Rokossovsky knew very well that ordering the troops to stop attacking at this moment was against the wishes of the Supreme Commander. If he did not say hello to the Supreme Commander himself, he might cause unnecessary trouble for himself. He called the director of the communications corps and told the other party: "Please help me get through to the Kremlin switchboard. I want to speak to Comrade Stalin."
Soon, the female operator's voice came from the receiver: "Hello, this is the Kremlin switchboard. Where do you want to be connected?"
"Hello!" Rokossovsky said politely: "I am Marshal Rokossovsky. Please help me get to the office of the Supreme Commander himself."
After a few calls, Rokossovsky heard Boskrebyshev's voice: "Hello, Comrade Marshal, I am Boskrebyshev. How can I help you?" ?"
"Hello, Comrade Poskrebyshev." Rokossovsky said politely: "I have something important to report to Comrade Stalin. Please transfer the phone for me."
"No problem, I'll transfer it for you right away."
"Dear Konstantin Konstantinovich, hello! Have you brought me any good news again?" When Stalin's voice came from the receiver, Rokossovsky felt the other person's voice. He was in a good mood. If he was asked about the issue of troops switching to defense on the spot at this moment, the other party would not be furious.
"I'm sorry, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky replied awkwardly, "I may have brought you some bad news."
"what news?"
"My troops encountered a crazy counterattack by the German army in the Eastern Pomerania area today and were forced to retreat in many areas. In a word, the results achieved yesterday have almost been wiped out today." Luo Kossovsky said cautiously: "In order to stabilize the position, I have ordered all troops to temporarily stop the attack and switch to defense on the spot."
"What, your troops turned to defense on the spot?" Rokossovsky's words made Stalin frown. He put his pipe on the table and asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, what is it?" What made you make such a decision?"
"Insufficient troops, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky replied truthfully: "You know, when you ordered our army to move westward, you ordered five of the armies to be transferred to Chernia. General Hovsky's Third Front. Later, after our efforts, you left the 48th Army. However, even so, the strength of our front army was greatly weakened. This is why yesterday's attack went smoothly, but The reason for not being able to quickly expand the results."
After listening to Rokossovsky's statement, Stalin fell silent. The other party was right. In order to strengthen Chernyakhovsky's Third Belarusian Front, he did order the five armies of the Second Front, including the most elite 48th Army and the 5th Guards Tank Army. Army group. Although Yakov served as deputy chief of staff of the Third Front and kept the 48th Army in its original structure, Rokossovsky's troops were still weakened.
Before making the final decision, Stalin decided to listen to what Rokossovsky had to say: "Comrade Rokossovsky, what do you think we should do?"
"There are two ways," Rokossovsky said: "One is to send us new troops, and the other is to let Marshal Zhukov draw troops from his troops to assist us in our attack on Eastern Pomerania. attack."
Stalin seemed very hesitant about Rokossovsky's proposal. He secretly thought: to crush the German army in Eastern Pomerania, which had 29 infantry divisions, 3 tank divisions, 3 motorized divisions and a large number of independent troops. For the group, it is not enough to rely solely on the strength of the Second Belarusian Front. They indeed need to be supplemented with new strength to complete such an arduous task. But it would definitely be too late to draw troops from the reserve team at the base camp and rush over. The best way is to let Zhukov draw the troops on the right wing to assist Rokossovsky in fighting and jointly defeat the Vistula in East Pomerania. group.
Just when he was about to express his thoughts, he suddenly remembered something. If Zhukov was really ordered to mobilize the right-wing troops to assist Rokossovsky in the battle, it would mean that the attack on Berlin would need to be postponed. The thought of attacking
The occupation of Berlin was to be postponed again, and Stalin was very unwilling to do so.
But after repeated weighing, he said into the microphone: "Constantin Konstantinovich, I agree with your decision to temporarily transfer the troops to defense to prevent the German army from achieving greater results. As for you Regarding the issue of insufficient troops, I will call Zhukov later to see if he can send troops to support you. After all, everything you are doing now is to cover the right wing of the 1st Belarusian Front."
Hearing what Stalin said, Rokossovsky suddenly felt confident: "Okay, Comrade Stalin, I will wait for your decision."
After putting down the phone, Rokossovsky waved his fist excitedly, and then said to Bogolyubov and Subbotin: "The chief of staff, the military commissar, and the supreme commander himself have agreed to our plan to switch to defense on the spot. .”
"Great, this is really great." After Bogolyubov cheered, he asked, "Then did he mention when he would replenish our troops?"
"He said he would call Marshal Zhukov later to see if we could mobilize troops from the right wing of the First Front to cooperate with us in defeating the German Vistula Group in East Pomerania."
After hearing what Rokossovsky said, Bogolyubov immediately looked at the map in front of him, wondering in his mind which units of the First Front Army Stalin would ask Zhukov to hand over to the Second Front Army.
Seeing his chief of staff looking at the map so seriously, Rokossovsky shook his head with a wry smile, and then said: "Comrade chief of staff, I think you didn't understand what I meant. Comrade Stalin said that Marshal Zhukov should send troops to cooperate. When we fight, we don’t allocate troops to our command.”
"Oh, that's it." After hearing what Rokossovsky said, Bogolyubov realized that he had made a mistake, and couldn't help showing an embarrassed expression on his face: "I thought the Supreme Commander himself planned to start from the 1st The First Army has transferred some troops and put them under our command."
"But no matter what, with the support of friendly forces, we will become easier in the next battle."
"Comrade Marshal, General Sokov's 48th Army has not yet entered the battle as a reserve force." Bogolyubov asked Rokossovsky for instructions: "In order to prevent the situation from deteriorating, would you like to send his troops to the battle? Are you also going to fight?"
In response to Bogolyubov's proposal, Rokossovsky hesitated for a long time, and finally said slowly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, we cannot use Mischa's 48th Army lightly, and we will send it for great use in the future."
"What's the big use of sending it?" Bogolyubov asked puzzledly: "What's the big use of sending it?"
"After we invade Berlin, we will always need a force to attack the Reichstag. This is a symbol of Germany. As long as it is occupied, it means Germany's failure." Rokossovsky explained with a smile: "If Put Misha's troops into battle in advance. If we suffer huge losses, when we enter Berlin, there will be no extra force to attack the Reichstag. At that time, we will have to give up such an honor that can be recorded in history to others. force."
[In view of the general environment,
Bogolyubov thought in his mind, yes, occupying the Defense Building in Berlin, such a great achievement will definitely be recorded in the annals of history. If Sokov's 48th Army is consumed prematurely, after the front troops enter Berlin, There is indeed no extra force to attack the Capitol, and then other friendly forces will have to perform this task.
After thinking about this, Bogolyubov nodded and said: "Comrade Marshal, you are right. Good steel must be used on the blade, and elite units like the 48th Group Army should be reserved for the last use." "
"Well, the chief of staff is right." Suboting nodded and said, "Let's consider the surprise attack launched by the German army a few days ago. If it were another army, it would have been defeated long ago, but Sokov The general's troops withstood the enemy's attack and turned defeat into victory."
What Subboting said is true. The 48th Army Group was attacked by the Germans only as an infantry brigade.
However, they blocked a force several times their own. Seeing that the attack was ineffective, the German army turned in other directions. With its own strength, it defeated two Soviet divisions and surrounded the other two divisions. If the front army headquarters had not mobilized other troops for reinforcements in a timely manner, I am afraid the situation would have become uncontrollable.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Rokossovsky asked Bogolyubov: "Has all the additional ammunition for the 48th Army arrived?"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal, they are all in place." Bogolyubov nodded and said: "The ammunition reserve of the new rocket launcher is 20 bases, and the ammunition reserve of each soldier is 50 bases. Even if they are in half Without any replenishment within the month, we can still maintain sufficient offensive intensity."
Besides, after Stalin spoke to Rokossovsky, he sat behind his desk and thought for a long time. Finally, he picked up the phone in front of him, dialed a number, and said slowly: "I am Stalin, pick up Marshal Zhukov for me." .”
After a short wait, Zhukov's voice came from the receiver: "Hello, Comrade Stalin!"
"Hello, Marshal Zhukov." Stalin asked with a smile, "How are you doing lately?"
"My health is very good, Comrade Stalin." Zhukov didn't know what medicine was sold in Stalin's gourd, but he still replied truthfully: "Thank you for your concern."
"Marshal Zhukov, I'm calling you because of this." Then, Stalin told Rokossovsky's troops that the strength was insufficient and it would be difficult to defeat the German Vistula in Eastern Pomerania on their own. He told Zhukov about the group's affairs, and finally asked: "How about it, can you send troops to help him?"
If it were something else, Zhukov might find a way to refuse. But the Second Belarusian Front currently fighting in Eastern Pomerania is to protect its right wing. If they can help them defeat the German Vistula Group as soon as possible, they can completely eliminate the threat to their right wing and feel confident. march towards Berlin.
"Comrade Stalin," Zhukov made a decisive decision: "In order to assist Rokossovsky in defeating the enemies in East Pomerania faster, I plan to deploy Major General Poplawski's Polish 1st Army , assist friendly forces in completing this mission.”
When Stalin called Zhukov, he was deeply afraid that his proposal would be rejected by the other party. After all, everyone knew that Zhukov had a stubborn temper. Now that he saw that the other party agreed so simply to send troops to support the Second Front, the stone hanging in his heart finally fell to the ground.
As soon as the call with Zhukov ended, he immediately called Rokossovsky and prepared to tell him the good news.
When Rokossovsky learned that Zhukov planned to deploy the Polish 1st Army to support him, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Although this unit is the most powerful in the Polish army today, its overall strength is inferior to that of the Soviet Army. Up, there is still a gap, but having them is better than nothing.
"Thank you, Comrade Stalin." Although it did not meet his expectations, Rokossovsky still expressed his gratitude to Stalin: "On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the Second Belarusian Front, I would like to express my gratitude to you."
After Bogolyubov waited for Rokossovsky to put down the phone, he said reluctantly: "Comrade Marshal, why did you send the Polish 1st Army to support our battle? You know, their overall combat effectiveness is not strong, don't wait After the new battle begins, not only will they be unable to help, they will even need us to send troops to protect them, which will weaken our strength."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, don't say anything that is not conducive to unity." Rokossovsky did not wait for the other party to finish speaking, raised his hand to interrupt him: "I admit that when the Polish 1st Army was first formed, its combat effectiveness was indeed It is not satisfactory, but after such a long period of baptism of blood and fire, the commanders and fighters of this army have rich combat experience. I believe that their combat effectiveness will be far better than before. With their assistance, I believe that I It won't take long for the military to completely defeat the German Vistula Group."
Seeing that Rokossovsky was so supportive of the Polish 1st Army, Bogolyubov could not say anything more. He just reminded the other party: "Comrade Marshal, since Marshal Zhukov is ready to send the Polish 1st Army to assist us in the battle, do you think
Invite their commander, Major General Poplavsky, to come over and discuss joint operations with him? "
"Well, you're right." Rokossovsky nodded and said, "The troops closest to them are Lieutenant General Ponejelin's 50th Army. They did not cooperate with the Polish troops. Experience. Since we want to invite Major General Poplavsky, we might as well invite Lieutenant General Ponedelin over so that the two of them can meet and get familiar with each other. This will also be helpful for future operations."
"No problem." Bogolyubov said: "After you have contacted Marshal Zhukov, I will call General Ponedelin and ask him to come to the headquarters to accept a new mission. By the way, I will wait for Poplavsky The major general has arrived to discuss how to cooperate in the upcoming battle."
