While waiting for Borkin's reply, Rokossovsky was deeply afraid that several commanders present had been carried away by the recent victory, so he took the opportunity to say: "Comrade commanders, I would like to remind you of one thing. The main reason why we went so smoothly after the start of the campaign was that the offensive spearheaded by Field Marshal Konev in the south gave the Germans the illusion that our main offensive of the year would be in the south, and that the German high command had transferred the main reserves to that area. And in front of us and Marshal Zhukov, only a few divisions that have been greatly weakened, holding on to a long front, they lack sufficient anti-tank weapons, and even fewer armored units that can be used to counterattack our troops, so that our troops can achieve great results, and it is only natural that our troops can achieve great results......"

After sounding the alarm to several army commanders, Rokossovsky asked the chief of the communications corps, who was sitting on the side: "General Bortsov, is there an echo from the 50th Army?" ”

Hearing Rokossovsky call his name, Bortsov quickly stood up and replied: "Not yet, Comrade Marshal, I have sent two telegrams in succession, but there is still no reply. ”

"Comrade Marshal," hearing Bortsov say this, Deputy Commander Trubnnikov stood up and said to Rokossovsky: "The 50th Army has not called back for a long time, it may be that the situation there is not very good, why don't you send me to see what happened?" ”

Rokossovsky glanced at Trubnikov, who took the initiative to ask for help, shook his head, and said: "Whether the 50th Army can break through the German defensive positions in time is crucial to our next move. In this case, you and the chief of staff stay here to take care of the overall situation, and I will take the commander of the artillery and the commander of the air force to Borkin's place to have a look. If they really have any difficulties, I will help them in time. ”

Rokossovsky originally planned to take a jeep to the headquarters of the 50th Army, but was dissuaded by Bogolyubov: "Comrade Marshal, part of the road leading there is covered by German artillery fire, and it is even possible to meet German stragglers, for your safety, I think you should go in an armored car." ”

Speaking from the heart, although Rokossovsky understood that the safety factor of riding in an armored car was much higher, the disadvantage was that it was too stuffy to sit in, too bumpy when driving, and his head was dizzy every time he got out of the car, and he could not return to normal for a long time. He originally wanted to insist on his opinion, but when he saw Sokolisky and Vershinin, who were about to go along, he changed his mind, and if something really happened on the road, then the artillery and the air force would lose their unified command. It was with this in mind that he finally agreed to Trubnikov's proposal to go to Borkin's command in an armored car.

On the way to the 50th Army, Rokossovsky was struggling to think about what kind of troops the Germans had deployed in front of Borkin's defense area, so that the 50th Army, which had more troops than friendly forces, could not advance a single step a week after the campaign was launched.

Seeing that Rokossovsky was thinking about something, the commander of the artillery and the commander of the Air Force, who were sitting next to him, began to chat in a whisper. Sokolisky whispered to Vershinin: "Comrade General, the units of the 50th Army have been in the existing area for more than a week, and it seems that we need to help them. ”

"You have a point." Vershinin nodded and said, "Our air force can bomb the enemy's defensive positions before your shelling begins. It is believed that with the cooperation of our ground and air, we will be able to destroy the defensive positions of the German army along the Augustov Canal and relieve the pressure on the attacking troops. ”

As soon as the convoy entered the defense zone of the 50th Army, someone reported to Borkin. Borkin, who was organizing the meeting, heard that the commander of the front army had come to his defense area, so he hurriedly announced the suspension of the meeting and greeted him outside the door with the commanders at all levels who were attending the meeting.

Rokossovsky came out of the armored car and saw a group of commanders standing outside the headquarters, and couldn't help but frown slightly. But he was still patient, stepped forward to shake hands with Borkin, and asked casually: "General Borkin, why are so many commanders here at the headquarters?" ”

"Comrade Marshal," Hearing Rokossovsky's question, Borkin hurriedly and respectfully replied: "I am holding an operational meeting to study the next operational plan. ”

"Can you tell me what you've done?" Rokossovsky asked faintly.

Borkin struggled to squeeze a smile on his face and said: "Comrade Marshal, we are working on how to break through the German defenses on the Augustov Canal and create a landing ground on the opposite bank. ”

Rokossovsky walked into the headquarters, went straight to the center and sat down, and beckoned the commanders and fighters who came in to sit down. Only then did he say to Borkin: "General Borkin, I have brought the commander of the artillery and the commander of the air force, and we will give you the greatest support." Let's talk about it, what was the deployment of German troops in the Augustov Canal? ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's question, Borkin suddenly became a little stumped, and he muttered: "The Germans have deployed powerful forces on the other side, and the forced crossing operations we have carried out have all ended in failure. ”

"When?" When Rokossovsky heard Borkin say this, he immediately thought that the 50th Army did not seem to have launched any offensive recently, so he asked in a stiff tone: "When did you attack the Germans?" ”

"Two days ago, no, three days ago......" Borkin replied in a somewhat panicked manner, "our commanders and fighters had just put the wooden boats used to cross the river into the water, and they were bombarded by enemy troops on the other side, so they ......"

Before Borkin could finish speaking, Rokossovsky asked with a wave of anger: "Because of the German shelling, you stopped trying to cross the river, am I right?" General Borkin! ”

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." With an embarrassed expression on his face, Borkin struggled to defend himself, saying, "I am responsible for the lives of the warriors, and I can't make them make senseless sacrifices......"

"That's enough, don't say it." Rokossovsky interrupted Borkin again and asked: "Let me ask you, have you figured out the deployment of German troops in the Augustov Canal?" ”

Borkin was stopped by Rokossovsky's question, and he hurriedly cast a pleading glance to his chief of staff, Ozerov: "Comrade Marshal, this situation is still reported to you by my chief of staff, General Ozerov. ”

Ozerov, who was sitting opposite Borkin, quickly stood up and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, according to our reconnaissance reports from the previous days, the enemy has deployed an armored division and two infantry divisions cobbled together by the People's Stormtroopers on the opposite bank, and they have strong fortifications on the opposite bank, but also powerful artillery fire......"

"Wait a minute, General Ozerov." Rokossovsky didn't wait for Ozerov to finish speaking, he raised his hand to stop him, and asked curiously: "I want to ask about the enemy's current deployment of troops, not a few days ago." It is important to remember that the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and we, as commanders, must keep abreast of the enemy's strength and deployment on the battlefield in a timely manner. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Marshal." Ozerov raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said to Rokossovsky with a red face: "I sent a new reconnaissance unit to cross the river to the opposite bank at night last night to reconnoiter the deployment of German troops, and I think I will receive a report from the scouts soon." ”

Hearing that the 50th Army had sent new scouts to reconnoiter the German defensive positions, the expression on Rokossovsky's face softened, and he then asked: "Have you sent someone to wait by the radio so that you can get the latest reconnaissance situation at the first time?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Marshal, I have sent an intelligence staff officer to guard the communication room, and he will come and report to me in time if there is any latest news." As soon as Ozerov said this, he suddenly pointed to the door with his hand, and said with some excitement: "It's that staff officer, presumably he came to tell me the latest reconnaissance information." ”

Rokossovsky looked in the direction of his finger and saw a lieutenant hurrying over. He walked to the conference table and was about to report to Borkin when he suddenly saw that it was Rokossovsky sitting in the middle, and he couldn't help but hesitate, not knowing who to report.

Still Ozerov saw his hesitation, and hurriedly ordered him: "Comrade lieutenant, report to the marshal!" ”

The lieutenant hurriedly raised his hand to Rokossovsky and said clearly: "Report to Comrade Marshal of the Soviet Union, this is the reconnaissance report we have just received, please take a look." After speaking, he held the telegram in both hands and handed it to Rokossovsky.

Rokossovsky took the telegram and quickly skimmed through its contents, and when he read the entire telegram, a layer of anger was clouded over his face. He clumped the telegram into a ball, slammed it at Borkin, and said angrily: "Look, this is what you did!" ”

Borkin didn't know what was written on the telegram, which made Rokossovsky so angry, he hurriedly bent down and picked up the telegram on the ground and opened it to look at it carefully. As soon as he saw the contents clearly, his forehead was immediately covered with sweat, and after he put the telegram on the table, he raised his hand to wipe the sweat and said in a low voice: "Comrade Marshal, it was my mistake, and I should bear the main responsibility for this matter." ”

Ozerov picked up the telegram on the table and carefully examined its contents. After reading it, he couldn't help but gasp, and set his eyes on Rokossovsky with some trepidation.

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Rokossovsky said sharply, "read the contents of the telegram to all the commanders and fighters." ”

When the commanders present saw Rokossovsky's anger without warning, they all became very interested in the contents of the telegram, but their own rank was too low to be qualified to read it. At this moment, when he heard Rokossovsky ask the chief of staff to read out this telegram in public, he quickly sat up straight and pricked up his ears to hear what was going on.

Ozerov took the telegram, the muscles in his face twitched violently a few times, and then he spoke: "...... When we entered the German positions to reconnoitre, we found that all the positions were empty. After questioning the local population, it became clear that two days earlier, the main force of the German army had withdrawn, leaving only a small number of troops to monitor our troops in their original positions. By yesterday, all the German troops on surveillance duty had withdrawn from their defensive positions...... There is not a single defender in the defensive positions along the Augustov Canal today......"

"Comrade commanders, but your allies are fighting fiercely with the enemy, while your troops are standing still." Rokossovsky said angrily: "And now that the enemy has long since withdrawn from the defensive positions, and you still think that in the front of the offensive of the troops, the enemy has gathered a large number of troops, and if you want to force an attack, you will inevitably pay a heavy price." …… We will never tolerate such negligence; Those responsible will be severely punished......"

Rokossovsky, after losing his temper, regained his composure and tried his best to ask Borkin in a flat tone: "General Borkin, tell me, what should we do?" ”

"Comrade Marshal," Borkin, who was ashamed of himself, could only reply stubbornly when he heard Rokossovsky's question: "I am willing to bear the necessary responsibility for all the consequences of my negligence." ”

At the moment when he saw the telegram, Rokossovsky really wanted to order Borkin to be immediately sent to a military tribunal and sentenced to death for delaying the warplane. But when he calmed down and thought about it, he felt that the other party was a general who had made many military exploits after all, and if he was executed like this, maybe everyone would be in danger. But if he didn't deal with it, maybe someone would follow suit, so after a short period of thought, he opened his mouth to announce his opinion: "Because of the mistakes made by General Borkin, the Front Command considers that he is no longer fit to continue to hold the post of commander of the 50th Army, so from now on he is relieved of all duties." The 50th Army from now on, under the command of the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Ozerov! ”

Hearing Rokossovsky announce that from now on, the 50th Army will be replaced by Chief of Staff Ozerov, and the commanders present all breathed a sigh of relief, as long as not a commander was airborne at this moment, everyone's hearts were steady.

After announcing the appointment, Rokossovsky made a gesture of invitation to Ozerov, and then said: "General Ozerov, now you give the order to the troops to attack." ”

Ozerov waited for Rokossovsky to finish, then turned to face the commanders present and said to them: "Comrade commanders, I now announce the order for the battle. The three divisions deployed along the Augustov Canal immediately launched a river crossing operation to seize the German defensive positions on the opposite bank. As soon as the troops of the second echelon reached the opposite bank, the first echelon immediately began a pursuit operation against the German army. ”