Red Moscow

  Chapter 191 Unchangeable History

  Vasilevsky said to Sokov in an encouraging tone: "Comrade Major, repeat what you just said to me to General Bagramyan."

Sokov, who was encouraged by Vasilevsky, quickly picked up the explaining stick and explained his point of view again. He also specially emphasized the importance of Barvinkovo, and repeatedly reminded Baghramyan: "The Minister of War Comrade, since our army cannot quickly capture Barvinkovo ​​after the start of the campaign, the enemy may gather heavy troops in this area and launch an assault on the Southern Front..."

  Because Sokov's attention was focused on Baghramyan, he didn't notice when Shaposhnikov and Timoshenko returned to the rostrum. Shaposhnikov looked at Sokov, who was talking eloquently, and turned to Timoshenko: "Comrade Marshal, is this major from your front army?"

   "No, at least not yet." Timoshenko shook his head and said, "His surname is Sokov, and he is currently under the 16th Army of the Western Front, and is a subordinate of Zhukov and Rokossovsky."

"Oh, he's Sokov?" Shaposhnikov had obviously heard of Sokov, so when he heard Timoshenko say that, he immediately asked with great interest, "He's Mikhail." Ivanovich's son?"

"That's right, that's him." Timoshenko nodded, and said in a positive tone: "I heard from Zhukov that he is very good at commanding and fighting. Two days ago, Ustinov also recommended him to me. That's why I have him in this meeting."

"Old Misha was a very good commander, but it's a pity he died too early." Shaposhnikov shook his head and said with regret: "This young man looks good, but it's a pity that he is short-sighted. This kind of large corps combat is critical. In my opinion, he is at best a battalion commander's material."

"What you said is very reasonable, Boris Mikhailovich!" Timoshenko quickly echoed: "My troops once launched an attack on Barvinkovo, but unfortunately it ended in failure. Wait for Kharkov After the offensive campaign starts, even if our army cannot occupy Barvinkovo ​​in a short period of time, I think it is impossible for the Germans to launch a counterattack from here."

  Shaposhnikov looked at his watch and said to Timoshenko: "It's almost time, let's get ready for a meeting."

After Sokov finished his opinion to Baghramyan, he accidentally found that the two marshals were standing not far from him. He quickly raised his hands to his forehead and said in a panic, "Hello, Comrade Marshals. them!"

  Shaposhnikov nodded at him, and then said lightly: "Okay, Major Sokov, finish what you have to say. We will have a meeting soon, you should return to your seat as soon as possible."

After the meeting resumed, Baghramyan continued to speak on behalf of Timoshenko: "...According to the information we have received, the German summer offensive will still be Moscow, and they will also launch a secondary offensive in the south to contain us. of vitality.

   After analysis, the German army's strength south of Moscow was insufficient after the winter campaign. Therefore, we use the Bryansk Front, the Southwest Front, and the Southern Front in this direction to carry out a full-scale attack on them, smash the enemy's defenses in the south of Moscow, and wipe out all German troops east of the Dnieper River..."

After talking about the combat intention, Baghramyan looked at the corner where Sokov was, and continued: "Just now I heard a saying in the meeting that some people think that after we launched the Kharkov offensive campaign, The Germans will gather heavy troops in the Barvinkovo ​​area to launch a sudden attack on the troops of the Southern Front. After defeating the friendly troops, they will attack the flank of our Southwest Front Army, so as to achieve the goal of cutting off and encircling our army. I am here, thinking Tell whoever said it that your inferences are absurd and unrealistic."

  Bagramian's words immediately caused an uproar. The commanders in the meeting looked around and asked, "Who is it? Who made such an absurd conclusion?"

  Hearing Baghramyan criticize himself in public, Sokov, who was sitting in the last row, was simply ashamed. If there was a crack in the ground, he would want to get in immediately. It was really embarrassing.

Fortunately, before the commanders present figured out who said something that made Baghramyan unhappy, Vasilevsky stood up to smooth things over: "Comrade Baghramyan, you can't say that. After all, we The offensive campaign to be launched involves hundreds of thousands of troops from the three front armies, so there is no harm in being cautious."

  The meeting lasted until one o'clock in the noon. Seeing that no one asked any more questions, Timoshenko announced the adjournment of the meeting.

  Hearing that Timoshenko announced the end of the meeting, those present at the meeting got up and left the venue one after another. Sokov also stood up and walked out with the crowd. As soon as he walked out of the door, a captain stopped him: "Is this Major Sokov?"

   "Yes, I'm Sokov." Sokov looked at the strange captain and asked with some puzzlement, "May I ask you what you want from me?"

   "I'm not looking for you." The captain said politely: "It's General Vasilevsky who wants to talk to you."

   Knowing that Vasilevsky wanted to talk to him, Sokov thought to himself that maybe some of his own views coincided with his assumptions, so he wanted to talk to himself in private. In order not to affect the commanders who came out, Sokov and the captain stood by the wall to make way for them.

   When the people attending the meeting had almost left, the captain led Sokov to the door of Vasilevsky's office. He raised his hand and knocked on the door twice, before waiting for a conversation from inside, he pushed open the door and walked in, and closed the door behind him. Not long after, the captain opened the door and came out, stepped aside, and made a gesture of invitation to the room: "Please, Comrade Major, the deputy chief of staff is waiting for you."

  When Sokov walked into the room, the first thing he saw was a long conference table. At the end of the conference table was a horizontal desk, and Vasilevsky, the deputy chief of the general staff, was sitting behind the table.

Sokov quickly walked around the conference table, walked quickly to Vasilevsky, raised his hand to salute him, and said: "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, Commander of the Istria Battalion Sokov The major was ordered to report to you, please give instructions!"

   "Major Sokov, you are here!" Vasilevsky pointed to the empty chair by the conference table and said with a smile, "Stop standing, please sit down!"

After Sokov sat down, Vasilevsky said: "Comrade Major, I have something to inform you. Since you attended this important military meeting, in order to prevent leaks, you may have to stay in Moscow for a while , At the same time, the Istria battalion under your command will also be transferred from the Western Front to the Southwest Front participating in the Kharkov offensive."

  Although Sokov had already guessed in his heart that his troops would probably participate in this offensive battle, but when he really heard what Vasilevsky said, there was still a wry smile on his face.

"The troops under your command have achieved feats in the past few months, we can all see it." Vasilevsky continued: "The headquarters of the Supreme Command will soon supplement the Southwest Front Army, like Easter La Ying, a unit with combat experience and outstanding military exploits, must be added to the main attacking unit...I hope that in this battle, your battalion can make more brilliant achievements."

   Regarding Vasilevsky's expectations, Sokov was really dumbfounded. Because he clearly remembered that the German casualties in this battle were only more than 20,000, while the Soviet army killed nearly 80,000 and captured 240,000. No matter how good your own troops can fight, after all, there is only one battalion of troops. In the fight between the nearly one million troops on both sides, it is estimated that there will be no waves. Not to mention meritorious service, it is not easy for him to survive this battle.

  The expression on Sokov's face was seen by Vasilevsky. He smiled lightly, and then asked: "Comrade Major, do you not have the confidence to win this offensive?"

"No, not at all." After Sukov blurted out, he realized that he had made a mistake, and quickly corrected him: "Deputy Chief of Staff, what I said is not a defeatist argument, but based on the current situation. In the early stages of the campaign, our army may be able to achieve some exciting results. But if Barvinkovo ​​is not captured, it will become a nightmare for our army.”

Vasilevsky patiently listened to Sokov's words, and after being silent for a while, he said: "Major Sokov, I actually have the same opinion as you. At present, the conditions for our army to launch an offensive in the south of Moscow are not yet ripe. But there is no way, this is a matter decided by the Supreme Commander himself, and we can only formulate this attack plan with great political significance according to his wishes. Do you understand?"

Sokov already knew in his heart that the Battle of Kharkov was personally arranged by Stalin, and what he said to Vasilevsky and Bagramyan at the meeting was nothing more than the hope that his little one would A small butterfly can save the Soviet army from this unnecessary fiasco. But judging from the final effect, no one believed him except Vasilevsky. Baghramyan even criticized himself without naming names in front of hundreds of commanders.

   "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff," Sokov asked tentatively: "Since you know that our offensive will hardly succeed, why don't you..."

"Why didn't you dissuade the Supreme Commander himself, did you?" Vasilevsky said before Sokov finished speaking: "When Marshal Timoshenko proposed this plan, I raised objections. Not only me, but also Marshal Shaposhnikov, Chief of the General Staff, and General Zhukov, Commander of the Western Front, have proposed to the Supreme Commander himself that our army should take a cautious defensive position in the south of Moscow, which will consume a lot of the German army's vital strength. After that, we will launch a counterattack. But our opinion was rejected. Therefore, we can only cooperate with Marshal Timoshenko and the others to formulate this attack plan.”

"Understood, Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff." After confirming that even if Vasilevsky and Zhukov came forward, nothing could be changed, Sokov completely gave up, and he asked a little disheartened: "Allow Do I leave?"

   "Wait a minute, Comrade Major." Vasilevsky stopped him and asked curiously, "I heard that you have designed a new type of rocket launcher. Is there such a thing?"

   "Yes, there is such a thing." Sokov nodded, and replied: "The preliminary test was carried out yesterday. If it goes well, it will probably be put into official production after March."

Perhaps because of confidentiality, Vasilevsky, as the deputy chief of staff, did not get the development report of the new rocket launcher. If he wanted to know the situation, he had to ask Sokov, the designer: "I don't know if this rocket launcher How powerful is it?"

"The 107mm caliber rocket launcher I designed is about as powerful as the rocket launcher we are equipped with now." If someone asked about the new rocket launcher, Sokov might refuse to answer, but the person who asked him the question at the moment was Vasilevsky, even if Don't tell me, he can learn the details soon, so he said bluntly: "But its total weight is light, and it can be disassembled and combined quickly. After disassembly, the weight of a single part does not exceed 30 kilograms. To meet According to the requirements of the human back, the decomposed part has the following characteristics in terms of structural size: the upper part does not fit the neck (easy to raise the head), the lower part does not fit the hip (easy to step), the width does not exceed the shoulder (easy to pass), and the center of gravity is close to the body (to prevent twisting the waist). If this The mass production of this rocket launcher will be the most advanced rocket launcher in the world.”

  When Sokov said this, he thought to himself: let alone now, even decades later, this rocket launcher is not comparable to other rocket launchers. However, after hearing what he said, Vasilevsky didn't take it to heart. He had seen with his own eyes the power of the rocket launchers that the troops are currently equipped with, and Sokov's weapon, which is still in the development stage, won the battle. It is too early to say that it is too early to compare the existing equipment of the troops.

After Vasilevsky and Sokov finished talking about business matters, he suddenly asked, "Comrade Major, where is your father buried?" Before Sokov could speak, he continued, "Your father When my father passed away, I happened to be out of town, so it's a pity that I couldn't see him for the last time."

  Vasilevsky's question made Sokov dumbfounded. Since he didn't inherit the memory of the former owner of this body, he was really at a loss when faced with the endless emergence of cheap father's old comrades in arms. Just when he was in a dilemma, the phone on the table rang. Vasilevsky picked up the phone and listened to it for a while, then stood up from his seat, straightened his back and said, "Okay, Comrade Marshal, I will immediately to your office."

After he put down the phone, he said apologetically to Sokov: "Comrade Major, I wanted to chat with you for a while, but Comrade Chief of Staff has urgent business with me, so we can only talk another day." Sokov held out his hand, "Good luck!"

  (end of this chapter)