"I have just called Admiral Tributz to find out from him the city where the German ships anchored in Danzig Bay were attacked." Bogolyubov told Sokolisky on the phone: "He told me that he had sent a submarine to Danzig Bay, which was only intended to monitor the enemy's ships, but the captain thought the fighters were good, so he took the initiative to attack the enemy's ships." In the end, the great result of sinking two cruisers and one frigate was achieved. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, do you know the name of this submarine commander?" After figuring out what was going on, Sokolisky said excitedly: "I want to give him credit and award him a medal on behalf of our army." ”

"Comrade Artillery Commander, don't worry about the award, Comrade Marshal will take care of the matter." Bogolyubov said solemnly: "What you should be thinking about now is how to cooperate with the 19th Army and the 3rd Guards Tank Army to seize Tsopott from the Germans." ”

As soon as Bogolyubov mentioned Tsopot, Sokolisky replied: "Rest assured, Comrade Chief of Staff, that I have equipped the siege troops with two artillery divisions, which are enough to destroy all obstacles in the way of our troops' advance. ”

"Comrade Marshal has one more thing, let me convey it to you." Bogolyubov said into the microphone: "The engineering troops found nearly 10,000 rounds of heavy artillery shells in the captured German warehouses, and he hopes that you can use these shells to destroy the enemy's fortifications when the infantry and tanks are attacking the city." ”

After waiting for Bogolyubov to finish speaking, Sokolsky sighed softly, and then said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I also saw with my own eyes the batch of shells you mentioned. Unfortunately, the caliber of the shells used by the German army is not the same as the caliber of our standard artillery, and it cannot be used at all. ”

"You don't have to worry about that." After listening to what the other party was worried about, Bogolyubov said with a smile: "The chief of the engineering troops, General Blagoslavov, has invented a projectile that can throw such shells. ”

Knowing that General Blagoslavov had developed a projectile that could throw a lot of artillery shells at the enemy's positions, Sokolsky couldn't help but be overjoyed: "Great, this is really good. This way, I don't have to worry about the unusable heavy shells in the warehouse. ”

"Comrade Commander," Bogolyubov reminded, "Comrade Marshal also said that if during the siege of the city, no matter what the position, as long as the attacking troops meet the stubborn resistance of the Germans, it is possible to concentrate artillery fire on that area and destroy all the enemy who dares to resist stubbornly. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I think our shelling should still be selective." Sokolisky reminded Bogolyubov: "If you bombard indiscriminately like this, you may be harming innocent civilians." ”

"According to what we know, three-quarters of the inhabitants of the city fled from the city long before our troops approached it, and now only a quarter of the inhabitants of the city remain. Those who did not flee their homes, once they learned that our army was attacking the city, would no longer stay at home and wait for death, and would certainly hide in the basement. Bogolyubov confidently said: "You can completely let the artillery shell any area without any scruples." ”

"Since there are no inhabitants in the city, we will not be tied down when the shelling is carried out." Sokolisky said to Bogolyubov: "I will convey your words to the commanders and fighters below, so that they can teach the Germans a good lesson." ”

…………

After dawn, the two infantry divisions, which had suffered heavy losses from German artillery bombardment on the previous day, again launched an attack on the German entrenched Tsopot.

Although the commander kept waving his pistol in front of him to make the soldiers quicken their pace, the soldiers were still terrified, and they were deeply afraid that another shell would come from somewhere and blow themselves up.

The two division commanders who were in charge of the attack could not help but feel anxious when they saw their troops slowly approaching the enemy's position like snails crawling. One of the division commanders called Romanovsky, reported on the situation of the troops, and finally said: "Comrade commander, the fighters are afraid of being shelled by enemy ships again, so they do not dare to rush and fight like yesterday, what do you say I should do?" ”

Romanovsky frowned and thought for a moment, then said: "You let the troops move on, and I will find a way to overcome their fears." After putting down the phone, he called the director of the political department over and said to him: "Comrade director of the political department, our fighters are afraid that in the course of the offensive, they will be shelled by German ships again, so in the process of the offensive, they appear to be a little timid, do you have any way to overcome this fear?" ”

"Comrade Commander," the head of the Political Department immediately asked rhetorically as soon as Romanovsky finished speaking: "Do you remember the performance of the Red Banner Song and Dance Troupe a few days ago?" ”

"Yes." Romanovs nodded remarkably, and then asked rhetorically, "But what does this have to do with our attack on Tsopot?" ”

"When you watch the performance, I wonder if you have a feeling of blood boiling when you hear those military songs?"

"Yes,......" Romanovsky nodded again, and when he was about to speak, he suddenly understood the purpose of the director of the political department, and said with a look of surprise: "Could it be that you want to use songs to boost morale?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander, that's how I thought about it." The head of the political department nodded and said: "I intend to send two propaganda vehicles with horns to follow behind the attacking troops and play these uplifting songs to all the fighters in order to inspire their courage." ”

"Yes, you're doing a good job." Romanovsky immediately agreed with the proposal of the head of the political department: "Comrade head of the political department, don't be stunned here, immediately send propaganda vehicles to the fighters. But before you play those songs, tell all the fighters that the German ships that shelled us yesterday were sunk by our navy last night, in order to dispel the fear in the hearts of the soldiers. ”

The two propaganda vehicles dispatched by the Political Department soon drove to the area where fierce fighting was about to break out. At this moment, the infantry who were in charge of the attack had only advanced for less than a kilometer, and the nervous commanders and fighters looked up at the sky from time to time, fearing that another shell would fly. After the propaganda vehicle reached the rear of the attacking troops, it immediately turned up the loudest sound of the radio and informed the commanders and fighters of the good news that the German ship had been sunk by a Soviet submarine.

When the snail-crawling soldiers heard the radio that the German warships in Danzig Bay had been sunk by naval submarines, they couldn't help but look at each other, and some people asked in a low voice: "Do you say that what you say on the radio is true?" ”

The soldier next to him replied in an uncertain tone, "I think it should be true." After all, we have been on the road for so long and have not been bombarded by German naval guns. ”

Hearing this, someone couldn't help but sneer and retorted: "What do you know, the Germans' naval guns didn't start, probably trying to wait for us to get closer, so that the damage caused by the shelling could be greater." ”

Just when everyone was talking, the propaganda truck stopped broadcasting announcements and played the well-known song "Holy War" instead. The propaganda vehicle passed through the gap between the fighters and drove off into the distance so that more people could hear the song.

The soldiers, who had been cautious at first, were in high spirits as if they had been beaten by the blood of chickens after hearing this bloody song, and they no longer worried about whether they would be shelled by the Germans if they continued to advance, but shouted "Ula!" "From slow walking to fast walking, then to trotting, and finally, all the commanders and fighters on the battlefield were running, and they rushed to the city with weapons in their hands and shouts in their mouths.