During that time, fighting on the front line in Yatsevo continued around the clock. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 The newly replenished 7th Mechanized Corps, although it held off the German attacks again and again, suffered heavy casualties under the double blow of German artillery fire and aircraft bombardment. Rokossovsky, after consulting Timoshenko, abandoned the defensive position on the western side of Yaltsevo and retreated to the second line of defense east of the city, where he continued to resist the German offensive.

In the early morning of the last day of July, Rokossovsky had just sent Colonel Lidyukov's mixed detachment away when he received a call from Timoshenko. Hearing Rokossovsky's voice, Timoshenko said in a hoarse voice: "Comrade General, the situation is bad, the Germans have encircled Mogilev and captured Orsha, Smolensk, Yelnya and Krichev. Units of our 16th, 19th and 20th armies were encircled by the Germans in the Smolensk area. ”

Hearing that three army groups were dumpled by the Germans, Rokossovsky's heart couldn't help but chuckle, and secretly said that Timoshenko told himself such a purpose, that is, he planned to let himself lead his troops to rescue the besieged troops, right? Therefore, he cautiously asked: "Comrade Marshal, do not know what the tasks of our combat cluster are?" ”

"At present, part of the forces of the 13th Army has forcibly crossed the Sozh River to rescue the besieged Mogilev." Timoshenko said slowly: "At present, the only force that I can mobilize in my hands is your combat group, although your strength is limited, but the main force of the German 2nd Army has been pinned down by the 63rd Infantry Corps in the area between the Dnieper River and the Berezina River, if you want to break through the encirclement of the German army and rescue the three encircled army groups, I think it can still be done." ”

Rokossovsky listened to Timoshenko's narration, staring at the map in front of him, looking at the blue arrows representing the German army, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart. But an order is an order, knowing that this is an order for the troops to die, but they still have to carry it out. Last time, Timoshenko forgave him for his last battlefield disobedience, and if he refused to carry out the order again this time, maybe Timoshenko would have him directly sent to court-martial.

He put down the phone, stared at the map in front of him and thought for a while, and then asked Malinin: "Chief of Staff, can we still establish contact with General Lukin of the 16th Army?" ”

"Our telephone lines with Smolensk have all been cut off." Malinen said with some uncertainty: "Although we can send them a telegram, we cannot guarantee that the other party will receive the telegram. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, in the current situation, I can't take care of so much." Rokossovsky said impatiently: "The command of the Front ordered us to go and rescue the besieged 16th, 19th and 20th armies, and before we acted, we must always find a way to find out where they are, otherwise we will scurry around like headless flies, and we may not save our friendly troops in the end, but will put ourselves in." ”

When Malinin went to instruct the telegraph operator to deliver the report, Vinogradov cautiously asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, you should know very well that our troops have suffered heavy casualties in the recent battles, where can we still send forces to the rescue of the besieged friendly troops?" ”

"It can't be helped, General Vinogradov." Rokossovsky had tens of thousands of grass and mud horses galloping by in his heart at this moment, and he knew that this task was to hit a stone with an egg, but he still had to say to Vinogradov calmly: "I also know that this mission is to die for life, but if we allow the Germans to destroy the friendly army, then we will be the next ones they want to destroy." Rather than being crushed by the Germans in the end, it is better to take a gamble, as long as we can save one or two friendly troops, our next defensive battle will be much easier. ”

Then he turned to Kazakov and said: "Comrade Chief Artillery, if we want to storm the German encirclement, we may need artillery support. How many artillery guns do we have at our disposal at the moment? ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's question, Kazakov didn't look at any notepad at all, and opened his mouth and said: "We now have 6 122-mm howitzers of the M30 type, 5 107-mm cannons of the M60 type; 12 M1938 76-mm mountain guns; As well as 8 anti-tank guns ......"

When Rokossovsky heard that there were still so many heavy artillery, his heart suddenly became much more steady, and he didn't wait for the other party to finish speaking, so he interjected and asked: "Is there enough ammunition?" ”

"There are generally two more base shells." Kazakov said with a serious expression: "But at the moment it is very difficult to transfer these artillery pieces to their positions. Because we don't have enough trucks to tow these guns. ”

"If you don't have a truck, you can ride a horse." Rokossovsky said.

Kazakov shook his head and said, "It turns out that some of the artillery pieces were indeed drawn by horses. However, most of these horses were lost in the German shelling and bombardment. ”

"So how do we transfer these guns?" Rokossovsky frowned and asked: "Many of them are heavy artillery, and it is definitely unrealistic to let the commanders and fighters manually tow them." ”

Kazakov thought for a moment, and then suggested to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, you see if this will work, anyway, we are not far from Vyazma here, maybe we can get trucks from there to solve the problem of artillery towing." ”

"Comrade Kazakov, you are right, how did I forget about Vyazma in the rear. They can provide us with enough trucks to tow these guns. After that, he called Tarasov to his front and explained to him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I now order you to immediately rush to Vyazma, find the local head and find a way to get a batch of trucks. ”

"But Comrade Commander," said Tarasov, somewhat embarrassed, "I don't know the head of Vyazma." Who shall I go to when I get there? ”

After listening to Tarasov's words, Rokossovsky was also worried. Not to mention that Tarasov doesn't know the person in charge of the local area, even he doesn't seem to know anyone who can do things in the city. If Tarasov really had to run over like this and ask for a truck, he would definitely hit the nail.

Just when Rokossovsky was in a dilemma, Vinogradov, who was sitting next to him, suddenly spoke: "Comrade commander, in fact, in Vyazma, you still know a person in charge. ”

"What, there is a person in charge in Vyazma that I know?" When Rokossovsky heard Vinogradov say this, he couldn't help but ask in confusion: "Who is it?" Who do I know? ”

Vinogradov smiled slightly, and then said: "Why, have you forgotten the lesbian we met at the cabin?" If I'm not mistaken, she seems to be the head of the Soviet of the Western District of Vyazma. Let Lieutenant Colonel Tarasov go to her, and we will definitely be able to get the truck we desperately need. ”

"That's right, that's right." As soon as Vinogradov said this, Rokossovsky immediately remembered the woman with short hair, dressed in civilian military clothes, who looked shrewd and capable, and said to Tarasov with a smile: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, this Comrade Borisova, you have seen it before, and when you get to Vyazma, you will go directly to her." Let her help us get a batch of trucks for towing artillery and transporting shells anyway. Do you understand? ”

"Understood." Tarasov loudly agreed, then straightened up and asked, "Comrade commander, allow me to go on a mission now?" ”

"Go, go," Rokossovsky waved at him, "you go in the jeep of the headquarters, and you must drive back the truck we need before noon." ”

Not long after Tarasov left, Malinin returned to Rokossovsky and said with a smile on his face: "Comrade commander, we got in touch with General Lukin. ”

"How's it going, where is General Lukin now?" When Rokossovsky heard about Lukin's whereabouts, he immediately asked impatiently: "How many people are left in his troops?" ”

Malinin delivered the telegram to Rokossovsky, and at the same time reported: "General Lukin withdrew with the remnants of more than 800 commanders and fighters to the south of Smolensk, where he was hiding in the forest. ”

"There are only more than 800 people left?!" Seeing that Rokossovsky was reading the telegram, Vinogradov couldn't help but sigh secretly, "There are only these few troops left, even if we rescue them, they will not play much role in the next battle." ”

"General Lukin's original army is only about 800 people." Rokossovsky, who had read the telegram, happened to hear Vinogradov's complaints, and while handing him the telegram in his hand, he said: "But not long ago, General Lukin met the 129th Division of the 19th Army, which was on the way to retreat, and after negotiation with the commander of the division, Major General Gorodnensky, the unit has been assigned to the formation of the 16th Army. This division had three infantry regiments and two artillery regiments, and although it suffered certain losses in the early battles, with their participation, General Lukin's strength was improved. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the phone on the desk rang. Ma Lining grabbed the microphone casually, put it to his ear and said loudly: "Hey, I'm Chief of Staff Ma Lining, where are you?" What the? …… What do you say? Please repeat, I didn't hear clearly! …… Great, that's great! Comrade Second Lieutenant, you personally brought their commanders to the headquarters. ”

After putting down the phone, Malinin reported to Rokossovsky with a happy face: "Comrade commander, a second lieutenant at the highway checkpoint outside reported to me that a mixed regiment from Moscow had entered our defense zone. ”

"How many troops do they have?" Perhaps because the casualties of the troops have been too great recently, and the replenishment of troops is not effective, Rokossovsky has always been worried about the soldiers of the troops, and at this moment he heard that a mixed regiment had entered his defense zone, he could no longer control his emotions, "How are their weapons?" ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Malinin replied with a smile: "According to the report of the second lieutenant, this mixed regiment is composed of cadets and factory workers, all party members, who are well-equipped and high-spirited, and are ready to enrich the 16th Army in Smolensk. ”

"At present, the 16th Army is surrounded by the German army, they are unfamiliar with the place, and they lack the weapons to attack the fortifications, and it is simply impossible to break through the German defenses." Vinogradov interjected: "In that case, it is better to integrate them all into our troops, so that we will have enough troops when we go to relieve the friendly forces." ”

With little effort, a second lieutenant walked into the command headquarters with two officers. After raising his hand to salute Rokossovsky, he reported: "Comrade commander, I have brought the commander and commissar of the mixed regiment. ”

"Thank you, second lieutenant. There's nothing going on here, so go back to your post. After Rokossovsky sent away the second lieutenant, he walked up to the two officers and said solemnly: "I am Lieutenant General Rokossovsky, the commander of the combat group, I don't know what the two are called?" ”

After listening to Rokossovsky's self-introduction, the lieutenant colonel on the left stepped forward, straightened up and reported: "Lieutenant Colonel Chekov, the commander of the Moscow mixed regiment, reports to you that our regiment has two thousand one thousand people, all party members, from military academies and factories, and we are ordered to go to Smolensk to strengthen the 16th Army there. ”

After the lieutenant colonel's report was completed, the political workers around him also stepped forward: "Battalion-level political commissar Kalinin reports to you!" ”

"You may be seated, Comrade Commander." After Rokossovsky beckoned the two to sit down, he said to them: "Smolensk is now occupied by the Germans, and the troops of the 16th Army have retreated to the forest south of the city, but there are not many people left. ”

Chekov and Kalinin looked at each other, then looked at Rokossovsky and said: "Comrade General, we have received an order to strengthen the 16th Army in Smolensk, and until a new order is received, our regiment will continue to Smolensk. ”

In the face of Chekov's brainless brain, Rokossovsky was a little speechless, but at the moment of employing people, he didn't care so much, but said with a flat expression: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I am the commander of Rokossovsky's operational group. By order of the Military Council of the Western Front, all units within the territory of our operational cluster are to be placed under our command......"

Kalinin's reaction was obviously faster than Chekov's, and when he heard Rokossovsky say this, he quickly jumped up from his seat, straightened up and replied: "Understood, Comrade Commander, our Moscow mixed regiment resolutely obeys your command!" After saying that, he also reached out and pulled Chekov next to him.

Seeing the hint from his political commissar, if Chekov didn't understand what he meant, he would not be qualified to be the head of the regiment. So he quickly stood up and repeated what Kalinen had just said aloud. (To be continued.) )