Chapter 1447

"Comrade Stalin," although Zhukov knew in his heart that Stalin hated Ivanov, he did not expect to replace Ivanov at the critical moment when the general staff needed to coordinate and command major battlefield operations. At such a moment, he felt that he should not keep silent any more, so he stood up first before vasilevsky spoke, "Now our army is engaged in a fierce battle with the German army in Leningrad and Ukraine. If we change the deputy chief of general staff at this time, I think it is very inappropriate," he said

After hearing Zhukov's objection, Stalin turned to look at vasilevsky and asked noncommittally, "what's your opinion, comrade vasilevsky?"

When vasilevsky heard Stalin call his name, he quickly got up from his seat and replied respectfully, "Comrade Stalin, as you know, although I am the chief of the general staff, most of the time I stay on all fronts like Marshal Zhukov. Comrade Ivanov has always been in charge of the work of the general staff. If the deputy chief of general staff is replaced at this time, it will certainly have some negative effects on the work of the general staff. "

Seeing that Zhukov and vasilevsky raised objections to the replacement of the post of deputy chief of general staff, Stalin stood up without saying a word, clenched his famous pipe with his fist, and began to pace slowly in the room. At the same time, he began to seriously consider whether his proposal was too impulsive.

Seeing that Stalin didn't speak, Zhukov just walked back and forth in the room. He knew in his heart that he didn't really want to change the deputy chief of the general staff. He just had an opinion on Ivanov. He said quickly, "according to my understanding, comrade marinin's main characteristics are to make a combat plan, to be careful in calculation, and to organize troops' operations in a creative way, Try not to wait for the commander's instruction to put forward the necessary reasonable suggestions to warn the superior. Therefore, the headquarters of the front army under his leadership is the best of all the headquarters of the front army of our army. The staff under his leadership get along well with each other, and their work is well coordinated. "

When Stalin heard Zhukov say this, he could not help but stop. He looked at him with some surprise and began to wonder why he even introduced marinin's advantages to himself when he opposed the exchange of the two commanders?

Seeing Stalin stop and look at himself, Zhukov continued: "however, he is impatient and can't get along with many commanders. Only his collocation with rokosovsky complements each other. Not long ago, rokosovsky suggested to me that malining should take the post of commander of a group army, but he stubbornly refused. He said that he didn't want to be commander of any group army, but wanted to be chief of staff of Comrade rokosovsky all his life. "

When vasilevsky heard Zhukov praise malining, his heart went up to his throat. He was afraid that Stalin would make up his mind to let malining and Ivanov exchange notes. After Zhukov said the following words, he finally realized that Zhukov was gently persuading Stalin to change his mind.

Fortunately, today's Stalin is no longer as headstrong as he was before the war. He can listen to the opinions of his subordinates with an open mind. Seeing that Zhukov and vasilevsky are both opposed to changing his deputy chief of general staff, he is no longer stubborn, but says casually, "well, since you two don't agree to the swap, that's all. Don't talk about it any more."

While the general staff is discussing the selection of the commander of the Belarusian second front army, I am reporting the recent reconnaissance situation to general malining, chief of staff of the Belarusian second front army. After recording my report, malining said to me with a smile, "Rita, I have good news for you."

hot wire? When I heard what malining said, I thought to myself, is it because my superior is going to add new troops to me? Although I now have four infantry units in my hands, if the superior gives me the same number of units, I will not be too many. In order to confirm my conjecture, I tentatively asked: "Comrade chief of staff, do you want to add new troops to us?"

"Additional troops?" When malining heard me say this, he was stunned at first, and then replied, "don't you forget that the supreme command is going to set up a second front army in Belarus. Today, the general staff is discussing who will take the post of commander."

"Ah, today we are discussing the candidates for the new front army?" When I heard malining say this, I was quite surprised. It should be considered a top secret thing. How could he know? Is our army's level of confidentiality so low? Thinking of this, I couldn't help asking curiously, "Comrade chief of staff, how do you know?"

"The source of the information is kept secret for the time being." Instead of answering my concerns, malining said bluntly, "there are only three candidates for the commander of the front army. You are one of them."

I'm eager to know who the other two competitors are. If they are better than me, I'll be out of business. So I can't wait to ask, "who are the other two commanders?"

Malining didn't know from what way he got the information, but he actually accurately named the other two candidates: "one is chernyahovsky, commander of the 60th group army, and the other is general kurotchkin, deputy commander of the first front army of Ukraine."

"Well, chief of staff, I don't think I can do it." When malining finished speaking, I probably sighed and said to him, "these two generals are higher than me in terms of rank and seniority. I have no hope of running for office with them."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Rita." Malining was more anxious than I was about whether I could take the post of commander of the second front army. He heard me sighing and comforted me, saying: "I have studied this issue with the commander. Although there are outstanding military commanders like general chernyahovsky among the candidates, the higher authorities will not let him serve as the commander of the second front army, but let him serve as the commander of the third front army to be formed later. "

After listening to malining's words, I had to praise the analysis made by him and rokosovsky. They guessed it very accurately. In real history, chernyahovsky was the commander of the third front army of Belarus, and he was not replaced by a new Commander until he died in February 45.

I knew in my heart that whether I could become a marshal before the end of the war depended entirely on whether I could become the commander of a certain front army before driving the German army out of the Soviet Union. According to my experience, the position of commander of the newly formed front army is reserved for those commanders who have withstood the most severe test on the battlefield. In addition to finding a basic condition, they also need to have brilliant achievements and be appreciated by the Supreme Commander himself. Although kurotchkin is the deputy commander of the front army, he has been mediocre since the outbreak of the war. If he is the only one competing with me, my chances of success are still very high.

After hearing that I hadn't spoken for a long time, malining thought that I was still worried about losing the election, so he comforted me and said, "don't worry. The other candidate, general kurotchkin, was the commander of the group army at the beginning of the war, but because of his mediocre record, he was not favored by the higher authorities, so even if he became a candidate, It's just because of his seniority. In the end, the post of commander is yours. "

Although kurotchkin once served as the deputy of vatukin, he really didn't have much impression on him. Even when rokosovsky came to act as the commander of the first front army of Ukraine, I didn't deal with this deputy commander. Try to think back to those famous Soviet generals I remember. It seems that I have never heard of him. When I think about it, I automatically put kurokijin in the role of soy sauce.

"I'm sure your appointment will be conveyed later today, Rita." Malining was good at reminding me: "since you are leaving, you should choose a suitable person to take over your position as soon as possible."

I didn't have to think about the successor at all. I just pushed chisgakov out. After all, if it wasn't for my sudden appearance, the post of commander of the sixth group army would have been his, so I said without hesitation: "is that true? Of course, it is Comrade chisgakov, who is fully qualified for the post of commander. "

"Good. I'll write down the candidates you recommend first." Malining quickly wrote down the name of chisgakov in his book, and then said to me, "once your transfer order comes down, you should immediately transfer the command to your deputy, and then report to the new army."

I think that if I go to the new army alone, it will not be easy for me to carry out a lot of work. I must have someone to help me. So I asked tentatively, "Comrade chief of staff, when I go to the new army, how many people can I take with me?"

"No problem, this is allowed." Malining was deeply afraid that I had no experience, and he was good at reminding me: "I think the combat Director under you is very capable. You might as well take him."

In fact, even if he doesn't remind me, I also want to bring major akhromeyev to the new army. After all, this is my old subordinate, who weighs his hands. I nodded and then asked, "I want to take Comrade kirilov, the current military commissar, with me. I don't know if I can?"

"If you're going to take it, there's no problem. However... "Malining said with some embarrassment:" because of his low rank, he can no longer serve as your deputy. He can only work in the group army or the Political Department of the front army. I suggest you consult him in advance. "

As soon as I put down the phone, chisjakov, who was sitting next to me, stood up, reached out his hand to me and said with a smile, "Comrade commander, I congratulate you on your promotion!"

I shook his hearsay lightly and said humbly, "Comrade deputy commander, this is just a grapevine. As for who will be the commander of the front army, it has the final say."

"Comrade commander, you are too modest." With a smile on his face, chisjakov said, "since the chief of staff of the front army has congratulated you in advance, it's a matter of certainty." At this point, he came close to my ear and said in a low voice, "besides, when we captured moziri and kalinkovic, the superior handed over another three army groups under your unified command. This is a test for you. Fortunately, you have successfully liberated these two cities from the enemy's hands in just two or three days under your command. It can be said that you have successfully passed the test. Now it's time to reward them for their merits. "

After chisjakov, bzikov also congratulated me. He whispered to me, "Rita, when you go to the new army, can you take me with you?" After hearing his request, I took a look at chisgakov standing next to him, and then said in embarrassment, "chief of staff, if I really want to leave and take you and the military commissar away, I will leave the deputy commander to sing a solo. In that case, it will be difficult for him to carry out his next work. "“ Yes, chief of staff. " As soon as I finished, chisjakov also said to bezikov in a friendly way: "if you leave with the commander, the work of the group army will fall into chaos in a short time. So I have a proposal. Even if you want to leave, you need to wait until our superiors send us a new chief of staff and military Commissar. Do you think so? " Seeing that chisgakov was so sincere, bizikov had no choice but to say, "well, comrade deputy commander, I'll stay first and leave after the internal work of the group army is straightened out." Thinking that I was going to leave, chisjakov asked me modestly, "Comrade commander, what is the main work of our group army after you leave?" If we really want to launch a counter offensive in Belarus, then they must be the main force of the attack. Thinking of this, I said to chisgakov, "Comrade deputy commander, we need to give a new order to the troops that are going to the enemy's rear for reconnaissance, so that they can try their best to get in touch with the local guerrillas."“ Get in touch with the guerrillas? " Chisgakov could not help frowning when he heard me say this: "Comrade commander, the fighting capacity of the guerrillas is limited, and it may not help us much."“ On the contrary, my comrade deputy commander. " Seeing his disapproval of the guerrillas, I specially reminded him: "as long as we establish extensive contact with the guerrillas behind the enemy, after our attack, they can make trouble in the enemy's rear, prevent the enemy from sending reserves to the front, and inform us of the German movement in time by radio." As soon as I explained to chisjakov the importance of contacting the guerrillas, I got a call from malining. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Rita," he said apologetically on the phone. According to the information I just got, the higher authorities intend to appoint general kurotchkin as commander of the second front army of Belarus. " Although I have no confidence in whether I can become commander of the front army, I am ready to lose the election. But when I really heard malining tell me the bad news, my heart was still sour, but I still pretended to be calm and said: "I know, comrade chief of staff, I can't be the chief of staff this time. Maybe there will be another chance in the future. Thank you for informing me of the news."