"Comrade Commander," Malinin reported excitedly on the phone: "It was Sokov, Major General Sokov's report."

When he answered the phone, Rokosovsky pressed the external function, which was similar to the hands-free function commonly used in later generations, so that everyone in the room could hear his conversation with Malining. He was very afraid that Malining would call himself for some trivial matters, but when he heard the other party say this, he immediately realized that it must be a very exciting news, and asked quickly: "Let me tell me quickly, how is the progress of their attack on the enemy?"

Malining guessed the environment he was in from the tone of Rokosovsky's speech, so he did not talk nonsense. Instead, he reported straight to the point: "Comrade Commander, after a fierce battle, the 41st and 71st Guards on the left wing of the Sixth Army had defeated the German Skeleton Division and captured the division commander of the division alive. The 67th Guards on the right wing also occupied the town of Rokinsik and was currently fighting fiercely with the enemy, but this enemy's path has been cut off by the 41st Guards Division, and their destruction is only a matter of time."

"Great, this is really exciting and good news." After learning that it was indeed good news, Rokosovsky was not proud. No matter what, it was a meeting of the Supreme Command. He, the commander of the Front Army, was just a listener. He could not use such trivial matters to affect the progress of the meeting. He quickly said to Malining: "Chief of Staff, we are still in a meeting. After the meeting is over, you will report the detailed battle report of the Sixth Army to me."

After hanging up the phone, Rokosovsky said to Stalin with an apology: "I'm sorry, Comrade Stalin, because of my reasons, it affected the normal progress of the meeting."

Since I learned that the call to interrupt the meeting was to report an exciting good news, Stalin smiled on his face. Hearing Rokosovsky's words of self-blame, he quickly said generously: "It's okay. If we interrupt the call to the meeting process every time we interrupt the good news, I hope that every meeting can be interrupted."

"If I remember correctly," Voroshilov, who had rarely spoken at meetings in the past year, suddenly spoke: "In the battle at the end of February, the original Sixth Army and Popov quickly clustered were defeated by the German Skeleton Division, Imperial Division and Flag Guard Division. I really didn't expect that the reorganized Sixth Army can actually defeat these three SS divisions in a mess."

"If nothing unexpected happens," Ustinov of the Weapons and Equipment Department continued: "After the Sixth Army eliminated the German Skeleton Division and Imperial Division, it could continue to go north to eliminate the enemies entrenched in Balvinkovo. There was also a flag guard division that caused our army's headache."

"I have a different view." Zhukov, who was sitting next to Rokosovsky, said unexpectedly after hearing this: "Under the current circumstances, our army is not suitable to launch an attack on Balvinkovo."

"Why?" Temuxinge immediately widened his eyes in surprise when he heard Zhukov say this: "Master Zhukov, why do you think our army is not suitable for regaining Balvinkovo ​​under the current circumstances? You must know that the offensive we launched last summer was because of the failure to eradicate Balvinkovo's enemies in time, which resulted in the failure of our army. If we want to drive the enemy to the other side of the Dnieper River, what we have to do needs to be eradicated Balvinkovo's enemies first."

"It is true that the enemy of Balvinkovo ​​was eliminated and the Germans were driven to the other side of the Dnepr River." Zhukov said to Temuxingo with a blank expression: "But with the existing strength of the Sixth Army, it is impossible to take down Balvinkovo. Because once they launch an attack on Balvinkovo, the two German armored troops stationed in Ijium may rush to reinforce. At that time, the flanks of the Sixth Army will be attacked by the enemy and may be defeated at any time."

"Comrade Marshal, don't you know that the Sixth Army now has eight infantry divisions, and there are also a considerable number of tank brigades and artillery divisions. By the way, they were equipped with two aviation divisions not long ago. With such a strong strength, if an attack on Balvinkovo, I think the Germans will not support it for long."

"They do have eight infantry divisions, and they are basically guard divisions." Zhukov asked after saying this: "But these divisions have either been severely reduced after a long period of fighting; or they have just completed the replenishment work in the rear. Most of the commanders and fighters in the army are recruits, and their combat effectiveness has been severely diluted."

After hearing Zhukov say this, Temuxine immediately fell silent. He knew that Zhukov was talking about the truth. Although Sokov had eight divisions under his name, the truly combat-capable troops were probably the commanders and fighters of the three divisions who were fighting fiercely with the Skeleton Division and the Imperial Division. Moreover, after today's battle, there would be a large number of reductions in personnel, which led to the troops losing their combat effectiveness in a short period of time.

Seeing that Temuxinge stopped talking, Zhukov continued: "As far as I know, the reason why General Sokov's troops achieved such results was not only because of the bravery of the commanders and soldiers and the proper tactics of the commanders, but also the new weapons they equipped also played a great role."

"New weapon?" Kalinin, who had a white goatee and held a crutch in his hand at any time, couldn't help but ask when he heard this, "What new weapon?"

"Comrade Kalinin, please allow me to report to you." After hearing Kalinin's question, Ustinov quickly stood up and explained to him: "In fact, as early as the Battle of Stalingrad, our Weapons and Equipment Department provided a large number of new weapons to the troops commanded by General Sokov, allowing them to test the performance of weapons for us in combat and provide the parameters we need."

"Comrade of the People's Committee," Kalinin asked curiously after hearing Ustinov's words: "I want to ask you, we have so many troops, why did you choose the troops where General Sokov is located? What is the reason?"

Faced with Kalinin's doubts, Ustinov grinned and replied: "Comrade Kalinin, there are many reasons. The most important thing is that these new weapons were invented by General Sokov. It should be no problem to let the inventors test the weapons they invented, right?"

Kalinin never dreamed that the reason why Ustinov handed over the newly-made weapons to the Sokov troops was entirely because these weapons were developed by Sokov. The muscles on his face twitched a few times and said awkwardly: "So that's the case. I really didn't expect that General Sokov not only had a set of war, but also knew how to invent new weapons." He turned his head and said to Stalin, "Comrade Stalin, General Sokov is an amazing asset to our army. I think it is very inappropriate to put him on the dangerous front."

"I have also considered to transfer him back from the front." Stalin said to Kalinin while smoking his pipe: "So he brought this matter directly to him through Comrade Ustinov, but unfortunately, he chose to refuse, and he even said that only by staying at the forefront can he better play his talents."

"Yes, I also think that he can play a greater purpose in staying on the battlefield than staying in the Weapons and Equipment Department." Zhukov, who has always had a good impression of Sokov, said without any concealment: "If it weren't for the far away, just talk about the Stalingrad defense battle. If the 41st Guard Division, commanded by Sokov, had firmly guarded the Mamayev hill, prevented the enemy from approaching our ferry, cut off the connection between the city and the outside world, and continuously transported troops and various materials into the city, I'm afraid that Cuikov's 62nd Army would not be able to withstand even September."

Kalinin said with a smile: "Comrade Zhukov, it seems that you are very optimistic about this young general?"

"People who have told him will feel the same as me." Zhukov said, and looked to Rokosovsky beside him: "You said yes, Comrade Rokosovsky?"

"Yes, comrade Marshal." Rokosovsky nodded quickly and responded: "Sokov is a very capable commander. If he was not too young, he would have obtained a higher military rank with the results he achieved."

"Master Zhukov," Temuxine disagreed with Zhukov's statement: "Yes, he is indeed very capable, but I have read his resume. He has never been to any military academy at all. It may be fine to command a division or even an army. But if he was asked to command more troops, I don't think he is capable of such a position."

Temuxinge's words made the whole room quiet. Those who knew Sokov began to think quietly in their hearts about what he said. Judging from Sokov's resume, it was indeed unreasonable before joining the army. But since he led several soldiers to resolutely block the German reconnaissance team in Shimki Town that attempted to occupy the town, he began to make his mark step by step. Especially in the Battle of Stalingrad that ended not long ago, he made immortal contributions.

"Martyman Timuxin, I don't agree with you." A person's speech broke the silence in the room: "I have dealt with Sokov before. I have a better say than you. Yes, he has never been to a military academy, but he knows how to learn continuously in the war and learn how to be a good commander. Judging from the battle reports I received today, he is very competent in the newly obtained position of commander of the army."

After seeing the person who stood up for Sokov, Temuxine was shocked: "Comrade Khrushchev, do you really think that Major General Sokov is fully qualified for a higher position?"

"I think he is perfectly OK," Khrushchev said confidently: "But when he was a senior commander, he might make some minor mistakes that are prone to being inexperienced. Therefore, when we choose the deputy who is partnered with him, we must be cautious and remind him not to make mistakes with those deputy with rich experience."

"Comrade Khrushchev, you make a lot of sense." Stalin agreed with Khrushchev's proposal. "When he becomes a higher-level commander in the future, he must select two comrades with rich experience to be his deputy and help him perform his duties better. Next, let's discuss whether he should attack Balvinkovo?"

When Temuxingo saw Stalin helping Sokov speak nice things intentionally or unintentionally, he felt particularly depressed. However, when he heard Stalin ask whether he could attack Balvinkovo, he immediately expressed his opinion: "Comrade Stalin, I think it is completely necessary to attack Balvinkovo. Think about it, if our army occupied this place, then Ijium's two armored divisions and several German divisions would fall into the encirclement of our army. Maybe we can organize a special battle against Ijium's enemies to severely attack these enemies."

"I have just said that the time to attack Balvinkovo ​​is not yet ripe." Zhukov knew very well that the reason why Temuxingo never forgets Balvinkovo ​​every year was because he organized the attack last year was because he despised Balvinkovo's enemies. As a result, during the attack, he was attacked by the German army from the flanks, which resulted in the failure of the attack and the loss of troops. Although he sympathized with Temuxingo in his heart, he could not watch it.

The troops launched a wrong attack at the wrong time, so they retorted clearly: "We should see that although the enemy suffered heavy damage near the Red Army Village, the enemy's strength is still very strong. If they attack rashly, Sokov's Sixth Army will suffer huge losses. Once the Sixth Army loses its personnel seriously, there will be a huge gap in the defense area they are responsible for, and the enemy will wedge into our army's defense zone from the gap."

"Konstantin Konstantinovich." Stalin, after Zhukov finished speaking, called Rokosovsky's real name and father's name and asked: "Tell me, can we attack Balvinkovo?"

Rokosovsky didn't know what Stalin was thinking. After hearing this question, he couldn't help but hesitate. His mind quickly turned to think about how to answer Stalin's question.

"It's okay," Stalin saw Rokosovsky's embarrassment and quickly comforted him, "You can say whatever you think, even if you say it wrong, I won't blame you."

Rokosovsky said thoughtfully: "By heart, I also want to seize the Balvinkovo ​​area as soon as possible, because our front troops are preparing to transfer to the Orel area one after another. If I can capture Ijium and Balvinkovo, our mobilization will be smoother."
Chapter completed!