Perhaps in order to make Rokossovsky more confident about the armored train that was about to enter the war, Pisarevsky began to educate him on the road: "...... Armored trains travel fast and can transport troops. And the train itself is thickly armored, which can ignore the attacks of ordinary small arms and shell fragments. In close combat with the enemy, the powerful firepower of the vehicle-mounted artillery and machine guns, as well as the huge ammunition reserve, were an absolute nightmare for the German defense forces. ”

Although Rokossovsky always had a smile on his face when he heard Pisarevsky say this, he said disdainfully in his heart: "No matter how strong the armored train is, it cannot leave the tracks to fight, as long as the enemy destroys the tracks in front, the train can lose its ability to maneuver." Moreover, the train is particularly dependent on logistical supplies, and must carry a large amount of coal and water with the train, otherwise there is a possibility of lying on the back at any time. ”

Rokossovsky was thinking like this, when suddenly there was a dense sound of gunfire in front of him, he pulled out the pistol on his waist and looked around vigilantly: "What's the matter, where did the gunfire come from?" ”

Pisarevsky listened attentively for a moment, and then shouted badly, and he said hurriedly: "Listening to the direction from which the voice came, it seems that the station of the 124th Infantry Division is being fiercely fought. Comrade driver, speed up, we have to rush over as soon as possible. ”

By the time the gas car arrived at the camp, the fighting there was over. I saw that the armored train was parked on the railroad tracks a few hundred meters to the north, and the outside of the trenches was full of German corpses, as well as many smoke-emitting craters, which seemed to be the masterpieces of the artillery on the armored train. The fighters searched for survivors among the corpses of the enemy, presumably trying to catch a few alive. The hygienists were busy treating the wounded in the trenches and having the bodies of the fallen soldiers carried away.

The two of them passed through several communication trenches and trenches before they came to the headquarters, a half-buried shelter under the guidance of the soldiers.

As soon as he walked into the headquarters, Major Suhi greeted him and cheerfully reported: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you have come just in time. The Germans had just taken advantage of the darkness of night to launch a sneak attack on our position, which was discovered by our sentinels, and a fierce white-knuckle battle began. Fortunately, our armored train arrived in time and attacked the enemy with its guns and machine guns, and except for a few legged soldiers who escaped, the rest were annihilated by us in front of the position. ”

Rokossovsky saw one of Sushi's arms wrapped in gauze hanging from his chest, and hurriedly asked with concern: "General Sushi, what's wrong with your hand?" ”

Su Xi looked down at his arm hanging from his chest, grinned, and said disappreciatively: "It's nothing, when I was commanding the troops to charge just now, I was bitten by an enemy bullet." It doesn't get in the way at all, and it doesn't affect me to lead my troops to charge. ”

"No, no, General Suhey." Pisarevsky grimaced and said solemnly: "Don't say that you are injured and cannot go; Even if you're not injured, you can't go. How could a division commander personally lead the charge? ”

"That's right, comrade division commander, you should listen to the chief of staff." As soon as Pisarevsky finished speaking, a political worker next to him answered: "I will take your place to command the attack later!" ”

"This is Zhelyakov, the political deputy commander of the 124th Division." After briefly introducing the identity of the other party to Rokossovsky, Pisarevsky frowned and asked: "Comrade Political Deputy Division Commander, do you also plan to personally lead the charge of the fighters like General Sushi?" ”

Zhelyakov wanted to answer in the affirmative, but seeing Pisarevsky's gloomy face that was about to drip, he swallowed back the words and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I intend to place the forward command on the armored train, so that I can keep abreast of the latest battle situation, and at the same time there will be no danger. ”

Pisarevsky was very impressed with the solidity of the armored train, and when he heard Zhelyakov say that he was going to set up the forward command on the train, he immediately readily agreed.

At half past three in the morning, it was just dawn. With the launch of a red flare, the attack of the 124th Infantry Division officially began.

The fighters, who had dispersed in a straggler formation, under the leadership of political workers with pistols held high, held up their bayonet rifles, sang songs, and marched in orderly steps towards the German positions a kilometer away.

When the attacking troops were still about two hundred meters from the enemy's position, the enemy's machine guns opened fire. The two skirmishers in front of them were suddenly punched out one by one, but the remaining commanders and fighters did not be afraid and continued to walk forward without hesitation. The soldiers in the back row quickened their pace, bypassing the soldiers who had fallen to the ground and were killed or wounded, and quickly filled the gap in the front row.

The armored train in the rear slowly started, and at the same time, unhurriedly adjusted the muzzle and fired at the enemy's position. When the first shells landed on the enemy's position and exploded, they hit a point of machine-gun fire, and the blast of the explosion pulled the machine-gun shooter inside, along with the machine gun, out of cover and fell heavily on the open ground in front of the trench.

Seeing that the artillery fire of the armored train destroyed one of the enemy's firing points, the soldiers immediately cheered, and then shouted "Ula", changed from a big stride to a small run, and bravely rushed to the enemy's position. When the armored train approached the enemy's position, it fired even more guns, beating the German officers and soldiers who had only improvised fortifications to the point of crying wolf.

Soon, the Soviet commanders and fighters, under the cover of armored trains, seized the enemy's first line of defense and took advantage of the situation to rush to the second line of defense.

When Rokossovsky, who was staying at the rear observation post, saw this scene, he couldn't help but be secretly surprised, and he couldn't imagine that this armored train was better than tanks, and the covering troops easily broke through the enemy's first line of defense. Moreover, the second line of defense of the German army was still rudimentary, and the Soviet troops, under the cover of armored trains, were quickly able to seize positions.

A few minutes later, Pisarevsky saw that the Soviet commanders and fighters had successfully seized the second line of defense, and he couldn't help but applaud repeatedly, and at the same time proudly said to Major General Suhi who was standing next to him: "I say, comrade division commander, according to this way of fighting of your division, maybe before eight o'clock, your troops will be able to join forces with the 87th Division in the city." ”

Hearing Pisarevsky's praise, Sushi grinned, and then said confidently: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry. I didn't see how smoothly our division, under the cover of armored trains, was advancing. As soon as the enemy's fire point is fired, the artillery fire on the train can destroy it instantly. ”

"Comrade division commander, you are right." Pisarevsky also agreed: "The hull armor of the armored train is made of eight millimeters of high-quality armor steel plates, which are impenetrable to the enemy's machine guns and shell fragments." Under the blows of our armored trains, I think they will soon be crushed......"

Before he could finish his words, two large-caliber shells whizzed and landed near the armored train, and the fire and smoke from the explosion shrouded the front of the locomotive. When the smoke cleared, everyone found that although the front of the car was still intact, about a platoon of commanders and fighters near the bombing point had been blown to pieces, and those who were closer were even more boneless.