As soon as Manturov picked up the phone, he heard a familiar voice, "Vladimir Fedorovich, I'm Joseph Stalin." Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ”

As soon as Manturov heard this voice, his nerves suddenly tensed, "Comrade Stalin, what are you looking for me?" ”

Stalin on the other end of the phone took a puff of his cigarette and said: "First of all, I would like to commend you for your contribution to the battlefield. Previously, you planned Operation Suvorov, led the Southwestern Front, eliminated 6 German divisions in the vicinity of Dubno, Lutsk and Brody, and inflicted heavy losses on the German Army Group South.

And the T-34 medium tanks produced by your organization, as well as new aircraft such as the La-7 and Yak-3, have achieved brilliant results on the battlefield, repeatedly repelling the attacks of enemy armored clusters, preventing gaps again and again, dealing a great blow to the German fascist army, and also disrupting the deployment of enemy troops!

It is undeniable that these contributions have played a very positive and positive role in the development of the war. But it is also undeniable that you have carried out large-scale upgrading works on the fortifications along the old border without the approval of the Politburo and the Ministry of Defense. ”

Now that Manturov has to admit that he has done these disgraceful things.

"Yes, I admit that I did make a mistake in this matter, mobilizing a lot of manpower and material resources to upgrade the fortifications without approval, and not doing things in accordance with procedures and principles."

Stalin's tiger-like tawny eyes began to show a hint of displeasure, "At that time, why did you do this? Are you worried about not getting the approval of the Politburo? ”

Somehow, Manturov's palms began to sweat, and the phone in his hand almost slipped like soap. "Yes, I was worried about not getting approval."

"Why are you so worried?"

"At that time, as far as I knew, almost all the comrades of the Politburo and the People's Commissariat of Defense had a tendency to overestimate the strength of our army.

Before the outbreak of the war, many people thought that we could easily destroy the German invading army, but I did not think that our army had such strength. On the contrary, it is very likely that our 'Molotov Line' on the new border will be broken through by the Germans in a short time, and they will most likely occupy a large part of our country in a short time. Manturov explained tremblingly.

Indeed, before the outbreak of the war, all members of the Politburo, including Stalin, thought that their army would be able to easily defeat the Germans. Under these circumstances, the construction of fortifications on the old defensive line, which was more than 300 kilometers away from the new border, was unnecessary for any member of the Politburo.

Stalin nodded and said: "At that time, I also had such thoughts. If you had applied for a large-scale construction of fortifications on the old border, it would have been almost impossible to get approval from the Politburo. ”

"Yes, I expected such a scenario, but for the sake of the security of the country, I made my own decision......

"Thankfully, you made your own decision. Now, both the Western Front and the Northwest Front have begun to retreat to the old border, and will defend along the fortifications on the old border that you have upgraded to resist the attack of the German fascist invading army, and when we have enough troops and weapons, we will launch a large-scale counteroffensive to destroy the enemy in one fell swoop. ”

Hearing Stalin's words, Manturov's heart was not so nervous, but his white, hairy hands were still trembling. "I feel that during the retreat of the Western Front, our Southwestern Front can send a mechanized army to launch an attack on the fascist German army on the southern flank of the Western Front.

In order to contain the forces of the enemy's 2nd Panzer Group, the Germans were prevented from attacking the Western Front from the north and south. After the armies of the other fronts have retreated to the old border line and started defense, our Southwestern Front will consider retreating. ”

"Just do as you say. By the way, just now the Politburo also passed a resolution that in order to unify the name of the defense line and commemorate your contribution to the construction of the fortification system, we will name this defense line located on the old border after you.

If nothing else, then reel in the line. ”

"Okay." Manturov put down the heavy phone, and also let go of the big stone in his heart that had weighed down for more than a year. Relieved, he was now finally able to concentrate on dealing with the enemy's invasion.

Katya, who was standing beside her, took her sweat-soaked hands and said to her husband, "How is it?" Am I right? ”

Manturov exhaled vigorously, and this breath of air took the pressure out of his heart. "That's right. If Stalin had known about this two months in advance, I am afraid I would have been removed from all posts long ago. ”

"Yes, you worked hard to become the secretary of the state party committee, and then became a minister and deputy prime minister, if you are removed from your post, all your efforts will be in vain."

Manturov hugged his wife tightly in his arms and kissed her snow-white face. At this moment, all he felt was incomparable warmth and peace of mind, "Aren't I fine now?" Stalin not only did not blame me, but named the line of defense after me. ”

"Wait, isn't this line of defense named after Stalin? How did it become you? Katia looked puzzled, according to her historical knowledge, this system of fortifications on the old border should be called the "Stalin Line", how could Stalin get rid of his own name and replace it with the name of a young man?

"Actually, this fortification system did not have a unified name before. The 'Stalin Line' is nothing more than a term used in the foreign press and does not apply to the USSR. ”

"And what's the name of this line of defense? I mean before it was named the 'Manturov Line'. ”

"The fortification system was divided into several fortified districts," Manturov explains: "Each fortified district was named after its geographical location, such as the Pskov Fortress District, the Volynsky New Town, the Levichev Fortress District, and so on. By now you should get the idea, right? ”

"Understood."

At this time, Manturov suddenly remembered something. His hands, leaving Katya's waist, and his feet were already impatient, began to move.

"Volodya, where are you going?" Looking at her husband, who was walking away, Katia asked with concern.

"I'll go to Khrushchev." Manturov's reply was unusually fast, and there was probably something urgent to deal with.

"Don't go! Khrushchev has just returned to Kyiv! What do you have to look for him? ”

"It's nothing, I just want to tell him to prepare for a retreat in the area west of Volynsky."

? (To be continued.) )