Rokossovsky, when assigning tasks to the commanders of the army groups below, did not expect much from them, after all, these units had been seriously weakened after a long period of fighting, and not only there was a serious shortage of troops, but also a shortage of weapons and ammunition.

The reason why he ordered the troops to take offensive actions was because the offensive orders given by the base camp in the early days had not been canceled, so they did not have the right to rest in place, but had to take active action and firmly hold the initiative on the Belarusian battlefield in their own hands.

By the third day of the battle, Belov's 61st Army had occupied most of the streets of Mozyr and was engaged in difficult street fighting with the Germans; And Batov's 65th Army had cleared the enemy of the outskirts of Kalinkovich and reached the edge of the city. Romanenko's 48th Army, effectively expanding their landing grounds on the right bank of the Berezina River......

However, after Rokossovsky reported to the General Staff the results of the troops, Antonov said with some hesitation: "Comrade Rokossovsky, judging from the current situation, your troops are fighting well. ”

Hearing Antonov say this, Rokossovsky's heart immediately swelled with a hint of ominous premonition, and he hurriedly asked: "Comrade Deputy Chief of the General Staff, what exactly do you want to say?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Rokossovsky." Antonov gritted his teeth and said: "Our four fronts in Ukraine have launched a large-scale offensive against the German army, but in order to prevent the German army from pulling troops from the direction of Belarus and reinforcing the German army group in Ukraine, we hope that your offensive actions will be larger in order to firmly draw the enemy into these areas." ”

"Attack, how to attack?" Rokossovsky held back the anger in his heart and asked: "After a long battle, our troops have been weakened, the commanders and fighters are tired, and there is a serious shortage of soldiers, weapons and ammunition, what kind of forces can we use to increase the scale of the offensive?" ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky, don't get angry." Antonov did not expect that his words would cause such a big reaction from Rokossovsky, and he quickly explained: "This is just an assumption of ours, and what to do depends on your own actual situation." ”

"I just want to ask, when will the higher authorities be able to restore the supply of troops and ammunition for us?"

"This, this!" In response to Rokossovsky's question, Antonov said with some embarrassment: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I beg your pardon, I can't give you an accurate answer. All I can tell you is that you will not be able to resupply until the war in Ukraine is over at the earliest. ”

After Rokossovsky put down the phone, his heart was extremely heavy, what the General Staff is doing now belongs to "asking the horses to run again, and asking the horses not to eat grass", how is this possible, even if he has the ability, he will not be able to defeat the German heavy army group in Belarus with a tired division with insufficient soldiers and ammunition.

Seeing that Rokossovsky's expression was so serious, Malinin knew that he was thinking about something, so he did not bother, but sat quietly on the sidelines, waiting for the moment when he finished thinking.

When Rokossovsky's expression returned to normal, he found Malinin sitting aside, and hurriedly asked: "Chief of Staff, is there any progress in the current war?" ”

Malinin nodded and replied: "The commander of the 3rd Army, General Gorbatov, called to report that after fierce battles, they finally succeeded in forcing the Dnieper and created a landing field with a small area on the right bank. And the commander of the 50th Army, General Borkin, also reported that on the basis of consolidating the Pugachev landing field, they advanced another two kilometers to their left flank. ”

"Well done." After listening to the report, Rokossovsky finally showed a long-lost smile on his face: "When Borkin, when they attacked, did the 10th Army of friendly neighbors cooperate?" ”

"No," replied Malinin, shaking his head, "the Germans have built strong fortifications in front of the 10th Army, so that our friendly forces cannot advance after a hard battle. ”

"It seems that General Borkin is going to achieve something," Rokossovsky said thoughtfully, "and they will have to rely on themselves." ”

It may be that seeing that the Belarusian Front on his right flank has been maintaining an offensive posture, Vatutin, who is organizing an offensive campaign, could not sit still, he took the initiative to call Rokossovsky and said with a smile: "Hello, Comrade Rokossovsky, how are you doing lately?" ”

"Not very good," Rokossovsky said angrily, "we have always maintained an offensive posture against the Germans, but the higher authorities have not given us any additions at all." I'm afraid that if I continue like this, my strength will be exhausted. ”

"Ahem, cough," Vatutin didn't expect Rokossovsky to say this, and hurriedly coughed a few times to hide his embarrassment: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I called you today because I have something to discuss with you." ”

"Please, Comrade Vatutin." Rokossovsky replied faintly.

"That's right, Comrade Rokossovsky," Vatutin said carefully, "some time ago, didn't you suggest that I let the 13th Army cooperate with your 61st Army and launch an attack on the enemy in Mozyri?" At that time I was short of troops, and in fact, I am not strong now, but in order to eliminate the fascist invaders as soon as possible, I have decided to have the 13th Army cooperate with you in destroying the enemy entrenched in Mozili as soon as possible. ”

Hearing what Vatutin said, Rokossovsky couldn't help but sneer secretly, and said in his heart that when I asked you to attack together, you still pushed back, and now that my troops have occupied most of the city of Mozyri, you have sent me to pick peaches again. If you have the heart to refuse, but considering that the strength of the 61st Army has also been weakened in the battle, if there is really someone who can come out to help, you will turn a blind eye. So he pushed the boat down the river and said: "Okay, General Vatutin, since you say so, I will immediately inform the commander of the 61st Army, General Batov, and let him get in touch with the commander of the 13th Army as soon as possible." ”

The two reached an agreement on the matter or, after a rambling chatter, they hung up the phone.

…………

Batov's 65th Army, after a hard-fought and remarkable battle, finally stormed the city of Kalinkovich. The first force to storm the city happened to be the 304th Infantry Division, which had been routed by the Germans on the right flank of the army. After giving the order to the commander of the vanguard regiment, the new division commander specially emphasized: "Comrade regiment commander, please tell your subordinates that we will avenge the sacrificed comrades!" ”

After the order was given to the grassroots company, the commanders and fighters shouted slogans of revenge for their comrades and bravely rushed into the streets of the city. Fierce and brutal street battles were waged with the enemies who were sticking to the barricades and buildings.

Although the commanders and fighters of the 304th Infantry Division performed heroically, due to their heavy losses in the early stage, there were less than 2,000 men left in the whole division. They engaged in a brutal tug-of-war with the Germans in some streets, and in the morning the positions were perhaps in the hands of the Soviets, but in the afternoon they were recaptured by the Germans, and then the Soviets organized troops to counterattack. In this way, several streets no more than 800 meters long were covered with the corpses of Soviet and German officers and soldiers.

By the evening of the second day, the 304th Infantry Division had less than 500 men left. Batov called the division commander and asked straight to the point: "Comrade Colonel, can your division still fight the main attack?" ”

"Please rest assured, comrade commander," replied the division commander, who was wounded in the abdomen during the battle, gritting his teeth, "as long as there is still a soldier alive in our division, we will be able to continue to carry out the main offensive mission." ”

As soon as Batov put down the phone, his chief of staff, Glebov, reminded him: "Comrade commander, the 304th Infantry Division currently has less than 500 men left, and if it continues to fight like this, it may be abolished." ”

Glebov's words gave Bartov a wake-up call, and he hurriedly called the command of the 321st Infantry Division. As soon as the phone rang, he said into the microphone: "Comrade division commander, the situation of the 304th Infantry Division, which is currently fighting in the city, is very bad, and after a fierce battle, they have less than five hundred people left. I now order you to immediately lead your division into the city and replace the 304th Infantry Division with rest. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." The commander of the 321st Infantry Division immediately readily agreed: "I will gather my troops and go to the city to take over the combat area of the friendly forces." ”

As soon as the call was over, Rokossovsky's call came in. He asked bluntly: "General Batov, how is the situation, when will your troops take Kalinkovich?" ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's question, Batov replied with some embarrassment: "Comrade commander, the enemy resistance in the city is stubborn, and our troops are fighting very hard. ”

"Where did the Germans not resist stubbornly?" Rokossovsky said dissatisfiedly: "The reason why you are fighting hard is because you are using your tactics incorrectly. There are two German divisions in the city, and you only send one incomplete division into battle, which is equivalent to our army fighting four German troops alone, so how can you win? ”

Speaking of this, Rokossovsky was deliberately silent for a moment, and then said: "You immediately send one or two more divisions into Kalinkovich, each of which is responsible for a zone, understand?" ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Batov replied in a loud voice: "I will immediately send the 4th Guards Division into the city and let them assist the troops in the city to destroy the enemy." ”

"That's right, General Batov." After listening to Batov's expression, Rokossovsky smiled again: "Then I will wait for your good news in the command headquarters." ”

On January 12, the battle entered its fifth day, and the 61st Army, which was fighting in Mozyr, was suddenly supported by the 13th Army, which belonged to the First Ukrainian Front, and because these two armies had previously been under the command of Rokossovsky, there was a considerable tacit understanding in coordination, so that the battle in the city became extremely smooth.

By the evening of the same day, all the German troops in the city of Mozili had been cleared. After receiving this battle report, Rokossovsky said three "yes" in a row, and then said to Belov: "General Belov, since you now have the cooperation of the 13th Army, then I order you to hand over the city to friendly ......"

"What, Comrade Commander, what did you say?" When Belov heard Rokossovsky say that he should hand over the city, he anxiously interrupted Rokossovsky's later words, "Why should the cities liberated by the blood and sacrifice of our commanders and fighters be handed over to others in vain?" ”

"General Belov, don't forget, the 13th Army was also under my command before, and you handed over the city to them, what's not to do?" After Rokossovsky said this, he continued: "As soon as you have completed the handover, the units of Army Group will turn north, cross the Pripyat River and rush to Kalinkovich to support Batov. His troops, after the last crushing defeat, suffered very heavy losses. ”

Rokossovsky's last sentence made Belov forget the pain of handing over the city, he felt that Batov's situation was indeed much worse than his own, and if he had the ability to help his old comrades, it was naturally a matter of course.

The enemy in the city of Kalinkovich, who had already been inseparable from Batov's two divisions, suddenly found that several Soviet divisions appeared on his flank, and the morale of the German army suddenly became low. In the face of attacks from the east and south, their resistance was no longer as stubborn as before.

Seeing that the enemy's resistance weakened, Batov's emboldenance also grew, and he immediately ordered Glebov to put into battle an infantry division and a tank brigade as a reserve of the army group.

This force, which General Batov threw in, became the last straw that crushed the Germans. By the evening of the 13th, the German commander sent a telegram to the defenders of the city, ordering them to withdraw from Kalinkovich while it was dark to avoid falling into the encirclement of the Soviet army.

In the early morning of the 14th, only sporadic gunfire could be heard in Kalinkovich's city, and many of the buildings and barricades that had been fortified by the Germans were deserted. The troops of the 61st and 65th armies met outside the municipal building in the center of the city, and it was not long before a bright red flag fluttered on the roof of the municipal building, announcing that the city was back in the Soviet fold.

Hearing the news of Kalinkovich's liberation, Batov could not help but cry with joy, and after hugging the chief of staff and the military commissar one by one, he said excitedly: "Comrade commanders, after such a long and hard battle, we have finally liberated this great city. Then he instructed Glebov, "Chief of Staff, hurry up and report this momentous good news to the Front Command, I think Commander Rokossovsky must have been waiting for this news." ”