After finishing the call with Malining, Zhukov called his chief of staff Golushkevich. After the call was made, he asked straight to the point: "Comrade Major General, do we currently have transport planes in the combat area of ​​the 16th Army?"
"Comrade General, I'll check it out immediately." Golushkevich didn't know why Zhukov asked about this, so he said slowly: "I'll notify you when there is a result."
If it were normal times, Zhukov might have put down the phone and waited for Golushkvic's reply to him with peace of mind. But at this moment, Rokosovsky was on the verge of death. He would have saved his life earlier by sending him to Moscow. Therefore, Zhukov said stubbornly: "You will check it immediately, and I will wait for your reply."
"Comrade General," said Golushkevich with some confusion: "I guess it will take ten minutes at the earliest to find out whether there are our transport aircraft in the defense zone of the 16th Army."
"No, I can only give you two minutes at most." Zhukov said toughly: "Rokosovsky is seriously injured and needs to be sent to Moscow immediately for rescue. For every extra minute of delay, he will be in danger."
"What, Rokosovsky was injured?" This unexpected news shocked Major General Golushkevich. He hurriedly flipped the notebook in front of him and quickly checked the content recorded on it. When he found a useful information on it, he quickly said to Zhukov: "Comrade General, today we sent a C-47 transport plane to transport supplies to the 61st Group Army, and we should not have returned yet."
"Get General Popov immediately." Zhukov immediately ordered after hearing Golushkevich say this: "Let the plane forward Suxinic immediately after completing the unloading, and take Rokosovsky back to Moscow."
"Comrade General." After Goluskov finished speaking, he asked carefully: "I don't know which hospital we should send Comrade Rokosovsky to Moscow."
"I want to report the news of Rokosovsky's injury to the Supreme Command immediately to see which hospital they are going to arrange Rokosovsky to." Zhukov said hesitantly: "Your mission is to arrange the plane to transfer to Suxinic first."
Zhukov knew very well that if he reported it layer by layer according to the convention, it would take at least a few hours before Stalin could know the news of Rokosovsky's injury. So he picked up the high-frequency phone on the table and directly called the Kremlin switchboard. After the "beep...beep..." in the receiver, he heard someone asking: "This is the Kremlin, where do you want?"
"I am General Zhukov." Zhukov said to the microphone: "Check me to Comrade Stalin's office immediately. I have important things to report to him."
Stalin was sitting behind his desk and looked down at a speech. In another hour, he would go to the race hall next to the Kremlin to attend the celebration of Women's Day held there. At the meeting, he would make a passionate speech to let the vast number of women congratulate the festival. At this moment, the door was pushed open and Poskrebeshev appeared at the door.
"Poskrebeshev," Stalin took off the cigarette butt in his mouth and asked the bald secretary who was staring at him, "Is there anything wrong?"
"Comrade Stalin." Poskrebeshev replied respectfully: "The call from General Zhukov is on the front line. From his tone, there seems to be something urgent."
Stalin nodded, reached out to pick up the phone on the table, and said to the microphone: "Hello, Comrade Zhukov, I am Stalin. Call me, are there any good news to tell me?" Poskrebeshev saw that Stalin was already on the phone, so he quietly left the office and brought it to the door.
"Comrade Stalin, I am sorry, I have brought you bad news." Zhukov said in a heavy tone: "Rokosovsky's headquarters was attacked by the German cold artillery. He was seriously injured and needed to return to Moscow immediately for treatment."
"What, Rokosovsky was injured?" Stalin was also shocked when he heard the news and asked quickly: "Have you contacted him the military hospital in Moscow?"
"Not yet, Comrade Stalin." Zhukov said with some embarrassment: "According to normal steps, I should report this to the Supreme Command and the General Staff in advance, and they will report it to you. Then, after you know about it, come to the hospital where Rokosovsky was arranged for treatment..."
Stalin waited for Zhukov to finish his words patiently and immediately said with praise: "Comrade Zhukov, you are right! In this kind of race against time, there is no need to follow the previous procedures. By the way, the distance from Sushinic to Moscow is not close. How do you plan to send Rokosovsky back to Moscow?"
"I have sent a C-47 transport plane to Sushinic." After answering, Zhukov asked back: "Comrade Stalin, I wonder which military hospital you plan to arrange him in?"
"I think he will be arranged at Dimiriyazef Agricultural College." After Stalin finished speaking, he was afraid that Zhukov would misunderstand, so he quickly added: "Since the college has been suspended, the army has requisitioned several of the teaching buildings and dormitory buildings as military hospitals. Outside the college is an open area, and planes transporting Rokosovsky can land directly there."
After Malining got Zhukov's comrades, he immediately ordered people to clear a wide area in the east of the city so that the planes flying from the 61st Army Defense Zone could land. As for whom Rokosovsky was escorted back to Moscow, several leaders of the army quickly reached a consensus and handed over this glorious and arduous task to Sokov and another staff officer.
After the plane landed in the open area outside the city, Sokov helped the stretcher to lift Rokosovsky onto the plane. Just as the plane was about to take off, a jeep rushed over. It was still far away. Someone poked his head out from this side of the co-pilot and shouted loudly: "Wait a minute, wait a minute!"
Standing next to the plane, Malining heard someone shouting, guessing that something might have happened, so he ordered the pilot to wait for a while, and took two soldiers to meet him.
The jeep stopped five or six meters away from Malining and jumped out of the car. Malining recognized that this was a staff member of the Political Department of the Group Army, and asked curiously: "What happened?"
After the political worker raised his hand to salute Malining, he reported: "Comrade Chief of Staff, just received an order from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, saying that she needs to be reviewed. I was ordered to send her to Rubyanka, Moscow." After he finished speaking, he turned around and shouted in the direction of the jeep, "Let's get out of the car." With the shouting, the back door of the jeep was pushed open, and a young female lieutenant in a German uniform walked out of the car.
Although many people in the Army Command knew that Elizabeth was an anti-***ist and a member of the underground resistance group. Before completing her review, Malining still called her military rank: "Is it Second Lieutenant Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth said respectfully: "It's me, Your Excellency the Chief of Staff."
Chapter completed!