Sokov waited for Asya to close the door, and then asked Lunev bluntly: "Lunev, my guess has become a reality?"
"Misha, you are right." Lunev nodded and said in a positive tone: "After the German army launched an attack on Zhitomir, the 38th Army was unable to hold on for five days, so it had to abandon the city and attack Breakout in the direction of Kiev."
"This is to be expected." Sokov knew that the two of them came to him for advice today, so he did not talk in circles, "You came to me today, do you want to hear my analysis of the upcoming situation? "
"That's right, General Sokov." Shtemenko rushed to say this time: "Judging from the current situation, the Germans will soon advance to Kiev, and now that Kiev has just been liberated, various defensive measures are not yet in place. , I’m afraid it will be difficult to resist the German attack.”
"Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff," Sokov addressed Shtemenko's position and asked, "I wonder how the weather is in Kiev recently?"
"It's so bad that it rains almost every day, so that when the enemy attacked Zhitomir, we were unable to dispatch the air force to provide necessary air support for the defenders in the city." Shtemenko originally complained. Speaking of this, just after saying it, the whole person was stunned.
Seeing Shtemenko in a daze, Lunev asked with concern: "Sergey, what's wrong with you?"
After a while, Shtemenko woke up from his meditation. He looked at Sokov and asked: "General Sokov, when you asked about the weather in Kiev, do you want to tell me that due to the continuous rain in the area, If the road becomes muddy, the speed of the German tanks advancing towards Kiev will be greatly reduced?"
"Yes, Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff." Sokov nodded and acknowledged the other party's statement, and then continued: "The muddy road slowed down the advance of the German tanks. As a result, the German attack on Kiev will either Delay; or we can only rely on pure infantry attack without armored forces."
"If it was only the German infantry that attacked Kiev, I think our troops should still be able to stop them." After Lunev said this, he turned to Shtemenko and asked: "Sergey, what do you think of my statement? Is it right?"
Shtemenko looked at Lunev and said quietly: "Lunev, don't you know how serious the casualties suffered by the First Ukrainian Front in order to capture Kiev? Even if only German infantry attacked the city, I'm afraid the prospect Not optimistic either.”
"Misha." Hearing what Shtemenko said, Lunev asked Sokov in a panic: "Do you think our troops can defend Kiev?"
Sokov did not immediately answer Lunev's question, but looked at Shtemenko and asked: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, if I guess correctly, the Supreme Command must be preparing to mobilize reserves to reinforce Kiev? "
"Yes, there are three armies heading to Kiev now, one of which is a tank army." Regarding Sokov's guess, Shtemenko did not deny it. After all, he came here today to ask Sokov for advice. , "And after our research, I am afraid that more troops will be mobilized from the reserve team of the headquarters to reinforce Kiev. We must not let the newly liberated city fall into the hands of the Germans again."
"It is foreseeable that Kiev's defense force will be greatly strengthened in the near future." Sokov raised his own question: "But having more troops does not mean that we can defend Kiev. More than two years ago, our army The force assembled in Kiev was even stronger, but in the end not only the city was lost, but also hundreds of thousands of troops. Aren't you worried that you will repeat the same mistake?"
Sokov's words were a bit harsh, and both Shtemenko and Lunev's faces turned livid after hearing it. The last battle of Kiev can be said to be the largest battle of annihilation in the history of human warfare, but regrettably, the Soviet army played the role of the annihilated in it. This matter was a taboo topic for members of the General Staff, but at this moment Sokov actually spoke out without any scruples.
If the person who said this to Shtemenko was an ordinary commander or even a general, he would be scolded. But the person who said this now was Sokov. Shtemenko came here to ask him for advice on how to defend Kiev, so naturally he couldn't lose his temper casually.
After a long time, Shtemenko tried his best to put a smile on his face: "General Sokov, do you think it is possible for our army to hold Kiev?" After asking this question, he may have asked this question consciously. Kove, who might be too scrupulous to speak freely, quickly added, "You just need to say what you really think. Even if you say it wrong, no one will blame you."
"Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, I believe that our commanders and fighters will fight bravely and tenaciously no matter how ferocious the enemy is." Sokov said: "But if we want to defend Kiev, we must rely solely on bravery and tenacity. It’s far from enough, it’s not enough to crush the German conspiracy to retake Kiev.”
"What do you mean?"
"I feel that General Vatutin's ability is not suitable for commanding this Kiev defense battle." Since Shtemenko has stated that no matter what he says, he will not pursue it, Sokov simply tells the truth: " I think other capable commanders should go to Kiev to command the battle."
"Then who do you think is more suitable?"
"I think General Rokossovsky, the commander of the Belarusian Front, is the most suitable candidate."
"Why?"
Sokov remembered that in real history, Stalin was very angry about Vatutin's defeat in Zhitomir, and personally appointed Rokossovsky as the representative of the base camp to go to the First Ukrainian Front to assist Vatutin. He took command and told him: "Go to his headquarters and teach him how to fight." He even hinted that if the opponent is too muddy to hold up the wall, he can replace him if necessary.
It is precisely because of his understanding of this history that Sokov can confidently and boldly express his true thoughts: "The reason why I proposed that Rokossovsky take over the command is because it was his troops who attacked before. Zhou Xiang must have considered the next step after capturing Kiev. General Rokossovsky must have expected the German army to launch a counterattack against Kiev, and he would naturally have a way to deal with it."
"I think what Misha said makes sense." After Sokov finished speaking, Lunev immediately echoed: "Before the war, the Ninth Mechanized Army commanded by General Rokossovsky was stationed in the day care Mir, he is quite familiar with the city and the surrounding area."
Sokov waited for Asya to close the door, and then asked Lunev bluntly: "Lunev, my guess has become a reality?"
"Misha, you are right." Lunev nodded and said in a positive tone: "After the German army launched an attack on Zhitomir, the 38th Army was unable to hold on for five days, so it had to abandon the city and attack Breakout in the direction of Kiev."
"This is to be expected." Sokov knew that the two of them came to him for advice today, so he did not talk in circles, "You came to me today, do you want to hear my analysis of the upcoming situation? "
"That's right, General Sokov." Shtemenko rushed to say this time: "Judging from the current situation, the Germans will soon advance to Kiev, and now that Kiev has just been liberated, various defensive measures are not yet in place. , I’m afraid it will be difficult to resist the German attack.”
"Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff," Sokov addressed Shtemenko's position and asked, "I wonder how the weather is in Kiev recently?"
"It's so bad that it rains almost every day, so that when the enemy attacked Zhitomir, we were unable to dispatch the air force to provide necessary air support for the defenders in the city." Shtemenko originally complained. Speaking of this, just after saying it, the whole person was stunned.
Seeing Shtemenko in a daze, Lunev asked with concern: "Sergey, what's wrong with you?"
After a while, Shtemenko woke up from his meditation. He looked at Sokov and asked: "General Sokov, when you asked about the weather in Kiev, do you want to tell me that due to the continuous rain in the area, If the road becomes muddy, the speed of the German tanks advancing towards Kiev will be greatly reduced?"
"Yes, Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff." Sokov nodded and acknowledged the other party's statement, and then continued: "The muddy road slowed down the advance of the German tanks. As a result, the German attack on Kiev will either Delay; or we can only rely on pure infantry attack without armored forces."
"If it was only the German infantry that attacked Kiev, I think our troops should still be able to stop them." After Lunev said this, he turned to Shtemenko and asked: "Sergey, what do you think of my statement? Is it right?"
Shtemenko looked at Lunev and said quietly: "Lunev, don't you know how serious the casualties suffered by the First Ukrainian Front in order to capture Kiev? Even if only German infantry attacked the city, I'm afraid the prospect Not optimistic either.”
"Misha." Hearing what Shtemenko said, Lunev asked Sokov in a panic: "Do you think our troops can defend Kiev?"
Sokov did not immediately answer Lunev's question, but looked at Shtemenko and asked: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, if I guess correctly, the Supreme Command must be preparing to mobilize reserves to reinforce Kiev? "
"Yes, there are three armies heading to Kiev now, one of which is a tank army." Regarding Sokov's guess, Shtemenko did not deny it. After all, he came here today to ask Sokov for advice. , "And after our research, I am afraid that more troops will be mobilized from the reserve team of the headquarters to reinforce Kiev. We must not let the newly liberated city fall into the hands of the Germans again."
"It is foreseeable that Kiev's defense force will be greatly strengthened in the near future." Sokov raised his own question: "But having more troops does not mean that we can defend Kiev. More than two years ago, our army The force assembled in Kiev was even stronger, but in the end not only the city was lost, but also hundreds of thousands of troops. Aren't you worried that you will repeat the same mistake?"
Sokov's words were a bit harsh, and both Shtemenko and Lunev's faces turned livid after hearing it. The last battle of Kiev can be said to be the largest battle of annihilation in the history of human warfare, but regrettably, the Soviet army played the role of the annihilated in it. This matter was a taboo topic for members of the General Staff, but at this moment Sokov actually spoke out without any scruples.
If the person who said this to Shtemenko was an ordinary commander or even a general, he would be scolded. But the person who said this now was Sokov. Shtemenko came here to ask him for advice on how to defend Kiev, so naturally he couldn't lose his temper casually.
After a long time, Shtemenko tried his best to put a smile on his face: "General Sokov, do you think it is possible for our army to hold Kiev?" After asking this question, he may have asked this question consciously. Kove, who might be too scrupulous to speak freely, quickly added, "You just need to say what you really think. Even if you say it wrong, no one will blame you."
"Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, I believe that our commanders and fighters will fight bravely and tenaciously no matter how ferocious the enemy is." Sokov said: "But if we want to defend Kiev, we must rely solely on bravery and tenacity. It’s far from enough, it’s not enough to crush the German conspiracy to retake Kiev.”
"What do you mean?"
"I feel that General Vatutin's ability is not suitable for commanding this Kiev defense battle." Since Shtemenko has stated that no matter what he says, he will not pursue it, Sokov simply tells the truth: " I think other capable commanders should go to Kiev to command the battle."
"Then who do you think is more suitable?"
"I think General Rokossovsky, the commander of the Belarusian Front, is the most suitable candidate."
"Why?"
Sokov remembered that in real history, Stalin was very angry about Vatutin's defeat in Zhitomir, and personally appointed Rokossovsky as the representative of the base camp to go to the First Ukrainian Front to assist Vatutin. He took command and told him: "Go to his headquarters and teach him how to fight." He even hinted that if the opponent is too muddy to hold up the wall, he can replace him if necessary.
It is precisely because of his understanding of this history that Sokov can confidently and boldly speak out his true thoughts: "The reason why I proposed that Rokossovsky take over the command is because it was his troops who attacked before. Zhou Xiang must have considered the next step after capturing Kiev. General Rokossovsky must have expected the German army to launch a counterattack against Kiev, and he would naturally have a way to deal with it."
"I think what Misha said makes sense." After Sokov finished speaking, Lunev immediately echoed: "Before the war, the Ninth Mechanized Army commanded by General Rokossovsky was stationed in the day care Mir, he is quite familiar with the city and the surrounding area."
It is precisely because of his understanding of this history that Sokov can confidently and boldly speak out his true thoughts: "The reason why I proposed that Rokossovsky take over the command is because it was his troops who attacked before. Zhou Xiang must have considered the next step after capturing Kiev. General Rokossovsky must have expected the German army to launch a counterattack against Kiev, and he would naturally have a way to deal with it."
