Rokossovsky didn't want to draw troops from the northwest to strengthen the defense on the west bank of the Wopi River. However www.biquge.info in the current situation, he could only continue to place the main force of the combat cluster in the existing area to cover the troops of the 20th Army to break out of the encirclement.

Therefore, after a fierce ideological struggle, he gritted his back molars and replied to Vinogoradov: "Comrade Deputy Commander, although I would very much like to agree to your proposal, a part of the troops deployed in the northwest will be transferred back to strengthen our defense in Xi'an. However, no, we were given the task of rescuing the encircled troops of our army from the encirclement of the enemy. General Lukin's 16th Army and General Konev's 19th Army had successfully crossed the Wopi River and began to build fortifications in the new defensive area. Now, although we have opened a passage for the 20th Army, as long as they have not withdrawn from the enemy's encirclement, we must send troops to protect the passage unblocked. ”

"But, Comrade Commander." Perhaps what General Kurochkin had done in the past two days was too chilling, so Vinogradov said unwillingly: "If the troops of the 20th Army do not break through for a long time, then our commanders and fighters who are holding their positions will suffer heavy casualties under the three-dimensional attack of the German army." ”

"Don't worry, General Vinogradov." Rokossovsky also made up his last mind at this time, and he said decisively: "We will hold out until noon tomorrow, and as soon as it is past twelve o'clock, I will withdraw all the troops, regardless of whether the troops of the 20th Army retreat through the passage we have opened." ”

"Well," said Vinogradov, looking at his watch, with great indignation, "we will wait for them for another twelve hours, and when the time comes, I will have to withdraw my troops, even at the risk of court-martial." ”

At one o'clock in the morning, Colonel Kirillov, who was at the forefront, suddenly made a phone call, and when he heard Kirillov's voice, Rokossovsky's heart couldn't help but rise to his throat, and he was afraid that something would go wrong, so he asked nervously: "Colonel, are you calling at this time, do you have something important to report?" ”

Kirillov said loudly: "Report to Comrade Commander, the troops of the 20th Army, through the positions occupied by our division, are retreating to the banks of the Vopi River......"

Suddenly hearing this news, Rokossovsky thought that he had heard it wrong, and quickly and cautiously asked: "What, colonel, what did you say?" Please say it again. ”

"Comrade commander," Kirillov thought that the telephone line was so bad that Rokossovsky did not hear clearly, and repeated again with a raised voice: "The troops of the 20th Army, at the moment, are passing through the section occupied by our division, trying to retreat by the Vopi River. ”

"Great, that's great." Hearing that the troops of the 20th Army were beginning to retreat, Rokossovsky immediately smiled, and he specially instructed Kirillov: "Pay close attention to their movements, and if there is anything new, call me immediately and report it." ”

Rokossovsky put down the phone and said excitedly to several deputies in the command: "Comrade commander, I have just received a call from Colonel Kirillov from the front, saying that the troops of the 20th Army, through their defense area, are beginning to retreat towards the Vopi River. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, another phone in the command rang. Malinin went over to answer the phone and soon returned to report: "Comrade commander, Colonel Lidyukov also called, from the units of the 20th Army, are passing through their defense zone. ”

"I guess General Kurochkin was reprimanded by Marshal Timoshenko, so he ordered his troops to retreat from the passage overnight." Kazakov let out a long sigh and said with relief: "Although the troops of the 20th Army numbered tens of thousands, but at the same time retreated eastward from such a wide area, I estimate that before dawn, all the Vopi River will be crossed." ”

And Vinogradov, who was sitting at the table, listened to what Kazakov said, picked up the military hat placed on the table and put it on his head, then stood up and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, tens of thousands of people cross the river at night, and without a unified command, it is easy to fall into chaos. If the troops did not cross the Wopi River before dawn, there was a risk that they would be bombed by the enemy. Therefore, I beg you to allow me to go to the river and direct the troops to cross the river. ”

Hearing what his deputy said, Rokossovsky nodded, then stepped forward to hold his hand and said: "General Vinogradov, I will leave the matter of the crossing of the 20th Army to you. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Vinogradov assured Rokossovsky: "I will never fail your trust and will cross the river before dawn." ”

Although the structure of the withdrawn troops was messy, because Vinogradov took the initiative to ask the Yingdao River to direct the troops to cross the river, the entire river crossing operation appeared to be orderly.

After receiving a report from the signal corpsman on the situation along the river, Kazakov said to Rokossovsky with a relaxed expression: "Comrade commander, at this rate, all the troops of the 20th Army will cross the river before dawn, and there will be no problems. ”

But not long after they were happy, Rokossovsky received a call from Kirillov. The colonel said anxiously on the phone: "Comrade commander, something happened, something happened. ”

Rokossovsky was so frightened by these words that he broke out in a cold sweat, and he hurriedly asked: "Colonel, what is going on with you?" ”

"Comrade Commander, now the wounded of the 20th Army are passing through our defense zone." Speaking of this, I don't know if it was because he was afraid of being heard by others, or for what reason, Kirillov suddenly lowered his voice and said: "According to my observation, there are as many as five or six thousand wounded, and their movement is slow, and if they continue like this, they will not be able to finish it even tomorrow night." ”

The expression on Rokossovsky's face became grim, and he asked with a straight face: "Why, there are no trucks or ambulances to transport the wounded?" ”

"No, Comrade Commander." Kirillov replied unusually simply: "Not a single truck or ambulance was seen, only a few wagons, but most of the wounded were carried or supported by others. ”

From Kirillov's description, Rokossovsky made up scenes of thousands of wounded on the march. After Kirillov finished speaking, he asked cautiously: "Colonel, don't you still have some trucks in your division?" Could it be that these trucks could be transferred to the wounded so that they could cross the river as soon as possible? ”

"Comrade Commander, it's not that I don't want to raise trucks for the wounded." "There are craters everywhere, large and small, and no other vehicles can move except tanks," said Kirillov with a bitter face. Besides, there are not a few trucks left in our division, and even if they all drive over, they won't be able to pull a few wounded. ”

"Pull as many wounded as you can." Rokossovsky said in an unquestionable tone: "If you wait for dawn and the Germans' planes appear, how many of these wounded will survive, it's hard to say, you can't just watch death without help, right?" ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Kirillov sighed and said helplessly: "Well, Comrade Commander, since you gave such an order, then I can only obey it." ”

Behind the wounded of the 20th Army, there were two more divisions that were in charge of the rear. Because the enemy to the west of them, perceiving that they were moving to the east, combined with the battle reports that the defensive line near the Wopi River had been broken by our troops in many places, it was concluded that our troops would break through overnight. The German commander sent elite troops to attack the retreating troops.

As the German offensive unfolded, the retreat of the 20th Army was affected. In order to prevent the Germans from rushing quickly to the Wopi River, several units that had already approached the Wopi River, after receiving orders from their superiors, turned west to meet the German troops attacking the rearguard division. Unfortunately, however, the returning troops collided with the ranks of the wounded who were retreating towards the river, and the wounded were in a hurry to run towards the river, while the troops who had been ordered to reinforce them were also in a hurry to the west, and the two sides did not trust each other, and as a result, the whole retreat site became more chaotic than ever.

After learning of this information, Rokossovsky was so angry that he slammed the table and cursed: "Hell, how did this commander command?" Knowing that there were thousands of wounded in the middle of the retreat route, he let the troops that had withdrawn to the Wopi River turn west to rescue the troops attacked by the Germans. ”

"Comrade Commander," Kazakov said worriedly, looking at the information he had just received, "the current situation is chaotic, what should we do?" Is it to immediately send troops to maintain order? ”

"No, Comrade Chief of Artillery." Rokossovsky rejected Kazakov's proposal without hesitation: "It's night, visibility is limited, and if we send troops to maintain order, I'm afraid that our troops will also fall into chaos." ”

"So what are we going to do?" Kazakov asked anxiously.

"Wait, all we can do at the moment is wait." Rokossovsky said helplessly: "I hope they can end this mess sooner." Then he instructed Malinin: "Call a few commanders, tell them to stay where they are, and let no one maintain order, so as not to throw our troops into chaos." ”

The confusion of the 20th Army, at dawn, finally improved, but it was too late, and German planes had already appeared in the air. Looking at the dense Soviet troops on the ground, the enemy pilots did not need to aim at all as long as they drove the planes down, although dropping a bomb or strafing them with airborne machine guns could cause certain casualties to the Soviet troops.

Rokossovsky saw the troops of the 20th Army in the telescope, suffering heavy casualties in the bombing and strafing of enemy aircraft, and hurriedly put down the binoculars, turned his head and asked Kazakov: "Comrade Chief of Artillery, how many anti-aircraft guns do we have now?" ”

"There are three more." Kazakov understood the meaning of Rokossovsky's question, he pointed into the air, and said with a sad face: "Comrade commander, you see, there are at least a dozen planes in the air, and we have only three anti-aircraft guns, which will not play a role at all. ”

Rokossovsky widened his eyes and said in a stern tone: "Comrade Chief of Artillery, are we just watching our friendly troops suffer heavy losses in enemy bombardment?" I now order you, immediately let the anti-aircraft guns fire. As long as it can attract a part of the enemy's attention, then all our anti-aircraft guns are lost, and it is worth it. ”

"Well, I obey your orders." After saying this, Kazakov turned around and went to call the artillery commander and ordered the three anti-aircraft guns, hidden by the river, to immediately open fire on enemy aircraft in the air.

"No, Comrade Chief of Artillery." Rokossovsky rejected Kazakov's proposal without hesitation: "It's night, visibility is limited, and if we send troops to maintain order, I'm afraid that our troops will also fall into chaos." ”

"So what are we going to do?" Kazakov asked anxiously.

"Wait, all we can do at the moment is wait." Rokossovsky said helplessly: "I hope they can end this mess sooner." Then he instructed Malinin: "Call a few commanders, tell them to stay where they are, and let no one maintain order, so as not to throw our troops into chaos." ”

The confusion of the 20th Army, at dawn, finally improved, but it was too late, and German planes had already appeared in the air. Looking at the dense Soviet troops on the ground, the enemy pilots did not need to aim at all as long as they drove the planes down, although dropping a bomb or strafing them with airborne machine guns could cause certain casualties to the Soviet troops.

Rokossovsky saw the troops of the 20th Army in the telescope, suffering heavy casualties in the bombing and strafing of enemy aircraft, and hurriedly put down the binoculars, turned his head and asked Kazakov: "Comrade Chief of Artillery, how many anti-aircraft guns do we have now?" ”

"There are three more." Kazakov understood the meaning of Rokossovsky's question, he pointed into the air, and said with a sad face: "Comrade commander, you see, there are at least a dozen planes in the air, and we have only three anti-aircraft guns, which will not play a role at all. ”

Rokossovsky widened his eyes and said in a stern tone: "Comrade Chief of Artillery, are we just watching our friendly troops suffer heavy losses in enemy bombardment?" I now order you, immediately let the anti-aircraft guns fire. As long as it can attract a part of the enemy's attention, then all our anti-aircraft guns are lost, and it is worth it. ”

"Well, I obey your orders." After saying this, Kazakov turned around and went to call the artillery commander and ordered the three anti-aircraft guns, hidden by the river, to immediately open fire on enemy aircraft in the air. (To be continued.) )