Rokossovsky knew in his heart that in the current situation, a strong attack would mean that the troops would pay great sacrifices, but from a political point of view, even if the casualties were large, this offensive method must be adopted, and at present the Western Front needed such a victory to cover the shadow of the 20th Army being annihilated by the Germans. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

When Malinin reported to him the casualties of the troops, he just waved his hand and said with a hard heart: "Chief of Staff, now I don't want to hear any casualty figures, I just want to take the town of Maklaki as soon as possible." ”

"At the moment, the 11th Guards Division, which launched an offensive from the south of the town, is already approaching the center of the town." After glancing at the battle report in his hand, Malinin continued to report: "In the other two directions, due to the desperate resistance of the enemy, our troops have been slow to advance, and so far they have captured only a few buildings on the edge of the town. ”

"Hell, how can this be?" When Rokossovsky heard this, he couldn't help frowning and asked rhetorically: "Why was General Chernyshov's troops able to advance to the center of the town, while the rest of the troops barely reached the edge of the town?" ”

"Comrade Commander, this is the case." "Although Maklaki is a town, it is about the size of a medium-sized city, and the Germans have built strong fortifications on the east side after occupying it, and the troops attacking from the east are held back by these damned fortifications," Malinin explained. ”

"Well, even if you're right, the Germans are well fortified in the east." As soon as Rokossovsky waited for Malinin to finish speaking, he immediately retorted: "What is the reason for the slow attack in the north?" ”

"Outside the town to the north, there are dense woods, and the Germans have deployed a lot of sporadic firepower here." With a serious expression, Malinin reported: "In the artillery preparations before the attack, almost all of these firing points survived, and now the fire network they have formed firmly blocks the way of our army's advance." ”

Rokossovsky took the telegram from Malinin's hand, read it carefully twice, called Kazakov, and asked straight to the point: "Commander of artillery, how is the situation there, can you carry out artillery strikes on the enemy in the town of Makraki?" ”

"The Germans were constantly shelling our artillery positions, which forced us to shift positions again and again." After reporting on the situation, Kazakov asked rhetorically: "Comrade commander, is it necessary to provide artillery support for the infantry?" ”

"Yes, the offensive to the north and east of Maklaki is not going well now, so I want you to concentrate your artillery fire and carry out artillery fire on the enemy's defensive positions." In particular, Rokossovsky emphasized: "Only by destroying the enemy's defenses can our troops storm the town." ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Kazakov replied decisively: "No matter how heavy the casualties of our artillery, we will destroy the German defenses in the north and east." ”

Seeing that the town of Maklaki could not be attacked for a long time, Zhukov also called and asked: "Hey, Comrade Rokossovsky, your attack on the town of Maklaki has been going on for a morning, how is the situation, has the town been taken?" ”

"Not yet, Comrade General." Rokossovsky said in a flat tone: "Our troops are fighting stubbornly, and there are ...... casualties at the moment."

"Comrade Rokossovsky, I remind you that the slogan 'Victory with less bloodshed' was criticized by the Central Committee as an incorrect slogan that tried to lead the commanders of the army to an easy victory, long after the end of the Finnish campaign." Zhukov reprimanded Rokossovsky on the phone, saying: "So no matter what the cost, you must take the town of Maklaki as soon as possible." Comrade Stalin is still waiting for news of your victory, understand? ”

Rokossovsky's original intention was to wait until the town of Maklaki had been liberated, and then report such results to the High Command to make Stalin happy. Now that Stalin knew about this, he had become a difficult horseman, and if he really could not capture the town of Maklaki in the short term, it would have an adverse effect on his future, so he hurriedly replied: "Understood, Comrade General." We will definitely take the town of Maklaki in the shortest possible time. ”

After accepting Rokossovsky's order, Kazakov thought about it and felt that he could no longer set up a fixed artillery position as usual and hit the enemy with intensive artillery fire. The reason why the artillery preparation before today's attack was short was entirely because its own artillery was suppressed by the German long-range artillery fire, and because the firing range was insufficient, its artillery could only evade the German artillery fire by constantly shifting its positions, and if the artillery was regrouped at this moment, it was very likely to become the target of the German army.

After some careful consideration, he decisively decided to adopt the tactic of "bayonet on artillery" mentioned by Rokossovsky, pushing the artillery only a kilometer or two away from the enemy's position and firing at close range. Since the snow in many sections was too deep for vehicles to pass, he ordered the light artillery towed by horse-drawn wagons to carry out the combat mission.

He called the commander of the artillery regiment over and instructed: "Comrade Colonel, the artillery of your regiment should be broken into pieces and dispersed to the north and east of the town of Maklaki, and as soon as the enemy's fire points are found, they will be destroyed directly with artillery fire. Do you understand? ”

After listening to Kazakov's order, the commander of the artillery regiment asked with some hesitation: "Comrade General, if the enemy hides in a residential building and shoots at us, will we also destroy the building?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Colonel, you're absolutely right." Kazakov nodded and said: "The commander once said that nothing is more important than the lives of our commanders and fighters, the building was destroyed in artillery fire, and we can build it again later." But if life is lost, then it cannot be reborn. ”

After listening to Kazakov's theory, the artillery commander nodded as if he understood something, raised his hand and saluted, walked out of this temporary artillery headquarters, and returned to the unit to transfer troops.

With the addition of artillery, the situation on the battlefield turned in favor of the Soviet troops. Those firing points blocking the path of the Soviet offensive were suddenly bombarded into the sky one after another under the direct fire of the artillery. The commanders and fighters, who had been suppressed by the enemy's firepower, took advantage of the destruction of the enemy's firepower to rush out of the ground or hiding place again, and continued to rush into the depths of the town.

As the battle progressed into the evening, the enemy who had held out in the town had gradually been compressed in the direction west of the town. At this time, the artillery was almost useless, and the infantry had to clear every street and every building one by one.

After Rokossovsky learned of this, a rare smile finally appeared on his face, and he instructed Malinin: "Chief of Staff, immediately get in touch with General Chernyshov, and tell him not to engage in a simple military offensive, but also to come some political offensive at the appropriate time." ”

"Political offensive?" Malinin was confused by Rokossovsky's statement, he looked at his commander with a blank look and said: "I'm sorry, I didn't understand what you meant. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I understand what the commander meant." Lobachev interjected: "He asked us to find some soldiers who knew German and shouted at the German soldiers trapped in the west of the town, hoping that they would lay down their arms and come out and surrender." ”

"That's right," Rokossovsky added, "the enemy knows that all their retreats have been cut off by us, so their resistance will become extremely stubborn." It is hoped that the way of shouting can have the effect of breaking the will of the German army to resist. ”

"Comrade Commander," Lobachev said to Rokossovsky with a smile, "leave this matter to me, and I will personally go to the town of Maklaki and organize a political offensive against the Germans." ”

"Comrade Military Commissar, the sky is getting dark, and the road is not easy to walk." Ma Linin persuaded: "You better go again tomorrow." ”

"No, it's too late tomorrow." Lobachev waved his hand and said: "Although the snow is still very deep outside, with the automatic sled, it is quite convenient to go to the front line." ”

Two hours later, Lobachev sent a telegram from the front saying that in the face of a powerful political offensive, the remnants of the German army, who were still fighting, had laid down their arms and surrendered to our troops. In this battle, a total of 700 enemies were annihilated, 200 were captured, a large number of weapons, ammunition and technical equipment were captured, and the casualties of the 16th Army were more than 2,000 people.

After confirming that the town of Maklaki had been recaptured, Rokossovsky immediately reported the good news to Zhukov. After listening to this, Zhukov was silent for a long time, and then said: "Comrade Rokossovsky, although your casualties in this battle are a little larger, I think it is very worthwhile to achieve results that satisfy the Kremlin. What are you going to do next? ”

Rokossovsky thought for a moment, then replied: "I intend to go immediately to the town of Maklaki and re-establish a new defense around it, in case the Germans are not willing to be defeated, and launch a counteroffensive here." ”

"I agree with you." Zhukov immediately agreed with Rokossovsky's idea and urged: "The Germans are absolutely not willing to lose the fortified stronghold of Maklaki, and it is very likely that they will quickly mobilize forces to counterattack you, so seize the time to prepare the necessary defenses." Comrade Rokossovsky, do not hesitate any longer and immediately leave for the town of Maklaki to make sure that it will not be occupied by the Germans again. ”

"Yes, Comrade General, I'll leave at once." After Rokossovsky put down the phone, he called Malinin over and ordered: "Chief of staff, immediately arrange for me an automatic sled, I will rush to the town of Maklaki overnight." ”