Rokossovsky, who was in Sushnych, received a telegram from Kiryukhin, and was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, walking back and forth in the temporary headquarters with his hands behind his back. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 Although he knew that the 328th Infantry Division under the command of Yershov had been ambushed by the enemy, the troops suffered heavy casualties, and the whereabouts of several divisional commanders were unknown, he could not do anything.

The command of the army group, under the responsibility of Malinin and Zakharov, is on the way to transfer; The 11th Guards Army of General Chernyshov, which had the strongest combat effectiveness, was on the way to pursue the Germans, and it was impossible to rush to reinforce the 328th Division in a hurry; The rest of the troops were too far away from Sushinich to reach even more so. The only thing that can be counted on now is the 324th Infantry Division under the command of General Kiryukhin, after all, they are only two or three kilometers away from the fiercest part of the fighting, and as long as he is willing to help, the troops of the 328th Division can still save some seeds.

Rokossovsky stopped and instructed the operator: "Send a message to General Kiryukhin and ask him to move closer to the 328th Division at all costs, and to save them from the enemy's ambush circle." ”

The operator agreed, and then sent Rokossovsky's order in the form of radio waves.

After receiving Rokossovsky's telegram, Kiryukhin thought for a long time, and then asked the chief of staff: "Chief of staff, are the troops on the left and right flanks coming closer to us?" ”

The chief of staff shook his head and replied: "The tank battalion on the right flank and the infantry regiment are not in contact; And the troops of the 11th Guards Division were pursuing the fleeing Germans on our left flank. ”

"Since the friendly forces can't count on it, we can only go in person." After Kiryukhin finished speaking, he instructed the chief of staff: "Order the vanguard regiment to quickly move closer to the remnants of the 328th Division, and must find a way to save them from the Germans." ”

"Divisional commander, you can't give such an order." The chief of staff grabbed Kiryukhin's arm, shook it and persuaded him: "We are lightly armed, we don't have any heavy weapons, how can we deal with those German troops hiding in strong fortifications?" Don't wait until the allies aren't rescued, and we're trapped. ”

Kiryukhin glared at the chief of staff and said viciously: "Are we just watching our friendly forces being wiped out by the enemy?" ”

"Comrade division commander," the chief of staff raised his eyebrows and said with a shameless face: "The battle has been going on for such a long time, I think the soldiers of the 328th Division have basically been wiped out." If we had rushed over to them at this time, the enemy would have suffered heavy casualties with long-range artillery fire. So the best option at the moment is to abandon this force and withdraw to Suchinich alone. ”

After listening to the Chief of Staff's words, Kiryukhin couldn't help but shake his head again and again, with an expression of disbelief: "Chief of Staff, I have known you for several years, and I have always thought that you are a good commander. But listening to what you just said, it's just chilling. If we see a friendly force in danger today and don't come to the rescue, who will come back to save us when we encounter the same situation in the future? ”

In the face of Kiryukhin's accusations, the chief of staff did not have the slightest intention of repenting, and he still argued on the basis of reason: "Comrade division commander, knowing that the friendly troops cannot be saved, but still have to take the lives of so many of our commanders and fighters, is it worth it?" ”

"It's worth it!" When Kiryukhin said this, he couldn't help but be a little annoyed, and he said to the chief of staff: "Chief of staff, whether you go or not, I will take the troops to rescue the friendly troops." After speaking, he turned his head and said to a staff officer standing nearby, "Immediately order the vanguard regiment to launch an attack on the defensive positions of the German army, and we must rescue the besieged 328th Division." ”

With the order given, the vanguard regiment, which had been transferred to the defense, under the leadership of the regiment commander, advanced towards the place where the gunfire was dense in front, preparing to rescue the besieged friendly troops.

At this time, Malinin rushed to the city with two radios first. Following the guidance of the fighters, he came to Rokossovsky's temporary command.

Seeing Malinin's arrival, Rokossovsky immediately asked: "Chief of Staff, how many communications troops have you brought over?" ”

Malinin looked like Rokossovsky was in a hurry, and hurriedly replied: "Report to Comrade Commander, I have brought a communications platoon, and the rest of the way with Comrade Deputy Commander may arrive later." ”

"Immediately set up a radio station and lay a telephone line." Rokossovsky urged: "At the moment something unexpected is happening, and I need communications to be put into use in the shortest possible time." ”

After Malinin ordered the signal corps to go to work, he asked Rokossovsky in a low voice: "Comrade commander, what happened, I think you are a little out of order?" ”

"Something big happened, the 328th Division, which went to pursue the Germans, was ambushed by the Germans." Rokossovsky frowned and said: "According to the report from Kiryukhin, all the divisional commanders of the division are missing, and the troops have basically been defeated. ”

"What, the troops were ambushed?" When Malinin heard the news, he was taken aback, and he asked incomprehensibly: "Comrade commander, before I came here, I got the news that it was not that our soldiers occupied Sushinich bloodlessly, how could it be that in the blink of an eye, one of our divisions fell into the encirclement of the German army?" ”

"It's all my responsibility." Although Rokossovsky understood in his heart that the reason why the 328th Division fell into the ambush circle of the German army was related to the fact that the division commander of the division underestimated the enemy, he still took the responsibility on himself: "It was I who ordered the commanders of the three divisions to continue to pursue the enemy, did not conduct the necessary reconnaissance, and did not provide artillery and tank support to the pursuing troops, and as a result, accidentally broke into the ambush circle of the German army." ”

"Comrade Commander, you can't be blamed for this." Malinin comforted him: "I think the commander of the division must have underestimated the enemy, and when he saw that we had easily captured Sushinich, he thought that the enemy was only interested in fleeing and would not fight our troops at all, so he acted blindly, and as a result, the whole division fell into an ambush circle of the Germans." ”

"Is Comrade Commander here?" Suddenly Kazakov's voice came from outside the door.

"I'm here." Rokossovsky shouted at the door: "Please come in, General Kazakov!" ”

Walking into the command with Kazakov was the head of the armored corps, Orel. The two did not yet know that the 328th Division was ambushed by the Germans to the west of the city, but came to Rokossovsky for something else. Orel opened his mouth and asked: "Comrade commander, I still have a tank battalion in my hands, where do you think it is appropriate to deploy them?" ”

"What, you still have a tank battalion in your hands?" After listening to Orel's words, Rokossovsky's eyes suddenly widened and he asked in disbelief: "Where are the tanks?" ”

"On the west side of the city." Orel, who knew nothing about the current war, continued: "Our troops were divided into three lines and went in pursuit of the fleeing enemy. I don't know which direction to throw my tanks in, to participate in the pursuit. ”

"Great, Comrade Colonel, this is a flattery. This tank battalion of yours came just in time. Rokossovsky pulled Oreo to the table, pointed to the map on the table, and said to him: "The 328th Division, which was pursuing to the west, fell into the ambush circle of the German army, and at present the division has suffered heavy casualties. Since the whereabouts of all the divisional commanders are unknown, we are unable to ascertain the casualties of the division. ”

"What, the 328th Division was ambushed by the Germans?" Hearing this, both Oryol and Kazakov were taken aback. Kazakov asked in surprise: "Have you sent troops to reinforce them?" ”

"The troops on the left and right have temporarily lost contact." Rokossovsky said helplessly: "General Kiryukhin's 324th Division is only two kilometers away from the 328th Division, but their progress has been slow, and so far they have not joined the besieged troops. Colonel Orel, I now order you to immediately lead the tank battalion to the area where the 328th Division is ambushed, and find a way to free as many commanders and fighters as possible. ”

"But, Comrade Commander." Hearing Rokossovsky's order, Orel was embarrassed and said: "Without the cooperation of the infantry, the enemy's anti-tank men would have easily killed our tanks." ”

"Don't worry, Colonel Orel." Rokossovsky, seeing that Oryol was acting a little timid, comforted him and said: "On the way you will meet the main forces of General Kiryukhin, who will provide you with enough infantry. ”

As soon as Orel left, Zhukov's call came in. He asked with great interest: "Comrade Rokossovsky, well done, I heard that you have taken Sushnich without bloodshed." How was it, did the pursuit of the fleeing German troops achieve results? ”

"Comrade General," Rokossovsky said in a heavy tone, "the 328th Division, which pursued the Germans, was ambushed by the Germans on the way, and the troops suffered heavy casualties. ”

"What, the troops were ambushed?" Zhukov restrained the smile on his face and asked seriously: "How could such a thing happen?" ”

"Due to the urgency of time, after we captured Suchinich, we launched a pursuit of the Germans." Rokossovsky explained to Zhukov: "Neither personnel were sent for reconnaissance, nor tanks were sent to accompany them. After being ambushed by the enemy, the troops were unable to organize an effective battle due to the unaccounted whereabouts of several divisional leaders, and as a result, they behaved in confusion in the face of enemy attacks. ”

"Did you send someone to help?" Zhukov then asked.

"Yes, Comrade General." Rokossovsky replied: "I have already sent the tank units under the command of Colonel Orel, plus the 328th Division, which is only two kilometers away from the 324th Division, I want to rescue the besieged troops, there is still hope." ”

"I see." Zhukov did not get angry at Rokossovsky, but told him: "In any case, in the shortest possible time, the encircled troops must be rescued from the encirclement." Comrade Rokossovsky, you must remember this lesson, wounded beasts bite more ferociously. If we are negligent or underestimate the enemy in organizing a battle, we can make the troops pay a huge price. ”

"Yes, Comrade General." Rokossovsky replied ashamedly: "When this battle is over, I will punish myself lightly from my superiors." ”

With the arrival of the tank battalion commanded by Orel, the vanguard of the 324th Division, which was attacking the German defensive positions, was greatly demoralized, and they braved the enemy's bullets and bullets to bravely rush into the fortifications and engage the enemy in a brutal face-to-face battle. After a fierce battle, the Germans, unable to resist, lost their positions and fled back in a swarm.

The commander of the vanguard regiment, seeing that the enemy had fled, hurriedly ordered the troops to stop the pursuit. Except for some men who stayed in their positions, the remaining commanders and fighters went to the road to search for the survivors of the 328th Division.

After intense statistics, more than 700 commanders and fighters of the 328th Division died on the spot in the battle, and the same number of wounded. However, due to the cold weather, very few of the wounded survived, and most of them were lying in the snow and freezing to death. Only more than 300 people survived in the division, and the division commander, Lieutenant Colonel Yershov, and the deputy division commander, Colonel Ivan, were among the survivors.

Orel walked up to the two division leaders, looked at them with contempt, and asked disdainfully: "Comrade two division commanders, there are only more than three hundred people left in your division, but you have survived. ”

Hearing Orel say this, Yershov introduced in a somewhat panicked manner: "Comrade Colonel, please listen to my explanation, it is not that we are greedy for life and afraid of death, but that as soon as the battle began, the jeep we were riding in was overturned by the air wave of the explosion, and we were also stunned, and we did not wake up until not long ago......

"Alright, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you don't need to explain. If you have any words, save them for a while and explain them to the commander yourself when you return to the city. After Oryol finished counting Yershov, he turned his gaze to Colonel Ivan next to him and asked, "Comrade Colonel, do you have anything to say?" ”

Ivan shook his head and said weakly: "The troops have suffered such great losses, and I, as the deputy division commander, cannot escape the blame. I'll see the commander later, and I'll plead guilty to him. ”

Seeing that the battle here was over, Kiryukhin also rushed over with a guard company. Still far away, he greeted Orel: "Colonel Orel, the tank battalion under your command has done a great job. It didn't take long to seize the enemy's defensive positions and drive them far away from here. ”

Although Kiryukhin was very enthusiastic, Oryol did not give him any good face, and he said coldly: "Comrade General, your troops are only two kilometers away from the 328th Division, if you had come to rescue them earlier, maybe their casualties would have been much smaller, at least those wounded would have survived." ”

When Kiryukhin saw the corpses strewn across the road, his heart was still frightened, and he muttered: "Comrade Colonel, it's not that I don't want to rescue, but because we lack heavy weapons, we can't do anything against these enemy fortifications." ”

Orel waved his hand at him and said, "All right, Comrade General, since the Germans have been beaten away, let's go back to the city now." ”