When he received a telegram from Rokossovsky, knowing that the troops of the 16th and 19th armies had managed to jump out of the encirclement of the Germans, Timoshenko, who was far away from the headquarters of the Front, called him. The pen www.biquge.info only heard the marshal say excitedly in his hoarse voice: "Comrade Rokossovsky, you and your men are doing well. Originally, our front army headquarters thought that the entire breakthrough operation would take at least a week or so to complete, but I did not expect that it only took you one day and night to successfully cut a few holes in the enemy's encirclement and rescue our troops. ”

"Thank you, Comrade Marshal, for the compliment." Rokossovsky straightened up, looked through the lookout, looked at the direction where the smoke was still billowing in the distance and the sound of gunfire was heard from time to time, and said with some regret: "It's a pity that so far, General Kurochkin's 20th Army is still in the enemy's encirclement. ”

"This Kurochkin is a bastard." Timoshenko scolded angrily on the phone: "I have long ordered him to cooperate with your attack and attack from the other side of the German line. Who knew that he would dare to disobey his orders, and I would never spare him. When the 20th Army is out of the enemy's encirclement, I will definitely remove him from his post and bring him to court-martial. ”

"Comrade Marshal, I think it is our top priority that the 20th Army should be ......," Rokossovsky stopped as soon as he said this, because he saw Lukin lying on a stretcher and being carried in. He hurriedly covered the microphone with his hand and beckoned to the soldier carrying the stretcher, "Quickly put the stretcher on these two benches."

Hearing that there was suddenly no sound on the phone, Timoshenko couldn't help but be a little anxious, he raised his voice and asked dissatisfiedly: "Comrade Rokossovsky, what's wrong with you, why don't you speak?" ”

Hearing Timoshenko's voice, Rokossovsky hurriedly let go of the hand covering the microphone and replied: "Comrade Marshal, I beg your pardon. General Lukin was wounded and had just been carried into the command. ”

Hearing that Lukin was injured, Timoshenge was also taken aback, and he hurriedly asked, "Is the injury serious, can you continue to command the troops?" ”

Lukin obviously heard the conversation between Rokossovsky and Timoshenko, and hurriedly sat up from the stretcher, and said weakly to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Rokossovsky, please tell the marshal that I am only slightly wounded, and I can continue to command the troops." ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky," Timoshenko apparently heard Lukin's words, but he still asked uneasily: "Please tell me truthfully, is Comrade Lukin's injuries serious?" ”

Rokossovsky looked at the blood oozing from Lukin's chest, hesitated for a moment, and decided that he should truthfully report his injuries to his superiors: "Comrade Marshal, General Lukin is **** wounded, and the injuries are ......" Before he finished speaking, the microphone in his hand was snatched from Lukin, who rushed over.

Lukin glared at Rokossovsky, and then tried to say to Timoshenko in a calm tone: "Comrade Marshal, don't worry, my injuries don't matter at all, and they will definitely not affect the command of the troops to fight." ”

"Well, Lieutenant General Lukin, since you're okay, then you can stay in the unit and take command." After Timoshenko finished speaking, he didn't let him hand over the microphone to Rokossovsky, and hung up the phone directly.

After Lukin put the microphone on the base of the phone, he held the table with both hands, stared at Rokossovsky, and said with a serious expression: "Comrade Rokossovsky, although I am wounded, please remember that my injuries will not affect my command of troops in battle at all. I ask you to keep this firmly in mind. With that, he turned and shook his head at the warriors who had brought him in, and said, "Let's go!" ”

Seeing Lukin with the support of two fighters and walking out of the command with difficulty, Rokossovsky couldn't help but sigh, and looked down at the map in front of him, what he was most concerned about now was how to save General Kurochkin's 20th Army from the German encirclement.

The battle continued until noon, and General Kurochkin, under the strict orders of Timoshenko, finally spread the troops of two divisions on the front of the German defense and began their breakthrough operation. However, it was too late, and the breakthrough troops launched three charges in succession under German artillery fire and aircraft bombardment, all of which ended in failure, and the attacking troops suffered more than half of the casualties.

As soon as Rokossovsky had finished listening to the report of the failure of the 20th Army's breakthrough, Chief of Staff Malinin came over again and reported to him: "Comrade commander, I have just received a report from the observation post that signs of movement of large German forces have been detected in the western and southwestern directions of our army. ”

"How many troops do we have at the moment?" Rokossovsky looked at the northwest direction of the smoke and asked helplessly: "To be exact, how many more troops do we have that we can use for defense?" ”

"Two battalions," Malinin replied immediately without thinking, "two fully manned battalions of the motorized infantry regiment, about 1,200 men. If they were to defend themselves, I believe there would be no problem in holding back the German attack. ”

"Then give orders to Lieutenant Colonel Vorobyov." Rokossovsky did not hesitate to say: "If we don't move a little faster, the Germans will soon rush in front of us." ”

An hour after the order to deploy the defense, Rokossovsky again heard the news of the failure of the offensive of the 38th Infantry Division and the 101st Tank Division, and at the same time the attack launched by the troops of the 20th Army from the opposite side also suffered a crushing defeat. At this moment, after answering a phone call, Malinin suddenly reported to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, I have just received a call from Lieutenant Colonel Vorobyov, who said that there is something wrong with the fortifications and wants you to take a look. ”

"Problems with the fortifications?" When Rokossovsky heard Malinin say this, he replied in surprise: "Didn't they work according to the regulations, how could there be a problem?" ”

"Comrade commander, it is said that it was in accordance with the regulations that the existing problems were discovered." Ma Lining said cautiously: "Why don't you go and see for yourself?" ”

Thinking that this fortification was related to whether the troops could hold the west bank of the Wopi River, Rokossovsky handed over the affairs in the command headquarters to the deputy commander and chief of staff, and then rushed to the place where the motorized infantry regiment was rushing to repair the fortifications with several guards.

Seeing that Rokossovsky arrived with several guards, the deputy regimental commander Chekov immediately greeted him and took the initiative to greet him: "Comrade commander, you are here!" Please come with me, and I'll show you the fortifications we have just repaired. ”

In a short time, Rokossovsky, led by Chekov, came to a defensive area. There were no common long trenches and firing points for civil structures, only foxholes next to each other.

Rokossovsky turned his head and asked Chekov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I received a report that there is something wrong with your fortifications. But here I am, I don't find any problems. He pointed to the foxhole not far away, adding, "According to the regulations of our army, the foxhole is the most basic fortification in a defensive battle, and the soldiers who stay in the foxhole will suffer much less losses when they are attacked by enemy fire." ”

"Comrade commander, theoretically this is the case, and the defensive line that has built a foxhole looks very good, but if it is used in actual combat, it is a different matter." After Chekov finished speaking, he pointed to a foxhole and made a gesture of invitation to Rokossovsky, and said: "If you don't mind, you can go in and feel it." ”

Rokossovsky nodded, walked over to a foxhole, motioned for the fighters inside to come out, and then jumped in and sat down in the pit. After a while, he came out of the foxhole with a grim face and said to Chekov, who had been standing next to him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I understand, you are right. Just in the foxhole, though I know that somewhere to my left and right sat our own commanders and fighters. But I could not see them, nor could I hear them. The squad leader didn't see me, just as he couldn't see his whole class. And the fighting is going on, artillery shells, mortar shells are exploding everywhere, bullets, shrapnel are whizzing by, and enemy planes are dropping bombs from time to time.

As a veteran who has participated in countless battles and has a lot of combat experience, I frankly admit that I feel bad about myself in this pit. I always had a desire to run out and see if my comrades were still sitting in the pit, and if I was the only one left in the pit. If this feeling of trepidation never leaves me, how does a first-time fighter feel? ”

"Comrade commander," seeing that Rokossovsky realized the problem of the foxhole, Chekov also said bluntly: "I suggest that we still build that kind of long trench, at least during the battle, the commanders and fighters can see their comrades-in-arms around them, so that they can strengthen their confidence to continue fighting." ”

"I agree, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Rokossovsky replied without hesitation: "Just do as you say, let the fighters connect the foxholes together, so that in a very short time they can be turned into a long trench." ”

The enemy to the west and south-west, although gradually advancing towards the Soviet positions on the west bank of the Wopi River, stopped their advance when they were still three or four kilometers away. In addition to sending alert troops to hold Rokossovsky's troops, the rest of the men are urgently repairing the fortifications destroyed by the Soviets in the battle, preparing to use this place as a starting point for future attacks.

When it was dark, the offensive in the northwest direction continued. However, the 38th Infantry Division and the 101st Tank Division, which were responsible for the attack, suffered heavy casualties, of which 1,500 infantry and 12 tanks remained. At such times, it was not only Kirillov and Mikhailov who called Rokossovsky, asking the troops to stop this senseless offensive. Even the deputy commander, Major General Vinogradov, persuaded Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, we have paid at least 5,000 men and 40 tanks to save the troops of the 20th Army, but we still cannot break through the strong defenses of the German army. I felt that the plea heard by the two division commanders was reasonable, and that the troops should be allowed to stop this attack, which had suffered heavy casualties and had no effect. ”

"Stop the attack?!" Rokossovsky retorted angrily: "Comrade Deputy Commander, have you ever thought that if our offensive really stops, then more than 30,000 people of the 20th Army, which is surrounded by the enemy, will suffer the fate of total annihilation. As a soldier, I would never watch my allies annihilate by the enemy right under my nose. ”

"But our troops have lost the ability to break through enemy positions." Seeing Rokossovsky's stubbornness, Vinogradov said with some anxiety: "If you let them continue to fight, it will be tantamount to sending them to death." Rather than that, it would be better to withdraw them, strengthen our defenses on the west bank, and buy more time for the friendly forces that have retreated to the north and south of Yaltsevo to build up their defenses. ”

Rokossovsky thought that the troops of his two divisions had been fighting continuously for a day and a night since yesterday, and that the commanders and fighters should be exhausted, and even if they continued to fight, it would be difficult for them to achieve the desired results. So he nodded and instructed Malinin: "Chief of Staff, immediately call the two division commanders Kirillov and Mikhailov, and ask them to temporarily stop the attack on the Germans, retreat two kilometers, and use the German positions we have captured to rest." ”

With the armistice order issued, the two division commanders rushed back from the front in the dust.

Rokossovsky looked at the two division commanders in front of him whose faces were blackened by gunpowder, stepped forward to hold their hands, and said with some emotion: "Two comrades colonels, hard work!" Please convey to your warriors my respect for fighting for a day and a night in a row to keep the enemy's main forces firmly in the north-west. ”

"That's what we're supposed to do." Mikhailov said lightly: "Comrade commander, I would like to ask, what to do tomorrow?" Or do you continue to launch such a senseless attack on the enemy's positions? ”

"Comrade Colonel." When Rokossovsky heard Mikhailov say this, he immediately turned his face and said: "Although our troops suffered a little more casualties during the offensive, how can you say that such an attack is meaningless?" As long as we can break through the encirclement of the German army, then we can rescue more than 30,000 commanders and fighters of the 20th Army. As long as we have more than 30,000 people, our strength will be greatly strengthened in the next battle. ”

"Comrade Commander, telegram!" Malinin came over with a telegram and reported to Rokossovsky: "Just received a telegram from Colonel Lidyukov that his troops had detoured to the north of the 20th Army and were ready to launch a fierce attack on the flanks of the German army. (To be continued.) )