Mogilev is the third largest city in Belarus, located about 200 kilometers east of Minsk.

Sensing the intention of the Germans to meet their divisions in Minsk and encircle the main forces of the Western Front, General Pavlov urgently transferred his headquarters here.

This decision was arguably the wisest since the beginning of the war, and on the night of 27 June, as soon as his command was transferred to Mogilev, he heard the bad news that the German 2nd and 3rd Panzer armies had joined forces in the Minsk area.

This bad news meant that four armies of the Western Front, nearly twenty infantry divisions and five mechanized corps of about 400,000 troops were surrounded by the Germans.

"Keep listening to the Germans' radio and let me know as soon as there's anything new." Pavlov said to the intelligence staff.

After speaking, Pavlov walked with heavy steps to the operational command room.

Since moving to Mogilev, communication between the command of the Western Front and its subordinate units has become more and more difficult, and the communication situation with the headquarters of the army group has been somewhat better, but almost all of the subordinate mechanized corps, infantry corps, and divisional units have lost contact.

Forced to have no choice but to listen to the radio released by the Germans to gather intelligence, such as the fact that a certain Soviet infantry division was surrounded by the great German army somewhere.

Back in the operations command room, Pavlov's mind went blank as he stared at the map marked with various red and blue arrows.

The front headquarters and its troops could not be connected, and no matter how good the battle plan was, it could not be communicated, let alone implemented.

On his side, the Chief of Staff of the Front, Major General Klimovsky, was also a master of the six gods. I don't know how to deal with the situation at hand.

At the critical moment, a voice sounded, which sounded as precious to Pavlov as timely rain.

"Comrade Commander. General Zhukov came. ”

Major General Klimovsky raised his head and looked at the main entrance of the command room, and Pavlov walked a few steps to the door, where he bumped into a slightly obese figure.

"Dear Comrade Zhukov, you have finally arrived, how many reinforcements did you bring? We are now in a very dangerous situation, the forces of the enemy's northern and southern flanks have joined forces near Minsk, and the main forces of the front have been surrounded. If you"

Pavlov accompanied Zhukov to the map and gushed about the situation on the battlefield.

Major General Klimovsky did not say a word, but simply rushed ahead of Zhukov's adjutant. He personally took the military cap that Zhukov had taken off and hung it on the coat rack.

Hearing Pavlov's introduction, a layer of oil sweat quickly broke out on Zhukov's broad head.

"What do you say? The enemy is already in the Minsk region? Which two troops? 2nd and 3rd Panzer Armies. Zhukov exclaimed.

"Yes, these are these two troops, the Germans have just broadcast the news." Pavlov said.

"When was it? How many troops were in the encirclement? How many troops do you have at your disposal? Zhukov asked.

Klimovsky pointed to the number of troops marked on the map and said to Zhukov: "Most of the Third and Tenth armies are encircled in the Bialystok area. The main forces of the 13th Army once counterattacked the 3rd Panzer Army in the north. All were routed by the enemy. The headquarters of the Fourth Army and the Command of the Front have lost contact, the current situation is unknown, in short, large forces are also in the encirclement. There were 20 divisions in the encirclement, about 400,000 people. ”

Pavlov continued: "I have at my disposal only the remnants of the 20 Mechanized Corps and the 21st Infantry Corps, and the enemy's radio says that the enemy has just closed the encirclement this afternoon. I think that the intensity of the encirclement is not enough, there will definitely be many gaps that can be exploited, and we must order the troops to hurry up and break through. How many troops do you bring? If there are troops to meet outside the encirclement. Our breakout will be smoother. ”

Zhukov glanced at Pavlov expressionlessly, and took out a white handkerchief to wipe the sweat pouring from his head.

Today is only the seventh day of the outbreak of the war. The enemy had already completed a great encirclement, and the sad thing was that he had been in a hurry before, and he could not receive the battle report forwarded by the Supreme Command in time, and he did not know anything about the battle situation at the front line.

Zhukov did not know that Pavlov did not inform the Supreme High Command at all, and if he had not personally rushed to the command of the Western Front, it is not known how long it would have been to learn about this bad news.

"What are the instructions of the High Command and the General Secretary?" Zhukov asked, after thinking for a few seconds, staring at the map.

Pavlov and Klimovsky looked at each other, opened their mouths, and did not speak, Klimovsky snorted and said: "We also just learned that the main forces of the front army are surrounded, and we are preparing to notify the Supreme Command. ”

Zhukov raised his head sharply, glared at Pavlov and asked: "The Supreme High Command doesn't know yet?" ”

Pavlov weakly avoided Zhukov's gaze and whispered: "Yes, the Supreme Command does not know yet. ”

"Send a report immediately and report the news to the High Command." Zhukov said with a calm face.

Klimovsky immediately complied with Zhukov's instructions.

Zhukov looked at the map again, and after turning his gaze on the map a few times, he suddenly remembered a very important matter.

"You just said that the Third and Tenth Armies were surrounded in the Bialystok area, what is going on?"

"The enemy's 1st Panzer Army stormed the 10th Army in the Bialystok area, and the 10th Army fought very tenaciously and held back the enemy's attack. But to the north of us, the enemy rushed out of the combined part of our North-Western Front, repelled the troops of the Third Army, occupied Grodno, the counterattack of the 11th Mechanized Army was unsuccessful, I let the reserve 13th Army advance to the Grodno area, launched a second counterattack against the enemy, still failed, the enemy set out from Grodno and went south, cutting off the retreat of the 10th Army and the 1st Division of the 3rd Army in the Bialystok area, in that encirclement there were about six or seven divisions. Pavlov said.

With years of experience in the army, Zhukov finally filtered out the course of the war.

Pavlov in order to repel the enemy's threat to the 10th Army. The XIII Army in the Minsk region was allowed to advance and launch a counteroffensive, as a result of which the Minsk region was emptied, and the main forces of the XIII Army were sent into the encirclement.

Zhukov licked his lips. It is really impossible to evaluate Pavlov's behavior, whether it is scolding him or whipping him with a horsewhip, it is no longer helpful.

Pavlov's mistakes, let the Supreme High Command solve them.

Zhukov threw away the resentment of Pavlov in his mind, concentrated all his attention on the map, and said quickly: "Send a report to the command of the Third and Tenth Armies immediately." Tell them that for the defense of the great Soviet Fatherland, for the final victory in the war. All the troops in the encirclement of Bialystok are to be held in place, fighting to the last man, and are not to retreat without my orders. ”

Pavlov shouted: "What do you mean by this? They are already surrounded by enemies. There are no supplies. There are no reinforcements, there are Germans all around, and even the sky above them is flying German planes, and you might as well let them commit suicide if you let them hold on to their positions. ”

Zhukov stared at Klimovsky, whose eyes were also full of doubts, and said: "Add one more order, the troops in the encirclement, try to use cities and villages and towns, especially areas with reserve arsenals to organize defense. Those arsenals must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy intact. ”

Seeing Klimovsky standing there motionless, Zhukov said coldly: "Do you want to disobey?" Comrade Major General? ”

Klimovsky knew. By order of the Supreme High Command, Zhukov had the right to direct the operations of the Western Front.

Seeing Zhukov's incommensurable posture, Klimovsky had no choice but to throw Pavlov and convey the order.

"How far do you think they can go even if they break through with their current situation? Based on the existing fortifications and towns, they can still compete with the enemy's tank forces, and once they choose to break through and leave those fortifications, how long do you think they will be able to hold out in the wilderness? Don't forget, behind them there is an enemy Panzer Army in pursuit. Rather than being easily wiped out by the enemy in the field during the pursuit, it is better to hold on to the spot, delay the attack of the German 1st Panzer Army, and buy time for the rest of the troops to break through. ”

Pavlov clenched his fists, his nails pierced into his palms fiercely, his lips trembled for a long time and he did not speak.

Klimovsky returned to Zhukov and said: "The order has been given. ”

Zhukov pointed to the southern part of the encirclement on the map, marking the direction of the Fourth Army, and said: "We go ahead and order the Fourth Army, as well as the remnants of the nearby Fourteenth Mechanized Army, to break through to the Pripyat swamps in the south, under the command of the Fourth Army. If possible, go straight south, through the Pripyat swamps, and you can reach the jurisdiction of the Central Front of Ukraine, where war has not yet broken out. Remember to add a message to the telegram wishing them good luck. ”

Pavlov did not refute this time, but quietly listened to Zhukov's order, and only after knowing that Zhukov finished speaking, he said: "Remember to let them try not to lose the radio and get in touch with the comrades of the Central Front as soon as possible." ”

Zhukov nodded to Klimovsky and said: "With this article, I will contact the comrades of the Central Front to send someone to meet them." ”

Klimovsky went to send a second telegram, and Zhukov asked Pavlov: "Who is responsible for the current defense of Minsk city?" How many troops are there? ”

"Two divisions of the Second Army, with their well-fortified fortifications, repelled a German counteroffend, so the Germans bypassed the city of Minsk and created an encirclement to the east of the city." Pavlov said.

"It's a pity for these two divisions." Zhukov said softly.

"What do you say? Do you want to," Pavlov shouted as he stared at Zhukov.

"I know, you want to say that these two divisions have the best chance of breaking through, but they can't leave, and once they leave the German occupation of Minsk, it will cause an even greater disaster. So I decided to let these two divisions hold on to their positions. All the troops, starting to break through tonight, the key part of the breakthrough is to the southeast of Minsk, and when the breakthrough is made, the remnants of the 13th Mechanized Army and the 17th Mechanized Army take the lead, gather all the tanks and vehicles they can use, and make a passage for the infantry behind.

Send a telegram to the commander of the Second Army, asking him to collect all the infantry units passing through Minsk, and then leave behind the light combat forces among them, such as infantry and mortar and anti-tank men, and the divisional artillery and radio technicians must not be retained, and ensure that these technical units can be given priority to break through. In short, the later this encirclement is eliminated, the better, even at the expense of half of the troops in the encirclement. Zhukov said.

"How many troops did you bring? Can you launch an attack to meet them? Pavlov asked unrelentingly.

There was great anger in Zhukov's tone.

"Don't you know how to count time yourself? When did I take over as commander of the Front? It's only been a few days now? How many days will it take for the reserve front to pull out from the Tula region here? Doesn't it take time to load and unload trucks, and assemble troops? ”

After a pause, Zhukov let out a few heavy breaths and continued: "Do you think I want to sacrifice my comrades in the encirclement? We had to mobilize our forces and rearrange the defensive line between the Western Dvina and the Dnieper before the Germans wiped out the comrades in the encirclement. The longer the comrades in the encirclement hold out, the stronger the new line of defense will be. ”

"Well, you're right, I obey your orders. If you want to complain, let the comrades in the encirclement resent me, I am the commander of the front, and all the responsibility is borne by me. Pavlov said.

Zhukov stared at the map and gasped, and Pavlov's words touched him deeply.

Who exactly is to blame for the defeat of the Western Front?

Pavlov, of course, made a mistake in command, but a certain general secretary misjudged the direction of the enemy's main attack and placed the main forces of the armored forces in Ukraine, as a result of which the Western Front alone faced the heavy attack of the enemy's three armored armies.

In the face of the heavy losses of the armies of the Western Front, shouldn't the General Secretary blame himself?

It is a pity that this kind of reproach cannot be spoken, and if he encounters the chaotic command of a certain general secretary in the future, he would rather resign than end up with Pavlov, Zhukov secretly made up his mind.

While Zhukov was thinking nonsense, Klimovsky hurried up to him with a telegram, his face extremely pale.

Pavlov noticed the abnormality of his old partner's face and hurriedly asked, "What's the matter?" And which army was wiped out? ”

Klimovsky said: "The Supreme High Command replied, firstly, that the Reserve Front was merged with the Western Front and continued to adopt the title of the Western Front, the commander of which Comrade Zhukov held the position. Second, you and I immediately return to Moscow to report to the High Command. ”

Pavlov's face instantly turned as pale as fresh snow, and he knew well the danger contained in this report.

After hesitating for a moment, Pavlov said to Zhukov weakly: "I'm leaving, the fate of the Western Front is in your hands, remember to kill a few more Germans and avenge me and my fallen comrades." ”

Looking at Pavlov's face, which seemed to be ten years old, Zhukov said sadly: "I will." ”

Zhukov did not expect that this farewell to Pavlov would become a farewell between the two.

Exactly a month later, due to the collapse of the front due to the defeat in battle, Pavlov and Klimovsky were both sentenced to death by a military tribunal, and immediately executed. (To be continued.) )