Rokossovsky, who had memories of later generations, sat at the table and stared at the map in front of him, lost in thought. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info He knew that the Battle of Yelnya commanded by Zhukov was a rare victory in the counterattack launched by the Soviet army in the early stage of the war, but he did not know that this victory was achieved under the premise that the German 46th Panzer Army was transferred. The troops transferred by the Germans were to cooperate with the friendly forces to encircle and annihilate the Soviet Army's Southwestern Front.

Seeing Rokossovsky staring at the map in a daze, Lobachev knew that he was thinking about tomorrow's battle, so he personally poured a cup of hot tea, put it in front of him, and said softly: "Comrade commander, do you think our counterattack will be successful?" ”

Rokossovsky was awakened from his musings by Lobachev's voice, he looked up at his military commissar and asked with some confusion: "Were you just talking to me, Comrade Military Commissar?" ”

Lobachev nodded and said affirmatively: "That's right, I was just asking you." Do you think tomorrow's counterattack will be won? ”

"Yes, Comrade Military Commissar." Rokossovsky nodded and replied in the affirmative: "Our counterattack will definitely be victorious." ”

In the early morning of August 30, with Zhukov's order, the artillery units of the reserve front began a fierce shelling, and dense shells fell on the positions of the German 24th Infantry Division, making the enemy cry wolf.

While the shelling was still ongoing, Zhukov ordered the air force to launch a heavy air attack on the positions of the SS Reich divisions south of Yelnya.

When the artillery was ready to end and the planes involved in the bombing returned, the entire battlefield fell silent.

A red flare rose into the air, a signal for an attack.

Thousands of commanders and fighters, who had been gearing up for a long time, jumped out of the trench with a shout, and quickly rushed to the enemy's position still shrouded in gunpowder smoke with their weapons in hand. Rushing to the south of the city was Kalinin's 24th Army, while it was the commanders and fighters of the 43rd Army who rushed to the 24th Infantry Division.

After the battle on Yelnya's side began, bombers and fighters promised by Zhukov also appeared over the defense area of the 16th Army. The heroic Soviet pilots soon spotted the German artillery deployed on the west bank of the Wopi River, and the bomber group immediately lowered its altitude and carried out dive bomb dropping, dropping bombs one after another on the enemy's artillery positions.

Knowing that their artillery positions had been bombed by Soviet troops, the German commander immediately called his own fighters to come to support. But as soon as they appeared over the Wopi River, they were intercepted by Soviet fighters. After a fierce battle, the Germans lost seven planes, while the Soviets lost only two. Seeing that they were numerically inferior, the remaining enemy planes hurriedly turned their noses and fled.

When Rokossovsky learned that the artillery positions on the west bank of the Wopi River had been blown up by our bombers, and the German planes that had arrived in a hurry had also been driven away, Rokossovsky immediately ordered Kazakov with confidence: "Comrade Artillery Chief, order the rocket artillery battalion to aim at the German troops stationed on the east bank and open fire!" ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's order, Kazakov could not help but hesitate for a moment, because he always remembered that Timoshenko had specially given an order that if the rocket artillery battalion was to be used, it must be applied to him in advance. However, seeing Rokossovsky's complacent appearance, and not being able to pour cold water on him, he called the artillerymen and ordered them to fire at the target that had been marked a long time ago.

In the station of the 108th Infantry Division on the east bank, a regiment of the German army was stationed, all of whom had crossed the river yesterday, and because the sappers had erected a pontoon bridge and even a few armored vehicles had successfully crossed the river, they were parked at the station.

Captain Lyonka, having received the order to shoot, immediately ordered the rocket artillery battalion to come with a salvo aimed at the area where the enemy was stationed. After arcing through the air, the rocket shells fell into the German garrison. The camp, which was covered in rockets, turned into a volcano that erupted suddenly. In the loud bang, the panicked soldiers were like a nest of ants blown away by the storm. In the smoke and fire, the flesh and blood that had been torn apart and blown up collapsed into the sky like mustard, and then were cut into pieces by shrapnel and gravel interwoven into a net, and the blood rain that fell was still in the air was vaporized by the high temperature produced by the explosion, and the dirt was mixed with fragments of rotten flesh and limbs like a tree branch that had been thrown away, and it was broken down again before it fell.

After the completion of the salvo of the rocket artillery battalion, Rokossovsky gave the order to attack the Lidyukov and Kirillov divisions, which were assembled on both flanks of the camp. He turned into the microphone and asked, "Comrade Colonels, do you have any confidence that I will give you two hours to wipe out all the enemies on the east bank of the Wopi River?" ”

"Please rest assured, Comrade Commander." The two division commanders replied in unison: "We promise to complete the task." ”

Rokossovsky then called the 108th Infantry Division, which was confronting the Germans. As soon as he heard Orlov's voice, he said bluntly: "Comrade Colonel, the German troops along the Wopi River have been subjected to a joint attack by our air force and artillery, and are currently suffering heavy losses. In addition, the troops that had long been lurking on both flanks were about to launch a general attack on the enemy. I reckon that the Germans opposite you may jump over the wall and attack you, do you have the confidence to stop them? ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Orlov heard that the enemy had suffered heavy casualties under the blows of the air force and artillery, and that the troops on both flanks had also attacked, and that the little German troops in front of him seemed a little insignificant, so he replied confidently: "I still have two regiments of reserves in my hand, and as soon as the enemy is in confusion, I can immediately throw them into the battlefield and cooperate with friendly troops to completely destroy this enemy." ”

"Very good," Rokossovsky was satisfied with Orlov's reply, nodded and said with a smile: "I await the good news of your victory." ”

As soon as Rokossovsky finished explaining the task to Orlov, Zhukov's phone called. He asked straight to the point: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I have sent you to the Air Force, what is the current situation, when will you be able to launch a counterattack against the enemy?" ”

"Comrade General." Hearing that it was Zhukov calling, Rokossovsky immediately replied respectfully: "We have just carried out a round of artillery shelling of the enemy assembled on the east bank of the Vopi River, and now I have ordered the troops lurking on both flanks to rush forward, and the battle is expected to be over in two hours." ”

Zhukov was well aware of Rokossovsky's ability, he nodded, and then said: "You have completely annihilated the enemy on the east bank, you can try to attack the west bank again." In this way, it was possible to contain the enemy's forces so that they would not dare to send troops to support the Yelnya region at will. ”

While Zhukov and Rokossovsky were discussing how to carry out the next military operation, the commanders and fighters of the 24th Army were attacking the positions of the Imperial Division.

Thousands of fighters braved the German bullets to attack at the sound of the commander's whistle. In the dense rain of bullets, the stormtroopers burst out from time to time with a mist of blood, bullets pierced their bodies, tore their flesh and blood, and threw their internal organs everywhere, the flesh and blood shook under the rain of bullets, and the corpses were like broken bags thrown out, overturned by the impact of bullets. Although people were dying every second, the living still howled and rushed forward, and they stubbornly pushed forward on the road paved with corpses.

When the distance between the two sides was only a few tens of meters, many Soviet commanders and fighters stopped, took out grenades and threw them at the German trenches. Not to be outdone, the Germans also smashed grenades from the trenches into the Soviet charging ranks. Grenades rained down on both the attackers and defenders, setting off walls of smoke and shrapnel intertwining with the soldiers on both sides. The tenacious Soviet soldiers took advantage of the smoke and dust of the explosion and the pause of the opponent's fire to launch a ferocious attack in an instant. The commanders and fighters who were not afraid of death rushed out of the smoke and dust and pounced on the enemy with shiny bayonets and bloodshot eyes with bloodshot eyes.

After Zhukov ended the call with Rokossovsky, he immediately called his chief of staff, Liapin, and asked in a deep voice: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how is the situation?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander." Major General Liapin reported with a beaming face: "Half an hour after the battle began, the troops of our 24th Army had successfully stormed the first line of trenches of the SS Reich Division and were engaged in a white-knuckle battle with the enemy. ”

He thought that his report would make Zhukov happy. After hearing this, Zhukov frowned and said dissatisfiedly: "What, just rushed into the first trench of the German army. Too slow, Comrade Chief of Staff, their offensive is too slow. Immediately call Comrade Kalinin and ask him to urge the troops to speed up the offensive. ”

Seeing that Liapin was about to make a phone call, Zhukov suddenly remembered that his chief of staff didn't seem to have reported the situation of the 43rd Army, so he hurriedly stopped him again and asked: "By the way, Chief of Staff, you haven't reported to me about the situation of General Kurochikin's 43rd Army." ”

When Liapin heard Zhukov ask this, he couldn't help but shrug his shoulders with a wry smile, and replied with a bitter face: "The 24th Army, which attacked the positions of the German 43rd Infantry Division, was not going well, and the attack they launched was repulsed by the enemy. At present, the troops have temporarily retreated, and are adjusting their forces to prepare for another attack. ”

"What's going on with this Kurochkin?" When Zhukov heard Liapin say this, a trace of anger flashed on his face, and he said angrily: "Although Kalinin's troops are advancing slowly, others have stormed the German defensive positions after all. But he was beaten back without even approaching the enemy's trenches. ”

Liapin and Kurochkin, who have been old friends for many years, saw that Zhukov showed signs of anger, and quickly stood up and said a few kind words for his friend: "Comrade commander, the situation is like this. In the shelling just now, the artillery fire did not completely destroy the minefield and barbed wire in front of the German position, and General Kurochkin's troops were blocked by the minefield and barbed wire, and as a result, they suffered heavy casualties under enemy fire, and finally had to temporarily withdraw. ”

"Then did he think of a way to come to the minefield and barbed wire?" Zhukov said in a mocking tone: "Does he want our commanders and fighters to stand in front of the barbed wire fence and let the Germans be used as targets?" ”

Although Zhukov's words were a bit mean, Liapin was speechless. He stood there for a moment with a blushing face, and then said hesitantly: "Comrade commander, then I will consult with General Kurochkin to see if there is any way to clear the enemy's minefields and barbed wire fences and avoid unnecessary sacrifices for the troops." ”

"Isn't there a mortar in his troops?" Zhukov said impatiently: "Let him organize artillery shelling of minefields and barbed wire fences to blow up a passage for the attacking troops." ”

When Liapin heard Zhukov ask this, he couldn't help but shrug his shoulders with a wry smile, and replied with a bitter face: "The 24th Army, which attacked the positions of the German 43rd Infantry Division, was not going well, and the attack they launched was repulsed by the enemy. At present, the troops have temporarily retreated, and are adjusting their forces to prepare for another attack. ”

"What's going on with this Kurochkin?" When Zhukov heard Liapin say this, a trace of anger flashed on his face, and he said angrily: "Although Kalinin's troops are advancing slowly, others have stormed the German defensive positions after all. But he was beaten back without even approaching the enemy's trenches. ”

Liapin and Kurochkin, who have been old friends for many years, saw that Zhukov showed signs of anger, and quickly stood up and said a few kind words for his friend: "Comrade commander, the situation is like this. In the shelling just now, the artillery fire did not completely destroy the minefield and barbed wire in front of the German position, and General Kurochkin's troops were blocked by the minefield and barbed wire, and as a result, they suffered heavy casualties under enemy fire, and finally had to temporarily withdraw. ”

"Then did he think of a way to come to the minefield and barbed wire?" Zhukov said in a mocking tone: "Does he want our commanders and fighters to stand in front of the barbed wire fence and let the Germans be used as targets?" ”

Although Zhukov's words were a bit mean, Liapin was speechless. He stood there for a moment with a blushing face, and then said hesitantly: "Comrade commander, then I will consult with General Kurochkin to see if there is any way to clear the enemy's minefields and barbed wire fences and avoid unnecessary sacrifices for the troops." ”

"Isn't there a mortar in his troops?" Zhukov said impatiently: "Let him organize artillery shelling of minefields and barbed wire fences to blow up a passage for the attacking troops." (To be continued.) )