Chapter 1546

On hearing the unexpected good news, Stalin showed a smile on his face. He waved his fist holding his pipe and said in a slightly hoarse voice: "this is really exciting good news. Well, comrade Zhukov, should we take some action to cooperate with our allies? "

"Comrade Stalin." Zhukov got up from his seat, looked at Stalin with a standing posture and asked, "I don't know what measures we should take to cooperate with the Allied forces?"

Stalin was silent for a moment, and solemnly asked, "can we advance the offensive campaign code named bagration'ang '

Zhukov didn't give an immediate reply to Stalin's proposal. Vasilevsky, who was sitting on his right, stood up and said solemnly, "Comrade Stalin, the reason why we chose June 23 as the time of attack is because we want to serve the Belarusian front army who participated in the attack, And time for the Baltic front to replenish its troops and supplies. Two days ago, at the meeting, we just gave the commanders of all front forces the time to attack. If we adjust it without authorization, I'm afraid there will be unnecessary confusion. "

Zhukov, who has been looking at Stalin, added after vasilevsky said: "yes, comrade Stalin, the number of people involved in this kind of offensive campaign on the scale of the front army exceeds one million. We need to leave enough time for the troops to prepare for the attack."

Seeing that Zhukov and vasilevsky both raised objections to their own opinions, Stalin could not help showing a disappointed expression on his face. He held his pipe in his mouth and said vaguely: "so, the offensive campaign in Belarus can not be carried out ahead?"

"Yes, comrade Stalin." Zhukov and vasilevsky replied.

"Comrade Stalin, please allow me to express my views." Antonov also reluctantly stood up, looked at Stalin, said: "I think although the offensive campaign in Belarus can not be advanced, then we can consider Ukraine."

It seems that Antonov knew Stalin's character like the back of his hand. As soon as his words were uttered, he immediately aroused Stalin's great interest: "Comrade Antonov, please tell me what you think."

"According to the plan of the general staff, the attack in Ukraine will be carried out within two months after the start of operation bagration'ang." Antonov looked at Stalin and said confidently: "but from the current situation, we can advance the attack time."

"How long do you think it can be advanced?" Perhaps the news of the successful landing of the allies in Normandy stimulated Stalin, who seemed a little impatient: "I think the offensive campaign in Ukraine should not be later than August."

"Don't worry, comrade Stalin." Antonov assured Stalin with a smile: "I have just calculated that marshal konev's first front army of Ukraine should be ready for all battles by the middle of July."

"What do you two think?" After listening to Antonov's words, Stalin looked at Zhukov and asked them, "do you agree with Comrade Antonov's proposal?"

Zhukov frowned and pondered for a while, then nodded decisively and said with some difficulty, "Comrade Stalin, I think it is perfectly possible to launch an offensive campaign in Ukraine in mid July."

When several people were discussing the offensive campaign to be participated by millions of people, I felt that I couldn't get in at all, so I had to keep silent and quietly wipe out the fried rice on the plate in front of me.

"Well, comrade Antonov." Stalin said very reasonably: "let's change the attack time in Ukraine to mid July. In a moment, you will prepare such an order to convey to Comrade konev the adjustment of combat time. "

"Comrade Stalin, I want to ask, is this information sent by telegram or by special person?" Antonov asked

"In a few days, Rita will go back to the first front army of Ukraine. I think she can take this order back." When Stalin finished, he raised his hands and pressed them down. Then he said politely, "OK, you all sit down. Let's continue to eat."

…………

I thought that Stalin would order me to return to Ukraine when I stayed in Moscow for at most one day. However, he ignored me for several days after he asked boskhlebeshev to put me in a hotel on balzart street.

It wasn't until June 14 that bosklebshev called me and said that the Supreme Commander himself wanted to see me and let me go to the Kremlin immediately.

Maybe boskhlebeshev said hello. As soon as I arrived at Vasili slope, an officer came out to greet me and accompanied me to Stalin's office.

Percklebshev saw me at the door, quickly got up from his seat, walked around the table, shook hands with me, and politely said, "Comrade oshanina, you are here. The Supreme Commander himself is waiting for you. Please come in quickly. "

I waited for bosklebshev to open the door and stride into Stalin's office. When I came in, I saw Stalin standing in front of the map on the wall like a sculpture. He quickly walked behind him, raised his hand and saluted. The report said: "Comrade Stalin, general oshanina, deputy commander of the first front army of Ukraine, has been ordered to report to you. I'm at your command, please give me directions

"Here you are, Rita!" Stalin turned, looked at me and said with a smile, "are you suffocating in the hotel these days?"

I stayed in a hotel these days. Although no one restricted my movement, I was afraid that Stalin would send someone to call me at any time, so I never dared to leave. At the moment, he asked with a bitter smile: "Comrade Stalin, I want to ask, when can I go back to Ukraine?"

"Soon, in these days." After Stalin said this, he called me to the conference table, pointed to the map on it and said to me, "I think you must be anxious to know the situation in Normandy?"

Although I knew that the Allied forces had long established themselves on several beaches in Normandy and pushed deep into France, I had to pretend that I knew nothing in front of Stalin. I nodded my head and said, "because we don't see a report on Normandy in our newspapers, I'm forced to know how the allies are doing now."

Stalin pointed to the map and introduced the situation of Normandy to me with great interest: "according to the report of the allies, on the second day of the landing of the allies, Hitler gave Rommel the command of the five armored divisions in the Western Line armored cluster to repel the allies who landed in Normandy.

Rommel wanted to use this elite force to carry out a large-scale counterattack. The primary goal of the counterattack was to prevent the Allied forces from connecting the five landing beaches into a complete landing field, and then to ensure Caen and Cherbourg. Unfortunately, on the way from a distance of 100 km to 200 km, his armored forces were constantly attacked by the Allied forces, so they could not fight as an organic unit. Even if a few troops arrived at the beach, they were also heavily injured and killed by the artillery fire of the Allied warships. In this way, the whole day of June 7, under the overwhelming firepower of the Allied Navy and air force, the German army was unable to launch a decisive large-scale counterattack. "

In order not to let Stalin sing a monologue by himself, when he said this, I specially echoed: "the Allied forces are really wonderful, they have not even the slightest fight back."

With a smile on his face, Stalin continued to say: "when the Allied forces landed on the beach and became a landing ground for consolidating unity, they developed inland as planned. The first group army of the U.S. army went to seize Cherbourg, while the second group army of the British Army stormed Caen, creating the illusion of taking Paris as a feint attack.

Although the German army failed in the initial counterattack, it was not willing to let the Allied forces develop. Rommel adjusted the deployment in time, mobilized infantry to defend Caen to the front line of comon, and drew out armored forces to take continuous counterattack measures to stop the US Army's attack. But before Rommel's new deployment was completed, the British launched a preemptive offensive, disrupted the German plan, and effectively guaranteed the US attack on Cherbourg. "

When Stalin's story came to an end, I hurriedly asked, "Comrade Stalin, have the Allies captured Thurberg from the enemy now?"

Stalin took the pipe out of his mouth, held it in his hand, and continued: "on the way to vileboge, southwest of Caen, the 7th British armored division encountered the 2nd German SS armored division, who was coming from Amiens, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides. British personnel and tanks were forced to retreat after suffering huge losses. Although there was no progress in the British attack, it attracted the German elite 2nd Armored Division to the Caen area, creating conditions for the US Army to attack.

After the US army occupied kalantan, the German army was unable to withdraw troops from the Caen area, so it had to dispatch the 17th SS armored division from the Brittany Peninsula to attack the US side in an attempt to eliminate the US threat to Cherbourg. After fierce fighting, the U.S. Army repulsed the German army and today broke through the German defense line in San suovo and arrived outside the city of San suovo, ready to launch siege operations at any time. "

I know that Stalin would not say this to me without any reason. There must be some other purpose. Sure enough, after introducing Normandy to me, he went to the table, picked up an envelope and handed it to me. At the same time, he said, "this is an order from the headquarters of the general staff to Comrade konev about adjusting the attack time. When you go back to Ukraine tomorrow, bring him back by the way. "

I took the envelope in Stalin's hand and asked respectfully, "Comrade Stalin, is there anything else you need to convey to marshal konev?"

"Now the allies have attracted the attention of the Germans to France. Whether we are in Belarus or Ukraine, our combat preparations have not been noticed by the German forces. " Stalin said slowly: "since the enemy did not realize that we were going to take a large-scale offensive campaign, then we caught them by surprise."

After he said these words, he stopped for a moment, and then told me, "when you return to Ukraine, you should try your best to assist Comrade konev in completing the preparations for the campaign before the attack, understand?"

"I see, comrade Stalin." After that, I asked cautiously, "do you know if I'm going back to Ukraine by plane or by train?"

"Take a plane, it will take less time on the road." After Stalin finished, he thought about it again and added, "by the way, you can go to belia later. He has something else to tell you."

Stalin talked to me again for a while and then sent me away. After I left Stalin's office, I rushed to belia's office.

Coincidentally, the officer on duty at the gate was the one who stopped me last time. Seeing my arrival, he quickly stood up and raised his hand to salute me. Then he picked up the phone on the table and informed belia, "comrades of the people's Committee, general oshanina is coming." After he put down the phone, he ran directly to the door of the inner room, gently pushed the door open, then put his body on one side and politely said to me, "Comrade General, people's committee member, please come in, please!"“ Hello, comrade oshanina As soon as I walked into belia's office, he quickly came up to me, shook my hand and asked with concern, "are you going back to Ukraine?"“ Yes, comrades of the people's Committee. " I replied politely: "I will fly back to Ukraine early tomorrow morning. I don't know what instructions you have for me?" Bellia went back to her office seat, sat down, looked at me and said, "I can't talk about the instructions. I just want to talk to you about kacharov and bonejerin." If belia didn't mention kacharov, I almost forgot about it. Now that he mentioned it on his own initiative, I took the opportunity to ask, "Comrade people's commissar, don't you know that your team has found the whereabouts of general kacharov?"“ No Bellia shook his head and said: "almost three years have passed since that battle. Almost all the informed officers and men have died or moved to other places, so our evidence collection work is very difficult. Two days ago, I sent Comrade lunev to the area where the fighting took place in person to take charge of the search. I hope they can find something. " If kacharov's body is not found, it will affect his efforts to clean up his grievances. If it was in the past, I might gently persuade belia to intensify the search, but now I doubt the ability of bonejerin, and I am not so enthusiastic about whether he can be rehabilitated. Belia and I had another chat about the prisoner's reorganization, and then personally sent me out of his office. In the corridor, he suddenly said to me, "by the way, comrade oshanina, Khrushchev called me two days ago and asked me to tell you. If you have time, go to Kiev. He wants to have a good talk with you about some things. "