In the Kremlin's operational command room, Stalin threw down the telegram in his hand like an electric shock and roared: "Impossible, this is absolutely impossible, the German Third Panzer Army is fighting on the territory of Hungary and the Southwestern Front, how can they appear on the territory of Lithuania?" There must be something wrong with this telegram, and immediately let the Northwest Front re-investigate. ”

Zhukov looked at Timoshenko, and Timoshenko looked at Shaposhnikov.

Marshal Shaposhnikov felt a tingling in his right gum, and the shock of Comrade General Secretary was expected by him.

When the defense line on the Neman River was broken through, and the Germans seized two intact bridges across the river in the Alitus area, and the enemy number on the battle report turned out to be the Third Panzer Army, three bad news were seen in a row, not only Stalin, but also Timoshenko and Zhukov were greatly shaken

Stalin was belated, and when he saw this telegram full of tragedy, it was reasonable to roar in anger.

"This is a crime, and the most unforgivable of all treason, and did the commander of the 3rd Mechanized Army not know the importance of the bridge over the river? Why not blow up the bridge? Stalin asked angrily.

"Also, did the Germans have two Third Panzer Armies? Why did the 3rd Panzer Army capture the city of Alitus? Wasn't this unit supposed to fight in Hungary and the South-Western Front? Which one should I believe in the battle reports submitted by these two front armies? ”

Shaposhnikov saw that Zhukov and Timoshenko did not mean to speak first, so he had to bite the bullet and say: "Comrade General Secretary, the Germans will definitely not have two Third Panzer armies, in terms of the current war situation. I am even more convinced that the 3rd Panzer Army on the territory of Lithuania is the real thing. ”

"Why?" Stalin asked, puzzled.

"Comrade Zhukov. Send a telegram from the Western Front to the General Secretary. Shaposhnikov said.

After reading another telegram. Stalin's face was even more ugly.

"The Bialystok salient was attacked by the German 1st Panzer Army on the front, the left flank of the Western Front was attacked by the 2nd Panzer Army, and behind there were the 4th and 9th armies, which is your reason?" Stalin asked.

"Yes, now that the situation is clear, the Germans have dispatched three Panzer armies to attack the Western Front, and their main direction of attack is not in Ukraine, but in Belarus, and we must mobilize reserves as soon as possible to reinforce the Western Front. It must be there before the Western Front is crushed. Shaposhnikov said.

Stalin's face was clouded with a blush, and he was confident that he could find reasons that he could overpower all opposition, pointing out that the main direction of the German attack must be in Ukraine, and strongly advocating that the main forces be placed in Ukraine.

But now there are all kinds of signs that the main direction of the German attack is in Belarus, and all his previous guidance has become a joke, thinking of this, Stalin's sharp eyes look at Zhukov and Timoshenko.

Timoshenko looked down at the map, and Zhukov calmly looked at Stalin.

However, in Stalin's eyes, Zhukov's calm eyes were full of ridicule and ridicule.

Stalin asked in a deep voice: "If the contents of these two telegrams are true." In addition to reinforcing the Western Front, what else do you think we should do? ”

Timoshenko looked up. Staring at Stalin, he said: "Before you arrived, we had already discussed that the German Third Panzer Army broke through the Neman line and threatened the left flank of the Northwestern Front and the right flank of the Western Front, but on the other hand, it was a lone army deep within our territory and sandwiched between the two fronts. We believe that it is necessary for the armies of the two fronts to send armored forces to flank the Third Panzer Army, annihilate it in one fell swoop, and close the gap that has appeared between the lines of the armies of the two fronts. ”

Stalin's eyes lit up and he nodded again and again.

"Good idea, first take out this deep lone army and strike at the arrogance of the Germans. What other battle plans do you have besides this? Stalin said and looked at Zhukov.

"Our initial battle plan was to fight the Germans on the territory of Ukraine," Zhukov said. ”

Hearing Zhukov's mention of Ukraine, Stalin's gaze became sharp again, Zhukov didn't seem to notice it, and said to himself: "So when changing clothes, the new KV series tanks and T-34 tanks give priority to equipping armored forces in Ukraine, and the armored forces of the Western Front and the Northwest Front have a very low rate of changing armor, and they are definitely not the opponents of the German army." I suggest that tank armies on the territory of Ukraine be transferred to Belarus immediately. ”

Only then did Stalin remember not to see the Ukrainian direction, the telegram sent by Marshal Budyonny.

"What are the actions of the German troops in the Ukrainian direction, as well as in Hungary and Romania?"

Zhukov said succinctly: "There is no war on the southern front, it is really a waste of troops for us to put two tank armies there, I think that at least one tank army should be transferred north to Belarus, and we can no longer waste the most elite tank troops on the territory of Ukraine." ”

Hearing Zhukov use the word "waste" twice in a row, Stalin inexplicably felt that Zhukov's gaze was even more sarcastic.

Stalin remained silent, calmed the restless emotions in his heart, and asked Timoshenko: "You also think the same way?" Don't you guys think the Germans are acting strangely in the Ukrainian direction? ”

"It is precisely because of the strange behavior of the Germans in the direction of Ukraine that we decided to move only one tank army north, leaving one tank army in reserve on the territory of Ukraine," Timoshenko said. ”

"I see, you have thought it through. I ordered that a telegram be sent immediately to Marshal Budyonny, that the 1st Tank Army be mobilized to the north, that they should set off tomorrow, and that the coordination of the railways should be done. ”

Timoshenko said: "I will make arrangements accordingly. ”

Stalin nodded and said: "Since we have determined that the main direction of attack of the Germans is in Belarus, the reserve front will also be transferred to the Belarusian direction, and after the reserve front joins the battle, the Belarusian direction needs a general to unify the actions of the reserve front and the Western front." I decided to appoint Comrade Zhukov as commander of the reserve front to take on the heavy task of blocking the main forces of the German army in the Belarusian direction. Comrade Zhukov. Are you willing to take on this task? ”

Zhukov was stunned on the spot. Timoshenko's face was also full of surprise.

Marshal Shaposhnikov was the first to react from shock and hurriedly asked: "After Comrade Zhukov leaves, who will take over the post of chief of staff?" ”

Stalin stared at Zhukov, as if admiring the shocked expression on his face.

After a few puffs of his pipe, Stalin said: "During the absence of Comrade Zhukov, let Comrade Vasilevsky act as Chief of the General Staff." ”

If it was Vasilevsky, he would have been a suitable candidate, Shaposhnikov did not say anything more.

Zhukov understood Stalin's character. The order of the Supreme Leader could not be questioned, but he had to say: "As soon as I hand over to Comrade Vasilevsky, I will go to my post." ”

Stalin said: "After you arrive at the battlefield with the reserve front, you will be in charge of the two fronts in a unified manner. Call me anytime after figuring out the situation, I'll wait. ”

After a simple military meeting, countless radio waves flew out of the Kremlin and out of Moscow to the front.

On the afternoon of 24 June, the day Stalin gave his order, Zhukov began handing over to Lieutenant General Vasilevsky.

Vasilevsky's original post was Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Chief of the Operations Division, and the handover between the two was very smooth. That night, Zhukov set out overnight. Rushed to the Tula region south of Moscow, the place of assembly of the reserve front, to perform the duties of commander of the other front.

On the same day, in the city of Lviv, Ukraine, Lieutenant General Rokossovsky, commander of the First Tank Army of the Soviet Army, received an order from Marshal Budyonny to transfer, and the various corps and divisions under the First Tank Army immediately began to pack up and prepare to take the train north.

Looking at the Pripyat marshland, which is about 400 kilometers long from east to west and 100 kilometers wide from north to south, Rokossovsky has a headache.

This swampy land has a dense network of rivers and swamps, and a third of the area is forested, the largest marshland in Europe and a forbidden place for armored forces.

If their troops want to go north, they must go around this swamp in a big circle before they can enter Belarus, and it will take at least five days to a week.

Precious time could not be wasted, Rokossovsky stared at the Pripyat swamp for a full minute and then said: "Send a telegram to Marshal Budyonny, we need air force support transport planes, I will take people to Belarus first to familiarize themselves with the terrain." ”

In less than an hour, Rokossovsky's request was praised and approved by Marshal Budyonny.

At dawn the next day, Rokossovsky rushed to the Lviv airfield with four staff officers, and then flew to Belarus, leaving only the chief of staff to command the transfer of the army group.

However, an hour later, Rokossovsky had just landed at the airport outside Minsk, the capital of Belarus, and before he could get off the plane, the captain walked into the cabin and said to Rokossovsky: "General, we have just received an order from Kiev, and the command told us to return to Lviv immediately." ”

"Go back now? Including me? Rokossovsky asked in surprise.

"Yes, we must send you back to Lviv at once." The captain said.

"Why?"

"We don't know."

"Alright, let's go." Rokossovsky said depressedly.

What exactly is Marshal Budyonny up to? I've just landed.

With a stomach full of questions, Rokossovsky flew back to Lviv, and just walked into the headquarters of the army group, the chief of staff greeted him and said: "The original mission has been canceled, we will not go to Belarus, we will go to Romania instead." ”

"Why?"

"In Romania, the Fifth Panzer Army under Guderian has launched an offensive, and we are going to assist the Southern Front in stabilizing the situation in Romania."

"Give an order, I'll take someone to Romania first to familiarize yourself with the terrain, and you organize the movement of troops here." Rokossovsky said.

The Chief of Staff nodded gloomily.

"Some of the troops have already set off by train, and some of the troops have already been loaded, and they have to be re-unloaded and recalled to these troops, which is really troublesome."

"Don't complain, complaining won't solve anything. Comrades who contacted the railway department said that the troops who had already set off did not need to unload the cars and went directly to Romania, and those who had already loaded the cars did not need to unload the cars, so that the locomotives changed direction and went directly to the south. ”

In Ukraine, when Rokossovsky was depressed by the change of orders from his superiors, in the far north, in the port of Riga on the Baltic Sea, the commander of the Northwestern Front, Major General Kuznetsov, threw away the telegram in his hand and said to the communications staff officer beside him: "I know, this telegram is archived." ”

The chief of staff asked: "The Supreme High Command ordered us to counterattack the left flank of the German Third Panzer Army, which unit are we going to send?" ”

"The telegram said that we and the Western Front would work together to flank the Third Panzer Army, and even if we didn't send troops, Pavlov would do it, and his troops would be enough to repel the Germans."

The chief of staff asked in surprise: "But if we don't send troops and the supreme commander investigates it, what will we do?" ”

Kuznetsov said in embarrassment: "We only have two mechanized corps in total, and the third mechanized corps is the third mechanized corps that is in front of the third armored army. ”

The chief of staff was silent for a moment.

The 5th Tank Division under the 3rd Mechanized Division was heavily damaged in the Alitus area, and the 2nd Tank Division and the 5th Motorized Division also fought fiercely with the German 6th Panzer Division in the Rasenia area, suffering heavy losses and losing the ability to launch a large-scale offensive.

Without the support of tank troops, only infantry divisions were sent to attack, and the consequences were unimaginable.

As soon as he and Kuznetsov reached an agreement, the task of sending troops to attack the Third Panzer Army was put on hold, and all hope fell on the shoulders of the Western Front.

However, with its huge military strength and six mechanized armies, a great tragedy is unfolding.

When the commander of the Western Front, General Pavlov, received the order to attack the German Third Panzer Army, his reaction was surprisingly consistent with that of Admiral Kuznetsov.

"The units of the 3rd Panzer Army operate in Lithuania, which is the theater of operations of the North-Western Front, let the men of the North-Western Front deal with them. We had to launch a counteroffensive to repel the German troops in the Grodno area, and also to keep the defense of the 10th Army on the front of Bialystok from being breached.

With a slap on the head, Pavlov then said to the staff officers beside him: "Also, the left flank will also launch a counterattack against the German Second Panzer Army." Tank units are needed everywhere, and we do not have the spare forces to carry out this task, so let's give this merit to the comrades of the North-Western Front. ”

Kuznetsov and Pavlov were so clear that they did not inform each other, let alone the Supreme Command, that they would not send troops.

A day later, in the Kremlin, Stalin stood in the operational command headquarters, ignorant of the careful thinking of the commanders of the two fronts at the front, and listened to the report with peace of mind.

Acting Chief of Staff Vasilevsky said: "The order to counterattack the German Third Panzer Army was issued yesterday, and the command of both fronts has already received orders. The 1st Tank Army was also redeployed and was being transferred to Romania. ”

Stalin glanced at Vasilevsky and felt much more pleasing to the eye than to Zhukov.

"We almost fell for the Germans, their main direction of attack is still in Ukraine, I will say that Hitler will definitely not throw Guderian to Romania to do nothing, the direction where Guderian is must be the main direction of attack, there is no doubt about this. In the Belarusian direction, when we repel the 3rd Panzer Army, and by the arrival of the reserve front, the German offensive will be crushed, and the situation there will be stabilized. It's just that I'm wondering if we should take the initiative and let our comrades in the Navy teach the Germans some lessons. ”

"Comrade General Secretary is talking about the Otsell Plan?" Timoshenko said.

"Yes. The Germans invaded our territory, bombed our cities, killed our people, and we had to take revenge. I decided to launch the Otsell Plan at once, to let the Germans, and to let Hitler know the consequences of fighting us. Stalin said.

"I agree, I immediately give orders to the Baltic Fleet." Timoshenko said. (To be continued......)