got up and shook hands with Rokossovsky, and said politely: "I wish you a safe journey!" ”

Vatutin, on the other hand, said gratefully, because Rokossovsky had taken the initiative to assign an army group to his command: "Comrade Rokossovsky, thank you for your generosity, please rest assured that in the battle for the liberation of Voronezh, I will definitely use General Chibisov's troops reasonably." ”