Rokossovsky glanced at the impatient Kirillov and said angrily: "I don't have any extra troops to replenish for you." Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 But don't worry, Colonel, in this offensive, your division is not the main attack, but to cover the flanks of the motorized infantry regiment. Such a mission, even if the troops are all recruits, will have no impact. ”

Rokossovsky said this quite helplessly, but he also had no choice, it was difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice, he had the skill of not being able to scatter beans into soldiers, and he had this little force in his hand, if it was used for defense, it was barely enough. Now that they have received an order from their superiors to turn to the offensive, it seems a little stretched.

Kirillov heard the other party's helplessness from Rokossovsky's words, so he had no choice but to nod his head and no longer mention the matter of replenishing his troops.

Rokossovsky looked around, and when he saw that the commanders of the troops participating in the battle had arrived, he spread out the battle map on the grass and beckoned everyone to come around. He pointed to the map and introduced his operational intentions: "I plan to carry out a surprise attack on the German army this evening. Our troops, under the cover of tank and artillery fire, will attack the enemy's defensive positions and, before dark, cross the Wopi River and take up advantageous positions on the west bank of the river for defense. ”

After he finished speaking, the first person who asked the question was Kirillov, "Comrade commander, is it a bit too risky to attack the Germans with our current strength?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Colonel, this attack is an adventure." Rokossovsky looked at Kirillov and said in a firm tone: "The enemy probably did not expect that we would be able to take the initiative to attack them after a hard defensive battle. We will take advantage of the favorable factor of taking them by surprise and attacking them unprepared, and launch an attack on the enemy with the main force of Lieutenant Colonel Vorobyov's motorized infantry regiment. Colonel Mikhailov's 101st Tank Division, which was responsible for covering his left flank and, if necessary, supporting them with tanks. Colonel Kirillov's 38th Infantry Division, covering the right flank of the Motorized Infantry Regiment, cleared out the remnants of the enemy in the positions occupied by the Motorized Infantry Regiment in the process of advancing. ”

"Comrade Commander, why wait until the evening to attack?" Mikhailov, who was a little impatient, waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, and immediately asked eagerly: "You must know that there are still many hours until evening." ”

"Comrade Colonel, don't be in a hurry." Rokossovsky smiled and said to Mikhailov: "Attacking in the evening has several advantages. First, the Germans will certainly let their guard down when they see that it is getting dark, and our attack at such a time can have the effect of surprise. Second, an attack was launched in the evening, and after an hour or so of fighting, it would get dark, and German planes would not be able to support their ground forces. Think about it, the German troops, which have lost their air support, are still the opponents of our army, which has been cultivated with a high offensive spirit? ”

Seeing that everyone nodded in agreement, he continued: "The third and most important point, whether it is the 101st Tank Division or the Tank Division of the Seventh Mechanized Corps, the number of tanks that can be used is very limited, and all of them are light tanks. Therefore, we have to wait for the arrival of 10 KV heavy tanks allocated by our superiors before launching the attack. After Rokossovsky finished speaking, he paused for a moment, looked to the left and right, and asked, "Who has any problems?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Lieutenant Colonel Vorobyov, who was on the main offensive mission, asked: "Can we get artillery support when we attack?" ”

"That's for sure, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Rokossovsky replied in the affirmative: "In the event of an offensive, in addition to the original artillery units of the combat group, the artillery battalion newly allocated to us by the command of the Front will also take part in the fighting." ”

"Great, that's great." When Vorobyov heard the news, he was overjoyed, and he excitedly assured Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, you can rest assured, with the support of artillery, our regiment will definitely be able to break through the defensive positions of the German troops." ”

When all the commanders who participated in the battle had finished asking their own questions, Malinin raised his right hand and asked respectfully: "Comrade commander, I have a question, can I ask it?" ”

Rokossovsky took his chief of staff very seriously, and when he heard him say this, he knew that he must have gone wrong in some respect, so he said cheerfully: "Please speak, Comrade Malinin. ”

"You just mentioned that we are going to cross the Wopi River," Malinin said cautiously, "Do the troops who are forced to cross the river need to prepare the means to cross the river?" ”

"That's not necessary," Kazakov interjected, "according to the report of my artillery spotters, the enemy has erected three pontoon bridges over the Vopi River that can pass through tanks. At the same time, the bridge that was blown up by our army is also being repaired by the enemy. Our river-crossing troops could have taken advantage of the pontoon bridges erected by the enemy on the river and rushed to the west bank of the Woppy River. ”

When everything that should be explained was done, Rokossovsky said loudly to the commanders around him: "Comrade commanders, everyone go back to their respective units. This time we concentrated all our forces on the second line of defense, and I hope to be able to quickly break through the enemy's line soon after the battle begins. ”

Seeing that the commanders around him dispersed one after another, Rokossovsky suddenly remembered something and hurriedly called Vorobyov to stop: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please wait a minute, I have something important to say to you." ”

Many commanders who had not gone far could not help but slow down their pace and turn their heads to see if he would stop themselves after hearing Rokossovsky's words. Seeing that Rokossovsky had only called Vorobyov in front of him, everyone picked up their pace and left again and went back to their respective units.

Although Vorobyov did not know why Rokossovsky stopped him, he politely asked: "Comrade commander, do you have any instructions?" ”

After Rokossovsky called Kazakov, Vinogradov and Malinin over, he pointed to the map and said to several people: "I think that to defeat the Germans, maybe some of our previous tactics will have to be adjusted accordingly. ”

"How?" Rokossovsky's deputy, Vinogradov, asked puzzled.

Rokossovsky said simply: "In the past, before the attack, we would shell the enemy's defensive positions for more than an hour, and when the shelling was over, the infantry would charge. ”

"That's right, that's how we fight in offensive battles." Vinogradov asked curiously: "How are you going to adjust your tactics?" ”

"At present, the number of artillery pieces and shells we have is very limited, and if we continue to follow the original fighting method and carry out a long period of artillery and artillery bombardment before the attack, not only will a large number of shells be consumed, but our combat intentions will also be exposed." After a brief explanation, Rokossovsky said categorically: "Therefore, I intend to let the troops go on the offensive while the shelling is underway." But as the forward forces approached the enemy's positions, the artillery fire extended forward, and our troops could easily occupy their positions while the enemy had not yet recovered from their positions. ”

After Rokossovsky finished speaking, he looked around and asked seriously: "What do you think?" ”

"Let our troops approach the enemy's positions before the shelling stops." Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Malinin said with some worry: "In this case, will our commanders and fighters be accidentally injured by their own shells?" ”

"There is a possibility of accidental injury." The head of artillery, Kazakov, said cautiously: "But if our attacking troops are at a safe distance, the chances of being accidentally injured are still not very high. ”

"What's the safe distance?" Malinin asked.

"Two hundred meters." Kazakov said without hesitation, "But with our current artillery density, the safe distance can be shortened to between one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty meters." ”

After listening to the words of Kazakov, an artillery expert, Lieutenant Colonel Vorobyov immediately raised his eyebrows and said with some surprise: "Comrade General, if our troops can really approach a place only one hundred and fifty meters away from the enemy's position during the shelling. Then it will only take half a minute at most from the launch of the charge to the entry into the enemy's position. And in such a short period of time, the Germans, who were dazed by our artillery fire, could not come back to their senses at all. Speaking of this, he looked sideways at Rokossovsky and said, "Comrade commander, please give the order, I promise to take the enemy's position at the minimum cost." ”

"Since everyone is not against it, then it is decided." Seeing that no one objected to his novel proposal, Rokossovsky directly made a decision. Then he said to Kazakov: "Comrade Artillery Chief, we must deploy our artillery in place as soon as possible, and at the same time send more artillery observers to go deep into the places close to the enemy's positions to conduct reconnaissance and guide our artillery in the correct direction of shelling." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander," Kazakov also replied decisively: "I'll arrange it!" ”

At about two o'clock in the afternoon, Lieutenant Colonel Tarasov, who had gone to Vyazma in search of a truck, returned, and with him came to the front with Borisova, a Soviet deputy of the Western District of Vyazma. Borisova walked quickly to Rokossovsky's side, took the initiative to shake hands with him, and said: "Comrade General, we have mobilized thirty trucks from the city to tow artillery and transport shells for you. In case you don't run out of manpower, the district has also sent special drivers to drive these cars here. ”

After listening to Borisova's story, Rokossovsky squeezed her hand and said gratefully: "Thank you, thank you, Comrade Borisova!" With your selfless support, I am confident that we will achieve the final victory. ”

After the hands of the two were released, Borisova asked curiously: "Comrade General, are you going to launch a counteroffensive against the enemy?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Borisova." Because the counteroffensive was about to begin in the evening, Rokossovsky did not hide from the other side, but truthfully said: "The offensive will take place in the evening, and our troops will reoccupy Yaltsevo and force the crossing of the Woppi River and take up advantageous positions on the west bank of the river to resist the German offensive." ”

"But, Comrade General, I don't understand why the attack was launched at this time." Borisova said bluntly: "With all due respect, as far as I can see, your forces are very limited, and if you want to attack the enemy, it is entirely possible that you will not achieve anything after making great sacrifices. ”

Regarding Borisova's concern, Rokossovsky nodded unabashedly, and then said in a helpless tone: "Comrade Borisova, you may not know that our three army groups are near Smolensk and are encircled by the German army. We, as the closest troops to them, must not die without help, so we must do something......"

"But, Comrade General." Borisova looked around, and when she saw that the others were still some distance away from her and Rokossovsky, she lowered her voice and said: "You are doing this to let the commanders and fighters go to death." Even if it costs us a lot to defend our great motherland, we think it's worth it. However, I personally think that there is no point in fighting such a battle without any chance of winning, and it is to let the commanders and fighters bleed in vain. ”

Rokossovsky couldn't help but be stunned after listening to Borisova's words. Because what Borisova said was criticized by her superiors as incorrect, leading the army to a delusional "less bloodless" view of victory. Although this kind of words are taboo, they coincide with their own thoughts, and these few short sentences have aroused the resonance of their hearts.

Rokossovsky grinned at Borisova and said politely: "Comrade Borisova, you have a very reasonable point, but there is no way. An order is an order, and the superiors ordered us to launch a centripetal assault on Smolensk, even if we knew that there was a sea of swords and fires ahead, we would rush forward without hesitation. ”

After saying that, he took Borisova's hand again and said: "Okay, Comrade Borisova, thank you again for the truck and the driver you sent." It's too dangerous here, so you might as well go back early! ”

Unexpectedly, as soon as his words came out, Borisova shook off his hand and said with some excitement: "Comrade General, I volunteered to bring these drivers to the front, and I will stay with them until they return to Vyazma." No one other than my superiors has the right to order me to go back to Vyazma at this time. ”

Rokossovsky saw that Borisova turned his face at the slightest disagreement, so he had to smile bitterly and said curtly: "Well, Comrade Borisova, since you want to stay at the front, but for the sake of your safety, I advise you to stay with my command. Do you think it's okay? ”

Borisova shook her head and replied resolutely: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, I'm going to stay with my drivers, where they are, I'll be there." (To be continued.) )