When Rokossovsky set the tone for a priority attack on Thorn Fortress, General Popov immediately adjusted his deployment, except for the 175th Infantry Division and the 181st Division, which continued to launch an offensive across the Vistula River with the support of two tank brigades and three artillery regiments, the rest of the troops turned around and returned to Thorn Fortress.

Don't look at General Sokolisky's statement that the capture of the fortress requires the cooperation of 305 mm heavy howitzers to achieve the final victory, but because the Germans built a total of about 200 fortresses around the city of Thorn, including 7 main forts, 6 middle forts, 6 fortress batteries and a large number of infantry, artillery and ammunition fortresses, it is a large-scale fortress fortification group that no attacker can ignore. Therefore, before the arrival of heavy howitzers, the artillery of the Front and the artillery group of the army group, in coordination, carried out targeted clearances of fortifications on the perimeter of the fortress.

When the fortress began to be bombarded by Soviet artillery, the commander of the fortress, Lieutenant General Lüdek, in addition to ordering the artillery in the fortress to return fire and suppress the Soviet artillery positions, also asked Himmler, the new commander-in-chief of Army Group Vistula, for help. He pleaded with the SS chief on the phone: "Your Excellency, the High Command has ordered us to hold out in the fortress of Thorn for at least three months, but if we cannot eliminate the threat of Russian artillery to the fortress, it will be very difficult to hold out for three weeks, let alone three months." Therefore, I implore you to provide us with the necessary help. ”

Regardless of Himmler's mere layman in military command, this did not affect his judgment that the loss of the fortress of Thorn would have an adverse effect on Germany. Therefore, he said without hesitation: "Mr. Lieutenant General, don't worry, we will do our best to give you the necessary support and help you hold the fortress." ”

Since the Vistula River basin was under onslaught by the 70th and 65th armies of the 2nd Belorussian Front, as well as a part of the 1st Belorussian Front, it was clearly impossible to send ground troops to reinforce the fortresses. So as soon as Himmler spoke his mind, he was opposed by his chief of staff: "Your Excellency, I think you are wrong in this way, the Russian army has separated us from the fortress. If we had the ability to open the way to the fortress, then the enemy would have been repulsed by us long ago. ”

Although within the SS, Himmler, who had always preferred to keep a low profile, did not like his subordinates to call him "the leader of the nation," but now that he was in the Wehrmacht, he was accustomed to such a title. After waiting for the chief of staff to finish speaking, he asked rhetorically: "Then tell me, Your Excellency the Chief of Staff, how can we provide assistance to the troops in the fortress?" ”

"Air Force, Your Excellency the Leader of the Nation." The chief of staff replied: "We also have an air wing in West Prussia, which can inflict heavy damage on the Russians attacking the fortress." ”

Himmler knew that he was a novice in military command, so he immediately agreed to the chief of staff's proposal: "Well, Your Excellency Chief of Staff, since you think we should send the air force to support the fortress, then take measures immediately." Let the soldiers who hold the fortress see the hope of victory, so that they can bravely fight the Russians. ”

As the order was given, sixty German Stuka planes took off from the airfield and flew towards the Thorn Fortress to bombard the Soviet artillery that was shelling the fortress. The first to be attacked was an artillery regiment located to the west of the fortress. The artillery commander who was staying at the command post heard the roar of the engines of the planes in the air, and he thought very strangely: Why did the fighters on the other side fly from the west, could it be that they had already established a defensive position there?

At this moment, the signal soldier standing outside the command post suddenly shouted: "Air raid, air raid siren!" The bombers of the Germans are coming, hurry up and hide! ”

The artillery commander hurriedly rushed to the door of the command post, looked up into the air, and saw a dense formation of Stuka bombers in the sky, and he hurriedly shouted to the signal soldiers: "Send a signal to the artillery position, order them to immediately stop the shelling, and hide in place." ”

Although his instructions were conveyed by the signal soldiers in time, they were still a step too late. The Stuka bombers in the air had already swooped down from the sky, and with a terrifying scream, they dropped bombs on the Soviet positions, blowing up the artillery commanders and fighters who were shelling. After dropping the bombs, the bombers quickly pulled up, circled in the air for a week, and then dived down again, using their on-board machine guns to strafe the artillery fighters who had survived, and beat them into a bloody blur.

The artillery commander saw that his artillery position had turned into a sea of fire under the bombing and strafing of German planes, and the commanders and fighters who were still shelling the fortress had almost all turned into corpses. Holding back the grief and indignation in his heart, he rushed into the command post and shook the phone to report to the commander of the artillery of the group army: "Comrade commander, the positions of our regiment have been violently bombed by the German Stuka bombers, and the troops have been completely lost; Repeating, the positions of our regiment were heavily bombarded by German Stuka bombers, and the troops ...... "but before he could finish his report, a bomb that fell from the sky accurately hit his headquarters."

Popov, learning that the Germans had dispatched air forces to bomb their own artillery units, immediately called Rokossovsky. On the phone, he said excitedly: "Comrade Marshal, the Germans have dispatched bomber groups to bomb the artillery positions of our fortress, and an artillery regiment of our group army has been completely wiped out. I beg you to immediately send the Air Force to drive the enemy's planes away from us. ”

Knowing that the Germans had actually dispatched bombers to bombard the artillerymen who were shelling the fortress, Rokossovsky could not help frowning. After a moment of silence, he spoke into the microphone and said: "General Popov, the reason why the Germans sent bombers to bomb our artillery positions is because our artillery fire hurt them. The shelling of the fortress cannot be stopped, and I will immediately send the air force to provide you with air cover. ”

After Popov's phone call, Rokossovsky picked up another telephone and dialed the headquarters of the Air Force Group, where Vershinin, who answered the phone, said: "Comrade General, the Germans have dispatched bomber groups to bombard our artillery shelling Thorn Fortress, causing many casualties to our troops. I now order you to immediately dispatch aviation divisions to drive the enemy's aircraft away from the fortified area and provide the necessary air cover for the artillery shelling the fortifications. ”