The defenders of Thorn, who broke through and fled north, attacked most fiercely with the 73rd Infantry Division on the right. Although the Germans left the fortress without any heavy weapons, the infantry, under the cover of only a few 50-mm mortars, launched a fierce attack on the defense line of the 136th Soviet Infantry Division, and broke through the Soviet defense line several times.

Seeing that the attack launched by the 73rd Infantry Division was somewhat overwhelmed by the Soviet army, it was never able to effectively break through the Soviet defenses, so he adjusted his tactics in time and ordered the 31st Grenadier Division on the left flank, close to the Vistula River, to attack the Soviet 162nd Infantry Regiment holding in this area.

In response to his order, the chief of staff asked with some puzzlement: "Your Excellency, the vanguard of the 73rd Infantry Division on the right flank is only less than ten kilometers away from the defensive zone of our army, and as long as we give them strength, we may be able to break through the Russian blocking position." Why are we attacking the Russians on the Vistula? ”

"Chief of Staff," Rudek slapped the ground in front of him, and then said, "Don't you see that our road to the north has been firmly blocked by two Russian divisions?" We have been delayed in this area for two days, and the rapid columns of the Russians have caught up from behind, and if we do not take decisive measures, we will only be annihilated. After my observations, the Russians are weakly defended along the Vistula, and we can completely break through from here. ”

"And what are we going to do after we have routed the Russians by the river?" The chief of staff continued: "You know, as the weather warms day by day, the ice on the Vistula begins to thin out, and I fear that our large forces simply will not be able to pass safely from above. ”

"The Russians have stationed about an infantry regiment here in Simon, and as soon as our troops occupy this town, they immediately order the sappers to build a pontoon bridge here so that they can cross the river to the west bank of the Vistula." After saying this, Lüdek was silent for a moment, and then added: "Also, order the other two breakthrough troops to move closer to the banks of the Vistula River, and we need to adjust the direction of the breakthrough. ”

General Popov's fast column, consisting of a tank company and a motorized battalion, met the rearguard of the 73rd Infantry Division three hours after their departure and engaged in a fierce exchange of fire.

General Marcus, who was assigning offensive tasks to his subordinates, couldn't help but chuckle in his heart when he learned that a fast column of Soviet troops had appeared in his rear, and he thought to himself: The Russians in front of him were fighting very stubbornly, and although his troops had broken through the opponent's defense line several times, the gap that had opened was quickly plugged. Now that the Russians' reinforcements have arrived, presumably their next resistance will become more tenacious, and if they can't break through the defensive line, then their troops will be in danger of being wiped out under the front and rear attacks of the Russians.

The chief of staff of the division saw Marcus's thoughts, and whispered to him: "Your Excellency, with our current strength, it seems that it will be very difficult to break through the Russian defenses. As soon as we storm the blocking positions in the front, the Russians coming from behind will also launch a fierce attack on us in order to contain our forces......"

The distraught Marcus interrupted his words without waiting for the chief of staff to finish speaking: "Chief of staff, what you say first, just say it directly, don't beat around the bush." ”

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, I feel that we should abandon offensive operations and move in the direction of the Vistula." After the chief of staff said this, he saw that the expression on Marcus's face had changed, and hurriedly added: "We have no heavy weapons, and we can only rely on the superiority of numbers to break through the Russian blocking position, so we should move closer to the other two columns and concentrate all our forces to break through the Russian defense line." ”

As soon as the chief of staff finished speaking, before Marcus could make a statement, a communication officer sitting in an armored car shouted at him: "Your Excellency, General, there is your phone number, it is from Your Excellency the Commander." ”

Hearing that it was Ludek looking for him, Marcus hurriedly walked over and took the headset and microphone from the communications officer: "It's me, Your Excellency Commander!" What are your instructions? …… What, immediately leaning towards you? …… Got it, I'll do it right away! ~”

Marcus, handing the headset and microphone back to the communications officer, immediately said to the chief of staff, "Chief of Staff, immediately order the troops to stop the offensive. Leave a battalion to block the Russians coming from the direction of the fortress; Leave a company on the front to keep an eye on the Russians, and the rest of the troops quickly move closer to the center column, and we are to rush to the Vistula River and join the left column. ”

The chief of staff could not help but breathe a sigh of relief when he learned that the commander ordered the troops to stop the futile breakout operation. But when he heard that Marcus was in front of the Soviet army's blocking position, leaving only one company to monitor, he reminded in a little panic: "Your Excellency, division commander, is it too little to leave only one company of troops on the front?" ”

"The Russians, who were holding back head-on, paid a huge price after two days of fierce fighting." Marcus said lightly: "The strength they have now may barely be enough for defense, but if they are used for offense, it will be far from enough." Therefore, with only one company left to monitor them, we can confidently and boldly turn the main forces in the direction of the Vistula. ”

The chief of staff of the division had not heard the conversation between Marcus and Lüdek, and therefore did not know anything about the change of direction of the troops' march. But when he heard Marcus say this, he couldn't help but ask with some surprise: "Your Excellency, division commander, so my division will no longer continue to attack the Russians here?" ”

"That's right, we're not going to go on the offensive here." Marcus nodded, and said with some regret: "We are only less than ten kilometers away from the defensive positions of friendly forces here, and it is a bit of a pity to give up like this." But we don't have heavy weapons, and it will take several days to effectively break through the Russian defenses. However, what we need most now is time, and it seems that it is absolutely necessary to adjust the direction of the breakthrough according to the orders of His Excellency the Commander. ”

The chief of staff of the division still felt very sorry in his heart when he saw that the breakthrough operation on the right flank had failed, but he also knew in his heart that if the troops continued to stay in the existing area and waited until the large forces of the Soviet army arrived from the direction of the fortress, then his end would not be far off. Thinking of this, he did not raise any objections, but immediately conveyed Marcus's order to his subordinate troops, preparing to immediately turn in the direction of the Vistula.