The Paulus Army, which had surrounded the Germans, was only the first step in destroying them, and the battle that followed would be extremely hard. Rokossovsky www.biquge.info the order given to the new commander of the 66th Army, General Zadov, was to speed up the offensive and join up with the Chuikov troops trapped in the city as soon as possible.

Immediately after receiving the order, Zadov ordered the troops of the 343rd, 226th, 299th, 116th and 99th Infantry Divisions to attack the defensive positions of the German 60th Infantry Division, the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division and the 16th Tank Division. Although Zadov had only 12 working tanks, he reinforced them with the 99th Infantry Division, as the German defense was the most heavily defended in the assault area.

The shelling of the past few days disrupted the formation of the German troops, so in the face of the tide of Soviet troops, the Germans could not put up effective resistance, and in less than half an hour, the first line of defense was declared lost.

Just when Rokossovsky learned that the 66th Army had broken through the first line of German defense, Malinin handed him a newly received telegram. Rokossovsky opened it and saw that it was Chuikov, who wrote in the telegram: "The 'Northern Campaign Cluster' that is holding on to the Latoshenka region is now facing the situation of running out of ammunition and food, and I hope that friendly forces can rescue them as soon as possible." ”

After reading the message, Rokossovsky curiously asked Malinin: "Chief of Staff, do you know what this 'Northern Campaign Cluster' is all about?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Malinin nodded and replied: "This battle group is composed of the 124th and 149th Infantry Brigades, commanded by the commander of the 124th Brigade, Colonel Gorokhov, and they have been fighting the enemy in this area for three months, and the troops are almost exhausted, and there is no ammunition, and if they do not come to the aid as soon as possible, they are in danger of being wiped out by the Germans." ”

Hearing Malinin say this, Rokossovsky immediately realized the seriousness of the problem and immediately picked up the phone and dialed the headquarters of the 66th Army. As soon as he heard Zadov's voice, he asked straight to the point: "Comrade Zadov, which of your troops is currently closest to the Latoshenka region?" ”

"Comrade Commander," Zadov replied, hearing Rokossovsky's question, and after looking down at the map in front of him, "my five infantry divisions are storming the area of Reynok and Latoshenka, and at the moment the closest unit to Latoshenka is the 99th Infantry Division. ”

"I see, Comrade Zadov." After listening to the other party's answer, Rokossovsky immediately ordered: "There is a unit of the 62nd Army that is trapped in the Latoshenka area, and I order you to immediately send troops to rescue them. Move fast, you know? ”

"Understood." Zadov replied loudly: "I immediately ordered the 99th Infantry Division to relieve them. ”

At this time, in a dilapidated and airy shelter only two hundred meters from the first trench in the Soviet position in the Latoshenka area, the commander of the 124th Infantry Brigade Gorokhov and the commander of the 149th Brigade Bolvinov were chatting: "Old man, did you hear that? The sound of gunfire outside was so fierce, it must have been a fierce battle between our troops and the enemy. We just don't know when they'll be able to hit us. ”

After hearing this, Bolvinov sighed softly: "Back in October, friendly forces outside once attacked. Unfortunately, due to their poor preparation, the offensive was quickly crushed by the Germans. I'm worried that it's going to be a similar situation this time, so we shouldn't expect too much from the breakout. ”

"Old man, this time it should be different." Gorokhov confidently said: "Didn't you notice that the Germans on the opposite side have not attacked us in recent days?" What does this mean? It shows that our friendly forces are attacking fiercely, and the enemy can no longer stop them, otherwise they will not give up the offensive against us, but transfer all their forces to the northwest. ”

"It's a pity that there are only more than 300 people left in our two brigades now, and most of them are still wounded." Bolvinov cried and said: "Otherwise, you can also try to attack and support the friendly forces coming from the opposite side." ”

"Comrade brigade commander, comrade brigade commander!" Just as the two were still chatting, a shout suddenly came from far and near outside. Hearing this shout, the two of them could not help but raise their vigilance, and said in their hearts, Could it be that the Germans are attacking us again? If that were the case, the troops, which had almost run out of ammunition, would have to fight a white-knuckle battle with the Germans.

A soldier with a rifle lifted the curtain of the door, burst in from the outside, and said breathlessly: "Report to the brigade commander, comrade... Comrade Brigade Commander ..."

Seeing that the other party was gasping and leaving, Gorokhov couldn't help frowning, and preemptively asked: "Is the enemy coming up again?" ”

"No, no!" The fighters waved their hands again and again and said: "Red flags, I see our red flags, appearing on the enemy's positions." ”

"What, our red flag?" Hearing this, Gorokhov grabbed the placket of the warrior's shirt and asked with a somewhat uncontrollable emotion: "Aren't you mistaken?" ”

"No, absolutely not." The soldier shook his head desperately and replied affirmatively: "I can see it clearly, it is the military situation of our army, although it is a few hundred meters away, but the portrait of Lenin on the banner can be seen clearly." ”

Hearing the warrior say so with such certainty, Gorokhov's strength seemed to be drained at once, he sat down on a stool, turned his head to look at Bolvinov, who was as surprised as he was, and asked: "I said old man, do you think this will be true?" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, Bolvinov, who had been sitting weakly on the side, stood up suddenly, rushed to the door with a brisk stride, lifted the curtain and went out again. And the fighters couldn't help but be stupid when they saw Bolvinov rushing out at the speed of eight steps to catch the toad. Just as he was standing there in a daze, he heard Gorokhov shouting at him: "What are you doing standing stupidly, my feet have no strength, why don't you come and help me out to have a look." ”

When Gorokhov, supported by the fighters, walked out of the shelter and walked along the trenches, he heard the surviving fighters of the trenches shouting loudly: "Reinforcements are coming, our reinforcements are coming!" Hearing the shouts of the fighters, Gorokhov felt a sour nose and tears almost fell.

When he walked to Bolvinov's side, the troops rushing from the German position were only more than 100 meters away from them, and there was no need to be suspicious, because at such a distance, even without binoculars, he could clearly see the military uniforms and weapons worn by the other side, and more importantly, the portrait of Lenin embroidered on the red flag in the hands of the standard-bearer, all of which showed that his reinforcements were coming.