After learning about the specific time of the offensive, Batov called together the commanders of all divisions and assigned combat missions to everyone. Facing the assembled commanders, Batov was silent for a moment, and then said: "Comrade commanders, you have been summoned here today because according to the orders of our superiors, we are about to launch an attack on the German army. The direction of the offensive is Kalinkovich, who we suffered defeat in the early stage, and we want to repay the blood debt to the fascist invaders through this attack. ”

When Batov spoke, none of the divisional and brigade commanders sitting below spoke but looked at him quietly. After a brief introduction to the combat mission, he habitually asked: "Is there a problem?" ”

As soon as his words fell, the commander of the 321st Infantry Division stood up and asked loudly: "Comrade commander, I want to ask, before this attack, when will the supplies of soldiers and ammunition given to us by our superiors be in place?" ”

"There is no addition," said Batov with a serious expression, "you can only rely on your existing strength to complete this offensive mission." ”

"What, no additions?" The division commanders sitting below were stunned when they heard Bartov say this. After a moment of silence, they began to talk to each other, and the entire command headquarters suddenly remembered a buzz.

Batov did not interrupt everyone, but waited for calm to regain in the room before he spoke: "Commanders and comrades, I know what is going on in everyone's minds, and why they have not given us any necessary additions since their superiors have given us such an offensive mission.

I am here to tell you that since the focus of the offensive in the base camp is now in Ukraine, the supply of other fronts has been temporarily suspended. Not only our group army, but also other group armies did not receive any supplements from their superiors when carrying out new offensive tasks. ”

Seeing that the commanders in the room listened to their words, their expressions suddenly became gloomy, and Batov continued: "Comrades, maybe many of you are thinking in your hearts, the last time we were strong and strong, we didn't take Kalinkovich, and now that the troops have been greatly weakened, will we repeat the mistakes of the past if we attack Kalinkovich again?" ”

Hearing Batov say this, the commanders' attention was again focused on him, wanting to hear what he would say next. "Comrade commanders," said Batov, after a pause, "in the offensive campaign that is about to begin, we will not receive any replenishment, nor will the Germans, because the four fronts on which our army is attacking in Ukraine will hold their forces firmly in that direction." In the face of our army's attack, they can only rely on their existing forces to defend. ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Hearing this, Military Commissar Rajetsky felt that he had time to say a few words, so he stood up and said: "In the case of roughly equal strength between the enemy and us, it depends on which army has the more tenacious will to fight, and only the strong can achieve the final victory." ”

"Comrade commanders, I will also say a few words." Glebov also stood up and said: "The reason why the last offensive was lost was because we concentrated our main forces on the left flank of the army group, and the forces on the right flank were quite weak. In this offensive, we will learn the lessons of the last time and use the right flank as the direction of the key defense, in case of another surprise attack by the Germans. As for the left flank, with General Belov's 61st Army to cover our flanks, the Germans could not pose any threat to us. ”

"If you look at the map, to the east of Kalinkovich, although there are strong fortifications built by the Germans, the terrain is flat, and the movement of large-scale mechanized troops is used." After waiting for his two deputies to finish speaking, Batov walked to the map again and said: "After the battle begins, we will concentrate all the tanks and carry out a surprise attack on the German defensive positions, striving to tear through their defenses in the shortest possible time, and then the infantry will follow, expand the breakthrough, and continue to develop into the depth of the enemy's defense." ”

After the meeting, the division and brigade commanders left the headquarters of the group army and rushed back to their units to make preparations for the attack.

Seeing the empty headquarters, Glebov asked Batov with some unease: "Comrade commander, do you say that our offensive can be victorious?" ”

If there had not been a crushing defeat at Kalinkovich, perhaps to Glebov's question, Batov would have replied without hesitation: "Victory will be achieved!" But at this moment, after being silent for a long time, Batov said: "I believe that the victory rate of our attack is very large, and the final victory will definitely belong to us." ”

While Batov's troops were in full swing in their pre-battle preparations, Rokossovsky called Vatutin, in which he first praised the progress made by the First Ukrainian Front, and then changed the subject and said to Vatutin: "Comrade Vatutin, our troops are about to launch an offensive in the Mozyr and Kalinkovich regions, and I hope to get your help. ”

"What, you are going to launch an offensive in the Mozyr-Kalinkovich area." When Vatutin heard this, he hurriedly covered the microphone with his hand, asked Bogolyubov to find him a map of Belarus, and after looking at it for a while, he let go of the hand covering the microphone and continued: "General Rokossovsky, I understand what you mean, you plan to give way to the 13th Army on the right flank of the front and cooperate with your actions in the above-mentioned areas, right?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Vatutin, that's what I meant." Rokossovsky saw that Vatutin had guessed his intentions, and hurriedly asked: "I wonder if you can help us?" ”

"But you can, but ......," Vatutin said with some hesitation, "I have a relatively tight force, and the 13th Army may enter the battle at any time, and if it is sent to cooperate with you, I am worried that it will have an adverse impact on the next step of the campaign." ”

Seeing Vatutin's euphemistic rejection of his situation, Rokossovsky struggled to control his emotions and asked lightly: "Then General Vatutin, when will your troops be able to cooperate with us in the battle?" ”

Vatutin thought for a moment and replied: "It will be mid-January at the earliest, and only then will the forces in my hands be likely to be more relaxed." ”

"I understand, Comrade Vatutin. We stay in touch at all times. After Rokossovsky finished speaking, he hung up the phone without waiting for Vatutin to speak again.

After Rokossovsky put down the phone, he said to Malinin, who was standing in front of him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, General Vatutin is temporarily unable to send troops to assist us in the operation in the Mozyr-Kalinkovichi area. By the way, how did you talk with General Sokolovsky? ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's question, Malinin hurriedly replied: "I have just contacted General Sokolovsky, and he said that the current situation of the Western Front is also very bad, and they have not been supplied with men and ammunition for a long time, but he will inform the commander of the 10th Army, Major General Popov, to actively cooperate with the actions of our 50th Army. ”

"That's fine," Rokossovsky said, nodding his head, "and if our right flank can be coordinated by the Western Front, we can consider drawing troops from this direction to strengthen the Mozyri-Kalinkovich direction." ”

On January 7, 1944, in the early morning of Christmas in the Russian calendar, Belov's 61st Army and Bartov's 65th Army suddenly launched a fierce attack on the Germans in the direction of Mozyr-Kalinkovich. The unprepared Germans were caught off guard.

Faced with the onrushing Soviet tanks, they were in a state of confusion and could not stop an effective defense. In less than half an hour, their first line of defense was broken through by the torrent of steel of the Soviet army.

Seeing that the German positions had been breached, Batov immediately ordered the infantry, who were on standby in the trenches, to launch an assault. In order to boost the morale of the troops, he also ordered the logistics department to prepare 10 propaganda vehicles, which followed the attacking troops and rushed to the enemy's positions while playing inspiring songs such as "The Internationale" and "Holy War" on loudspeakers.

The songs played by the propaganda vehicle made the commanders and fighters enthusiastic, all of them as if they had been beaten with chicken blood, and shouted "Ula" with open their throats, and their footsteps kept rushing towards the positions where there were still remnants of the German army resisting.

Batov, who was standing at the forward observation post, raised his binoculars and looked at the commanders and fighters who were rushing towards the enemy, and he was extremely excited. He optimistically estimated that, if nothing happens, his troops would be able to reach Kalinkovich's approach before dark. Rest there for the night, and then continue the offensive the next day, and you will reach the city of Kalinkovich.

Just as he was thinking about it, he suddenly felt someone next to him pull him, and when he turned his head, it turned out to be a staff officer he had brought here. The staff officer approached him and said loudly: "Comrade commander, your call is from the headquarters of the front army. ”

Batov followed the staff officer to the next communication room, picked up the earpiece resting on the table, put it to his ear and said loudly: "Hey, is it Comrade Commander?" I'm Batov. ”

"Comrade Batov, how is your situation there?" Sure enough, Rokossovsky's voice came from the earpiece, and he raised his voice and asked: "Did your frontal enemy put up stubborn resistance?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander," Batov hurriedly replied, "our tank forces have managed to break through the German defenses, and now the infantry has caught up, preparing to expand the breakthrough and consolidate positions." ”

"Did you send scouts around?" Thinking of the big loss that Batov suffered last time, Rokossovsky said with some unease: "But don't repeat the mistakes of the past." ”

In response to Rokossovsky's question, Batov was prepared, and he replied confidently: "Don't worry, we have sent at least three reconnaissance groups on the right flank and on the left, and they all have radios on their shoulders and can report to us at any time what they have been detected. ”

"Your left flank is Belov's 61st Army," Rokossovsky deliberately reminded Batov, "and they will protect your left flank so that the Germans have no chance." As for your right wing, you can only rely on yourselves. ”

In fact, Rokossovsky just didn't mention it, and Bartov also put the focus of defense on the right flank, he didn't want the main force to be stabbed by the Germans from the side when it was going well, resulting in the victory of the hand, and finally came to naught.

Returning to the observation post, Batov could no longer see the battle going on, and he could only imagine that a fierce battle was unfolding in the depths of the German defenses, based on the rumbling of artillery in the distance and the black smoke drifting into the air.

Seeing that he could no longer see what he wanted to see, Batov returned to the army group headquarters and from here he kept abreast of the progress of the battle through the battle reports sent back from the front.

As soon as he returned to the command, Glebov came over and reported to him a mixed message: "Comrade commander, the troops of General Belov have managed to crush the German troops on the outskirts of Mozyr and approach the city of Mozyri. But that's not good news for us. ”

Hearing Glebov say this, Batov couldn't help but be stunned, and asked in confusion: "Comrade Chief of Staff, General Belov's troops have arrived in Mozyr, this is good news." Why do you say it's not good news? ”

"Comrade Commander, please look here." Glebov led Batov to the wall, pointed to the map and said to him: "Having been routed by the Germans outside Moziri, they crossed the Pripyat River and entered the Kalinkovich region along the road. As a result, the number of enemies we face increases, and our situation will become even more difficult in the next battles. ”

Batov stared at the map for a moment, then asked Glebov: "Will the enemy, who crosses the Pripyat River, pose a threat to the left flank of our army?" ”

Glebov shook his head and replied: "Since these enemies were all routed by the 61st Army and have lost their formation, they cannot pose any threat to the left flank of our army at all. ”

Hearing Glebov say this, a smile appeared on Batov's face: "Comrade Chief of Staff, since you said that they are a defeated army that has lost its formation, even if they retreat to Kalinkovich, they may not be able to form any combat effectiveness, I think that in the next battle, our troops will still be able to defeat the Germans as they are now." ”

The commander of the 61st Army, Belov, after learning that the German troops on the outskirts of Mozyr had been routed, first thought about whether this rout would pose a threat to the 65th Army on the right flank. Therefore, he ordered the chief of staff to draw a division from the reserve and rush as quickly as possible to the Pripyat River, where he would take up the task of guarding the enemy from attacking the left flank of friendly troops.