Although Rokossovsky chose the crossing point of his troops in the Zalesovo area, where the German defense was weak. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info can be tens of thousands of people crossing the river, and it is strange that they are not discovered by German scouts.

The first to cross the Vopi River was the 1st Moscow Motorized Infantry Division, and as soon as the division commander Lidyukov came ashore, he immediately called the three commanders of his regiment to the front and asked: "When will your troops be ready to fight?" ”

Major Sakhno, the commander of the 1st regiment, replied: "Report to the division commander, the commanders and fighters of the 1st regiment are ready for battle. ”

Then the commander of the 2nd Regiment, Major Shebelyuk, also replied: "Comrade Division Commander, our 2nd Regiment is also ready for all battles, although it is possible to launch an attack on the Germans. ”

Then, the commander of the third regiment also said: "Our regiment can be put into battle at any time. ”

In response to his subordinates' reply, Lidyukov nodded with satisfaction, he took out the map he had with him, unfolded it, and with the help of the faint dawn, began to lay out the task: "The first and second regiments moved north to attack the flanks of the German army, and the third regiment acted as the reserve of the whole division and acted with the division headquarters. He glanced back at the artillery regiment that was wading in vain, and then waved his hand and ordered Sakhno to them: "The first and second regiments will act first, and the third regiment will stay behind to help the artillery regiment cross the river." ”

The combat mission of the 1st Mobu Division was to attack the flank of a German division on the west bank of the Wopi River. However, as soon as Sakhno's regiment unfolded the offensive formation, the German troops, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately took the lead and smashed down the heavy artillery fire all over the world, and there was a great posture of not giving up until the Soviet troops were completely wiped out.

Seeing this, Lidyukov decisively issued an order to Sakhno and them: "Attack, Comrade Major, you must rush through the enemy's artillery blockade as fast as possible and storm the enemy's defensive positions. ”

With an order, thousands of Soviet soldiers crawled and rolled forward under the commander's command, braving the rain of bullets, and people died every minute, but they quickly passed through the shelling area under the enemy's bombardment.

As soon as the Soviets broke through the artillery blockade, light and heavy weapons from the German positions opened fire. In the dense rain of bullets, the storm troopering formation, which was somewhat sparse due to the shelling, burst out of the sky with a mist of blood. The bullets and shrapnel that flew horizontally pierced their bodies, tore their flesh and blood, and threw out their internal organs everywhere, splashing blood on the bodies and faces of their comrades next to them, and the flesh and blood shook like an electric shock in the rain of bullets, and the corpses of the soldiers were like broken pockets that had been thrown out, and they were overturned under the impact of bullets, but the living soldiers still howled and launched an impact. The commanders and fighters continued to advance on the enemy's positions on the offensive road paved with corpses.

Seeing that the Soviets were approaching their positions, many German soldiers stopped firing, picked up grenades resting on the edge of the trench and threw them outward, knocking down one Soviet soldier after another. Seeing that the Germans were throwing grenades, the Soviet soldiers were not to be outdone, and took out grenades one after another to salute the Germans. Grenades rained down on both sides of the attacker and defenders, setting off walls of smoke one after another, and the shrapnel from them intertwined with the killing and wounding of soldiers on both sides. With the help of the smoke and dust of the explosion, and the momentary pause of the opponent's firepower, the Soviet soldiers continued to launch a ferocious impact, and the soldiers who were not afraid of death held their shining bayonets, stared at the bloodshot balls and shouted "Ula" to rush out of the smoke and dust and pounce on the enemy.

Although the Germans were shooting desperately, they could not stop the heroic and tenacious Soviet commanders and fighters. Led by Major Sakhno, the bloody commanders and fighters rushed into the German forward positions quickly, crashed into sandbag fortifications, overturned German machine guns, stepped on the enemy's body and continued to rush forward.

In the face of such ferocious Soviet commanders and fighters, the German soldiers became timid and hesitated, and at this time, the artillery regiment of the motorized infantry division opened fire at the right time, and the shells that fell on the position and exploded became the last straw that crushed the will of the German officers and soldiers. At first, just a few soldiers ran back, but they were stopped by the officers who supervised the battle behind, and even corrected the law on the spot. But more and more soldiers fled back, and their escape led to an even bigger rout, and even some officers followed the soldiers back. In the confusion, the officers who oversaw the battle could no longer be suppressed, and were carried back by the panicked soldiers.

After waiting for the occupied German positions, Lidyukov asked Sakhno: "Comrade Major, what are the casualties of your regiment?" ”

Sakhno turned his head to the side and pouted, and said, "Comrade division commander, look, the whole regiment is here. ”

Lidyukov followed Sakhno's gaze and saw the commanders and fighters in the trenches who were busy cleaning the battlefield reinforcements, but there were only three or four hundred people, and he couldn't help but be surprised, and hurriedly asked: "Major, what did you just say?" Are all the commanders and fighters of your regiment here? ”

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Sakhno, whose face was blackened by the smoke of gunpowder, replied: "Of the more than 2,200 people in the regiment, only 375 remain, and the rest are either sacrificed or wounded. ”

Although Lidyukov knew that the casualties of his troops in the offensive battle just now were not small, he was still taken aback when he heard the casualty figures reported by Sakhno. After a battle, the casualties of a regiment exceeded eighty percent, which was equivalent to being completely disabled. He took a deep breath, stabilized his emotions, and then said, "Major, your regiment should rest in the same place." As for the next battle, Major Shebelyuk's 2nd Regiment was to take on the main task. ”

"Comrade division commander, although we have fewer people." Sakhno turned his head to look at his subordinates who were busy in the trenches, and said resolutely: "But our regiment can still continue to fight the main attack." ”

"Alright, Comrade Major." Lidyukov raised his hand to stop what Sakhno wanted to say later, "I just saw the performance of the fighters in battle, and they all behaved heroically. However, the casualties of your regiment are too great, so now we give you the task of resting and recuperating, and on the other hand, taking on the task of covering the artillery positions. He pauses for a moment, then raises his voice and asks, "Got it?" ”

"Understood, Comrade Division Commander." Sakhno reluctantly agreed.

Lidyukov turned his head to look at Shebelyuk, who was standing behind him, and said: "Major, come with me to the front to see the situation of the enemy's next position, so that I can decide how to fight?" With that, he took the lead along the trench towards the observation point, and after a few steps, he stopped, turned around and shook his head at Sakhno, and ordered, "Major Sakhno, you come with you." ”

As the group walked along the trenches, Shebelyuk put his hand on Sakhno's shoulder and asked in a friendly manner: "I said, old man, are you still taking over the initiative of your regiment for our regiment, and you are still holding on to it?" ”

Sakhno shook his head and said dejectedly: "I didn't, but I thought that the troops had just entered the battlefield and were disabled by the Germans in less than an hour." It seems that the rest of the battle will not be our share. ”

Lidyukov, who was walking in front, happened to hear Sakhno's whining words, so he turned his face sideways and said as he walked: "Major, this battle cannot be fought in a day or two, and some of your regiments will fight in the future." ”

Hearing Lidyukov say this, Sakhno rejoiced. He nodded again and again and said, "If that's the case, that's great." ”

"Major Sakhno," Lidyukov slowed down, walked side by side with Sakhno, and said to him earnestly, "When the 2nd Regiment is attacking, you can use this time to take a good look at the lessons learned from your regiment's battle today, and see how you can improve it and prepare for the next battle." ”

The three of them came to the end of the trench, where they could clearly see the German positions several kilometers away with binoculars. While observing with a telescope, Lidyukov said to the staff officer next to him: "The enemy's position consists of two trenches, connected by a communication trench in the middle. Perhaps the enemy never dreamed that we would attack them from this direction, so there was no barbed wire and minefields in front of the positions, and there were hardly any firepower points visible from the positions......"

While listening, the staff officer next to him quickly recorded everything Lidyukov said in the notebook in his hand. After seeing that the staff officer had finished taking notes, Lidyukov ordered him again: "Comrade staff officer, send a report to the headquarters of the army group and report to the commander the news of our occupation of the German positions." ”

Rokossovsky, having received a telegram from Lidyukov in the command, called Malinin, Lobachev and Kazakov to the front and said: "Comrade commanders, Colonel Lidyukov has just sent a telegram saying that his troops, after a fierce battle, have successfully occupied the outlying positions of the German right flank and are preparing to advance into the enemy's defensive depths. ”

As soon as Rokossovsky's words fell, Lobachev said excitedly: "Great, this is amazing. Colonel Lidyukov and his men were good. At this point, he looked up at his watch, and then added, "It's remarkable that they managed to occupy the enemy's outlying positions just over an hour after dawn." ”

Kazakov was obviously so optimistic about Lobachev, and after he waited for Lobachev to finish speaking, he turned his head to look at Rokossovsky and asked: "Comrade commander, although Lidyukov did not say what the German positions would be captured if they were captured, as far as I know about him, the casualties of the troops must be very large. ”

After listening to what Kazakov said, without waiting for Rokossovsky to speak, Lobachev preemptively said: "Comrade Chief of Artillery, you can't say that, in order to defeat the fascist invaders and defend our motherland, I think it is bearable to pay a great price." ”

Rokossovsky very much agreed with Kazakov's analysis, he nodded slightly, and said approvingly: "Comrade Artillery Chief, you are right in your analysis, in this battle, the casualties of the motorized infantry division must not be small, maybe one of the regiments has been disabled." Speaking of this, he turned his head and asked Malinin, "Chief of Staff, where is the 64th Infantry Division of Colonel Gryazhnov?" ”

Malinin hurriedly pointed to the map and introduced Rokossovsky: "Here, about three kilometers to the left of the motorized infantry division, they will march hand in hand with friendly troops to cut off the retreat of the German troops." ”

"Good, good." After Rokossovsky said two very good, he went on to ask: "I wonder where the troops of the 19th Army have advanced?" You must know that in this operation, we are just cooperating, and they are still the protagonists. ”

Hearing this, Malinin shook his head and replied: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I haven't received any news from the 19th Army today, so I don't know anything about their movements. ”

After listening to Malinin, Rokossovsky couldn't help but smile bitterly, and said in his heart that this Soviet army was really like what he knew, friendly forces cooperated with each other, and did not take the initiative to communicate with each other at all, which often led to such joint operations in the end, and unconsciously became fighting on their own. He coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and said, "I'd better call General Konev to find out what friendly forces are doing, so that I can command our troops to carry out the next move." ”

Rokossovsky called Konev, and after greeting him, he asked straight to the point: "Comrade General, our troops have successfully crossed the Wopi River and, half an hour ago, managed to occupy a defensive position on the flank of the German troops, and are now developing in depth into the enemy's defense. Don't know where your troops have progressed? ”

"What, your troops have crossed the Woppy River?" Hearing Rokossovsky's briefing, Konev looked a little surprised. After receiving an affirmative answer, he continued: "Our troops are now quietly moving towards the starting point of the attack, and although it is already dawn, the Germans have obviously not yet noticed our movements, and I believe that we will be able to catch them by surprise." ”

After listening to Konev's introduction, the muscles on Rokossovsky's face began to twitch violently, he did not expect that his unit, which was responsible for the cooperation task, had launched a fierce attack on the enemy, and the friendly troops who sang the leading role had not yet entered the starting position of the attack.

Since Konev was about to become the new commander of the Western Front in the near future, in this case, Rokossovsky could not turn his face with the other side, he could only ask stubbornly: "Comrade General, I don't know when your troops can attack the enemy?" ”

"An hour." Without hesitation, Konev said: "I think in an hour at most my troops will be able to attack the enemy." As soon as they cross the Woppy, they will move southward, and then you will have a centripetal assault on your troops, and you will be sure to crush or inflict heavy damage on the German troops stationed on the west bank of the Woppi......"

Rokossovsky compared it on the map and found that it was more than 30 kilometers away from the position of his troops, and if the German army was deployed layer by layer, the two armies would not have been able to meet at all in three or five days. But for the sake of the overall situation, he still resisted his anger and replied: "Okay, Comrade General, I will let our troops continue to advance northward, and strive to join your troops as soon as possible." (To be continued.) )