Although the entire force increased the speed of the march, the speed of tanks, armored vehicles and automobiles could not be compared with the flight speed of aircraft. Half an hour later, four German planes appeared in the sky and began bombing and strafing the moving convoy.

In the first wave of bombs dropped by German aircraft, one of them directly hit a car traveling at high speed, blowing the entire car into a fireball, and all the 20 or so fighters on the car were killed on the spot. The driver of the car who was following closely behind hurriedly slammed the steering wheel, bypassed the crackling and burning truck parked in the middle of the road, and continued to drive forward.

Although the enemy planes were diving and bombing, the Soviet convoy still maintained a neat formation and continued to move forward. The commanders and fighters sitting in the carriages were still respectfully sitting motionless until they received the order to get off the train, and only the machine guns mounted on a few cars were firing at the enemy planes that were diving down.

When Rokossovsky saw this scene, he was simply heartbroken, and he had the intention to let the soldiers get out of the car and hide, but the radio could only contact the commander at the division level. If someone else goes next to each vehicle to give orders, it will not only be inefficient, but will also make the troops under air attack even more confused. Under these circumstances, he could only harden his heart and let the troops continue to advance, while at the same time, he secretly prayed in his heart that he hoped to get rid of the German air raids as soon as possible.

Although there were only four enemy aircraft, in just a few minutes, Rokossovsky's troops inflicted considerable casualties. The mainland was full of damaged tanks, armored vehicles, automobiles, and sacrificed commanders and fighters, and some of the commanders and fighters who escaped from the blown up vehicles walked along the side of the road with each other's arms, and continued to walk south with the convoy.

The simple troops suffered heavy casualties, Rokossovsky's eyes were red, and seeing a plane swooping down at an altitude towards his position, he hurriedly sat down in front of the on-board machine gun, and pulled the trigger fiercely aimed at the rushing enemy plane. The machine gun spewed out a dense mass of projectiles, knocking the plane out of control. Before the pilot could parachute, he caught fire and exploded on the side of the road, and the shrapnel flying sideways and the rocks kicked up by the explosion gas wave smashed the armor of the armored car.

Rokossovsky had just shot down an enemy plane, and fighters in a nearby car also wounded an enemy plane. Watching his companions drag a long stream of black smoke into the distance, the remaining two enemy planes circled twice in the air and flew towards the airfield.

"The enemy planes should have gone back to replenish their ammunition." Political Commissar Fuming, who witnessed the entire air raid, said to himself: "I don't know if they will bring more enemy planes." ”

"Comrade Commissar." Rokossovsky, who was sitting in front of the machine gun, turned his head to look at him, and said angrily: "The bombing of enemy planes can only slow down our march, and if the Germans send out armored forces to launch a surprise attack on us, then our troops may be routed or even annihilated." ”

Fu Ming looked at the commanders and fighters marching on foot on the side of the road, and found that there were still many wounded among them, so he asked tentatively: "Comrade General, do you see that there are many wounded among the commanders and fighters walking on the roadside, do we need to stop and help them?" ”

Rokossovsky waved his hand and said decisively: "Comrade political commissar, these commanders and fighters of the roadside march will be contained by Chernyaev's 20th Tank Division, and our priority now is to continue to advance south and strive to join up with friendly forces as soon as possible." After speaking, he turned around and grabbed the headset and microphone in the operator's hand, and said to Novikov loudly: "Hey, comrade general, what are the casualties of your division?" ”

"Report to the corps commander," Novikov reported in a heavy tone, "two tanks were blown up in our division, as well as fifteen motorcycles and three armored vehicles, which were damaged by strafing by enemy aircraft. ”

"Keep the current pace and prepare for air defense." Rokossovsky knew that in the current situation, his troops were lambs to the slaughter, and only by entering his own defensive positions as soon as possible could he get rid of the bombardment and armored assault of the German army. So before ending the call, he asked, "Is the Scout back?" ”

"Just returned, Comrade Commander." Novikov loudly reported: "They say that about five kilometers further on, there is a defensive position of our army, which is being attacked by the Germans." ”

Hearing that he would be able to reach his position in a few more kilometers, Rokossovsky could not help but be ecstatic, and he hurriedly urged Novikov: "Comrade General, I order you to immediately send a motorized battalion to crush the German troops attacking our positions and open a passage for us. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Novikov is also an experienced veteran commander, "Once the enemy standing in front of us has been eliminated, I will order them to build defensive positions to cover the passage of the main forces of our army." ”

"Yes, Comrade General, you are very thoughtful." Rokossovsky nodded with satisfaction and ordered: "Just do as you say." ”

At this moment, on a small position five kilometers away from the Ninth Mechanized Army, the Soviet 44th Regiment was struggling to support under the onslaught of the German army.

The 44th Regiment was the 15th Division of the 62nd Infantry Corps, which was subordinate to Fedyuninsky, and they had been holding out here for two days in order to hold off the German units rushing towards Lutsk. The bombing and artillery bombardment of the German army caused heavy casualties to the regiment, which was originally nearly 2,000 people, and at present there are still more than 500 fighters left in the regiment, which is only equivalent to one battalion.

When the motorized battalion arrived on the battlefield, the Germans again launched a new offensive on the Soviet positions. The battalion commander, Major Matlov, stood in front of the motorcycle and said to Kochetov, who was standing next to him: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, the Germans are attacking the positions of our troops, and you immediately rush forward with a company and flank our defenders in front and back, and wipe out all this enemy." ”

After listening to Matlov's order, Kochetov did not immediately express his position, but looked down at the German uniform on his body, and then said unhurriedly: "Comrade Major, we are wearing German uniforms, which can approach them without arousing the vigilance of the enemy, and then fire fiercely from behind them, destroying them all." ”

Matlov thought about Kochetov's suggestion and decisively agreed: "Ensign, this is a good suggestion of yours. You lead the troops up first, and I will wait for the follow-up troops to arrive, and then go up to reinforce you. ”

The German officers and men who were charging forward in an offensive formation saw a unit wearing German uniforms and holding standard weapons coming from behind, and thought that they had come to reinforce them. Immediately feeling a boost in morale, he took the weapon in his hand and trotted forward.

Just as the Germans shouted and rushed to the Soviet positions, the "German soldiers" who were following them opened fire. Regrettably, however, they did not fire at the Soviet positions, but at the backs of the charging German officers and soldiers.

The supreme commander of the German army, a German captain, saw the soldiers around him keep falling, and just wanted to turn around and ask what had happened, he was struck into a sieve by a barrage of bullets from behind. He died unfathomable why the new German soldiers were shooting at him and his men.

The unexpected change also stunned the soldiers in the position, and before they could shoot, they found that the charging Germans had actually begun to kill each other. After hesitating for a moment, the deputy political regiment commander Besolov, who was supervising the battle at the front, suddenly understood that it was our own troops who had arrived, and that it was our troops who were disguised as German troops to carry out a sneak attack. Hurriedly shouted at the fighters on the left and right: "Comrades, don't shoot, your own people, it's our own people!" ”

After shouting, he jumped out of the trench and strode towards the troops in front of him who were cleaning the battlefield.