After Rokossovsky ended the phone call with Konev, as soon as he put down the phone, he immediately instructed Malinin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, within the formation of the group army, the three most combat-effective divisions are the 108th Infantry Division deployed on the banks of the Vopi River, the 152nd Infantry Division holding on to Yaltsevo, and the only thing that can be used is the 64th Infantry Division as a reserve. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info You immediately call the division commander, Colonel Gryazhnov, and ask him to immediately alert the troops to the battle and prepare everything for combat. ”

"Understood." Malinin agreed, and then turned to call Gryaznov.

Kazakov looked at the map on the table, and then asked Rokossovsky for instructions: "Comrade commander, do you need artillery to provide fire support to the attacking troops?" ”

Rokossovsky thought for a moment, then replied: "Comrade Chief of Artillery, you send a few artillery observers to the river, and if the Germans cross the river at night, they can block the river with artillery fire and wipe them all out in the river." ”

Rokossovsky ordered Kazakov to send artillery observers to the river to monitor the movements of the German troops, which was originally just a precautionary measure, but who knew that in the middle of the night, the German troops, who had failed to force two forced crossings during the day, actually took advantage of the night to secretly launch a third crossing of the river.

The commander in charge of the smuggling was a captain named Frank, who commanded his men to put the fifty or sixty small boats collected into the river, and then the soldiers climbed into the small boats one after another, rowing forward desperately with all their strength, trying to rush to the opposite bank before the Soviets could recover their senses.

When the boat rowed to the middle of the river, a series of screams suddenly sounded in the sky, and Captain Frank's heart suddenly tightened, and he couldn't help but blurt out: "Shelling!" As soon as he finished speaking, the surface of the river had been blown up by the sudden cannonballs, and the hulls of the ships that had been hit by the columns of water were shaking violently, and some unfortunate boats were torn apart in the light of the fire after being directly hit by the shells.

Frank jumped into the water before his boat was hit by a cannonball, swam to the shore with his skilful swimming skills, and climbed the embankment with his hands and feet. He turned his head to look into the river, and tears flowed uncontrollably. The fifty or sixty small boats that accompanied him had been blown apart by Soviet artillery fire, and the wreckage of the burning hull was still floating on the shaking water. With the help of the fire from the ship's burning hull, he could clearly see the blood-stained river covered with fragments of ships and the corpses of his own men, and the limited number of surviving soldiers fluttering desperately in the cold water.

Seeing this, the muscles on Frank's face twitched violently, and he couldn't imagine that fifty or sixty small boats, two hundred or so subordinates, under the blow of Soviet artillery fire, were wiped out in just a few minutes.

Although the Soviet artillery had stopped firing at this time, Frank still sat on the cold ground in a daze, failed to cross the river, and lost all his subordinates, and he did not know how to explain to his superiors when he returned. At this moment, he heard a rush of footsteps behind him, followed by a stiff voice: "Don't move, raise your hands!" ”

Frank, who was completely desperate, did not resist, he slowly got up from the ground, then raised his hands in the air, and obediently became a prisoner of the Soviet army.

The news of the victory soon reached the command, and Kazakov looked at Rokossovsky and said in awe: "Comrade commander, you are still like a god." You said that the Germans would come to attack at night, and they really did. Fortunately, we have been prepared for a long time to completely annihilate this enemy in the shortest possible time. ”

Rokossovsky only smiled at Kazakov's praise, and then turned his head and asked Malinin next to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, are there any casualties in our troops?" ”

"No, Comrade Commander." Malinin shook his head and said happily: "The enemy who smuggled out was almost wiped out in the river by our artillery fire, and they didn't even have a chance to shoot, so the troops holding on to our shore didn't suffer a single casualty. ”

Hearing this exciting good news, the entire command was immersed in joy. The only exception was the military commissar Lobachev, who stared at the map and frowned without saying a word. Seeing his reaction like this, Ma Lining couldn't help but ask curiously: "Comrade Military Commissar, aren't you not happy at all to hear such good news?" ”

"Comrade Commander, the Wopi River separates us from the enemy, although today they have succeeded in crushing their three river crossings." Lobachev looked up at Rokossovsky, who was standing next to him, and said worriedly: "But the problem now is that they can't get by, and it's not easy for us to think about it." What were the casualties of the enemy during the forced crossing, I think everyone knows very well, if our troops were to force the crossing of the Wopi River, would we pay a greater price? ”

"Comrade Military Commissar, it turns out that you are worried about this matter." Rokossovsky, having figured out the reason for Lobachev's sullenness, said to him with a smile: "Our participating troops will not take a forced crossing, but will go south along the Volpi River to the Zalesovo region." Although the river is wide, the current is slow and not deep, and our troops can wade in vain. ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Lobachev's face showed a happy expression, but soon he fell silent again, pointed to Zalesovo's position and said: "Comrade commander, as soon as our troops pass from here once, they will be discovered by the Germans. Do we need to put up defenses here to prevent a possible river crossing from them? ”

"I don't think so." Malinin interjected: "Maybe this counterattack will be able to push back the German troops on the other side of the river to the area west of Smolensk, and we may not need to set up defenses along the Vopi River at that time." ”

While several people were talking, they suddenly heard someone asking loudly: "Is Comrade Commander here?" ”

"I'm here!" Rokossovsky heard that the person who asked him was Lidyukov, and hurriedly said loudly: "It's Colonel Lidyukov, hurry up, please come in!" ”

Lidyukov hurriedly walked in, raised his hand and saluted Rokossovsky and the others, and then asked bluntly: "Comrade commander, I heard the news that we are going to launch a counteroffensive against the enemy tomorrow." Don't you know what's going on? ”

Rokossovsky could not help but be shocked when he heard Lidyukov ask this, and he asked in surprise: "Comrade Colonel, where did you hear this rumor?" ”

Instead of immediately returning to Rokossovsky's question, Lidyukov asked: "Comrade commander, don't care where I got this news from, I just ask you, is there such a thing?" ”

Rokossovsky was silent for a while in the face of Lidyukov's questioning, and then replied: "Yes, Comrade Colonel, tomorrow we will also cooperate with General Konev's 19th Army to launch a counteroffensive against the frontal enemy." ”

After receiving an affirmative answer, Lidyukov pulled out a stool and sat down at the table, pulled Rokossovsky to sit down as well, and then said with a smile: "Comrade commander, I don't know which division you plan to send to cooperate with friendly forces?" ”

After Rokossovsky sat down, he said unhurriedly: "I arranged the 64th Infantry Division of Colonel Gliaznov, their division is complete, there are many veterans, and the combat effectiveness is not weak. ”

"Why don't you arrange for our division?" Lidyukov was a little unconvinced and said: "You must know that in the past two months, the troops under my command have also fought a lot of battles, and they definitely have more battlefield experience than them. ”

Rokossovsky smiled and said: "Comrade Colonel, your division has just been formed, there are too many recruits, and the troops have not yet fully formed combat effectiveness. ”

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Lidyukov stood up abruptly and said loudly: "Comrade commander, although there are many new recruits in our division, there are also many combat backbones, and we are capable of completing any task assigned to us by our superiors. ”

In fact, Rokossovsky also understood that it was indeed a bit too little to cooperate with the 19th Army and dispatch only one division. At this moment, Lidyukov took the initiative to ask himself, but he could let them try, one more person would have more strength, not to mention that one more person would be more than just one person, but a division.

Seeing Rokossovsky smiling and silent, Lidyukov thought that he did not agree with his proposal, and could not help but be a little anxious. He turned his gaze to Lobachev for help, pleading: "Comrade Military Commissar, you can help me talk about it." ”

Lobachev smiled at Lidyukov, and then said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, since Colonel Lidyukov is eager to fight, let him try." Although there are many recruits in his troops, if they fight a few more battles, these recruits with combat experience will become experienced veterans. ”

After Rokossovsky waited for Lobachev to finish speaking, he looked at Lidyukov and asked: "Comrade Colonel, the fighters in your division have weapons, right?" ”

"At present, every commander and fighter of the 1st Regiment, the 2nd Regiment and the Artillery Regiment have weapons, and only the situation of the 3rd Regiment is worse, almost three people use one gun." Lidyukov explained a little embarrassed: "The reason for this situation is, firstly, that there are too few supplies from the rear; The second is that the people we sent out to collect weapons were not familiar with the road, and when they found a place, the weapons, ammunition and supplies there were all searched by friendly people first. ”

"Alright, Comrade Colonel, don't say any more." Rokossovsky was afraid that he would not finish nagging, so he hurriedly stopped him and said: "Since the weapons of the three regiments are a little less, let's wait for them to go to the battlefield and replenish them." ”

When Lidyukov spoke of the lack of weapons of the Third Regiment, he was still a little lacking in confidence, and he was deeply afraid that Rokossovsky would refuse to let his troops participate in the battle for this reason. Now that I heard that they were asked to go to the battlefield to replenish the weapons that the troops lacked, how could I still not understand that Rokossovsky had agreed to his request to join the war, and quickly straightened up and said: "Comrade commander, don't worry, our division will definitely not let you down." ”

Rokossovsky nodded, then called Malinin over and instructed him: "Chief of staff, you tell the colonel about our battle plan, so that he knows what to expect." ”

After Lidyukov left happily, Lobachev asked Rokossovsky a little worriedly: "Comrade commander, the colonel's troops are mostly recruits, and there are not enough weapons, is it appropriate for them to participate in the counteroffensive operation?" ”

In response to Lobachev's question, Rokossovsky said with confidence: "Don't worry, my comrade military commissar. Colonel Lidyukov was an excellent commander with extensive combat experience, and the troops under his command achieved a series of remarkable results in the early battles. Since he was appointed by his superiors as the commander of the newly formed 1st Moscow Motorized Infantry Division, it proved that his superiors trusted him and valued his abilities. I have every reason to believe that his performance on the battlefield will not disappoint us all. ”

Now that the troops participating in the war had been arranged, Rokossovsky thought that he should communicate with Konev at this time, so he asked for a phone call from the command of the 19th Army. When Konev's familiar voice came from the earpiece, he smiled and said: "Hello, comrade general, my troops are ready for battle, I don't know what time you plan to launch a counteroffensive tomorrow?" ”

"Great, that's great." Hearing that Rokossovsky had prepared the attacking troops, Konev was overjoyed, and he cautiously asked: "I wonder how many troops you plan to send to fight together?" ”

"Two divisions, Comrade General." As he said this, something suddenly occurred in Rokossovsky's mind, so he stopped halfway through his words.

"Comrade Rokossovsky, why didn't you speak?" Konev found that there was suddenly no sound in the earpiece, and couldn't help but raise his voice: "Hey, hey, talk, talk......"

Konev's voice woke Rokossovsky from his contemplation, and he hurriedly said: "Comrade General, I'm sorry, I suddenly remembered a little time, so I didn't answer you in time. By the way, you haven't told me at what point your troops intend to attack the enemy? ”

"Four o'clock in the morning," Konev affirmed, "it was an hour before dawn, and it was the time when people were most tired." If you launch a sudden attack at this time, I believe that you will definitely be able to catch the enemy by surprise. ”

"I see, Comrade General." Rokossovsky assured Konev: "At the same time, my troops will attack the enemy." ”

When Rokossovsky put down the phone, Lobachev next to him asked with concern: "Comrade commander, have you not woken up from your afternoon wine?" Just now when you were talking to General Konev, you suddenly stopped inexplicably, and then held the microphone in a daze. ”

"I'm fine, Comrade Military Commissar, you don't have to worry too much." When Rokossovsky said this, he thought to himself that the reason why I was suddenly in a daze just now was because I remembered the two units that would take part in the battle tomorrow, and because of their outstanding results, they both received the number of guards in mid-to-late September. It seems that my arrangement this time is really unintentional. (To be continued.) )