As soon as the shelling before the counteroffensive began, German bombers appeared in the sky. www.biquge.info On the artillery positions that were bombed, the vast majority of the artillery was blown up by aerial bombs falling from the sky before they could finish the required shells.

Although the artillery fire was prepared for a short time, the Soviet commanders and fighters bravely rushed towards the enemy's positions. The enemy did not expect that the Soviet army would suddenly launch a counteroffensive and was taken by surprise. After a short effort, the counterattacking troops rushed to the enemy's trenches, threw grenades into the trenches, and before the smoke cleared, they rushed directly to engage the Germans in a white-knuckle battle.

The counterattack force attacked the position that the 316th Division had lost not long ago, and the commanders and fighters who participated in the battle were naturally familiar with the positions that had belonged to them, and in a short time occupied a favorable combat position. Although the Germans resisted desperately, they only held out for a short time before the resistance collapsed, and they abandoned their positions and fled to the rear.

Seeing that the enemy began to flee, the morale of the Soviet commanders and fighters was greatly boosted, and except for a few people who were left to clean up the remnants of the enemy in the trenches, the rest of the people followed the enemy and chased down.

Rokossovsky, who was in the command, had a smile on his face after receiving the latest battle report. He handed Lobachev the battle report in his hand, and said with a long sigh: "Comrade Military Commissar, our commanders and fighters have behaved very well, you see, only ten minutes after the battle began, they successfully occupied the first trench of the German army, and now they are attacking the second trench. ”

"Comrade Commander," in contrast to Rokossovsky and Lobachev, the head of artillery, Kazakov, asked with a sad face: "Our artillery units, preparing for artillery fire before the attack, were subjected to German air strikes, and at the moment the troops are suffering heavy losses. What do we do next? If we don't have enough artillery, we can't gnaw at those strong fortifications in the rear of the German army at all? ”

Just as Rokossovsky was thinking about how to answer Kazakov's question, Malinin hurried over again, handed Rokossovsky a telegram in his hand, and said excitedly: "Comrade commander, I have just received the latest battle report, our troops have occupied the second line of German trenches, and are ready to take a short rest before attacking the third line of defense of the German army. ”

"Good fight." Lobachev said with high spirits: "It seems that the political propaganda work we carried out before the war was quite effective, especially since the commanders and fighters knew that the Supreme Commander himself was very concerned about this counteroffensive, and even personally came to the front line, and their morale became more and more high......

Originally, Rokossovsky was worried about the heavy losses of artillery, but after hearing Lobachev say this, he had a new idea. He looked up at Kazakov and said: "Comrade Chief Artillery, the superior said that in the battle, three aviation divisions will be dispatched to support us, and as long as the air supremacy of the battlefield is completely in the hands of the enemy, you can concentrate the remaining artillery and use it again." ”

"But, Comrade Commander." Kazakov said with a bitter expression: "When will the air force sent by the higher authorities arrive?" Now the air strikes of the German planes on the artillery positions are too strong, and if they are not driven away, our surviving artillery will not dare to move at all, lest we suffer even greater losses. ”

Regarding Kazakov's concerns, Malinin said disapprovingly: "As long as our air force is dispatched and seizes air supremacy on the battlefield, it will be able to bomb areas where the German army has strong fortifications, and then even without the cooperation of artillery, I believe that our counterattack force will be able to successfully break through the enemy's defensive line." ”

"What if our Air Force doesn't show up in time?" In response to Malinin's indifferent attitude, Kazakov asked with dissatisfaction: "Or if they are transferred to other directions and cannot support us, what should we do?" ”

Kazakov's series of questions really stopped Malinin. Seeing Malinin's speechless appearance, Rokossovsky hurriedly came out to play a round, and he asked Kazakov bluntly: "Comrade Artillery Chief, how many more cannons have survived now?" ”

"There are about thirty howitzers left," said Kazakov with a sad face, "and the Katyusha rocket launchers have not suffered any losses because of their high mobility......

Rokossovsky, hearing Kazakov's mention of rocket artillery, quickly interrupted his later words and couldn't wait to ask: "Wait, Comrade Kazakov, what are you talking about, our Katyusha rocket artillery did not suffer any losses?" ”

"Yes, the five rocket artillery battalions to which our army belongs have suffered almost no losses." Kazakov nodded and said: "According to the order, the firing of rocket artillery should be carried out after the preparation of artillery fire carried out by ordinary artillery. ”

Although Rokossovsky usually had no good impression of the restraining orders in the Soviet army, at this moment, he felt that the orders in the army were not useless, at least a few rocket artillery battalions belonging to the group army survived. With such a divine weapon, whether it is offensive or defensive, it can play a great role.

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The troops were bombarded by German artillery and aircraft during their assault on the third line of defense, and after suffering more than 300 casualties, they had to retreat to the second line and regroup.

After Rokossovsky learned the news, he hurriedly called Rokossovsky and asked anxiously: "Comrade General, when our troops attacked, they were intercepted by German artillery and bombed by aircraft, and the troops had to withdraw after paying great casualties. ”

"The Aeronaut can't come." Unexpectedly, after Zhukov heard this, he said slowly: "Due to the dangerous situation in other directions, the three aviation divisions originally sent by the higher authorities to support us have been transferred to more dangerous areas. Comrade Rokossovsky, you can only rely on your existing forces to fight the enemy. Do you understand? ”

When Rokossovsky heard Zhukov say this, he secretly scolded Kazakov in his heart, saying that the aviation division may not be able to come, but now he really can't come, and he has been transferred to other directions to participate in the battle.

Hearing that Rokossovsky did not speak for a long time, Zhukov asked with some impatience: "Hey, Comrade Rokossovsky, what are you doing, why don't you speak?" ”

"Comrade General, I understand." Rokossovsky knew that air support was out of play, so he had to say helplessly: "We will use our existing strength to launch an attack on the German defensive positions." ”

Seeing him put down the phone, Ma Lining asked worriedly: "Comrade commander, how is the situation?" When will the air support sent to us by our superiors arrive on the battlefield? ”

Rokossovsky looked at Malinin and said with a wry smile: "Our Air Force can't come!" Since the situation in other areas became tense, the higher authorities sent the aviation division in that direction. In other words, our counteroffensive troops can only rely on their own strength to defeat the enemy. ”

"Without the support of the Air Force, it will be difficult for us to fight in the next battle." Pointing to the map, Malinin explained to Rokossovsky: "Look, comrade commander, the first, second, and even the third trench that we are preparing to attack are only more than 500 meters apart. At such a distance, it only takes two or three minutes for our commanders and fighters to rush through, so the speed of capturing the first two trenches can be so fast.

But if we occupy the third trench and then attack the German lines, the problem is more serious. From the third trench to the enemy's defensive positions, there was a distance of three or four kilometers. It was all plains, and if our troops had to brave German shelling and bombardment to rush into German defensive positions without air cover, they would have to pay a terrible price. Perhaps in less than two hours, all of our troops participating in the counteroffensive will be lost. ”

"Ah, it's so serious?" Lobachev was taken aback by the situation analyzed by Malinin, he looked up at Rokossovsky and asked in surprise: "Comrade commander, do you have any good way to allow our commanders and fighters to smoothly cross this dangerous distance?" ”

Rokossovsky frowned and thought for a while about this thorny question, and then said: "I have two options, and I will discuss which one is more appropriate."

The first plan was to have the rocket artillery battalion fire a salvo at the German defensive positions, and then the tanks of the 4th Tank Brigade would cover our infantry to charge;

The second option is to wait after dark for the enemy's air force and artillery to provide effective support to the forward line, and then we send infantry to attack. ”

Lobachev was not very good at military affairs, and after listening to this, he turned his attention to Malinin and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, which plan do you think is more suitable?" ”

"I don't think both options have shortcomings." Speaking was Colonel Orel, the head of the armored corps, who said to Rokossovsky with a serious expression: "Comrade commander, even if our tanks open the way for the infantry in front, under the German artillery interception and aircraft bombardment, the tanks will also suffer heavy losses. Even if a few of the remaining vehicles barely rushed to the front of the enemy's position, they would have been destroyed by the enemy's anti-tank crews.

And in a night attack, if only infantry is dispatched, the success rate is not high, and the fire points on the enemy's position will suppress them so that they cannot raise their heads......"

"It doesn't work, it doesn't work either." Ma Lining retorted in a dissatisfied tone: "Then can you say a good plan?" ”

Orel looked at Rokossovsky and said a little embarrassed: "Comrade commander, I have an idea, but I don't know whether to say it or not. ”

"Say whatever comes to mind." Rokossovsky saw Oryol grinding and chirping, and said a little impatiently: "Even if I say something wrong, I won't blame you, at least it provides us with a useful idea." ”

"I think it's best to wait until it's dark and the enemy's air force can't move, and then we have bombarded the German positions with rocket artillery battalions, and then let the tanks guide the infantry to attack the enemy's defensive positions." After Orel finished his thoughts in one breath, he carefully asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, do you think this plan is appropriate?" ”

Without waiting for Rokossovsky to speak, Lobachev frowned and said: "It's just noon, and there are at least five or six hours left until dark." For such a long time, we can't afford to wait and do nothing. ”

Rokossovsky thought about Oryol's plan and felt that it was better than his own, so he nodded and said: "Okay, let's take Colonel Orel's plan and wait until after dark to attack the enemy's fourth trench." At this point, he turned to Lobachev and said, "Our first task at the moment is to first take the third line of trenches from the enemy's hands as a starting position after dark." ”

After Ma Linin finished speaking, he immediately asked: "Comrade commander, do I need to give a new offensive order to the counteroffensive troops?" ”

"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." After Rokossovsky raised his hand to stop Malinin, he turned his gaze to Kazakov: "Comrade Artillery Chief, can you let the rocket artillery battalion cover the enemy's positions with fire?" ”

"Comrade commander," said Kazakov, with an embarrassed expression on his face, "our troops are too close to the enemy, and if we use a weapon with such great power and poor accuracy as rocket artillery, it is easy to accidentally hurt our own people." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Artillery." In response to the difficulties raised by Kazakov, Rokossovsky confidently said: "After all, the distance between the two positions is more than 500 meters, and when our rocket artillery starts firing, let the commanders and fighters hide in the trenches without probes." I believe that with this kind of precaution, we can minimize our accidental injuries. ”

Seeing that Rokossovsky was talking about this with himself so solemnly, Kazakov had to reluctantly agree: "Well, comrade commander, since you say so, then I will go and contact the commander of the rocket artillery battalion and ask them to come up with a salvo for our infantry." ”

Considering that rocket artillery is the most powerful weapon in the existing army group, Rokossovsky also specifically reminded Kazakov: "Let the rocket artillery battalion pay attention to concealment, and once the salvo is completed, immediately shift the position, and never be targeted by German aircraft or artillery, understand?" ”

"Totally understood, Comrade Commander." Kazakov agreed very dryly: "I will explain it clearly to the commander of the rocket artillery battalion." ”

When Kazakov went to call, Rokossovsky ordered Malinin again: "Chief of staff, immediately call the front line, and ask the commanders and fighters not to launch an attack on the third line of trenches for the time being, and to hide in the trenches, so as not to be accidentally injured by our artillery fire." (To be continued.) )