In order to extricate himself from the current predicament as soon as possible, Lüdek personally drafted a telegram in which he gave a detailed account of the situation of the fortress, and in particular, pointed out that it was unrealistic to continue holding the fortress due to the lack of ammunition and food, and therefore begged Guderian to persuade Hitler to agree to the withdrawal of his troops from the fortress.

After Guderian received this telegram from Lüdek, he also felt embarrassed, so all kinds of bad news were coming every day, so that Hitler was in a state of rage at any time, and if he reported the matter to Lüdeke at this time and asked him to agree to the withdrawal of the defenders of the fortress of Thorn, it would be even more infuriating to the other party. Therefore, after some consideration, Guderian decided that it was better to put Lüdecker's message on the shelf for the time being, and then relay it to Hitler when the time was right.

After a few days of patient waiting, Guderian finally waited for the right opportunity. In order to prevent the destruction of the Silesian industrial area, Konev deliberately set aside a passage so that the main German army under siege could withdraw smoothly. After Hitler learned of this news, he thought that Konev's troops were too weak to trap the troops deployed in the Silesian industrial zone, so that this besieged army could successfully jump out of the encirclement of the Soviet army.

Seeing Hitler's happy face, Guderian felt that he could take this opportunity to propose to him the matter of letting the defenders of the Thorn Fortress retreat, so he said cautiously: "My Führer, I have just received a telegram from the commander of the Thorn Fortress, Lieutenant General Rüdk. ”

Hitler, who was in a good mood, heard Guderian say this, so he casually asked: "Does General Lüdek have any good news to tell me?" ”

Hearing Hitler say this, Guderian hesitated for a moment, and then replied: "No, Your Excellency the Führer, is he asking for him to retreat?" ”

"Retreat?! Why? Hitler's good mood suddenly turned bad when he heard the word retreat, and he asked angrily: "These cowards, has he been frightened by the Russians and dare not stay in the strong fortress and continue to fight with the Russians?" ”

"No, my Führer." Guderian shook his head and replied: "General Lüdek asked for a retreat, not because he did not dare to fight the Russians, but because he was not capable of holding the fortress?" ”

"If you can't keep it, why can't you keep it?" Hitler, who had the memory to express his attitude, suddenly remembered that he had seen something related to the fortress of Thorn in his report a few days ago, and continued: "There are 32,000 men in the fortress, of which the 31st Grenadier Division and the 73rd Infantry Division are not weak in combat, even if there are only these two divisions in the fortress, it is enough to crush all the attacks of the Russians." ”

Guderian patiently waited for Hitler to vent before cautiously saying: "My Führer, your memory is amazing, and our army is indeed 32,000 men in the fortress of Thorn. However, we do not have enough ammunition and food to hold on to ......"

"But Himmler reported to me," Hitler replied, "that there was enough ammunition and all kinds of supplies in the fortress for half a year, so he ordered the fortress to hold on for at least three months." ”

"Judging from the current situation, it is clear that His Excellency the National Leader has made a mistake." Guderian said cautiously: "After General Rudek took office, after an investigation, he found that the ammunition and various supplies that could be used in the fortress could only barely last for three days. ”

"Is it really only three days?" Hitler asked, in a skeptical tone: "Are you sure that Lüdecker did not deceive you?" ”

"My Führer," replied Guderian, "I have carefully checked the situation with the supplies stored in the fortress of Thorn, and General Lüdek is absolutely right. ”

"Damn Himmler," said Hitler, gritting his teeth, after hearing this, "he actually let a fortress with only three days of ammunition and supplies hold out for three months under the siege of the Russians, it is simply ...... It's just ......."

Just as Hitler was racking his brains about what words to use to swear, Guderian added in time: "My Führer, we should let the defenders of the Thorn fortress break through quickly, while the Russian encirclement has not yet been formed." Once the Russians have surrounded the fortress, even if they do not attack, hunger will defeat our brave soldiers. ”

Guderian's words reminded Hitler of the 6th Army, which had been besieged in Stalingrad and had to surrender because it ran out of ammunition and food. Therefore, after a long silence, he finally spoke: "Well, since the supply of Thorn Fortress has reached such a bad level, let them break through as soon as possible." ”

An hour later, Himmler received a telegram from Guderian. But when he read the contents of the telegram clearly, he couldn't help but be dumbfounded, only to see that it read: "To Army Group Vistula." The Führer had already ordered the defenders of the fortress of Thorn to carry out a breakout operation. ”

"Hell, what's going on?" Himmler's first reaction after reading the telegram was that it was a fake telegram, how could the Führer allow the fortress troops to break through? He hurriedly ordered the chief of staff: "Immediately connect the phone of the General Staff, I will talk to Guderian to find out the truth of this telegram." ”

After talking to Guderian, Himmler confirmed that this was all true, and that the Führer had agreed to let the defenders of the fortress of Thorn break out for the first time. He put down the phone for a long time before instructing his chief of staff: "Call General Walter Weiss of the 2nd Army and say that the Führer has agreed to the breakout of Thorn's defenders, and ask him to convey this order immediately." ”

And Lüdk, who was staying in the Thorn Fortress, had been waiting for a long time since the telegram was sent. Although the Soviets did not launch another ground offensive, the daily non-stop artillery bombardment made him tremble. Especially when the quartermaster reported the food stored in the fortress every day, his heart was even more panicked, if the food was really out of food, even if the Soviet army did not attack, his soldiers would not have the strength to fight again.

Just when he was in a hurry, he finally received a call from General Weiss. The commander of the 2nd Army told him on the phone: "General Lüdek, our Führer has agreed to your plan to break through the siege, and you must act immediately and break out of the fortress in the shortest possible time." ”

Knowing that he had planned to break out and had received Hitler's permission, Lüdeke couldn't help but be overjoyed: "Understood, Your Excellency Commander, we will complete the breakout operation as soon as possible." ”

As soon as he put down the phone, Lüdek instructed his adjutant: "Lieutenant Colonel, immediately call the commander of the 73rd Infantry Division, the commander of the 31st Grenadier Division, and the rest of the officers of the colonel, and ask them to immediately come to me for a meeting to discuss the breakout." ”