The Germans probably never dreamed that after being attacked by them, Rokossovsky's troops would not only be able to launch a counterattack at the first time, but also be able to draw a tank force and continue to advance rapidly towards the position of the Baltic Sea. In order to organize this counterattack, the German army transferred troops from many places, resulting in the emptiness of many sections of the defensive line, and the tank army commanded by Panfilov seized this advantageous opportunity and rushed into the depth of the German defense.

Don't look at Rokossovsky's mouth, but for this lone army, he paid great attention to it. He even instructed his staff officers to report to himself immediately whenever he received information about the tank army, and to wake himself up even if he fell asleep.

Two days later, in the early morning, Rokossovsky was sleeping in his room when the chief of the communications corps, General Bortsov, came to the door. He knocked lightly on the door twice, and without waiting for any reply from inside, he pushed the door open and entered. He walked briskly to the bed, leaned over to Rokossovsky's ear, and whispered: "Comrade Marshal, General Panfilov has called you from the front for an urgent call. ”

Bortsov's voice was soft, but it was enough to bring Rokossovsky to his sleep. Rokossovsky pushed away the quilt on his body, got up and sat on the edge of the bed, searched the boots on the ground with his feet, looked up at Bortsov and asked: "Is it a telegram from General Panfilov?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Bortsov nodded and said: "It was General Panfilov who opened the phone, and his troops have now reached Kzlin." ”

Rokossovsky was very familiar with the place names mentioned by General Bortsov, which was an important transport junction and a strong defensive support point on the road from Danzig to Stettin, covering the approach to the Baltic Sea. When I looked at the map every day, I didn't know how long I would have to stay in this place, and I wondered in my mind when my troops would reach this area. But now General Panfilov's tank corps unexpectedly appeared in this area.

Rokossovsky put on his boots, put on his military coat and followed Bortsov to his command. Seeing that the microphone was resting on the table, he hurriedly went over and picked it up and put it to his ear, and said into the microphone: "I'm Rokossovsky." ”

The voice of General Panfilov soon came from the earpiece: "Hello, Comrade Marshal, I am Panfilov, and I am calling you in close proximity to Kzlin. ”

"Well done," Rokossovsky said, after complimenting him, then asked: "General Panfilov, do you have any plans for the future?" ”

"I intend to command the troops to storm the city," Panfilov replied, "as soon as we take the city, we can rush to the Baltic coast at any time." ”

Considering that the enemy had heavy troops stationed in the city, Rokossovsky asked worriedly: "General Panfilov, do you have enough troops in your hands?" You must know that the Germans have a strong garrison in the city. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Marshal." Panfilov confidently said on the phone: "In addition to tanks, I also have infantry to fight with us, and with their help, I think it should not be a problem to capture the city." ”

"Well, General Panfilov. Then let's do it. Seeing that Panfilov was so confident, Rokossovsky also said with relief: "But you have to do a little more preparation before the attack, understand?" ”

"Understood, Comrade Marshal."

When Rokossovsky ended the call with Panfilov, he ordered Bogolyubov to be called. As soon as Bogolyubov arrived, he said to the other side: "Comrade Chief of Staff, General Panfilov's tank corps has reached Kzlin. ”

"What, the tank corps has already rushed to Kzlin?" Hearing this, Bogolyubov couldn't help but be taken aback. Although he knew the name by heart, he walked to the wall and quickly found the location of the city on the map. "That is, as long as our army captures the city, then it will soon be able to rush to the shores of the Baltic Sea."

"However, the infantry that accompanied the tank army was only the 313th Infantry Division, and its strength was a little too weak." Rokossovsky looked at the map and said, "We're going to find a way to help them." ”

"But how can we help them?" "The infantry and the Germans are so entangled that it will take at least a day or two to withdraw from the battle, and another day when they reach the outskirts of Kzlin," Bogolyubov said with embarrassment. This means that it will take at least three days for them to join up with the tank corps and launch an offensive on Kzlin. ”

"Even if we can't supply the tank corps with infantry," Rokossovsky said thoughtfully, "then artillery and the air force will always be fine, right?" ”

"In the formation of the tank army, there is an artillery regiment." Bogolyubov said unhurriedly: "I think they can be equipped with two more artillery regiments to increase their heavy firepower for the siege." ”

"Two artillery regiments are too few." Rokossovsky shook his head and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you and I both know that the Germans have deployed heavy forces in the city of Kzlin, and in order to quickly crush their resistance, more artillery must be thrown. In my opinion, it is better to consult with the commander of the artillery, General Sokolisky, about how much artillery to send. ”

"That's a good idea." Bogolyubov walked to the table, picked up the phone, dialed a number and said into the microphone: "I am Chief of Staff Bogolyubov, immediately invite General Sokolisky to the office of Comrade Marshal." ”

Less than five minutes later, Sokolisky hurried in. Not knowing what was happening, after raising his hand to salute Rokossovsky, he asked bluntly: "Comrade Marshal, is something wrong?" ”

"General Sokolisky, it's good that you're here." Rokossovsky called the other side to the wall, pointed to the location of Kzlin on the map, and said to him: "According to the report of General Panfilov, his tank corps has reached the outskirts of Kzlin and is ready to launch an attack on the city. In order to strengthen his siege force, I am going to send several artillery units to strengthen him, so I have called you here to ask, how many artillery units can you send in the shortest possible time? ”

Sokolsky, having recalled in his mind the location of his troops, replied: "Comrade Marshal, the 1434th self-propelled artillery regiment is less than 20 kilometers from Kzlin, and if they are ordered to set off immediately, they will be able to join up with General Panfilov's troops in a maximum of an hour." ”

Hearing that there was only one self-propelled artillery regiment, Rokossovsky could not help but be a little disappointed, and he then asked: "In addition to this, are there any troops that can be mobilized?" ”

"In addition to this self-propelled artillery regiment, the units that can be mobilized are a cannon regiment, two guards mortar regiments." Sokolsky said cautiously: "But it will take at least three to five hours for them to get to Kzlin. ”

"Panfilov is ready to launch an attack on the enemy after dawn." Rokossovsky raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said: "At this moment, there are almost five hours before dawn, and there is no time at all. ”

"One self-propelled artillery regiment, one cannon regiment and two guards mortar regiments." After quickly calculating the number of artillery that could be put into the Kzlin region, Bogolyubov said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, strengthen these artillery to the tank corps, and they will be more sure of taking Kzlin." ”

"It's not enough to have artillery, you also need the cooperation of the Air Force." Rokossovsky said to Bogolyubov: "Chief of Staff, you called General Vershinin and asked him to dispatch a bomber aviation division after dawn to carry out intensive bombardment of the German defenses in Kzlin and cooperate with General Panfilov's siege operation. ”

…………

Under Rokossovsky's arrangement, after dawn, the artillery units of the tank corps were temporarily reinforced, and heavy artillery bombardment was carried out towards the German strongholds in the city. As soon as the shelling was over, the Soviet bomber formation reached the sky over the city and bombed the areas where the smoke was still billowing out, blowing up the German troops who had just come out of hiding.

After the artillery bombardment and bombardment, the Soviets went on the offensive, and a regiment of the 313th Infantry Division, under the cover of two tank battalions, launched a feint from the south of the city to attract the attention of the Germans. Panfilov, on the other hand, ordered the 3rd and 18th Guards Tank Brigades, each with an infantry regiment, to make a detour from the east and west sides of the city. After the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, the German army used this tactic many times to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Soviet army. After several years of war, the commanders and fighters of the Soviet army also learned this tactic and skillfully applied it on the battlefield, inflicting heavy losses on the German army.

According to the information obtained by the Soviets, there were 1st SS Infantry Divisions, 15th and 32nd Infantry Divisions, 1 Tank Division and 1 Police Division in the city. In view of the fact that the enemy had such a strong defensive force, as soon as the battle began, Panfilov threw all his forces into trying to disrupt the German defenses in the shortest possible time to ensure that the city could be successfully captured.

But as soon as the ground battle began, Panfilov felt that something was wrong, and the troops stormed the city without encountering too much fierce resistance. During the battle, except for the SS who caused some trouble for their own troops, the rest of the German troops were only passively beaten and did not take the initiative to launch a counterattack at all. Panfilov felt very strange about this unusual behavior of the German army, so he immediately reported what happened here to Rokossovsky by telephone.

After listening patiently to his report, Rokossovsky pondered for a long time, and then said: "General Panfilov, maybe there are not as many defenders in the city as we thought. ”

"Comrade Marshal," Rokossovsky's words left Panfilov confused: "I don't quite understand what you mean, could it be that our prior reconnaissance intelligence was wrong?" ”

"As far as I know, in the German units attacking the flanks of the 19th Army, the numbers of the 15th and 32nd Infantry Divisions appeared." Rokossovsky explained to Panfilov: "In other words, some of the original defenders of the city must have been transferred to other defensive positions. As a result, the defenses of the city of Kzlin were greatly weakened. ”

"I see." Listening to Rokossovsky's analysis, Panfilov immediately realized: "No wonder except for the SS troops, the rest of the German army seems vulnerable, it turns out that the elite of the German army has been transferred." ”

"General Panfilov," Rokossovsky asked rhetorically after learning about the battle in the city of Kzlin, "I want to ask you, how long will it take to take Kzlin?" ”

"A week." As soon as Panfilov said this time, he heard Rokossovsky say "um" on the phone, and quickly changed his words: "Five days, Comrade Marshal, I assure you that within five days, our army will definitely be able to take Kzlin." ”