Red Moscow

  Shortly after the bombing ended, before the smoke on the German positions cleared, the artillery units of the front army began to shell the German positions.

Hearing the sound of rumbling artillery from outside, Sidolin said in surprise: "Comrade commander, I really didn't expect that just after the bombing of the German positions, the artillery preparations for the enemy's positions began. I believe that when the bombardment ends , There are no complete fortifications on the German positions.”

  Sokov nodded, and then asked: "When will the two infantry brigades enter the town of Pultusk?"

   "The troops are gathering." Sidolin replied: "It will take up to an hour to enter the town and take over the defense of the 1st and 6th Guards Divisions."

   "Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." Lunev interrupted Sidolin at this time: "I think the infantry brigade entering the town should not take over the defense of the friendly army for the time being."

  Hearing what Lunev said, Sidolin couldn't help being taken aback, and then asked: "Comrade Military Commissioner, why is this?"

"Isn't this obvious." Lunev said: "Just after the bombing of the German positions, the artillery of the front army opened fire, which indicates that the German army will launch a full-scale attack. If the superior orders us to participate in the attack, it is only Relying on the 3rd Infantry Division and the 120th Guards Division deployed at the front is far from enough, and new forces are needed to join in, and the two infantry brigades that entered the town of Pultusk with bonuses are undoubtedly the new forces we can rely on. You say yes, Misha?"

Sokov nodded when he heard Lunev ask himself, and echoed: "Yes, Comrade Military Commissioner is right. Judging from the current situation, Comrade Marshal intends to order the frontline troops to launch a large-scale offensive. We must prepare the reserves in advance, and wait for the offensive strength of the troops that launched the attack in advance to weaken, and then put the new force into battle."

Although Sokov and Lunev had reached an agreement, Sidolin still seemed a little hesitant: "But, Comrade Commander, I have already told the two brigade commanders that they should lead the troops into Pultusk. If the town takes over the defense, it may not be appropriate to change the order at this time, right?"

"There is nothing inappropriate." At this moment, Ponegelin interjected: "The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. We have to modify the original plan according to the changes in the situation. Anyway, these two brigades are going to enter Puutu Those of Sky Town, after they arrive at the designated location, just temporarily modify their mission."

   "Okay then." Seeing that Ponegelin had already spoken, and Sidolin could not continue to be stubborn, he nodded and said, "I will immediately convey new combat orders to the two brigade commanders."

  Just after the new combat order was announced to the two brigade commanders, a phone call came in from the Front Army Command.

Bogolyubov, the caller, said to Sidolin who answered the phone: "General Sidorin, Comrade Marshal ordered that after our army prepares for the artillery fire on the German positions, there will be another round of bombing. Once the bombing is over, You immediately strike across the board and attack the German defenses. Do you understand?"

   "Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sidolin said respectfully: "I will convey your order to all units."

After listening to Sidolin's order, Sokov said to Ponejielin and Lunev and others: "Comrade Marshal is really generous. First, he dispatched a large number of planes to bombard the enemy's positions indiscriminately. The guns were fired, and the enemy's position was blown into a sea of ​​flames. Even I thought that after the preparations for this round of artillery fire were over, the troops would be ordered to attack, but who knew that he also arranged a round of bombing for the Germans."

"Comrade Commander is right." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Ponegerin went on to say, "We were still wondering just now. Before attacking the German positions, we always bombarded them first, and then bombed them with planes. Why was it reversed this time? Now it seems that the order of attack has not been reversed, but just added a round of bombing. His deployment, not to mention that the enemy is not clear, even our own people are also confused. "

"This is the best way." Lunev said: "We can't figure out Marshal Rokossovsky's intentions, and the enemy will naturally be even more confused. I believe that after the start of this offensive, we will definitely be able to achieve success." A good result."

"I agree with Comrade Military Commissioner." Pornegelin said approvingly: "After two rounds of bombing and one round of shelling, the fortifications on the German positions were basically destroyed, and the troops must have suffered a lot of casualties. Launching an attack under such circumstances will surely reduce many unnecessary casualties."

   An hour and a half later, the powerful artillery preparations ended, and the battlefield was filled with black smoke that covered the sky and the sun. Just when the German army on the ground was glad that they had escaped the shelling of the Soviet army, the roar of aircraft engines came from the air.

  When they first heard the sound of the plane’s engine, the German soldiers thought it was their own plane coming to help, but soon they realized that their thinking was too naive. The sound came from the direction of the Soviet defense zone. Soon, dense black dots appeared in the sky, and as the sound got louder, these black dots became clearer, and even without binoculars, it was clear that the Soviet aircraft appeared in the field of vision.

  Seeing the reappearance of the Soviet aircraft, the German soldiers complained endlessly, and fled into a nearby air-raid shelter or shelter, preparing to avoid a new round of Soviet bombing.

And the German command far in the rear couldn't help being dumbfounded when they learned that the Soviet army had just finished its artillery preparations and dispatched the air force to bomb its own position. As soon as it came out, the planes bombed first, then the artillery bombardment, and now the planes are dispatched again. It seems that they will never stop until all the fortifications on their own defense line are destroyed.

  A subordinate asks for instructions, what should I do next? The German commander was in a state of confusion at the moment. How could he know what to do, so he could only reply vaguely to his subordinates: "There is a way to hold the position firmly."

  For such a general order, the subordinate can only convey his original words to the officers and soldiers who can be contacted: "Your Excellency Commander has an order: if you hold on firmly, there will be a solution."

  I thought that after the Soviet bombing ended, there would be another round of bombardment. But what the Germans didn't expect was that the Soviet army launched a comprehensive fortification as soon as the bomber fleet returned. Thousands of commanders and fighters followed the tanks, shouting loudly and rushing towards the German positions.

  Facing the flood of Soviet troops, the German officers and soldiers, who had just recovered, entered the defensive position one after another, shooting at the Soviet commanders who rushed up.

  But due to the fortifications that the German army relied on, they were almost destroyed in the bombing and shelling not long ago. The German army without strong fortifications seemed so powerless in the face of the infantry attack covered by tanks. The Soviet commanders and fighters did not pay much, and successfully occupied the German positions. A small number of troops were left to wipe out the remnants of the enemy, and the rest of the commanders and fighters followed the tanks and launched an impact on the next line of defense of the German army.

  The progress on the battlefield was continuously transmitted to the front army headquarters by phone or telegram. Bogolyubov took the stack of battle reports he had just received, walked quickly to Rokossovsky, and said excitedly: "Comrade Marshal, good news, good news. Our offensive troops were only weakly attacked. The resistance of the German army has broken through the two lines of defense of the German army in a row and is developing in depth."

   Rokossovsky took the battle report from Bogolyubov and carefully flipped through it. Although he didn't speak, the slightly upturned corners of his mouth already showed that he was in an excellent mood at the moment.

After reading the battle report, Rokossovsky put it on the table, raised his head and said to Bogolyubov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, it seems that Misha's proposal to us is still very effective. We first use The air force bombed, then bombarded with artillery, and finally ordered the air force to bomb a wave, completely blinding the enemy, so that they could not organize effective resistance. It is precisely because of this that our army was able to break through the German defense line so smoothly."

  The high-frequency telephone on the table rang, and the call was from Chief of the General Staff Antonov. Knowing that Rokossovsky had adopted a new offensive tactic today, he made a special call to find out how the battle was going.

"The effect is very good, Comrade Antonov." Rokossovsky said in a relaxed tone: "I thought that after two rounds of bombing and one round of shelling on the German positions, and then a full-scale attack, it would definitely be successful." It encountered a certain level of resistance. However, according to the feedback from various units, the enemy’s resistance is very weak, and the troops that are advancing rapidly have advanced about five kilometers into the enemy’s defense within an hour.”

   "Oh, some troops have advanced five kilometers into the depth of the German defense?" If you are traveling, five kilometers is not too long. It takes about ten minutes to drive and no more than an hour to walk. But if it is on the battlefield, this distance is very unusual. You must know that in many cases, even if the progress is smooth, the advancing distance of the troops may not be able to reach five kilometers in a day. So hearing what Rokossovsky said, Antonov asked tentatively: "Comrade Marshal, are you talking about General Sokov's troops?"

"That's right, it's his troops." Rokossovsky nodded and said, "With so many army commanders under me, he is the one who makes me feel most at ease. If it is in battle, which troops have achieved good results?" The results of the battle, you don’t need to ask, you know that it is the troops under his command. By the way, how is the progress of our friendly forces?”

Rokossovsky's original intention was to ask about the progress of Cherniakhovsky's third front army. After all, the opponent was on his right flank. out of touch. But Antonov misunderstood what he meant, and said to himself: "It's not going well, Comrade Marshal. The attack launched by Marshal Zhukov's First Front Army was stubbornly resisted by the German army, and progress was very slow.

   As for General Cherniakhovsky's Third Front, the main force was used to besiege the city of Memel, and the remaining troops could only stick to the existing line of defense. It is obviously unrealistic to continue to move forward before the city of Memel is completely liberated. "

   After listening to Antonov's narration, Rokossovsky's heart inevitably became heavy. He didn't expect the current situation to be so pessimistic. Except for some progress made by one's own troops, the progress of the other two troops was unsatisfactory. I originally thought that it was a good thing for my subordinates to advance quickly, but now it seems that if my recommended speed is too high and out of touch with the friendly troops on the left and right wings, it will evolve into a lonely army. If the German army gathers heavy troops to attack its own flank, the situation will become unfavorable to itself.

   While thinking wildly, I heard Antonov say again: "Comrade Marshal, I will give you an update in advance. The Supreme Command will consider it in the past two days and prepare to let your troops adjust the direction of attack."

   "Adjust the direction of attack?" Rokossovsky asked in surprise: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I wonder how the Supreme Commander plans to adjust our attack direction?"

"Originally, the higher-ups planned for you to capture Königsberg, but judging from the current situation, this task is likely to fall to General Cherniakhovsky." Antonov said unhurriedly : "And you will turn around and go west to participate in the attack on Berlin."

Rokossovsky stared at the map in front of him, and then said: "If the direction is really adjusted, it is equivalent to Marshal Konev's Ukrainian First Front Army, Marshal Zhukov's Belarusian First Front Army and my Second Front Army. The front armies are marching head to head towards Berlin, right?"

   "Yes, that is indeed the case." Antonov gave him an affirmative answer.

Hearing what Antonov said, Rokossovsky's heartbeat couldn't help but speed up. He thought that he had completely lost the chance to capture Berlin, but if his troops adjusted their attack direction, they would turn from their current position to the west. On the face of it, it is still unknown whose troops will be the first to enter Berlin.

   "Comrade Chief of Staff," Rokossovsky asked cautiously, "When is the Supreme Command going to change the direction of our attack?"

   "It is still under discussion." Antonov said: "You must know that the progress of the Third Front Army is not satisfactory. If you are transferred to the west too early, I am afraid it will cause them to get into trouble."

Rokossovsky thought about it carefully, and it was really the case. The troops of the Third Front Army were so battered. If they didn't have their own troops to help them, they would repeat the mistakes made at the end of last year and be defeated by the Germans from now on. Some areas are driven away. "I understand, Comrade Chief of Staff. The Supreme Command will make a final decision after the situation here is clear, isn't that right?"

   "Yes, it is true."

"Okay then, Comrade Chief of Staff." Rokossovsky knew that if Stalin didn't nod on this matter, there would be no use in worrying about it, so he said into the microphone: "If you have the latest news, please inform me in time .”

   "Don't worry, Comrade Marshal." Antonov said: "As soon as there is any new news, I will notify you as soon as possible."