In order to destroy the enemy gathered near the headquarters as soon as possible, Rokossovsky did not adopt his usual tactics, but took advantage of the favorable opportunity of the weather to dispatch Vershinin's air force units to carry out wanton and indiscriminate bombardment of the enemy's assembly area, and while the enemy was dizzy by the bombing, the artillery carried out saturation shelling. When it was estimated that the enemy had almost lost its resistance, the infantry divisions and tank brigades surrounded by it launched a final attack.

Both Rokossovsky and the other chiefs of the Front thought that the Germans surrounded by them were only more than 10,000 people. Therefore, the order given to the troops below was to completely destroy this group of enemies before it got dark. After the ground battle began, the attacking forces met with stubborn resistance, and there were even repeated tug-of-wars in some areas.

When he learned that the troops were not going well, Bogolyubov also fired at a division commander into the microphone: "Comrade Marshal has an order that this group of enemies must be eliminated before dark. If you can't complete the task, I'll replace you with a commander who can complete the task. ”

When the division commander heard Bogolyubov's reproach, he suddenly became a little anxious: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please rest assured, even if all our divisions are exhausted, I will destroy the enemy besieged by us within the specified time." ”

"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." Rokossovsky happened to hear the conversation between Bogolyubov and the division commander, and hurriedly walked over and stretched out his hand to his chief of staff: "Let me talk to Comrade Colonel." ”

Having taken the microphone from Bogolyubov's hand, Rokossovsky put it in his ear and said loudly: "Comrade Colonel, I am Rokossovsky, immediately report to me about the situation there of yours." ”

"Hello, Comrade Marshal." The division commander heard Rokossovsky's voice coming from the earpiece, and said with some excitement: "The resistance of the frontal enemy of our army is very stubborn, and my troops, under the cover of tank brigades, have launched three consecutive charges, none of which have been successful. Comrade Marshal, rest assured, I personally led the troops to charge and must destroy the enemy. ”

"Comrade Colonel, I once said that commanders should cherish the lives of their soldiers, and we should win with wisdom and not blood." Rokossovsky said into the microphone with a pleasant face: "Have you figured out the number of the enemy on the other side?" ”

"Please wait, Comrade Marshal, I will first look at the interrogation record." After a few minutes of silence in the microphone, the exclamation of the division commander suddenly came: "Hell, the German army surrounded by us is not more than 10,000 people, but 5 divisions of 32,000 people......"

"What, Comrade Colonel, what did you say?" Rokossovsky was taken aback by the figures said by the division commander and hurriedly asked: "Is your data accurate?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Marshal, it should be an accurate figure." The division commander replied in the affirmative: "This is information obtained from one of the German colonels we captured. He accurately confessed that they were moving in the direction of the Vistula, preparing to join forces with the troops that had broken through from the fortress of Thorn. ”

"I see." After figuring out the approximate strength of the German army, Rokossovsky said with a sinking face: "Thank you, Comrade Colonel, for providing us with such important information. ”

After putting down the phone, Rokossovsky asked Bogolyubov with a serious expression: "Chief of Staff, where is the 48th Army at the moment?" ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's question, Bogolyubov hurriedly replied: "Half an hour ago, General Gusev sent a telegram saying that their engineering units had laid logs and planks on the ice of the Vistula, and several tank brigades under their command were passing through the river one after another. ”

"The Germans who broke through from the fortress of Thorn were already more than seventy kilometers from the fortress." Rokossovsky stared at the map in front of him, frowned and said: "Under the current weather conditions, even if the tank brigade of the 48th Army crosses the Vistula, it will take at least ten hours to catch up with the enemy. Comrade Chief of Staff, do you think that the 71st and 136th Divisions, which are tasked with blocking the attack, will be able to support it for such a long time? ”

Bogolyubov shook his head and exhaled a cloudy breath: "They simply can't hold out for that long, and once the Germans break through their blocking positions, then the enemy in several places may merge into one place." These are not a few thousand people, but sixty or seventy thousand people, and it will take a long time to annihilate them, and in this way, it will affect our next combat mission. ”

"That's right, if these forces of the enemy are allowed to merge, then the situation on the battlefield will develop in a direction that is unfavorable to our army." Rokossovsky slapped his palm on the map and said decisively: "Therefore we must break them each before they merge." Send a telegram to Gusev, ordering him to immediately form a fast column to attack the flanks and rear of the German troops, so that they cannot break through with all their might. ”

"Comrade Marshal," Bogolyubov remained in place after recording Rokossovsky's order, "and what to do with the enemy who is surrounded by us on this side?" Whether to besiege but not attack, or to increase the intensity of the offensive and deal with them before dark according to the original plan. ”

Rokossovsky walked to the window, looked at the sky through the closed glass, and said: "Chief of staff, the weather is good at the moment, and the plane can take off normally. Immediately called General Vershinin and ordered him to send a formation of bombers to bomb the German assembly sites again. As for the ground troops, let them stop the attack for the time being, rest in place, and wait for the bombardment to be over, and then attack the enemy. ”

After receiving the order, Vershinin saw that the weather was fine, so he sent two aviation divisions to the location designated by Rokossovsky to bomb the German troops assembled there. In the intensive bombardment, the tanks and artillery on which the Germans relied were reduced to clumps of burning scrap metal in the violent explosions.

As soon as the bombardment by the air force ended, the Soviet troops surrounded on all sides immediately launched a full-scale attack. The Germans, who had no strong fortifications and lost tanks and artillery, could withstand the attack of the Soviet army. As the encirclement grew smaller, tens of thousands of enemies were compressed into a small area.

The German commander saw that his troops had fallen into the encirclement of the Soviet army, and his tanks and artillery were either blown up by Soviet planes or destroyed by artillery, and the rest were sunk waist-deep in snow. He knew that if he continued to fight, he would not be able to escape from the encirclement of the Soviet army except for increasing casualties, and after some weighing, he ordered his troops to stop resisting and surrender to the Soviet army.

The news of the surrender of the German army soon reached the headquarters of the Front, and cheers rang out in the command. Bogolyubov excitedly reported to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, in the battle that has just ended, we have destroyed tens of thousands of enemies, captured more than 20,000 people, and captured quite a few tanks and artillery. Is this a big victory, and it needs to be reported to the High Command immediately? ”

"Wait a little longer, Comrade Chief of Staff." Although the enemy near the headquarters was encircled and annihilated, the defenders of the Thorn Fortress who broke through the siege were a piece of Rokossovsky's heart, and he frowned and said: "When the battle report of the 48th Army comes back, it will not be too late for us to report to our superiors." ”

"Comrade Marshal, don't worry, the fast column sent by General Gusev has already exchanged fire with the rearguard of the German army." Bogolyubov hurriedly said to Rokossovsky: "In order to prevent the rapid column from joining forces with the troops acting as blockers, the enemy had to draw out a large number of troops to block the fast columns, which greatly reduced the pressure on our army's blocking troops. I think the 71st and 136th divisions can breathe a sigh of relief and hold out until tomorrow evening. ”

"Order Gusev," Rokossovsky commanded with a blank face after waiting for Bogolyubov to finish, "speed up the march, and be sure to join the troops who are acting as blockers early tomorrow morning, and destroy the fleeing defenders of the fortress." ”