"Of course." Sokov remembered that when they captured Berlin, Chuikov's troops creatively invented the rocket launcher direct-fire skill to attack buildings occupied by the Germans. At this moment, he just mentioned this skill in advance: "Order the artillery Use sleepers to pad the rear wheels of the rocket launcher, and the rockets fired can form a flat-fire effect, which can easily destroy buildings occupied by the enemy."
After Sidorin recorded what Sokov said, he said with emotion: "Comrade Commander, your method is really good. If you didn't tell me, I would never have thought that a rocket launcher could also shoot flatly."
"Comrade Commander," Koshkin came in from the outside and reported to Sokov: "There is a naval colonel who wants to see you."
"Colonel of the Navy?" Sokov couldn't help being surprised after hearing this, "There is no sea here, how can there be a colonel of the Navy?" In order to find out what was going on, he told Koshkin, "Please come in, Comrade Colonel. "
"Okay!" Koshkin agreed, turned around and walked out of the headquarters.
A few minutes later, a naval captain followed Koshkin into the headquarters. He came to Sokov, raised his hand and saluted and said: "Hello, Comrade General. Let me introduce myself. I am Colonel Grigoriev of the Dnieper Fleet, under the command of Rokossovsky." By order of the general, we are here to assist your troops in crossing the Berezina River."
"Assist our troops to cross the river?" Sokov originally wanted to tell the other party that his troops had hovercrafts, which were faster and more convenient to cross the river than they used ships, but then he thought, since the other party was arranged by Rokossovsky to assist His own. If he refused, Rokossovsky might be unhappy, so he asked: "Comrade Colonel, I wonder how many ships you can provide to transport our soldiers?"
"Whether they are combat ships or transport ships, they can be used to carry troops." Grigoriev said: "This time I brought 25 ships, which can transport a thousand people to the other side at a time. . Before landing, we can also use naval guns to destroy the German firepower points on the shore to ensure that the transported troops can land smoothly."
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov said: "It just so happens that my 1st Guards Division is about to cross the Berezina River east of Bobruisk. I wonder if your troops can help them cross the river? "
"No problem." Grigoriev replied readily: "My First Battalion is on standby in the waters near Bobruisk and can provide support to your troops at any time."
Sokov arranged for a staff officer to take Grigoriev to the 1st Guards Division to discuss cooperation with the division commander Tolstikov.
After Grigoriev left, Sidorin asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, since we have hovercrafts, why do we need sailors from the district fleet to help us transport soldiers across the river?"
"Yes, we do have hovercraft." Sokov replied: "If the 1st Guards Division uses a hovercraft detachment to cross the river, it can indeed quickly pass through the river and even advance to the vicinity of Bobruisk. But by As a result, the transportation time of heavy weapons such as tanks and artillery has to be delayed."
"With the power of the Dnieper River Fleet, although the ships cannot transport our commanders and fighters directly outside the city, they can continuously transport our troops. The hovercraft unit can concentrate on transporting the technical equipment required by the troops. .”
"So that's it." After listening to Sokov's explanation, Sidorin nodded and said, "Comrade Commander, you are still thoughtful. The fleet helps us transport soldiers, and the hovercraft helps us transport technical equipment. It's a two-pronged approach. This way The speed at which the 1st Guards Division can cross the river will be greatly improved."
Two hours later, the First Battalion commanded by Captain Grigoriev launched a fierce artillery bombardment on the German defensive positions in the right bank area. After destroying most of the firepower points along the coast, the ship approached the shore again and used machine guns to suppress the surviving German troops, while the transport fleet was busy transporting the commanders and fighters of the 1st Guards Division from the left bank to the right bank area.
After learning that the 1st Guards Division had successfully crossed the river and was launching an attack on the outer positions on the eastern outskirts of Bobruisk, Sokov nodded and then asked Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, where has the 3rd Infantry Division reached?" Already?"
"They are currently in the southeastern suburbs of the city, waiting for our next order."
"Very good, then order the 6th Guards Division to temporarily stop the attack, and let the 3rd Infantry Division carry out the attack."
After this order was issued, Onuprienko, the commander of the 6th Guards Division, called and asked hurriedly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, our division is fighting well, why do you want us to stop?"
"This is what the commander means. He feels that you have fought for long enough and wants you to stop and take a rest."
"But the morale of our division is strong. If we really stop attacking, I'm worried that the explosive makers will be emotional, which will affect the morale and morale of the army."
"General Onupryenko," Sokov took the phone and said to his ear: "I think you are the one who is emotional, right? Obey the order and immediately stop the attack by the troops. Commanders and fighters of the 3rd Infantry Division Come and take over your attack.”
"Comrade Commander, I am not convinced."
"What's wrong with you?"
"When you sent out troops to attack the German 35th Army, it was originally the task you assigned to our division." Onupriyenko said aggrievedly: "Just when the commanders and soldiers were filled with joy, an infantryman appeared out of nowhere. The 109th Division took away all our credit in one fell swoop.”
"We finally got a mission to attack Bobruisk, but while we were fighting, the Germans raised the white flag and asked to negotiate with us. Finally, when the tank negotiations were over and our division could fight a tough battle freely, You asked us to stop attacking again. Not to mention that the commanders and soldiers couldn't figure it out, I also felt uncomfortable in my heart."
After listening to Onupryenko's complaints, Sokov said with a smile: "General Onupryenko, this attack has just begun. You will have many opportunities to fight in the future. Besides, the 3rd Infantry Division The division's attack has not started yet. If they are frustrated during the attack, maybe I will send you to support them."
Sokov's words made Onupryenko feel happy again. He knew well what the German defense strength was like. If Sokov really followed what Sokov said and let the 3rd Infantry Division take over the attack in one section, When they were unable to advance deeper into the enemy's defenses, the 6th Guards Division began a new round of attack.
After the 3rd Infantry Division took over the attack from the 6th Guards Division, the offensive was extremely fierce. The beating made those German troops who thought that the 6th Guards Division could take a breather by temporarily stopping the attack were in a panic.
In the evening, a regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division successfully broke through the German outer positions and successfully rushed into the city.
When he learned that the 3rd Infantry Division had broken through the city and was launching an attack on the city, Sokov quickly said to Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, according to the intelligence we have, there were originally more than 10,000 garrison troops in the city. But after the battle started, many troops outside the city who had been defeated by our army retreated into the city one after another, which increased the number of German troops in the city. After the 3rd Infantry Division entered the city, be sure not to rush forward in a hurry. , so as not to fall into the German trap.”
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Sidorin said confidently: "I will remind them to act steadily." After a pause, he asked tentatively, "Comrade Commander, now the main force of our group army has basically arrived. On the outskirts of Bobruisk, when do you think we will let them go into battle?”
The 3rd Infantry Division rushed into the city. If other troops were allowed to enter the city through the opened gap, the results of the battle could be quickly expanded. However, Sokov did not issue an order immediately, but told Sidorin: "It will get dark soon, I think let them wait a little longer. It is best to wait until dawn tomorrow before entering the city." "
"Yes, Comrade Commander is right." Ponejelin echoed: "Our troops entering an unfamiliar city at night may suffer heavy losses because they are not familiar with the terrain. So the best thing to do is to wait until tomorrow At daybreak, let more troops go into battle so that they will not suffer because they can't see the road in the dark."
As dusk fell, the main force arrived at the 48th Army outside the city. Except for the 1st Guards Division attacking in the eastern suburbs and the 3rd Infantry Division engaging in street fighting with the enemy in the southeastern area, the rest of the troops were on standby. state.
However, the defenders in the city were frightened by the approaching 48th Army. The garrison commander, General Hamann, and the commander of the 41st Tank Corps, General Govermeister, were frightened.
Govermeister asked Haman in fear: "General Haman, Sokov's vanguard has rushed into the city, and his main force is outside the city and may enter the city at any time. I wonder what you are going to do next?" "
"I once sent people to negotiate with him." General Haman said through gritted teeth: "The condition I proposed was that as long as he was willing to let us leave, I could hand over the city to him. But he did not hesitate. Refused."
Although Govermeister knew that Haman sent people to negotiate with Sokov outside the city, in the end the negotiations broke down because the conditions were not reached. But the reason for the rupture was unclear. At this moment, Haman brought up the matter of negotiation, and he took the opportunity to ask: "General Haman, why doesn't he agree to your conditions?"
Haman said with a wry smile: "He said that our negotiations were not sincere. If we were allowed to leave, there might be another day of fighting in a new area. So the condition he proposed was to ask all our troops to lay down their weapons and surrender to them. . Think about it, can I agree to such a condition?"
"No, of course we can't agree." Govermeister shook his head and said, "We still have 20,000 to 30,000 troops in the Bobruisk area. How can we surrender so easily?"
"Now that Sokov's vanguard has entered the city, it must not be too far before his main force enters the city." Haman said: "For this purpose, we must find a way to break out of the encirclement as soon as possible to avoid suffering the fate of the entire army being annihilated. .”
"Which direction should we break out from?"
"After careful observation, I found that the Russian defense force is the weakest in the northwest of the city." Govermeister said: "We can implement a breakthrough from there."
Haman thought about it, judging from the current situation, the northwest direction is the weakest place in the entire encirclement, and once a successful breakthrough from there, they only need to advance more than ten kilometers to meet up with friendly forces. Therefore, he decisively agreed to Govermeister's proposal: "Okay, General Govermeister, according to your opinion, break out from the northwest of the city."
After the two reached an agreement, Govermeister returned to his headquarters and began to deploy breakout matters. He first quietly moved the main force of the 41st Tank Corps from other areas to the northwest, and then used artillery and mortars to violently bombard the Soviet defensive positions.
The troops holding on to this area were the 356th Division of the 105th Infantry Corps. The commanders and soldiers did not expect that the German army would suddenly and indiscriminately bomb the position under the cover of night, and they were caught off guard.
As soon as the bombardment ended, the German army dispatched tanks, followed by a dense line of skirmishers, braving the hail of Soviet bullets and rushing forward regardless of casualties.
As the Soviet army suffered heavy casualties in the shelling, it was unable to block the German charge. Within a quarter of an hour, a large number of German officers and soldiers rushed into the trenches of the 356th Division, and the two sides engaged in hand-to-hand combat and hand-to-hand combat in the dark.
In the hour-long battle, the commanders and fighters of the 356th Division, regardless of sacrifice, repeatedly charged and killed the enemy, and finally withstood the German onslaught. However, the German army still controlled part of the 356th Division's defensive positions after paying a huge price of losses.
At 8 o'clock in the morning, in order to smash the German breakout attempt, the commander of the 105th Army sent the 354th Infantry Division to attack the enemy-controlled railway station. And after a fierce battle, they successfully occupied the train station.
Seeing the main force of the 105th Army pressing towards them, the German army once again tried to break through to the northwest in order to escape the fate of being annihilated. They concentrated all their artillery, once again bombarded the 356th Division's position, and launched an attack under the cover of tanks.
Although the commanders and fighters of the 356th Division resisted tenaciously, the trapped German troops still broke through the division's defensive area. General Govermeister, commander of the 41st Tank Corps, commanded more than 5,000 soldiers to rush towards the breach like a tide.
However, the 48th Group Army's current offensive in the east and southeast of the city was extremely smooth. This is because Hamann and Govermeister moved their main forces to the northwest of the city in order to successfully break out of the encirclement, causing the defenses in other areas to become weak.
Sokov originally wanted to try to advance slowly, trying to capture one place and consolidate the other. After discovering that the German forces in his attack area were weak, he decisively issued an order to Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately send troops to the 6th Guards Division, the 211th and 284th Infantry Divisions, and the 109th, 118th and 118th Infantry Divisions. The entire 122nd Brigade is engaged in battle. We must occupy the entire city in the shortest possible time."
The enemy, who had been struggling to hold on, was suddenly attacked by tens of thousands of fresh troops. Wherever they could hold on, they were immediately defeated and fled frantically towards the center of the city or the northwest. They knew they would continue to fight. , he could not escape the fate of being annihilated, but by escaping to the northwest, there was still a glimmer of hope.
However, before they could escape to the northwest of the city, they were cut off from their retreat by the outflanking 48th Group Army. Except for a few soldiers who retreated into nearby buildings to resist, the rest obediently put down their weapons and surrendered to Sokov's troops.
