Rokossovsky put down the phone, summoned several of the main commanders of the command to himself, and gave them ideological work: "Comrade commanders, our report was rejected by Zhukov, and he still insisted that we carry out the order to launch an offensive against the Germans. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

"But Comrade Commander," Deputy Commander Zakharov spoke first, "and our existing forces are not enough to carry out a broad offensive campaign, and you should stress this again to General Zhukov. ”

"It's useless, Comrade Zakharov." Rokossovsky shook his head and said: "Since it was Zhukov who made up his mind, even the Supreme Commander himself could not make him change his determination, let alone us." What we can do now is to rely on the existing forces to strike a fierce blow at the enemy. ”

"I agree with the commander," as soon as Rokossovsky's words were finished, Malinin immediately expressed his support: "Although our existing forces are insufficient to carry out a full-scale offensive, we can take the form of a focused offensive to complete the tasks assigned to us by our superiors." ”

"The way to focus the attack?" After repeating this sentence, Zakharov asked rhetorically: "Comrade Chief of Staff, where do you think we should choose the direction of the offensive?" ”

"I think we should choose a settlement where the enemy is entrenched." In order to gain everyone's support, Malinin also made a point of justifying the seizure of the settlements: "As soon as the Germans lose such a stronghold, their defenses will be destroyed, and we will open a gap in their defenses......"

"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." Before Malinin could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Zakharov's raised hand, and he asked with a frown: "Since you can think of the settlements where the Germans are entrenched, the most tempting direction of attack, can't the Germans think of this?" I think that as soon as the Germans lose these settlements, they will immediately organize forces to counterattack, so that we will have to fight a positional battle with them in a fixed area. ”

After saying this, Zakharov deliberately paused for a moment, and seeing that no one interjected, he continued: "According to our reconnaissance, the German defense line took into account the characteristics of the terrain and the winter combat conditions, and turned the villages in the front and depth into strongholds fenced with barbed wire, and even built shelters with shooting holes under many houses. And they also placed tanks near their positions as fixed points of fire, which were a great threat to our attacking forces. ”

"I remember the German military strategist Clausewitz said: Offense is the best defense." Rokossovsky came out to conclude his speech: "Although we do not have enough troops, we can use one or two disgruntled divisions, with the cooperation of tanks and artillery, to attack the less important strongholds of the German army. The enemy usually does not deploy much in these places, even if the stronghold is lost, they will not rush to retake it, so that we can firmly contain their forces. ”

"That's a good idea." Zakharov continued: "We do not need to spend too many troops to maintain the offensive against the Germans locally, so that they do not dare to draw forces to attack Suchinich at will." I propose to transfer the 322nd and 323rd infantry divisions in the rear to perform such a task. ”

"I agree with Comrade Deputy Commander!" After Rokossovsky finished speaking, he asked the commanders present, "What is your opinion?" ”

"We agree!" Several other commanders agreed in unison.

"Since this proposal was unanimously passed, then implement it immediately." Rokossovsky instructed Malinin: "Chief of staff, immediately call the two division commanders and ask them to rush to Sushnych within two days." ”

"Comrade commander, I have one more question." Ma Lining did not immediately go to make a phone call, but stood on the spot and asked: "What will happen to the defense area vacated by these two divisions after they move the defense, and which unit should be asked to take over the defense?" ”

"Chief of Staff, I understand what you mean, the soldiers of the other troops are also very nervous, and they can't spare enough manpower to assist in the defense." After thinking for a moment, Rokossovsky advised: "When these two divisions move their defenses, leave the necessary troops in the local area and continue to hold their positions." If the number of troops is insufficient, militias can be formed in local settlements and villages. ”

As soon as Rokossovsky's words were finished, there was another rumbling of artillery outside. Malinin listened sideways for a moment, snorted softly, and then turned around and called.

And Zakharov said to Rokossovsky with emotion: "Listen, comrade commander, the Germans are shelling our city again. It is also strange to say that the enemy only bombarded the city with artillery fire, but did not send ground forces to attack, you say, what are they trying to do here? ”

Rokossovsky sneered: "They may think that it is enough to wipe out us all with shells, and there is no need to sacrifice the lives of soldiers in vain to seize the city." ”

Zakharov was puzzled and said: "But in the end, it is the infantry that will take the city." ”

"The shelling of the enemy has caused a large number of residents to flee." Rokossovsky said disdainfully: "They thought that such a non-stop shelling would intimidate us, and then they would be able to take the city without bloodshed." But I won't let them succeed, and I've deployed heavy troops outside the city, and dug a lot of trenches inside the city. In this way, no matter how many shells the Germans put into the city, the damage they would do to us would be limited. ”

After each of the German shelling of Suchinich, after a half-hour rest, the shelling began again. In this way, the German commanders tried to create panic and destroy the will of the inhabitants of the city to resist. But what he didn't expect was that there were no more than a thousand defenders in the city, and the rest were deployed outside the city. Although their shells caused the collapse of many houses, the casualties were not significant.

The shelling continued until dawn and finally stopped again.

After Rokossovsky saw that the Germans did not launch another artillery bombardment, he muttered in his heart whether they were going to launch a ground attack, so he called the two division commanders who were holding out of the city and asked about the situation at the front.

The first to be connected was General Chernyshov, who asked straight to the point: "Comrade General, do you have Germans there?" ”

"No, Comrade Commander." Chernyshov replied crisply: "The scouts I sent last night have just returned and say that within ten kilometers of the front of our division, there is no shadow of the Germans at all. ”

"Great, that's great." Hearing that no Germans had been found in the southwestern direction of Chernyshov's defense, Rokossovsky felt much more at ease, but he was worried that Chernyshov would underestimate the enemy, so he still specially advised: "Comrade General, you should send more scouts to look for the whereabouts of the Germans everywhere, and don't wait for them to approach your position before discovering them." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Chernyshov vowed to say: "I not only sent scouts, but also set up observation posts on the commanding heights, so that as soon as the enemy appeared, I could immediately detect their tracks." ”

Rokossovsky then connected to General Kiryukhin's command, and as soon as he asked if there was any movement of the enemy, Kiryukhin said excitedly: "Report to Comrade Commander, a motorized detachment of the German army approached our front line in the early hours of this morning. After being discovered by our sentries, there was a period of exchange of fire, in which two Germans were killed, a motorcycle was destroyed, and the rest fled. ”

Hearing Kiryukhin's report, the corners of Rokossovsky's mouth couldn't help twitching, and he said that the enemy approached the position of our army, and after an inspired exchange of fire, only two people were killed, and the rest of the people retreated, and if the enemy chose to attack in this direction, it is still unknown whether the 324th Infantry Division can block it.

However, after thinking about it, he did not have any troops in his hands that could be mobilized, and the defense of the northwest direction of the city could only be completed by Kiryukhin's troops. Thinking of this, he forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart and said into the microphone: "Comrade General, send more scouts and arrange secret posts on the front line, and you must no longer let the enemy casually approach your forward position, understand?" ”

"I see," said Kiryukhin, cheerfully, "I will be on guard, and I will never let the Germans wander around my position again." ”