The Germans who broke through from the fortress of Thorn, in addition to more than 5,000 officers and men of the 31st Grenadier Division, who escaped from the forests along the Vistula under the leadership of the division commander Rolf, the 21,000 people who survived, under the command of the commander of the fortress, Lüdek, surrendered to Batov's 65th Army.

When the good news of the enemy's surrender reached the front headquarters through the radio waves, the command headquarters suddenly boiled, and almost all of them shouted Ula! They all knew in their hearts that with the surrender of the German army at Thorn Fortress, the German strength in East Prussia had been greatly weakened.

When the cheers that almost toppled the roof stopped, a beaming Bogolyubov came to Rokossovsky and solemnly asked him: "Comrade Marshal, General Batov also asked in the telegram, where should we hold these German troops?" ”

"The fact that these Germans surrendered on their own initiative shows that they have completely lost the courage to continue fighting." After thinking for a moment, Rokossovsky said: "Except for all the officers above the rank of colonel, including Rudek and Marcus, who are to be escorted to the headquarters of the Front, the rest of the officers and soldiers, after they are completely disarmed, will be escorted back to the Thorn Fortress. ”

After recording this order, Bogolyubov suggested to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, I feel the need to report this good news to the Supreme Commander himself. ”

After listening to Bogolyubov's proposal, Rokossovsky began to think: judging from the battle reports released by the Soviet intelligence service, they were all about the First Belorussian Front and the First Ukrainian Front, and the Second Belorussian Front, which was fighting bloody battles against the German army in East Prussia, did not see any reports, which annoyed Rokossovsky.

Rokossovsky looked at Bogolyubov, nodded and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are right, the capture of the fortress of Thorn, and the almost total annihilation of the defenders of the fortress that broke through, is a great victory, and I need to immediately report to the Supreme Commander himself." After speaking, he picked up the high-frequency telephone on the table, and when he heard a voice coming from the receiver, he immediately said: "I'm Rokossovsky, immediately pick me up from the Supreme Command." ”

The telephone in Stalin's office was quickly connected, and when he heard that it was Rokossovsky calling, Stalin smiled and asked: "Dear Konstantin Konstantinovich, do you have any good news for me when you call me at this time?" ”

"You guessed it right, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky could tell from Stalin's tone that he seemed to be in a good mood, so he continued: "A few days ago, tens of thousands of German troops fled to us from the area of operation of the Third Belorussian Front, and after two days of fierce fighting, we completely annihilated this enemy and captured more than 20,000 people; Last night, the troops of Fedyuninsky and Gusev captured Elbin; Moreover, not long ago, the defenders of the fortress of Thorn, surrounded by the troops of Batov and Popov, had ceased resistance, and 21,000 officers and men, under the command of the commander of the fortress, Lieutenant General Rüdek, laid down their arms and surrendered to our troops......"

"Comrade Rokossovsky, I congratulate you on such a great victory." After listening to Rokossovsky's report, Stalin said with a smile: "I will order a cannon salute to be fired on Red Square tonight to celebrate your victory." Please be sure to tell all the commanders and fighters of the Second Front this good news. ”

After a pause, Stalin continued: "Comrade Rokossovsky, before you called, I had just finished talking to Zhukov. ”

"Did Marshal Zhukov say anything, Comrade Stalin?" Rokossovsky asked cautiously.

"According to the plan we have specified in advance, after Zhukov's troops have completed the strategy of the Oder attack, they should go straight to attack Berlin and strive to capture Berlin before the end of February." Stalin said: "But in his report to me today, he said that the commanders and fighters of the troops were exhausted after a long battle, and that the tanks and artillery lost in the battle had not had time to be replenished. …… In a word, the conditions for the capture of Berlin are not yet in place. ”

Rokossovsky knew Stalin's character very well, and as soon as a commander below violated his intentions, he would be furious, but who knew that at this moment Stalin was talking in a calm tone, talking about Zhukov's temporary inability to attack Berlin, which was simply too strange. He waited for Stalin to finish speaking, and then asked tentatively: "Comrade Stalin, can I ask, how long will Marshal Zhukov's troops be ready to rest and then attack Berlin?" ”

"It's hard to say." Stalin said angrily: "It is very dangerous that there is a gap of 150 kilometers wide between the right flank of the troops of the First Front and you. If Guderian had ordered the 'Vistula group' under Himmler's command on the territory of East Pomerania to attack the flank of Zhukov's forces from the north, they would be in danger of being divided and encircled. We must be vigilant enough on this point. ”

At this point in Stalin's words, Rokossovsky had already understood the other party's intentions, and hurriedly said: "Comrade Stalin, I understand what you mean, but my troops are still carrying out the East Prussian campaign arranged by the Supreme Command, and it is still very difficult to draw enough troops to repel the enemy located on the territory of East Pomerania. ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky, on behalf of the headquarters of the Supreme High Command, I now announce to you: from now on, your front will no longer participate in the East Prussian campaign, but will concentrate on smashing the 'Vistula group' located on the territory of East Pomerania, capturing East Pomerania between Danzig and Stettin, and advancing to the Baltic coast."

"Going out to the Baltic Sea coast?" When he heard the last sentence, Rokossovsky was a little embarrassed, and he thought to himself that if the Germans fled to the island by boat, their infantry would only sigh in anticipation. Therefore, he euphemistically proposed: "Comrade Stalin, I fear that the defeated enemy will flee by boat to the nearby islands, and then our infantry and tanks will have no way to take them." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Rokossovsky." Stalin continued: "In order to better complete the East Pomeranian campaign, I will hand over the Red Banner Baltic Fleet to your command, and the commander of the fleet, Admiral Tributs, will get in touch with you as soon as possible. ”

Knowing that there was help from the Navy, Rokossovsky suddenly felt full of confidence, and he hurriedly replied: "That's great, with the cooperation of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, we can attack the enemy from both land and water directions at the same time." ”

"The specific battle plan will be sent to you as soon as Antonov and them work it out. Time is pressing, and you must prepare for a new battle as soon as possible. Good luck! ”

After Stalin hung up the phone, Rokossovsky stood up and shouted to several front chiefs not far away: "Come here, everyone, I have something important to announce." ”

After everyone had gathered in a circle at their desks, Rokossovsky first said: "Comrades, I have just spoken to Comrade Stalin, and he said that in order to celebrate the great victory of our front, a gun salute will be fired on Red Square tonight. ”

Several of the leaders of the front heard Rokossovsky say this, and although no one cheered for Ulla, everyone's faces were filled with joy. Bogolyubov also said excitedly: "Comrade Marshal, it is not easy to fire a salute for our troops on Red Square. You must know that in the past, the salute was a treatment that was only enjoyed to celebrate the liberation of a big city by our army, but I didn't expect that today it would make an exception for us. ”

After Rokossovsky waited for Bogolyubov to finish speaking, he nodded slightly, and continued: "Also, according to the latest order of the Supreme Command: from now on, our Front will no longer participate in the East Prussian campaign, that is, the task of destroying the enemy in East Prussia will be left to the comrades of the Third Belorussian Front to complete." ”

When Rokossovsky and Stalin spoke just now, Bogolyubov and others were far apart, so they did not hear the content of the call. Hearing Rokossovsky say this at this moment, he couldn't help but be a little anxious: "Comrade Marshal, our commanders and fighters fought bloody battles on the land of East Prussia, and finally achieved such great results. Now that victory is in sight, why would the High Command order us to stop acting now, and what is the purpose of this? ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, don't be in a hurry." Seeing that everyone's faces showed puzzled expressions, Rokossovsky waved his hand and said to Bogolyubov: "The Supreme High Command does not allow our front to continue to participate in the East Prussian campaign, there is a more important task to be entrusted to us. ”

Hearing that there was a new task, Bogolyubov seemed a little impatient: "Comrade Marshal, I wonder what tasks the Supreme Command has assigned to our front?" ”

"Everyone come here," Rokossovsky said, leading the crowd to the conference table, pointing to the map spread out on the table, "according to the latest information we have, the German army has assembled more than 30 divisions in East Pomerania, including 8 tank divisions and motorized divisions, they belong to the 'Vistula Group' under Himmler's command, and are trying to launch an assault on Marshal Zhukov's right flank from the north. The task given to us by the headquarters of the Supreme High Command was to immediately launch the Battle of East Pomerania, crush the German 'Vistula Group' and cover the flank security of friendly forces. ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's briefing, Bogolyubov could not help frowning: "Comrade Marshal, as far as I know, the German army has very favorable terrain conditions for defense in East Pomerania, which is full of forests and swamps, as well as large and small lakes and rivers, which are connected by canals, and the enemy, in order to support their ground forces, also makes extensive use of coastal artillery and naval artillery on the coastal side for coordinated defense. ”

"yes, this battle is not easy to fight." After Bogolyubov finished speaking, Su Bojing continued: "Comrade Marshal, although the Supreme High Command told us to stop the East Prussian campaign, can such a big battle be stopped if it is said to be stopped? In my estimation, we need to leave at least half of our forces behind to continue the fight with the enemy in East Prussia. And the remaining half can be put into the East Pomeranian campaign. In this way, our offensive power is greatly weakened. ”

"At present, it is the Red Banner Baltic Fleet that is cooperating with us," Rokossovsky was helpless about the difficulties mentioned by Su Bojing, but since the superiors had already issued an offensive order, he could only find a way to complete it, so he continued: "Let's see first, at present, we can mobilize the strength of several army groups to launch an offensive in East Pomerania. ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, the matter of calculating the strength of troops naturally fell on the head of Chief of Staff Bogolyubov, who hurriedly called several operational staff officers from the side and began to calculate with them which troops could be put into the East Pomeranian region in the near future.

After half an hour of calculations, Bogolyubov raised his head and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, it has been calculated, judging from the current situation, the troops that we can use for combat are General Fedyuninsky's 2nd Shock Army, General Batov's 65th Army, Lieutenant General Glishin's 49th Army, and Popov's 70th Army, which has just been strengthened by tank and mechanized corps. ”

Rokossovsky waited for Bogolyubov to finish speaking, frowned and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, that is, including the tank army, we can only use five army groups?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Marshal, that's it." Bogolyubov nodded and said, "I think we should make a request to the base camp and let them replenish us with two or three more army groups, so that we have enough troops to carry out the East Pomeranian campaign." ”

"After Antonov sends us a plan for the campaign, we will apply to the base camp for new troops." Rokossovsky pinched his chin and said thoughtfully: "If there is no battle plan, even if we make a request to the base camp, we will probably not be agreed." ”

Rokossovsky's statement was echoed by Bogolyubov, who, after a pause, offered to ask: "Comrade Marshal, since we have already selected the troops to take part in the East Pomeranian campaign, should we call together the commanders of these armies for a meeting and deploy a new campaign to them?" ”

"Okay," Rokossovsky nodded, "you now call a couple of army commanders and ask them to come over for a meeting as soon as possible." In my estimation, by the time they arrive, we will also know the battle plan drawn up by the General Staff. ”