Early the next morning, two hundred guns of various calibers, after forty minutes of bombardment of the German defensive positions in front. As soon as the shelling was over, and before the smoke cleared, the commander of the 24th Army, Major General Garanin, ordered the chief of staff: "Give a signal to the troops to immediately storm the enemy's positions." ”

The chief of staff agreed, personally walked to the door with a flare gun, and pulled the trigger at the sky. Three red flares flew into the air one after another, signaling the attack.

Thousands of commanders and fighters who were staying in the trenches and bunkers, seeing the signal rising in the air, immediately shouted "Ula" and rushed towards the German positions that were still shrouded in gunsmoke with their weapons in hand.

A few minutes after the troops launched the offensive, Rokossovsky received a report. He stared at the map for a moment, then looked up at Malinin and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you think our offensive today will be successful?" ”

If Rokossovsky had made that analysis of him yesterday, he would have thought that the offensive of the troops would achieve the desired results, but now when he heard Rokossovsky's question, he became hesitant.

Seeing that Malinin didn't speak for a long time, Rokossovsky hurriedly comforted him and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I'll just ask." Say whatever you want, and even if it's wrong, I won't blame you. ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Malinin finally plucked up the courage to say: "Comrade commander, I think you were very justified yesterday. Although the Germans were encircled by our army, their vital forces were not effectively weakened, and under the command of Paulus, they built a solid ring defense system in a very short time, and it was not easy for our army to achieve victory. ”

After Malinin's words, the head of the armored corps, Orel, also added: "Comrade commander, the 24th Army has a limited number of tanks, and all of them are deployed on the right flank, close to the position of Batov's 65th Army, and do not participate in today's offensive. If the Germans had counterattacked with their armored forces, I feared that the troops of the 24th Army would suffer. ”

Orel's words soon became a reality, and the attacking troops, more than three hundred meters from the German positions, were suppressed by German tank and mortar fire. Shells continued to blast craters in the attacking ranks, and flying shrapnel sliced the brave warriors in pieces.

But when the Soviet troops were still two hundred meters from the enemy's position, the machine guns in the trenches began to fire fiercely, sweeping down the fighters who rushed to the front. Seeing that the enemy's fire was too heavy, the attacking troops were pinned down in the newly formed craters. If you want to return fire, the range and power of submachine guns and rifles are not enough to suppress the enemy fire in the trenches. You can only lie down in the pit honestly, and wait for the heavy machine guns that are far behind to come up quickly, as long as they suppress the enemy's fire, you can continue to charge forward.

The Germans were aware of the Soviet commanders and fighters' attempts, and they bombarded the heavy machine gunners who were running towards the front with tank fire, and the explosion overturned one heavy machine gun group after another, blowing up the heavy machine guns they were dragging to pieces.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Garanin, who was staying behind, hurriedly ordered the chief of staff: "The enemy's fire is too fierce, let our troops withdraw first, reassemble and then attack the enemy." ”

After receiving the order to retreat, the surviving commanders lay in the craters and whistled desperately, beckoning their men to retreat. The Germans, seeing the Soviets retreating, pursued with artillery and machine-gun fire, inflicting many casualties on the troops.

When Rokossovsky learned of the failure of the offensive of his troops, he immediately instructed Orel: "Comrade Orel, there are quite a few tanks in the defensive positions of the German army, and since we simply let the troops attack, we will pay huge sacrifices." I order you to immediately lead the two tank regiments of the Front to support the 24th Army. ”

After Oryol left, Rokossovsky dialed the Air Force Command again, and Rudenko, who answered the phone, said: "Comrade Air Force Commander, our 24th Army is attacking the positions of the German troops. Due to the tight defense of the German army, they suffered no small losses, and I order you to immediately send the air force to bomb the enemy's positions. ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Malinin finally plucked up the courage to say: "Comrade commander, I think you were very justified yesterday. Although the Germans were encircled by our army, their vital forces were not effectively weakened, and under the command of Paulus, they built a solid ring defense system in a very short time, and it was not easy for our army to achieve victory. ”

After Malinin's words, the head of the armored corps, Orel, also added: "Comrade commander, the 24th Army has a limited number of tanks, and all of them are deployed on the right flank, close to the position of Batov's 65th Army, and do not participate in today's offensive. If the Germans had counterattacked with their armored forces, I feared that the troops of the 24th Army would suffer. ”

Orel's words soon became a reality, and the attacking troops, more than three hundred meters from the German positions, were suppressed by German tank and mortar fire. Shells continued to blast craters in the attacking ranks, and flying shrapnel sliced the brave warriors in pieces.

But when the Soviet troops were still two hundred meters from the enemy's position, the machine guns in the trenches began to fire fiercely, sweeping down the fighters who rushed to the front. Seeing that the enemy's fire was too heavy, the attacking troops were pinned down in the newly formed craters. If you want to return fire, the range and power of submachine guns and rifles are not enough to suppress the enemy fire in the trenches. You can only lie down in the pit honestly, and wait for the heavy machine guns that are far behind to come up quickly, as long as they suppress the enemy's fire, you can continue to charge forward.

The Germans were aware of the Soviet commanders and fighters' attempts, and they bombarded the heavy machine gunners who were running towards the front with tank fire, and the explosion overturned one heavy machine gun group after another, blowing up the heavy machine guns they were dragging to pieces.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Garanin, who was staying behind, hurriedly ordered the chief of staff: "The enemy's fire is too fierce, let our troops withdraw first, reassemble and then attack the enemy." ”

After receiving the order to retreat, the surviving commanders lay in the craters and whistled desperately, beckoning their men to retreat. The Germans, seeing the Soviets retreating, pursued with artillery and machine-gun fire, inflicting many casualties on the troops.

When Rokossovsky learned of the failure of the offensive of his troops, he immediately instructed Orel: "Comrade Orel, there are quite a few tanks in the defensive positions of the German army, and since we simply let the troops attack, we will pay huge sacrifices." I order you to immediately lead the two tank regiments of the Front to support the 24th Army. ”

After Oryol left, Rokossovsky dialed the Air Force Command again, and Rudenko, who answered the phone, said: "Comrade Air Force Commander, our 24th Army is attacking the positions of the German troops. Due to the tight defense of the German army, they suffered no small losses, and I order you to immediately send the air force to bomb the enemy's positions. ”