After receiving Rokossovsky's new telegram, Popov called his chief of staff and military commissar over and said to them: "What a strange thing, how could the command of the Front send me two telegrams with basically the same content in such a short period of time?" Could it be that they are mistaken? ”

"Comrade commander, this is impossible." As soon as Popov's words were finished, his chief of staff continued: "I think that the reason why the command of the front sent two identical telegrams in a row is because the current situation is too critical. In the opinion of Comrade Marshal, it is quite possible that the enemy will immediately poison the prisoners of war held in the prisoner of war camps, which is why we should act as soon as possible. ”

"I agree with the Chief of Staff." As soon as the chief of staff finished speaking, the military commissar chimed in: "Actually, our scouts have already discovered these prisoner of war camps where our commanders and fighters are being held. There are several reasons why we have been slow to act. ”

"Comrade Military Commissar, I don't know what the reasons are?" Hearing what his military commissar said, Popov couldn't help but ask curiously.

"First, we were busy clearing the remnants of the German army near the Brest Fortress, and we simply couldn't spare enough troops to liberate these prisoner of war camps." The military commissar raised three fingers and began to ask Popov to analyze the situation: "Secondly, the main forces of the Front Army are busy with the attack on the city of Warsaw, and Comrade Marshal has no time to take care of our direction, which makes the combat initiative of the commanders and fighters become somewhat negative; Third, after our army liberates the prisoner of war camp, how we should deal with the prisoners of war held in it is also a headache......

After listening patiently to the analysis of the military commissar, Popov nodded and said: "That's right, comrade military commissar, your analysis is normal, and the reason why we have not taken any measures against the prisoner of war camp for a long time is indeed the reason you mentioned. After a pause, he said worriedly, "But the front headquarters suddenly ordered us to liberate the prisoner of war camp and integrate all the prisoners of war in good physical condition into our combat unit. If we do this, the High Command will not blame later, right? ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." The military commissar smiled and said: "As far as I know about Comrade Marshal, if this matter had not been approved by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief himself, he would definitely not have sent us the same telegram in a row. ”

Popov still trusted his military commissar very much, and when he heard him say this, the big stone hanging in his heart finally fell to the ground. He hurriedly turned to face the chief of staff and said: "Chief of staff, immediately call the two division commanders of the 175th and 181st infantry divisions and ask them to immediately rush to the headquarters of the group army for a meeting." ”

The 175th and 181st Infantry Divisions have been in a state of recuperation since the liberation of the Brest Fortress. The two division commanders repeatedly asked Popov to fight, but he refused, and at this moment they received a call from the chief of staff, and the two guessed that there must be some important task, and immediately rushed to come.

Popov saw the arrival of the two division commanders, a smile appeared on his face, and after he stepped forward to shake hands with the two, he said: "Comrades two division commanders, I have called you here today because I have an important combat mission to be entrusted to you. I wonder if you are mentally prepared to complete this glorious and difficult task. ”

Hearing Popov say this, the commander of the 175th Division, Colonel Seryosha, hurriedly replied: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander, although one-third of the commanders and fighters of our 175th Division have withdrawn from the battle in the recent battle, we are still confident that we can complete any task assigned to us by our superiors. ”

In response to Seryosha's reply, Popov nodded with satisfaction, and then turned his head to look at the commander of the 181st Division, Colonel Vanya: "What about you, Colonel Vanya, are you also ready for battle?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Hearing Popov's question, Vanya seemed much more steady, and he replied slowly: "The 181st Infantry Division is ready for all battles and ready to accomplish all the difficult and glorious tasks assigned to us by our superiors. ”

"Very well, since you are both ready for battle, then come with me." So saying, Popov led the two to the map hanging on the wall and said to them: "The chief of staff will assign you specific tasks." ”

The chief of staff strode over, picked up the explanation stick placed on the wall, pointed to the map and said to the two: "Two comrades of the division commander, please take a look. To the north of our army's defensive area, near the forest area, there were four German prisoner-of-war camps evenly distributed, in which tens of thousands of captured commanders and fighters of our army were held. ”

Hearing the figures mentioned by the chief of staff, both Seryosha and Vanya couldn't help but gasp. Seryosha muttered: "Oh my God, there are so many prisoners of war. Even if only half of it is replenished to my division, our combat effectiveness can be greatly improved. ”

"Don't worry, Colonel Seryosha. After the prisoners of war are freed, the group army will replenish some of your troops according to the specific situation. After Popov interjected these two sentences, he said to the chief of staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please continue. ”

The chief of staff nodded and continued: "According to the order of the superiors, we will liberate these four prisoner of war camps in the shortest possible time, and replenish the soldiers who are in better physical condition to the combat units of our army......"

"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." Hearing this, Vanya couldn't help but interrupt the chief of staff, then turned his head to look at Popov, and asked with a puzzled face: "Comrade commander, I remember that the Supreme Commander himself once said that we have no prisoners of war, only traitors to the Motherland. If we were to integrate these traitors into our combat units, would we make a mistake? ”

"Colonel Vanya, don't worry." As soon as Vanya finished speaking, the military commissar sitting at the table said to him with a smile: "The integration of prisoners of war into the combat unit has been approved by the direction of Moscow, so you only need to complete the tasks assigned to you by your superiors with confidence and boldness, and you don't have to worry about the rest." ”

After learning that the inclusion of prisoners of war in the army had been approved by his superiors, Vanya's heart suddenly became much more reassured. He turned to look at the map and continued to listen to the chief of staff assign him and Seryosha the task of attacking.

After Popov and the other chiefs of staff assigned tasks to the two division commanders, they spoke again: "Two comrades division commanders, according to the telegrams we have intercepted, Moder intends to replace the Wehrmacht who were originally guarding these prisoner of war camps with the SS that kills people without blinking. You should know that the SS were two-legged brutes, and if they were allowed to take over the prisoner of war camps, the commanders and fighters we were holding inside would be poisoned. Therefore I ask you to save them all before the Germans start a massacre against our comrades. Have faith? ”

Hearing Popov's question, the two division commanders glanced at each other, and both saw confidence in each other's eyes. Then the two of them replied in unison: "Report to Comrade Commander, we are confident that we will complete the task assigned to us by our superiors. ”

After the two division commanders had left, Popov said to the chief of staff: "Chief of staff, send a telegram back to the front headquarters saying that I have ordered the 175th and 181st Infantry Divisions to carry out the task of rescuing prisoners of war. We are confident that we will be able to complete the task assigned to us by our superiors within three days. ”

After receiving Popov's telegram, Rokossovsky asked Malinin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I wonder how far Popov's troops are from the prisoner of war camp?" ”

After reading the telegram, Malinin looked down at the map on the table, and then said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, the 175th Infantry Division is 15 km and 18 km away from the prisoner of war camps No. 1 and No. 3 that they want to liberate; The No. 2 and No. 4 prisoner-of-war camps to be rescued by the 181st Division were a little farther away, 23 km and 27 km respectively. ”

Although ten or twenty kilometers may not seem far on the map, Rokossovsky knew very well that there were many swamps, forests, and lakes in these places, and it was impossible to use mechanized troops, so he could only march on foot to approach the prisoner of war camp controlled by the enemy. He sighed and said, "It's not close! ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Malinin continued: "According to reconnaissance, the Germans had established defensive positions on some commanding heights on the way to these prisoner-of-war camps, and if our troops wanted to pass through these areas, they would have to seize these heights first. ”

Rokossovsky took into account the fact that these areas could not use mechanized units, and that the two divisions, which did not have heavy weapons, would have to pay a heavy price to seize these German-controlled heights. Even if they succeed in capturing these heights, they probably won't have much strength to capture the POW camps.

Thinking of this, he picked up the phone on the table and asked the communications corps to connect to the headquarters of the 16th Army of the Air Force. As soon as he heard Rudenko's voice, he asked straight to the point: "General Rudenko, how is the fuel and ammunition situation of your air force?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander," Rudenko, hearing Rokossovsky ask this question so bluntly, guessed that there must be some important combat mission next, and hurriedly replied: "Our fuel and ammunition are enough for a week in the case of high-intensity air support. ”

Knowing that the Air Force currently has enough ammunition and fuel, Rokossovsky nodded slightly, and then said: "General Rudenko, you listen, General Popov's 70th Army will perform an important task north of the Brest Fortress, and I hope you can provide them with the necessary air cover." ”

Hearing what Rokossovsky said, Rudenko hurriedly picked up a pen and paper and prepared to take notes: "Comrade commander, please speak, I will record it now." ”

"The specific situation is up to you and General Popov to discuss." Rokossovsky did not tell him what task he was going to perform, but asked him to contact Popov and emphasized: "Therefore, in the next battle, your Air Force and the 70th Army will work together, and I will not overstep the command." ”

Rokossovsky's fears were soon fulfilled. After Seryosha returned to his divisional headquarters, he immediately ordered the 351st Regiment, as the vanguard of the whole division, to quickly rush to the area where the No. 1 prisoner of war camp was located to rescue his comrades who were imprisoned there. Who knew that only an hour after the departure of the 351st regiment, Seryosha received a call from the regiment commander.

The regiment commander said with a sad face on the phone: "Comrade division commander, on the way we are advancing, it is a swamp, and it is difficult for the troops to pass. One company tried to pass, but five fighters were swallowed up in the swamp. Do you think we can go the other way? ”

"No, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Seryosha immediately refused the request of the regimental commander without hesitation, and he said in a stern tone: "In any case, before dark today, your troops must reach the vicinity of Prisoner of War Camp No. 1, understand?" If you can't play, I'll replace you with a commander who can complete the task. ”

In desperation, the regimental commander had no choice but to order the soldiers to cut down trees and branches, tie them up and throw them in the swamp to pave a passable road. But fortunately, there was a lot of strength in numbers, and it took them three hours to finally pave a passable road. But it is a pity that fighters and horses can pass, but tanks, artillery and cars cannot pass. In order to arrive at the No. 1 prisoner of war camp on time, the regiment commander had to leave people to guard these technical equipment, and he continued to march towards the location of the No. 1 prisoner of war camp with the remaining commanders and fighters.

But what he didn't expect was that the troops had just left the swamp and entered a forest, when they were suddenly hit by fire from both sides. The vanguard company that opened the way in front suffered seventy or eighty casualties in just a few minutes, and almost all the troops were wiped out. The regiment commander had no choice but to order the troops to stop, organize a defense on the spot, and send men into the forest to eliminate the small group of German troops hiding inside.

In desperation, the regimental commander had no choice but to order the soldiers to cut down trees and branches, tie them up and throw them in the swamp to pave a passable road. But fortunately, there was a lot of strength in numbers, and it took them three hours to finally pave a passable road. But it is a pity that fighters and horses can pass, but tanks, artillery and cars cannot pass. In order to arrive at the No. 1 prisoner of war camp on time, the regiment commander had to leave people to guard these technical equipment, and he continued to march towards the location of the No. 1 prisoner of war camp with the remaining commanders and fighters.

But what he didn't expect was that the troops had just left the swamp and entered a forest, when they were suddenly hit by fire from both sides. The vanguard company that opened the way in front suffered seventy or eighty casualties in just a few minutes, and almost all the troops were wiped out. The regiment commander had no choice but to order the troops to stop, organize a defense on the spot, and send men into the forest to destroy the small group of German troops hiding inside, so that the large force could continue to advance.