Perhaps because of the broadcast of the Soviet army, it played a certain role in breaking the morale of the German army. When General Ryzhov's 28th Infantry Army and Bogdanov's 2nd Tank Army advanced towards Lublin, the resistance along the way was almost nothing compared to the resistance encountered in the past.

The 28th Infantry Corps, advancing towards Lublin, encountered several ragged Polish civilians. They stood on the side of the road, staring blankly at the military vehicles, tanks, and soldiers on foot as they passed along the road.

A captain, who knew Polish, walked up to them and politely asked: "Fellow, do you know where Lublin is?" ”

"Follow this road, and you'll be there in no time." An old man with all white hair, after giving the captain directions, asked tentatively, "Are you here to fight the Germans?" ”

"Yes, sir, we are here to fight the Germans." The captain smiled and said, "We are rushing to Lublin to wipe out all the fascist bandits there." ”

When the old man heard the captain say this, he looked up at him and asked with some hesitation, "Are you really here to fight the Germans?" ”

"Yes, yes, sir." The captain nodded twice in a row and asked, "Do you know where there are Germans?" ”

"There is," said the old man, pointing to the west, "there is a concentration camp set up by the Germans on the southeastern outskirts of Lublin, where thousands of innocent people are held. Please, go and get them out. ”

Hearing that there was a concentration camp nearby, the captain realized the seriousness of the problem and hurriedly said to the old man: "Uncle, please wait a moment, I will report to my superiors first." With that, he returned to the queue and found the battalion commander to report the matter.

The battalion commander was Rokossovsky's old subordinate, and he had also participated in the sneak attack on Lublin and rescued many captured comrades from the nearby temporary prisoner of war camp.

Therefore, he immediately returned to the car, reported the incident to the division commander by radio, and told the other party his conjectures. The division commander did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly reported the matter to Ryzhov. Then Ryzhov reported to Chuikov.

It happened that Rokossovsky was still in Chuikov's headquarters at this time, and when he heard about this, he immediately ordered: "Chuikov, order General Ryzhov to send an infantry regiment and a tank battalion to liberate this concentration camp and release the civilians and soldiers who are imprisoned inside." ”

Rokossovsky's order was quickly conveyed. The infantry regiments and tank battalions that participated in the battle, led by the Polish people, quickly pounced on the location of the concentration camp.

The camp that the Soviets were about to liberate, called Majdanek, was located on nearly 700 acres along the road connecting Lublin, Zamošić and Cheum. The camp consisted of five parts: 22 cells, seven gas chambers, two wooden gallows, a small crematorium, and other "essential" buildings of various kinds, such as storage rooms, workshops, laundry rooms, and coal storage rooms. In order to prevent people from escaping, in addition to the perimeter wall, there is a double-layer barbed wire fence with high-voltage electricity and 19 watchtowers, in which soldiers stand guard 24 hours a day.

When the Soviet tanks were still a few hundred meters away from the concentration camp, they were spotted by soldiers in the watchtower, who immediately strafed the incoming tanks with machine guns, trying to stop the advance of the Soviet tanks.

When the tank battalion commander saw that someone was actually shooting with a machine gun, he immediately ordered his subordinates: "Fire at the watchtower in the concentration camp and destroy it." Whoever sees a weapon in his hand is our enemy, and I command you to destroy them once and for all. ”

Two tank shells flew past, and the watchtower, which had opened fire, turned into a ball of fire, and then slowly fell to the ground. Although the watchtower was destroyed, gunfire was still heard in the camp, and when the tank battalion commander heard the voice, he couldn't even say anything, and understood that his men had quickened up.

One of his company commanders asked puzzledly: "Comrade battalion commander, maybe there are German anti-tank men hiding behind the wall, let's wait for the infantry to come up before advancing." ”

"No," said the battalion commander resolutely, "didn't you hear the gunshots in the wall?" It was clear that the Germans were slaughtering prisoners in concentration camps, and the sooner we rushed in, the more innocent lives we could have saved. ”

Hearing the battalion commander say this, all the tankmen were silent, they knew that the battalion commander's words were not alarmist, and the fascist bandits could do anything unconscionable. Therefore, instead of stopping to wait for the infantry behind, they increased their speed and rushed towards the far wall.

When the tank in front of the tank crashed into the wall, the tanker saw a group of men and women in prison uniforms, standing with their backs against the wall, and in front of them was a row of German soldiers with rifles. The tankers hurriedly fired at the Germans with their course machine guns, knocking them to the ground one by one.

The prisoners, who were about to be shot, thought they were certain to die, and many closed their eyes and fell on the pile of corpses behind them as soon as the shots rang out. But after hearing a dense burst of gunfire, he stood still well, and quickly opened his eyes to see that the row of Germans on the opposite side had fallen to the ground, and a tank was parked not far away. Experienced people will recognize at once that this is a Soviet tank.

Half an hour later, Chuikov received a report from Ryzhov that his troops had liberated the Majdanek concentration camp. He also deliberately emphasized that when the tanks stormed the camp, the Germans were slaughtering the prisoners inside, and after a post-examination, at least more than 200 people were brutally killed before the Soviet troops arrived. Finally, Ryzhov also asked Chuikov how to consult the guards of the captured concentration camps.

Seeing Chuikov's inquiring gaze at him, Rokossovsky replied without hesitation: "These guards are not people, they are two-legged brutes, give my order, not one of them will be left, all of them will be shot!" ”

"Yes!" After Chuikov loudly agreed, he said into the microphone: "General Ryzhov, did you hear the order of Comrade Marshal?" There must be no mercy for these fascist bandits, and they will be shot to death without any left. ”

…………

That night, the 28th Infantry Army and the 2nd Tank Army completed the encirclement of Lublin. Due to the late day, the attack on the German troops in the city had to be postponed until dawn the next day.

In the early morning of the second day, as soon as it was dawn, Rokossovsky set off for the joint command of the 28th Infantry Army and the 2nd Tank Army, intending to watch them destroy the enemy in the city.

Unexpectedly, after Rokossovsky arrived at the joint command, he saw only Ryzhov, and not Bogdanov. He couldn't help but ask curiously: "General Ryzhov, where is Bogdanov?" ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's question, an embarrassed expression appeared on Ryzhov's face. Rokossovsky frowned and asked, "Are you hiding something from me?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Marshal." Ryzhov said with an unnatural expression: "General Bogdanov was wounded last night. ”

"What, Bogdanov is wounded?" When Rokossovsky heard the news, he couldn't help but be taken aback, and hurriedly asked: "How did he get injured, and is the injury serious?" ”

Faced with Rokossovsky's series of questions, Ryzhov was silent for a long time before he replied: "Comrade Marshal, last night General Bogdanov was on his way to the headquarters in an armored car, and encountered a German sniper......"

Knowing that Bogdanov encountered a sniper on the way, Rokossovsky's heart couldn't help but raise his throat, but he knew that snipers were powerful, and many middle and senior commanders died when they encountered snipers on the battlefield. He didn't want the same fate for his most important Bogdanov.

Rokossovsky asked with some hesitation: "Bogdanov, he... He... Sacrificed? ”

"No, no sacrifice!" Hearing Rokossovsky's question, Ryzhov immediately knew that he had misunderstood, and quickly explained: "His armored vehicle had to slow down when passing a section of the road that had been shelled. Comrade General stood on the armored car, directing the driver, and at this moment, was spotted by German snipers. But fortunately, when the German snipers were shooting, the armored car happened to sink into a pit and jolted Comrade General. It was this jolt that caused the enemy to aim a bullet in his head, which ended up hitting him only in the arm. ”

Rokossovsky breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that Bogdanov had only been wounded in the arm, and he then asked: "Can he continue to command?" ”

Ryzhov shook his head and said: "Comrade Marshal, the bullet in his arm has not yet been taken out. I just called the military doctor, and he said that the general's injuries require recuperation and that he may not be able to participate in the battle for half a month. ”

Rokossovsky waited for Ryzhov to finish speaking, and walked back and forth in the command headquarters with his hands behind his back, thinking in his heart: since Bogdanov could no longer command the battle, who would replace him at the time?

At this time, Chuikov also rushed over from his command, heard the news of Bogdanov's wounding, and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, I am not at all surprised by his wounded, he once said that it is necessary to see everything with your own eyes and command the troops directly on the battlefield, and not in the far rear, so he always appears in the places where the battles are most intense. ”

After Chuikov said this, he paused for a moment, and seeing that Rokossovsky did not say anything, he continued: "I do not blame Bogdanov. A commander, only by feeling the pulse of the battle, can correctly judge the situation, especially in modern warfare with high mobility, especially this is the case. Admittedly, sometimes risks were taken, but in doing so more of the lives of the fighters were spared, so that the sacrifices were compensated and the blood cost less to succeed. The great spiritual significance of the actions of the commander in battle should be taken into account. In the most tense moments, if the fighters see the commander at their side, they are filled with the conviction of victory. The warriors loved such a commander, and were ready to cover him with their chests, and would go with him to the fire. Because, the soldiers saw that the commander shared life and death with them. ”

"You're right, Comrade Chuikov." Rokossovsky waited for Chuikov to finish, nodded, and then asked Ryzhov: "Where is General Bogdanov?" ”

"In our field hospital." After saying this, Ryzhov took the initiative to ask Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, if you allow it, I would like to take you over to have a look." ”

"Let's go," Rokossovsky shook his head and said, "Chuikov, you also follow us to see Bogdanov." ”

Rokossovsky and Chuikov, guided by Ryzhov, walked for ten minutes along the newly dug communication trench to a wooden house covered with camouflage nets, where they met Bogdanov parked on his bed.

Seeing Rokossovsky and Chuikov walking in from the outside, Bogdanov, whose arms were hanging in front of his chest, hurriedly sat up straight, saluted the two with his uninjured left hand, and said in his mouth: "Comrade Marshal, the commander of the 2nd Tank Army, Bogdanov, reports to you......"

Before he could finish speaking, Rokossovsky had already walked over, pulled his hand down from his forehead, held his left hand, looked at his tightly wrapped arm hanging from his chest, and asked with concern: "I heard that the bullet inside has not been taken out yet?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Although Bogdanov broke out in a cold sweat in pain, he still pretended to be casual and said: "The conditions here are not good, you need to send me to the rear for treatment." ”

"In our field hospital." After saying this, Ryzhov took the initiative to ask Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, if you allow it, I would like to take you over to have a look." ”

"Let's go," Rokossovsky shook his head and said, "Chuikov, you also follow us to see Bogdanov." ”

Rokossovsky and Chuikov, guided by Ryzhov, walked for ten minutes along the newly dug communication trench to a wooden house covered with camouflage nets, where they met Bogdanov parked on his bed.

Seeing Rokossovsky and Chuikov walking in from the outside, Bogdanov, whose arms were hanging in front of his chest, hurriedly sat up straight, saluted the two with his uninjured left hand, and said in his mouth: "Comrade Marshal, the commander of the 2nd Tank Army, Bogdanov, reports to you......"

Before he could finish speaking, Rokossovsky had already walked over, pulled his hand down from his forehead, held his left hand, looked at his tightly wrapped arm hanging from his chest, and asked with concern: "I heard that the bullet inside has not been taken out yet?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Although Bogdanov broke out in a cold sweat in pain, he still pretended to be casual and said: "The conditions here are not good, you need to send me to the rear for treatment." ”