After Zhukov received the telegram from Molotov, he immediately consulted with Rokossovsky: "Comrade Rokossovsky, look, this is the telegram I just received. ”

After reading the contents of the telegram clearly, Rokossovsky could not help frowning: "What, let our troops not enter Warsaw for the time being, and let the Klajov army go and fight the German occupation forces on their own." ”

He put down the telegram and said to Zhukov: "Comrade Marshal, I think you should be clear, what is the combat effectiveness of the Polish army? Even if two of our divisions entered Warsaw and assisted them in their uprising, they were not 100% sure of success. Now that they are left alone, I fear that they will soon fall apart under the blows of the German army. ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky, do you think I haven't thought about it?" Zhukov waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, glared at him, and then said angrily: "If you can get help from our army, it will indeed greatly increase the possibility of the success of the uprising." But as soon as the city of Warsaw was liberated, the Krajow army would bring back the government-in-exile and become the sole legitimate government of Poland with this regime representing capitalist interests. ”

"Comrade Marshal," said Ma Linin, who had heard the conversation between the two, and reported to them: "General Vagin's 79th Guards Division is now less than five kilometers away from the city of Warsaw, and in two hours at most they will be able to enter Warsaw. And the Polish 3rd Division, which is currently more than a dozen kilometers away, only takes a few hours to enter Warsaw. Now what can we do to stop them from moving forward? ”

Zhukov buried his head in a cigarette, and a fierce ideological struggle was going on in his head. If the troops entered Warsaw and helped the Krajov army defeat the Germans, it would be to make a wedding dress for someone else; But if the soldiers come to the city, but do not order the troops to enter the city, they are a little unwilling.

Rokossovsky, after a quick weigh-of-stake, said to Zhukov: "Comrade Marshal, without the help of our army, the Warsaw Uprising would have ended in failure. Only by allowing our troops to enter the city of Warsaw can we change the fate of their defeat. ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Zhukov snuffed out the cigarette butt in his hand and said casually: "Tell me your reasons." ”

"Comrade Marshal, look!" Rokossovsky pointed to the map and said to Zhukov: "Our troops have reached the outskirts of Warsaw, and if they were ordered to stop advancing at this time, it would have a somewhat negative effect on the morale of our troops." I therefore considered whether, after the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, two divisions of troops could be ordered to strike decisively and quickly occupy the Villanov Palace and Moreshin Park, southeast of Warsaw, so that our troops could quickly gain a foothold and, after waiting for reinforcements to arrive, advance along Povsinska Street and Villanov Avenue towards the centre of Warsaw. ”

Zhukov stared at the map and asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, from where will our reinforcements cross the Vistula?" ”

"I think it is necessary to give Chuikov an immediate order to attack." Rokossovsky said decisively: "Order his troops to force crossings in the territory of Tatarchisko, Skulcha, Damirov, Domashev. After completing the forced crossing, it is also possible to carry out the main assault by crossing Magnushev"

After Rokossovsky finished speaking, Zhukov stared at the map again, then nodded and said: "That's right, you have a very reasonable point, we can let the Polish 1st Army, the 8th Guards Army and the 69th Army assembled in this area cross the Vistula River near Magnushew and Pławi, and establish a solid landing ground on their west bank, I believe they are fully capable of accomplishing this task." ”

"And what about the troops near Warsaw?" After waiting for Zhukov to finish speaking, Malinin asked again: "Do you order them to stop at their existing positions, hide in place, and wait for the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, and then rush into the city by surprise and occupy the Vilanov Palace and Moreshin Park in the southeast of the city?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Rokossovsky nodded and said to Malinin: "You immediately send a telegram to Major General Vagin, ordering his troops to temporarily stop their advance and take cover in the forest area, waiting for our next order." ”

Taking advantage of Malinin's dispatch of the telegram, Rokossovsky said to Zhukov: "Comrade Marshal, if our troops can quickly occupy the left-bank area of Warsaw, and thus form a breakthrough from this direction, the Germans in the city will not be able to organize an effective defense. ”

Zhukov had a different opinion on Rokossovsky's view: "The remnants of the German 2nd and 9th armies, with at least five divisions, were concentrated in the left-bank area of Warsaw, and it would probably not be easy for our troops to quickly occupy it. ”

Hearing Zhukov say this, Rokossovsky said with some regret: "If we cannot quickly occupy the left bank of Warsaw City, then we will not be able to transport tanks, artillery and other heavy weapons through the four bridges over the Vistula River, and this will greatly weaken the ability of our troops to attack the fortifications inside the city." ”

"I think it would be better to build a landing field in the Magnushev and Puvavi regions on the right bank of the Vistula River as soon as possible," Zhukov said, staring at the map, "We can find a way to build more large pontoon bridges here and transport our army's heavy weapons to the other side of the river one after another." ”

…………

Early the next morning, Chuikov's 8th Guards Army, Bellinger's 1st Polish Army, and Korpacz's 69th Army launched a large-scale forced crossing operation.

The Germans discovered that the Soviets were crossing the river, and in addition to the machine guns and mortars on the opposite bank, the artillery in the distance also blocked the river with artillery fire. On the turbulent river, columns of water rose from time to time, and the water flowed from the sky like a waterfall, drenching the commanders and fighters on the nearby boats into chickens.

The small boat, which was directly hit by artillery fire, suddenly turned into a fireball, and the hull and the commanders and fighters on it were blown apart with a loud bang; Although some small boats were not directly hit by artillery fire, the water column stirred up by the shells overturned them, and the commanders and fighters on board were swept away by the river.

Although the casualties of the troops crossing the river were constantly increasing, Chuikov, who commanded the operation, did not change his face. He put down his binoculars and asked the staff officer next to him, "How is it, have any troops crossed the river?" ”

After a dozen disappointments in succession, he finally heard exciting news: "Yes, Comrade Commander, the commander of the 4th Guards Infantry Army, General Glazunov, reports that the vanguard battalion of the 47th Guards Infantry Division, to which the corps belongs, has successfully landed on the opposite bank and created a small landing ground. ”

"Great, that's great." When Chuikov heard the staff officer's report, a satisfied smile appeared on his face, and he asked the staff officer: "The commander of the 47th Guards Division is Colonel Shugaev, right?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." The staff officer hurriedly replied: "It's Colonel Shugaev." ”

"Well done, he's good good." "When the battle is over, I will personally award him the Order of the Red Banner in recognition of their exploits in the battle to force the Vistula River," said Chuikov with admiration. ”

After paying a quarter of the casualties, the troops of the 47th Guards Division finally managed to ascend to the right bank of the Vistula and immediately built fortifications against a possible German counterattack.

After learning that the troops of the 8th Guards Army had successfully landed on the right bank of the Vistula River and established a landing ground, Rokossovsky asked Malinin: "Chief of Staff, do you contact General Vargin to see if there is any movement of the German troops in Warsaw?" ”

Without waiting for Malinin to send the message, Vakin's telegram came first. In the telegram, he said that the Germans, with about a regiment of strength, had left the city of Warsaw and were moving south. At the same time, the liaison officer he sent yesterday to make contact with the Krajov army, and since he had not returned for a long time, he sent people to look for him today, and as a result, the bodies of the two liaison officers were found at the contact location that had been negotiated in advance.

"What, our liaison officer was killed?" After reading the telegram, Rokossovsky immediately told Malinin: "Ask General Vagin, what is going on, who killed our liaison officer?" ”

Soon, Vakin's supplementary telegram arrived, detailing the slain liaison officer. After reading it, Zhukov slapped the telegram on the table and said angrily: "Crazy, it's crazy." Our two liaison officers didn't even have a complete corpse, who did this kind of unconscionable thing? If I catch them, I'll tear them to pieces. ”

After reading the contents of the telegram carefully, Rokossovsky felt that the bodies of the two liaison officers were so mutilated that they seemed to have been dismembered. He frowned and asked: "Comrade Marshal, do you say that there will be cavalry in the Krajov army in the city of Warsaw?" ”

"Cavalry?! What do you want cavalry to do in the city? As soon as Zhukov said a few words, he suddenly guessed what Rokossovsky wanted to express, so he asked tentatively: "Rokossovsky, do you mean that the other party tied our liaison officer to a horse and tore it into two pieces?" ”

"I think it's possible." Rokossovski nodded and said, "This happened more than twenty years ago, when we were fighting the Polish white bandits. ”

"That's right, that's right." Regarding Rokossovsky's analysis, Zhukov nodded and said: "This kind of thing did happen back then. But what I can't figure out is that our people are obviously there to help them, why would they do such a conscientious thing? ”

"Perhaps the people sent by the Krajov army to make contact happen to be some anti-Soviet members." Rokossovsky said helplessly: "They may have had a verbal conflict with our liaison officer, which is why they did such unconscionable things." ”

"And what about our troops?" Malinin asked worriedly: "Or according to the plan, after the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, to occupy the Vilanov Palace and Moreshin Park in the southeast of the city?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, we must occupy the Vlanov Palace and Moreshin Park." Rokossovsky said categorically: "No matter what kind of results the Krajov army can achieve after the uprising, it has little to do with us. We just need to follow the plan, gain a foothold in the city of Warsaw, and use this as a starting point for the attack, and then advance into the depth of Warsaw. ”

After waiting for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, Malinin asked cautiously: "What should we do if we encounter the resistance of Krajov's army on our way?" ”

Rokossovsky looked at Malinin and said in a stern tone: "Chief of Staff, please tell the commanders and fighters below that in the process of liberating Warsaw, as long as any troops of our army stop our army from advancing, we must not hesitate to destroy them, whether they are Germans or Poles. ”

"Understood." Hearing this special order from Rokossovsky, Malinin immediately replied excitedly: "I will immediately convey your order." ”

In response to Rokossovsky's order, Zhukov nodded and said: "Comrade Rokossovsky, this order of yours is completely correct, because in the next battle, we do not know what role the Krajov army in Warsaw will play, so when necessary, we need to take coercive measures against them. ”

Half an hour later, both the Soviet and Polish troops, hidden in the forests near Warsaw, received a special order from the command of the 1st Belorussian Front: "If, in the process of liberating Warsaw, we encounter troops that are blocking the advance of our army, regardless of whether the other side is German or Polish, it should be wiped out cleanly and completely." ”

General Wakin, who had just been furious because two of his subordinates had been killed, immediately applauded the case after receiving this order, and said in a loud voice: "Comrade Marshal is really too wise. We were helping the Polish people to exterminate the Germans, who knew that they were not friendly to us. I was worried about what to do with uncooperative, even unfriendly troops, during the battle for the liberation of Warsaw. Now that I have this command, I know it. ”

After receiving this order, Colonel Galicki, commander of the 3rd Polish Division, was silent for a long time, and finally said to his chief of staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, some people in the Krajow army have gone too far in some things, and you should immediately convey this order so that our commanders and fighters know what measures to take when encountering those unfriendly troops in battle." ”

The chief of staff took the order and looked at it for a long time, nodded, and replied in a hoarse voice: "Understood, comrade division commander, I will immediately issue this special order to all companies, so that every commander and fighter will know about it." ”