The cavalry, which rushed forward along the street, was occasionally fired upon by the enemy from the buildings on both sides of the street. The frightened and wounded horsemen stood up, jumped wildly and shook off the cavalry warriors on their backs, and continued to rush forward, or with a scream, fell to the ground with a pop. Fortunately, at this moment, the formation of the charge is sparse, and as long as the warrior who falls from the horse reacts sensitively, rolls on the spot and rolls directly to the side of the road, his life is usually not in danger.

Although the enemy in the city continued to resist stubbornly, the 5th Guards Cavalry Division and the 32nd Cavalry Division, which rushed into the city from the north and south, became the last straw that crushed the defenders. Except for a few stubborn SS soldiers, who were still putting up their last stubborn resistance with the fortifications they occupied, the remaining Wehrmacht or People's Stormtroopers saw the Soviet cavalry rushing up, and they all laid down their arms and walked out with their hands raised in surrender.

Oslikovsky, overjoyed to learn that his troops had captured Novostean, hurriedly called Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, I have good news for you, my troops have successfully captured Novostean. ”

"Well done, General Oslikovsky." After hearing the news of the occupation of Nova Stettin by the cavalry corps, Rokossovsky's heart was happy, but he was not so excited that he lost his temper. The city was said to be heavily guarded, but in fact there was only one dissatisfied German regiment and more than 5,000 officers and men of the People's Stormtrooper, and if the Guards Cavalry Corps, with the support of artillery and air force, could not take the city, then their performance would be too disappointing for themselves. Therefore, he said in an official tone on the microphone: "Please express your gratitude to the commanders and fighters of your army on behalf of me, and thank them for their meritorious deeds in the battle against ***." ”

"Comrade Marshal," as soon as Rokossovsky's words were finished, Oslikovsky immediately and eagerly asked: "I would like to ask, what is the next combat mission of our army?" ”

"The location of New Stettin is important, right at the junction of our and friendly forces." Rokossovsky said into the microphone: "You leave a part of the troops to hold out, and the main forces of the cavalry corps continue to move north to cover the left flank of the 19th Army." ”

When Osirichowsky heard the 19th Army, he suddenly remembered the gossip he had mentioned, and hurriedly asked tentatively: "Comrade Marshal, I heard that the commander of the 19th Army, General Kozlov, seems to have been removed. I wonder if there is such a thing? ”

The news of Kozlov's dismissal on the spot, Rokossovsky did not report it to the entire front, so at this time, not to mention ordinary soldiers, even commanders of Osilikovsky's rank did not know. Considering that the cavalry corps was responsible for protecting the flanks of the 19th Army, it would be a bit too much to say if the dismissal was not reported to the other side. "That's right, the former commander, General Kozlov, was dismissed yesterday because of the unfavorable command of the operation, and he was replaced by the former commander of the 67th Army, General Romanovsky, and I hope that your troops will actively cooperate with them in the battle."

Oslikovsky had long heard about the sluggish advance of the troops of the 19th Army during the offensive, and he was anxious to know the combat style of the new commander, and hurriedly asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, I wonder what the capabilities of this Romanovsky general are?" ”

"General Romanovsky is a very good commander." Faced with Osilikovsky's questions, Rokossovsky told him: "Don't look at the fact that he has only been in office for less than a day, but with his adjustment of troops and tactics, the offensive of the troops has become smooth." In today's battle, the infantry has managed to advance twenty kilometers, almost as much as the previous two days combined. But in this way, their left flank will be more exposed to the enemy, and you will need to move forward immediately to provide them with tangible protection. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Marshal." After Oslikovsky clarified his tasks, he hurriedly expressed his position to Rokossovsky: "Our army will definitely ensure the security of the flanks of the 19th Army. ”

Oslikovsky drove to Novostadin, gathered his three division commanders, first praised them, and began to lay out the order: "Comrade Marshal orders our army to leave part of its forces to hold Nova Stadin, and the remaining troops continue to advance towards the flank of the 19th Army. Now I decided that the 5th and 6th Guards Cavalry Divisions would continue northward, with the 6th Guards Division of Major General Blicori as the advance guard. As for the new Stettin, it was defended by the 32nd Cavalry Division. ”

Blicori's troops suffered a lot of casualties when attacking Neo-Stettin, but when they heard that Oslikovsky had asked him to serve as the vanguard unit, he immediately stood up and said: "Comrade commander, don't worry, our division has always been on the vanguard mission, and you must have seen how it performed." I assure you that the performance of our division in the process of advancing north this time will definitely not disappoint you. ”

Seeing that Brakov was so confident, Osirichowski couldn't help but be overjoyed, and he thought to himself: "A competent commander like Blicori can be reassuring no matter where he is placed." He looked up at his watch, then added, "Now let the troops hurry up and rest and leave at four o'clock in the morning." ”

…………

Blickory's troops, punctually leaving New Stettin at four o'clock in the morning, marched along the road in front of the north.

After walking for more than an hour, Blicori, who was walking in the middle of the line, suddenly saw Colonel Yegor, the commander of the 25th Guards Cavalry Regiment, and two fighters stopping on the side of the road, as if waiting for someone. He hurriedly urged him forward, and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Colonel, what are you doing here if you don't stay with your regiment?" ”

"Comrade Division Commander," Yegor did not refute in the face of Blicori's criticism, but said to himself: "The scout I sent found something about it, and I thought it was very important, so I specially brought him to meet you. ”

Immediately after hearing Yegor's words, Blikori asked, "What is it?"

The scout beside Yegor, seeing that Blikori was asking himself, hurriedly replied: "Comrade division commander, in the course of our reconnaissance, we discovered that there was a small detachment on our left flank that was active. According to the analysis, it could be our own people. ”

"Analysis?!" In response to the scout's answer, Blicori said with some dissatisfaction: "On what basis did you analyze that the other party might be your own people?" ”

"Cavalry, the other side is cavalry." The scout continued, "According to observations, there were probably more than fifty of them, all on horseback. You know, the Germans don't have any cavalry ...... in this area."

"Alright, you don't have to say it." When Brikori heard this, he immediately interrupted the speculation behind the scouts, and said to Yegor: "Comrade Colonel, your regiment is the vanguard of the whole division, and I order you to immediately take people to find out whether the squad discovered by the scouts is your own man or the enemy. ”

After Yegor left, Blikory, in order to prevent the target from being exposed, hurriedly issued an order for the troops to stop their advance, and hide on the spot and prepare for battle.

After more than half an hour, Blikory, who was hiding in the woods by the roadside, suddenly heard a rapid sound of horses' hooves on the road, and then heard Yegor's surprise shout: "Division commander, comrade division commander." ”

Seeing that Igor was so emotional, Blicori thought to himself: Could it be that the squad discovered by the scouts is really his own people? I was just happy for a moment, and then I thought about it: No, our division is the vanguard, other cavalry divisions are still behind us, and the 19th Army on the right flank is all infantry, what did these cavalry come from?

Blicori walked out of the woods and asked the emotional Yegor: "Comrade Colonel, don't forget that you are a commander, and what is the point of shouting like this?" ”

Yegor turned over and dismounted, grabbed Blicori's arm, and said excitedly: "Comrade division commander, good news, good news." We have already figured out that the active detachment is the reconnaissance detachment of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps of the 1st Front. Yesterday they received an order from the commander of the Front, Marshal Zhukov, to attack to the north in order to guarantee the flank of our troops. This team is out to explore the way. ”

Bliccory originally looked unfazed, but when he learned that the squad discovered by the scouts was actually the reconnaissance detachment of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps, he couldn't help but get emotional, and he quickly turned his head and shouted into the woods: "Operator, the operator is coming to me." ”

With the shouting, a telegraph operator with a walkie-talkie on his back trotted out of the woods, stopped and asked Bricory: "Comrade division commander, what instructions do you have?" ”

"Report immediately to the military headquarters," Blikory instructed the operator, "saying that in the course of its advance, our division met the reconnaissance detachment of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps of the 1st Front, and according to the commander of the opposing side, they received an order yesterday to attack to the north in order to ensure the safety of our flank......"

The news of the convergence of the vanguard of the cavalry corps and the cavalry reconnaissance detachments of the friendly forces soon reached the headquarters of the front army through the radio waves. When Rokossovsky heard the news, he got up and took a deep breath, exhaling the turbid air in his chest. Then he said to Bogolyubov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, Zhukov has finally sent troops. It seems that yesterday's conversation with the Supreme Commander-in-Chief himself worked. ”

"It's great." Bogolyubov optimistically said: "With friendly forces covering our flanks, our troops can advance with all their might." ”

After staring at the map for a while, Rokossovsky slowly shook his head and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the position of this military subordinate is still too far away from us, although they can help us in the event of an attack on the flank of our army. But until Zhukov's troops launch a full-scale offensive, we must not relax the protection of our flanks. ”