The series of actions that Rokossovsky ordered his troops did have a confusing effect on the Germans, so that they had to reinforce the areas where the Soviets were about to attack.

Several of the main chiefs of the Front Command stood by the wall, looking up at the map on the wall. Rokossovsky looked at the red and blue arrows on the map representing the situation of the enemy and the enemy, and asked Bogolyubov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is there any movement in the German stronghold in the rear of our army?" ”

Since the beginning of the Vistula-Oder campaign, in order to quickly break through the German defenses, the Soviets have adopted a new tactic, leaving a small number of troops to monitor the German fortresses or important strongholds that are difficult to conquer for a while, and the main force will continue to advance around these areas. Since the introduction of this tactic, the speed of the troops' advance has indeed increased, but at the same time new problems have arisen, because of the presence of these German strongholds, many Soviet forces have been pinned down, and the convoys cannot directly pass through these strongholds or fortresses, so they have to open new roads. At first, these drawbacks were not obvious, but as the supply lines were lengthened, they had a negative impact on the supply of troops.

Now that the war is imminent, Rokossovsky does not want to affect this battle because of logistical problems, so he asked such a question. And Bogolyubov heard Rokossovsky's question, and hurriedly replied: "Comrade Marshal, at present in our rear there are nine enemy fortresses and strongholds, and according to the latest information just obtained, they have not made any movement, and they are all cowering in the defense zone and do not dare to move. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, although the enemy has not made any movement, we cannot take it lightly." When Rokossovsky saw that Bogolyubov said this, he had a disdainful expression on his face, and he was deeply afraid that he would underestimate the enemy, so he hurriedly reminded him: "I am afraid that as soon as our offensive has just begun, they will make some small moves in the back and cut off our lines of communication, causing our logistics and supplies to be unable to keep up, which will affect the follow-up operations." ”

"Comrade Marshal," Bogolyubov said to Rokossovsky, pointing to the map with his baton: "At present, the troops of our Front have two main directions of attack, one is the 2nd Shock Army to the east, advancing to the west bank of the Vistula; The second was to move east, through the town of Knitz, to encircle Weiss's 2nd Army and try to wipe them out in the Tuchel heath. ”

Rokossovsky knew very well in his heart that even if he could not completely annihilate Weiss's 2nd Army, if he could inflict heavy losses on them, his troops would become extremely easy in the next battle, so as soon as the other party finished speaking, he couldn't wait to ask: "What troops do we have at present, near the town of Knitz?" ”

"General Popov's 70th Army, after a fierce battle, has approached the town of Knitz." Bogolyubov continued: "The 114th Guards Division, which is part of the 76th Army, has reached the east of the town of Knitz and cut off the enemy's eastward retreat in the town. In the process of approaching the 76th Guards Division, the 385th Infantry Division was constantly attacked by the Germans, resulting in large casualties among the troops......"

"Which unit attacked them?" Rokossovsky asked.

"It's the German 4th Panzer Division." Bogolyubov glanced at the battle report he had received not long ago, and then continued: "According to intelligence, they entered the battle with 17 No. 4 tanks, 9 assault guns and 28 Panther tanks. ”

"The enemy's strength is very strong." After listening to Bogolyubov's report, Rokossovsky said: "We have to find a way to deplete their living forces, so that when the time comes for the official attack, the enemy poses no threat to us." A tank brigade and an artillery regiment were immediately transferred to reinforce the 385th Infantry Division. ”

…………

The final offensive of the 2nd Belorussian Front began at 6 o'clock in the morning of the 24th. After forty minutes of artillery preparation, the two corps of the 19th Army, deployed in the starting position, launched an attack on the Schlossau area.

On the offensive front, which was up to ten kilometers wide, the 19th Army had a strong force, with an average of seven infantry battalions per kilometer. When the three red flares that represented the beginning of the offensive were lifted into the air, thousands of commanders and fighters jumped out of the trenches, their weapons in hand, shouting "Ula" and rushed to the German defensive positions.

Although the sudden attack of the Soviet army successfully broke through the German defenses. But the Germans were willing to give up, they immediately concentrated all their forces and took advantage of the opportunity of the Soviet troops to rush to their second line of defense, and carried out a powerful counter-assault. The two sides were in the vicinity of the second line of defense, and a fierce tug-of-war ensued.

Although after nearly ten hours of fierce fighting, the troops of the 19th Army finally managed to break through the second line of German defense before dark, but they paid a heavy price. Upon learning of this news, Rokossovsky immediately called the commander of the 3rd Guards Tank Army, General Panfilov, and gave a straightforward order: "General Panfilov, it was originally planned for your army to enter the battlefield from the breakthrough again tomorrow. But now that the situation has changed, and the Germans are launching a non-stop counterattack against the troops of the 19th Army, I order your troops to move forward at once to support the infantry in the bitter battle. ”

"Comrade Marshal," said Panfilov with some embarrassment about Rokossovsky's order: "Most of my troops are still on the road, and the tanks are also in the process of railway transportation, and it is a little unrealistic to go to the place of engagement now." ”

Rokossovsky knew Panfilov and knew that he was not talking nonsense, so he did not blame him, but asked rhetorically: "Comrade General, when will your troops enter the area of engagement?" ”

In response to Rokossovsky's question, Panfilov was silent for a long time before he spoke: "Comrade Marshal, I can put the 3rd and 18th Guards Tank Brigades into battle at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. ”

"Eight o'clock tomorrow morning?!" After hearing what Panfilov said, Rokossovsky thought for a while, and finally nodded and said: "Okay, General Panfilov, it's getting late today, and even if your army rushes to the place of engagement, it won't be able to fight." That would be postponed until tomorrow morning. Remember, this is the last time and cannot be postponed any longer. ”

Since the tank forces could not be counted on, Rokossovsky could only pin his hopes on the artillery. He called the commander of the artillery, General Sokolsky, and ordered: "Comrade Commander of Artillery, General Kozlov's 19th Army, in the course of the offensive, suffered huge losses, and I now order you, concentrate all the artillery fire, bombard the German defense areas and artillery positions, and open a passage for our infantry." ”