While the troops on the right flank of the Front were blocked by the Germans in the Erbin area, the troops on the left flank were progressing exceptionally well. General Batov's 65th Army, one after another, broke through the defensive lines established by the Germans and quickly advanced to the position of the Vistula. He tried to establish a landing ground on the west bank of the river and to use it as a starting point for his troops' offensive so that they could continue their rush into the heart of East Prussia.

When the Front command received a telegram from Batov, Rokossovsky was listening to the report of the Minister of Logistics, General Lagunov: "...... So far, the food, ammunition and other supplies needed by the troops have been replenished. However, East Prussia is mostly semi-barren land cut off by forests and scrubland, and as the temperature rises, the snow begins to melt steadily in many areas, causing unpaved roads to turn into mud. The gauge of our railways is different from that of Germany, and the materials transported by rail must be 'transferred' when they pass through the border......"

After General Lagunov finished speaking, Rokossovsky nodded and said: "General Lagunov, the problems facing logistics at present are very serious, and if we cannot do a good job in logistics support, it will have an extremely adverse impact on our army's next move. After you go back, call a meeting of the commanders below to study it and work out a practical plan. ”

Bogolyubov, who had a telegram in his hand, waited for Lagunov to leave, and then put the telegram in front of Rokossovsky, and at the same time said: "Comrade Marshal, this is a telegram that General Batov has just sent. The troops of the 65th Army, having successfully stopped the enemy's attempts to fortify themselves along the banks of numerous rivers in the area favorable to them, developed their successes along the way, and now reached the Vistula River and proceeded to cross it. ”

After reading the telegram, Rokossovsky nodded and said with satisfaction: "Batov did a good job, the rapid assault of our army made it impossible for those defeated enemies to rebuild a new defense in a short time." I am confident that his troops will soon succeed in establishing a landing ground on the west bank of the Vistula and crossing the river in a steady stream of our troops. ”

"Comrade Marshal," Bogolyubov said to Rokossovsky, pointing to the map on the table, "the next target of the army group's attack is the heavily defended Glaudenz fortress of the German army, which is sure to be a fierce battle." ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I think that through this period of fighting, you should have discovered that the German officers and men who fought in the East Prussian area, although they can be described as well-trained, had very few veterans who had been on the battlefield, so in the face of the powerful offensive of our army, their performance was not satisfactory."

"This is normal, Comrade Marshal." As soon as Rokossovsky finished speaking, Bogolyubov continued: "The German soldiers who have been through a hundred battles and have rich combat experience have been greatly consumed in this more than year of war, and the combat effectiveness of these newly replenished units is obviously much weaker. However, what worries me is that although these troops are not strong in attack, their strength in defense should not be underestimated. It's like holding on to the enemies of Erbin, most of whom are members of the People's Stormtroopers who are not strong in combat, but still keep our army out of the city. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff. General Batov was an experienced commander, and with his ability, even in the event of a temporary setback, there was no need to worry at all, he was capable of capturing the Glaudenz fortress. After Rokossovsky said this, he then asked: "How is General Popov's 70th Army progressing?" ”

"General Popov's troops have now bypassed the heavily defended area of the Thorn Fortress and arrived at the Vistula River." After pointing out the location of the 70th Army, Bogolyubov said with some concern: "Although General Popov left an infantry division to monitor the enemy in the fortress of Thorn. But I was still worried that if they were engaged in a river crossing battle, the enemy in the fortress would launch a surprise attack from the rear, which would put them in a situation where they would be exposed to the enemy. ”

After carefully examining the map, Rokossovsky looked up at Bogolyubov and asked: "Have you figured out the situation in the Thorn Fortress?" Who were the commanders of the German army and how many troops did they have? ”

Hearing Rokossovsky ask about the situation of the commander of the Thorn Fortress, Bogolyubov hurriedly took out a small notebook from his pocket and turned to the page that recorded the situation of Rüdek: "According to the telegrams intercepted by our army and the interrogation of prisoners, it is known that the commander of the Thorn Fortress is Lieutenant General Lüdek, who served as the commander of the 56th Infantry Division and the 264th Infantry Division, and participated in the Polish Campaign, the French Campaign, the Bialystok-Minsk Campaign, the Kursk Campaign, and the Smolensk Campaign. On August 8, 1943, he was awarded the Knight's Cross as a major general of the 56th Infantry Division for his exploits on the battlefield. ”

Rokossovsky heard that Bogolyubov only introduced Ryudek's resume, but did not mention the deployment of troops in the fortress, so he continued to ask: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you have not yet told me what is the situation of the enemy's forces in the fortress of Thorn?" ”

Bogolyubov put away his notebook, shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said helplessly: "I'm sorry, Comrade Marshal, our scouts could not get into the enemy's fortress, so they didn't get into the enemy's strength. According to my estimates, the enemy may have a not weak artillery force, as well as one or two infantry divisions......"

"I guess it's not enough, Comrade Chief of Staff." Rokossovsky did not wait for Bogolyubov to finish speaking, then interrupted him and said to him: "You immediately inform the reconnaissance troops to find out the situation of the German forces in the fortress in the shortest possible time." In addition, it would be better to send reconnaissance planes to conduct aerial reconnaissance of the fortress in order to find out what size of the enemy's air defense forces. ”

"Comrade Marshal, the 70th Army is armed with a large number of heavy artillery." Bogolyubov felt that it was an impossible task to send people to infiltrate the fortress to reconnoitre, so he suggested to Rokossovsky: "It is better to let them destroy the enemy's fortifications with heavy artillery, and then our troops can logically take the fortress." ”

Rokossovsky could not help but be a little tempted by Bogolyubov's proposal, as long as the enemy's fortresses were flattened with heavy artillery, then the Germans would have no danger to defend, and it would be easier to destroy them. But after thinking about it, he rejected this idea again: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the fortress of Thorn is an important support point for the German defense line in the Vistula Valley, and as soon as it is captured by our troops, then the road to West Prussia will be opened, so that the Germans will hold on to it anyway." I estimate that there are a large number of fortifications built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the fortress, and it will not be easy for our heavy artillery to destroy them all in such a short time. Therefore, we must first find out the distribution of the enemy's forces in the fortress, and then formulate a plan to capture the fortress. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Marshal." Seeing that Rokossovsky rejected his proposal, Bogolyubov hurriedly agreed: "I will contact the reconnaissance troops and let them find out the distribution of the enemy's forces in the fortress as soon as possible." ”