Fedyuninsky's 2nd Shock Army and Gusev's 48th Army, together with the units of the 5th Guards Tank Army, simultaneously attacked Elbin from three sides, and Colonel Shepfeld realized that his end had come. But before receiving a ceasefire order from his superiors, he could only give one last order to those troops he could still contact: fight to the last man, fight to the last bullet.

The officers and men below reacted differently to this order issued by Shepfeld. The officers and men of the Wehrmacht knew very well that the Soviets would only shoot them on the spot if they caught the SS. On the contrary, the Wehrmacht treated them very favorably, and as long as they stopped resisting, the other side would not slaughter the prisoners who had laid down their arms. Therefore, in addition to the stubborn resistance of the SS, ordinary Wehrmacht officers and soldiers, as soon as the Soviet tanks and infantry rushed to their side, immediately waved white flags and came out with their hands raised in surrender.

At the same time that Elbin was about to be captured by the Soviet army, the main forces of Popov's 70th Army also rushed to the vicinity of Simon Town. The tanks that rushed to the front saw that the road was blocked by the refugees and immediately shot them above their heads. The bullets flew over the heads of the refugees, causing everyone to scream and flee to the snow on both sides of the road.

Seeing that the refugees gave way to the armored troops, the machine guns on the Soviet tanks stopped firing and continued to move forward. The refugees standing on the side of the road looked expressionlessly at a tank with one on their faces, driving past the road in front of them; Looking at the countless commanders and fighters of the Soviet army, walking on the side of the road in a neat formation.

After a long time, some of the refugees became desperate, and they walked on knee-high snow towards the fortress of Thorn. At first, someone was still shouting, "Where are you going, the road over there is back to the fortress!" ”

But the refugees on their way back paid no heeded to the shouts, and they continued to walk with determination towards the homes they had left a few days earlier, carrying their few possessions, helping the old and the young.

After shouting for a while, the shouters realized that since the Soviets had rushed in front of them before, there was no point in continuing to flee, so they also set out on the road back to the fortress of Thorn as if they were following those in front.

The reason why the refugees fled the fortress with the army was mainly because they believed the propaganda of the SS, they thought that as long as the Soviet army occupied the fortress, they would rob their finances and take possession of their wives and daughters, so they braved the cold and followed the breakthrough force of Lüdek to travel nearly 100 kilometers to Simon.

As they walked, the refugees watched the commanders and fighters on the march with vigilant eyes. But after walking five or six kilometers, what they feared did not happen, and the commanders and fighters of the Soviet army walked forward with firm steps and their heads held high. Except for a few curious glances at the refugees who were walking in the snow on the side of the road and trying to return to their homes, no one stopped and harassed them.

Long before the troops of the Second Belorussian Front entered East Prussia, Rokossovsky and Military Commissar Subotin distributed orders to all commanders and fighters and reminded them: "We entered Germany as liberators and soldiers to help the German people get rid of the rule of the *** clique and its deceptive propaganda that poisoned the people. …… All officers and men should observe order in an exemplary manner and cherish the honor of the Soviet Red Army......"

In addition, the commanders and political workers at all levels, as well as all the party activists, took the trouble to explain to the commanders and fighters the mission of the liberation of the Soviet state army, its responsibility for the fate of Germany, and its responsibility for all other countries to be rescued from the shackles.

It was precisely because of Rokossovsky's precautions and the powerful propaganda offensive within the Front that in real history, those incidents that undermined military discipline and caused great suffering to the German people, especially German women, were basically eliminated.

The 31st Grenadier Division, which tried to cross the river from Kulm and join up with friendly forces on the opposite bank, learned that the friendly forces on the opposite bank had been routed by the Soviet 65th Army. The division commander Rolf, while ordering the troops to move to the nearby forest, sent a telegram to Rüdk: "Your Excellency, the friendly forces on the other side of the Vistula have been routed by the Russian 65th Army, and our attempt to cross the river from Kulm has failed. Our division was ready to continue its march north through the forest, looking for a suitable location to cross the Vistula. ”

Lüdek learned that the Soviets had blockaded the Kulm sector, and it no longer made much sense for him to lead his troops there. He ordered someone to find the commander of the 73rd Infantry Division, Marcus, and asked for his opinion: "Mr. Division Commander, the road for our transfer to the north has been blocked by the Russians. Rolf's troops had entered the forest, trying to break free from the Russians. Tell me, what should we do now? ”

Marcus called one of his staff officers, took the map from the bag he was carrying, unfolded it on the ground, and said to Lüdeck: "Your Excellency, if we want to get rid of the Russians who are about to surround us, we must rush to the Vistula River at once, find a random lot, and cross the river in pieces. After completing the crossing, we headed west to look for our troops. In this way, the Russians may temporarily halt their advance because they do not know where we are going next. ”

Rüdecker did not immediately reply to Marcus's proposal, he stared at the map for a while, and then asked rhetorically: "Mr. Divisional Commander, I would like to ask you, what would you think if I let you return to the march route on the right, break through the Russian defenses from there, and join the friendly forces in the north?" ”

"It's impossible." Marcus huffed, "My troops were about to break through the Russian blocking position, but you transferred us to Simontown. When we had arrived here on a twenty-kilometre march, you sent another telegram ordering us to turn around and head north to Kulm. Now it is obviously impossible to return to the right flank, and we may be attacked head-on by the main forces of the Russian army, and then there is a danger that the whole army will be annihilated. ”

"Kulm can't go, and the road back to the fortress of Thorn was also blocked by the Russians." "Our choice now is to return to the breakout line on the right, break through the Russian defenses from there, and go north to join the friendly forces," said Rudek thoughtfully. Otherwise, venture back to Simon, where the remaining pontoon bridge can be used to cross the Vistula. ”

"I was looking at the pontoon bridge over the river in Simon's Town, and I couldn't cross people at all. If we want to cross the river from there, we have to have the sappers rebuild the bridge. Speaking of this, Marcus sighed: "In my estimation, by the time we return to Simon Town, the main force of the Russians should have occupied the town. When we rush over at this time, we are throwing ourselves into the net. ”

Seeing that the two options he proposed did not seem to be advisable, Lüdecker could not help but worry about the fate of his army. Don't look at the departure of the 31st Grenadier Division, there are still more than 10,000 people left in the entire breakout force, but the ammunition of the troops is limited, and the average ammunition carried by the soldiers is only about five rounds per person. Not to mention going on the offensive, even if you fight a defensive battle, it's enough.

"What to do, Your Excellency, Commander." Seeing that Lüdek did not speak, the chief of staff asked in a somewhat anxious manner: "The main force of the Russians is coming towards us, what should we do now?" Whether to turn to the right or return to Simontown. ”

"Chief of Staff, judging from the current situation, whether we turn to the right or return to Simon Town, we are in danger of being annihilated." Rudek looked at his chief of staff and said with difficulty: "The war has been going on to this extent, and it should not be far from the end. As a fortress commander, I have no right to risk the lives of my soldiers. Therefore, I decided to let the troops stop any action and surrender to the Russians. ”

"What, surrender to the Russians?" Rudek's words startled both the chief of staff and Marcus. But Marcus soon calmed down, knowing in his heart that this was the only way to avoid the total destruction of his army. But the chief of staff was still chattering: "Your Excellency, commander, we, together with General Rolf's 31st Grenadier Division, and more than 20,000 people, are fully capable of fighting the Russians to the death, how can we surrender so easily." ”

"It's useless, Chief of Staff." "At present, the soldiers are seriously short of ammunition, and they are running out of food and other supplies. Even if the Russians stop attacking, as long as they besiege us for a week, our soldiers will be too hungry to pull the trigger. In order to preserve some vitality for the future New Germany, I decided to surrender to the Russians. ”