After Sokov put down the phone, he had a clue in his heart and felt that he had great hope of staying in Rokossovsky's unit. He happily said to everyone: "Comrade commanders, don't worry, I think this Comrade Sub-Marshal's success rate in persuading the Supreme Commander himself is very high."
Lunev strongly agreed with Sokov's statement: "Misha, I think you are right. Based on the friendship between you and Yakov, if you really went to Cherniaho General Vski's Third Front, he will definitely try his best to come to our army. If he really comes, you might as well place him. Let him be a staff officer. A general serves as a staff officer at the army headquarters. Tell others Don't believe it; let him command a certain unit. He has been in the weapons and equipment department for so many years and has no command experience, so he is obviously not suitable. So you rejected Comrade Marshal's proposal at first, not wanting to let Ya Cove is absolutely right to come to our unit.”
However, the problem that Sidorin was considering was that as soon as the deputy commander, General Ponejelin, was transferred, the troops would be placed under the command of the Third Front, and he would miss out on the achievement of liberating Berlin. When talking about this matter to their children and grandchildren in the future, they will definitely blame themselves, why not follow General Ponejelin to the 50th Army, so that at least there is hope of participating in the attack on Berlin. Although Sokov said that things had turned around, he still refused to believe it. After all, this matter was a decision made by the Supreme Command, and it could not be changed just because Sokov and Yakov had a good personal relationship. What about the initial decision?
Thinking of this, he poured cold water on Sokov and Lunev: "Are we thinking too simply about the problem? Even if Yakov is now in the Third Front Army, and after we were transferred to the Third Front Army, he also proposed We have applied, but whether General Chernyakhovsky, the commander of the front army, will agree is still a question. If he firmly refuses to agree, the conditions for breaking the situation will not be mature, so in the end, we will still be classified as the third Command of the three front armies.”
"Chief of Staff, don't be pessimistic." The strategy that Sokov came up with was somewhat of a gamble. He felt that since Yakov was captured by the Germans, Stalin might be worried that something similar would happen again, so he intentionally or unintentionally Prevent Yakov from taking a position in a unit on the front line. This time Yakov came to the front line on his own initiative, but the place he stayed at was just the front army headquarters, and he would basically not encounter any danger here. And if Yakov comes to his 48th Army, there will be many uncertain factors. In order to eliminate this hidden danger, Stalin would change his mind and prevent his 48th Army and Yakov from appearing in the same front army: "As long as we are not officially placed under the command of the Third Front Army for a day, things will turn around. .”
After waiting for more than an hour, Sokov finally received a call from Rokossovsky: "Misha, I have some good news for you."
Although Sokov guessed that Stalin must have changed his mind, for the sake of safety, he still asked tentatively: "Comrade Marshal, I wonder what the good news is?"
"After consultations with the Supreme Commander himself, I finally decided to let your 48th Army remain in my Second Front." It is also a good thing for Rokossovsky to allow Sokov's troops to stay. This is a gratifying thing. He does not want to hand over such a powerful unit to the command of friendly forces, thus weakening his own combat effectiveness.
"Great, this is really great." After confirming that his troops could continue to stay in the Second Front, Sokov finally laughed out loud: "Comrade Marshal, thank you, thank you! It is because of your efforts that Only then can we remain on the Second Front."
"Misha, you can't say that." Rokossovsky said with a smile: "I have tried several times, but they all ended in failure. But after following your advice, I tried to change the angle and communicate with you. The Supreme Commander himself discussed the matter. As you analyzed, when he learned that his son might take the initiative to join your army because the 48th Army was assigned to the command of the Third Front, he showed a fatherly attitude. Worried. Finally, after his careful consideration, he decided to cancel the original decision and let you continue to stay in my army."
When Rokossovsky was about to put down the phone, he added: "Misha, since your troops can stay in my front ranks, I hope that when we launch an attack on Berlin, your troops can become the first troops on the front." A force entering Berlin."
Although Sokov wanted his troops to be the first to rush into Berlin, there were some things that were beyond his control. He could only say euphemistically: "Comrade Marshal, I will do my best to live up to your trust in me." trust.”
As soon as Sokov put down the phone, Runev came over and asked with a smile: "Misha, so we can continue to stay in Marshal Rokossovsky's Second Front?"
"Yes, Comrade Military Commissar, yes, we can stay."
"I really didn't expect that your strategy was so effective." Lunev said with emotion: "I originally thought that even Marshal Rokossovsky himself could not change the decision of the Supreme Command. We must stay We are on Chernyakhovsky’s Third Front. But I really didn’t expect that things would develop in such a dramatic way. Just because of your little trick, our unfavorable situation was reversed.”
Hearing Lunev's praise, Sokov showed a bitter expression on his face: "This time I used Yasha as a shield. I wonder if he will be angry with me when he finds out about this."
"No, Misha, I think it won't be." Lunev comforted Sokov and said, "I believe he will understand your difficulties."
"Comrade Commander," Sidorin only came to his senses at this time and knew that his troops no longer needed to be assigned to Chernyakhovsky's Third Front. He asked Sokov tentatively: "What is this?" Is it true that we no longer need to be placed under the command of the Third Front?"
"That's right, my comrade chief of staff." Sokov raised his hand and patted Sidorin on the shoulder, and told him: "Don't be stunned, call the division commanders quickly and tell them the news. Let them feel at ease."
Ever since they heard that the troops would be placed under the command of the Third Front Army, the emotions of commanders at all levels of the 48th Group Army have fluctuated. They couldn't figure out why they, as the most powerful unit in the Second Front Army, were suddenly assigned to the command of other units. In the past two days, more than one person came to Sokov, hoping that he would report it to his superiors and ask them to take back his orders and allow the 48th Group Army to continue to stay in the Second Front's order of operations.
Now, through the joint efforts of Sokov and Rokossovsky, the superiors have finally changed their minds and allowed the 48th Army to remain in its original combat order. This is indeed an exciting thing. After Sidorin confirmed the news, he immediately picked up the phone and called the commanders of each division to spread the good news to each of them.
In this way, the 48th Army successfully stayed in Rokossovsky's Second Front. At the same time, Yakov also reached Chernyakhovsky's Third Front.
As soon as he got off the train, he saw a general coming towards him and greeted him proactively: "Is he General Yakov from Moscow?"
"Yes, I am Yakov." Yakov looked at the unfamiliar general opposite and said with some confusion: "Excuse me, are you...?"
"Introduce yourself," the general who greeted Yakov said with a smile: "I am Lieutenant General Makarov, Military Commissar of the Third Belarusian Front. I came here under the order of the commander, General Chernyakhovsky. We’ll meet you at the station.”
After figuring out the other party's identity, Yakov quickly stood at attention and saluted the other party: "Hello, Comrade Military Commissar."
Makarov pulled Yakov's hand from his forehead, shook it vigorously a few times, and said: "General Yakov, on behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the Third Belarusian Front, I welcome you. The car is at the platform. Wait nearby and I’ll take you there.”
Arriving next to the platform, Yakov saw three jeeps, with seven or eight armed soldiers standing next to them. Seeing the appearance of Makarov and Yakov, he immediately paid attention to them and saluted them. One of the soldiers even stepped forward and opened the back door of a jeep.
After Yakov and Makarov got into the car, the rest of the soldiers also got into the other two cars. After a sound of car doors closing, the motorcade set off.
On the way, Yakov curiously asked Makarov: "Comrade Military Commissar, I would like to ask, what is my position in the Front Army Headquarters?"
"After discussions between the commander and the chief of staff, I decided to appoint you as the deputy chief of staff of the Third Front Command," Makarov said.
"Ah, deputy chief of staff?!" Yakov seemed a little embarrassed when he heard this position: "Comrade Military Commissar, I have no specific experience in commanding operations, so I serve as deputy chief of staff as soon as I come here. Isn't this not good? I I want to start from the most basic staff position, is that okay?"
"What, how can you start from an ordinary staff officer?" Makarov shook his head and said: "In any case, you are a general, and you have been in the General Staff before. You have held the position, if it were not for your lack of staff experience in frontline combat units, your superiors would have directly appointed you as chief of staff."
Makarov's words made Yakov a little embarrassed. He smiled bitterly and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, to tell you the truth, I have been staying in the Weapons and Equipment Department since the war broke out. Later, for some reason, I just joined the General Staff, but I was just a helper and didn't have much experience as a staff officer. It would be a bit inappropriate to rashly assign me to the position of deputy chief of staff."
Makarov chuckled: "This is a collective decision made by the heads of the front army headquarters. If you have any different opinions, you can tell him face to face when you see Commander Chernyakhovsky." .”
The convoy arrived at the front army headquarters and found many people standing at the door.
Makarov glanced at it, then turned to Yakov and said: "General Yakov, Comrade Commander has personally brought people out to greet you."
Now in the headquarters of the Third Front, the only people who know Yakov's true identity are Chernyakhovsky, Pokrovsky and Makarov. When the members of the headquarters learned that the commander was going out to greet him, they thought that someone of marshal level was coming. But when they saw Yakov and Makarov coming out of the car, they all had confused expressions on their faces: "What, just a major general? Why did the commander and chief of staff lead a team to greet them in person? Does the other party have any background?"
Chernyakhovsky stepped forward, held Yakov's hand, and said with a smile: "General Yakov, on behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the Third Front Army, I welcome your arrival. I hope that we can work together in the future to achieve a better future." Defeat the German invaders." Then he introduced the people around him to Yakov, "Come and get to know him, this is the Chief of Staff of the Front Army, General Pokrovsky, and you will be partners from now on."
"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff." Yakov showed enough respect for Pokrovsky: "I have no practical experience. I will ask Comrade Chief of Staff for more guidance on my work in the future."
"It's easy to talk," Pokrovsky said with a smile: "If you don't understand anything, just ask me and I will try my best to help you."
When everyone returned to the headquarters, Chernyakhovsky smiled and asked Yakov: "Yakov, you must be very tired after riding the train for two days, right? Do you want to arrange for you to rest for two days before coming back?" To work?"
"No need, Comrade Commander." Yakov shook his head and said: "Although I have just been on the train for two days, it is not as hard as you. If you don't take a rest, how can I have a rest? I'd better ask Arrange a job for me as soon as possible."
"This," hearing what Yakov said, Chernyakhovsky seemed very embarrassed. After all, he didn't know what the other party's abilities were. If he rashly assigned him a job, what should he do if it was a disservice? He could only turn to Pokrovsky for help, hoping that his chief of staff would come out to help him out: "Chief of Staff, what do you think?"
"Comrade Commander," Pokrovsky said, "We understand General Yakov's desire to start work as soon as possible. If this is the case, please help me process the battle reports of the past two days. By the way, I can get familiar with the situation of the troops and it will be easier for us to carry out the next step of work.”
For Yakov, as long as he can get into work as quickly as possible, it doesn't matter what he asks himself to do. He nodded and said: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, I will start working now. I wonder where the battle reports you mentioned are?"
"It's in the corner," Pokrovsky said to Yakov. "Please come with me and I'll take you to see it."
After Pokrovsky left with Yakov, Makarov asked Chernyakhovsky in a low voice: "Comrade Commander, on the first day he came, he arranged a lot of things for him." Work, is this appropriate?”
"There is nothing inappropriate, Comrade Military Commissar." Chernyakhovsky said in a low voice: "I think there is nothing wrong with letting him go to work on the first day. If he feels that the job we have assigned him He is boring and may not be able to work for long, so he no longer wants to stay here and will apply to us to leave, and then we can justifiably let him leave."
(End of chapter)
