Just as Fomin was rescuing the defenders of the fortress at the central fortress with a detachment of tanks, four German armored personnel carriers loaded with soldiers were approaching the Holm Gate at high speed along the road. These soldiers were all from the first battalion of the 135th German regiment, and since the German battalion commander had just lost contact with the regimental headquarters not long ago, and when contact could not be restored for a long time, he decisively sent a platoon of infantry to the regimental headquarters in armored personnel carriers to see what was going on.

Seeing that the German armored personnel carriers were in range, the Soviet tanks hidden on the side of the road opened fire. Several shells flew out together and exploded around the armored car, one of which tore through the thin armor of the armored car that led the way, blowing the body into a ball of fire, and the soldier sitting in the car suddenly turned into a burning man and rolled off the car screaming.

A second round of fire followed, and the blast overturned the three armored personnel carriers behind them, and the German soldiers, who were lucky enough to survive, fled in all directions with screams. But they were all within the range of Soviet tank guns and machine guns at the moment, and they simply had no way to escape, and they didn't run far before they were all knocked down by the machine guns on the tanks.

When Rokossovsky learned that a German detachment had been eliminated, there was no joy on his face, because he knew in his heart that as soon as he opened fire, the troops would be completely exposed. If he could not evacuate in time, he might attract intensive German artillery bombardment, so he decisively ordered the operator: "Operator, send a message to General Novikov, and ask him to immediately lead the troops to retreat, rush to the Holm Gate to start a battle formation, and cover the transfer of the main force." At the same time, a report was sent to the tank detachment in the fortress to ask the commissar Fuming to withdraw them from the central fortress. ”

While the operator was sending the report, he ordered Scherstyuk, who had just arrived at the headquarters: "Comrade General, you lead your troops with the wounded and withdraw to Vvodava first, relying on the fortifications there to build defensive positions. ”

After waiting for him to finish, Scherstyuk asked: "Comrade General, if our troops are still fighting when we reach Vvodava, do we need to go to their rescue?" ”

Rokossovsky thought for a moment, then shook his head and said: "It's been three days since the war broke out, maybe the 99th Infantry Division has long been wiped out by the Germans." Seeing that Scherstyuk was leaving, he cautiously added, "If the fighting is going on there when you arrive, then it is appropriate to send small forces to harass the enemy's flanks and rear, so that they cannot concentrate all their forces on attacking friendly forces." When the tank divisions arrive, we will attack them. ”

Commissar Fomin retreated from the fortress in a hurry ten minutes after Scherstyuk left. As soon as he saw Rokossovsky, he anxiously asked: "Comrade General, why do you want to retreat now, you must know that there are still many commanders and fighters in the fortress?" If you give me another half hour, I'm sure I'll be able to save more people......"

"Comrade Commissar," Rokossovsky interrupted him before he could finish speaking, and then said with a serious expression: "Our whereabouts have been revealed, and the German troops north of the Brest Fortress will soon be flooding over." We must now move immediately and get rid of the enemy who is about to surround us. ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's words, Fomin did not speak, but sighed deeply. Because he knew that the Germans must have gathered a lot of troops at the Brest railway station, and they would be able to rush to the Holm Gate in half an hour at most, and if they continued to fight, the troops might fall into the encirclement of the German army.

When the two of them sat in the armored car and followed the convoy to the south, Rokossovsky, in order to alleviate the embarrassment in the car, looked at Fuming on the opposite side and asked: "Comrade Political Commissar, how many commanders and fighters did you rescue when you led the troops into the fortress?" ”

Hearing this question, Fu Ming's face showed an embarrassed expression, and after a long while, he spoke: "We searched a lot of places, and only rescued 75 commanders and fighters, half of whom were wounded. ”

"Are there no civilians?" Rokossovsky clearly remembered that he saw a lot of civilians in the movie, who were also trapped in the fortress, so he couldn't help but ask.

The corners of Fu Ming's mouth twitched violently a few times, and then he said helplessly: "Comrade General, civilians and troops acting together, not only are they slow, but they are also easy to expose their targets, so I will temporarily let them all stay in the basement of the fortress. I believe that the Germans are no longer humane, and they will not embarrass these defenseless women, children and the elderly. ”

Listening to Fomin's inference, Rokossovsky was suddenly enveloped by a deep sense of powerlessness. He knew in his heart that the military families who remained in the fortress not only came out of their own initiative to surrender to the Germans, but were also searched out of the basement by the enemy like voles. In the end, they were all executed by the Germans without exception. Although Rokossovsky felt sad at the thought of the fate of these civilians, it was indeed not a wise decision to evacuate with them in this situation.

Seeing that Rokossovsky was slow to speak, Fuming suddenly asked again: "Comrade General, I would like to ask you, what happened, where are our superiors, and why have we never been able to get in touch with them?" ”

Rokossovsky shrugged his shoulders and explained to him: "Comrade commissar, the Germans did not declare war on us, and a million troops crossed the border from different directions. Since before the start of the war, the military lines of our army were in place, and the contact of the troops was thrown into confusion. Now the General Staff in Moscow is not able to get in touch with the front command, let alone the small units in the border fortresses. ”

Regarding Rokossovsky's statement that the troops holding the Brest Fortress were small troops, Fomin did not say anything, but only smiled bitterly, because he also knew in his heart that the few troops in the fortress could contain the German troops were also very limited, and it was inevitable that they would be ignored.

After a while, he raised his head and asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade General, where are we going next?" ”

Rokossovsky took out a map and opened it, then the faint light in the car, pointed to Formin and said: "Comrade commissar, we are now going to withdraw to Vvodava, where we will take a short rest, and then quickly retreat to Lutsk." At this point, he couldn't help but raise his voice, "When we get back to Lutsk and consolidate the defense there, we will have a face-to-face battle with the Germans." ”