While the artillery was constantly bombarding the commanding heights occupied by the enemy, thousands of commanders and fighters rushed out of the forest and headed for the swamp in groups of four, carrying long logs and shouting trumpets.

The sappers who had entered the swamp in advance were wielding huge mallets and smashing one sharpened log into the muddy water of the swamp. As soon as the wooden stakes were laid, the commanders and fighters who came over carrying the wood put down the wooden stakes on their shoulders, took off the guns on their shoulders, clenched their hands tightly, waded through the knee-high muddy water, and walked towards the opposite shore with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

From one end of the swamp to the other, a distance of almost two kilometers, the warriors walked slowly for fear of getting bogged down in the mud. It took nearly an hour to approach the other side of the swamp. In order to prevent accidental damage, the Soviet shelling stopped, and at this moment, the Germans on the commanding heights suddenly opened fire.

The fighters hurriedly lay down on the spot and fired back, and the light and heavy machine gunners immediately occupied the firing positions and suppressed the German fire on the commanding heights with fire to cover the forward charge of their comrades. Seeing that the machine guns on their side were firing, the fighters got up from the ground and charged forward in the rain of enemy bullets.

Seeing this situation, Rokossovsky knew that it was unrealistic to suppress the enemy with artillery fire, so he hurriedly turned his head to Orel on the side and said: "Orel, order the 1st Guards Tank Army to attack!" ”

"Understood!" Orel agreed, followed the wooden ladder to the lower floor, and ordered a communications officer, "Immediately give me General Banov, who is close to the 1st Army of Guards Tanks!" ”

Rokossovsky, who was standing on the top platform, soon heard Orel in a loud voice, giving an order to Banov: "General Banov, the commander order, the tank corps immediately attack!" ”

Not long after, the roar of tank engines was heard on the ground. Soon, one tank after another drove out of the forest, drove onto the firewood road laid in the swamp, and slowly drove towards the opposite side of the swamp.

The German troops in the distance saw that the Soviet tanks were on the firewood road and were heading towards their side, and hurriedly bombarded them with mortars, trying to blow up the firewood road in the swamp as soon as possible, so that the Soviet tanks could not advance.

Orel returned to Rokossovsky from the lower echelons and said to him with a smile: "Comrade commander, did you see it?" The tanks that drove in front were the latest T-34/85, and the caliber of the gun was increased, which could penetrate the German Tiger tanks; The armor was also thickened, and those ordinary anti-tank guns simply could not penetrate its frontal armor......"

If Orel doesn't say it, Rokossovsky hasn't found out that the dozen or so tanks rushing to the front are actually the latest T-34/85. The tank did not fire when driving on the firewood road, probably because the tankmen were worried that the recoil generated when they fired the guns would collapse the fragile firewood road.

German shells landed on the left and right of the firewood road and exploded, setting off columns of water mixed with mud. A shell luckily hit one of the firewood roads, blowing the logs apart, and the tanks on this road slowly sank into the mud from the broken place because of the failure to brake.

Rokossovsky's heart tightened when he saw the tank sinking, and he stared nervously at the place where the tank had sunk, trying to see if the tank crew had escaped from it. But until the entire tank was covered in the mud, there was no tank crew on the nearby water.

"Comrade Commander," Terekin, who also found the sunken tank, said anxiously, "it seems that none of the tankmen in the tank have escaped." ”

"Yes, Comrade Military Commissar." Rokossovsky looked at the troops in the distance who were rushing towards the commanding heights occupied by the enemy, and said with a hard heart: "There are no immortals in a war, and in order to defend our great motherland, we will not hesitate to pay a great price." ”

Although one of the firewood roads was blown up by German artillery fire, more tanks drove along the intact road to the opposite bank. The enemy on the commanding heights had no heavy weapons and was helpless against the rushing Soviet tanks. There were brave soldiers who rushed out with a bundle of cluster grenades and tried to blow up the Soviet tank, but were beaten into a sieve by the infantry who followed the tank.

Seeing that more and more Soviet tanks passed through the woody road and through the swamp, the Germans could no longer resist and could only abandon their defensive positions one after another and flee towards the rear line of defense.

By dark, the troops of the 28th Army managed to crush the enemy's resistance in most areas and advanced to Brocha, Ospino, Rogu.

The 3rd Army, which was personally commanded by Zhukov, fought in the area of Ozelanne and Kostyashvo, but it did not go very well. The divisions of the two infantry corps were frantically attacked by enemy infantry and tanks, and only the first and second lines of enemy trenches in the area of Ozelane and Verichev were forced to go on the defensive.

The offensive on the 48th Army sector was also carried out with extreme difficulty. The large swampy quagmire of the Drudy River had a great impact on the troops' crossing operations. After two hours of fierce fighting, the Soviets broke through the German line and occupied the first trench, and the second trench by 12 noon.

The progress of Batov's 65th Army was considered the smoothest of several armies. With the support of the Air Force, the 18th Infantry Corps, to which the army was a part, occupied five German trenches in succession in just one morning; At noon, taking advantage of the victory, he pursued again, advanced five or six kilometers into the enemy's depth, and captured two strong support points, Rakovic and Petrovich.

When it was dark and the fierce fighting finally came to an end, Rokossovsky returned to the headquarters with his deputies and summed up with Zhukov some of the problems that had arisen in today's battle.

Zhukov said to Rokossovsky with a serious expression: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I really did not expect that the situation on the battlefield is very different from our original plan. I thought you would need the support of the 3rd Army to get out of the swamps, but I didn't expect the opposite to happen, and General Gorbatov's troops had to be supported by Luchinsky's troops if they wanted to move forward. ”

Rokossovsky waited for Zhukov to finish, pointed to the map and said to him: "Comrade Marshal, in today's battle, Batov's 65th Army fought very well, and I intend to order General Banov's tank corps, from here to the breach, to quickly advance and plunge straight into the rear of the German Parich for several days. ”

"I think so." In response to Rokossovsky's proposal, Zhukov readily agreed: "Early tomorrow morning, General Banov will be ordered to lead his troops into the battlefield from the breakthrough and cooperate with the 65th Army to besiege the German Parich group." ”