Having learned that the troops had recovered their lost positions, Bogolyubov suggested to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, since our troops are capable of repelling the German attack, it is better to take advantage of the victory to pursue in order to achieve the goal of expanding the results of the battle. ”

"Nope." Rokossovsky did not hesitate to refuse Bogolyubov's suggestion: "The troops of the 19th Army are not ready for the offensive, and if they attack immediately, even if they can achieve certain results in the early stage, they will soon suffer a crushing defeat due to the lack of follow-up forces." They are the only force we have, and we must not be consumed in a war of attrition with no chance of winning. ”

After Rokossovsky finished speaking, seeing Bogolyubov's regretful look, he waved his hand and ordered in an unquestionable tone: "Call General Kozlov immediately and order him to hurry up and repair the fortifications to stabilize the defensive line and prevent a possible second attack by the German army." Seeing that Bogolyubov turned to leave, he added, "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think that the attack launched by the Germans cannot be carried out in only one place, and you can call the other commanders and ask them if there is any situation there." ”

As it turned out, Rokossovsky's judgment was correct, and in less than five minutes, Bogolyubov came in from outside at a trot, and said with some breath: "Comrade Marshal, there is a problem with the defense zone of the 49th Army. Osovo ...... Osovo is lost. ”

"What, Osovo is lost?" Hearing this, Rokossovsky abruptly got up from his seat, walked to the wall, looked up at the map above, frowned and said: "The reoccupation of the city by the Germans directly led to the exposure of the left flank of the 65th Army and the right flank of the 70th Army to the enemy. ”

After looking at the map for a while, Rokossovsky turned around, looked at Bogolyubov and asked: "Since Osovo is lost, why didn't General Glishin report it to us?" ”

"This ...... ......Hearing Rokossovsky's question, Bogolyubov said with some stumbling: "Two hours ago, General Glishin had mentioned that the Germans had launched an attack on Osovo. I didn't pay much attention to it, considering that the enemy would definitely not be willing to lose and would launch a counterattack as long as there was a plan. ”

Rokossovsky snorted dissatisfied, walked to the table, picked up the phone on the table, and said: "I'm Rokossovsky, I'll pick up the headquarters of the 49th Army and find Grishin." ”

After the phone was connected, Rokossovsky unexpectedly did not get angry, but asked with a pleasant face: "General Glishin, I heard that Osovo was occupied by the Germans, is there such a thing?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." When Grischen came to answer the phone, he was ready to be scolded, but when he heard Rokossovsky actually talk to him in such a kind tone, he thought he had made a mistake. So much so that after hearing the question, he hesitated for a while before replying: "It's all my responsibility, when I heard that the Germans were attacking Osovo, I thought it was an ordinary attack and harassment operation, so I didn't pay enough attention to it." As you know, the main energy of our army group is concentrated in the Hoynice area, because that is the goal of our next offensive. ”

"Yes, General Grischen." As soon as Rokossovsky waited for Glishin to finish speaking, he immediately said loudly: "I understand that you are preparing for an attack on the Hoynice region. Of course, you are responsible for the loss of Osovo, and I, as the commander of the Front, am also responsible. If I had not drawn an army from your army group to strengthen the left flank of the Front, your strength would not have been weakened, and there would have been enough forces to hold Ossovo today. ”

"Comrade Marshal," Grischen felt warm in his heart when he saw that Rokossovsky not only did not criticize him, but was still comforting, and he hurriedly said: "Please rest assured, I am organizing a counteroffensive of the troops, and I will definitely take Osovo back from the enemy's hands in the shortest possible time." ”

After Rokossovsky finished speaking, he asked a seemingly unrelated question: "General Grishin, is there any movement of the enemy in the direction of Hoynice?" ”

Hearing this, Grischen hurriedly replied: "No, there is silence in the direction of Hoynice, the enemy has not moved at all, and perhaps they are not aware that we are preparing to attack in this area. ”

"That's a good sign." Rokossovsky said with some surprise: "If the Germans do not move in the direction of Hoynice, as long as you put on an offensive posture in Ossovo, then they must draw forces from the direction of Hoynice to strengthen the attacked area." In this way, the German forces in front of you are greatly weakened. ”

"Comrade Marshal," Grishin heard Rokossovsky say this, and hurriedly asked, "Then do you think we should take Osovo back?" ”

"Now that you have launched a counterattack against Ossovo, go on and be sure to draw the enemy's forces firmly in that area. As for whether Ossovo can be recaptured, that is irrelevant. Rokossovsky specifically told Grischen: "Remember, don't consume too much living force, otherwise you will have no available troops in the attack the day after tomorrow." Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Marshal." Rokossovsky's words made Grischen understand that the continuation of the attack on Osovo was only to allow the Germans to transfer more troops from the direction of Hoynice and relieve the pressure on the offensive two days later, and hurriedly replied: "I will definitely make the offensive vigorous so that the enemy cannot understand our true intentions." ”

According to Bogolyubov's report, in addition to the 19th and 49th armies, the defense areas of the 65th Army were also attacked. Rokossovsky, who had just spoken to Grishin, connected to Batov's command again. Hearing Batov's voice coming from the earpiece, he immediately asked: "How is it, General Batov, where is the enemy attacking your defense zone?" ”

After Batov finished speaking, Rokossovsky's heart became more steady, and he found that although the Germans had launched an attack, the release of the attack did not coincide with the area he had attacked two days later. Therefore, he decisively ordered Batov: "General Batov, since the Germans are not attacking in the main direction, then try to find a way to make the scene a little more lively, and force the Germans to transfer troops from the area where we are about to attack to strengthen the area where we are fighting." ”