"I congratulate you, Konstantin? Konstantinovich! Stalin was overjoyed to hear such exciting news, and he once again addressed each other by Rokossovsky's real name and patronymic name to express his inner appreciation for him: "On my behalf, I would like to convey my gratitude to the commanders and fighters of the Second Belorussian Front for such great deeds for the Motherland and the people." ”

After a pause, Stalin asked: "Can the two German generals, Karlmos and Lorenz, be sent to Moscow?" ”

"I can send someone at any time to send Major General Lorenz to Moscow. As for Calmos, it may take a while. Rokossovsky knew that the commanders of these two elite German divisions could be used in propaganda against the Germans after they were sent to Moscow, so he had to tell Stalin the specifics: "He was seriously wounded in the shelling carried out by our troops, and Fedyuninsky's men had just taken him to the field hospital of the Front, and whether he survived or not depends on his luck." ”

Knowing that the commander of the 7th Panzer Division was actually seriously wounded, Stalin felt that it was a pity in his heart, if two captured commanders of the elite German divisions appeared at the conference when a press conference was held for propaganda, it would definitely have had a sensational effect, but now that there is only one person left, the effect of the effect will be greatly reduced. Stalin said with some disappointment: "Comrade Rokossovsky, then you should arrange manpower as soon as possible and send Lorenz to Moscow." ”

After giving the order, Stalin held the microphone and thought for a while, and then asked: "Do you think the time is ripe for us to attack East Prussia?" ”

Hearing that Stalin was planning to attack East Prussia, Rokossovsky hurriedly replied: "Comrade Stalin, with all due respect, the conditions for attacking East Prussia are not yet ripe, and if we attack rashly, we will exhaust all the limited mobile forces in our hands. ”

In order to convince Stalin, Rokossovsky, having reorganized his vocabulary in his head, continued: "It is simply impossible to annihilate these three divisions of the German army without the three armies that the base camp replenished us. After this battle, I am deeply aware that the enemy we face is still very strong, and their stubborn resistance will escalate as we advance into their land. And our troops, after a long battle, should have been seriously weakened, and it was necessary to replenish the troops, weapons and ammunition before relaunching the offensive against the German army. ”

"Then, when do you think our army will be able to relaunch its offensive against the Germans?"

"I think it's January next year at the earliest." To Stalin's question, Rokossovsky cautiously replied: "Only then can our troops complete the preparations for the offensive." ”

"I see." After hearing this, Stalin said with some disappointment: "That is, it is impossible to launch a large-scale offensive against the enemy without new replenishment." ”

"That's right, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky replied in the affirmative.

"Isn't it okay to attack on a small scale?" Stalin asked reluctantly.

Stalin's words opened up an idea for Rokossovsky: although with the current strength, it is impossible to carry out a large-scale attack on the German defensive positions, but the strength of the German army can be weakened in other ways. Thinking of this, he said to Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, the German positions are strong, the positions are covered with support points and permanent fortifications with batteries, although the style is a little old, but they are very suitable for defense. In order to alleviate the resistance of our troops in the event of an attack, I intend to dispatch the air force to carry out non-stop bombing of the enemy's defensive areas. ”

"That's a good idea, I agree!" Stalin, having expressed his support for Rokossovsky's proposal, continued: "Do you have the strength to carry out a non-stop bombardment of the German army?" ”

"The plane and the pilot should be enough." Rokossovsky said cautiously: "But once our army bombs the German army's defensive areas, then the amount of ammunition and fuel needed will be a very large amount. ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky, I need to discuss this matter with Comrade Khrulev, Minister of General Logistics." In response to Rokossovsky's request, Stalin politely said: "When there is a result, I will let him inform you." Hurry up and send Loren to Moscow. Good luck! ”

As soon as Rokossovsky put down the phone, he called Bogolyubov to him and instructed him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately arrange a plane and send another reliable officer to escort the captured Lorenz to Moscow." ”

After arranging all this, he called Vershinin, commander of the 4th Army of the Air Force, and said politely: "General Vershinin, can you come to my headquarters?" I have important matters to discuss with you. ”

When Vershinin heard that there was something important to discuss, he did not dare to slack off, and immediately rushed over by car. After beckoning him to sit down, Rokossovsky told him about the bombing plan he had proposed to Stalin, and finally asked: "Comrade General, do you have any difficulties if you want to implement this plan?" ”

To this question, Vershinin frowned and thought for a while, and then said: "Comrade Marshal, as you said, we have no problems in terms of planes and pilots, but if we want to carry out non-stop bombing of the German army, the ammunition and fuel required will be an astronomical amount, and my superiors will not supply us at that time. ”

"General Vershinin, please rest assured of this." Rokossovsky comforted the other party and said: "Comrade Stalin is discussing with the head of the General Logistics Department General Khrulev at the moment, and I think there will be an answer soon. ”

It was said that there was an answer quickly, but Rokossovsky and Vershinin sat for almost two hours before they received a call from Moscow. The other party reported his name on the phone: "Marshal Rokossovsky, hello, I am Khrulev. I guess you should know the purpose of my call, right? ”

"Yes, Comrade General Logistics Minister." Rokossovsky hurriedly replied: "I wonder if the General Logistics Department will be able to meet our needs?" ”

"What is your daily consumption of ammunition and fuel, give me a total." Khrulev said on the phone: "I want to confirm whether I can give priority to your supplies." ”

"Please wait, Comrade General Logistics Minister, I asked the commander of the Air Force, General Vershinin, to talk to you, he has the data you need." After Rokossovsky finished speaking, he handed the phone in his hand to Vershinin.

While Vershinin and Khrulev were talking, Military Commissar Subotin came in from outside, came to Rokossovsky's side and whispered: "Comrade Marshal, the captured Karmous has already been admitted to a field hospital and is undergoing surgery. ”

"Are the injuries serious?" When Rokossovsky heard that Karmos had been admitted to the hospital, he hurriedly asked.

"His condition is very serious." Su Bojing shook his head and said: "According to the doctor, Karmaus had symptoms of shock on the way to the hospital. They can only do their best, and whether they can save him or not depends on his personal luck. ”

Rokossovsky turned his head and looked into the room, and found that the deputy commander Trubnikov was not there, so he asked Su Bojing: "Why didn't you see the deputy commander, did he also go to the hospital?" ”

"No, he didn't go to the hospital." Su Bojing shook his head and said: "He went to the troops below to count the results of the battle, he is in Fedyuninsky's 2nd Assault Army at the moment, and he should also go to Volsky's 5th Guards Tank Army, as well as the 49th and 50th armies later." I don't think he'll be able to come back until dark. ”

Rokossovsky and Su Bojing chatted for a while, and when he saw Vershinin put down the phone, he hurriedly walked over and asked: "General Vershinin, how are you talking with the Minister of General Logistics?" How much extra fuel and ammo can he provide you with each month? ”

"Comrade Marshal, the Minister of General Logistics promised to supply us with an additional batch of ammunition and fuel every month." Vershinin said with some excitement: "This batch of ammunition and fuel can ensure that two aviation divisions can be dispatched three times a day. ”

"Two aeronautical divisions are dispatched three times a day?" Hearing Vershinin say, Rokossovsky's face showed a look of surprise, he didn't expect Khrulev to be so generous this time. But in any case, with this additional batch of ammunition and fuel, the goal of bombing the German defense area by itself can be achieved.

On the German side, the news that three German divisions were annihilated by the Soviet army soon reached Berlin. Hitler, who got the news, was furious, and he yelled at his chief of staff, Guderian: "This damned Reinhardt actually saw two of Germany's most elite divisions being eaten by the Russians, which is an unforgivable crime." Immediately remove him from his post and take him to a military court......"

Guderian, who was dominating on the battlefield, faced the roaring Hitler, but he bowed his head and did not say a word like a little daughter-in-law who had just passed the door. It was only after Hitler's seizure that he cautiously asked: "My Führer, I wonder who you intend to send to succeed Admiral Reinhardt?" ”

When asked this, Guderian thought to himself: "The previous commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal Moder, as a result of which Warsaw was occupied by Rokossovsky's troops, was dismissed; He was succeeded by General Reinhardt, who had only been in this post for a few months, and was dismissed from his post because two elite German divisions were wiped out by Rokossovsky's troops. It seems that this Rokossovsky is really the nemesis of the commanders of Army Group Center. ”

"I look at Ferdinand? Schellner is good," Hitler, after walking back and forth in the house with his hands behind his back a few times, stopped in front of Guderian and instructed him: "Schellner immediately rushes to his post and replaces Reinhardt." ”

Guderian continued: "My Führer, do you think it is necessary to bring Ferdinand?" Will Scherner summon him here, and you will give him an account yourself? ”

"No need." Hitler waved his hand and said: "In March of this year, I appointed him commander of Army Group South Ukraine. The first thing he did after taking office was to withdraw the troops that were about to be in trouble across the Dniester River and withstand the surprise blows of the Russians, and when he withdrew from Odessa, he also completely destroyed all important military installations, so that the Russians could not be of any use after capturing the city. ”

Although Schellner left an impression of being a "mainstay" in Hitler's mind, Hitler gave him his orders by telephone before he officially took office: "General Schellner, I order you that your troops should fight in their original positions, no matter what the situation, until the newly transferred troops from the south form a strong tank group." Do you understand? ”

"Understood, my Führer." On the other end of the line, Schellner replied respectfully: "I will certainly not fail your trust and resolutely crush the Russian attack on East Prussia." ”

…………

After the encirclement and annihilation of the left flank, the Soviets did not attack the German fortified area, but switched to the defense on the spot. Seeing that the Soviet army did not take advantage of the victory to attack, Reinhardt, who had just been dismissed from his post but had not yet left East Prussia, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Because in his opinion, although there are strong fortifications in the fortified area, the officers and soldiers who have just lost the battle are low, and it may be difficult to support them for long in the face of the imposing Soviet attack.

Although the Soviet army did not attack from the ground, the air raids on the fortified areas began in earnest on this day. The planes of the two air divisions flew over the German positions and carried out indiscriminate bombardment. When it was first bombed, the Germans also dispatched fighter planes to intercept it, but the air force commander soon discovered that the fighters sent out were all gone and never returned, and they were all shot down by Soviet fighters in air battles. For the sake of safety, when I heard that the Soviet planes were dispatched, the German planes did not dare to make a quick sortie.

Rokossovsky learned from the intercepted telegram that the commander of the German army, Reinhardt, had been dismissed by Hitler and replaced by Ferdinand Ferdinand? Schellner succeeded him. When he saw the telegram, he casually put it on the table, and thought to himself: I wonder if history has become different from what he knows since he seized Warsaw ahead of schedule. If this continues, will the Great Patriotic War end on May 9, 1945, as it is in real history?

But his worries were dispelled after seeing a series of achievements made by the Air Force. Vershinen's air force carried out non-stop bombardment of the German defensive positions, causing heavy casualties to the German army. In order to avoid greater losses, the Germans had to seize the time to build a large number of bomb shelters on the existing positions to avoid the Soviet air raids.