Fortunately, Stalin and Antonov intervened this time, Zhukov did not write any more empty checks, and Katukov soon called Rokossovsky, in which he said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Marshal, from now on, my troops are officially under your command, please give orders." ”

Rokossovsky couldn't help but be overjoyed when he heard Katukov say this, and he was about to call Bogolyubov in, but the other party walked in first, and he immediately said into the microphone: "General Katukov, I will ask my chief of staff, General Bogolyubov, to give you a combat order." After speaking, without waiting for Katukov to say anything, he handed the microphone to Bogolyubov.

After taking the microphone, Bogolyubov said without hesitation: "Hello, General Katukov, the task of your army group is to cross the combat units of the 19th Army, seize the crossing of the Weba River and the Brengenhof Canal, crush the enemy troops in front of you, and get out to the shores of Danzig Bay no later than March 12. ”

After waiting for Bogolyubov to finish arranging the task, Rokossovsky instructed him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, since General Panfilov's tank corps has successfully captured Betov, let them rest there for two days before the main forces of the 19th Army catch up with them." ”

Now with Katukov's Guards Tank Army, the situation on the left flank of the Front was greatly eased, and Bogolyubov also felt relieved, and after hearing Rokossovsky's order, he nodded and said: "Okay, Comrade Marshal, I will immediately inform General Panfilov and let his troops rest in the Betuv area for two days. With that, he walked out the door.

As soon as he walked to the door, Bogolyubov suddenly remembered something again, and stopped to ask Rokossovsky for instructions: "Comrade Marshal, since our left flank has been strengthened by the Guards Tank Army, is it possible to transfer the artillery units deployed in this direction to the right flank in order to strengthen the offensive forces of Fedyuninsky and Batov?" ”

"Yes!" Rokossovsky immediately agreed with Bogolyubov's proposal: "The troops of Fedyuninsky and Batov were strengthened by artillery, and it was possible to speed up the advance to the Danzig area. Chief of Staff, you contact General Sokolisky and ask him to transfer artillery to the right flank of our front as soon as possible. ”

As soon as Bogolyubov left, Su Bojing walked in from outside, and when he saw Rokossovsky's face full of joy, he couldn't help but ask curiously: "Comrade Marshal, you seem to be in a good mood today, is there anything good?" ”

"Comrade Military Commissar, you are here, hurry up and please take a seat." Rokossovsky beckoned him to sit down, poured him another cup of hot tea, and then said with joy: "General Katukov's Guards Tank Army has been officially assigned to our command, so that the resistance of our left flank will be greatly weakened, and more forces can be drawn to strengthen the sluggish right flank." ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's words, Su Bojing hurriedly put the teacup in his hand on the table, got up and walked to the wall, looked up at the map in front of him, and said thoughtfully: "Our troops have been seriously attrition in recent battles, and now they have been strengthened by the 1st Guards Tank Army, so we can transfer the troops on the left flank to the right flank to strengthen the forces in that direction and break through the frontal defense of the German army as soon as possible." ”

"That's right, Comrade Military Commissar," Rokossovsky agreed with Subotin's statement, "I also thought so, and just now I also ordered the chief of staff to get in touch with General Sokolisky and ask him to transfer part of the artillery to our right flank first, in order to strengthen the offensive forces in that direction." ”

"Comrade Marshal," said Subotin, turning to Rokossovsky, "I have come here today because I have a situation to report to you. ”

Rokossovsky beckoned Subotin to sit down again before asking: "What's the situation?" ”

"I have just received a report from the head of the political department, Okorokov," said Subotin, "who is now leading members of the political department of the front army to do political propaganda work in the grassroots units, and he said that Hitler's bandits, while retreating, destroyed roads and planted mines along the way, blew up dikes and flooded many areas."

In order to hinder the advance of our army, Goebbels adopted the method of deception and propaganda, instilling in the minds of the Germans too many slanderous and slanderous words against our army, so that people would flee from their homes as soon as they heard the news of our approach. They took their few household belongings and fled with their children and daughters, and now the roads and country roads are crowded with these almost crazy people, making the advance of our army very difficult. ”

After waiting for Su Bojing to finish speaking, Rokossovsky said unhurriedly: "Comrade Military Commissar, since the beginning of our army's entry into the East Prussian region, such a situation has been common. I would like to ask, what kind of effective measures have you taken? ”

"General Okorokov and comrades of the Political Department, with the help of comrades of the German Anti-*** League, used radio vans to carry out propaganda to the refugees on the side of the road." "In this way, they tried to tell the refugees: everything Goebbels said is nonsense and lies, and our troops have come here to liberate them, not to enslave them, to let them put aside their hostility towards our army and return to their homeland," replied Subotin. ”

Listening to Subotin's words, Rokossovsky was reminded of what happened on the Rubov-Friyes River two days ago: "Comrade Military Commissar, in order to increase credibility and convince the refugees of us, you can publicize to them what happened on the Rubov-Friyes River two days ago. ”

"What happened on the Rubov-Friyes River?" When he heard Rokossovsky say this, Subotin was stunned for a moment, and then understood what was going on: "Oh, I remember, at that time there were thousands of refugees who had escaped from Betuv, trying to cross the bridge over the river, and you gave them two choices: either return directly to their homeland, or cross the bridge after inspection. This is quite convincing, and the refugees will know what is going on as soon as they ask. ”

Speaking of this, Su Bojing could no longer sit still, he got up and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, I will go to General Okorokov and ask him to adjust the propaganda methods and strive to let those refugees return to their homeland as soon as possible." ”

After Subotin left, Rokossovsky walked to the wall, stared at the map hanging on it, and thought about the next phase of the unit's operational deployment. After watching for an unknown amount of time, he returned to his desk, picked up the phone and dialed a number, and when he heard a voice coming from the receiver, he said with a blank face: "I am Rokossovsky, immediately inform Fedyuninsky and General Batov and ask them to come to me immediately." ”

The staff officer on the other end of the phone, after hearing Rokossovsky's voice, immediately got up from his seat, straightened up and replied: "Yes, Comrade Marshal, I will immediately call the two generals and ask them to rush to the headquarters of the Front as soon as possible." ”