When Babaganyan heard the news of Anatoly's death, his heart was particularly heavy, this lieutenant colonel was one of his most important commanders, but he did not expect to die at the hands of German snipers on the eve of victory in order to save a German child.

After a moment of silence in his heart for his subordinates, he categorically ordered the deputy brigade commander who reported to him: "Comrade deputy brigade commander, you immediately take over his command and bring the troops back to the seashore. ”

When the deputy brigade commander heard Babajanyan's order, he asked a little strangely: "Comrade commander, isn't the task we have received to go west to deal with friendly forces preparing to attack the city?" ”

"The tide of the battle has changed today, and according to our reconnaissance, the enemy has four divisions and more than a dozen regimental combat units in the city of Gdynia." "In order to prevent them from escaping from the sea, we had to first seize the port and the shipyard," Babajanyan said. ”

Knowing that the combat mission had changed, the deputy brigade commander, after ending the call with Baba Janian, immediately issued an order to the troops: "All attention, all tanks immediately turn around and return to the sea!" Repeat, all the tanks immediately turned around and returned to the sea! ”

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At this moment, in the command of the Front, Deputy Commander Trubnnikov was speaking to Rokossovsky about his opinion: "Comrade Marshal, as our troops advanced to the Gulf of Gdansk, the enemy group had been divided into two parts: one part occupied Danzig, and the second part was in Gdynia.

Although our troops were already in place, launching an offensive against the Germans in both places at the same time would lead to the dispersion of our forces and the weakening of our troops. Therefore, I propose to order the 19th Army and the 3rd Guards Tank Army to launch the final attack on the Tsopott area first. After our army occupies the city, it will be able to turn around and cooperate with the capture of General Katukov's troops and capture Gdynia. ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander," Rokossovsky waited for Trubnnikov to finish speaking, and said unhurriedly: "Katukov's troops have launched an attack on Gdynia, and even without our support, they will be able to take the city." ”

"Comrade Marshal, according to recent reconnaissance intelligence," Trubnikov, seeing that Rokossovsky did not seem to be paying attention to the German troops in Gdynia, reminded him: "The enemy is not only four divisions in the city, but a dozen regimental combat units. In the shipyard north of the city, there were armored divisions, motorized divisions, and an artillery brigade that had retreated from other areas, and although the combat effectiveness of these units had been greatly weakened, I thought it was unlikely that Babajanyan's 11th Guards Tank Army would cut off the German retreat from the sea. ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander, you have a point." Rokossovsky nodded after hearing this, and continued: "Although many units of the German army have been hit hard by our army, their combat effectiveness is still there. The ports and shipyards north of Gdynia were the only retreat for the city's defenders, and the enemy would do whatever it took to defend it. In this case, only one tank corps of Babajanyan attacked, and I fear that they will suffer. ”

Seeing that Rokossovsky's opinion was in agreement with himself, Trubnnikov proposed: "Comrade Marshal, see if you should immediately inform General Katukov and ask him not to use the tank army to attack the ports and shipyards for the time being, so as not to suffer unnecessary losses to the troops." ”

Rokossovsky said with a wry smile: "Comrade Deputy Commander, the reason why Katukov is in such a hurry to attack Gdynia is to take the city before it is returned. As the head of the front army, we should just grasp the general direction, but we should not interfere too much in the command of the front-line commanders, so as not to disrupt their operational rhythm. ”

Although Rokossovsky did not intend to interfere with Katukov's battle plans, it was decided to provide them with the necessary assistance, taking into account the difficulties faced in the capture of Gdynia. He turned to Bogolyubov and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately get in touch with the commander of the Baltic Fleet, General Tributs, and ask him to send long-range bombers deployed on the island of Saremaa to carry out air strikes on Gdynia and destroy the German fortifications in the city. ”

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After the two mechanized corps arrived at the designated position, they took a short break and launched an attack on Gdynia from the west. Then their attack, met with stubborn resistance from the Germans, and after several hours of fierce fighting, after great sacrifices, the troops advanced less than two kilometers.

Faced with such a poor progress, Katukov was a little discouraged, and he immediately ordered Babajanyan's troops to move north along the seashore to seize the enemy's ports and shipyards in order to cut off the enemy's retreat by sea, and then attack the city from the east to deal with the two mechanized corps attacking from the west.

Babajanyan, who had already completed the build-up of troops, could launch an attack on the enemy's ports and shipyards as soon as Katukov gave the order. However, he waited left and right until noon, and did not receive Katukov's order to attack, so angry that he kept cursing people in the army headquarters. The staff officers and communications troops working in the headquarters did not even dare to come out of the atmosphere, for fear of attracting the attention of the army commander and being scolded.

Fortunately, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, Katukov's order to attack finally arrived. Babajanyan looked at the written order in his hand, his emotions suddenly became excited, and he immediately began to give orders: "Chief of Staff, order the 40th and 44th Guards Tank Brigades, the 27th Guards Mechanized Brigade, and the 362nd Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment to attack the port north of Gdynia. ”

The troops, which had long been ready to attack, immediately launched a fierce attack on the frontal enemy as soon as the order was given. Originally, the Germans did not have any decent fortifications near the port, and they were all trenches and improvised fortifications that were hastily built after the Soviets had left the Gulf of Gdansk yesterday.

The German officers and soldiers hiding in these rudimentary fortifications, although they were desperately resisting, still could not stop the Soviet attack. In less than half an hour, the two lines of defense they had built were broken through by the Soviets.

The tanks of the tank brigade, guided by the mechanized infantry, stormed the harbor and prepared to clear the defenders here. Just as the commanders and fighters were following the tanks and rushing into the harbor with shouts, an anti-tank gun and machine gun suddenly opened fire on a large cargo ship parked in the harbor.

The armor-piercing shells fired by the anti-tank guns easily penetrated the weak top armor of the T-34, and the Soviet tanks were destroyed one after another, stopping on the road and burning; And the infantrymen who followed behind the tank were either knocked down in pieces by a dense number of bullets, or cut down by shrapnel from the explosion of the tank.

Soviet tanks and infantry returned fire on the freighter, but the tank guns could not hit the anti-tank guns on the deck because the elevation angle was not enough; And the machine guns, submachine guns and rifles in the hands of the infantry could not suppress the machine gun fire above. In just a few minutes, 278 tanks of the Soviet army were destroyed, and more than 300 commanders and fighters fell in pools of blood.

Seeing that the freighter's firepower blocked the way forward, the commander who led the team hurriedly reported the situation to Babajanyan, and finally asked: "Comrade commander, the enemy's firepower is too fierce and blocks our way forward, what should we do next?" ”

"Stop attacking!" Babajanyan, a commander with a lot of combat experience, knew that continuing to fight brutally would only cause more casualties, so he hurriedly gave the order to retreat: "I order all the troops to withdraw from the port, regroup and then launch a new attack. ”