Rokossovsky's order to the commanders of the three army groups was to rush to the designated area against time to take over the defense of the 1st Belorussian Front, so that Zhukov could concentrate more forces to attack Berlin. However, he did not mention where the means of transport for transporting troops came from, and the commanders of the various army groups had to figure out their own methods.

Batov returned to his headquarters, immediately called the chief of staff, Glebov, and after explaining half of the tasks assigned by Rokossovsky, he asked straight to the point: "Comrade Chief of Staff, so many troops have to march 300 to 350 kilometers in five days, and the means of transportation required are astronomical, do you have any way to solve it?" ”

Glebov thought for a moment and replied: "Comrade commander, it is obviously impossible to accomplish such a transport task by relying on our own transport forces. I propose to solicit from the citizens all kinds of transport vehicles to transport our troops. ”

"Soliciting transport vehicles from the public?" After listening to this proposal of the chief of staff, Batov could not help but fall into deep thought. After a long time, he spoke: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think you should be well aware that in order to seize the city of Danzig, we have not only used artillery and tanks, but also sent planes to bomb individual parts of the city. How many usable vehicles do you think there is left in the city in this situation? ”

"Comrade Commander, you are right." To this statement of Batov, Glebov did not refute either, but explained to him: "In the areas that were subjected to shelling and bombardment, the transports of the citizens parked on the streets, were either destroyed by shells and explosions, or were smashed beyond recognition by collapsed buildings. But there are still many means of transport that have survived, especially the bus station, and as far as I know, there are at least 30 buses in the well-preserved house. ”

Listening to Glebov talk about the buses, Batov couldn't help but laugh dumbly: "On the first day of the outbreak of the war, Comrade Marshal, with the help of dozens of buses detained by the representatives of the station army, transported a large number of troops to the front line more than 200 kilometers away from Zhytomyr in less than a day, and promptly contained the German offensive. Unexpectedly, when the war ended, we would have to use buses to transport troops, but this time the buses used belonged to the Germans. ”

"Commander, Chief of Staff." Military Commissar Rajetsky, who was sitting on the side and did not express his opinion, interjected: "I have also heard about Comrade Marshal transporting troops by bus, but at that time he was only commanding a mechanized army, while we were a group army, with more than 100,000 people and more than 30 buses, it was certainly far from enough. ”

"Yes, Comrade Military Commissar, it is not enough to transport our troops with these vehicles alone." "In order to send the Alekseev Army and the Erastov Army to the designated area as soon as possible, we must find a way to collect all kinds of transports," Batov said. In addition to automobiles, horse-drawn carriages can also be used. If you can't find a carriage in the city, you go to the farm outside the city to look for it, where there should be plenty of horses and carts. ”

"Comrade commander," Glebov tentatively asked, hearing this order from Batov, "if our fighters forcibly collect horses and vehicles from the farms, will it cause resistance among the local peasants?" ”

Batov pondered for a moment, then said: "In the name of the Great Patriotic War, transport was collected from local residents and peasants outside the city. Of course, we can't take other people's things for nothing, and we have to give them a certain amount of compensation. ”

"It's a good idea." Rajetsky was originally worried that letting the troops collect their own means of transportation would cause dissatisfaction among the local residents, but when he heard Batov say that compensation would be made, he quickly agreed: "If we can get compensation, I believe that the residents and the peasants outside the city will be willing to provide us with sufficient means of transportation." ”

"The Alekseev army is now outside the city, and they are responsible for collecting wagons and carts that can be used on various farms or villages." Seeing that neither the military commissar nor the chief of staff raised objections, Batov continued: "The Erastov army has just withdrawn from the swamps to the city, and they are given two days to rest and recuperate, and while resting, they will collect transportation in the city. Remember, tell Alekseev and Erastov that when collecting transport from residents and peasants, be sure to give them the necessary compensation. ”

Finally, remembering what Rokossovsky had commanded, Batov said to Glebov: "Chief of Staff, immediately send a capable force to the section of the road where we are about to pass, conduct reconnaissance, repair the road, remove obstacles, and build a bypass. In addition, there are guards at bridges and ferries, traffic wardens at intersections, and so on. This unit, which is responsible for ensuring the smooth march of the army, must leave early tomorrow morning. ”

As soon as Batov's order arrived, Major General Erastov, who had set up his headquarters in the city, immediately ordered his subordinates to begin the work of collecting transport. After listening to Erastov's assignment, a division commander asked curiously: "Comrade commander, the commander said that he would give certain compensation to the citizens and peasants who were recruited for transportation. I would like to ask, what is the standard of this compensation? ”

The words of the division commander immediately stopped Major General Erastov, who hesitated for a long time and decided to hand over this headache to the people below to deal with, so he waved his hand and said: "When we are in the country, we will collect civilian vehicles, all in the name of the Great Patriotic War, and no compensation will be given. Now that they are in the territory of the Germans, they have to requisition a few of their cars, and they actually have to give some compensation. You can do it according to the specific situation. ”

Erastov, as the commander of the army, did not have a spectrum in his mind about how to compensate the citizens who were requisitioned vehicles, and the grassroots officers and soldiers who performed the tasks below were even more at a loss. Fortunately, this dilemma was quickly broken, and when a second lieutenant was collecting a fifty-percent new Mercedes-Benz sedan in Long Square, he said to the elderly owner: "Uncle, I thought that in the name of the Great Patriotic War, I wanted to requisition your car." But don't worry, I won't let you suffer, according to the orders of the superiors, we will give you some compensation. ”

After listening to the interpreter's translation, the elderly car owner said tentatively: "Sir, I don't have anything to eat at home." I don't know if you can give me something to eat, I can give you this car. ”

After listening to the old man's request, the second lieutenant thought for a while, and then ordered his subordinates to fetch five pieces of black bread like bricks, and took out a piece of butter and half a piece of Salou from his satchel, handed it to the old man, and said, "Sir, there is only so much compensation we can offer you, I hope you don't mind." ”

The old man took the bread, and not only was he not too little, but he thanked the second lieutenant again and again with tears in his eyes, thanking him for providing him with life-saving food. At first, the second lieutenant was worried that the compensation he gave was too little, and the elderly car owner would not agree, but now that he saw that the other party had accepted the compensation so readily, the heart hanging in his throat was also put back in his stomach.

The news soon spread throughout the city, and the troops provided food compensation to the citizens who had been recruited for transportation, according to the second lieutenant's compensation rate. In normal times, these foods may not even be exchanged for a single lamp on the car, but for the citizens of the city who have long run out of food, it is a very cost-effective transaction to exchange their vehicles that have long been unable to drive for a few pieces of black bread and a piece of cream.

In this way, the commanders and fighters of the Erastov army collected all kinds of vehicles in the city in less than a day and at a very small cost, and won Bartov's praise for this.