Along the way, the motorized battalion, disguised as the German army, encountered almost no obstacles and reached Cheum smoothly. On the one hand, the movement of the troops was related to the unexpected surprise attack of the mechanized army, and on the other hand, the German army was too arrogant and careless, and the emptiness of the many heavily fortified towns that had been heavily guarded a few days ago was now guarded by only a small number of troops.

When the motorized battalion swaggered into Cheum, the two German sentries standing guard saw such a unit, and still thought it was a unit returning from the front, so they didn't even ask, and directly removed the obstacles on the road to prepare for release.

As soon as they moved the obstacles, a dozen soldiers jumped out of the front motorcycles, pointed their guns at them, and disarmed them without saying a word. In this case, even a fool knows that it is not a friendly army, but a Soviet army in disguise, and only obediently raises his hand as a prisoner.

Kochetov, who knew German, interrogated the prisoners and knew that there was only one company in the city, and after asking the specific location of the company headquarters and the barracks, the battalion commander who led the team gave an order, except for leaving a squad to guard the prisoners and receive the follow-up troops, the rest of the men and soldiers went to the German commander and the barracks to disarm in two ways.

By the time Novikov entered the city with the main forces of the tank division, the battle was over. Since the enemy did not expect the Soviet troops to attack in disguise, they were disarmed by the Soviet soldiers who rushed into the barracks before they could figure out what was going on.

Novikov stood next to his tank, looking at the German prisoners who were being escorted by the soldiers, passing in front of him, and was full of admiration for Rokossovsky, thinking that the army commander was simply too strategic, how could he guess that the forces in the enemy's rear were so weak, even in a city like Cheum, the Germans left only one company of troops to defend. If he were a military commander, he might be commanding the troops at the moment, fighting the German army near the national border, where would he still care about going to the enemy's rear to make trouble. No wonder with the same rank of major general, someone else can be a military commander, but he can only be a division commander under him.

After the prisoners were finished, he turned his head and asked the commander of the motorized battalion standing next to him: "Major, have you interrogated the prisoners?" ”

The battalion commander, Major Matlov, nodded and replied: "Having been interrogated, the prisoners confessed that at the moment there is a regiment of the Wehrmacht of the German army, and a battalion of the SS. After the debriefing, he cautiously asked, "Do we need to go immediately?" ”

Hearing that there were still so many German troops in Lublin, Novikov could not help but hesitate. He hesitated for a moment, and then said to Matlov: "Major, don't rush for the time being, there are too many German troops in Lublin, and there are also SS troops, it is not so easy to seize the city. I'll talk about it when the commanders and they arrive. By the way, do you have cars and fuel in your seizures? ”

"Report to the division commander," Matlov replied respectfully, "we found eighty brand-new trucks in the warehouse, and now the fighters are refueling them, ready to return at any time to transport the infantry on foot behind." ”

"Major, act now." Novikov said lightly: "By the time the infantry arrives, we will have enough troops to build fortifications in the city." ”

Rokossovsky's armored car arrived in Cheum half an hour later. When he saw the commanders and fighters of the motorized battalion digging trenches on the edge of the city, he trembled with anger. As soon as he saw Novikov, he pointed to his nose and asked angrily: "Comrade division commander, what the hell is going on?" I gave you the order to take Lublin, but you ordered the troops to build fortifications in Cheum, what is going on? ”

"Comrade Commander, please listen to my explanation." Seeing that Rokossovsky was angry, Novikov reported a little nervously: "According to the results of our interrogation of the prisoners, the enemy has a regiment of Wehrmacht and a battalion of SS in Lublin, and the strength is too strong, and I am afraid that my tank division will not be able to eat them, so I want to wait for the arrival of the 20th tank division before joint action." ”

Rokossovsky immediately said: "So you are just waiting here stupidly, neither ready to set off, nor sending troops to reconnoiter the Lublin region?" General Novikov, how did you become a division commander? ”

Novikov said aggrievedly: "Comrade commander, we are now behind enemy lines, and sometimes we have to be cautious, so I plan to wait for the arrival of the 20th Tank Division before acting with them." ”

"If I send the 20th Tank Division to carry out missions in other directions, will you not be ready to fight this battle?" Rokossovsky said sharply: "Now no matter what, immediately send me a reconnaissance unit to reconnoiter in the direction of Lublin to find out the strength and deployment of the German army." ”

"Yes!" Novikov agreed, turned around and was about to leave, but Rokossovsky stopped him and ordered: "Immediately gather all the commanders above the company, and I will personally address them." ”

After Novikov left, Rokossovsky asked the telegraph operator to turn on the radio and contact the command of the Fifth Army, reporting that the Ninth Mechanized Army had successfully captured Cheum and that the Germans had not yet discovered the whereabouts of our troops. The whole army is massing in Cheum, preparing to capture Lublin overnight.

Before receiving this telegram from Rokossovsky, the command of the Fifth Army, whether it was the commander or the chief of staff, all looked sad. The chief of staff, Pisarevsky, took the telegram handed to him by the communications staff officer, and after reading it, he thought he was dazzled, rubbed his eyes, and read the contents of the telegram again, and then he was convinced that he was not mistaken. He walked briskly to Potapov's desk, handed over the telegram, and at the same time excitedly said: "Comrade commander, good news, good news, great news." ”

Potapov chuckled in his heart, and said good news in his heart, he would make his chief of staff so out of shape. In the past two days, all I have heard is bad news, so how can there be any good news? If Rokossovsky's mechanized corps broke through the German defenses and joined up with Vladimir Volynsky's defenders as good news, then the next few hours of their disappearance without a trace were enough to make themselves restless. Reluctantly, he took the telegram from Pisarevsky's hand and read it absentmindedly.

When he read the contents of the telegram clearly, Potapov suddenly jumped up from his seat excitedly, slapped his hand on the table, and opened his mouth to exclaim: "Oh my God, this Rokossovsky's actions actually coincide with the order of the General Staff. As long as they attack overnight, there will be no problem in taking Lublin. ”

Military Commissar Nikishev picked up the telegram, and after reading it, a smile appeared on his face. He then reminded Potapov: "Comrade commander, this information should be immediately reported to the command of the Front. ”

"That's right, that's right, this situation should be reported to the front command immediately." Potapov handed the telegram to Pisarevsky again and instructed him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you immediately go and send a telegram to the command of the Front Army and report the good news to them as well." ”

The front command received a telegram from the Fifth Army, and a rare smile appeared on the faces of the senior commanders in the command, especially Vashukin, who was happier than anyone else, and he believed that he had undoubtedly made the most correct decision in the matter of letting Rokossovsky go.

Commander Kirponos breathed a sigh of relief, trembling the telegram sent by Bagramian in his hand, and said to Pulkaev lightly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, when Rokossovsky occupies Lublin, let him hold the area, and then we will mobilize a few more mechanized corps to rush to reinforcements, so that we can completely disrupt the offensive deployment of the German army and turn the tide of the war against us." ”

Zhukov, who had just arrived at the headquarters of the Southwestern Front, kept staring at the map, and after a long time, he raised his head and said to several front commanders: "As long as Rokossovsky controls the Lublin region, the logistics of the German army will be cut off by us, and in this way, the situation in the Lutsk direction will become favorable to us." ”

After listening to this, Kirponos nodded and said: "Comrade Chief of the General Staff, I understand that it is necessary to hold Lublin. Then he turned and instructed Bagramyan: "Comrade Colonel, go and send a message to Rokossovsky, so that after the completion of the occupation of Lublin, he will immediately establish a defense in the area and hold out until the arrival of the other mechanized corps!" ”

"Yes!" Having said yes, Colonel Bagramyan turned around and went to the telecommunications room, ready to forward Kirponos's order to Rokossovsky.

At this time, Rokossovsky was speaking to the commanders of the tank division and the 45th division company and above. Standing on top of a tank, he said loudly: "Commanders, it may be strange that in our territory the Germans are fighting with our troops, but instead of supporting them, we ran behind the Germans. Do you want to know why? ”

The commanders standing in front of the tanks did not speak, and even the commanders above the regimental level, who knew about the mission, did not speak, waiting for Rokossovsky to announce the answer to everyone.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Rokossovsky continued: "Don't look at the temporary superiority of the German army in some areas, but they rely heavily on logistics, once we cut off their lines of communication, how long do you think the Germans, who consume a lot of ammunition and supplies every day, can support?" ”

When the commanders heard this, they all became excited, and their faces turned red, as if Lublin was like a pile of bread in front of them, and they could grasp it with a raised hand. Immediately someone waved his arms and shouted: "Take Lublin, destroy the Germans!" ”

Seeing everyone's emotions being mobilized by themselves, a smile appeared on Rokossovsky's face. He raised his hand and pressed down to stop the excited shouts of the commanders, and then said: "Comrade commanders, Lublin is the largest supply base of the German army, where there are a large number of weapons, ammunition, food and medicine. As long as we occupy it, all these things will become ours, and if the enemy does not come, as soon as he comes, we will destroy them with their weapons and ammunition! ”

When the commanders heard this, they shouted in unison: "Ula! ”

At this moment, the operator ran under the tank and looked up to report to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Army Commander, the return call from the headquarters of the army group has arrived. ”

"Read!"

The telegraph operator picked up the telegram and read: "Order your troops, after taking Lublin, to build fortifications in the city and hold on, resolutely cut off the German army's logistical supply lines, and wait for friendly forces to converge." ”

Rokossovsky's eyes swept over the face of the emotionally charged commander, and then he raised the telegram in his hand: "Comrade commander, you have all heard, after the order of our superiors to seize Lublin, resolutely hold the city, cut off the enemy's logistical supply lines, and wait for the arrival of reinforcements. Now, please go back to your respective units and get ready to go, and as soon as the squad that went to Lublin for reconnaissance returns, we can set off immediately. ”

As soon as his words fell, there was a roar of motorcycles in the distance, and when he turned his head to look in the direction where the sound came from, he saw a three-wheeled motorcycle speeding towards this side, and the people sitting in the car were all dressed as Germans.

Looking at their dress, everyone knew that it must be the scout who had returned, so they didn't speak, just quietly watched the approach of the motorcycle. As soon as the motorcycle stopped, Rokossovsky asked loudly: "How is the situation on the Lublin side?" ”

One of the scouts jumped off the motorcycle, ran to the tank, raised his hand to salute Rokossovsky, and reported in a loud voice: "Comrade Commander, after our repeated verification, there is an infantry battalion of the German Army in Lublin attached to the Wehrmacht. ”

Surprised to hear that there was only one battalion of German troops in Lublin, Novikov walked up to the scout and asked: "Comrade scout, are you sure that there is only one battalion of the German army in Lublin?" ”

"That's right, comrade division commander, there is only one battalion." The scout affirmed.

Rokossovsky, who was standing on the tank, waved his hand at the commander below and loudly announced: "All set off for Lublin!" ”

After the commanders dispersed back to their respective units, Rokossovsky jumped down from the tank, walked to Novikov's side, and asked in a low voice: "Comrade division commander, do you think that the reconnaissance situation is different from what you know?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Confused, Novikov retorted, "What the hell is going on?" ”

"It's simple. First, it is possible that the Germans temporarily transferred Lublin's troops. As for the second point," Rokossovsky shrugged, spread his hands, and said helplessly, "that is, the captive lied to you." ”

Kheum is just over thirty kilometers from Lublin, and it took less than an hour for the motorized battalion to reach its destination. After the German troops at several checkpoints were controlled by them, Lublin turned into an undefended city. After entering the city, the infantry commanders and fighters in trucks immediately divided into several routes, and under the guidance of the fighters of the motorized battalion, they directly pounced on the German command and barracks.

By the time Rokossovsky's armored car arrived outside the city, Novikov, who had been waiting there for a long time, solemnly reported to him: "Comrade commander, Lublin has been occupied by our troops!" ”