As soon as Leskov heard Rokossovsky's voice coming from the earpiece, he immediately shouted impatiently: "Comrade General, something is wrong, something is wrong." ”

When Rokossovsky heard this unfamiliar voice, he couldn't help but be stunned, and then asked: "Hey, can you tell me first, who are you?" ”

"Report to Comrade General," Leskov heard the other party's somewhat unkind voice, and knew that he was too reckless, and hurriedly identified himself and said: "I am Senior Captain Leskov, commander of the first battalion of the 327th Regiment. ”

"Comrade Captain, is there anything you have to do?" When Rokossovsky heard this unfamiliar name, he couldn't help frowning slightly, and said in his heart, what is the matter, you can completely ask your acting division commander to reflect, what is the matter with calling me directly? Although he was dissatisfied with this battalion commander in his heart, he still tried his best to ask in a polite tone: "If there is anything important, you can report it to your acting division commander, if I remember correctly, he is the commander of your regiment." ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's obviously prevaricated tone, Leskov suddenly became anxious and explained breathlessly: "Comrade General, the reason why I called you is because I reported the situation to the acting division commander, but it did not attract the slightest attention from him, so I took the liberty to call you. ”

When Rokossovsky heard this, he was taken aback and hurriedly asked: "What happened?" ”

"That's right, Comrade General." Leskov heard that the other party was willing to listen carefully to his explanation, and hurriedly said: "Our battalion is deployed northwest of Shepetovka, facing a dense forest......"

"Okay, Comrade Captain, I'm familiar with the terrain you have there, please get to the point." Rokossovsky looked at the map in front of him, which clearly showed the 325th Regiment to the west of the entire defensive line, with Lieutenant Colonel Kranov's 326th Regiment in the middle, and Novikov's Division hidden in the forest. The 327th Regiment, commanded by the acting division commander, Major Podo Prigola, was on the right side of the entire defensive line, that is, northwest of Shepetovka. "What the hell is going on there that can make you panic right now."

"There was a huge roar of tank motors in the forest, and when I heard the sound, I sent someone to reconnoitre." Leskov said with some emotion: "Although the scouts have not returned yet, I am at least seventy percent sure that it is the German tanks that have come." ”

"Did you report this information to Major Pudo Prigora?" Hearing this, Rokossovsky immediately frowned, and asked in a serious tone: "At the same time, did you raise the combat alarm to the troops?" ”

"It's been reported, and the battle alarm has been raised." When Leskov said this, he couldn't help but sigh, and then continued: "It's a pity that Comrade Acting Division Commander didn't believe my report, and he insisted that it must be our tank unit. As for the battle alert, it had been issued a few minutes earlier, but we lacked anti-tank weapons, except for a small number of freshly filled flasks, so the anti-tank weapons were concentrated in the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, whose defensive positions were to the southwest of us. ”

"Why?" Rokossovsky asked puzzledly: "Why did all the anti-tank weapons of your regiment have to be handed over to the 2nd and 3rd battalions?" ”

"That's right, Comrade General." Leskov replied somewhat helplessly: "According to the judgment of the acting division commander, the enemy will definitely rush from our southwestern direction; As for us, it was an inconsequential direction, and the German tanks could not pass through the forest, so he concentrated all the anti-tank weapons in the regiment in the southwest direction where the second and third battalions were deployed. ”

"Comrade Captain, if, I say yes." After listening to Leskov's report, Rokossovsky carefully said: "If the enemy's tanks rush towards you, will you be able to block them?" ”

"Comrade General, the answer is very clear: it can't be stopped!" Without hesitation, Leskov replied: "There are not enough anti-tank weapons, and no matter how brave our commanders and fighters are, even if they are all sacrificed, they will not be able to stop the enemy." ”

Leskov's words silenced Rokossovsky. If the Germans really rushed out of the forest, the troops without enough anti-tank weapons would not be able to stop their advance at all. And in the rear of this position, there is Lukin's army group headquarters, and as long as the enemy's tanks break through the defensive line, it only takes a few minutes to drive outside Lukin's command department.

Leskov held the microphone in both hands and waited anxiously for Rokossovsky's reply. At this moment, a soldier wearing a steel helmet and carrying a rifle rushed in from outside. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted at the top of his voice: "Battalion commander, comrade battalion commander, Germans, German tanks have come out of the forest and are heading towards our positions. ”

"How many?" Leskov asked briefly.

"Many," replied the soldier in a panic, "at least a dozen of them, followed by quite a few infantrymen." ”

"Go back and tell your company commander to shoot at the German infantry behind the tanks, and be sure to separate the enemy's infantry from the tanks," Leskov ordered the soldiers with some emotion: "When the enemy's tanks lose the cover of the infantry, we can blow them all up with ******." ”

Hearing the conversation between Leskov and his subordinates, Rokossovsky thought to himself: "In this way, the Germans found it difficult to attack from the front, so they sent tank units through the forest and detoured back to the rear of our army, trying to take us by surprise." In the face of the enemy's ferocious offensive, the battalion, lacking anti-tank weapons, could hold its position? ”

"Comrade General, what other instructions do you have?" While Rokossovsky was pondering, Leskov suddenly asked: "If there is nothing to do, I will go and command the troops in battle." ”

"Listen, Comrade Captain." Rokossovsky said in a serious tone: "Don't forget that not far behind you is the headquarters of General Lukin. If you let the tanks of the Germans rush over, then your army group headquarters will be terminated by the enemy. So I order you, hold your ground no matter what, understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade General!" Reskov gritted his back molars and replied with difficulty: "We will fight to the last man, and only if we are all sacrificed, the enemy will be able to step on our corpses and rush to the headquarters of the army group." ”

"Comrade Captain, sacrifice can be avoided, I only ask you to hold your position." Rokossovsky tried not to show his inner anxiety, and said in as calm a tone as possible: "I will send someone to reinforce you." Good luck! ”

After finishing the call with Leskov, Rokossovsky held the microphone in a daze, and decided to call Major Podo Prigola anyway, although at this moment he found that the other party was a bit exaggerated and could not be used, but to send troops to support Leskov, he was the closest there.

After hearing the voice of Major Podoprigora, Rokossovsky couldn't help but raise his voice: "Comrade Major, the tank units of the Germans have rushed out of the forest, the first battalion does not have enough anti-tank weapons, it is very difficult to hold back the enemy, I order you, immediately send troops to reinforcements." ”

Unexpectedly, the panicked voice of Major Pudo Prigora came from the earpiece: "Comrade General, we are finished, the enemy is rushing out from behind us, hurry up and retreat, otherwise we will be surrounded." ……”

When Rokossovsky heard what the major said, his body shook twice, and if he hadn't held on to the table in time, he might have fallen to the ground. He couldn't imagine that the person he favored had become like this bear at a critical moment, he forcibly suppressed the anger in his chest, and coldly ordered: "Comrade Major, I order you to resolutely hold your position, even if your 327th Regiment is wiped out, the position cannot be lost, because General Lukin's army group headquarters is in your rear." ”

After putting down the phone, Rokossovsky thought about it and felt that the safety of Lukin's headquarters could not be completely pinned on the hands of a person like Major Podo Prigola who could not be used for much exaggeration, so he called Lieutenant Colonel Lyon's command again. He asked Liao En straight to the point: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you have a tank battalion that is deployed near the headquarters of the group army?" ”

"That's right, Comrade General. The 2nd Tank Battalion was deployed about two kilometers away from the headquarters, and as soon as I gave the order, I could reach the headquarters within a few minutes. After answering this question, Liao En asked with some puzzlement: "Comrade General, where are you going to transfer this tank battalion?" ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, listen to me, the current situation is very dangerous." Rokossovsky spoke extremely quickly: "An armored unit of the enemy passed through the forest and pounced directly on the positions of the 327th regiment. There were no anti-tank weapons on the positions of the battalion that greeted them, and I think that even if they made great sacrifices, they would not be able to hold off the German tanks, so I beg you to immediately send this tank battalion for reinforcements, to hold off the Germans at all costs, and never let them rush to General Lukin's headquarters. ”

Hearing that this was the case, Liao En was also anxious, he didn't expect the enemy to come out from the flank of the defense line, he hurriedly replied: "Don't worry, Comrade General, I will immediately go to the tank battalion and personally command the troops to launch a counterattack against the enemy, and I must destroy all this enemy." ”

After Rokossovsky put down the phone, his heart not only did not feel the slightest lightness, but felt heavier and heavier. He stared at the map for a moment, then stood up sharply, grabbed the phone on the table, and called Lukin directly.

After hearing Lukin's voice, he asked bluntly: "Comrade commander, do you hear the gunfire outside?" ”

"I hear," Lukin said lightly, "the explosion of shells and the strafing of machine guns, it seems that we are not far from here." Comrade Rokossovsky, was our position broken through by the Germans? ”

"Comrade commander, I think so, our line of defense was broken through by the Germans." In this case, Rokossovsky did not hide the need to hide it, and after briefly introducing the matter to Lukin, he said: "Comrade commander, for the sake of your safety, I think you should immediately transfer. ”

"What, transfer? No, no, no, Comrade Rokossovsky. Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Lukin actually said resolutely: "At such a time, I must not leave my combat post." If the soldiers were allowed to see their commanders fleeing from the battle, the morale and morale of the troops would inevitably suffer, and then our troops would be even more unable to hold back the enemy's attack in the ensuing battle. Rest assured, my pistol is on the table, and even if the enemy rushes in, I will fight them. Of course, I'll definitely save the last bullet to myself. ”

"Comrade Commander, how can this be called an escape?" Rokossovsky did not expect Lukin to be so stubborn, preferring to burn jade rather than leave his post. But for the sake of the other party's safety, he still tried his best to persuade: "You are the supreme commander of the group army, if anything happens to you, the troops will fall into chaos because of the loss of unified command." Do you think that a scattered army can hold off the German attack? ”

"This?!" Rokossovsky's words made Lukin, who was determined to die, hesitate. After a short period of consideration, he finally made a difficult decision: "Well, Comrade Rokossovsky, I agree with your proposal to immediately move the command to a safe place. ”

Hearing that Lukinken had been transferred, Rokossovsky secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and he said lightly: "Comrade commander, don't worry, I have transferred Lieutenant Colonel Lyon's tank battalion to reinforcements, and I believe that it will not be long before they can repel the German attack, and then you can move the headquarters back again." ”

Rokossovsky put down the phone, walked to the lookout, raised his binoculars and looked into the distance, and saw that there was calm in front of the defensive position, and the Germans showed no signs of attacking. To be on the safe side, he put down his binoculars and walked back to the table, called Kranov and asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, is there any movement of the enemy in front of your position?"

"No, Comrade General." Kranov politely replied: "The enemy has not moved at all, maybe they will not attack again today." ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the Germans are cunning, don't take it lightly." Rokossovsky reminded Kranov: "They may suddenly attack again when we let our guard down, so you must be vigilant." ”

Thinking that the defense area of the 326th Regiment was temporarily safe, Rokossovsky decided to mobilize the only tank detachment in Novikov to reinforce the positions of the 327th Regiment, go around to the flank of the German armored forces, and teach them a hard lesson. (To be continued.) )