After Gorbatov and his chief of staff drew up a new offensive plan, they immediately sent several of his army commanders to the command and announced to them the new offensive order.

When several army commanders received the call, they thought that the troops were short of men and ammunition after a long battle, and that their superiors were planning to order them to temporarily stop the offensive and rest in place. So one by one they happily came to Gorbatov's command.

When the chief of staff announced to them that the troops would launch an offensive in the Propoysk region on the right bank of the Sozh River in three days' time, they were all taken aback. The commander of the 4th Infantry Army stood up and said to Gorbatov with a serious expression: "Comrade commander, I think you should be well aware of how fiercely our troops have been fighting for up to three months, from July to the present. And apart from some ammunition supplies, there was no replenishment of soldiers at all. How else can we attack the enemy in such a situation? ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." As soon as the commander of the 4th Army finished speaking, the commander of the 11th Mechanized Army continued: "The Germans have been going crazy these days, launching a counter-assault on the places we occupy. Despite the stubborn resistance of our commanders and fighters, the landing ground on the right bank of the Sori River was constantly shrinking. I don't understand, where do we have what forces to attack in this case? ”

"Comrade commanders," Gorbatov and other commanders, after grumbling, stood up and said to them, "this is a difficult task entrusted to us by the command of the Front. We need to go on the offensive to attract the enemy's attention and move more troops to our area of operations to reduce the pressure on friendly forces. ”

Several army commanders were also veteran commanders who had experienced a hundred battles, and when they heard Gorbatov say this, they immediately realized that the front army command had taken the whole picture into account. The commander of the 4th Army asked tentatively: "Comrade commander, do you know in which direction our friendly forces are preparing to launch a more fierce attack on the enemy?" ”

"I don't know." Gorbatov shook his head and said: "The superiors didn't tell me, and I didn't ask. All I know is that our task is to contain as many enemy forces as possible, so that our friendly forces can effectively break through the enemy's defenses. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Everyone has long been accustomed to carrying out secondary combat missions in secondary directions, and this time is no exception: "We immediately returned to the troops to prepare for the offensive." ”

…………

While Gorbatov's troops were preparing for the attack, Batov also conveyed the order to his subordinates to fight south. He finally said to the commander of the 19th Infantry Army, Samarsky: "General Samarsky, after the main forces of the army group are transferred, you will be left alone, and you will continue to fight the Germans here. Whatever means you may use, I will make the Germans think that the main forces of our 65th Army are still fighting with them in the valley of the two rivers south of Gomel. As long as you contain more German troops here, the smoother the battle will be carried out in the new combat area. ”

"Comrade Commander, please rest assured." As soon as Samarsky waited for Batov to finish speaking, he immediately stood up and expressed his determination: "All the commanders and fighters of our 19th Infantry Army will definitely contain the enemy's forces at all costs in order to cover the main force of the group army to complete the new combat mission. ”

"General Samarsky, you are wrong." As soon as Samarsky finished speaking, Chief of Staff Glebov spoke: "Your task is only to contain the enemy, not to fight with him. So you have to find a way to minimize the casualties of the troops, understand? ”

Samarsky stood there and thought for a moment, then nodded and said: "Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff. I will find a way to attract the enemy's forces to the area of the two rivers, so that they will not be able to detect the movement of the main forces of the army group. ”

After waiting for Samarsky to finish, Batov stood up and said to his subordinates who were about to follow him south: "Comrades, whether the entire front army can successfully break through the German defense line depends on our performance. Commander Rokossovsky will give us a large number of artillery and tanks, and I hope that everyone will perform well in this offensive battle. Don't be like last time, just fighting, and our combat area has a main offensive direction, which has become a secondary offensive direction. ”

Batov's words were heavy, and every commander present felt ashamed. The last time we went on the offensive, everyone thought that the Germans were vulnerable to their own powerful offensive. After fighting for a while, they found that the German defense was extremely tenacious, and every meter that the troops advanced had to pay huge sacrifices.

Seeing that the commanders all had solemn expressions, Batov knew that he had achieved his goal, nodded and then said: "Okay, comrades commanders, since the task has been clarified, let's all go back to their respective units." Remember, the superiors only gave us six days. Six days later, we had to launch an offensive against the Germans in a new area of operations. ”

Six days may seem like a lot, but it is not enough for a force that is engaged in fierce fighting with the Germans and whose defensive positions are staggered, not to mention that they need to quietly withdraw from their current positions and move to new areas without the Germans noticing.

That night, Rokossovsky received a call from Batov that the troops had begun to move to the new area. After Rokossovsky put down the phone, he said to Malinin with a sigh of relief: "Chief of Staff, General Batov reports that their troops are taking advantage of the darkness and quietly moving towards a new area of operations. ”

"Comrade Commander," Malinin was apparently not so optimistic about the situation, and he asked worriedly, "do you say that the transfer of General Batov will not really alarm the Germans?" ”

"I don't think so." Rokossovsky said in an uncertain tone: "After all, Batov left Samarsky's 19th Infantry Army in the original combat area, and there was a corps of troops to pin down the Germans in that direction, presumably the enemy could not imagine that our main forces had been transferred." ”

"I hope so." Malinin sighed and said: "Since the offensive of the 65th Army is not going well, where should we choose the direction of the attack next?" In addition, the two armies of Borkin and Gorbatov had really limited technical equipment, and it was bound to pay a huge price for them to launch an active attack on the enemy. ”

"As long as it can attract the attention of the enemy, cover Batov, they successfully break through the German defenses." Faced with this situation, Rokossovsky could only harden his heart and say: "It is worth the price we pay." Isn't it, Comrade Chief of Staff? Even if we don't send these two armies on such a dangerous mission, we will send separate troops. ”

…………

On October 12, Borkin's 50th Army and Gorbatov's 3rd Army launched an offensive in their own area. After a day of fierce fighting, the units of both armies finally broke through the German defenses and advanced three to five kilometers.

Rokossovsky was very disappointed with such a result, but he was helpless, after all, these two units had too few offensive weapons, and in order to break through the enemy's defensive positions, the commanders and fighters paid with their own blood and lives. That series of casualty figures made Rokossovsky feel distressed. But in order to achieve the final victory, he could only understand through Malinin and give the two army commanders one attack after another.

By the 14th of the battle, the situation had changed unexpectedly, and the Germans had three more infantry divisions and two armored divisions, and in the area where the two army groups were located, a powerful counter-assault was carried out. The 50th and 3rd armies, which were already fighting extremely hard, were taken by surprise by the enemy and were forced to withdraw to their starting positions.

If Rokossovsky had not seen the situation in a bad situation and sent air force support in time to carry out wanton and indiscriminate bombardment of the German troops in the assault, it is estimated that the landing ground of the two armies on the right bank of the Sozh River would have been occupied by the Germans.

The offensive launched by Korpákč's 63rd Army north of Gomel still did not achieve much success. Fortunately, however, Kolpacchi allowed his troops to strengthen the fortifications in the occupied area, so that they could successfully hold on to their landing ground in the face of a sudden German counter-attack.

Just when Rokossovsky was frowning, Batov's call came in. He said excitedly on the phone: "Comrade commander, I have good news for you, my troops have all arrived at their designated positions and are ready to attack the enemy at any time. ”

"Great, that's great!" Hearing Batov's report, Rokossovsky's mood suddenly improved, he raised his hand and looked at his watch, and then cautiously asked: "Comrade Batov, will your troops be able to attack the enemy tomorrow?" ”

According to the original battle plan, Batov's troops would attack only two days later. Hearing Rokossovsky say this at this moment, Batov immediately realized that the situation could be unfavorable for the entire Front troops, so he cautiously asked: "Comrade commander, is there something wrong with our right flank?" ”

"You guessed right, Comrade Batov." To Batov's question, Rokossovsky replied in the affirmative: "The attacks launched by the three armies of the right flank were repulsed by the Germans. At present, they are stubbornly holding on to the landing ground they have established on the right bank of the Sozh River, and the situation is very critical. If you had attacked a day earlier, I think their situation would have improved. ”