The commander of the 40th Army, having received Romanovsky's order, immediately sent his troops in batches to the direction where the Germans were likely to surprise and established defenses in those areas. Despite the time constraints, the commanders and fighters quickly rushed to the right flank of the army group, where they built rudimentary fortifications and laid minefields to stop a possible surprise attack by German tanks and infantry.

When the troops of the 40th Army engaged in a fierce battle with the troops who were taking advantage of the night attack, the scouts sent by Romanovsky sent an urgent telegram to the headquarters of the army group, and it turned out that in order to cut off and isolate the prominent 19th Army, the German army not only deployed assault troops to the east of the army, but also discovered a large number of German activities in the west.

After Romanovsky received this information, he immediately realized the seriousness of the problem and hurriedly reported it to Rokossovsky by high-frequency telephone. After listening to this, Rokossovsky asked with a normal expression: "Comrade General, did your scouts tell you what kind of forces the enemy deployed on your left flank?" ”

Rokossovsky's question really stopped Romanovsky, and as soon as he got a large number of German troops on his left flank, he immediately reported to the front command, and the specific situation did not have time to be understood. Seeing that the other side was unable to answer his question, Rokossovsky guessed that he had not yet received a detailed reconnaissance report, and did not reproach the other side, but said briefly: "Comrade General, immediately find out the situation on your left flank, so that I can provide you with the necessary help according to the specific situation." ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Romanovsky knew that the other party was showing mercy to himself, so he replied with a red face: "Understood, Comrade Marshal, I will immediately find out the deployment of the enemy's forces, and then report back to you." ”

Bogolyubov, who was standing next to the map, waited for Rokossovsky to put down the phone, and then asked tentatively: "Comrade Marshal, there is only one Guards Cavalry Army on the left flank of the 19th Army, and if the enemy's forces are too strong, they may not be able to prevent the enemy from attacking the 19th Army from the flank." You see, do we need to send troops to support? ”

"Send troops to support?" Rokossovsky looked at Bogolyubov and asked with some tears and laughter: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't you know that our army is simply unable to send any reserves under the current situation, and what do you ask me to use to support the 19th Army and the Cavalry Army?" ”

Bogolyubov pondered for a while, and then suggested to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, the comrades of the Guards Cavalry Corps on their left flank, didn't they find Marshal Zhukov's troops?" You see, if we immediately get in touch with Marshal Zhukov and ask their troops to speed up their march, so that the danger to the left flank of the 19th Army can be relieved. ”

"Wait a little longer," Rokossovsky said, shaking his head, "and at the moment we have not yet figured out what kind of troops the enemy on the left flank has, so rashly asking for help from the troops of the First Front may disrupt Zhukov's strategic deployment." I think it's better to wait for General Romanovsky's further reconnaissance report to arrive before deciding what to do. ”

"Then should we deploy part of the artillery to the left flank of the 19th Army." Bogolyubov asked tentatively: "In this way, even if Marshal Zhukov's troops do not go out and rely on the cover of artillery, they can ensure the security of the flanks of the 19th Army." ”

"Yes!" Rokossovsky agreed to Bogolyubov's proposal, adding: "If part of the artillery is transferred to strengthen Romanovsky's left flank, then the forces supporting his right flank will become weak." Well, then, immediately call General Vershinin and ask him to dispatch his air force after dawn to bomb the enemy forces attacking the right flank of the 19th Army. ”

After another half an hour, Romanovsky called Rokossovsky again, in which he said: "Comrade Marshal, it has been made clear that the Germans have gathered a large number of troops in the northwest of Bublize, namely the 15th and 32nd Infantry Divisions, two infantry regiments, six separate infantry battalions, and more than 40 tanks and self-propelled guns. ”

Rokossovsky, who was answering the phone, looked down at the map spread out in front of him, and then said: "It seems that this attack of the Germans has been carefully planned, and they intend to attack you from both flanks at the same time, so as to achieve the goal of cutting off and isolating you. After a pause, he continued, "Comrade General, have you taken any measures to deal with it?" ”

"In order to prevent the troops from being cut off, I intend to temporarily stop the offensive to the north." Romanovsky said cautiously: "Then the 272nd Infantry Division will be transferred to strengthen the defense of the left flank." ”

After listening to Romanovsky's deployment, Rokossovsky carefully checked the situation of the enemy's and our forces on the map, and felt that with the current strength of his own front army, even without the support of Zhukov's troops, he could completely crush the offensive of the two German armies, so he said to the microphone: "Comrade general, you deploy the 272nd Infantry Division in place as soon as possible, and I will send Oslikovsky's cavalry corps to support you." In addition, after dawn, Vershinin's 4th Air Force Strike Aircraft will also provide the necessary air support for your left flank. ”

After waiting for Rokossovsky to finish assigning the task, Bogolyubov cautiously asked him for instructions: "Comrade Marshal, now General Panfilov's tank corps is staying more than twenty kilometers in front of the infantry. Did you immediately order them to turn south and assist the 19th Army in crushing the German offensive? ”

"The Germans have been greatly weakened by our repeated blows." Rokossovsky pointed to the map and said to Bogolyubov: "Now they have gathered a large number of forces and attacked from the left and right flanks of the 19th Army at the same time. Outwardly, the situation in our army is bad, but in reality it is not. In order to gain enough strength for the offensive, the enemy had to draw forces from other areas, so that the enemy forces in front of General Panfilov became weak. Therefore, I felt that not only should we not send the tank army back, but on the contrary, we should give Panfilov an order to lead his troops to continue to advance to the north. ”

"Push north?!" Rokossovsky's bold plan startled Bogolyubov, and he felt that he, as the chief of staff of the Front, it was absolutely necessary to remind Rokossovsky that the other side would not suffer a crushing defeat because of the light enemy: "Comrade Marshal, if you let the tank army continue to advance north, it will be a lone deep army. Not to mention the supply of ammunition and fuel, even if they go well, where will they draw troops to defend those occupied areas? ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, do you think that the enemy now can be compared with the Germans in 41?" Rokossovsky had apparently considered the question raised by Bogolyubov for a long time, so he said dismissively: "At present, the German army is losing ground and retreating, and even if they achieve certain results in some battles, they still cannot escape annihilation." Just as I said, immediately give General Panfilov an order to keep their tank corps advancing north. Taking advantage of the emptiness of the enemy's defensive line, quickly rushed to the Baltic coast. ”

After dawn, although the battles on the left and right flanks of the 19th Army were fierce, Romanovsky, who was in charge of directing the operations at the front, clearly felt that the German attack was thunder and rain, and that the artillery bombardment and the tanks led the infantry to assault, but the results they achieved were not obvious.

The enemy on the right flank fought fiercely all morning, and after paying five or six hundred casualties and the loss of twenty tanks, barely occupied the first line of defense of the 40th Infantry Corps. When they tried to rush to the second line of defense, they were counter-charged by Soviet commanders and fighters, and the battle between the two sides fell into a stalemate.

The enemies of the left flank, on the other hand, fared even worse. The 15th Infantry Division, under the cover of tanks, launched an attack on the defensive line of the 272nd Infantry Division. In the face of the rushing enemy, the Soviet commanders and fighters behaved with extraordinary composure, and they used anti-tank guns or anti-tank grenades to destroy the enemy's tanks; Use a machine gun or submachine gun to destroy the enemy following behind the tank. They even took advantage of the defeat of the Germans to launch small-scale counterattacks to disrupt the rhythm of the German attack.

The defensive battles of the 272nd Infantry Division were fought in such a way that the enemy was never able to break through their defenses. By noon, units of the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps arrived on the battlefield and launched an attack from the rear of the German flanks. The infantrymen, who held their positions, took the opportunity to launch a counterattack, and with the cooperation of the 5th Guards Cavalry Division and the 20th Cavalry Regiment, they rushed directly to the assembly area of the German 15th Infantry Division and engaged the enemy there.

The battle lasted until the afternoon, when the attack planes, which had long been ready for battle, took to the air one after another, flew to the combat area, and launched an attack on the Germans in cooperation with the infantry on the ground.

The Germans, lacking air defense, were taken by surprise by Vershinin's air force. When the attack aircraft group completed its mission and left, on the battlefields on the left and right flanks of the 19th Army, the ground blackened by the smoke of gunpowder could be seen everywhere destroyed German tanks and armored vehicles, and the corpses of dead German soldiers in various postures covered the entire area of engagement.

When he received the battle report from the front, Romanovsky almost felt like he was dreaming. According to his own ideas, in the face of attacks from both flanks at the same time, it would be good for his troops to be able to block it, but he did not expect that with the support of artillery and air force, today's battle would be so easy!

When the chief of staff of the group army asked him for instructions: "Comrade commander, what should we do next?" ”

He immediately replied without hesitation: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what else can be done?" Ordering, of course, the troops to go into a counterattack. Except for a small number of troops left in front to monitor the enemy holding in the town, the rest of the troops, all supported by artillery and air force, launched a counterattack against the enemy on the left and right flanks. ”