The Estonian 8th Army, which attacked the Tsopott area, proceeded exceptionally smoothly in the early stage, and it took them only one day to defeat the German Air Force field division that was holding on here, and to develop into the depth of the German defense. By the second day of the battle, the 8th and 249th Infantry Divisions had reached the outskirts of Tsopot. In Pern's view, one more charge would allow the troops to break through the German defenses on the outskirts of the city and storm into the city in one fell swoop.

But soon after the battle began, the chief of staff sensed that something was wrong, and he took the telegram he had just received and said to Perne: "Comrade commander, something seems to be wrong. ”

"What's the matter, Comrade Chief of Staff?" Perne was already thinking about whether he needed to have a grand entrance ceremony after seizing the city, and when he heard Lucas say this, he asked nonchalantly, "Is there something wrong?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander," Lucas said, waving the telegram in his hand, to Pern, "I have just received a report from the 8th Infantry Division, and their two attacks on German positions have been repulsed. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Pern said when he heard Lucas say this, and felt that he was making a little fuss, so he said disapprovingly, "that the enemy is not willing to be defeated, and will certainly be in a dying struggle, and it is not surprising that he can withstand our attack." Send a telegram to the commander of the 249th Division, asking them to take over the attack of the 8th Division and be sure to reach the city of Tsopot before dark. ”

"Comrade Commander, I think something is wrong." Seeing that Pern was so careless, Lucas reminded him: "The analysis of the news from the front shows that the enemy fought very tenaciously, and after some fortifications and trenches were occupied by our troops yesterday, the enemy fled in a hurry. But today, in order to fight for a fortification or a trench, they are fighting a tug-of-war with our army, and even if they suffer heavy casualties, they will not retreat easily. ”

These words of Lucas attracted the attention of Pern, who took the telegram in the other party's hand and looked at it for a while, and then said decisively: "I will call the commander and ask him if he has received any new information there." ”

After the phone was connected, Pern reported the situation he was facing to Fedyuninsky, and then asked: "Comrade commander, I wonder if the reconnaissance department of the headquarters has received the latest information about the enemy?" ”

"What's the latest intel?" Fedyuninsky asked with some displeasure.

"My chief of staff told me," Pern said, turning his head to look at Lucas, and said with some hesitation, "the enemy's combat style has changed from yesterday, and we fear that the enemy may have brought in new troops. ”

At first, Fedyuninsky thought that Pern was making a fuss, but at this moment he realized that the problem was not as simple as he thought. After a moment of silence, he said to Perne: "General Perne, order your troops to temporarily stop the offensive, and I will contact the comrades of the intelligence department of the front army to see if they have any information on the latest movements of the enemy." ”

After finishing the call with Pern, Fedyuninsky picked up the high-frequency phone on the side, and after hearing a voice coming from inside, he said: "I'm Fedyuninsky, give me the intelligence department of the Front, and find General Vinogradov." ”

General Vinogradov was sitting at the telephone, and when he heard that Fedyuninsky was looking for him, he asked bluntly: "General Fedyuninsky, what do you want me to do?" ”

"That's right, General Vinogradov." Fedyuninsky said politely: "My troops met with stubborn resistance from the Germans when they attacked the outskirts of Tsopot, and I would like to ask, has the enemy situation there changed in any way?" ”

"No, General Fedyuninsky." Vinogradov replied simply: "The deployment of the enemy's forces there has not changed in any way. After speaking, without waiting for Fedyuninsky to say anything more, he hung up the phone directly.

Coincidentally, when he hung up the phone, Rokossovsky happened to walk in from outside, and seeing this situation, he couldn't help but ask curiously: "General Vinogradov, who are you talking to?" ”

Hearing what Rokossovsky was asking himself, Vinogradov quickly stood up, straightened his back and replied: "Comrade Marshal, it is the commander of the 2nd Shock Army, General Fedyuninsky. ”

"Oh, it's Fedyuninsky's call?!" Rokossovsky asked curiously: "May I ask, what did he call for?" ”

"Comrade Marshal, the troops attacking the Tsopot area met with stubborn resistance from the Germans." Vinogradov replied: "General Fedyuninsky believes that the enemy's disposition of forces in that area may have been adjusted. ”

After listening to Vinogradov's words, Rokossovsky did not express his opinion lightly, but asked rhetorically: "Comrade Minister of Intelligence, can you tell me whether there has been a change in the deployment of enemy forces in the Tsopot area?" ”

"No, Comrade Marshal, absolutely nothing." Vinogradov said in an affirmative tone: "According to our reconnaissance before the offensive began, the Germans had only one air force field division and a small number of people's stormtroopers in that area. As you know, the Air Force Field Division is composed of some ground crew members of the Air Force who have little combat experience, and their combat effectiveness is probably not even comparable to that of our militia, and it is simply impossible for them to block the attack of our army. ”

"Comrade General!" As soon as Rokossovsky waited for Vinogradov to finish speaking, he asked in a stern tone: "Is it the combat strength you said that even our militia could not catch up with the troops, but today they repelled two fierce offsets of the Estonian 8th Army in succession?" You now immediately arrange for manpower to find out the enemy's disposition there. As soon as you have the results, report back to me. ”

Rokossovsky returned to his office and waited for about half an hour before General Vinogradov's phone called, and he said in embarrassment: "Comrade Marshal, I have figured it out that the Germans transferred a grenadier division from another section last night to take over the defense area of the air force field division. ”

Rokossovsky did not reproach Vinogradov, but said lightly: "I see." After hanging up, he walked to the door and shouted at Bogolyubov, who was in the room outside: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please come in." ”

With his shout, Bogolyubov trotted into the room and asked respectfully: "Comrade Marshal, do you have any instructions?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff." After briefly briefing Bogolyubov about the change of German defense in the Tsopot area, Rokossovsky instructed: "Record the order: 1. The artillery of the Front Army will carry out artillery shelling of the German positions on the outskirts of Tsopot; 2. Vershinen's air force should bomb the German positions in and around Tsopot, destroying targets that cannot be reached by artillery fire......"

"Comrade Marshal," Bogolyubov couldn't help but stop his pen when he heard this, looked at Rokossovsky and asked, "Wouldn't an air raid on the city lead to a large number of civilian casualties?" ”

"You don't have to worry about this," Rokossovsky waved his hand at what Bogolyubov feared, and said: "Before our army started the offensive, a large number of refugees fled from Tsopot and fled to the Baltic Sea, and we bombed the city without causing too many civilian casualties." ”

"On a final note," Rokossovsky continued, "the terrain near the city of Tsopot, which was conducive to the deployment of armored forces, immediately ordered General Panfilov, with his 3rd Guards Tank Corps, to enter the battlefield through the gap opened by the 8th Estonian Army and assist the infantry in a rapid rush to the city. ”