Although Hitler had proposed a fortress strategy in 1943, it was not until the Soviet army advanced into Germany that the German army began to take this strategy seriously. They concentrated their forces to hold the fortress to resist the Soviet attack, and they were in the encirclement, and they could still condescendingly control the surrounding roads and railways, so that the Soviet convoys could not pass smoothly, and could only choose other areas to bypass, which directly affected the supply of those troops who bypassed the fortress.

Rokossovsky looked at the three fortresses on the map and couldn't help but feel a little headache, because the large number of troops of the Front Army was pinned down around the fortresses, which led to the troops advancing forward, and the momentum of the offensive was constantly weakening.

"Comrade Marshal," Bogolyubov, who had finished assigning the task, walked back, saw Rokossovsky staring at the map in a daze, and hurriedly asked tentatively: "Look, do you need to order the troops of the 70th Army to temporarily stop advancing towards the Vistula River and concentrate on taking down the Thorn fortress first?" ”

"Concentrate the 70th Army on capturing Fortress Thorn first?" Rokossovsky waited for Bogolyubov to finish speaking, and then asked noncommittally: "Comrade Chief of Staff, can you tell me your reasons?" ”

"It's simple." Bogolyubov shrugged his shoulders and said: "If this fortress of the German army is not uprooted, even if General Popov's troops build a landing ground on the west bank of the Vistula, it will not be easy for them to reach the front line smoothly with the weapons, ammunition and supplies they need." ”

Rokossovsky agrees with Bogolyubov's statement, but considering that his troops are currently facing three easily defended and difficult fortresses at the same time, it is a question which unit should first tilt the resources for the offensive towards. Considering that the assault on the fortress was indispensable, artillery, he picked up the phone on the desk and called Sokolisky's office. Hearing Sokolisky's voice coming from the earpiece, he immediately said: "Comrade Artillery Commander, please come to me, I have something to discuss with you." ”

A few minutes later, Sokolsky walked into Rokossovsky's room and respectfully asked: "Comrade Marshal, what instructions do you have?" ”

"That's right, General Sokolisky." After beckoning Sokolsky to sit down, Rokossovsky walked up to him and said to him: "Just now Comrade Chief of Staff suggested to me that the troops of the 70th Army should suspend the advance towards the Vistula and instead concentrate their forces on the capture of the fortress of Thorn, which was occupied by the Germans. I'd like to hear your opinion, how much artillery would need to be invested if this fortress is to be captured? ”

Sokolsky thought for a moment, and then replied: "Comrade Marshal, although there is a breakthrough artillery corps and more than a dozen independent artillery regiments that can be used at the moment, the artillery they are equipped with is only 152 mm in caliber, and it is impossible to inflict fatal damage on a strong fortress like Thorn. At this point, he paused for a moment, and then continued, "Unless it is 305 mm guns, the thick walls of the fortress can be destroyed." ”

"Do we have such artillery?" After Sokolisky finished speaking, Rokossovsky asked briefly.

"Yes, Comrade Marshal. We have such a battalion of heavy artillery, armed with six 305-mm heavy howitzers, which can penetrate reinforced concrete fortifications from two to two meters thick at a distance of a thousand meters. Sokolsky was embarrassed and said: "But at the moment the troops of the Front are surrounding three German fortresses at the same time, I don't know which fortress should be the priority target?" ”

"Marshal Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front and Marshal Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front are currently making great progress on the battlefield." Rokossovsky stared at the map in front of him and said: "I think the first thing we should solve is the Thon fortress closest to them, because when the 70th Army attacks the fortress, it only needs to send a part of its troops to defend the German army on the other side of the Vistula, without worrying about exposing its flank to the enemy." ”

"Comrade Marshal, since you have made your decision." Bogolyubov, who was standing on the side, after listening to what Rokossovsky had said, promptly added: "Then we will transfer the artillery to the Thorn fortress as soon as possible, and at the same time, let General Popov stop the advance in the direction of the Vistula." ”

"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." Just as Bogolyubov was about to turn and leave, Rokossovsky stopped him and said to him: "The capture of the fortress of Thorn is indeed the current priority of the 70th Army, but the troops that are advancing towards the Vistula do not need to be transferred back." Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, mentally calculated how many troops would be needed to hold the landing ground established in the West Bank, and added, "Popov should leave two or three infantry divisions, and a certain number of tank brigades and artillery regiments, to continue to build landing grounds on the West Bank." In this way, after liberating the fortress of Thorn, they can quickly cross the Vistula River and launch a new offensive into the depth of the enemy's defenses. ”

"Understood, Comrade Marshal." Bogolyubov nodded and said: "I will immediately convey your intention to General Popov, and ask him to leave two or three divisions of troops to continue to establish a landing ground on the west bank of the Vistula, and at the same time transfer the main forces back to the vicinity of the fortress of Thon and prepare to seize the fortress." ”

After Bogolyubov left, Rokossovsky asked Sokolisky: "Commander of artillery, how long will it take for your heavy artillery battalion to reach the Thorn fortress?" ”

"About a week." After answering this question, Sokolsky saw Rokossovsky frowning and a displeased expression, and hurriedly explained: "Comrade Marshal, although this heavy howitzer is amazingly powerful, its own weight is also quite terrifying, the combat weight is 35 tons, and the marching weight reaches 54 tons, so that when transported, it must be disassembled into three parts, the barrel, the upper part of the gun carriage and the lower part of the gun carriage ......"

Sokolisky's words made Rokossovsky understand that there are advantages and disadvantages, and this kind of heavy howitzer with a caliber of 305 mm has a good destructive effect on the German fortresses, but transportation is a big problem. The roads of East Prussia, after the incessant bombardment of Soviet and Allied troops, were full of potholes, which affected even ordinary troop movements, let alone such behemoths.

After thinking about this link, Rokossovsky nodded and said understandingly: "Comrade Artillery Commander, I understand your distress, but in order to crush the German defense in East Prussia as soon as possible, I still hope that you can transport heavy howitzers to the vicinity of Thorn Fortress as soon as possible." Do you understand? ”

"Comrade Marshal," Sokolisky hurriedly said, "I will urge the heavy artillery battalion to speed up the march and try to get to the Thorn fortress as soon as possible to participate in the battle." ”

"I will greet the chief of the engineering corps, General Blagoslavov," and as soon as Sokolsky finished speaking, Rokossovsky continued: "Let him send engineers and technicians to lay a special passage for the heavy artillery battalion." ”