Of course, Sokov didn't know about the swordsmanship in this meeting of the General Staff. He was sitting in a wheelchair, having lunch face to face with Asya. Vera didn't want to disturb their world, so she went to the nurse's desk to talk to her.
nurse having meal.
"Misha!" Asiya asked Sokov curiously: "What did General Lunev want from you today?"
Considering that today's matter was not a top secret, and there were only himself and Asya in the ward, Sokov told Lunev's purpose without any scruples.
When Asya heard Sokov's suggestion to abandon Zhytomir and let the 38th Army withdraw to Kiev, she was surprised and said: "Oh my God, Misha, you are so brave, you dare to make such a suggestion, don't you think so?"
Aren’t you worried?”
"Worried?!" Sokov asked puzzledly: "What am I worried about?"
"When the Germans approached Kiev, Marshal Zhukov, who was still the chief of the general staff, saw that Kiev could not be defended, so he proposed to abandon Kiev and withdraw the troops of the Southwest Front to the right bank of the Dnieper River to set up new defenses." Assi.
Ya said: "As a result, he was removed from the post of chief of general staff because of this incident and was sent to the reserve front army."
Sokov had seen what Asiya said in later movies. However, in today's era, this kind of thing is absolutely confidential. How could Asiya know about it. With this question, Sokov spoke.
Asked: "Asiya, how do you know these things?"
Hearing Sokov's question, Asiya blinked at him and pretended to be serious and said: "Misha, have you forgotten what my profession is? As a military doctor, I have to deal with a lot of things every day.
The wounded, from them, I can get a lot of information that I can't understand from the radio and newspapers."
Sokov did not question Asiya's persuasion. As a military doctor on the front line, her understanding of the battlefield situation was not much slower than that of the commander of the group army, because she could lift the soldiers from the front line.
Go to the wounded to get the latest information.
"Misha," Asia asked Sokov with some worry: "Once Zhitomyr is lost, will the Germans rush out of Kiev quickly along the Zhytomyr-Kiev highway?"
Sokov did not directly answer the question raised by Asiya, but instead talked about the weather: "Asiya, you are also from Moscow. You should know that the weather in November is the strangest."
"Why is it strange?"
"It often snows in the morning, the sun comes out at noon, and it rains again in the afternoon." Sokov said seemingly complaining: "With this kind of weather, those dirt roads look fine on the surface, but when you step on them
If you go up there, your shoes will sink in, so every season, I have to clean my shoes twice a day..."
Asya looked at Sokov with a blank expression at first, thinking to herself that I was asking if the Germans would rush to Kiev, but he started talking to me about the weather. It was like a ghost.
But this complaint did not last long. Asya wanted to understand the meaning of Sokov's words. She asked tentatively: "Misha, you mean that even if the Germans reoccupy Zhitomir, they will
Is it possible that the continuous drizzle in November can stop progress?"
Seeing that Asiya realized his intention, Sokov smiled and nodded. He did not dwell on this issue anymore. Instead, he picked up the empty bowl in front of him and said to Asiya: "My dear, please fill it for me."
Bowl of soup.”
…………
On November 15, the German attack on Zhytomyr officially began.
The 7th Armored Division rushed to Staniszewka, southeast of the city, on the same day, and captured Ryukov, 12 kilometers east of the city, the next day.
On November 17, the 1st Armored Grenadier Regiment of the Flag Army Division arrived at Kocherovo on the Zhitomir-Kiev railway. The 1st Armored Division also turned to attack the day care with the 7th Armored Division on November 17.
Mir's Soviet Army.
By the evening of the 17th, Colonel Albert Schulz's 25th Armored Regiment Combat Group of the 7th Armored Division and the officers and soldiers of the Brandenburg Alexander Battalion participated in the attack on Zhitomir.
Under the cover of assault guns, the 80th Armored Artillery Regiment of the 8th Armored Division, which launched an attack on Zhitomir from the south, encountered tenacious Soviet defense three kilometers away from the city. Repeated attacks were all defeated.
The Soviet army was repulsed. When the "Radowitz" battle group formed by the 8th and 28th Panzer Grenadier Regiments, the "Mizlav" battle group composed of the 1st Battalion of the 10th Armored Regiment and the 8th Armored Reconnaissance Battalion arrived at the designated
After taking the position, he also participated in the attack on the city.
To the west of the city, the 208th Infantry Division's offensive was also very fierce.
The 7th Armored Division fought fiercely with the Soviet army for a day on November 18. An hour before dark, it found a weakly defended anti-tank gun position. The division commander, General Manteuffel, organized 6 tanks and 100 grenadiers.
The soldiers carried out a night attack, fighting from 17:00 on the 18th to 3:00 in the morning on the 19th. They finally broke through the Soviet defenses and began to eliminate the Soviet resistance in the occupied area of the city.
Moskalenko was worried that if he continued to fight, his 38th Army might be wiped out, so he called his superiors for instructions. Vatutin, who originally wanted to keep fighting, saw that the situation in the 38th Army was extremely dangerous, so he called his superiors for instructions.
We can only give Moskalenko an order to immediately organize his troops to break out and retreat.
News of the 38th Group Army's breakout quickly reached the General Staff Headquarters.
After learning the news, Antonov did not dare to report the matter immediately. Instead, he called a meeting with his subordinates to discuss how to deal with the bad situation that might arise next.
After the meeting began, the first person to attack was Deputy Chief of General Staff Shtemenko: "Comrades, when we were sitting here for a meeting a few days ago, I once said that Zhitomir's troops could not stop the German attack at all.
, it was recommended to withdraw the 38th Army and retreat to the vicinity of Kiev to reposition its defenses. But unfortunately, my proposal was rejected."
When he said this, he couldn't help but glance at General Ivanov, the First Deputy Chief of General Staff, thinking that if he hadn't deliberately played the opposite tune, his bill might have been passed.
Antonov saw that Shtemenko's eyes were fixed on Ivanov, but the latter lowered his head and said nothing, and quickly came out to smooth things over: "The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and our General Staff is not a god, how can it be accurate?
We can predict how things will develop next.”
Worried that the two would clash over this matter, he also specifically added: "We have just captured Kiev and have not yet had time to build a strong and complete defense system. And holding on to Zhitomir can win over the troops remaining in Kiev.
The precious time gives them time to improve Kiev's defenses."
"Then what should we do next?" Seeing Antonov making peace in the middle, Shtemenko no longer stubbornly insisted on his own opinion, but asked directly: "Kiev must not be lost."
"Don't worry, Kiev can't be lost." Although the battle on the Zhitomyr defense line ended with the Soviet army's defeat, they had made many preparation plans some time ago: "Reinforcements from various places are rushing to Kiev. I
I believe that it will not take long for more troops to arrive in Kiev to consolidate the defense there."
"Comrade Chief of General Staff," Shtemenko waited for Antonov to finish speaking and then asked cautiously: "Do you think you should send someone to Sokov's place to hear his opinion?"
If Shtemenko had said this in public before the fall of Zhitomir, he would have been opposed by many people, including Ivanov. But the facts of the past few days show that Sokov’s judgment
It was absolutely correct. Therefore, his proposal passed smoothly this time without any opposition.
"I agree with Comrade Shtemenko's proposal." After Antonov agreed with Shtemenko's statement, he gave him the task of meeting Sokov: "I see that among the people present, you are the only one
It is the most suitable to meet General Sokov."
Naturally, Shtemenko would not shirk the job assigned to him by Antonov, and he readily agreed. However, before going to the hospital, he also called Lunev and asked him to go visit Soko with him.
husband.
Lunev already knew the news about the breakout and retreat of the 38th Army after abandoning Zhitomir from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. As soon as he saw Shtemenko, he asked bluntly: "I said Sergey, what are you calling today?"
Did I go to the hospital to see Misha about the fall of Zhytomir?"
Now that Lunev already knows the truth, there is no point in hiding it anymore, so Shtemenko risked his life: "Yes, it is indeed because of Zhitomir's affairs that he came to visit General Sokov."
As the two of them walked towards the hospital, Lunev asked in a low voice: "Since you didn't take his advice last time, why bother asking again today?"
"You also know that most people in the General Staff have never been on the battlefield. They only understand the situation on the battlefield based on battle reports." Shtemenko explained: "Once the situation gets out of control, they will be at a loss.
I am at a loss. Although General Sokov is not a member of the General Staff, he has many war ideas and knows how to adapt to the situation on the battlefield. Maybe he has some good ways to resolve the crisis at hand."
Lunev took a few steps forward and suddenly remembered something. He stopped and asked Shtemenko sideways: "Have you reported the battle report in the Kiev area to the Supreme Commander himself?"
"not yet."
"As a friend, I strongly recommend that you immediately arrange personnel to report this matter to the Supreme Commander himself." Lunev kindly reminded the other party: "Otherwise, when the old man learns about this matter through his information channels,
, will definitely get furious.”
Shtemenko said with some hesitation: "Chief of General Staff Antonov has always been responsible for matters reported to the Supreme Commander himself."
"Today's situation is different." Lunev reminded his old friend that the fall of Zhitomir has secretly threatened the safety of Kiev. If he went to see Stalin alone, he would be scolded for nothing.
He will be directly dismissed from his post and sent to other arduous fronts: "Fortunately, Marshal Vasilevsky is still in Moscow. You can invite him to meet Comrade Stalin with him."
"This is a good idea." Shtemenko looked forward and backward in the corridor and found that the dean's office was not far away, so he said casually: "I will go to the dean's office and call Comrade Chief of General Staff and ask him
Dare to report to the Supreme Command himself as soon as possible, and then call Marshal Vasilevsky."
When the two came to the dean's office, the dean was sternly reprimanding a medical staff member who had made a mistake. When he noticed someone coming in, he asked without looking back: "Is something the matter?"
"Comrade Dean," Shtemenko said politely, even though his military rank was many levels higher than that of the dean, "I'm here to borrow a phone from you."
"This is not a public phone booth. You can't just come here if you want..." The dean turned around and reprimanded this subordinate who didn't know the heights of the world. But when he turned around, he found Shtemenko and Lunev standing at the door.
The next words were swallowed back immediately. After a while, he asked awkwardly with a smile: "Why is it yours, Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff. Why are you free today and come to our hospital?"
"I came here specifically to visit General Sokov. As soon as I got here, I suddenly remembered that I had an important phone call to make." Shtemenko explained with a smile on his face: "That's why I came to you specifically to borrow the phone.
If it's not convenient for you, then I'll try my luck in another office."
"Look at what you said, Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff." The dean lowered his stance, completely different from the dean who just reprimanded the medical staff: "You can use my phone here as you like."
He even took the initiative to ask: "Do you need me to avoid you when you call?"
Shtemenko was not polite to him. He nodded and said: "I am making an extremely important call. Your level cannot stay here. Please stay away for a while. Do you mind?"
How could the director dare to say no in front of Shtemenko? He kept saying: "We are going out now, we are going out now." After saying that, he stepped back and walked out of the office, and called on the medical staff who were scolded by him to come with him.
leave.
Antonov was a little surprised when he received Shtemenko's call: "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, have you finished talking to General Sokov so quickly?"
"I haven't seen him yet," Shtemenko replied: "I just thought of something important and thought I should call you to remind you."
"Remind me of what?" Antonov asked politely on the other end of the phone.
"I think the news of Zhitomir's defeat needs to be reported to the supreme commander himself as soon as possible." Shtemenko said into the microphone: "If it is not reported for a long time, and he learns about what happened on the battlefield through his own special channels
I'm afraid it will have a negative impact on you."
"Okay, I'll go right away."
"I suggest that when you go, you'd better call Marshal Vasilevsky. This may be good for you."
"I understand, Comrade Shtemenko." Antonov immediately understood Shtemenko's meaning and thanked him: "Thank you for reminding me. I am really grateful."
After putting down the phone, Shtemenko and Lunev left the dean's office and went directly to Sokov's ward.
Sokov seemed to have anticipated the arrival of the two men. As soon as they entered the door, he greeted them: "Comrade generals, are you here to see me again?"
After Shtemenko nodded in approval, Sokov turned to Asya and Vera and said: "We have important things to talk about, so you should stay away for a while."
Hearing what Sokov said, Asia and Vera did not hesitate at all. They simply packed up the things in the room and quickly left the ward.
This chapter has been completed!