Rokossovsky was transferred to the Second Belarusian Front as commander, and the original commander, General Zakharov, was naturally and inevitably affected.
Zakharov did not know that his position was in jeopardy, so when he received a call from Antonov, he still laughed and asked: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, why did you think of calling me today?"
"General Zakharov." Unexpectedly, his old acquaintance Antonov said seriously today: "On behalf of the Supreme Command, I have something to inform you."
Hearing that Antonov's tone was different from usual, Zakharov also realized that something might have happened, and quickly asked: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, please tell me quickly, what is it?"
"After study by the Supreme Command, it has been decided to relieve you from your post as Commander of the Second Belarusian Front."
Even if thunder exploded around Zakharov at this moment, it would not be as shocking as the news Antonov said. He held the microphone and was stunned for a long time, then murmured and asked: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, I would like to ask why the headquarters dismissed me from my post. Did I make any mistake?"
"Comrade General," Antonov heard the anger in Zakharov's tone and quickly explained to him: "The reason why the Supreme Command made such a decision is because the direction of the Second Front Army is very important. It is important and requires a more capable commander to take charge, so you will be relieved of your duties."
"Who is it?" Zaharov asked angrily: "I wonder who the superiors are planning to send to take over my position?"
"Your old superior, Marshal Rokossovsky." Antonov said slowly: "He has been relieved of his position as commander of the First Front Army and transferred to the position of commander of the Second Front Army."
Zakharov was both Rokossovsky’s old friend and his old subordinate. As early as during the Moscow Defense War, he served as the deputy commander of the 16th Army and assisted Rokossovsky in fighting the German attack. When he learned that the person who came to take over his position was actually Rokossovsky, most of Zaharov's anger disappeared immediately.
If someone else took over his position, he would definitely have objections, but he knew what his old superior was capable of. He took a deep breath and tried his best to ask in a calm tone: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, I would like to ask why Marshal Rokossovsky was transferred to us? After he left the First Front, what Who will command this army?"
Antonov considered that the new personnel appointments had been officially announced and there was no problem of leaks, so he told him truthfully: "The Supreme Commander himself believes that to completely end the war in the West, the First and Second Belarusian Fronts are needed. , and the close cooperation between the three units of the 1st Ukrainian Front. Therefore, these three fronts must be equipped with capable commanders. Rokossovsky will serve as commander of your front, and the position he will vacate will be Marshal Zhukov takes over."
"Comrade Chief of General Staff," Zakharov waited for Antonov to finish and then asked again: "I wonder what the headquarters will do with me after I am relieved of my duties?"
Antonov did not answer Zakharov's question directly, but asked: "Comrade General, I want to hear your thoughts, where do you plan to go?"
Zakharov knew that after he was dismissed, it would be impossible for him to become the commander of the front army again. His best choice was to stay in the familiar army and work with his familiar old superiors. Thinking of this, he said into the microphone: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, I want to continue to stay in the Second Belarusian Front and serve as Marshal Rokossovsky's deputy. Please approve."
Regarding Zakharov's request, Antonov thought about it and felt that this was also a good choice. Nowadays, the positions of front army commanders and deputy commanders on all fronts are full. It is really not easy to arrange a front army commander who has just been dismissed. You can't let someone else be the group army commander, right? In that case, everyone would think that he had made some serious mistake, otherwise he would not have been demoted by his superiors.
Antonov said readily: "Okay, Comrade General, I agree with you to stay in the Second Front Army as deputy commander. But I also need to report to the Supreme Commander himself and seek his approval. Therefore, your official appointment , it may take a few days to make an announcement.”
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." After hearing that Antonov agreed to stay in the Second Front, Zakharov suddenly felt much more at ease. He quickly expressed his position: "As long as I can continue to stay here, no matter how long I wait, It doesn’t matter if it’s a few days.”
In order to welcome Rokossovsky's arrival, he called Chief of Staff Bogolyubov and told him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, call the commanders of each group army immediately and ask them to rush to the headquarters immediately for a meeting."
Bogolyubov asked with some surprise: "Comrade Commander, what happened? Why did you suddenly want to call all the group army commanders for a meeting?"
"I just received a call from Chief of General Staff Antonov." Zakharov sighed softly and said, "I am about to be relieved of my post as commander of the Second Belarusian Front."
As soon as Zakharov said this, not only Bogolyubov was shocked, but even the military commissar Suboting could not sit still: "Comrade Commander, what happened? Why are you removed from your post?"
Seeing that both of them were caring about him, Zakharov was moved and repeated to them what Antonov said on the phone. Finally, he said: "That's what happened. I summoned the commanders of all group armies. The meeting was held to inform them of this important personnel change."
After listening to Zakharov's story, although Bogolyubov and Subbotin felt sorry, they could accept it to some extent. After all, Rokossovsky's military commanding ability was obvious to all.
Bogolyubov quickly called the heads of each group army and asked them to rush to the front army headquarters to gather immediately. Since the recent fighting was not intense, it took less than an hour for these senior commanders to arrive at the front headquarters after being notified.
The last one to arrive was General Tsvetaev, commander of the 33rd Army. When he and his deputies entered the room, the commanders of the other army groups were already sitting in the room. Seeing Tsvetaev coming in, Bogolyubov nodded to him, and then said: "General Tsvetaev, please find a place to sit down, our meeting will start soon."
Tsvetayev found an empty seat and sat down. When he saw General Gorbatov, commander of the 3rd Army, sitting next to him, he lowered his voice and asked: "Hey, man, Comrade Commander summoned us today." Is there anything important here?"
"I don't know either." Gorbatov shrugged his shoulders and said with a confused look on his face: "I was inspecting the army. After getting the order, I rushed over immediately. I don't know what happened."
When Zakharov saw that all the commanders who had been notified of the meeting had arrived, he stood up, coughed lightly, and then said: "Comrade commanders, we have been summoned here today for an important matter. , I want to announce to you." At this point, he fell silent. After all, it was not easy to personally announce the news of his dismissal in front of a group of senior commanders.
Seeing that Zakharov was halfway through his words, he stopped. The army leaders sitting below looked at each other in confusion, thinking: What happened to Comrade Commander today and why he spoke so hesitantly.
Fortunately, Zakharov's pause did not last long. He continued: "According to the order from the base camp, starting from today, I will no longer serve as the commander of the Second Belarusian Front."
There was an uproar in the conference room. Except for several front army leaders who had already known the situation and remained calm, the group army leaders sitting below began to discuss why the headquarters suddenly dismissed Zakharov. Zakharov just stood there with his hands behind his back. He did not stop his subordinates who were whispering, nor did he explain the reason to them, allowing them to discuss.
After everyone's discussion came to an end, Tsvetayev stood up and asked on behalf of everyone: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask why the headquarters suddenly dismissed you from your post?"
"This is the arrangement of the base camp." Zakharov introduced the situation he knew to the subordinates present: "The main force attacking Berlin in the future will be composed of the 2nd and 1st Belarusian Fronts and the 1st Ukrainian Front. In order to To better fulfill this strategic intention, superiors decided to strengthen the leadership of these three forces."
"Comrade Commander, who will take over your post?" Although he heard that it was the arrangement of the base camp, Tsvetayev was still a little unconvinced and said: "Except Marshal Zhukov and Marshal Rokossovsky, I I really can’t think of anyone more suitable for the position of commander than you.”
After Zakharov waited for Tsvetaev to finish speaking, he smiled indifferently and continued: "General Tsvetaev, you are right, whether it is Marshal Zhukov or Marshal Rokossovsky, The commanding talents of both of them are unmatched by mine. Therefore, the superiors plan to let Marshal Rokossovsky take over my position."
I heard that the person who was about to succeed Zakharov was actually Marshal Rokossovsky. The commanders present suddenly felt that this seemed to be a matter of course. After all, they had directly or indirectly accepted his leadership. , still very much recognized his ability.
Before sitting down, Tsvetayev asked one last question: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, where will you go next?"
"I have made a request to my superiors and hope to stay here as Comrade Marshal's deputy." Zaharov also thought about it at this moment. Being able to stay with an excellent commander like Rokossovsky, even if he is only a commander for the rest of his life. A deputy is totally worth it. Therefore, he said with a smile: "Comrade commanders, in the coming days, we will continue to fight side by side until the Japanese invaders are completely defeated."
Just as Zakharov convened a meeting with the commanders of various group armies, Rokossovsky, who had completed the handover of command with Zhukov, drove to the headquarters of the Second Front Army under the escort of a guard company.
But everything he saw along the way made Rokossovsky frown. This is a medium-sized village. The ground is full of large and small craters. About half of the houses have been burned down, leaving only the blackened frames. There was no checkpoint at the entrance of the village, and their convoy drove into the village without anyone coming to question them. Even soldiers passing by the roadside, after seeing the convoy, could only jump from the middle of the road to the side of the road to avoid blocking the path of the convoy.
The guard company commander sitting in the co-pilot seat turned to Rokossovsky and said: "Comrade Marshal, the security here is too lax. There is not even a checkpoint at the entrance of the village. If it is not us but the enemy, they can Directly touching the front headquarters, causing huge damage to the personnel inside."
"You are right, Comrade Captain." Rokossovsky agreed with the guard company commander's statement: "The security here is indeed too lax. After I take office, I must rectify the situation." one time."
The guard company commander was not sure where the convoy should go next. He was about to get out of the car and ask the passing soldiers about the location of the headquarters, but Rokossovsky waved his hand to stop him: "Comrade Captain, you don't have to ask." Now. I can know where Zaharov’s headquarters is.”
The captain asked with some surprise: "Comrade Marshal, have you been here before?"
"No." Rokossovsky shook his head and pointed at the windshield in front: "Look at the big wooden house in the distance. There are a lot of jeeps parked near it. I think it should be Zakharov. A meeting with the commanders below is being convened.”
Zakharov, who was presiding over the meeting, heard that Rokossovsky's motorcade had arrived. He immediately rushed out with the commanders in the room and stood outside the door to welcome Rokossovsky's arrival.
As soon as Rokossovsky's car stopped, Zakharov stepped forward to open the door for him and said with a smile: "Comrade Marshal, welcome to take up your post in our Second Front."
Seeing the stars flashing behind Zaharov, Rokossovsky couldn't help but frown slightly. However, he did not get angry in public. Instead, he shook hands with Zaharov as usual and introduced him. , and greeted the leaders at all levels of the front army one by one. After finishing all this, Zaharov faced everyone and said: "Comrades, commanding officers, please let the new commander, comrade, give us a few words."
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Rokossovsky said to them: "Comrade commanders, I think your meeting is over. If there is nothing else, everyone should go back to their respective units. If there is anything, Whatever the problem is, we will discuss it in detail when I go to inspect it in a few days."
The senior commanders of each army group did not expect that Rokossovsky would directly give them an eviction order. Since the new commander did not want them to stay, they dispersed and returned to their respective units.
Rokossovsky and Zaharov returned to the headquarters and said with a serious expression: "Comrade Zakharov, according to my observation, the village where your headquarters is located must be frequently bombed by the German army? "
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"Yes." Although Zakharov was surprised by Rokossovsky's keen observation, he still replied truthfully: "We have been subject to several small-scale bombings here."
"Since you were bombed, why didn't you transfer the headquarters as soon as possible?" Although Zakharov was his old friend and subordinate, Rokossovsky still criticized him in a stern tone: "Especially today , in order to welcome my arrival, they actually called all the senior commanders of the subordinate armies here. If the German pilot was not blind, he would be able to judge that there is a high-level headquarters here based on the concentration of so many vehicles in the village. And carry out indiscriminate bombing. Once this place is bombed during the meeting, how much damage will be caused to our army, have you thought about this?"
"I'm sorry, Comrade Marshal, it's my fault." Zakharov, who was criticized by Rokossovsky, realized that he had ignored the fact that the headquarters was constantly being attacked by German air attacks. In this case, he summoned senior officials to The commander's meeting was indeed a bit too rash, so he immediately admitted his mistake to Rokossovsky: "I will not make similar mistakes in the future."
Rokossovsky raised his hand and pressed down, gesturing for the other person to sit down, and then asked in a friendly tone: "Zakharov, I took over your position, how did your superiors arrange for you?"
"I have made a request to my superiors, hoping to stay in the Second Front Army and serve as your deputy." Zaharov said with some embarrassment: "I just don't know if you agree with me staying."
"It would be great if you could stay." Hearing Zakharov's statement, Rokossovsky said with joy: "You have also seen that I came to take office alone. If there is It will be very beneficial for me to have someone familiar with me cooperate with me in my next work." At this point, he stopped, sighed softly, and then said, "Comrade Zaharov, I really feel wronged to you. Oh, because of me, you were demoted."
"Comrade Marshal, what are you talking about?" Seeing Rokossovsky confiding in him, Zakharov felt warm in his heart, "It is my greatest honor to be your deputy and work with you. "
