EMERGENCY POWERS
The first months of the Great Patriotic War. The Nazis rushed to Moscow. They tried to bypass Moscow from the north. We went to the Volga, advanced on Kalinin. A difficult military situation has developed here.
General Konev arrived in Kalinin with emergency powers.
The situation in the city was tense. There were various rumors. Then someone said that allegedly a large fascist airborne assault had landed outside the city. Then a new rumor: the road to Moscow has been cut off. Then another, completely ridiculous - they say, the Nazis are already in Kalinin.
General Konev arrived with his assistants at the building of the city military registration and enlistment office. There are a lot of people in the spacious courtyard. Women, old people, children... Everyone's faces are anxious and concentrated. Clearly, people are worried.
The audience learned that a general had arrived from Moscow with emergency powers. They look at the general, whisper:
“Our business is bad.
Where are the Nazis now?
- Where Soviet troops?
Konev understood that people were worried about the combat situation around Kalinin. How to calm women, old people, children?.. How to prevent impending panic?..
Konev turned to the military commissar:
- Order to bring a bunk to your office, I want to rest from the road.
People looked at each other:
How can you sleep at such a moment?
They brought Konev a bunk. The general took off his boots. Lie down. Covered with an overcoat.
Transmitted in the yard from one to another:
- He took off his boots.
- Lie down.
- He covered himself with an overcoat.
The townspeople understand: if the arrived general went to bed, it means that there is no big threat to the city.
People calmed down. They dispersed to their homes. Neighbors and friends are told:
Everything is fine at the front.
The general is asleep.
- Resting.
But General Konev did not sleep at all. He got up, straightened his tunic, thinking how best to organize resistance to the Nazis.
Heavy fighting then unfolded near Kalinin. For the defense of Moscow from the north, the Kalinin Front was specially created. General Konev was appointed commander.
The Battle of Moscow lasted for several months. And now - our fascists were driven. Fascist plans for a blitzkrieg collapsed.
Many troops distinguished themselves in the battles for Moscow. The armies of the Kalinin Front also distinguished themselves. Further than others, they drove the enemy from Moscow to the west.
Konev fulfilled his powers.
The soldiers did their duty.
BELGOROD
In the summer of 1943, the Nazis hoped to encircle and defeat our troops near Kursk with a swift blow. The best tank divisions were thrown here on our defenses. However, the Soviet soldiers repulsed the assault of the Nazis. They fell upon the enemy.
A powerful offensive of our army began. The fascists are leaving.
The troops of General Konev were advancing on the city of Belgorod.
Near the city there are large deposits of chalk. White around. That is why the city is called Belgorod.
The Nazis fortified Belgorod. They took positions advantageous for defense. The places here are uneven - hills, deep ravines. And the chalk mountains reliably covered the enemy troops.
The success of any battle is in a good knowledge of the forces of the enemy. Konev demands exact data from scouts, where, how the fascist troops are located, in what direction the corps and divisions are moving, where are the weakest sectors in the enemy defense. The scouts leave.
They inform the commander of the front that from the south, from the direction of the Donbass, large forces of fascists are approaching Belgorod - the tanks are moving, the elite Nazi units are grouping. They took a place just in the region of the chalk hills.
- Cretaceous? Konev asked.
- Yes sir! - they say to Konev. The scouts have just arrived!
- Call the scouts!
The scouts showed up. We repeated our report to General Konev.
There are three of them: a sergeant, a junior sergeant, a corporal.
- So you vouch for accuracy? Konev asked.
“We vouch, Comrade General,” the sergeant replied.
- Places identified correctly?
- That's right - right, Comrade General! the sergeant said again. He thrust his hand into his pocket, took a step towards General Konev, and held out the chalk.
- What's happened?
“Chalk from that place,” the sergeant said.
Konev took the chalk. He smiled - the enemy did not hide from our scouts behind the chalk mountains.
Well prepared for the offensive troops General Konev.
He ordered to inflict a powerful artillery strike on the Nazis. The shells raised the earth like a fountain to the sky. Everything was mixed up on the enemy side.
“Well, now attack,” our soldiers decided. However, no. The order to attack was not given.
The second time General Konev ordered an artillery raid on the enemy. Our guns thundered again.
The artillerymen fired.
- Send planes! Konev ordered. Got up in the air Soviet pilots. From the sky brought down death on the Nazis.
“Well, now attack,” the soldiers decided.
However, General Konev does not give the order to attack. General Konev gives the order to launch powerful artillery and air strikes against the enemy again. And only after that the Soviet tanks and infantry moved forward.
It took only two days for the troops of General Konev to defeat the Nazis and take Belgorod by storm.
On the same day, the second Big City- Eagle.
The troops of other fronts that took part in the Battle of Kursk also successfully advanced.
In honor of the victory over the Nazis in the Battle of Kursk, in honor of the liberation of the cities of Orel and Belgorod, Comrade Stalin, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, gave the order to fire an artillery salute in Moscow.
Fireworks sounded over Moscow. In the history of the Great
World War II, this was the first festive volley in honor of the winners. From that day on, fireworks went off.
And Belgorod chalk for a long time reminded General Konev of the Battle of Kursk. Sometimes, preparing for new battles, Konev would take out a piece of crayon: then he would draw an arrow in crayon on the map - there would certainly be an offensive; then the circle will hold in small - the Nazis will be surrounded.
The officers look at the chalk in Konev's hands.
- The same one, Belgorod, victorious ... - reminds one to the other.
And I immediately remember the Battle of Kursk, Belgorod, the first fireworks.
NEW epaulettes
Hills left and right. Between them lies a plain.
It's scary to look at the field. And in breadth, and in the distance, wherever the eye can see - burnt tanks, broken guns ...
The raven spread its wings over the field ...
In these places, the Korsun-Shevchenko battle took place.
Korsun-Shevchenkovsky is a city in Ukraine. Here, south of Kyiv, not far from the Dnieper, in early 1944, Soviet troops surrounded almost ten enemy divisions.
We offered our fascists to lay down their arms. Fascists refused. And ours began a formidable offensive.
The troops that defeated the Nazis near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky were commanded by General Konev.
A new big battle was won by the troops of General Konev. Many fascist soldiers and officers were killed and wounded in the Korsun-Shevchenko battle. Many thousands were taken prisoner.
The battle is over. Suddenly a phone call at the headquarters of General Konev. A call from the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander. At the wire, the Supreme Commander himself, Comrade Stalin.
- General Konev is listening!
“Marshal Konev,” the Supreme Commander corrected. Konev was confused. Did not think. He did not expect such a reward.
– How do you look? Do not you mind? - a voice is heard on the phone.
“Thank you, Comrade Stalin,” Konev replied. And in a soldierly way: - I serve the Soviet Union!
- Congratulations! - said the Supreme. Konev kept silent about the conversation with the Supreme Commander. Didn't tell anyone. Where to hurry? More time will pass until the newspapers report on the new rank of General Konev.
Konev went to the command post of one of the armies that were part of his front. Arrived. The duty officer drew himself up. Started the report:
- Comrade Marshal! .. Konev was surprised.
"General," he corrected.
- Comrade Marshal! - the attendant repeated again. It turns out that while Konev was coming here, they had already reported from Moscow by radio about the new rank of General Konev.
Konev was surrounded by comrades. Congratulations, rejoice.
And then suddenly the rumble of an aircraft was heard over the command post. The plane is small, connected.
The plane landed near the command post. The pilot reports that he flew from Marshal Zhukov, he is looking for Marshal Konev.
The pilot was escorted to Marshal Konev.
“From Marshal Zhukov,” the pilot reports to Konev and holds out the package.
Konev printed out the package. In the package are shoulder straps - brand new, marshal's. Marshal Zhukov's personal gift to Marshal Konev.
INTELLIGENCE IN BATTLE
In May 1944, Marshal Konev was appointed commander of the First Ukrainian Front.
Marshal Konev's troops continued to liberate Ukraine. They drove the fascists from the Soviet land.
Marshal Konev is an experienced military leader. He changes tactics all the time. To pursue the enemy, not to give the fascists the opportunity to come to their senses, to cut off their retreat, to break through to the rear of the fascists, to smash and smash the enemy - such is the order of Marshal Konev.
In January 1945, the troops of the front launched a major offensive.
Shortly before this, the Soviet Army reached the Polish Vistula River, and some of our units crossed and fortified on its western bank. From here the troops of the First Ukrainian front deal a new blow to the Nazis.
Usually a big battle is preceded by reconnaissance in force. Only a small part of the troops, the forward detachments, takes part in reconnaissance. The forward detachments will engage in battle with the enemy. The enemy defends himself, fires, and thereby reveals his secrets: in what places his guns are hidden, what is the power of the troops concentrated here, how these troops are located, how many enemy soldiers are in the forefront.
Much becomes clear to the attacking side after such a battle. Therefore, the battle itself is called reconnaissance. Only the next day, when all the data about the enemy will be taken into account, the real battle begins.
Marshal Konev decided to break the established order. He gave the order not to pause - immediately after reconnaissance to bring the main forces into battle.
The troops of Marshal Konev conducted reconnaissance in force. “Well, everything,” the Nazis decided. “Now it will be quiet until tomorrow.” Now we ourselves will deceive Konev. Let's move, regroup our troops. We will weaken where possible. Where necessary, we will strengthen. We'll hide the tanks in ambushes."
And Konev brought the main forces into battle. The Nazis did not expect:
- No, this is reconnaissance in force again.
The Nazis got used to the memorized, to a single battle plan.
“This is reconnaissance in force,” the Nazis repeat.
The fascist generals did not soon figure out that the main battle had already begun. They didn't give the right orders in time. Marshal Konev "let down" the Nazi generals.
On the very first day of the fighting, the troops of the First Ukrainian Front dealt a crushing blow to the enemy. They broke through the enemy defenses. They drove the fascists from the Polish land.
We are satisfied that the battle is successful. They turn to Marshal Konev:
- Fascist generals got caught. Punished. Marshal Konev understands that his reception in the military
Art was trial, as if intelligence. Smiling:
- Reconnaissance in combat!
THERE ARE NO SAFE PLACES IN WAR
In April 1945, the battle for Berlin began. Three fronts took part in this battle: the First Belorussian, under the command of Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, the Second Belorussian, under the command of Marshal Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, and the First Ukrainian, commanded by Marshal Ivan Stepanovich Konev.
In the area of operations of the troops of Marshal Konev, the front line passed along the Neisse River. To break through the Nazi defenses, it is necessary to cross the river - to force it. It is necessary to build crossings, bridges. And the Nazis will immediately notice this. They will open fire. Our troops will suffer heavy losses.
Konev thought. He began to decide how more unexpectedly, how more covertly to strike at the Nazis, what to do in order to save Soviet soldiers from death.
Found such a solution Konev. He called military engineers and pilots, gave the order: - Create darkness over the Neisse!
Engineering units went to the Neisse, Soviet planes took to the skies. They put a smokescreen over the Neisse. Smoke covered the Neisse, and ours, and the enemy's coast.
It is clear to the Nazis - the Russians are preparing for the offensive.
But where, where? The Nazis swooped in. Hitler's generals are in suspense. They call on one sector of the front:
– What do you have there? Answer from the site:
They call to another sector of the front:
– What do you have there? How is the enemy? What is visible?
- I can not see anything. There is smoke all around. Connect with the third site:
- How is the situation? How are the Russians behaving? Submit what you see?
We see smoke. And we don't see anything else.
The weather is calm and windless. The air hardly moves. The smoke doesn't move. Smoke hangs over the Neisse, covering the Soviet units.
The fascist generals are rushing about, wondering where the Soviet troops will start the attack, where they are building crossings, where to expect the appearance of the Russians? Where to concentrate the main forces?
The smoke helped. Only in the place of the main breakthrough, our troops built one hundred and thirty-three crossings.
Konev's armies rushed forward. The Nazis had three lanes of defense.
The first page didn't last. Collapsed.
The second line of defense did not resist. Pala.
Troops of Marshal Konev broke through the third defensive line.
Behind the fascist defense. Ahead behind the forests is Berlin.
On the night before the breakthrough of the fascist defense, Marshal Konev was in a trench that was dug on the high bank of the Neisse.
Trench. Tripod. Stereo tube on a tripod. Konev clung to the stereo tube. He watches the smoke, the crossing, the progress of the battle.
Shells are exploding all around. Bullets fly from the opposite bank.
“Be careful, Comrade Marshal. Dangerous! the accompanying officers warn Konev.
He looked at the officers Konev:
You can't hide from bullets in war. There are no safe places in war.
For several hours Konev did not leave the forward trench. And when he left, the officers look - the trace of a fascist bullet on a tripod of a stereo tube ...
There are no safe places in war.
PRAGUE
The Soviet troops took the capital of Nazi Germany, the city of Berlin. They hoisted the red banner of Victory over Berlin. On May 8, 1945, the Nazis declared themselves finally defeated. They capitulated. The shots stopped. The guns fell silent.
And only in one place continued fighting. They went to the territory of Czechoslovakia captured by the Nazis. The Nazis refused to lay down their arms here.
Back in early May, a popular uprising broke out in the city of Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia. The troops commanded by Marshal Konev were ordered to go to the aid of the insurgent Prague.
Far from Berlin to Prague. Mountains block the way for the troops. Troops march through the mountains, through the gorges. Tanks rush, artillery rushes. Soviet commanders report to the command post to Marshal Konev how our troops are advancing. Konev calculated everything by the hour, by the minute.
On the night of 8 to 9 May Soviet armies reached Prague. And suddenly contact with the troops was cut off.
Marshal Konev is worried. What happened?! Why was the connection cut off? What's going on in Prague?!
Konev sends a liaison plane from headquarters. The plane does not return at the specified time.
An officer outfit left in the direction of Prague in passenger cars. The cars are gone. No answer.
The second plane is sent. And this one seemed to have sunk into the depths of the sea.
Konev sends requests to the commanders of advanced units. And finally, the long-awaited answer:
- Ours in Prague! Ours in Prague!
What happened in Prague? Why did the messengers take so long to respond?
Soviet units entered Prague, helped the rebels, drove the Nazis away. Prague triumphs, rejoices. People filled the streets. Joy is all around.
Pilots from Marshal Konev arrived in Prague. The townspeople do not let the pilots go. Officers sent here by Konev appeared. Residents do not release officers.
- Let us know. We need to hurry,” the officers explain. - We were sent by Marshal Konev.
- Nazdar! Nazdar! Friendship! Friendship! in response to the officers. - Friendship forever!
Residents do not release officers. The people of Prague greet them. They are thrown into the victorious May sky. Prague triumphs, rejoices. Soon Konev himself arrived in Prague. Prague triumphs, rejoices:
- Friendship! Friendship forever!
December 21 marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of Konstantin Rokossovsky. This illustrious Soviet military leader seems to need no introduction. On the other hand, the personality of the commander is still surrounded by so many rumors and just myths that it's time to figure it out.
A victim of repression, a daredevil who convinced Stalin himself to correct the plan of Operation Bagration, a rival of Zhukov, a two-meter handsome man and, of course, a favorite of women. And also the “darling of the army”, who took care of his soldiers and did not allow himself to be rude with his subordinates. And everything here seems to be correct, but ... too picturesque. However, there were so many twists and turns in his fate that even without any legends, it is really interesting.
The son of a gentry
The most surprising thing is that we are celebrating the present anniversary of the marshal with some delay. In August 1896, the youngest of Rokossovsky's sisters was born, and he himself was born, most likely, two years earlier. It is difficult to say why Konstantin Konstantinovich began to slightly rejuvenate himself in all questionnaires since 1919.
Most likely, he needed this in order to compose a biography suitable for continuing a career in the Red Army. Indeed, already in 1919, Poland, where Rokossovsky was from, turned into a hated enemy of the Soviet Republic and began to famously restore the “borders of 1772”. So it was necessary, pointing out a not entirely convenient nationality, in every possible way to demonstrate the proletarian fate and isolation from small homeland. That is why Xavier Rokossovsky, the father of the Soviet commander, turned from a representative of a noble family and an employee of the railway into a simple driver, Konstantin himself turned out to be a participant in the May Day demonstration in Warsaw in 1912, and sister Helena, who remained in Poland, was not mentioned at all in the questionnaires ... By the way, approximately in those same years, thanks to the regimental clerks, Rokossovsky received a surname familiar to us with a double “s” and a completely Russian patronymic. Previously, he was usually called Savelyevich or even Vasilyevich.
K. Rokossovsky during the First World War
It is interesting that various kinds of amendments were made to Rokossovsky's biography throughout his life. Only the place of birth was rewritten several times. At first it was Warsaw, but in 1945, when it was necessary to erect a bust in the homeland of the twice Hero of the Soviet Union, the marshal's birthplace turned out to be ... Velikiye Luki.
In 1949, Rokossovsky left for Poland to head armed forces this socialist country, and here he again became a native of Warsaw. Rumor has it that after returning from a Polish business trip, Konstantin Konstantinovich once again tried to “register” in a Russian city, but times have changed, and he forever remained a Varsovian.
But in 1937 this was enough to present Rokossovsky as a Polish spy. And at the same time a Japanese spy, since he served for a long time on Far East and in Mongolia. Konstantin Konstantinovich managed to avoid execution due to his stamina: despite the torture, he did not give false evidence and held out until the spring of 1939, when the review of political cases began. But he owes his release and restoration in the army to Semyon Timoshenko, who in the spring of 1940 was appointed People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. He faced an important task - to quickly select qualified personnel for the Red Army, which was growing by leaps and bounds. And Timoshenko immediately remembered the neat and enterprising divisional commander who served under him in 1930-1932.
Zhukov and Rokossovsky
Rokossovsky was generally lucky for his colleagues. And the Tymoshenko case is more than convincing here. However, Zhukov turned out to be Rokossovsky's most famous and unexpected colleague, whose 120th birthday we also celebrated this December. Both of them were cavalrymen and met back in September 1924 at the Cavalry Improvement Courses. commanders.
In the early 1930s, Zhukov for some time headed one of the regiments of the Samara Cavalry Division, commanded by Rokossovsky. And even received from the invariably calm and tactful boss a well-aimed description, which read: “Dry and not sensitive enough. Has a significant amount of stubbornness. Painfully selfish. He cannot be appointed to staff work - he organically hates it ". And the next time they met only in the summer of 1940, however, now their roles have changed: General Zhukov commanded the Kiev Special Military District, and Major General Rokossovsky entered his disposal and began to form the 9th mechanized corps. And from that very time until the Victory, they did a common thing together.
K. Rokossovsky in position
It has long become a tradition to talk about the rivalry between Zhukov and Rokossovsky, to argue about which of them was the more talented commander. There are plenty of such dramatic oppositions in our culture. Let us recall at least the dispute over who is the best poet - Pushkin or Lermontov.
Supporters of Konstantin Konstantinovich, trying to exalt their idol, sometimes come up with very unusual arguments. For example, they say that if it were not for two and a half years in Shpalernaya prison, then Rokossovsky would have made a more successful career than Zhukov. Even before the war, he would have become a general, and maybe a marshal, and would have received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. But it is enough to recall one more "rival" of Zhukov - Ivan Konev. Like Rokossovsky in 1935, he was a division commander, and in the summer of 1940 he was a lieutenant general. That is, in five years, he noticeably “lagged behind” Zhukov. And most likely, this happened because Konev, unlike Zhukov and Timoshenko, did not have a chance to show his military leadership talents.
However, the Great Patriotic War provided such an opportunity to all military leaders in abundance, and very soon, by 1944, both Konev and Rokossovsky confidently "caught up" with Zhukov in ranks and awards. Only now they did not have to “compete”: each had his own front, his own tasks, on the proper implementation of which the success of the whole business depended. By the way, if we take into account this moment, then many events of the war will appear in a different light. For example, everyone knows that at the end of 1944, the 1st Belorussian Front, which had already set its sights on Berlin, was “taken away” from Rokossovsky and handed over to Zhukov. But for some reason they forget that Konstantin Konstantinovich headed the 2nd Belorussian Front and brilliantly conducted the East Pomeranian operation. And this success allowed Zhukov to quickly, and therefore with less losses, take the capital of Germany.
Victory is a common cause
The call to see Victory as the result of the efforts of all our commanders does not at all exclude consideration of their personal achievements and mistakes. And if you follow this path, then Rokossovsky's personality will not be so unambiguous. To be convinced of this, it is enough to know that Rokossovsky, in the very first days of the war, quickly transferred his understaffed corps from near Kiev to the Dubno-Lutsk-Brody region and there participated in holding back the German offensive for two weeks. For these battles, on July 22, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, which was unheard of in initial stage war. Following this, Rokossovsky was transferred to Smolensk, where he personally gathered the retreating groups and small groups of our fighters and hastily formed the 16th army from them.
In September, Konstantin Konstantinovich was awarded the rank of lieutenant general, which was rare in those terrible days, but soon his troops ended up in the Vyazemsky cauldron. I had to again - literally piece by piece - "glue" the army and immediately throw it to the defense of Moscow, first to the Volokolamsk direction, then to the Istra reservoir. The situation here was not just critical, but desperate. It was possible to stop the Germans only because Zhukov, at the very last moment, nevertheless sent Rokossovsky reserves miraculously collected in other parts.
Marshals G. Zhukov, K. Rokossovsky and Field Marshal B. Montgomery. Berlin, July 1945
The story of how Konstantin Konstantinovich "quarreled" with Georgy Konstantinovich near Moscow is quite well known. The first believed that it was necessary to strengthen on east coast reservoirs, and the second categorically, even rudely ordered to hold the western coast. And, as subsequent events showed, Zhukov turned out to be right, who commanded the front and correctly assessed the whole situation. But Rokossovsky did an excellent job with his tasks at the army level. Therefore, there was not and could not be resentment. And there was that symbiosis, that combination of efforts that made it possible to win and, by the way, save human lives.
Interestingly, the care of the soldiers is usually attributed to the "polite" Rokossovsky, while the "tough" Zhukov is often accused of neglecting human life. But it also happened that they "reversed roles." For example, in advance of preparing for a big offensive in Belarus, the Soviet troops under the leadership of Rokossovsky in February 1944 conducted the Rogachev-Zhlobin operation. Then it was possible to break through the German defenses near Bobruisk, but the city itself remained impregnable. Hot Rokossovsky insisted on the continuation of intense attacks, but the Headquarters did not give consent to such a disastrous deed. On the other hand, they accepted the general’s proposal during Operation Bagration to inflict not one, but two main blows on the enemy near the same Bobruisk. And this ensured the operation, the overall direction of which was carried out by Zhukov, a phenomenal success.
Write the truth about the war
Rokossovsky's contribution to the Victory is great. And here it is enough to recall what we know at least from school textbooks. He took part in almost all major battles of the Great Patriotic War. His name sounded during the battle for Moscow. It was his Don Front that completed the defeat of Paulus near Stalingrad, and this captured field marshal agreed to transfer his personal weapons only to Rokossovsky. During the most difficult battle for the Dnieper, Rokossovsky, quickly reacting to a change in the situation and skillfully transferring his troops, literally tore the German defenses. And he also twice - during Battle of Kursk and near Minsk - he defeated the famous Walter Model, who was known as a defense genius.
The highest recognition of all these and other merits was that it was Rokossovsky who was entrusted with commanding the Victory Parade. Another thing is that over the years, Konstantin Konstantinovich had a desire to emphasize his merits and at the same time blame other people's mistakes. However, even in this very difficult battle with vanity, Rokossovsky received unexpected help. In 1965, Zhukov directly wrote to a colleague: “I am closely following your speeches in the press. And I always expect from you a truthful description of the history of operations. But alas! And you, Konstantin Konstantinovich, it turns out, are not deprived of the desire to flirt in front of the mirror of history, some embellishment of your personality and distortion of facts.. And at the end of the letter, Georgy Konstantinovich said what only a true friend can say: “With all my heart I wish you to realize what was said at the end of your last interview: “I want to write the truth, the truth of the Great Patriotic War we experienced””.
Confused biography of a Polish nobleman
Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky had a fascinating life that could become the basis for creating a masterpiece of world literature, like The Three Musketeers. But, alas, Marshal Rokossovsky did not get his Alexandre Dumas. Although, however, perhaps still ahead.
The biography of Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky is so surrounded by legends that it is almost impossible to figure out where the truth is and where the fiction is.
The confusion in the biography of Rokossovsky begins from the moment of birth. The day is known exactly - December 21, but with the year and place everything is not so clear. The official biography indicated the year 1896, and the place of birth was the city of Velikiye Luki. This city appeared in the biographical data after the marshal became twice a Hero of the Soviet Union. The fact is that, according to the law, a bronze bust was erected twice in the homeland of the Hero. Putting such a bust in Warsaw, where Rokossovsky was actually born, was not very correct. As a result, Velikiye Luki was chosen.
The year of birth in different questionnaires is also different - somewhere in 1896, and somewhere in 1894. The 100th anniversary of the marshal was officially celebrated after all in 1996. The real middle name of Konstantin Rokossovsky is not Konstantinovich, but Ksaverievich. His father, an impoverished Polish nobleman, worked for railway, mother, Belarusian by nationality, was a teacher.
When Rokossovsky became a famous Soviet commander, the biography was corrected by removing the mention of the nobility from it - the beloved marshal should have been closer to the people.
However, Kostya became “closer to the people” very early, at the age of six, when his father died. At 15, the future marshal became an orphan, and of his close relatives, he only had a sister with whom he would lose contact with the outbreak of World War I for a long thirty years.
Mounted Master
With the outbreak of war in 1914, young Kostya Rokossovsky volunteered for the 6th squadron of the 5th Kargopol Dragoon Regiment of the 5th Cavalry Division of the 12th Army. In the war, Rokossovsky established himself as a brave and decisive cavalryman, and was awarded. There, at the front, he became close to the revolutionaries, with whom in December 1917 he moved from the disintegrated dragoon regiment to the Red Guard.
By August 1918, the red cavalryman Rokossovsky rose to the rank of squadron commander of the 1st Ural named after the Volodarsky cavalry regiment.
Rokossovsky was not only a skilled commander, but also an unsurpassed master of equestrian combat. On November 7, 1919, the red commander met in a duel with the deputy head of the 15th Omsk Siberian Rifle Division of Kolchak's army, Colonel Voznesensky. The blow of Rokossovsky's checker became fatal for the White Guard.
Rokossovsky never felt sorry for himself. In 1921, the regiment under his command defeated the 2nd brigade of General Rezukhin from the Asian Cavalry Division of Baron Ungern. In that battle, Rokossovsky was seriously wounded. For the victory in this battle, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
At the end civil war, in 1923, a young but promising military man married Yulia Barmina. She will remain his wife until the very end, although their relationship cannot be called simple and cloudless.
The marshal's relatives recall that he was always drawn to home comfort, but the service did not allow him to live such a life.
In the millstones of the "Great Terror"
In 1924, Konstantin Rokossovsky became a student of the Cavalry advanced training courses for command personnel, where another person studied with him, who was to play a great role in the history of the country - Georgy Zhukov.
It is interesting that Rokossovsky climbed the career ladder faster - in 1930 he commanded the 7th Samara Cavalry Division, in which Zhukov served as a brigade commander under him.
The brilliant military career of Rokossovsky, like many other military men, was interrupted during the Great Terror. In June 1937, he was expelled from the party, in July he was fired from the Red Army, and in August he was arrested on charges of having links with Polish and Japanese intelligence (Rokossovsky served in Transbaikalia for a long time and was a cavalry instructor in Mongolia).
He fell into the machine of terror in the midst of repression and seemed to be doomed. However, Konstantin Konstantinovich did not admit his guilt and did not testify against his comrades. Subsequently, the marshal did not like to talk about what happened to him in prison, throwing briefly: “If they come for me again, I won’t give myself up alive.”
After the change in the leadership of the NKVD and the cessation of the "Great Terror", a review of many cases began. In the context of the impending war, the country needed competent military personnel, and the authorities returned from places not so remote those who could still be returned.
On March 22, 1940, Konstantin Rokossovsky was released, rehabilitated and fully restored to his rights. He was soon promoted to the rank of major general.
Group of General Rokossovsky
Rokossovsky met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War as the commander of the 9th mechanized corps. The Nazis immediately felt that here they were faced with a serious enemy. They failed to defeat Rokossovsky's forces and surround the corps. The commander skillfully exhausted the enemy in battles, and retreated only on orders.
Commanders like Rokossovsky were sorely lacking at the beginning of the war, and the general turned into a "fireman." In July 1941, he was instructed to establish defenses in the Smolensk region. At the same time, the general was assigned a group of officers, a radio station and two cars, and he had to assemble the troops himself, stopping the units chaotically retreating and leaving the encirclement.
From now on, Zhukov and Rokossovsky will walk side by side all the time, although their personal relationship can hardly be called simple.
The most surprising thing is that Rokossovsky coped with this task brilliantly. The unit assembled by him was called for some time - “Group of General Rokossovsky”, until he was given the name 16th Army. Rokossovsky himself was promoted to lieutenant general for skillful actions.
Quite a bit of time will pass, and after the encirclement in the Vyazma region, Rokossovsky will have to perform the same task again - from scattered, discouraged parts to gather a force capable of covering Moscow.
It was under the command of Rokossovsky that the cadets of military schools, the fighters of the Panfilov division, the horsemen of Dovator fought ... In the battle for Moscow, the talent of two domestic military geniuses - Konstantin Rokossovsky and Georgy Zhukov - shone throughout the world.
From now on, Zhukov and Rokossovsky will walk side by side all the time, although their personal relationship can hardly be called simple.
The authority of Rokossovsky has grown incredibly. He, already in the rank of army general and commander of the Central Front, managed to defend the defensive strategy of the Battle of Kursk, which brought success to the Soviet troops.
In 1944, Rokossovsky, together with Georgy Zhukov and Andrei Vasilevsky, developed a plan for an offensive in Belarus - Operation Bagration. It was Rokossovsky who defended the idea of two main attacks during the offensive, which made it possible to break the enemy’s defenses and arrange a defeat for the Nazis comparable to the catastrophe that the Soviet troops experienced in 1941.
In the summer of 1944, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front under the command of Marshal Rokossovsky broke through to the outskirts of Warsaw, where an anti-Hitler uprising was blazing. Later, Polish historians will accuse the Soviet troops of inaction, unwillingness to help the Poles.
One can only guess what feelings raged in the marshal's soul when he saw his native city nearby, which he could not help in any way. The troops were exhausted, the rear fell behind - in these conditions it was impossible to help Warsaw. Throwing his soldiers to a senseless death was never Rokossovsky's style.
By the autumn of 1944, it became clear that the task of attacking Berlin and capturing the Nazi capital would be assigned to the 1st Belorussian Front. Rokossovsky was already thinking about how to carry it out when Stalin's order suddenly arrived: to accept the 2nd Belorussian Front, to transfer command of the 1st to Georgy Zhukov.
What was the reason for this decision? Stalin decided to give the honor of taking Berlin to the Russian? Did the leader drive a wedge between the commanders? This is still being debated. But a fact is a fact - Berlin was taken by troops under the command of Georgy Zhukov. The 2nd Belorussian Front under the command of Rokossovsky also acted brilliantly, inflicting a defeat on the German grouping in Eastern Pomerania.
120 years ago, on December 21, 1896, a confectioner, dentist, stonemason, cavalryman, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Marshal of Poland, as well as an outstanding strategic mind of the 20th century, were born in Warsaw and Velikie Luki. All this is one person - Konstantin Rokossovsky.
[Commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, General of the Army Konstantin Rokossovsky on command post in 1944. ]
The enumeration of these professions in relation to our hero should not raise any questions. All this was before the young Rokossovsky got to the front of the First World War and began military career. In the end, the future Marshal Zhukov, just in 1914, also became a furrier. But how can one be born in two places at the same time?
The Varsovian Rokossovsky found his second place of birth after the war, when he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the second time. In the homeland of the twice Hero, a bust is supposed to be erected. Warsaw was not suitable for political reasons - it's a different country. And then, after much thought and inquiries, the marshal pointed to Velikiye Luki. Near this city, indeed, was the estate of the barons Rokossovsky, with whom the ancestors of the marshal, who had long lost their noble rank, were distantly related. The move is brilliant. It immediately becomes clear that Rokossovsky acquired his nickname - the Genius of Maneuver - for a reason.
Culturally fight
[Marshals of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov and Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky. ]
Analysts who elevate command and control to the rank of high art evaluate not only the effectiveness of the maneuver, but also its elegance and beauty. In order to see this in such a dirty and bloody business as war, you need a truly remarkable mind. Rokossovsky possessed this, which sometimes baffled his interlocutors. During the Battle of Moscow, the writer and military commander Alexander Beck accidentally heard Rokossovsky scolding his subordinate: “Until you find out where the enemy is and what his strength is, you have no right to advance! God knows what! When will we finally learn how to fight culturally?”
In the expression "culturally fight" - the whole Rokossovsky. He really possessed the highest military culture and understanding of the essence of grand strategy. Moreover, he showed this from the very first days of the war, being then the commander of the 9th mechanized corps, which took part in the largest tank battle in 1941 near Dubno, Lutsk and Rivne.
But Rokossovsky had no chance at all to get there. From the place of its deployment to Lutsk - about 200 km. And on June 22, 1941, it turned out that the corps had neither fuel nor vehicles for the transfer of infantry. However, this is what Marshal Bagramyan recalls: “On the very first day of the war, Rokossovsky, at his own peril and risk, opened the central fuel depots, took all the vehicles from the district reserve, put infantry on them and moved in front of the corps in a combined march ... We could not believe our eyes " .
[Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky among the soldiers. ]
The Germans could believe it even less. The easy walk around the Russian land suddenly ended. Commanding tank army Ewald von Kleist issues a very emotional order: “Rumors of Soviet tanks breaking through cause panic. Every instigator of panic - on trial. I forbid the use of the words "Russian tanks broke through."
In general, Kleist can be understood - Russian tanks, according to all military rules, really could not make a breakthrough. However, Rokossovsky, who arranged a large-scale bloodletting for the Germans, did not act according to the rules, but according to the situation. And he improvised as he went. It came to a masquerade with dressing up: “The Germans were terribly afraid of our artillery and T-34 tanks, and we began to change the position of the batteries every day, and the old tanks, sheathed with plywood and painted, turned into thirty-fours, and the Germans no longer climbed ahead.”
In the summer of 1941, few were presented for awards. Mostly ordinary and junior command staff, which is understandable - the generals had nothing to boast of yet. However, there is one exception. Konstantin Rokossovsky received the Order of the Red Banner on July 23, 1941 - just for that battle.
Lion of steppes and forests
[At Rokossovsky's headquarters. ]
The English military theorist Basil Liddell Garth, a contemporary of Rokossovsky, introduced a curious concept - "indirect actions". According to him, the one who makes deliberate but unexpected moves should win: “A direct attack almost never gives a result. Victory can be achieved by keeping the enemy insecure about your actions, throwing him off balance.
It must be admitted that Rokossovsky has reached serious heights in this matter. The military often quotes Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese classic strategy, who believed: "The best thing would be to defeat the enemy with one plan, without a fight." Many people think that this is all fairy tales and nonsense. Maybe. However, not in the case of Rokossovsky. For example, he was the first to launch a counteroffensive near Moscow. But how exactly? Here is the testimony of Marshal Alexander Golovanov: “General Golikov did not go well under Sukhinichi. Instead of Golikov, Rokossovsky was sent there, who openly talked over the radio about his movement, counting on the interception of negotiations by the enemy. This calculation turned out to be correct. Rokossovsky arrived near Sukhinichi, and the enemy, having learned about this, immediately left the city without resistance.
Subsequently, Rokossovsky will use the entire arsenal of indirect actions. Camouflage and imitation of active operations in secondary directions: "The Germans could only see what we could show them." An unexpected drawing of a large-scale offensive - for example, it was Rokossovsky who insisted on inflicting not one, but two main blows during Operation Bagration in 1944: “During the summer and autumn of 1944 German army suffered the greatest defeat in its history, surpassing even the Stalingrad one. The German colonels and lieutenant colonels tore off their shoulder straps, threw away their caps and remained to wait for the Russians. In other words, Rokossovsky really became an artist of war. Here is how Field Marshal Ernst Busch spoke about the Russian commander: “If our Rommel is called the fox of the deserts, then Rokossovsky can be called the lion of the steppes and forests.” By the way, another field marshal, Friedrich Paulus, having been captured, agreed to give his weapons only to Rokossovsky.
The book covers the most important steps life path outstanding commander of the twentieth century, Marshal of the Soviet Union and Poland Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky.
Talking about the fate of the world-famous military leader, the author describes episodes from his life, based on the recollections of eyewitnesses, cites the statements of the marshal and his assessment of various events and phenomena that remained unknown for many years.
Designed for a wide readership.
Anatoly Korolchenko
MARSHAL ROKOSSOVSKY
From the author
For the first time I learned about General Rokossovsky in the winter of 1941 in Stalingrad. There, in the villages of the Barrikady plant, where fierce battles would unfold in the fall of 1942, our airborne regiment was being formed. The writer Vladimir Stavsky, in a newspaper article “The enemy is frantically rushing towards Moscow,” reported: “Rokossovsky’s units, true to their fighting traditions, put up stubborn resistance to the enemy and beat him mercilessly. 16 light machine guns. In the battles near the village of N., five guns, a tankette, an anti-aircraft gun were taken ... "
It was not known at that distant time who this successful military leader was - the commander of a regiment, division or detachment, they did not know that his troops were fighting in the most critical direction in the unfolding battle for Moscow.
Marshal Rokossovsky! Now this name is known to the whole world, hundreds of books and articles have been written about it. They express great gratitude to the man and commander who made an invaluable contribution to the achievement of Victory in the difficult years of military hard times.
A man of brilliant and difficult fate, he fought with enemies at western borders countries in the troubled June days of the 41st year. In the rainy, harsh autumn of the first war year, the troops subordinate to him repulsed the fierce attacks of the German hordes rushing towards Moscow. He is one of those who in February 1943 defeated the army of Paulus near the Volga. He crushed the most powerful enemy grouping in Belarus. And in the shining victorious spring of the 45th army of Rokossovsky, they completed the defeat of the enemy in the fascist lair.
Later, I learned a lot about him that was hidden behind a veil of secrecy. Acquaintance with the son of the marshal and his stories added many important touches to the portrait of the commander.
I met Viktor Konstantinovich Rokossovsky in 1965. I remember that a senior lieutenant unknown to me looked into our department of the headquarters of the North Caucasus Military District. Short in stature, mobile, a smile never left his lively expressive face.
Oh Victor! Come in! - my colleague greeted him and said, turning to me:
Meet. Son of Marshal Rokossovsky.
He held a low position, served as an officer-instructor in the army sports club.
Where have you been? asked a colleague meanwhile. - In Moscow? And did you see your father?
Not only him, but also Zhukov. He was visiting, - answered Victor. - They were talking about something. My father saw me, hugged me: "Hello, lieutenant!" Georgy Konstantinovich also greeted. Then he says: "Well, Kostya, is he still a senior lieutenant? You could help ..." - "Let him break the road in life himself," answered his father. "I can't stand patronage."
I knew that the marshal had a daughter, Ada, - I noticed after Victor left. “I haven’t read about my son anywhere.
In books and newspapers, far from the whole truth is written, - answered a colleague inclined to philosophizing.
Since then, my acquaintance with the son of the famous marshal and an amazing person has continued.
MARSHAL ROKOSSOVSKY
THE BEGINNING OF THE WAY
IN curriculum vitae about Rokossovsky, Velikie Luki, in the Pskov region, is indicated as the place of his birth. This version is confirmed by encyclopedias: Great Soviet and Military.
But here before me is the autobiography of Konstantin Konstantinovich. It was written by her own hand. It says: "Born in Warsaw in 1896. Father is a worker, a machinist on the Riga-Orlovskaya, and then the Warsaw-Vienna railway. He died in 1905. His mother is a worker in a hosiery factory."
So where was the marshal born: in Warsaw or in Velikiye Luki? Xavier Yuzefovich Rokossovsky worked as a locomotive driver on the Riga-Oryol railway. The site he served was located near the city of Velikie Luki, Pskov province. He lived in Velikie Luki. There, a sedate forty-year-old Pole met his future wife - a blue-eyed Russian girl Antonina Ovsyannikova, a native of Pinsk. She taught at a local school. On December 9, 1896, they had their first child, who was named Konstantin.
Soon Xavier Yuzefovich was transferred to Warsaw - to serve the urban section of the Warsaw-Vienna railway. The family first settled in the suburbs of Warsaw, in the so-called Prague, located on the opposite bank of the Vistula, and then moved to another apartment, closer to the station and the school that Kostya entered. By this time, the family already had daughters: Elena and Maria.
In 1905, there was an accident on the railroad, in which my father was seriously injured. After a long illness, he died, and Maria soon died. The family was left without a livelihood.
Mother was forced to stop teaching and go to a hosiery factory, where she fulfilled orders for knitwear. Elena also got a job. After graduating from the city's four-year school, Kostya also ended up at a hosiery factory, he was accepted as a laborer.
In August 1914, the 5th Kargopol Dragoon Regiment of the 5th Cavalry Division entered the city of Groets. He advanced to the front line.
A few guys from the cutting factory, admiring military uniform, conspired to go to the dragoons. The stern regimental commander looked at the young people. He settled on the first, tall, stately and broad-shouldered guy.
What's the last name?
Rokossovsky, Your Excellency.
How many years?
Twenty. - The guy deliberately added two years.
The regimental clerk, entering information about the volunteer into his Talmud, asked:
Konstantin, what is your patronymic?
Ksaverievich.
Hm, - let in an official displeasure. - How long he lived, but he did not meet such a name. It's like Constantine, or what?
Yes, it seems, - the guy answered uncertainly.
Well, there is nothing to philosophize! So you are Konstantin Konstantinovich. That's the whole story.
And, with a chuckle, the clerk entered the newcomer's name in the personnel register: Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich.
The Kargopol Dragoon Regiment, in which volunteer guys were enrolled, is one of the oldest in Russia. In a guide compiled by the State Historical Museum, which is in Moscow on Red Square, it is indicated that the regiment of Ivan Boltin was formed in 1707 in Moscow from recruits. In 1708 he participated in the battle of Poltava and Perevalochnaya, in 1709-1710 - near Riga, in subsequent years he was in the Prussian campaign, Pomerania. Worthy showed himself in many battles of the Patriotic War of 1812, in the famous "battle of the peoples" near Leipzig. IN Russian-Turkish war In 1828-1829, his dragoons were awarded parade helmets with the inscription "For Distinction".
Konstantin Rokossovsky was enlisted in the 6th squadron of the regiment on August 3, and three days later, when the advanced patrols began to advance to the front, they ran into German units. It was possible to establish that their main forces are in the small town of Novo Miasto. But no one knew their numbers, guard lines, the presence of artillery. There was a need for reconnaissance. Newcomer Rokossovsky volunteered to be a hunter for the case.
Let me go to Novo Miasto. I have been in it many times. Went far and wide.
The commander did not object: the volunteer inspired confidence. He was dressed in civilian clothes, wished success.
Assuming the appearance of a local resident, he went to the town. Vigilantly looking around, he memorized everything that should have interested the commander. Mixing with the crowd of onlookers in the city square, he drew attention to an important military rank surrounded by officers. One of the cordon soldiers said that it was the regiment commander himself. It was not difficult to guess that the regiment was a cavalry regiment.
In the wasteland, Konstantin saw soldiers crowding around the kitchen. Before that, he had already met in two places camp kitchens on wheels. One of the Germans, exhausted from food, was about to treat him and pointed to a pot with half-eaten porridge, but Kostya refused, passing his hand over his throat: they say, he's full.
On the outskirts of the town, the narrow Pilica flowed, and he headed towards it. It was necessary to find out whether the bridge and the ford not far from it were guarded. Even from a distance, he noticed two cannons and a dozen soldiers sitting in a circle. There were no Germans at the ford. A wagon loaded with hay crossed a shallow river without hindrance.
Konstantin returned to his regiment at dawn. At headquarters, he told the commander in detail where and what he had seen.
Thank you for your service, dragoon Rokossovsky. A smart soldier will come out of you.
