Seeing that the enemy was already catching a turtle in an urn, Rokossovsky decided to change tactics. Therefore, he summoned several army commanders who participated in the offensive to the headquarters and discussed with them the next offensive tactics.

As soon as Fedyuninsky walked into the conference room, he couldn't wait to ask Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, why stop the attack, the Germans can no longer support it, as long as we launch another attack, maybe they will completely collapse." ”

"Comrade Fedyuninsky, don't be in a hurry, the closer we get to victory, the more we who are senior commanders need to remain calm." Rokossovsky pointed to the vacant seat next to him and said, "Sit down first, we have a meeting soon." ”

After all the commanders attending the meeting had arrived, Rokossovsky stood up, looked at them and said: "Comrade commanders, everyone knows that the three German divisions that have fallen into the heavy encirclement of our army have been trapped in a narrow area of only two kilometers from east to west and four kilometers from north to south, and it is only a matter of time before they are completely annihilated. We have called everyone here to discuss how to accomplish the task of annihilating the enemy at the lowest cost. ”

"Comrade commander," said Rokossovsky, the commander of the 49th Army, Grishin, as soon as he said this, "if I am not mistaken, the slogan of 'victory with less bloodshed' was criticized by the Central Committee before the outbreak of war as an incorrect slogan that led the army to a delusional desire for an easy victory. Is it appropriate for us to study today how to reduce the casualties of our army in the process of destroying the enemy? ”

Rokossovsky was not angry at all about Glishin's questioning, he knew very well in his heart that the other party was thinking about himself, and in any case, the slogans that were criticized by the Central Committee back then, even after a few years, would still cause concern when they were raised again.

He smiled at Grischen and raised his voice and said, "In the face of any difficulties and dangers, our commanders and fighters are fearless. However, as senior commanders, we have the obligation to protect these outstanding sons and daughters of the motherland as much as possible. At the beginning of the war, the sacrifices of the soldiers were painful, but in order to win peace and tranquility for the Motherland, they risked their lives for three years to fight to the death against the enemy under the glorious banner of the Soviets. After so many severe trials, and now that victory is on the verge of victory, wouldn't it be a deplorable thing if we died before the dawn came? ”

Rokossovsky's words made everyone present fall into deep thought. Everyone thought in unison: "Comrade Marshal is right, judging by the current situation, it is only a matter of time before the fascist aggressors are defeated. It would indeed be a pity if it was really because of his own command mistakes that countless commanders and fighters could not see the final victory. ”

Thinking of this, everyone's originally frowning brows relaxed. Lieutenant General Su Bojing, military commissar of the Front Army, first stood up and said: "Commanders and comrades, on behalf of all the political workers of the Front Army, I think we should unconditionally carry out the orders of Comrade Marshal: Complete the task with the minimum loss and cherish the lives of every commander and fighter!" ”

Seeing that Su Bojing had already taken the lead in expressing his position, the commanders of the various group armies also expressed their attitudes one after another, saying that in the next battle, they should flexibly use tactics to reduce the casualties of their troops.

After everyone had finished speaking, Fedyuninsky looked at Rokossovsky and asked: "Comrade Marshal, tell me how we should fight the next battle in order to reduce the casualties of the commanders and fighters?" ”

"We are not only going to carry out a military attack on the German army, but also a rectification offensive." Rokossovsky turned his head to look at Su Bojing and said: "In addition to using a large number of propaganda vehicles and loudspeakers on the battlefield to persuade the German troops to surrender, we will also send planes to drop propaganda leaflets on the areas they occupy, calling on the vast number of German officers and men to lay down their arms and surrender to our army. Comrade Military Commissar, you will be responsible for this matter. ”

Fedyuninsky was clearly not satisfied with Rokossovsky's arrangement. After waiting for the other party to finish, he asked again: "What should we do if the enemy does not surrender?" ”

"If the enemy does not surrender, we will destroy them." Rokossovsky replied without hesitation: "We can only give the Germans 24 hours, and if they do not surrender within the specified period, we will immediately attack and completely destroy them." ”

"Comrade Marshal," said Borkin, commander of the 50th Army, standing up, "if the Germans take advantage of the 24 hours we have given to fortify the areas they occupy, it will inevitably inflict heavy casualties on our troops in the event of an attack." ”

"General Borkin, you don't have to worry about this." In response to Borkin's concerns, Rokossovsky replied with a smile: "After two days of fighting, the besieged German troops have almost exhausted their ammunition and food, and their combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced until they are replenished." ”

Rokossovsky's words reminded the commanders who had participated in the defense of Stalingrad of the tragic scene of the invincible German Sixth Army after it was encircled, and made them more confident in the total annihilation of this enemy.

"Commanders, comrades," said Deputy Commander Trubnnikov with a smile, "if the Germans really don't surrender, I don't mind letting them taste the artillery fire of our army, their surviving more than 10,000 people are crammed into such a small area, and one of our shells can kill a few or even a dozen of them." I think the German commanders can still see this clearly, and they must have made the right choice after hearing our persuasion to surrender. ”

…………

In the encirclement, Carl Maus, Carl Lorenz, and the commander of the 58th Infantry Division were sitting in a semi-underground shelter and sighing. Karl Maus gritted his back molars and said: "I really didn't expect that the Russian commander was so cunning that he actually set such a big trap for us, causing all three of our divisions to fall into a heavy siege. ”

Lorenz said angrily: "After we were besieged, we asked Reinhardt for help many times, but he didn't know how to do it, and until now, no reinforcements have come. ”

After the commander of the 58th Infantry Division waited for the two to finish speaking, he frowned and said, "Your Excellency the two division commanders, the ammunition and food we carry are almost exhausted, and they are simply not enough to support a large-scale battle. ”

Karl Mauss immediately agreed: "Yes, if we run out of ammunition, the more than 10,000 soldiers who survive will become lambs to the slaughter." I think we'd better send another telegram to Admiral Reinhardt, asking him to send troops to meet our breakthrough at once. ”

"Pick us up." Hearing Karl Maus say this, Lorenz seemed to have heard a very ridiculous joke, and he said angrily: "It is said that reinforcements were sent yesterday, but they were bombed by Russian planes on the road and retreated. When he sent him another telegram, he excused himself by saying that there were a large number of Russian troops operating in the area of Augustov on the right flank of the Russians, and that they would attack our fortified areas from that area while encircling and annihilating us. ”

"It's all." Karl Maus continued: "I have seen the terrain there, and in addition to forests and lakes, there are many swamps, which are not at all conducive to the deployment of large forces, and the Russians will not attack from that direction unless they are not fools. ”

"It could be." As soon as Lorenz finished speaking, he retorted: "Don't forget, the reason why the Russians were able to defeat our army in Belarus in such a short time is because their commander, Marshal Rokossovsky, launched an attack on the defense line of our army from a place where it was most impossible to deploy troops. If he does this again this time, a gap may be torn open in the fortified area of our army. ”

While the three of them were worried about their current situation, a German major ran in from outside, handed a leaflet to Karl Maus, and said: "Your Excellency, General, this is a leaflet that the Russians have just dropped, saying that our army has been encircled and there is no possibility of breaking through, let us immediately lay down our arms and surrender." ”

"Surrender, surrender," Karl Mauss said, snatching the leaflet, tearing it to shreds, and said viciously, "as long as my 7th Panzer Division has one shell and one bullet left, I will fight for the Führer until the last moment." ”

Surprisingly, the other two division commanders were indifferent to these words he said. Karl Maus looked at the two of them with strange eyes and asked, "Don't you agree with me?" ”

"General Karl Maus," Lorenz asked retortingly without mercy, "how long do you think we can hold out in the Russian encirclement with our current forces and ammunition?" With that, he turned to the officer who had come in with the leaflet and asked, "Major, what did the Russians say on the leaflet?" ”

"The Russians told us to surrender, saying we had no way back." The major glanced at Karl Maus, and said with some trepidation: "They told us to surrender within 24 hours, and if we did not surrender within the specified time, they would immediately launch a general attack and destroy us completely and cleanly." ”

"The Russians know how to brag," said Karl Mauss, dismissively the Major, "Don't they know that the 7th Panzer Division and the Greater German Division are the elite of the German army?" Can they destroy it if they want to? ”

Lorenz did not echo Karl Maus's opinion, but said to the major: "Go and send a telegram to the headquarters saying that we are now running out of ammunition and food, and ask them to send troops to support us immediately and resupply us by airdrop." ”

"Forget the airdrop." When the major turned to go out, Karl Maus stopped him, sighed and said, "The area we occupy is too narrow, and even if the air force can give us airdrops, most of them will fall into the territory of the Russians. Let the headquarters immediately send us reinforcements to cooperate with us in breaking through the encirclement of the Russians. ”

Ten minutes later, a telegram for help from the 7th Panzer Division, the Großdeutsch Division, and the 58th Infantry Division was placed in front of Reinhardt. The chief of staff who sent the telegram said to him: "Your Excellency, if we do not send troops to the rescue as soon as possible, these three divisions are in danger of being eaten by the Russians. ”

"Rescue! Rescue! Reinhardt said angrily, "Where can we now draw mobile forces to rescue them?" ”

"But, Your Excellency." Hearing Reinhardt say this, the chief of staff was a little anxious: "Since we sit back and ignore their surrounding, they may be annihilated by the Russians." ”

"Chief of Staff, don't forget that the troops that are now under the encirclement of the Russians are the most elite units in Germany." Reinhardt confidently said: "It is a fantasy that the Russians want to eat them." Okay, you call back to the three division commanders and say that for the time being you can't send troops to end up for them, but you can airdrop supplies for their troops. ”

"Your Excellency Admiral," after hearing Reinhardt's decision to make an airdrop, the chief of staff hurriedly persuaded him: "The area they control is too narrow, and if the airdrop is implemented, I am afraid that most of the supplies will fall into the Russian defense zone." ”

"Let our pilots lower the flight altitude." Reinhardt said in an unquestioning tone, "This way they can accurately drop supplies in the area controlled by our army." Faced with Reinhardt's stubbornness, the chief of staff shook his head and turned to shoot the telegram.

In the afternoon, Reinhardt sent thirty transport planes flew over the trapped troops. The planes lowered their altitude and prepared to airdrop the troops below.

As soon as the hatch was opened, before the supplies could be dropped downward, they were attacked by heavy anti-aircraft fire from the Soviet army. An unlucky transport plane exploded in an instant, and the fragments of the plane and the materials it was carrying fell like flowers. Seeing that a plane had been shot down, the rest of the transport planes hurriedly climbed high and threw the supplies down at a high altitude, not only whether they could fall into the position of the other side, but also turned around and flew to the meeting.

The area controlled by the Germans was too narrow, ninety percent of the supplies fell into the area controlled by the Soviet army, and almost one percent of the supplies fell in the middle of the two armies. In order to seize these supplies, German soldiers even dispatched tanks and armored vehicles to suppress the Soviet fire on the opposite side with firepower, so as to cover the soldiers from moving the airdropped supplies back.

But these Germans ignored the fact that the Soviet troops, after more than three years of war, had no worse equipment than the Germans, and in the face of those tanks and armored vehicles that appeared in the middle of the positions of the two armies, they immediately covered them with heavy artillery fire. Don't look at the Leopard tank is more powerful than the T-34, but under heavy artillery bombardment, it quickly turns into piles of flaming flares.