Konev was silent. He was thinking quietly. Should he follow Sokov's suggestion and report his opinions to his superiors?
But after thinking for a while, Konev decided not to report it. You should know that not long ago, he refused to attack the German Army Group Center when the time was not ripe. As a result, he was reprimanded by the High Command and dismissed from the command.
The extremely important position of commander of the Western Front was removed from his position, and he was assigned to the position of commander of the Prairie Front, which has the nature of a reserve force.
He knew very clearly that unless the High Command agreed to Sokov's proposal and stopped the construction of fortifications in unimportant areas, it would cause him some unnecessary trouble. He said slowly: "Sokov
Major General, I'm sorry that I cannot report your proposal to the High Command."
When Sokov heard this, his whole heart sank. He thought to himself: Damn it, if Konev forcibly ordered him to resume the construction work of the fortifications, would he obey the order, or would he disobey the order? Obey.
If you follow the order, your prestige within the group army will be seriously affected; if you blindly disobey orders, what awaits you may be removal from your post or being sent to a military court.
Just when Sokov was having a headache, he suddenly heard Konev say: "Major General Sokov, there is something I want to inform you. This afternoon, Marshal Zhukov, as a representative of the base camp, will come to inspect our defense area.
If you have any ideas, you can tell him, and if he agrees to stop the construction of the fortifications, then I will not hold you accountable for disobedience."
Sokov couldn't help but be overjoyed when he learned that Zhukov was coming to inspect. He knew very well that Konev was in a very embarrassing situation. Even if he agreed with his actions, he would reprimand himself on the surface. But if Zhukov could be allowed to come forward,
By announcing the cessation of fortification construction in certain areas, he can justifiably order his troops to concentrate on training.
After a brief silence, Sokov asked impatiently: "Front Army Headquarters, when will Marshal Zhukov arrive at our defense area?"
"It's hard to say," Konev said hesitantly: "You also know that he has always been an elusive person, and every time he travels, he doesn't like to bring a large group of followers, so he may only bring a driver and a
The guard is running around all over the world, so no one knows when he will appear in his defense zone."
Sokov agreed very much with Konev's statement. He clearly remembered that during the defense of Moscow, Zhukov liked to travel in a light car and often had only one driver around him. Fortunately, he was lucky.
, he did not encounter Germans along the way, otherwise he would definitely end up with the same tragic fate as Vatutin.
Since Konev could not know the exact time of Zhukov's arrival, Sokov could only find a way on his own. After he put down the phone, he told Samyko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the commander of the front army told me that Marshal Zhukov will arrive soon."
You are about to inspect our defense area. You immediately notify the divisions and monitor the roads closely. If you find a black car appearing, report it to the army headquarters immediately."
"What, Marshal Zhukov is coming to our defense area?" Sammeko suddenly became excited when he learned that Zhukov was coming to his defense area: "Is this true? Comrade Commander, is this true?
?”
"Of course it's true." Sokov said with some embarrassment: "But even the commander of the front army doesn't know when Marshal Zhukov will arrive at our place. Therefore, we can only order each division to closely monitor the troops in their defense zone.
Highway to see if a black car appears."
"Black car?" Samek said with some surprise: "Comrade Commander, why do you think Marshal Zhukov will travel in a black car?"
Samyko's words stunned Sokov. The reason why he mentioned the black car was entirely because in the movie "The Defense of Moscow", the senior officers who appeared on the battlefield, whether it was Zhukov or Roko,
Sovsky, their car was a black car. He hesitated for a while and asked: "Are they going to take other vehicles?"
"The chassis of the black car is too low, and it is easy to get stuck in a mud pit when driving on muddy roads in the countryside." Samyko explained to Sokov: "So starting from April 1942, commanders at all levels went out for inspections.
At that time, all we were traveling in were jeeps given to us by the United States."
Samek's explanation made Sokov realize that his information was a bit outdated. It is no longer fashionable for senior military officers to travel in black cars. Black cars have poor off-road performance. When driving on muddy roads in the suburbs, firstly,
It is easy to fall into a mud pit and be unable to escape. Secondly, it is easy to become a target for enemy attacks.
So he promptly changed the order: "Chief of Staff, then order each division to observe whether there are jeeps that do not belong to our group army to defend the area."
"Understood." Sameko replied readily: "I immediately called the divisions and asked them to pay attention to the strange jeeps entering our army group's defense zone."
Two hours later, a convoy of five jeeps drove towards Sokov's headquarters. The sentry on guard at the headquarters saw Captain Seryosha, commander of the guard company, standing on the steps outside the vehicle.
, immediately realized that the identity of the visitor was not simple. When he was about to enter the headquarters to report, he saw Sokov, Samek and a group of staff from the headquarters walking out of the room.
As soon as everyone lined up at the entrance of the headquarters, the motorcade stopped in front of them. After an officer came out of the passenger seat, he quickly ran to the back and reached out to open the door.
Soon, Sokov saw the short Zhukov get out of the car. After Zhukov got out of the car, he closed the car door forcefully and walked towards Sokov's position with heavy steps.
When Sokov heard the loud sound when the car door closed, he couldn't help but feel a hair in his heart. The reason why Zhukov closed the car door so loudly was to vent his anger. He quickly trotted forward and came to Zhukov.
, stood at attention and saluted: "Comrade Marshal, the commander of the 27th Group Army, Major General Sokov, reports to you. On behalf of the commanders and fighters of the entire group army, I welcome your arrival!"
Zhukov glanced at Sokov, but did not speak, but walked into the room with his hands behind his back. Seeing Zhukov's abnormal reaction, Sokov did not dare to neglect, and followed him in with a group of his men.
Zhukov walked into the headquarters, came to the wall and stared at the map hanging on it for a while, then turned and asked Sokov: "Major General Sokov, do you know where your group army is defending?"
"Report to Comrade Marshal." Sokov quickly replied: "Our army group is defending the Kosky area east of Moscow."
Zhukov walked up to Sokov with his hands behind his back and asked sharply: "Defense, what are you using to defend? On the way here just now, I looked around and found that other armies were still building fortifications in full swing, but your troops
, but what kind of training are you doing there? Don’t you know that once the German army rushes to your position, without a strong and complete defense system, HI will not be able to stop the enemy at all?"
"Comrade Marshal, I know very well that the enemy tanks and self-propelled artillery we are facing have an advantage. Without a complete defense system, it will be difficult to resist them."
"Now that you understand this," Zhukov continued to ask, "then why did you order your troops to stop the construction of fortifications? Major General Sokov, don't you know that this behavior of yours can be said to be a crime."
Faced with Zhukov's accusation, Sokov calmly replied: "Comrade Marshal, can you let me tell you my reasons?"
"Say it."
"Comrade Marshal, please look at the map." Sokov walked to the wall, pointed at the map and said to Zhukov: "The location of our army group is located in the rear of our army. No matter which direction the enemy attacks from, they need to be hit hard.
Only one or two front armies of our army have the opportunity to rush to the defense area of our group army.
I judge based on the situation on the battlefield that although the German army wants to attack, with their current strength, it is impossible to break through our army's defense." Sokov knew that if he could not persuade Zhukov, then his troops would have to pick up the ball again.
Pickaxes and engineering shovels continued to build meaningless fortifications: "If the enemy really has the strength to destroy one or two fronts of our army, then when they rush here, the fortifications we have built in a hurry will be able to block their attack.
Attack?"
After listening to Sokov's self-defense, Zhukov fell silent again.
"Major General Sokov," after a long time, Zhukov spoke again to break the silence in the room: "You said you stopped building the inner fortifications because you considered that there was no possibility for the enemy to rush here?"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Sokov nodded and replied affirmatively: "I believe in my own judgment. The enemy will not be able to appear in the defense area of our army group unless they are taken as prisoners."
If someone else said this, Zhukov would definitely think that the other party was exaggerating. But who is Sokov? He had just commanded several infantry divisions, defeated three German SS divisions, and even annihilated the Imperial Division among them.
Commander Zhukov asked tentatively: "How certain are you that the enemy cannot reach here?"
Although it was a certainty for Sokov that the enemy would not rush to the Koski area, he still showed enough humility in front of Zhukov: "I think it is about 80% sure."
"Eight-level certainty?" Hearing what Sokov said, Zhukov nodded and said happily: "Based on my understanding of you, if you say you are 80% sure, then it is still a sure thing."
Zhukov walked to the table and sat down, patting the table twice with his hand: "I've been here for so long, but no one has poured me tea. Is this how you treat guests?"
When Zhukov was training Sokov, Samyko, who was standing next to him, kept sweating, worried that if Sokov angered the marshal, he might be dismissed from his post on the spot. Just when he was thinking about how to come out to smooth things over, the painting style in the room had already changed.
Something has changed. Marshal Zhukov, who was scolding Sokov not long ago, actually asked someone to make tea for him.
Sammeko did not dare to neglect, and quickly opened the faucet of the samovar, put a cup of hot tea out, brought it over and placed it in front of Zhukov, pushed the small plate with sugar cubes in front of Zhukov, and said respectfully: "Marshal
Comrade, here is the black tea and sugar cubes you want."
Zhukov picked up two sugar cubes and threw them into the tea vat. While slowly stirring them with a spoon, he asked Sokov: "Misha, you ordered the troops to stop all construction, do you want them to concentrate on training?"
"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal, it is exactly like this." Seeing that Zhukov had guessed his intention, Sokov quickly replied: "Most of the soldiers in our group army are militiamen or recruits. They have not undergone systematic military training and have no combat effectiveness.
Worrying. Even if it is deployed on the battlefield, I am afraid it will be difficult to put it to use. When I took office, after repeated thinking, I felt that we could stop building fortifications that wasted people and money and wasted time, and instead concentrated on military training. I believe that at most three
Months, the combat effectiveness of the troops will be greatly improved."
"Three months?" Hearing what Sokov said, Zhukov asked with interest: "Misha, do you think the Germans will attack us again in three months?"
"That's it, Comrade Marshal." On this matter, Sokov did not hide his views at all. He knew the specific time when the Battle of Kursk took place, which was less than three months ago. And the 27th Group Army entered the battlefield.
The time is late, and there are still three months of training time after full training: "It is the spring thaw season, and the roads are muddy, which is not conducive to the movement of mechanized troops. June and July every year are the most conducive to combat seasons.
I think the Germans will definitely let the areas occupied by our troops launch an attack at this stage."
"Misha, what you said makes sense." Regarding Sokov's speculation, Zhukov agreed: "The German army will launch an attack on our country in late June. The sunshine time in summer is long and the fighting time is long.
It can be extended. It seems that our current task is to prepare to prevent the German army from launching a summer offensive."
"Time is of the essence, we need to start preparations now."
"It's very difficult, Misha." Unexpectedly, Zhukov sighed unexpectedly after hearing what Sokov said, and said: "Many fronts are busy repairing fortifications, and there is no time to train new recruits to replenish the troops. I'm worried that it will really
When it comes to fighting, these new recruits who have just been added to the army will have no effect at all."
Sokov did not dare to speak casually on this matter. After listening to Zhukov's words, he just laughed twice and did not express any opinions.
Zhukov glanced at Sokov strangely, and then said: "On the way here, I heard one of your division commanders say that they are training. Anyway, it's okay now. Why don't you take me to see your troops?"
