After Bogolyubov heard the date Katukov said, a disappointed expression appeared on his face: "So it will take at least two or three days for your troops to go into battle. ”

"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff." Katukov nodded and said in an affirmative tone: "It will take time for the troops to be gathered, assembled and replenished, as well as to be put into battle. March 8 was put into battle, and it was already very fast. ”

"Chief of Staff," Rokossovsky interjected, "since General Katukov's troops are still in place in a few days, then you should first call General Romanovsky and ask him to direct the troops to advance to the east starting tomorrow." ”

"Comrade Marshal," said Bogolyubov with some embarrassment about Rokossovsky's order: "The Germans in our encirclement, as well as a large number of armored units, may not be able to achieve much success without the cooperation of the tank army. ”

"You don't have to worry about that." Rokossovsky said with a smile on his face: "Even without the cooperation of tank units, the artillery reinforced to them can smash a huge gap in the enemy's strong defensive line." ”

"Well, Comrade Marshal." Bogolyubov nodded and replied: "I'll go and call Romanovsky and order him to launch an attack on the east tomorrow." ”

After Bogolyubov left, Rokossovsky said to Katukov with some embarrassment: "General Katukov, before you attack, you must prepare sufficient fuel and ammunition. You know, you are temporarily assigned to our front headquarters, and we are unable to provide you with these supplies for the time being. ”

"I understand, Comrade Marshal." Seeing Rokossovsky's embarrassed look, Katukov said with a smile: "The reason why our army group has not entered the battle for a long time is because it is preparing the ammunition and fuel needed for the offensive, and I don't want my troops to be forced to withdraw from the battle in the middle of the battle because of the lack of ammunition or fuel." ”

…………

Early the next morning, Romanovsky's 19th Army, in accordance with Rokossovsky's orders, launched an offensive against the enemy to the east. The Germans never dreamed that as soon as the Soviets had completed their encirclement, they could not wait to attack, with no preparation at all, and suffered huge losses in the Soviet artillery fire.

In addition, their defense line was originally oriented to the east and south, and for the attack from the west, they could not rely on the fortifications to resist, and in the face of the tide of Soviet troops, they only supported it for less than half an hour, and the defense line collapsed on the whole line. The troops of the 19th Army, taking advantage of the victory, pursued and rushed all the way to Stolp.

Stolp was the second largest city in East Pomerania after Stettin, and the Germans built strong fortifications in close proximity around the city, and the fleeing Germans hid in these fortifications and put up stubborn resistance. The pursuing Soviet infantry had already left the artillery far behind, and in the face of the Germans' now strong fortifications, their offensive did not make any progress, but paid a lot of casualties.

Seeing that the troops were blocked outside the city of Stolp, Romanovsky hurriedly reported the situation to the Front Command. Bogolyubov, holding the telegram he received, came to report to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, our 19th Army has now advanced to the approach of Stolp, but they are blocked by strong fortifications outside the city, and they launched two attacks in a row, both of which were repulsed by the enemy. ”

Rokossovsky stared at the map and thought to himself: Stolp is the industrial center of East Pomerania, with not only aircraft factories, but also numerous military factories, and this will definitely become a key area for the German army, and it will be very difficult to capture it if it is purely infantry. Thinking of this, he turned his head and asked Bogolyubov: "Where is the artillery?" ”

"Due to the poor condition of the roads, coupled with the fact that our troops are advancing too fast." Pointing to the map, Bogolyubov reported to Rokossovsky: "Now they are about 20 kilometers away from Stolp. ”

"20 kilometers left?" Knowing that the artillery was still so far away from Stolp, Rokossovsky couldn't help frowning, he knew very well in his heart that judging from the poor road conditions in East Pomerania, it would take at least five or six hours for the artillery to reach the outside of Stolp, so he decided to change his strategy and send tank units to support the 19th Army, so he then asked: "Where is General Panfilov's tank army?" ”

"Here," Bogolyubov said, pointing to the map to Rokossovsky, "they are more than 30 kilometers away from Stolp. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Rokossovsky said, staring at the map to Bogolyubov, "it takes much less time for our tanks to advance 30 kilometers than it takes for artillery to advance 20 kilometers." ”

"Then I will immediately contact General Panfilov and assign this order to him."

"Take the phone and I'll tell him personally."

After five minutes, Panfilov's phone called Rokossovsky's office: "Comrade Marshal, I'm Panfilov, do you have any instructions?" ”

"At the moment the units of the 19th Army are blocked in front of the enemy's fortifications." Rokossovsky said into the microphone: "General Panfilov, I want your tank army to rush to the infantry." ”

Since the tank army was cooperating with the 19th Army, Panfilov had been concerned about the progress of the unit, and when he heard Rokossovsky say that he was going to rush to the infantry, he immediately asked rhetorically: "Comrade Marshal, are you going to let me assist the infantry in capturing Stolp?" ”

Hearing Panfilov's question, a smile appeared on Rokossovsky's face, and he thought to himself that this tank commander was really amazing, and he had not explained the task to him in detail, but he actually guessed his combat intentions, so he replied in the affirmative: "That's right, General Panfilov, the task I gave you was to capture Stolp." ”

"Comrade Marshal," as soon as Rokossovsky finished speaking, Panfilov asked: "How much time can you give us?" ”

"A day and a night."

Panfilov pondered for a moment about the deadlines given by Rokossovsky, and then replied decisively: "Comrade Marshal, rest assured, we guarantee the completion of the task. ”

Although Panfilov agreed very cheerfully, Rokossovsky's heart was very unsteady, he felt that the other party was overconfident, in any case, the city was the industrial center of the Germans, in order not to let their troops occupy it, the Germans would definitely gather heavy troops for key defense. But in order not to discourage Panfilov, Rokossovsky still smiled and said to him: "Good luck, General Panfilov!" I'm waiting for your good news at the headquarters. ”