As soon as Rokossovsky put down the phone, he ordered someone to find the chief of the engineering corps, Blagoslavov, and said to him with a serious expression: "Comrade General, the area of departure for the offensive of the 19th Army should not be occupied by our army for a short time, right?" But why didn't you send someone to repair it, our tanks can't enter the battlefield quickly because of the road! Do you know that you are sinning? Through your fault, if you put a tank unit into battle every night, our infantry will pay hundreds more casualties. ”

In the face of Rokossovsky's accusation, Blagoslavov said with a bitter face: "Comrade Marshal, you are right, although the starting point of the offensive of the 19th Army has long been occupied by our army, but because we lack sufficient technical support, and there are still many German stragglers there, we have to pay a lot of price for every kilometer of road we open and repair a blown up bridge......

When he said this, Blagoslavov noticed that the expression on Rokossovsky's face had become serious, and hurriedly explained: "Comrade Marshal, I am not shirking responsibility. Really, not to shirk responsibility, but to be a bloody fact. As soldiers, we all know that war is bloodshed and sacrifice, but if we can have special troops in our construction area to clear the remnants of the German army and provide sufficient technical support, we can repair the roads and bridges that have been fired by German artillery in the shortest possible time, and ensure that the road of our army's advance is unimpeded......"

Hearing this, Rokossovsky raised his hand to interrupt Blagoslavov's words and said to him: "Comrade General, what is the situation in the front, you must know very well that we do not have enough troops on the front, where can we still draw forces and provide cover for the engineering troops?" ”

After a pause, he continued: "The road has not been repaired for many reasons, and I cannot simply put all the blame on the engineering troops. I'm sorry just now for my bad attitude, I apologize to you. ”

Blagoslavov didn't expect Rokossovsky to take the initiative to apologize after being angry at himself, and he was stunned for a while. After being silent for a while, he remembered that Rokossovsky had called himself here, and that he had fired at himself again, and that there must be something important, so he asked: "Comrade Marshal, what instructions do you have?" ”

"According to the battle plan, the 3rd Guards Tank Army of General Panfilov was supposed to enter the battlefield yesterday through the gap opened by the 19th Army. However, due to the condition of the roads, they are now about 20 kilometers away from the place of fighting. I now order you to immediately send in engineering units to repair roads and bridges and ensure that the tank corps units can quickly enter the battlefield. ”

"Comrade Marshal, I would like to ask about the specific location of the Tank Army today." After Rokossovsky pointed to the map and explained to him the exact location of the tank army, Blagoslavov quickly recalled the terrain there in his mind, and then confidently assured: "Comrade Marshal, please rest assured that my troops will open a suitable road for the tank troops in the fastest possible time." ”

After receiving Blagoslavov's assurance, Rokossovsky nodded and said: "Go, Comrade General, I will inform the nearby troops to provide the necessary assistance to your engineering troops and ensure that your work can be carried out smoothly." ”

…………

With the help of the engineers, Panfilov's tank corps successfully passed the bridges and roads that had been blown up by the Germans, and quickly drove to the starting point of the offensive.

When the troops arrived at the designated positions, Panfilov gave orders by radio to the commanders of the 3rd and 18th brigades: "Comrade commanders, due to the road, we have been scheduled to be a day late. In order to regain the lost time, I order you to move forward at full speed, not to engage with small groups of German troops along the way, and to charge all the way to the depth of the German defenses. ”

After receiving Panfilov's order, more than 130 tanks from two tank brigades quickly rushed forward in two columns. In just an hour, they overpassed the infantry that was engaged with the Germans and continued to rush into the depths of the German army.

After listening to Panfilov's report, Rokossovsky nodded with satisfaction, although the tank army entered the battlefield a day later than expected, but the speed of the advance was beyond his imagination. However, Rokossovsky did not take it lightly, and he cautiously asked Panfilov: "General Panfilov, how is the road condition?" He was deeply afraid that the tanks of the tank army would be blocked by the bridges blown up by the Germans and the roads that had been broken, which would affect the rest of the battle.

But Panfilov's answer relieved him: "Comrade Marshal, you don't have to worry about this. I have already asked the two brigade commanders, and they say that the roads are clear, and the bridges along the way are intact, perhaps because the advance of our troops is too fast for the enemy to destroy. ”

Knowing that no damage had been found on the bridges and highways, Rokossovsky's heart suddenly felt much more reassured. He said into the microphone: "General Panfilov, order your troops to speed as quickly as possible, not to stop and exchange fire with small groups of German troops along the way, to leave these enemies to the infantry behind to solve, you just continue to rush forward, so that the enemy does not have time to build new fortifications, this will be very helpful for our next battle." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Marshal." Panfilov replied with a smile: "That's how I gave the order to the troops, unless the tanks run out of fuel, our tanks will always rush forward." ”

The commanders and fighters of the 3rd and 18th Guards Tank Brigades, who were on offensive duty, rushed along the road. When they stormed into a small town, the inhabitants of the town thought it was a queue of German tanks and did not pay much attention to it. When a sharp-eyed citizen found out that it was actually a Russian tank, the townspeople scattered and fled back to their homes. The town's defense force was a people's stormtrooper of more than fifty people, and in the face of such a large tank group, they knew that there was no point in resisting, so they stood on the side of the road with their hands raised and surrendered to the Soviet troops who rushed into the town.

To their surprise, these tanks whizzed past them, and the tank crews who peeked out of the turret looked ahead, not even interested in looking at them. Looking at hundreds of Soviet tanks, driving proudly in front of them, but no one came down to accept their surrender, these members of the People's Stormtroopers couldn't help but be dumbfounded.