Rokossovsky's order to replace the former enemy commander-in-chief in Warsaw was transmitted by telegram to Zakharkin in the city and to Glazuev on the Vistula River. But all this, Major General Shemenkov, who was marching with his troops into the city of Warsaw, did not know anything.

As they approached the Vlanov Palace, they were blocked by several commanders and fighters who emerged from the side of the road. One of the second lieutenants saw Major General Shemenkov in the queue and hurriedly walked up to him and saluted him: "Hello, Comrade General, is this a unit of the 57th Guards Division?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Ensign." Shemenkov nodded and replied: "I am Major General Shemenkov, commander of the 57th Guards Division, where is the headquarters?" ”

The second lieutenant pointed to a palace building in the distance and said: "Comrade General, the command is in the Vlanov Palace. ”

"Comrade Second Lieutenant," Major-General Shemenkov said politely to the second lieutenant, considering that there were still many secret posts in ambush ahead, "can you send two soldiers to us as guides?" ”

"Comrade General, it is my honor to serve you." After the second lieutenant politely finished these two clichés, he ordered the two fighters to act as guides for the 57th Guards Division and take them to the headquarters of the Veranov Palace.

After arriving at the Vlanov Palace, Major General Shemenkov stopped his troops outside the palace and himself took the commander of the 174th Guards Regiment to the palace to meet Zakharkin.

Seeing Shemenkov's arrival, Zakharkin, who was sitting at the table drinking tea with Vagin, asked coldly: "Comrade General, who are you?" ”

Shemenkov, although he did not know Zakharkin, saw that among the three people sitting at the table there was a major general, a general and a colonel. The colonel, dressed in a Polish military uniform, was apparently the commander of the 3rd Polish Division. And among the remaining two, the highest-ranking one must be the deputy commander of the front army Zakharkin who he wants to meet. He hurriedly raised his hand and reported to Zakharkin: "Report to Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front, I am Major General Shemenkov, commander of the 57th Guards Division, and I have been ordered to report to you here. ”

Hearing that the person who came was the commander of the 57th Guards Division, Zakharkin hurriedly got up and shook hands with him, and explained to him the presence of Major General Vajin and Colonel Galitsky, and finally he sighed and said: "Comrade Major General, you are a step late, and from now on, I will no longer hold the post of commander-in-chief of the former enemy in Warsaw." ”

Major General Shemenkov was taken aback and hurriedly asked: "Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front, you are not the commander-in-chief of the enemy, so who will take over your post?" ”

"Who else?" Zakharkin said somewhat helplessly: "I just received a telegram from the front command half an hour ago that I had been relieved of my post as commander-in-chief of the former enemy in Warsaw and replaced by Lieutenant General Glazunov, commander of the 4th Guards Army. ”

When he learned that his army commander, Grazunov, was about to take up the post of commander-in-chief of the former enemy in Warsaw, Major General Shemenkov was first surprised, and then sincerely happy. When he received the order to go to Warsaw to accept Zakharkin's command, he was quite reluctant, because he did not know what the commander was capable of, so when he came to the Vilanov Palace, he was quite reluctant. At this moment, when he heard that his army commander was actually going to take over the post of commander-in-chief of the former enemy, he couldn't help but feel a burst of ecstasy in his heart.

However, he was happy for a short time, and he remembered that it would take at least a day for Glazunov to enter the city of Warsaw, so he said to Zakharkin with a serious expression: "Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front, before our army commander officially takes over the post of commander-in-chief of the former enemy, I would like to ask you to give an order to where to deploy our division?" ”

"The Germans are constantly launching counter-attacks in order to recapture the bridges over the Vistula." Vajin interjected: "The area that my troops should defend is too wide, and there is already a shortage of troops in some areas. ”

"General Vakin," Shemenkov hurriedly asked, hearing that there was a shortage of troops in the defensive zone of the 47th Guards Division, "then is there anything we can do to help?" ”

"General Shemenkov, please come here." Vagin invited Major General Shemenkov to his table, pointed to the map on it and said to him: "You see, at the moment there is less than one battalion of our division here in the palace. On the east bank opposite the palace, there were two railway stations, Vilansk and Warsaw East, and the Germans could transport their men by rail, so our troops fought very hard. ”

After listening to Vakin's briefing, Major General Shemenkov did not wait for Zakharkin to finish speaking, and directly ordered the commander of the 174th Guards Regiment standing aside: "Comrade Colonel, you immediately lead your regiment to the palace to reinforce the comrades of the 47th Guards Division, and you must not let the Germans take away the bridge." ”

"Yes!" The head of the regiment agreed, and then turned around and prepared to go out.

Vajin hurriedly called a staff officer and asked him to act as a guide for the 174th Guards Regiment and lead the troops to the location of the palace.

At this moment, Glazunov was on the banks of the Vistula, directing two more divisions to cross the river. He stayed in the temporary headquarters and said to the two division commanders: "Comrade division commanders, now that the 57th Guards Division of Major General Shemenkov has entered the city of Warsaw, you must also cross the Vistula River as soon as possible. ”

"Comrade Army Commander," said one of the division commanders in embarrassment, "the Germans' long-range artillery constantly bombarded our river crossing sections, damaging a lot of river crossing equipment......

"Enough, comrade division commander, don't say any more." "Although our troops have occupied the main city of Warsaw, our 48th and 65th armies cannot join them from the east bank due to the stubborn resistance of the German troops on the east bank of the Vistula," said Glazunov, tapping on the table with a pencil. Therefore, the heavy task of strengthening the defense forces in the city fell on the head of our army. You have to remember that the troops in the city are not heavily armed, and if the Germans launch a counteroffensive against Warsaw with armored units, they will not have enough troops to stop them. ”

At that moment, a staff officer lifted the curtain that blocked the door and walked in. Glazunov looked up at him and asked: "Comrade Captain, do you have something?" ”

The staff officer handed a telegram to Glazunov and said excitedly: "Comrade Army Commander, a telegram from the command of the Front Army. ”

Because the light in the room was too dim, Grazunov did not notice the joy on the staff officer's face, but muttered: "I guess it is another order urging us to speed up the river crossing." ”

When the two division commanders heard Glazunov say this, their hearts rose to their throats, because not long ago they were complaining to Glazunov that the troops had difficulties in crossing the river because of the German shelling and the lack of equipment for crossing the river. At this moment, the command of the Front came with a telegram urging them, and they began to think in their hearts that even if the soldiers were allowed to swim across, they must reach the other side of the Vistula as soon as possible.

But the two soon saw a look of joy on Glazunov's face, and one of the division commanders asked tentatively: "Comrade army commander, what is it said in the telegram?" ”

Grazunov put the telegram on the table and said to the two: "I have just received the appointment of the commander of the front army as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy in Warsaw, and he is responsible for commanding seven divisions fighting in the city of Warsaw. ”

Hearing what Glazunov said, the two division commanders were overjoyed, stretched out their hands to Glazunov, and said sincerely: "Comrade Army Commander, please accept our congratulations!" ”

Grazunov shook hands with the two division commanders one by one, thanked them, and then continued: "Since I am the former commander-in-chief of the enemy in Warsaw, the first order I give now is that your two divisions must all cross the Vistula within five hours. Do you understand? ”

Hearing Glazunov say this, the smiles of the two division commanders suddenly froze on their faces. After a long time, the two stood up and agreed in unison: "Yes, Comrade Commander, we promise to cross the Vistula River with all our troops within five hours." ”

After the two division commanders had left, Glazunov called in his chief of staff, announced to him that he had assumed command of the former enemy in Warsaw, and then consulted with him on how to deploy his forces after entering the city of Warsaw.

The chief of staff, having received the order to force his way across the Vistula River and into the city of Warsaw, carefully studied the situation in the city. Hearing Glazunov's question at this moment, he hurriedly pointed to the location of the palace and said to Glazunov: "Comrade commander, the command set up by General Zakharkin is in the Vilanov Palace, which is too far away from the troops. If you enter the city, I suggest you set up your headquarters here in the palace. After all, this was once the headquarters of the German army in Warsaw, and it not only had a well-developed defense system, but also made it convenient to command troops. ”

Glazunov stared at the location of the palace and found that although the two bridges on the Vistula River were quite close, if there was a strong and well-established defense system, even if the Germans broke through the Soviet defenses on the bridge and rushed to the vicinity of the palace, the troops stationed here could block them. So he nodded and said, "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, when we enter the city, we will set up our headquarters here." ”

Seeing that Glazunov had decided on the location of the command, the chief of staff continued: "Major General Shemenkov's 57th Guards Division, which can be deployed along the Vistula, reinforces the 47th Guards Division of General Vakin, who has been fighting here, and the 3rd Polish Division of Colonel Galitsky. ”

"Enough, comrade division commander, don't say any more." "Although our troops have occupied the main city of Warsaw, our 48th and 65th armies cannot join them from the east bank due to the stubborn resistance of the German troops on the east bank of the Vistula," said Glazunov, tapping on the table with a pencil. Therefore, the heavy task of strengthening the defense forces in the city fell on the head of our army. You have to remember that the troops in the city are not heavily armed, and if the Germans launch a counteroffensive against Warsaw with armored units, they will not have enough troops to stop them. ”

At that moment, a staff officer lifted the curtain that blocked the door and walked in. Glazunov looked up at him and asked: "Comrade Captain, do you have something?" ”

The staff officer handed a telegram to Glazunov and said excitedly: "Comrade Army Commander, a telegram from the command of the Front Army. ”

Because the light in the room was too dim, Grazunov did not notice the joy on the staff officer's face, but muttered: "I guess it is another order urging us to speed up the river crossing." ”

When the two division commanders heard Glazunov say this, their hearts rose to their throats, because not long ago they were complaining to Glazunov that the troops had difficulties in crossing the river because of the German shelling and the lack of equipment for crossing the river. At this moment, the command of the Front came with a telegram urging them, and they began to think in their hearts that even if the soldiers were allowed to swim across, they must reach the other side of the Vistula as soon as possible.

But the two soon saw a look of joy on Glazunov's face, and one of the division commanders asked tentatively: "Comrade army commander, what is it said in the telegram?" ”

Grazunov put the telegram on the table and said to the two: "I have just received the appointment of the commander of the front army as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy in Warsaw, and he is responsible for commanding seven divisions fighting in the city of Warsaw. ”

Hearing what Glazunov said, the two division commanders were overjoyed, stretched out their hands to Glazunov, and said sincerely: "Comrade Army Commander, please accept our congratulations!" ”

Grazunov shook hands with the two division commanders one by one, thanked them, and then continued: "Since I am the former commander-in-chief of the enemy in Warsaw, the first order I give now is that your two divisions must all cross the Vistula within five hours. Do you understand? ”

Hearing Glazunov say this, the smiles of the two division commanders suddenly froze on their faces. After a long time, the two stood up and agreed in unison: "Yes, Comrade Commander, we promise to cross the Vistula River with all our troops within five hours." ”

After the two division commanders had left, Glazunov called in his chief of staff, announced to him that he had assumed command of the former enemy in Warsaw, and then consulted with him on how to deploy his forces after entering the city of Warsaw.

The chief of staff, having received the order to force his way across the Vistula River and into the city of Warsaw, carefully studied the situation in the city. Hearing Glazunov's question at this moment, he hurriedly pointed to the location of the palace and said to Glazunov: "Comrade commander, the command set up by General Zakharkin is in the Vilanov Palace, which is too far away from the troops. If you enter the city, I suggest you set up your headquarters here in the palace. After all, this was once the headquarters of the German army in Warsaw, and it not only had a well-developed defense system, but also made it convenient to command troops. ”

Glazunov stared at the location of the palace and found that although the two bridges on the Vistula River were quite close, if there was a strong and well-established defense system, even if the Germans broke through the Soviet defenses on the bridge and rushed to the vicinity of the palace, the troops stationed here could block them. So he nodded and said, "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, when we enter the city, we will set up our headquarters here." ”

Seeing that Glazunov had decided on the location of the command, the chief of staff continued: "Major General Shemenkov's 57th Guards Division, which can be deployed along the Vistula, reinforces the 47th Guards Division of General Vakin, who has been fighting here, and the 3rd Polish Division of Colonel Galitsky. ”