Thousands of Soviet artillery pieces and mortars, hundreds of rocket launchers, roared at the same time, firing non-stop at the German defensive positions for an hour and a half.

Although the fog has dissipated somewhat, visibility on the battlefield is still low, and what is even more troubling is that it is starting to snow.

Before the start of the official offensive, Batov called Rokossovsky, and he asked with some anxiety: "Comrade Marshal, it is snowing outside, visibility is very low, are we still attacking the enemy at the scheduled time?" ”

"General Batov," Rokossovsky said unceremoniously into the microphone, "not to mention a blizzard, even if you are stabbing down, you must attack the enemy at the specified time." Do you understand? ”

The offensive still began within the allotted time, and the fighters, guided by tanks, charged the enemy's defensive positions, accompanied by the melody of "Holy War" played by loudspeakers.

"Comrade Marshal," said Su Bojing, listening to the melody of music mixed with the rumbling of artillery, to Rokossovsky: "Our fighters have begun to attack!" ”

Rokossovsky nodded and said, "Let's wait patiently here." ”

Everyone knows that Rokossovsky is very opposed to constantly contacting the commanders at the front after the start of the campaign, asking them about the progress of the troops, and so on, which, according to his words, will cause great mental pressure on the commanders and affect their performance.

Although the radio and telephone in the observation post and the front-line troops were continuous, everyone thought that the first battle report would not reach the headquarters until an hour at the earliest. Unexpectedly, only a quarter of an hour later, a staff officer with a telegram hurriedly came to Rokossovsky and said excitedly: "Comrade Marshal, the telegram of General Batov, his troops have occupied the first line of German positions. ”

Hearing this, the chiefs of the Front, who came here with Rokossovsky, became excited. However, they were patient and waited until Rokossovsky had read it before they began to circulate Batov's telegram.

Not long after, Fedyuninsky and two other army commanders also sent telegrams saying that their troops had occupied the first line of defense of the German army and were preparing to continue the assault on the second line of defense.

While everyone was rejoicing, Rokossovsky frowned, he stared at the map on the wall, and thought to himself: Could it be that his judgment was wrong again, after the German army was shelled, the main force was transferred to the second line of defense as soon as possible, and the shells fired by his own artillery were all on the empty position.

Seeing Rokossovsky's sullen appearance, Su Bojing hurriedly asked: "Comrade Marshal, why are you unhappy." ”

Rokossovsky tapped several telegrams placed in front of him with his hand and said to the crowd: "Don't you think that the offensive of our army is too smooth? According to the reports of several army commanders, the troops occupied the positions of the Germans almost without any fighting. ”

"So, when the Germans were shelled by our army, they had already withdrawn the defenders in the first line of defense to the second line of defense?" Su Bojing asked with some puzzlement: "I don't understand, even if you withdraw to the second line of defense, the German soldiers can quickly return to their positions after the shelling of our army is over." How is it possible to abandon one's position without going through a battle? ”

"Comrade Military Commissar, listen to the sound of artillery outside." Rokossovsky pointed out with his hand, and then began to explain his doubts to Subotin: "It may be that the artillery used the tactics of covering the infantry attack by shooting at the barrage of Xujin, which confused the enemy and made them think that the shelling of our troops was not over, so they stayed in the second line of defense, so that our troops could occupy their first line of positions so easily." ”

After Rokossovsky finished speaking, he called a staff officer and said to him: "Immediately send a message to the four commanders of the first echelon of armies and tell them to be vigilant in case our army is attacked by a counter-assault carried out by the Germans in the process of advancing forward." ”

For this order issued by Rokossovsky, don't look at the fact that no one spoke, but everyone was very skeptical, in the face of such a powerful offensive of the Soviet army, would the German army still dare to carry out a counterattack?

But not long after the telegram was sent, a new telegram came from Batov, saying that one of his infantry divisions had been intercepted by heavy German artillery fire during the sortie, and that the troops had suffered heavy casualties. After reading this telegram, Rokossovsky immediately instructed Sokolisky: "Artillery commander, immediately order the artillery, suppress the exposed German artillery positions, and must not allow them to unscrupulously shell our attacking troops. ”

As a veteran artillery commander, Sokolsky naturally understood what kind of losses the attacking troops would suffer when they were shelled by the enemy on open and unobstructed ground. To put it mildly, the troops with a slightly weaker will to fight may even be blown up and collapsed. Therefore, when he heard the order given by Rokossovsky, he immediately replied without hesitation: "Understood, Comrade Marshal, I immediately order the artillery to carry out suppressive fire on the enemy's artillery positions. ”

However, the dense fog and heavy snow affected the accuracy of the shelling, and the Germans only needed to fire according to the predetermined firing elements to form an insurmountable fire network on the Soviet offensive road.

The Soviets, who stormed the southern part of the Putusk fortifications, fought for a battalion of the German 22nd Infantry Regiment that held on. The fierce fighting lasted for two hours, and when the Soviets were about to occupy this area, the German 65th Infantry Division suddenly arrived and caught the Soviets by surprise.

When Batov heard that his troops had been driven back from the fortified area of Puutusk, he could not help but burst into a rage and hurriedly called the commander of the 105th Infantry Corps, General Alekseev. He said sternly on the phone: "General Alekseev, I order your army to immediately launch a strong attack on the fortified area of Puutusk, and it must be taken within an hour. ”

In the face of such a harsh order from Batov, General Alekseev could only helplessly say: "Understood, comrade commander, I assure you that our army will immediately attack the enemy. ”

After putting down the phone, Alekseev called the chief of staff of the corps and said to him: "Send a telegram to several division commanders and ask them to launch a fierce assault on the southern flank of the Putusk fortified area using the tactics of alternating attacks. If, within an hour, they still can't take this district, they will lose their own colonel's epaulette. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." It was the first time that the chief of staff of the army saw Alekseev speak in such a stern tone, and he realized the seriousness of the problem and hurriedly said: "I immediately called the division commanders and asked them to launch an attack on the fortified area of Puutusk. ”

The three infantry divisions, having received the order, regrouped their forces, launched an attack on the fortified area of Puutusk without casualties. After more than 40 minutes of fighting, the German 65th Infantry Division was driven out of the fortified area by the commanders and fighters of the 105th Army, and the garrison battalion of the 22nd Infantry Regiment was completely wiped out.

When Batov learned that General Alekseev's troops had managed to take control of the southern part of the fortified area, the expression on his face softened. He turned into the microphone and said: "General Alekseev, immediately build a strong defense against a possible counter-assault by the Germans." ”

Not only was Batov's offensive area subjected to German artillery bombardment and counter-assaults, but the same situation occurred in the offensive areas of the other three armies. Opposite the 70th Army was the German 232nd Infantry Division, which, with its strong fortifications, managed to repel two charges of the army, leaving the front of the fortifications covered with the corpses of Soviet commanders and fighters.

The commander of the army group, General Popov, saw that the two strong attacks he organized had ended in failure, and realized that his troops would not be able to break through this area without strong artillery support. Thinking of this, he personally sent a telegram to Rokossovsky, reporting to him the predicament he was facing, and at the same time requesting artillery support.

When Rokossovsky saw the telegram, he casually handed it to the artillery commander Sokolisky and said to him: "Comrade artillery commander, the path of the advance of General Popov's 70th Army is blocked by strong fortifications, you let the artillery help them." ”

After reading the telegram, Sokolsky said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, according to the information we have, the fortifications blocking the advance of the 70th Army are made of reinforced concrete, and it will be very difficult to destroy them with our existing artillery fire. I think it's better to wait for the special decondensation bombs to arrive before launching an attack on these areas. ”

"No, General Sokolisky." Rokossovsky immediately rejected Sokolisky's proposal without hesitation: "If the offensive is frustrated, stop the offensive, that will affect the morale of the 70th Army, and we must not allow this to happen at such a time." ”

"Well, Comrade Marshal," seeing Rokossovsky's insistence on providing artillery support to the 70th Army, Sokolsky could only helplessly reply: "I immediately arrange artillery to clear the way for the troops of the 70th Army to advance." ”

"That's right, General Sokolisky." In response to Sokolisky's reply, Rokossovsky nodded with satisfaction, and then ordered: "You hurry up and decorate." ”

In order to prevent the Soviets from expanding their gains, General Matsky, commander of the German 26th Army, sent the 61st Infantry Division to counterattack, and all the troops directly under the general were also engaged in the battle, trying to recover the lost defensive line through counterattacks. But in the face of strong Soviet troops, as well as intensive artillery fire, their counterattacks did not achieve much effect.

In the area of the 48th Army and the 2nd Shock Army, when the Soviets finally repelled the German 7th Infantry Division and were about to take advantage of the victory, they were counterattacked by the 507th Heavy Armored Battalion, which had just arrived on the battlefield. A battalion of Soviet tanks, armed with JS-2 tanks, engaged them in a fierce battle.

Although the Soviet tanks were armed with 122-mm guns, due to their low rate of fire, they were inferior in the competition with the German Tiger tanks. After a fierce battle, all 22 tanks of the tank battalion were destroyed by the Germans, but the Germans suffered no losses.

Although the focus of today's offensive is on the left flank of the front troops, the troops on the right flank are not idle. In a telegram to Rokossovsky and others, the commander of the 50th Army, Borkin, said that the enemy forces were still maintaining their original dispositions, holding on to the area of the Augustov Canal, and that their attacks in individual sections were repulsed by the Germans.

Fortunately, the phone call from Gorbatov still makes people feel bright. His 3rd Army, after the artillery fire was ready, launched an assault on the enemy's positions and captured two trenches with few casualties. He also successfully repelled several German counterattacks, and by the time it got dark, his troops had been wedged into the German defense zone for 3~7 kilometers.

The leaders of the front army in the observation post looked at the battle report of the first day, and their faces were particularly ugly. On the contrary, Rokossovsky said with a calm expression: "Comrade commanders, do you think that the results of our first day are disappointing? ”

"That's right, Comrade Marshal." Su Bojing nodded and said: "I didn't expect that none of the four group armies in the main attack direction had completed the battle plan we had stipulated. On the contrary, the right-wing, which I had no hope at all, achieved some unexpected results. ”

"The first day didn't play well for a variety of reasons." Rokossovsky saw that everyone had a sad face, so he smiled and said to them: "Everyone has seen that today's bad weather makes it impossible for us to use the air force, and the dense fog and heavy snow make it impossible for our artillery to accurately hit the target; Visibility is low, and it is also difficult for our tanks to function as they should. In addition, there is a more critical problem, don't look at the four army groups invested on the left flank today, but they did not use the main force to attack the fortification......"

After listening to Rokossovsky's explanation, the expressions on everyone's faces became relaxed again. Su Bojing smiled bitterly and said: "Comrade Marshal, if the weather still does not improve tomorrow, will there be such a situation today?" ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Military Commissar." In response to Subozin's questioning, Rokossovsky confidently said: "I believe that the results achieved by our commanders and fighters in tomorrow's battle will greatly exceed our expectations." ”

After saying this, Rokossovsky raised his hand and looked at his watch, and ordered: "It's not too early, let's all go back to the headquarters, and by the way, gather several commanders of the group army to sum up today's combat experience and avoid making some mistakes that should not be made in tomorrow's battle." ”