With the issuance of the order to open artillery, the thousands of artillery pieces deployed in the offensive section of the 19th Army opened fire at the same time, don't see that it is getting late, but the position of the German army's firepower, after a day of fighting, is well known to the Soviet artillery commander. Soviet shells smashed into the German positions as if they had eyes, knocking over the fortifications and bunkers one by one.

The German commander originally planned to take advantage of the favorable opportunity when it was dark and the Soviet bomber group could not be dispatched, and ordered the troops to continue to counterattack the Soviet troops who broke through the defensive line in order to close the open breakthrough, but seeing the heavy Soviet artillery fire, he had to abandon this plan, and at the same time ordered the troops to temporarily retreat to a safe area in order to preserve their strength.

The troops of the 19th Army, under the cover of artillery fire, managed to advance two kilometers later. Kozlov hurriedly ordered the troops to stop advancing, and at the same time he called Rokossovsky to report: "Comrade Marshal, my troops, supported by artillery fire, advanced two kilometers deep into the German defense in just one hour. ”

Although Rokossovsky had already received the battle report, he was still quite happy when he heard Kozlov personally report to him: "That's great, General Kozlov, you should take advantage of the favorable opportunity when the Germans are unable to counterattack and continue to advance in depth to the enemy." If you advance two kilometers an hour, nay, even if it is only one kilometer, by the time it is dawn tomorrow, your vanguard will be deep into the enemy's depths. ”

"But, Comrade Marshal, I have ordered the troops to halt their advance." Kozlov was deeply afraid that Rokossovsky would blame himself, and hurriedly defended: "It is already too late, and when our fighters are attacking, it will be difficult for them to discover the enemy's hidden positions and may suffer unnecessary losses." In addition, the artillery that provided us with artillery support may also be hit by mistake because it is dark. Therefore I ordered the troops to stop and wait until tomorrow after dawn before attacking......"

"Bastard, what a bastard." After Rokossovsky put down the phone, he slammed his fist on the table and scolded angrily: "The current situation is so favorable to our army that he actually ordered the troops to stop advancing on the grounds that it was dark and he could not detect the enemy and was afraid of being accidentally injured by artillery fire." By doing so, he was simply delaying the fighter. ”

Bogolyubov walked in the door at this time, saw Rokossovsky getting angry, and hurriedly asked tentatively: "Comrade Marshal, what happened?" Who provoked you so much? ”

"Who else? Kozlov, of course! Rokossovsky said indignantly: "Since our artillery managed to suppress the enemy, in an hour they advanced two kilometers to the depth of the defense." And then it was in such a favorable situation that Kozlov actually ordered the troops to stop and rest, isn't this a delay in the fighters? ”

"Comrade Marshal," after figuring out what was going on, Bogolyubov hurriedly persuaded: "General Kozlov is a more cautious person, and there is nothing wrong with him doing this. After all, when our artillery shells at night, the accuracy of the shelling is not as high as during the day, and it is entirely possible to accidentally injure one's own people. ”

Seeing that Bogolyubov also helped Kozlov to say good things, Rokossovsky could only suppress the anger in his heart, but he had already moved the idea of replacing the commander of the army group. He waved at Bogolyubov and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, go and inform our artillery commanders and ask them to stop firing." Since the infantry is no longer attacking, there is no need to waste precious shells on meaningless shelling. ”

After a night of waiting, it was finally dawn. The troops of the 19th Army, supported by artillery fire, renewed their offensive against the Germans. But soon after the battle began, Rokossovsky received a call from Kozlov, who was on the other end of the telephone line and hurriedly asked: "Comrade Marshal, didn't you say that the troops of the 3rd Guards Tank Army will cooperate with us in launching an attack on the enemy's depth after dawn?" ”

Rokossovsky asked with some surprise: "Why, General Panfilov's troops, have not yet entered the battlefield through the gap you opened?" ”

"No, Comrade Marshal." Kozlov said with a sad face: "During the attack, my troops did not see any tanks at all, except for artillery support from the rear. ”

"I see." Rokossovsky was also very uncomfortable when he learned that Panfilov's Guards Tank Army did not appear on time on the battlefield, and he said into the microphone: "I immediately called General Panfilov and asked what was going on. General Kozlov, rest assured, you will definitely be supported by tank units. ”

Having ended the call with Kozlov, Rokossovsky immediately dialed Panfilov's command. As soon as he heard Panfilov's voice, Rokossovsky slapped the table and asked in a loud voice: "General Panfilov, didn't you say that your tank unit could be put into battle at eight o'clock in the morning?" Now the time has come, but where are your troops? ”

Faced with Rokossovsky's questioning, Panfilov replied awkwardly: "Comrade Marshal, our vanguard is still twenty kilometers from the place of engagement, and it will take two hours at the earliest to arrive. ”

"What, two more hours to wait?" In response to Panfilov's answer, Rokossovsky said with some annoyance: "According to the prior battle plan, your troops should have been put into battle yesterday. I gave you an extra day, and your troops are still on the way......"

"Comrade Marshal, please listen to my explanation." Hearing Rokossovsky's anger, Panfilov explained in some panic: "I did not expect that the road here would be so bad, the muddy road allowed our tanks to move at a speed of about eight kilometers, and two hours later they arrived at the starting position, which was already our limit." ”

After listening to Panfilov's explanation, Rokossovsky fell into deep thought, in order to stop the Soviet attack, the Germans blew up bridges and planted thousands of mines on the road when they retreated, all of which had a negative impact on the rapid advance of the Soviet army into the depth of their defense.

Panfilov noticed that there was suddenly no sound in the receiver, and at first thought that Rokossovsky had hung up the phone, but after listening carefully for a moment, he could vaguely hear the voice of a distant staff officer or a communications soldier talking from inside, and guessed that Comrade Marshal might be thinking about the problem. After waiting for a long time, seeing that Rokossovsky had not moved, he coughed lightly and asked cautiously: "Comrade Marshal, are you still there?" ”

Rokossovsky's musings was awakened by Panfilov's voice, and he quickly replied: "I'm still here." General Panfilov, I will immediately send engineering troops to help you pave the way, and I hope that in the next battle, your performance will not disappoint me. ”