Mogilev is the third largest city in Belarus, located about 200 kilometers east of Minsk.

After realizing that the German army was about to meet in Minsk and surround the main force of the Western Front, General Pavlov urgently moved the headquarters here.

His decision can be said to be the wisest decision since the war began. On the night of June 27, his command had just been transferred to Mogilev. On June 28, he heard the bad news that the German Second Third Armored Army had met in the Minsk area.

This bad news means that the four armies of the Western Front, nearly twenty infantry divisions and five mechanized armies, were surrounded by the German army.

"Continue to monitor the German broadcasts and notify me immediately if there is any new news." Pavlov said to the intelligence consultant.

After saying that, Pavlov walked into the combat command room with heavy steps.

Since moving to Mogilev, the Western Front Command and its subordinate units have become increasingly difficult to communicate, and the communication with the Army Command has been better, but almost all division-level troops have lost contact with the mechanized army and infantry army.

Forced to do so, he could only collect information by listening to the radio released by the Germans, such as the Soviet infantry division surrounded by the great German team in a certain place, etc.

Back in the combat command room, Pavlov stared at the map marked with various red and blue arrows, and his mind was blank.

The Front Command cannot connect with its troops, and no matter how good the combat plan is, it cannot be conveyed, let alone implemented.

Beside him, Major General Krimovsky, the chief of staff of the Front Army, was also indifferent to his sacred spirits and did not know how to deal with the current situation.

At the critical moment, a voice sounded, and it sounded as precious as timely rain in Pavlov.

"Comrade Commander, General Zhukov is here."

Major General Krimovsky looked up at the main entrance of the command room. Pavlov walked a few steps to the door and ran into a slightly fat figure head-on.

"Dear Comrade Zhukov, you have finally arrived. How many reinforcements have you brought? Our situation is very dangerous now. The enemy's troops on the north and south wings have already met near Minsk, and the main force of the front army has been surrounded, if you."

Pavlov accompanied Zhukov to the map and talked endlessly about the situation on the battlefield.

Major General Krimovsky said nothing. He just snatched Zhukov's adjutant and took Zhukov's military cap and hung it on the coat rack with his own hands.

Hearing Pavlov's introduction, a layer of oil sweat quickly emerged from Zhukov's broad forehead.

"What did you say? The enemy has joined forces in the Minsk area? Which two troops are they? The Second and Third Armored Army." Zhukov exclaimed.

"Yes, it's these two troops, the German radio has just aired this news," said Pavlov.

"When did it happen? How many troops are there in the encirclement? How many troops can you use in your hands?" Zhukov asked.

Krimovsky pointed to the troops number marked on the map and said to Zhukov one by one: "Most of the Third Army and the Tenth Army were surrounded in the Biawestok area. The main force of the 13th Army once counterattacked the Third Armored Army in the north, but were defeated by the enemy. The Fourth Army Command and the Front Command lost contact. The situation is unclear. In short, the large army is also in the encirclement. There are a total of twenty divisions and about 400,000 people in the encirclement."

Pavlov continued: "I currently have only the remnants of the 20 Mechanized Army and the 21st Infantry Army to use. The enemy's radio said that the enemy just closed the encirclement this afternoon. I think the strength of the encirclement is not enough, and there will definitely be many gaps that can be used. We must order the troops to seize the time to break through. How many troops do you bring? If there are troops outside the encirclement, our breakthrough will be smoother."

Zhukov glanced at Pavlov with an expressionless face and took out a white handkerchief and rubbed the sweat pouring from his forehead.

Today is just the seventh day of the war, and the enemy has completed a large encirclement. Sadly, he was rushing to the road before and could not receive the battle reports forwarded by the Supreme Command in time. He knew nothing about the battle situation on the front line. As a result, he encountered such a difficult problem just as soon as he arrived at the front line.

Zhukov didn't know that Pavlov had not informed the Supreme Command at all. If he had not arrived at the Western Front Command in person, he would not know how long it would take to learn about the bad news.

"What instructions do the commander-in-chief and the General Secretary have?" Zhukov asked after thinking for a few seconds. He stared at the map.

Pavlov and Krimovsky looked at each other, opened their mouths, and said without saying a word. Krimovsky stuttered: "We just knew that the main force of the front army was surrounded. We were preparing to notify the Supreme Command."

Zhukov suddenly looked up and stared at Pavlov and asked, "Don't you know the Supreme Command yet?"

Pavlov avoided Zhukov's gaze with guilt and whispered: "Yes, the Supreme Command does not know yet."

"Send a report immediately to report this news to the Supreme Command." Zhukov said with a calm face.

Krimovsky immediately followed Zhukov's instructions.

Zhukov looked at the map again, and after turning his eyes a few times, he suddenly remembered something very important.

"You just said that the Third Army and the Tenth Army were surrounded in the Biawestok area. What's going on?"

"The enemy's First Armored Army attacked the 10th Army in the Biawestok area. The 10th Army fought very tenaciously and blocked the enemy's attack. But to our north, the enemy rushed out of the junction of our Northwest Front Army, repelled the troops of the Third Army, and occupied Grodno. The 11th Mechanized Army failed to counterattack. I asked the reserve 13th Army to advance to the Grodno area and launch a second counterattack against the enemy, but it was still a failure. The enemy set off from Grodno and cut off the retreat route between the 10th Army and the 3rd Army in the Biawestok area. There were about six or seven divisions in the encirclement." Pavlov said.

With years of experience in struggling and practicing in the army, Zhukov finally filtered out the war.

In order to repel the enemy's threat to the 10th Army, Pavlov made the 13th Army in the Minsk region advance and launched a counterattack, which resulted in the emptiness of the Minsk region and sent the main force of the 13th Army into the encirclement.

Zhukov licked his lips and couldn't evaluate Pavlov's behavior. Whether it was scolding him or whipping him with a horse whip, it was no longer helpful.

Pavlov's mistake should be solved by the Supreme Command.

Zhukov threw away his resentment towards Pavlov in his mind. He focused all his attention on the map and said quickly: "Immediately send it to the Third Army and the Tenth Army Command to tell them that in order to defend the great Soviet motherland, for the final victory of the war, all the troops surrounded by Biavestok were defended on the spot, fighting to the last man, and they were not allowed to retreat without my order."

Pavlov shouted, "What do you mean? They are surrounded by enemies. There are no supplies, no reinforcements, and there are all Germans around them. Even the sky above their heads is flying with German planes. It is better to let them commit suicide than to keep them on the spot."

Zhukov stared at Krimovsky, who was also full of doubts in his eyes and said: "Another order is added to the order: The troops in the encirclement should try to use cities and villages, especially areas with reserve arsenals to organize defenses. Never let those arsenals fall into the hands of the enemy intact."

Seeing Krimovsky standing there, Zhukov said coldly: "Are you going to disobey? Comrade Major General?"

Krimovsky knew that according to the orders of the Supreme Command, Zhukov had the right to command the operations of the Western Front.

Seeing Zhukov's attitude of being incompatible at all, Krimovsky had to throw Pavlov away and convey his orders.

"How far do you think they can go even if they break through? Based on the existing fortifications and towns, they can still compete with the enemy's tank troops. Once they choose to break through and leave those fortifications, how long do you think they can last in the wild? Don't forget. Behind them is an enemy armored army pursuing. Instead of easily being eliminated by the enemy in pursuit, it is better to stick to it on the spot, delay the attack of the German First Armored Army, and buy time for other troops to break through."

Pavlov clenched his fists and stabbed his nails into his palms hard, his lips trembling for a long time without saying anything.

Krimovsky returned to Zhukov and said, "The order has been issued."

Zhukov pointed to the south of the encirclement on the map, marking the direction of the Fourth Army, saying: "We continue and order the Fourth Army, as well as the remnants of the nearby 14th Mechanized Army, to be unified under the command of the Fourth Army. Break through the Pripyat swamp in the south. If possible, go straight to the south and pass through the Pripyat swamp in order to reach the jurisdiction of the Central Front of Ukraine, where no war broke out. Remember to add a sentence to the telegram and wish them good luck."

Pavlov did not refute this time, but just listened quietly to Zhukov's order. After knowing that Zhukov had finished speaking, he said: "Remember to ask them not to throw away the radio station and contact the comrades of the Central Front as soon as possible."

Zhukov nodded to Krimovsky and said, "Add this, I will contact the comrades of the Central Front to send someone to meet them."

Krimovsky went to send a second telegram, and Zhukov asked Pavlov: "Who is responsible for the defense of Minsk City now? How many troops are there?"

"The two divisions of the Second Army had very complete fortifications and repelled a counterattack from the Germans, so the Germans bypassed Minsk and established an encirclement in the east of the city." Pavlov said.

"It's a pity that these two divisions are here." Zhukov said softly.

"What did you say? Do you think?" Pavlov shouted at Zhukov.

"I know, you want to say that these two divisions have the most chance to break through successfully, but they cannot leave. Once they leave the German army to occupy Minsk, it will cause greater disasters. So I decided to let these two divisions stick to the spot. All the troops will break through tonight, and the key areas of the breakthrough will be placed in the southeast of Minsk. When breaking through, the remnants of the 13th Mechanized Army and the 17th Mechanized Army will take the lead, gathering all their useful tanks and vehicles to break out a passage for the infantry behind.

Send a telegram to the commander of the Second Army, asking him to collect all infantry troops through Minsk, and then leave behind light combat forces among them, such as infantry and mortar gunners and anti-tank soldiers. Technical personnel from division artillery and radio shall not be retained. It is necessary to ensure that these technical troops can break through the siege first. In short, the later the encirclement is eliminated, the better, even if half of the troops in the encirclement are sacrificed." Zhukov said.

"How many troops do you bring? Can you launch an attack to support them?" Pavlov asked unwillingly.

Zhukov's tone contained great anger.

"Don't you calculate the time yourself? When did I take over as the commander of the Front? How many days have passed? How many days will it take for the Reserve Front to depart from the Tula area to get here? Doesn't it take time for the troops to load and unload trucks, and does it take for the troops to assemble these?"

After a pause, Zhukov squirted a few heavy breaths and continued, "Do you think I want to sacrifice the comrades in the encirclement? We must mobilize troops between the West Vinner and the Dnieper River before the Germans eliminate the comrades in the encirclement and re-arrange the defense line. The longer the comrades in the encirclement stay, the stronger the new defense line will be."

"Well, you are right, I obey your orders. If you want to blame, let the comrades in the encirclement resent me. I am the commander of the front army, and I shall bear all the responsibilities." Pavlov said.

Zhukov stared at the map and gasped, and Pavlov's words deeply touched him.

Who is responsible for the failure of the Western Front?

Although Pavlov made a mistake in command, a comrade General Secretary misjudged the enemy's main attack direction and placed the main force of the armored troops in Ukraine, which resulted in the Western Front facing the heavy blows of the enemy's three armored armies alone.

Faced with the major losses of the Western Front, shouldn’t that comrade General Secretary blame himself?

Unfortunately, this kind of blame cannot be expressed. If you encounter the random command of a certain general secretary in the future, you would rather resign than end up with Pavlov. Zhukov made up his mind secretly.

While Zhukov was thinking about it, Krimovsky hurried to him with a telegram, his face extremely pale.

Pavlov noticed the abnormal expression of his old partner and asked hurriedly: "What's going on? Which unit has been wiped out?"

Krimovsky said: "The Supreme Commander's call back. First, the reserve front merged with the Western Front and continued to adopt the title of the Western Front. Comrade Zhukov was the commander. Second, you and I immediately return to Moscow to report to the Supreme Commander."

Pavlov's face turned pale as snow in an instant, and he knew clearly the dangers contained in this report.

After hesitating for a while, Pavlov said to Zhukov weakly: "I'm leaving, and you will have the fate of the Western Front to control it. Remember to kill a few more Germans and avenge me and the sacrificed comrades."

Looking at Pavlov's face as if he was aged ten years old, Zhukov said in pain: "I can."

Zhukov did not expect that this farewell to Pavlov would become a perfect farewell between the two.
Chapter completed!