Sokov was stunned when he received a telegram from Malining. He called Vitkov to his face and asked with doubt: "Comrade Chief of Staff, have we reported any combat plan to the Front Command?"
"No, Comrade Commander." Witkov shook his head and replied in a positive tone: "We have not reported any combat plan."
Sokov handed the telegram to Vitkov, "What's going on with this telegram?"
After reading the telegram, Vitkov was also confused: "I'm sorry, comrade Commander, I don't know what General Malining's telegram is like? Otherwise, I'll send him a telegram to find out the situation?"
Sokov, eager to know the answer, nodded and said in agreement: "Well, send a telegram and ask."
More than ten minutes later, Malining's call came. The message wrote in detail the offensive plan in the direction of Ijium. After reading it, Sokov looked up at Vitkov and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you feel that this combat plan has a very familiar feeling?"
"Of course I'm familiar with it." Vetkov shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly: "Isn't this the combat plan we discussed casually during the morning chat. But what's strange is how could Commander Rokosovsky know about this plan?"
"Yes, it's quite strange." Sokov originally thought that the news might have been revealed to Rokosovsky by Lunev, but then he thought that the two seemed unfamiliar, so he denied the idea and continued to say strangely: "Who is it that revealed this plan to the commander of the front army?"
So, Vitkov sent another telegram to Malining and explained to the other party that the offensive plan he knew was just his and Sokov's deduction on the map in the morning, and he was not really planning to attack Ijium. Now he does not have the various subjective and objective conditions of Ijium.
After receiving the second telegram from Vitkov, Malinin immediately reported to Rokosovsky: "Comrade Commander, I have figured out that the combat plan is just a deduction by Major General Sokov and Chief of Staff Vitkov on the map. It may have been heard by General Lunev. He mistakenly thought that they were formulating the combat plan, so he reported it to the Supreme Command through his own channels."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Rokosovsky explained to Stalin for a long time on the phone, but the other party always thought it was a good plan and it was completely necessary to implement it. After figuring out what was going on, Rokosovsky shook his head with a wry smile and said, "It seems you are right. It was because Misha and Vitkov were misunderstood by Lunev and reported it to the Supreme Command. Now the Supreme Commander himself is very interested in this plan and is preparing to launch a new attack to snatch Ijium from the enemy's hands."
"Comrade Commander, now is not a good time to attack." Malining took the initiative to say without waiting for Rokosovsky to ask again, "Think about it, after a long battle, both soldiers and supplies, they are in a state of extreme scarcity. Moreover, our logistics supply base is still thousands of kilometers away from them, and it takes at least one month or even longer to complete the supply work. Otherwise, the supplies owned by the troops will not meet the needs of a large-scale battle at all.
Secondly, and the most critical point. It is now in the spring thawing season, all roads are muddy, and even march is a problem, let alone combat. If we really launch an attack forcibly, our tanks and armored vehicles will be stuck in the quagmire and it will be difficult to move. The enemy's artillery can destroy our technical equipment like a target."
Rokosovsky agreed with Malining's statement. He nodded and said, "Yes, what we can do now is to order all troops to move into defense on the spot, build fortifications, and confront the enemy."
"Comrade Commander, if all the troops in contact with the enemy are affiliated with our Front Army, then things are easy to do." Malining sighed and said, "It's a pity that in addition to us, there are also the Southwest Front and the Voronezh Front. Our own troops can command, but friendly troops cannot command them."
"I heard that Marshal Zhukov has returned to Moscow." Rokosovsky stared at the map and said, "Now the troops of the Southwest Front are commanded by General Malinovsky. Without the coordination of the representatives of the base camp, we will not be able to carry out joint operations."
"Since we cannot fight together, we can only focus on our own defense zone first." Malining said: "Fortunately, our three armies now occupy the Red Army village, the Donetsk line, forming a huge defense zone. If the enemy does not attack, it will definitely suffer a great loss once it attacks."
"Well, send a telegram to the commanders of the three armies, ordering them to build fortifications on the spot and be prepared for long-term persistence. If an attack on the enemy is to be launched, it must be reported to the Front Command in advance and approved before the plan can be implemented."
"Comrade Commander," said Malinin, hearing Rokosovsky's order, "Since you ordered the troops to establish defense, how are you going to reply to the Supreme Command?"
"To be honest," Rokosovsky said calmly: "The Germans gathered heavy troops in the Ijum area. If they launch a rash attack, I worry that they will consume our only reserves. Once the enemy eliminates the threat from their rear, they can turn around and attack Kharkov-Belgorod again. I don't think that with General Golikov's current strength, they can defend these places."
"You are right. As long as we build fortifications here, we can pose a threat to the rear of the German army. They will not be able to concentrate their superior forces to attack Kharkov-Donetsk." Malining quickly replied: "I will send a telegram to the three commanders of the army, ordering them to seize the time to build fortifications."
After receiving the telegram from Malining again, Sokov thankfully said to Vitkov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, it seems that the commander of the front army is still very familiar with our situation. He did not forcefully order us to attack Ijium, but ordered us to move to the defense with the other two armies on the spot and confront the German army."
Chapter completed!