The day after Rokossovsky's order, Fedyuninsky's 2nd Shock Army and Tigusev's 48th Army, after several days of silence, renewed their offensive against Erbin.

Colonel Shepfeld, the commander of the city defense, listened to the rumbling artillery from outside, frowned and said: "What's going on, why did the Russians start shelling the city again?" ”

His adjutant listened to the sound of artillery outside, and said with a serious expression: "Your Excellency, judging from the sound of artillery outside, the Russians have used at least more than five hundred artillery pieces of various types. ”

"It can't be." Hearing the adjutant say this, Schupfeld immediately retorted: "Our troops retreating from the northeast have thrown the Russians attacking outside the city into chaos. And the tens of thousands of troops in the fortresses of Thorn and Glaudenz forced the Russians to divide their forces. Tell me, what kind of troops can they use to attack Elbin in such a situation? ”

"Your Excellency, I think there's a worst-case scenario." The adjutant said tremblingly: "Perhaps the troops coming from the northeast have already been routed by the Russians." And the fortresses of Thorn and Glaudenz no longer pose a threat to the Russians, so they dare to boldly renew their attacks on Elbin. ”

"It's impossible." In response to the adjutant's speculation, Schupfeld shook his head and said: "The combined strength of the three places is almost 100,000 people. You must know that our 10,000 men can deal with at least 30,000 Russians, and if we want to defeat our 100,000 army, the Russians must send at least 300,000 troops. Think about it, how long will it take to gather these 300,000 troops? Moreover, the fortresses of Thorn and Gloudenz have well-established and strong defensive systems, and if the Russians want to capture them, they must use at least five times more troops than the defenders......"

"Your Excellency, Commander," just as Schupfeld was babbling on and on, a communications staff officer suddenly walked in from outside, handed him the telegram in his hand, and said at the same time: "This is the telegram we have just received from the headquarters of the army group. ”

After reading the contents of the telegram, Schupfeld's face turned pale, he threw the telegram on the table, looked at his adjutant and said: "You are right, the troops retreating from the northeast have been routed by the Russians, with more than 8,000 killed and more than 20,000 captured. In addition, the fortress of Thorn has been occupied by the Russians, and the troops who broke through were trapped by the Russians in a narrow area on the east bank of the Vistula River from Simon Town to Kulm, and it is still unknown whether they will be able to escape from the Russians. ”

Although the adjutant had already planned for the worst, after hearing that Schupfeld confirmed his guess, he asked in a bit of a panic: "Your Excellency, commander, what should we do next?" ”

"Immediately arm the townspeople." "Men from the age of fourteen to sixty are drafted into the army as long as they have no obvious physical defects," he said, gritting his back molars. We need more people to defend this city with us. ”

As soon as Schupfeld's order was conveyed, the German soldiers in the city immediately went into action. Braving sporadic artillery fire, they rushed into the houses or cellars where they were hiding, and took those who were eligible for conscription from their hiding places.

Not everyone was willing to act as artillery fire, and a few elderly people, on the way to the forward position by the soldiers, took advantage of the inattention of the other party and ran towards the rubble full of masonry and rubble, trying to get rid of the soldiers. But they clearly underestimated the strength of these soldiers, and in just a few minutes, all the old people who had escaped were captured.

The leader of the 3rd SS commando squadron saw several old men coming out of the rubble under the escort of soldiers, and he immediately became angry, pulled out his pistol, stepped forward, and pulled the trigger on the heads of the old men. After a few shots, the old people fell in a pool of blood.

Although the SS officer killed the fleeing old man, he was still angry, and after kicking the corpses a few times, he ordered his men: "Hang their corpses on telephone poles by the side of the road, and hang a sign on their chests that read, 'Coward, Traitor, Deserter,' to warn the cowards who want to be deserters." ”

His orders were faithfully carried out, and the bodies of several old men were hung on telephone poles by the soldiers, and on their chests hung a piece of cardboard with the words: coward, traitor, deserter. After the rest of the old people and children were escorted to the area west of the city where they were to fight, someone took some "iron fists", stuffed them into their hands, and briefly told them: "When you see the Russian tanks coming, you pull this trigger and destroy them." ”

Old people and children with "iron fists" were carried by the soldiers into craters in the streets, or in the ruins, waiting for Soviet tanks that might storm the city. Some soldiers with a clear conscience looked at the old people and children hiding beside them, and specially explained to them: "The effective range of this anti-tank weapon is only 30 meters, that is, you must wait for the Russian tank to enter the range of 30 meters before pulling the trigger, so that it is possible to destroy the Russian tank." ”

A few soldiers also handed the extra Mauser rifles to the shivering old men or children, and said to them: "When you see the Russians approaching, you just have to shoot at them, and whether you can hit the target or not depends on your personal luck." ”

The Soviet bombardment of the city stopped, and before the smoke cleared, the defenders of the city heard the roar of tank engines outside, felt the ground tremble slightly, and they knew in their hearts: the Russian offensive had begun. They hurriedly clenched their weapons and prepared to fight to the death with the Soviet troops who stormed the city.

And in the garrison headquarters, the expression on his face became solemn after hearing that the artillery outside had stopped. He looked out the window at the city, which was still smoking and burning, and said to himself: "The Russian attack has begun, will we be able to repel their attack this time?" ”

The adjutant came over and reported to him: "Your Excellency, Commander, our soldiers are ready for all battles, and they are confident that they will crush the Russian offensive. ”

The Soviet troops attacking from the west of the city were the 300th Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division of the 8th Estonian Army, and more than 1,000 soldiers of the regiment cautiously rushed forward along the street under the cover of several tanks. The regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Ilma Paul, stood in the compartment of an armoured personnel carrier and raised his binoculars to look at the smoke-shrouded city.