The commanders and fighters of the 2nd Battalion had a very high level of technical and tactical skills and fought very bravely, but their first attack on the Germans ended in failure.

The Germans placed a number of wooden fences with barbed wire in front of the sandbags, and the commanders and fighters had to climb over them before they wanted to storm the German positions. However, when climbing over the fence, the speed had to be slowed down, and the commanders and fighters inevitably became the target of the German army's shooting.

After the Soviet troops retreated, Tsytowski and two Polish commanders got together to study countermeasures. The commander of the eighth regiment frowned and said: "The Germans are hiding in the fortifications and shooting at us, and we have no heavy weapons, so if we want to storm the Vazinki Palace, we may pay huge casualties." ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," the Seventh Regiment Commander was a colonel, so his tone of voice to the Eighth Regiment Commander was particularly harsh: "Before you set out, didn't you listen to Comrade Division Commander say that the German troops in Warsaw City are weak at present, and if we don't take Warsaw now, and wait for the enemy's reinforcements to arrive, we will definitely pay a greater price if we want to capture Warsaw by then." ”

After Tsytowsky waited for the two regiment commanders to finish speaking, he said unhurriedly: "Comrade two regiment commanders, although our attack just now was repelled by the Germans, according to my observation, the enemy holding on to the Vazienki Palace is only two or three hundred people at most, and there are no heavy weapons except machine guns, and we are fully capable of completing the combat mission assigned to us by our superiors in the shortest possible time." ”

"The row of wooden fences in front of the enemy's sandbags blocked the way of our troops." The commander of the seventh regiment said with a serious expression: "If we don't find a way to clear it, our fighters will not be able to rush into the enemy's position at all. ”

"So what are we going to do?" Although the commander of the Eighth Regiment was a lieutenant colonel, he asked Tsytowsky, who was sitting on the side, in the tone of a subordinate asking for instructions from a superior: "How should we be clear about these wooden fences?" ”

"As I have just said," said Tsitovsky, "there are only two or three hundred Germans, and we don't need to concentrate all our forces here." We could divide our troops into two routes, one to stay and continue the assault on the Lazienki Palace, and the other to rush along the river to the Lazienki Bridge. ”

"Yes, yes," hearing Zitovsky's proposal, the commander of the Eighth Regiment immediately nodded and said: "This is a good way, we have a large number of people, even if we divide our troops, compared with the Germans, we also have an advantage in terms of strength." On the contrary, the Germans, seeing that we were sending troops to attack the Wazienki bridge, feared that their retreat would be cut off, and they would panic, so that our chances of capturing the Lazienki Palace would be greatly increased. ”

Tsitovsky turned to the commander of the 7th Regiment and said: "Comrade Colonel, I see that the enemy has concentrated the main forces in front of the palace, and in addition to attacking them head-on, we should also send troops to detour behind them, so that they cannot take care of each other. ”

As soon as they finished discussing the battle plan, they received a call from Vajin from the rear, and when he heard that the person who answered the call was Tsytowsky, he asked straight to the point: "Comrade Captain, how is your situation there?" ”

"Report to Comrade Division Commander," Tsytowsky replied, "the first offensive we launched, failed. However, we have also identified the enemy's weaknesses and are now readjusting our deployment to prepare for another attack. ”

"Comrade Captain," said Varkin, who said to him in a serious voice: "Whether or not you can take the Vazienki Palace and the Vazienki Bridge in time is directly related to whether our army can quickly liberate Warsaw, and I sincerely hope that you will not let down the trust placed in you by your superiors." ”

Although Vagin's voice was not loud, these words hit Tsytovsky's heart like a hammer, and he immediately straightened up and replied with a resolute expression: "Comrade division commander, please rest assured that our battalion will definitely seize the Vazienki Palace as soon as possible." ”

"Very well," said Vargin with Tsitovsky's reply, "I am waiting in the command for the good news of your victory." ”

Putting down the phone, Captain Tsytowsky said to the two regiment commanders in front of him: "Comrade regiment commander, the superiors say that whether or not you can quickly seize the Vazienki Palace and the Vazienki Bridge is the key to whether you can liberate Warsaw as soon as possible. ”

"Comrade Captain, you don't need to say it," the commander of the 7th regiment interrupted Tsitovsky's later words, assuring him: "We will definitely not live up to the trust placed in us by our superiors." ”

When the 8th Regiment pounced along the river towards the Lazienki Bridge, the 7th Regiment detoured back to the left and right sides of the Lazienki Palace, preparing to attack from this direction to disperse the German defenses.

After the two Polish battalions had arrived at the designated positions, the commander of the 7th Regiment said to Zitowski: "Comrade Captain, our troops have arrived at the designated positions and are ready to attack!" ”

After hearing this, Tsytowsky nodded, and then said to the three company commanders under him: "Comrade company commanders, suppress the enemy's fire with machine guns, and then the troops will attack the enemy's positions in battle groups. ”

The company commanders agreed in unison and turned to leave. The commander of the seventh regiment grinned and asked Tsytowsky: "Comrade Captain, then when are we going to attack?" ”

Tsetovsky looked at the commander of the 7th Regiment and said to him with a smile: "Comrade Colonel, I see that your troops will be used as reserves, and when our army's offensive does not go well, you can go up again." However, the troops that had reached the left and right flanks could launch an attack on the Germans as soon as our machine guns began firing. ”

The Soviet attack was fully prepared, and when all the light and heavy machine guns in the battalion fired at the same time to suppress the enemy's firepower, the troops that reached the left and right flanks of the palace also launched an attack on the palace after hearing the sound of dense gunfire.

The Germans did not expect the attack of the Soviet army, and they did not play their cards according to common sense, in addition to the frontal attack, there were actually the same number of troops, and at the same time launched an attack on the palace from both flanks. The German commander had no choice but to reinforce the defenses on the left and right flanks.

When the Soviet troops rushed into the wooden fence, they were blocked without exception. This time, however, the commanders and fighters learned wisely, and instead of immediately rushing over the wooden fence like their comrades, they crouched down and threw grenades at the back of the sandbags. When they saw the enemy behind the sandbag being blown up and howled, they moved the wooden fence in front of them, crossed the sandbag with their weapons, and engaged in melee and hand-to-hand combat with the enemy hiding behind.

The German positions outside the palace were soon occupied by the Soviets, and the battle shifted from outdoor to indoor. Most of the commanders and fighters of the 8th Guards Army had experience in street fighting, especially those veterans who had survived the Battle of Stalingrad, and they were especially prominent in the battle for the room with the Germans.

When seizing a room, instead of rushing to the door and firing inside with a submachine gun, they threw a grenade inside, and the man immediately hid in a safe place. After the explosion, they went in and reopened the wounded and struggling German soldiers.

The battle lasted about an hour, and the combined forces of the Soviet Union and Poland finally captured the Lazienki Palace, and also captured more than thirty prisoners. Tsitovsky and the commander of the 7th Regiment were at odds about the disposition of these prisoners, and the former was prepared to hold them temporarily until Warsaw was liberated and then sent to a prisoner of war camp in the rear; And the commander of the 7th regiment believed that these Germans had committed unspeakable crimes against the Polish people and should be shot immediately.

The issue that the two could not dispute was first handed over to the division command. Neither Vargin nor Galitsky dared to make their own decisions, so they reported the matter to Chuikov.

Chuikov had wanted to reply immediately and have Vajin hold the prisoners for the time being, waiting until the liberation of Warsaw before sending them to prisoner-of-war camps. However, the chief of staff, Belyawsky, reminded him: "Comrade commander, I still ask the command of the front army for instructions on this matter, and it is still up to Comrade Marshal to decide how to deal with these prisoners." ”

For this proposal of the chief of staff, Chuikov decisively agreed after thinking for a while. He picked up the phone, asked the operator to connect to the headquarters of the Front, and as soon as the phone rang, he reported to Rokossovsky: "Hello, Comrade Marshal, I have the honor to report to you that my troops have successfully captured the Lazienki Palace, the battle to capture the Lazienki Bridge is still ongoing. ”

"Well done, Comrade Chuikov, what a beautiful job." Hearing that Chuikov's troops had actually captured the Vazienki Palace, Rokossovsky was overjoyed, and he knew in his heart that this was really a surprise, in real history, the Soviet army had never approached this area at all. He hurriedly said to Chuikov: "Please express my gratitude to General Vajin for their successful occupation of important buildings in Warsaw. ”

After waiting for him to finish, Chuikov said carefully: "Comrade Marshal, during the battle for the capture of the Vazienki Palace, we captured a part of the German prisoners. At present, there is some disagreement between the commanders and fighters of our army and the commanders and fighters of the Polish army on the question of how to deal with them, so I would like to ask you some information, what should we do with these prisoners? ”

"It's very simple," Rokossovsky, not wanting to waste time on these trifles, said casually: "All members of the SS will be shot on the spot; As for the officers and men of the Wehrmacht, they were temporarily locked up and sent to prisoner-of-war camps after the liberation of Warsaw. ”

Chuikov did not expect a thorny question, which Rokossovsky actually solved lightly, and hurriedly replied: "Understood, Comrade Marshal, I will immediately convey your meaning to the commanders at the front." ”

…………

The Vazienki Palace was taken, and the Lazienki Bridge was once taken, but Stargar was furious when he heard that the Ozienki Bridge was lost. He personally called the German commanders on the east bank and asked them to send troops to retake the bridge. Even if it cannot be recaptured, it is necessary to find a way to blow up the bridge, and it must not fall into the hands of the Soviet army. The German commander on the east bank immediately dispatched two tanks and guided a company of infantry to storm the Lazienki bridge.

Don't see that the Polish troops occupied the Lazienki bridge, but there were no decent fortifications on either side of the bridge. The Polish soldiers could only hide in makeshift sandbag fortifications and use machine guns to strafe the onrushing German tanks.

The machine-gun bullets hit the tank's armor plate like hailstones, splashing a series of sparks, but they could not penetrate the armor and destroy the tank crew inside. The German tanks, under the intensive machine-gun fire of the Polish troops, approached the bridge little by little without any obstacles.

Fifty meters from the bridge, the German tank stopped, slowly turned the turret, and fired a shot aimed at the Polish machine-gun fire. With a loud bang, machine-gun fire points on the side of the bridge flew into the sky, and some Polish soldiers who were hiding nearby and shooting were either killed or wounded.

The Lazienki Bridge was a strong bridge for tanks and artillery, and after the destruction of the Polish bridgehead, the German infantry, who followed behind the tanks, flooded the bridge like a tidal wave, swallowing up the sporadic resistance.

After waiting for him to finish, Chuikov carefully said: "Comrade Marshal, during the battle for the capture of the Vazinki Palace, we captured a part of the German prisoners. At present, there is some disagreement between the commanders and fighters of our army and the commanders and fighters of the Polish army on the question of how to deal with them, so I would like to ask you some information, what should we do with these prisoners? ”

"It's very simple," Rokossovsky, not wanting to waste time on these trifles, said casually: "All members of the SS will be shot on the spot; As for the officers and men of the Wehrmacht, they were temporarily locked up and sent to prisoner-of-war camps after the liberation of Warsaw. ”

Chuikov did not expect a thorny question, which Rokossovsky actually solved lightly, and hurriedly replied: "Understood, Comrade Marshal, I will immediately convey your meaning to the commanders at the front." ”

…………

The Vazienki Palace was taken, and the Lazienki Bridge was once taken, but Stargar was furious when he heard that the Ozienki Bridge was lost. He personally called the German commanders on the east bank and asked them to send troops to retake the bridge. Even if it cannot be recaptured, it is necessary to find a way to blow up the bridge, and it must not fall into the hands of the Soviet army. The German commander on the east bank immediately dispatched two tanks and guided a company of infantry to storm the Lazienki bridge.

Don't see that the Polish troops occupied the Lazienki bridge, but there were no decent fortifications on either side of the bridge. The Polish soldiers could only hide in makeshift sandbag fortifications and use machine guns to strafe the onrushing German tanks.

The machine-gun bullets hit the tank's armor plate like hailstones, splashing a series of sparks, but they could not penetrate the armor and destroy the tank crew inside. The German tanks, under the intensive machine-gun fire of the Polish troops, approached the bridge little by little without any obstacles.

Fifty meters from the bridge, the German tank stopped, slowly turned the turret, and fired a shot aimed at the Polish machine-gun fire. With a loud bang, machine-gun fire points on the side of the bridge flew into the sky, and some Polish soldiers who were hiding nearby and shooting were either killed or wounded.

The Lazienki Bridge was a strong bridge for tanks and artillery, and after the destruction of the Polish bridgehead, the German infantry, who followed behind the tanks, flooded the bridge like a tidal wave, swallowing up the sporadic resistance.