When the positions of the Germans were covered by rocket shells, there was immediately confusion on the positions. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info some of the German soldiers who rushed out of the shelter entered the position, ready to meet the rushing Soviet troops, and many more turned their heads and ran along the communication trench towards the fifth trench behind.

The German soldiers were in disarray, and the officers were not much better. In a hurry, they did not know whether the commander should enter the position and prepare to block the Soviet attack, or retreat to the next trench to avoid the next Soviet shelling.

At this time, the commanders and fighters of the Soviet army who participated in the counteroffensive had come to a place only three or four hundred meters away from the enemy's trenches. Through the skyrocketing fire from the position, they saw clearly the chaotic scene of the German army. The Germans, blinded by the light of the fire, did not notice that in the darkness a few hundred meters away, a powerful Soviet unit was approaching them.

With mental calculation or unintentional, the next offensive launched by the Soviet army became very smooth. They rushed to the front of the position with a single charge, threw grenades into the trenches, and a series of explosions rang out, and before the smoke cleared, the commanders and fighters rushed forward with shouts and engaged the German officers and soldiers who were in a mess in the trenches.

After completing the occupation of the fourth line of defense, the forward commander hurriedly reported the good news to Malinin.

Hearing that the troops had successfully occupied the position, Malinin excitedly said: "Great, this is really good, I will immediately report the good news to Comrade Commander." As soon as you have regrouped, launch a new attack on the enemy's position, and you must ...... before dawn."

Before he could finish his sentence, a violent rumble came from the earpiece, interrupting the rest of his words. He listened with a frown for a moment, then raised his voice and asked, "Hey, Comrade Commander, what's wrong with you there?" What happened, why was there such a fierce cannonball? ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff." The other party's voice was mixed with a rumble: "The position we just occupied is being heavily shelled by the Germans!" ”

"See, as soon as you occupied your position, German artillery fire came." Malinin indignantly ordered: "You immediately order the soldiers to pay attention to concealment and reduce unnecessary casualties. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff."

After putting down the phone, Malinin walked quickly in front of Rokossovsky and reported with a nervous expression: "Comrade commander, our assault forces have managed to occupy the positions of the German troops......

"Great, that's great." As soon as Lobachev heard this, he couldn't help but interject: "Seeing that our night offensive is still very effective, it actually occupies the enemy's position so quickly. ”

"That's right, that's right." Hearing that the troops had captured the enemy's positions, Rokossovsky also said with emotion: "The German army, which has lost the support of tanks, artillery and aircraft, is vulnerable to the fierce offensive of our army. ”

"Commander, military commissar, I haven't finished my words yet." Seeing the elated appearance of Rokossovsky and Lobachev, Malinin said with a sad face: "Our army has just occupied the enemy's position, and before it has time to clean up the battlefield, it was subjected to heavy artillery fire by the Germans. ”

Hearing Malinin's report, Rokossovsky's brows immediately furrowed, he looked at Malinin and asked, "Chief of Staff, did you give them any instructions?" ”

"Since we could not figure out the purpose of the sudden German artillery bombardment, I have ordered the forward commanders to let the troops do a good job of concealment and minimize the unnecessary casualties caused to us by the German artillery bombardment." After Ma Lining finished talking about his arrangement, he asked rhetorically: "Comrade commander, what should we do next?" ”

"Comrade Artillery Director, please come here." Rokossovsky did not immediately reply to Malinin, but beckoned to Kazakov, and when he came to him, he asked: "Can we counter the German artillery positions and suppress their artillery fire?" ”

As soon as Rokossovsky's words were finished, Kazakov shook his head like a rattle: "No, Comrade Commander. We don't know where the German artillery is at all, and even if we want to, there is no way to suppress it. ”

Kazakov's words made Rokossovsky's heart sink sharply, if the German artillery could not be suppressed, then the troops occupying the fourth line of defense could not continue to advance, and could only continue to stay in the trenches to be shelled.

Before he could come up with a foolproof plan, he heard a staff officer shouting for Malinin to answer the phone. From the expression on the staff officer's face, Rokossovsky knew that something big must have happened, and as soon as Malinin finished answering the phone, he immediately asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what happened again?" ”

"According to the report of the forward commander." Malinin said with a serious expression: "Although the enemy's shelling has not weakened, the observation post has found that German tanks have appeared in the distance, and it seems that the German army intends to counterattack the position we have just occupied. ”

"As long as the enemy's shelling stops, their infantry, even if they charge under the guidance of tanks, will not necessarily be able to regain lost positions." At this time, Orel stood up and said: "Colonel Katukov's 4th Tank Brigade is not far behind this line of defense. Since Comrade Commander advanced the time of the infantry sortie by half an hour, they were not used at all in the offensive battle just now. As soon as the enemy's infantry attacks our positions, our tanks can deliver them a surprise blow. ”

Although Orel's words made the expressions on the faces of Lobachev and Malinin relaxed, Rokossovsky still frowned and thought about the enemy's purpose for doing so.

Seeing that Rokossovsky was pondering, several commanders were happy for a while, and then fell silent again, and everyone turned their eyes to Rokossovsky, wanting to hear what the commander would make in the end.

"Comrade commanders." After thinking for a while, Rokossovsky said to a few people slowly: "Do you think that the enemy's shelling is coming too quickly? Almost as soon as our troops occupied their positions, enemy shells whistled down on the heads of our troops, and it seemed as if they had been prepared. ”

"I agree with Comrade Commander." The first to stand up to Rokossovsky was Kazakov, who, as an artillery commander, had more say in this matter than anyone else: "I think the positions we occupied have long been marked within the range of German shelling, so they can carry out accurate shelling of our troops in such a short time." ”

After listening to Kazakov's analysis, the expression on Malinin's face became serious again, and he turned his head and asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, what should we do next?" Do you continue to attack the enemy, or do you keep your troops in your existing defensive positions? ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, cancel the order for a counteroffensive in the troops." After repeated reflection, Rokossovsky felt that in the present state, continuing to attack the German army in depth with the existing strength and technical equipment of the army group would be tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg, so he resolutely issued an order to Malinin to stop the offensive: "Let the forward commanders deploy troops to build a solid defense on the existing positions." ”

"Comrade Commander," Lobachev was taken aback when he heard Rokossovsky's order to cancel the offensive, and he hurriedly reminded Rokossovsky: "The counterattack on the German troops on the defensive front of our army is an order issued by the Supreme Command, and if you order to stop the offensive without asking for instructions, will you cause yourself unnecessary trouble?" ”

Rokossovsky turned his head to look at his political deputy and said with a wry smile: "Comrade Military Commissar, I think it is very difficult for the higher authorities to accurately judge the situation on the battlefield and make a correct judgment under the current situation. If we ignore the actual situation and blindly attack the German troops who have already prepared, it is estimated that our counteroffensive forces will be completely lost before dawn. ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's explanation, Lobachev asked half-convinced: "Comrade commander, is the situation really so bad?" Didn't our troops, not so long ago, easily occupy the positions of the German troops? I think that if they had been ordered to continue the attack, they would have achieved greater results. ”

"Comrade Military Commissar, you are wrong." Rokossovsky unceremoniously retorted to Lobachev's fluke: "According to the reports of the forward commanders, the enemy has already placed tank units in front of their positions, and I believe that it will not be long before the Germans will launch a fierce offensive against them." If they attacked at such a time, the infantry exposed to the open would become a target for German tank guns and vehicle-mounted machine guns. As commanders, we must be responsible for the lives of our soldiers, and we must not let them make unnecessary sacrifices. ”

"However, you stopped the attack without permission." Lobachev reminded Rokossovsky out of concern: "What can you do if your superiors hold him accountable? ”

"In order to hold our defense zone, if the superiors want to hold them accountable, then let me bear it." After Rokossovsky said this, he decisively ordered Malinin: "Chief of staff, call the forward commander and ask him to wait for the end of the German artillery bombardment, except for a third of the troops left to continue the defense, and withdraw the rest of the forces to the third line of defense." ”

"If two-thirds of the forces are withdrawn to the third line of defense, will the remaining commanders and fighters be able to hold their positions in the face of the fierce German offensive?" After listening to Rokossovsky's order, Malinin asked worriedly: "Why don't we leave all our troops behind for defense?" ”

"Chief of Staff, judging from the current situation, it is clear that the enemy has long been prepared." Rokossovsky said resolutely: "If we continue to attack the depth of the German army according to the original deployment, we will inevitably suffer a big loss." At this point, he paused for a moment, and after scanning his gaze over Lobachev, Malinin, and others, he continued, "If we leave all the counterattacking troops in the fourth trench to suffer German shells. With so many troops in a narrow area, every shell of the enemy has the potential to cause casualties among several or even a dozen of our people. You must know that the elite of our group army has been invested in this counterattack, once this line of defense is broken, then the depth of defense behind will face a situation where there are no troops to defend, and when the time comes, who will block the enemy's attack? ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's words, Lobachev realized the seriousness of the situation and felt that the current situation was more serious than he thought, so he no longer was stubborn, nodded at Malinin, and instructed the other party: "Chief of staff, I think Comrade Commander is very reasonable, you can pass on his order." (To be continued.) )