Both the East Prussian Campaign and the East Pomeranian Campaign were overshadowed by the light of the Battle of Berlin organized by Zhukov, so much so that in later film and television works, these two pivotal battles were only lightly mentioned. Because of this, Rokossovsky was given the illusion that the enemy in these two areas was vulnerable, and that as soon as his troops came out and pushed from the south to the north, the enemy would be completely defeated.

But it was only after Rokossovsky led his troops into battle that he realized how powerful the German forces were in these two areas, so powerful that it was difficult for his own front army to deal with them. In particular, after his right-wing troops were assigned to the Third Belorussian Front, it became impossible for the remaining forces to destroy the enemy in East Pomerania, so he had to ask Zhukov for help, asking to send troops from the First Front to support him.

And Zhukov, in order to eliminate the threat of the German army to his right flank, at the request of Rokossovsky, sent elite troops north in an attempt to crush the enemy assembled in this area. However, their offensive was also unsuccessful, and the German army's frantic resistance forced them to halt their advance and switch to the defense on the spot.

As soon as Rokossovsky received the 19th Army from the base camp, he deployed it at the junction of the two fronts, allowing them to take over the area of operations of Zhukov's right flank and prepare for the main assault in the direction of Bischovswald, Steigre, and Baldenberg. In order to achieve this, Rokossovsky not only equipped them with powerful artillery, but also ordered Vershinin's air force to fully cooperate with them.

Late at night on the 21st, the troops of the 19th Army, which had gone through a long journey, entered the starting position of the offensive one after another. According to the plan, they would rest here for two days and wait to familiarize themselves with their surroundings before attacking the Germans.

However, at dawn on the 22nd, more than 500 German artillery pieces of various calibers suddenly opened fire on the defensive positions of the 104th and 122nd infantry divisions. For a time, the ground was shaken, and the position shrouded in gunpowder smoke was blazing, and the troops who had just entered the position suffered considerable casualties in the shelling.

The two division commanders who were shelled called Kozlov one after another: "Comrade commander, the Germans suddenly launched a fierce artillery bombardment of our positions, asking for artillery support, asking for artillery support. ”

But Kozlov replied in a somewhat panicked manner: "I know, I will immediately report to the front command and let them provide us with artillery support." As soon as the shelling stops, the Germans will definitely attack, and you must hold on to me. After finishing the call with the division commanders, he immediately ordered the chief of staff standing next to him, "Give me the front headquarters." ”

Rokossovsky was woken from his sleep by the staff officer on duty and learned that the Germans were suddenly massing to the area of the 19th Army, where heavy artillery was being fired. When he came to the command and was asking the chief of staff Bogolyubov about the specific situation, Kozlov's phone called. The latter said in a panic: "Comrade Marshal, the Germans are carrying out heavy artillery shelling on the positions of our army group, and it seems that our offensive has been discovered by the enemy. ”

"Calm down, General Kozlov." Listening to Kozlov's panicked voice coming from the earpiece, Rokossovsky said with some displeasure: "Report your situation there to me." ”

"Just ten minutes ago, the Germans in front of us concentrated hundreds of artillery pieces and carried out heavy artillery shelling on the defense areas of the 104th and 122nd infantry divisions." Kozlov replied in a panic: "Our troops have just completed a long journey to a new defense area, and many of the fighters have slept directly in the trenches because of fatigue, and as a result, they have suffered heavy casualties in the German shelling." Comrade Marshal, I beg you, to immediately provide us with artillery support to suppress the artillery fire of the Germans. ”

"Don't worry, I'll order the artillery to provide you with artillery support as soon as possible." As soon as Rokossovsky put down the phone, he ordered Bogolyubov: "Call the artillery commander over." ”

The commander of the artillery, Sokolisky, was next door, and when he heard Rokossovsky's call, he immediately ran over and respectfully asked: "Comrade commander, do you have any instructions?" ”

"The Germans suddenly launched a heavy artillery attack on the 19th Army, and it seemed that they were planning to attack in a big way." After briefly briefing the other side, Rokossovsky asked: "Can you order the artillery as soon as possible to carry out suppressive fire on the German artillery positions in order to relieve the pressure on the front line?" ”

"Comrade Marshal," said Sokolisky, after waiting for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, with some embarrassment: "You also know that according to the plan, our offensive should be launched at dawn the day after tomorrow, when the artillery will provide the attacking troops with no less than an hour of artillery preparation. Therefore, the ammunition needed by our artillery is still in the process of being delivered......"

"No matter how many shells you have now, shoot them all at once." Seeing Sokolisky's dazed look, Rokossovsky explained to him: "The troops of the 19th Army had just entered the starting position, and before all preparations had begun, they were suddenly attacked by the Germans, and if we did not help them as soon as possible, they could collapse under German fire, which would be quite unfavorable for our next operation." ”

The shelling, organized by Sokolisky, began half an hour later, but it turned out to be a little too late. At this moment, the Germans had ended their artillery bombardment, launched a ground offensive, and in one fell swoop broke through the first line of defense occupied by the 104th and 122nd infantry divisions, advancing into the depth of the Soviet defense.

After the Soviet troops who had fled from the first line of defense, they were immediately organized by their respective division commanders and launched a counter-charge against the rushing German troops. The officers and men of both sides waged a fierce battle on the land between the two lines of defense, and neither of them would take a step back.

As the battle dragged on, the Soviet artillery began to exert its might and launched heavy artillery bombardment on the artillery positions in the rear of the German army to prevent them from providing artillery support to the attacking German infantry; The Vershinin Air Force bombed the German tanks on the battlefield and fired at the Germans on the ground with their airborne machine guns.

With the cooperation of the air force and artillery, the troops of the 104th and 122nd Infantry Divisions stabilized their direction, and then the 77th Marine Brigade, with the cooperation of a heavy tank battalion, launched an attack from the German flank. The German commander, who was commanding the operation in the rear, fearing that his troops would be cut off by the Soviet troops, hurriedly gave the order to retreat.

In the face of the rout of the Germans, the commanders and fighters of the 104th and 122nd Divisions took advantage of the victory to pursue and after a fierce battle, successfully restored the first line of defense occupied by the Germans.