Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Konstantinovich wrote down his memories of the war. In his memoirs, Rokossovsky talks about planning military operations, about major operations and relationships with many prominent people.
Content
In the narrative of Konstantin Rokossovsky, two main parts can be distinguished. The first includes events that occurred shortly before the start of the war, as well as in the very first months after its onset. The second part describes the key battles and relations of Rokossovsky with the commanders-in-chief.
First part
In the first part of the memoir, Rokossovsky talks about the Soviet troops, about their condition before the outbreak of hostilities. At the same time, he highlights the differences between the armies of the USSR and the West. The western army gave the main roles to aviation and tank troops. And in the Soviet Union all kinds of troops interacted.
Konstantin Rokossovsky recalls that by the beginning of the war not a single vehicle was ready for an attack. All equipment is outdated and was worn out. In the spring of 1941, they had to stop using tanks for training, since there was a chance of their failure.
Ammunition replenishment was constantly delayed. But just in case, each leader had his own operational package, the opening of which was allowed only by order of the chairman of the defense. But on June 22, Rokossovsky personally took responsibility and independently opened the package. Without stopping at this, he ordered the opening of the main ammunition depots.
Some time later, in the place where the Marshal’s corps delayed the passage of the Germans, he was unexpectedly recalled and appointed commander of the army of the Western Front. The first part of Rokossovsky’s story “Soldier's duty” leads to acquaintance and interaction with Zhukov.
The second part of. Zhukov.
Speaking in his book about Zhukov, Rokossovsky mentions him far from being a talented commander.
When examining the "fortified strip" in the Volokolamsk direction, it was found that there was no strengthening, the territory was not protected in any way. Rokossovsky began to ask him from Zhukov and made sure that two regiments of anti-aircraft guns were allocated to him. At the same time, he listened to many swearing speeches from Georgy Konstantinovich, who gave him only one night to prepare for the operation. In his memoirs, Rokossovsky emphasizes that they had little strength, and requests to extend the training period were rejected.
There were many such situations. Only the skillful actions of the commanders and rallying the guys managed to survive and stand to the end. Konstantin Rokossovsky ends his story, saying that the war was general, popular, and therefore the victory was also common.