In order to make Warsaw impregnable, Rokossovsky took a number of effective measures, in addition to sending the Polish First Army to reinforce the right flank of Chuikov's troops, he also ordered the 48th Army, which had just been replenished by the prisoner of war camps, to attack the fortress of Modlin north of Warsaw. An attempt was made to increase the depth of Warsaw's defenses by seizing this fortress.

Located in the northwest of Warsaw, about 30 kilometers from the city, the fortress is a strategic point in Poland at the confluence of the Narev and Vistula rivers. It is said that when the Germans invaded Poland, they attacked for two weeks without taking the fortress. In the end, it was because the defenders ran out of ammunition and food that they had to surrender to the Germans.

When Rokossovsky summoned Romanenko and Popov to the command and announced to them the order to seize the fortress of Modlin, both of them had embarrassed expressions on their faces. Popov and Rokossovsky were old acquaintances, so he spoke relatively casually, and he said with a frown: "Comrade Marshal, as far as I know, the walls of the Modlin Fortress are connected inside and outside and are impregnable. The reinforced concrete walls are said to be able to withstand the blasting of 700 kilograms of explosives. The artillery that our troops have today will not do anything at all against the walls of the fortress. ”

"That's right, Comrade Marshal." Now that Popov had already spoken about the difficulties faced by the troops, Romanenko could not remain silent, and he also expressed his opinion: "At the moment both of our armies are to the east of the fortress of Modlin, and if our army wants to approach the fortress, it can only pass through the triangle between the two rivers, and this is exactly within the range of German artillery fire, and I am afraid that our army will not be able to approach the fortress of Modlin even if it pays a huge price. ”

Rokossovsky, after patiently listening to the opinions of the two army commanders, said to them: "Comrades, generals, have you ever thought that if we do not capture the fortress of Modlin, then the enemy can use these as a starting point for an offensive and can attack Huasha at any time. From the red tower in the southwest corner of the fortress, the center of Warsaw can be clearly seen through a telescope. If the Germans had set up long-range artillery here, wouldn't they have been able to bombard Warsaw directly? ”

When the two army commanders heard Rokossovsky say this, they immediately understood in their hearts that the capture of the Modlin fortress was an imminent and unavoidable event. Thinking of this, Romanenko opened his mouth and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, I have an idea that the 70th Army of General Popov can force the Narev River in the north and establish a landing ground in the right-bank area. ”

As soon as Rokossovsky heard this, he immediately guessed Romanenko's thoughts, so he asked tentatively: "General Romanenko, what do you mean, is it that the 70th Army is preparing to launch an attack from north to south after establishing a landing ground on the right bank of the Narev River, so as to reduce the artillery fire from the direction of the fortress?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Marshal." Romanenko guessed Rokossovsky's thoughts, nodded his head, and said with a smile on his face: "If the 70th Army can successfully establish a landing field, then our army group can act together with them and attack from two directions at the same time, so that the Germans will lose sight of one and the other, and it will be difficult to parry our attack." ”

However, Popov was obviously not as optimistic as Romanenko, and after he waited for Romanenko to finish speaking, he immediately expressed his concerns in his heart: "Comrade Marshal, the walls of the Modlin Fortress are strong, and with our current artillery, it is impossible to blast through the walls at all, what do you think?" ”

"I heard that there is a 305-mm heavy howitzer that is specifically designed for siege cities." Rokossovsky originally wanted the commander of the artillery of the Front, General Kazakov, to answer this question, but when he looked around, he was surprised to find that the general was not in the command headquarters, so he could only bite the bullet and say: "I can discuss with my superiors and ask them to send this siege artillery to support us." I believe that as soon as the heavy artillery arrives, coupled with special destabilizing shells, it will definitely be able to destroy the German fortress. ”

See Rokossovsky took into account all the issues that should be taken into account. The two army commanders were also not in a position to say anything, and after making some basic supply requests to Rokossovsky, they got up and left.

Not long after the two left, Kazakov returned from outside, and Rokossovsky immediately stopped him and asked: "Comrade Kazakov, I have something I want to ask you about." ”

Kazakov had rarely seen Rokossovsky speak to himself so politely, and he knew that there must be something important, so he politely asked: "Comrade Marshal, if you have any questions, just ask, I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer." ”

Rokossovsky asked tentatively: "I heard that our army has a 305-mm heavy howitzer, right?" ”

"That's right, the BR-18 type 305-mm howitzer." Kazakov nodded and said: "It is the most deterrent weapon of our army at present, the shell of this gun weighs 330 kg, can penetrate 2~2.5 meters thick concrete at a distance of 1000 meters at a distance of 60 degrees, the gun has a range of 16500 meters, and the muzzle velocity of the gun is 530 m / s. The gun also had a combined barrel, and due to the bulkiness of the gun, it took almost three hours to move from a marching state to a combat state. ”

After reporting the parameters of such a heavy howitzer, Kazakov asked curiously: "Comrade Marshal, why did you suddenly remember to ask about this artillery?" You know, in the current situation, this kind of artillery is not at all useful. ”

"Soon it will come in handy, General Kazakov." Rokossovsky tapped his finger on the map in front of him and said: "I have given orders to the 48th and 70th armies to attack the fortress of Modlin and occupy it as soon as possible. ”

"Attacking the fortress of Modrin?" Hearing this, Kazakov was secretly taken aback, but he quickly nodded and said: "That's right, to destroy a wall as strong as the Modlin Fortress, you really need a BR-18 howitzer." I'm going to get in touch with Moscow and ask them to send us two artillery pieces as soon as possible. ”

Hearing that artillery was going to be delivered from the direction of Moscow, Rokossovsky couldn't help frowning, and he asked: "General Kazakov, if this kind of artillery is going to be delivered from Moscow, how long do you estimate it will be there?" ”

"A month at the earliest." After Kazakov said this figure, he also deliberately emphasized: "This is already the fastest transportation speed, and it is still without any obstacles." ”

"No, a month is too long." Rokossovsky shook his head and said, "It seems that we have to find other ways to deal with the walls of the fortress of Modlin." ”