Just as Rokossovsky was nervously deploying his troops and preparing to break through the German defenses in one fell swoop, he received a call from Antonov, Chief of the General Staff.

When Rokossovsky heard Antonov's voice, he also happily asked: "Hello, Comrade Chief of the General Staff, I wonder what good news you have brought me?" ”

Antonov was silent for a moment before he replied with a bitter face: "I'm sorry, Marshal Rokossovsky, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you." I have been instructed by the Supreme Commander himself to inform you of an incident. ”

Hearing Antonov say this, Rokossovsky immediately realized that it was not a good thing, and asked alarmistly: "What is it?" ”

"Since the 2nd Belorussian Front no longer participates in the campaign against the enemy army group in East Prussia, but continues to carry out the original task - to attack in the general direction of Bulitz (Bobolice) in coordination with the 1st Belorussian Front," Antonov said dryly. Therefore, the 50th, 3rd, 48th and 5th Guards Tank Armies on the right flank should be immediately placed under the command of the 3rd Belorussian Front. ”

After Rokossovsky put down the phone, Bogolyubov, who heard only a few words, hurriedly came over and asked: "Comrade Marshal, I wonder what new instructions the General Staff has given us?" ”

Hearing Bogolyubov's question, Rokossovsky looked up at him and said: "The Supreme High Command orders us to immediately transfer the 50th, 3rd, 48th and 5th Guards Tank Armies of the Right Wing to the command of the 3rd Front of Chernyakhovsky. ”

"What?!" Bogolyubov was stunned by the news, and he said in surprise: "Comrade Marshal, how can this be? You know, we are now also facing a shortage of troops, who knows that the Supreme Command not only did not give us additional troops, but took half of our troops from us at once, including such assault forces as the 5th Tank Army. Without the cooperation of the tank army, how should we fight the next battle? ”

"Fight as you want." Rokossovsky was full of anger in his heart, but in front of his subordinates, he still tried to control his emotions. "Since the Supreme Command wants to assign the troops on the right flank to the command of the Third Front, we can only obey the orders of our superiors. As for the enemies in East Pomerania, we must defeat them by all means. Now, you call the commanders of the army group and inform them that from now on, they will be assigned to the command of the troops of the Third Front. ”

…………

The very day after the base camp announced the transfer of the Right Sector units to the Third Belorussian Front, an unexpected tragedy occurred. The commander of the Front, General Chernyakhovsky, unfortunately died.

"What, Chernyakhovsky sacrificed?!" Although Rokossovsky knew for a long time that Chernyakhovsky would die before the end of the war, when he heard Antonov inform him of the news, he was still stunned and instinctively asked: "How did he die?" ”

"While directing the battle at the front near the city of Melsac, he was shelled by the Germans." Antonov said in a deep voice: "Unfortunately, a heroic death. ”

As soon as he finished the call with Antonov, the high-frequency phone in front of Rokossovsky rang again, and he thought that Antonov had nothing to say, so he picked up the earpiece and put it to his ear and asked: "Comrade Chief of the General Staff, is there anything else?" ”

Unexpectedly, the voice of the commander of the 48th Army, Gusev, came from the earpiece: "Comrade Marshal, I am Gusev. ”

"Oh, it's General Gusev." After hearing that the caller turned out to be Gusev, Rokossovsky's tone became casual: "Is there something wrong?" ”

"Comrade Marshal, an unfortunate incident has occurred." Gusev lowered his voice and said mysteriously: "General Chernyakhovsky died more than an hour ago. ”

"General Gusev, I already know about this." Rokossovsky originally thought that Gusev would report some shocking news about himself, but who knew that Chernyashovsky had died, but said lightly: "It was Antonov, the chief of the General Staff, who personally called me and told me that General Chernyakhovsky was bombarded by the German army when he was commanding the operation at the front of the city of Melsac, and unfortunately he was shot and died." ”

"That's not right, Comrade Marshal." Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Gusev said unexpectedly: "But the version I heard is that he died in a mine on the road when he went to Gorbatov's 3rd Army to inspect by car." Strangely, none of the jeeps in front and behind ran over the mine, except for the one he was riding. Also, the driver and adjutant of his car were only slightly wounded, and almost all the shrapnel penetrated his body, so that he died on the spot. ”

"General Gusev, who did you listen to this news?" There are two different theories about the reason for Chernyakhovsky's death, one is what Antonov said, he was hit by shrapnel from an artillery shell and unfortunately died; On the other hand, Gusev said, when he went to the front line to inspect the front, his car unfortunately ran over a mine and died. Today is the best time to find out the truth of history, and Rokossovsky naturally will not give up easily, he hurriedly asked: "Is the source reliable?" ”

"It was the commander of the 3rd Army, Gorbatov, who told me." Gusev hurriedly replied: "The place where Comrade General died is only three or four kilometers away from Gorbatov's command. Moreover, after the incident, he once brought people to the scene. I believe that what he said should be accurate. ”

Seeing Gusev's words so conclusive, Rokossovsky's heart knew very well that what he said should be the truth. He did not call Gorbatov to verify, but said to Gusev: "General Gusev, you are now subordinate to the Third Front, the commander of the Front has died, and the higher authorities will definitely send someone to replace him soon." During this time, you should be vigilant enough to prevent the Germans from launching a surprise attack while you are leaderless. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Marshal." Gusev replied loudly on the other end of the phone.

Having learned the truth about Chernyakhovsky's death, Rokossovsky did not tell anyone, but called Bogolyubov in front of him and instructed him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the offensive of the Third Front in the East Prussian region may be suspended for a while due to the sacrifice of General Chernyakhovsky. Therefore, we must intensify our offensive in East Pomerania in order to attract the attention of the Germans and to gain the necessary time for the reshuffling of the leadership of the Third Front. ”