Rokossovsky and Fomin stood in the trenches, silently watching the long line of tanks, armored vehicles, and trucks at the foot of the hill winding towards the south.

Looking at the troops in the distance, Fuming couldn't help but ask worriedly: "Comrade General, can we reach Lutsk smoothly?" ”

"Comrade commissar, in the current situation, we can only try our luck." Rokossovsky looked up at the clear sky and said with a bitter face: "I hope that our actions will not be discovered by German aircraft, so that our chances of successfully returning to Lutsk will be greatly improved." ”

"Comrade General, what if we are bombed by the Germans on the road?" Fuming looked at Rokossovsky intently and asked, "Do you continue to advance towards Lutsk, or do you retreat here or Vvodava?" ”

Rokossovsky replied without hesitation: "Comrade Commissar, since our troops have already advanced to the south, we will rush to Lutsk without hesitation, regardless of whether we encounter a German attack or an air attack by enemy aircraft." Even if there is only one person left, we will return to Lutsk. The last sentence he said with a wave of anger.

Fuming raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder, comforting him: "Don't worry, Comrade General, we will definitely return to Lutsk safely." It's getting late, so let's go. ”

The armored car in which the two were riding was speeding on the potholed road. Fu Ming looked at the radio operator sitting next to him, and couldn't help but ask again: "Can the radio on our car contact the troops in front at any time?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commissar." When the operator heard the question, he first turned his head to look at Rokossovsky, and when he saw that he nodded, indicating that he could answer the question, he took the initiative to explain: "Our radio station here can communicate wirelessly with the radio stations of various divisions at any time. ”

After Rokossovsky waited for the operator to finish speaking, he immediately commanded: "Okay, comrade operator, ask General Novikov where his troops have traveled and have they found anything?" ”

As soon as the operator agreed, he began to call the tank division that was on the march. Soon he handed the headset and microphone to Rokossovsky and reported: "Comrade commander, it has been connected." ”

Rokossovsky put on headphones and asked loudly at the microphone: "Comrade General, how is the situation?" ”

"All the best, Comrade Commander." Novikov's voice sounded like he was in a good mood, "We have now driven forward for almost twenty kilometers, and no one has found anyone on either side of the road, except for a few craters. Since there are no enemies, and there are no people who see us, we are marching in no man's land! ”

"Comrade General, we are still behind enemy lines, and we cannot take it lightly." Rokossovsky was deeply afraid that Novikov would underestimate the enemy, and specially told him: "Send more scouts to reconnoiter all around to ensure the safety of the troops' march." ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander. I'll send someone to ......" Novikov's words were just halfway through when he suddenly turned into an exclamation: "Hell, there's a reconnaissance plane flying in the sky!" ”

"Reconnaissance plane?!" When Rokossovsky heard the reconnaissance plane, his heart immediately rose to his throat and hurriedly asked: "Is the reconnaissance plane ours or German?" ”

"It's German!" Novikov, who was half-protruding from the roof of the tank's turret, looked at the sky and replied loudly: "It has spotted us and is circling back and forth around our column." Need to knock it down? ”

"Not yet." Rokossovsky was afraid that the division commander under his command would shoot down the plane hovering in the air on the spur of the moment, so he stopped him in time, and at the same time asked: "Your division is now disguised as a German unit, and maybe you can fool the reconnaissance plane." ”

"Well, Comrade Commander," Novikov said loudly into the microphone, "I will restrain the soldiers from shooting casually, lest their identities be revealed." ”

While Rokossovsky and Novikov were talking, the German pilots of the aerial reconnaissance aircraft again lowered their flight altitude and flew over to the marching armored units. Although the white crosses on the bodies of the two dozen tanks in front of him were particularly clear, and the soldiers on the motorcycles and trucks behind him were also wearing German uniforms, he always felt that something was wrong, so he drove the plane to constantly hover over this armored unit.

After flying for a while, still finding no flaws, the pilot thought he was too suspicious, so he raised his altitude and flew north, wanting to see how long the armored column was. After flying forward for a while, he suddenly noticed an anomaly, and the compartment of the truck column followed by was actually full of Soviet soldiers with loaded guns. This discovery immediately aroused the pilot's vigilance, and he hurriedly lowered the altitude again, wanting to see what to see.

The unit discovered by the Germans was General Scherstyuk's infantry division, and many of the commanders and fighters sitting in the car had a humiliating history of being prisoners.

Faced with the sudden ground fire, the German pilot was startled, and he quickly pulled the plane up again. After circling twice in the air, it was determined that the armored unit that was marching below was disguised by the Soviet troops, and quickly turned around and flew towards the airfield.

General Scherstyuk, who was in the second echelon, heard the sound of gunfire like beans outside, and saw the German reconnaissance plane that was gradually moving away, and he couldn't help but be so angry that he stomped his feet and cursed. After a firefight, he realized the seriousness of the problem and hurriedly asked the operator to contact Rokossovsky to report the bad news to him.

When Rokossovsky heard this, he was also furious, but he also knew that it was useless to get angry at this time, so he informed Novikov, who was opening the road in front: "Comrade General, our whereabouts have been discovered by German reconnaissance planes, and your division should immediately speed up and strive to reach Lutsk or our army's position before the German bombers arrive." Move fast, or we'll lose a lot. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Novikov also realized the seriousness of the problem at this moment, and as soon as he ended the call with Rokossovsky, he gave the troops an order to accelerate their advance. At the same time, in order to prevent misunderstandings with his own troops, he also sent two reconnaissance teams on motorcycles to the front to search for the whereabouts of Soviet troops.