Rokossovsky, with the members of the command, after half an hour, crossed the Wopi River. When Ma Linin selected a site on the west bank of the river, he set the location of the new headquarters about three or four hundred meters away from the artillery position.www.biquge.info

Drivers from Vyazma, driving trucks towing artillery, crossed the Wopi River from the pontoon. After waiting for the truck to stop, the artillery fighters hurriedly stepped forward to remove the hook from the truck, pushed the artillery and walked towards the preset position.

As soon as Borisova, who was acting with the driver, got out of the car, she saw Rokossovsky, who was standing not far away, watching the artillery position. She hurriedly walked a few quick steps, came to Rokossovsky, took the initiative to stretch out her hand to the other party, and said with a smile: "Comrade General, I congratulate you, congratulations to your troops on the great victory in the battle that has just ended, and in just a few hours, they recaptured Yatsevo and forcibly crossed the Vopi River. ”

Rokossovsky shook the hand of the young female commissar and said with a smile: "Comrade Borisova, today's victory has a lot to do with the support of your local comrades. ”

"Oh, today's victory, does it have anything to do with our support?!" When Borisova heard Rokossovsky say this, she asked with some surprise: "But we only sent a group of drivers, and they didn't participate in the battle at all?" ”

"Who says they didn't fight?" Rokossovsky pointed to the trucks parked on the artillery positions and said: "If it were not for them to deliver the artillery to the designated place, it is estimated that our attacking troops would not have received sufficient artillery support, and it would be almost impossible to achieve the results we have achieved now." ”

"I see." After hearing this, Borisova smiled at Rokossovsky and said modestly: "It is our duty to support the army in the fight and jointly defend our motherland......"

While the two were touting each other, the commander of the 101st Tank Division, Mikhailov, came to the command to find Rokossovsky. From a long distance, he saw Ma Lining, who was directing the construction of the headquarters by manpower, and asked loudly: "Hey, Comrade Chief of Staff, have you seen the commander?" ”

Rokossovsky, who was talking and laughing with Borisova, heard Mikhailov's voice and hurriedly said to Borisova: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commissioner, I have a job now, let's talk about it another day when I have time." If you need help with anything, just come to me. Good luck! With that, he instinctively stretched out his hand to the other party.

In Russian customs, when a man and a woman shake hands, unless the relationship between the two is very close, it should be the woman who reaches out first, and if the man takes the initiative to reach out, it will appear a little frivolous. Borisova saw Rokossovsky's outstretched hand towards her, hesitated for a moment, decisively shook the other person's hand, smiled and replied: "Comrade General, go get busy." If there's anything I need your help with, I'll go to you. ”

Having separated, Rokossovsky and Borisova walked briskly towards Mikhailov and at the same time said loudly: "Hey, colonel, I'm here." Do you have anything to do with me? ”

Mikhailov walked up to Rokossovsky, and in order to prevent the target from being exposed, he did not salute, but just stood on the spot, straightened his waist and said: "Hello, Comrade Commander. ”

"Hello, Colonel Mikhailov." Rokossovsky shook his hand and said with appreciation: "Your tank divisions in today's battles have shown themselves very well and have taught the Germans an unforgettable lesson. ”

Mikhailov looked to the left and right, and then said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, can you talk alone?" ”

Illuminated by the bright moonlight, Rokossovsky saw a crater not far away, pointed there, and said, "Let's go, Colonel, let's talk there." ”

When the two sat face to face on the edge of the crater, Rokossovsky spoke first: "Comrade Colonel, your division has performed very well in today's battle. It is thanks to your heroic performance and stubborn attack that we were able to recapture Yaltsevo and force the crossing of the Wopi River in such a short time. Of course, the commanders and fighters of the motorized infantry regiment also fought well, and the party members from Moscow withstood the baptism of battle and became real fighters. ”

"Comrade Commander, I have an important situation to report to you." After Rokossovsky finished speaking, Mikhailov continued: "In today's offensive battle, nothing stands out more than the ten KV heavy tanks that have just been replenished to us, they have withstood the blows of German anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns, although there are many craters in the armor part, but it does not affect the next battle in the slightest.

The BT-7 tanks also performed well, and the tankmen took advantage of the fast speed of these tanks to pursue the fleeing German infantry and eliminate them one after another. But the armor of such tanks was too thin, and under the blows of the enemy's anti-tank guns, we lost more than two dozen of them, which burned like torches after being shot. Many tank members were burned alive because they did not escape from the burning tank in time. ”

When Mikhailov reported on his work, Rokossovsky did not speak, he took out a pen and paper, and with the help of the light of the moonlight, recorded everything Mikhailov said one by one. When he found that the other party had not spoken, he raised his head and urged: "Go on, Comrade Colonel, you have said it very well, please continue." ”

Mikhailov nodded and continued: "After the battle, the commanders and fighters of the motorized infantry regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Volobyov captured quite a few anti-tank guns from the enemy's positions. This anti-tank gun, in addition to easily penetrating our old tanks, can even penetrate the frontal armor of the T-34 tank if fired with special bullets. ”

Hearing this, Rokossovsky, who was recording, stopped the pen in his hand, looked up at Mikhailov and asked nervously: "Comrade Colonel, where is this new anti-tank gun?" ”

"It should be in Lieutenant Colonel Vorobyov's regiment." Mikhailov said with some uncertainty: "Anyway, just after the battle, the lieutenant colonel once showed me the captured anti-tank guns, about a dozen. Whether he handed over to General Vinogradov at this time, I don't know. ”

Rokossovsky stood up and shouted at the busy crowd not far away: "Hey, come here, I have something to explain." ”

Because everyone was busy, they didn't hear Rokossovsky's shouting, and it wasn't until he shouted a second time that Malinin heard it. He measured his face and said to Tarasov next to him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, go over and see what is going on with the commander." ”

Tarasov agreed, ran to Rokossovsky's side quickly, straightened up and asked politely: "Comrade commander, what instructions do you have?" ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel Mikhailov just said that they captured a new anti-tank gun of the German army on the battlefield." Rokossovsky, having repeated Mikhailov's words to Tarasov, instructed him: "You immediately go to Lieutenant Colonel Vorobyov, take from him two captured new anti-tank guns and the accompanying ammunition, send them to the front headquarters overnight, and tell them that this is the enemy's new weapon." Do you understand? ”

"Understood." Tarasov agreed, and turned to carry out the order.

After Tarasov was gone, Mikhailov looked in the direction of the German garrison to the west and asked tentatively: "Comrade commander, when will we attack the enemy?" If we wait until dawn, I fear that our attacking troops will be bombed by German planes and suffer unnecessary losses. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Colonel, we won't wait until daytime to attack." Rokossovsky turned his head to look at the busy artillery position, and then said: "When the artillery is in position, they will cover the troops with artillery fire and continue to attack the depth of the German defense while it is night." ”

After saying these words, he paused for a moment, and then asked tentatively: "Colonel Mikhailov, can your division continue to fight?" ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Mikhailov confidently assured Rokossovsky: "As long as ammunition and fuel are replenished, and the damaged parts are simply repaired, we can continue to fight." ”

It didn't take long for Malinin to come and report to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, the command has been repaired, you can go inside and command the operation." ”

Ten minutes later, Vinogradov, Kazakov, Malinin, Mikhailov, Kirillov, Vorobyov and others, who were going to participate in the night battle, came to the headquarters.

When Rokossovsky saw Vorobyov, Chekov, and Kalinin walking in, he quickly stood up, stepped forward and shook hands with the three of them one by one, and said with a smile: "Good job, the commanders and fighters of the motorized infantry regiment are all good." ”

When shaking hands with Rokossovsky, Commissar Kalinin proudly said: "Our party members from Moscow have all been baptized in battle today, and judging by their performance, they are all doing well. Their heroic performance on the battlefield is worthy of the glorious title of their party members. ”

After everyone had arrived, Rokossovsky announced: "Comrade commanders, although we have achieved a lot of results in the offensive operations launched in the evening, we must not be proud, and we must continue to make persistent efforts to continue to attack the enemy's defensive positions overnight by taking advantage of the great opportunity at night when enemy planes cannot be dispatched. Break through the enemy's encirclement as quickly as possible and free our allies. ”

He originally thought that after he had said this, one or two commanders would definitely jump out, saying that the troops were already very tired after repeated battles, and hoped that the commanders and fighters would have a good rest for one night and wait for dawn before launching a new offensive. On the contrary, the commander of the motorized infantry regiment, Vorobyov, who had distinguished himself in today's battle, could not wait to ask: "Comrade commander, let's let our regiment take the lead in the attack later." I assure you that we will definitely break through the German defenses in the shortest possible time. ”

"No, this is definitely not going to work." Hearing that Vorobyov took the initiative to ask for battle, Kirillov, commander of the 38th Infantry Division, immediately retorted: "In the evening attack, your regiment will be the main attack, and this attack will be replaced by our division to take on the main attack task anyway." ”

When Vorobyov saw that Kirillov was competing with himself for the task of the main attack, he immediately became anxious, "Comrade Colonel, all the commanders and fighters of our regiment have performed very well in the evening battle, and I believe that they will make persistent efforts in the next battles and establish a ...... of greater meritorious service."

"Lieutenant Colonel, since you have established a lot of meritorious deeds in the evening battle." Kirillov interrupted Vorobyov without waiting for him to speak, and said very quickly: "Let's let our 38th Infantry Division complete the battle of building meritorious battles tonight......"

Seeing that the two of them were arguing like this, a quarrel would soon break out, so Rokossovsky quickly interrupted the words of the two and said in an unquestionable tone: "Okay, you guys don't argue anymore. In the evening battle, I believe that all of us saw the positive role played by the 101st Tank Division. It was precisely because the division commander Mikhailov took the lead and commanded the troops to bravely launch a surprise attack on the enemy's defensive positions, breaking the German defense system in the shortest possible time, that we were able to achieve such great results. All in tonight's night battle, I'm going to give them the main attack. ”

Seeing that Rokossovsky saw the task of the main attack and handed over to his own tank division, Mikhailov had a smug expression on his face. Kirillov, who was next to him, said unwillingly: "Comrade commander, although tanks can quickly break through the enemy's positions, tear a hole in the enemy's defenses, expand the breakthrough and clear the remnants of the enemy, they cannot do without our infantry. So I beg you, let our divisions move with tank divisions. ”

Rokossovsky could not find any reason to oppose this request of Kirillov. He nodded and said, "Well, Colonel Kirillov, since you are eager to fight, I will fulfill your wish and let your 38th Infantry Division follow the tank division to launch a surprise attack into the enemy's defensive depths." ”

Then he turned to Mikhailov and said: "Comrade Colonel, in tonight's battle, your tank division should take advantage of the characteristics of the tank's speed, firepower, and not being afraid of the enemy's conventional infantry weapons, take advantage of the darkness of the night to quickly break through the German defenses and open a breakthrough for our friendly troops." Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Mikhailov said confidently: "My tank division will definitely be able to tear a hole in the enemy's strong defense line in the shortest possible time, so that our friendly forces can successfully break through." (To be continued.) )