Although Malinin said in the telegram that he would not be able to meet Rokossovsky until after dawn. However www.biquge.info due to the fierce fighting, he did not have time to rest at all, and after dealing with the transfer of the headquarters, he hurried to Rokossovsky's village with a group of staff officers and communications soldiers.

The first thing he did when he saw Rokossovsky was to report: "Comrade commander, the Germans blew up the reservoir, causing flooding of the Istrian River, blocking the way of the advance of the 9th Guards Division. ”

"Chief of Staff, I know everything you said." Rokossovsky beckoned Malinin to sit down, and continued: "I have ordered Colonel Beloborodov to have his commanders and fighters collect the equipment for crossing the river, and after dawn, cross the Istrian as fast as possible. ”

"I think by the time dawn comes, the river will be completely frozen." Lobachev said with great interest: "By then, Colonel Beloborodov's troops will be able to cross the Istrian without the need for crossing the river." ”

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Ma Lining expressed a frustration that made him: "Comrade Military Commissar, I think it is a little unrealistic for the river to freeze, and I feel that the temperature has risen again on the way here. If my assumption is correct, after dawn, the temperature will be back above zero. ”

Seeing Lobachev's dejected appearance, Rokossovsky waved his hand and continued to say to Malinin: "The two clusters that are currently detouring from both flanks have successfully crossed the Istrian River before the Germans blew up the reservoir and successfully cut off the retreat of the German army. We are ready to cross the Istrian after dawn and cooperate with the armoured forces to encircle and annihilate the enemy who is holding us back, regardless of whether the Istrian River freezes after dawn. ”

After he said this, he asked Malinin again: "Chief of Staff, is there any latest news from the Front Army Command?" ”

"Yes," Malinin hurriedly replied, "and now the counteroffensive we have launched in the north, west, and south has achieved great results. The Germans, in the face of our ferocious offensive, were simply unable to organize effective resistance, and they were moving farther and farther away from Moscow under the blows of our troops. ”

"Great, this is simply great." When Lobachev heard this, he excitedly said: "This is really exciting news. If our forces can continue this offensive, I believe it will not be long before the enemy is driven out of our land. ”

Rokossovsky knew the progress of history and knew that the defeat of the German army under Moscow was only a partial defeat, and it had not yet hurt their vitality, and the hard Great Patriotic War would continue for several years. Instead of agreeing with Lobachev's opinion, he continued to ask Malinin: "Chief of Staff, where is our artillery?" ”

"Artillery?" When Malinin heard Rokossovsky's question, he couldn't help but be stunned: "There is a howitzer regiment, about twenty kilometers from here. Comrade commander, I don't know in which direction you intend to use them. ”

"Right here," Rokossovsky said, pointing to the map, to Malinin, "and the reason why I ordered Colonel Beloborodov to wait until after dawn was because I was afraid that when they crossed the river, they would be blocked by the Germans on the opposite bank, and in this case, our artillery would be needed to cover the infantry attack." ”

"Understood." After Ma Linin figured out what was going on, he immediately said cheerfully: "I immediately called General Kazakov and asked him to bring in more artillery to cover the crossing of the river by the 9th Guards Division with artillery fire. ”

As soon as it was dawn, Rokossovsky took Malinin and Lobachev to the headquarters of Beloborodov. Seeing the commander coming to his headquarters, Beloborodov could not help but be taken aback, he came over and saluted, and asked unexpectedly: "Comrade commander, how did you get here?" ”

"Comrade Colonel," Lobachev said with a smile before Rokossovsky finished speaking: "The commander should be with the vanguard, so that he can not only keep abreast of the latest developments on the battlefield, but also play a role in boosting morale." ”

Rokossovsky was more concerned about the state of preparation for the crossing of the river, and as soon as Lobachev finished speaking, he asked Beloborodov: "Comrade Colonel, are you ready?" When will the river crossing be launched? ”

"Comrade Commander, it may be after the day is completely dawn." Beloborodov said with some embarrassment: "Due to the rising temperature last night, not only did the river not freeze, but there was also a large amount of floating ice, which was enough to smash our equipment for crossing the river. ”

"Colonel Belorodov, there may be more than that." Rokossovsky saw that Beloborodov was talking hesitantly, so he preemptively helped him to say what he wanted to say and stopped: "Are you still worried about the German troops holding on to the other side? Once you start crossing the river, the Germans will certainly suppress the troops crossing the river with firepower. Am I right? ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Seeing that Rokossovsky guessed his thoughts, Beloborodov did not hide his true thoughts: "According to our reconnaissance, the German positions on the opposite bank, in addition to arranging deep firing points, also have a lot of mortars, if we carry out forced crossing, we will definitely pay a lot of price." ”

"Comrade Colonel, no matter how great the cost is, we must also attack." Rokossovsky looked at Beloborodov and said with a serious expression: "The Germans are breaking and fleeing, and they must not be allowed to escape the pursuit of our army, and there is time to build a strong defense." But rest assured, we won't leave you alone, and before the offensive begins, we will send artillery to bombard the German positions on the opposite bank to cover your troops' crossing. ”

"Great, that's great." Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Beloborodov was overjoyed and said repeatedly: "Even if we can get the support of an artillery battery, we are confident that we can cross the Istrian River in the shortest possible time, cooperate with the friendly forces that cut off the enemy's retreat, and destroy the enemy on the opposite bank." ”

"What role can an artillery battery play?" Rokossovsky said with rare generosity: "I'll give you an artillery regiment, and then let three mortar companies cooperate to cover your attack on the opposite bank." ”

Half an hour later, the howitzer regiment, having received an order from General Kazakov, reached the river and in the shortest possible time constructed firing positions. The commander of the artillery regiment saw that the artillery had entered the firing position, and even the test firing was saved, so he directly gave the order for the shelling.

Seeing the German positions on the opposite bank, enveloped in flames and smoke from the explosion, Beloborodov immediately gave the troops the order to cross the river. With the order given, the rafts, kayaks, and door panels that had been placed on the shore were thrown into the water, and then the commanders and fighters jumped on the improvised means of crossing the river, used sapper shovels as oars, and rowed vigorously.

Although the German positions were bombarded by artillery fire, more than 20 howitzers could not cover all the positions on the opposite bank, and the few German firing points in the areas that were not hit by artillery fire began to become active. In addition to firing at the river-crossing equipment with machine guns, rifles, and submachine guns, they also bombarded with mortars.

In the rising columns of water, there were unlucky rafts, which were hit by German shells and directly blown into pieces, and the commanders and fighters on them were either blown to pieces or planted in the water covered in blood, and were washed away by the turbulent current; Some of the fighters were hit by enemy machine-gun bullets and plunged headlong into the water from the raft. There were also a couple of kayaks, which, after being pierced by bullets, slowly sank, allowing the fighters above to fall into the river.

Seeing this, Beloborodov grabbed the phone and shouted into the microphone: "Mortar fire, fire immediately, be sure to suppress the enemy's fire and cover the landing of our fighters." ”

In fact, even if he did not give the order, the mortar gunners deployed on the shore would have already opened fire on the fire point that was raging on the opposite bank. Light and heavy machine guns on the rafts also returned fire at enemy firing points.

It didn't take long for a dozen rafts or kayaks to approach the shore. The warriors above did not wait to get to the shore, and they jumped into the cold water of the river one after another, and rushed forward with their weapons in hand. As soon as they landed on the shore, the machine gunners pushed the machine guns, bent down and ran towards the river embankment, found a suitable position, set up the heavy machine guns, and began to fire fiercely, using fire to cover the landing of his comrades behind.

Seeing that the commanders and fighters of our army had landed on the opposite bank one after another, the commander of the howitzer regiment ordered the artillery to stop firing for fear of injuring his own people by mistake, leaving only those mortars placed by the river still firing non-stop.

The fighting on the other side lasted almost an hour, and the gunfire finally stopped. Rokossovsky watched with his binoculars as the commanders and fighters continued to rush west along the road, knowing that the resistance of the German troops on the opposite bank had been completely destroyed. He put down his binoculars, turned to Beloborodov and said: "Comrade Colonel, your troops have successfully crossed the river. Now please find us some equipment to cross the river, and we need to get to the other side of the river as soon as possible. ”

"What, now to the other side?" When Beloborodov heard Rokossovsky say this, he could not help but be startled again, he pointed to the occasional column of rushing water in the river, and said with palpitations: "Comrade commander, you see, there are still German troops shelling the river, and I am afraid that you will encounter danger when you cross the river at such a time." It's better to wait, and after I lead the division-level organs across the river first, you can go over again. ”

Rokossovsky did not pay any attention to the occasional column of water rising on the river, he knew very well that the German resistance had been completely destroyed, and now only by advancing as fast as possible could the enemy surrounded on the other side of the river be annihilated in the shortest possible time.

Just as he was about to give another order, Malinin suddenly called him: "Comrade commander, the phone number of General Zhukov." ”

Rokossovsky took the phone and said loudly: "Hello, comrade general, what instructions do you have?" ”

Zhukov did not answer his question, but asked rhetorically: "Where are you now?" ”

"Report to Comrade General, I'm on the Istrian River." Rokossovsky reported to Zhukov with a normal expression: "Colonel Beloborodov's 9th Guards Division, which, just a few minutes ago, had broken the German defenses on the west bank of the river, successfully landed on the opposite bank, is developing in depth of the German defense. ”

"Great, this is amazing!" Although in recent days, Zhukov has been able to hear all kinds of good news at any time. But there was no too much good news, and at this moment he heard that Rokossovsky's troops had successfully crossed the Istrian River, and his mood became even more pleasant, and he said into the microphone: "Comrade Rokossovsky, since you have successfully crossed the Istrian River, then continue to advance into the depth of the enemy, do not be afraid of fatigue and sacrifice. I will replenish you as soon as possible for the soldiers you lost in battle. ”

"What, now to the other side?" When Beloborodov heard Rokossovsky say this, he could not help but be startled again, he pointed to the occasional column of rushing water in the river, and said with palpitations: "Comrade commander, you see, there are still German troops shelling the river, and I am afraid that you will encounter danger when you cross the river at such a time." It's better to wait, and after I lead the division-level organs across the river first, you can go over again. ”

Rokossovsky did not pay any attention to the occasional column of water rising on the river, he knew very well that the German resistance had been completely destroyed, and now only by advancing as fast as possible could the enemy surrounded on the other side of the river be annihilated in the shortest possible time.

Just as he was about to give another order, Malinin suddenly called him: "Comrade commander, the phone number of General Zhukov." ”

Rokossovsky took the phone and said loudly: "Hello, comrade general, what instructions do you have?" ”

Zhukov did not answer his question, but asked rhetorically: "Where are you now?" ”

"Report to Comrade General, I'm on the Istrian River." Rokossovsky reported to Zhukov with a normal expression: "Colonel Beloborodov's 9th Guards Division, which, just a few minutes ago, had broken the German defenses on the west bank of the river, successfully landed on the opposite bank, is developing in depth of the German defense. ”

"Great, this is amazing!" Although in recent days, Zhukov has been able to hear all kinds of good news at any time. But there was no too much good news, and at this moment he heard that Rokossovsky's troops had successfully crossed the Istrian River, and his mood became even more pleasant, and he said into the microphone: "Comrade Rokossovsky, since you have successfully crossed the Istrian River, then continue to advance into the depth of the enemy, do not be afraid of fatigue and sacrifice. I will replenish you as soon as possible for the soldiers you lost in battle. ”