In the next few days, Chuikov's troops expanded the area of the Magnushev landing site and deployed six infantry divisions in the landing site to resist the crazy German attack.
On the surface, it seemed that the strength of the Magnushev landing site had increased, but because the pontoon bridge that had just been erected was once again blown up by the Germans, the supply of the troops on the left bank became a big problem. If the consumed ammunition and materials cannot be replenished in time, these troops will soon be in a situation of running out of ammunition and food.
The existence of the Magnushev landing site posed a serious threat to the German Warsaw Group from the south. In order to eliminate this threat, the German army devoted all the main forces it could mobilize in the left bank area to the battle for the Magnushev landing site.
After the efforts of the two engineering units of the Front Army and the Group Army, the pontoon bridge was finally erected on the Vistula River again, and artillery and ammunition began to pass through the bridge. However, the German bomber formation soon appeared over the pontoon bridge and carried out fierce bombing on the pontoon bridge.
The leading German bomber dived towards the convoy on the pontoon with a scream. The window glass of a truck was shattered by bullets. Before the driver could recover, he was beaten into a gourd of blood by the intensive bullets. The soldiers escorting the car hurriedly raised their guns and fired in the air, but two mere rifles could pose no threat to the German bombers. The second enemy plane then swooped down, its machine gun spitting flames, hitting the car from the front to the rear, setting the car on fire. The soldiers escorting the car didn't even have a chance to jump out of the car, and they turned into burning people.
As soon as they saw the car on fire on the pontoon bridge, the enemy planes behind them immediately found the target of the attack. They used a two-plane formation to dive in turns and launched a frenzied massacre of the convoy on the pontoon bridge. In just a few minutes, the pontoon was filled with damaged vehicles and fallen soldiers. The blood of the martyrs stained the Vistula River red.
Seeing the convoy on the pontoon suffering such heavy casualties, the officers and soldiers of the Polish anti-aircraft artillery division on the riverside were anxious. They fired desperately into the air in an attempt to shoot down the invading German bombers.
Several German bombers turned around and came towards the air defense positions on the shore. They swooped down from high altitudes and dropped aerial bombs on the air defense positions. The exploding aerial bombs blew the cannons to pieces and threw the broken limbs of the anti-aircraft artillery soldiers high into the air, wrapping them in a mist woven into clouds of mud and smoke.
Although the anti-aircraft positions were bombed by the Germans and the anti-aircraft artillerymen suffered heavy casualties, the surviving anti-aircraft artillerymen still stuck to their posts and fired at enemy aircraft in the air.
The artillery fire from the Polish anti-aircraft artillery division attracted some German bombers, but because the pontoon was filled with burning trucks, it was obviously unrealistic for the convoy to continue crossing the river. After receiving the report, Chuikov immediately issued an order to the commander of the tank brigade on the riverside, asking him to immediately send two tanks to the pontoon to clean up the burning trucks and make way for the vehicles behind them.
The command is simple, but the execution is not so easy. Although a large number of trucks on the pontoon bridge were blown up by German bombers, many trucks were still intact. After the tanks got on the pontoon bridge, they cleaned up some of the burning trucks. In order to let the intact trucks leave the bridge first, they had to First, retreat to the right bank to make way for the truck.
The purpose of the German bomber formation was to destroy the Soviet pontoon bridge on the Vistula River. Now the Soviet tanks were moving slowly to clear the destroyed vehicles on the bridge, undoubtedly providing targets for those bombers to attack. Just five minutes later, the tank that had no time to retreat from the pontoon was directly hit by an aerial bomb and sank to the bottom of the water along with the fragments of the blown pontoon.
At the same time, the German army stepped up its attack on the landing site. The 19th Armored Division conducted an assault along the Pilica River, and the Goering Armored Division conducted an assault along the Radomka River. In the middle of these two armies were the 17th and 45th Infantry Divisions.
Their endless attacks put great pressure on the commanders and fighters of the 4th Guards Corps. Facing the enemy's powerful offensive, the Soviet troops, which lacked anti-tank weapons, had to abandon some occupied villages and retreat toward the Vistula River.
The pontoon bridge on the Vistula River was blown off, and the emotions of the commanders and fighters at the landing site on the left bank would inevitably be affected. Chief of Staff Belyavsky asked Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, due to the German bombing, our connection with the left bank has been interrupted again. The morale of the commanders and soldiers who are now holding on to the landing site has been affected to some extent. What should we do next?" "
Chuikov thought for a while and replied: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have a bold idea. We should move the group army headquarters to the left bank of the Vistula River. In this way, the commanders and fighters at the landing site will see that we have also arrived on the left bank. , which is very helpful in boosting morale and rallying military morale.”
"What, move the group army headquarters to the left bank of the Vistula River?" Chuikov's idea startled Belyavsky, who quickly reminded Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, is it too dangerous?"
"The soldiers fighting to the death with the enemy at the landing site are not more dangerous than us." Chuikov said in an unquestionable tone: "This matter is settled. After dark, members of the headquarters will cross the river by boat and arrive at the landing site. Establish our new headquarters in the woods to the southwest."
"Comrade Commander, this matter is of great importance. Do you want to ask Comrade Marshal for instructions?" Beleyavsky asked cautiously: "Otherwise, once he accuses us of making arbitrary decisions, we will be in trouble."
When Chuikov heard that Belyavsky's words made sense, he nodded in agreement: "Okay, I will personally call Comrade Marshal and tell him my decision."
Rokossovsky was also surprised to learn that Chuikov planned to move the headquarters to the left bank of the Vistula River: "Comrade Chuikov, why would you think of moving the headquarters to the left bank of the Vistula River?"
"Comrade Marshal, the reason is very simple." Chuikov said with a smile: "You have said before that the presence of commanders in the sight of soldiers during battle will increase their courage and enable them to fight the enemy more bravely. .By doing this, I faithfully carried out your order."
Rokossovsky thought about it carefully and realized that he had really said this before. At the same time, he also ordered the commanders of the troops not to wear camouflaged field ranks. This would make it difficult for the soldiers to see who the commander was at a glance. This would lead to chaos when the battle failed due to the loss of unified command. middle.
"Okay, Comrade Chuikov." Rokossovsky thought for a while and agreed to Chuikov's request: "You can move the headquarters to the left bank of the Vistula River, but you must pay attention to your own safety. Once you see If the situation goes wrong, immediately retreat to the right bank. Do you understand?"
"I understand completely, Comrade Marshal."
But when Rokossovsky put down the phone, Malinin, who heard the conversation between the two, came over and asked with a worried look: "Comrade Commander, General Chuikov has moved his group army headquarters to the left bank of the Vistula River. Will you?" Wouldn’t it be too risky?”
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, it is indeed a bit too risky to move the group army headquarters to the left bank at this moment." Rokossovsky sighed and said: "But Chuikov's consideration is also correct, because the German air force is closely blocking the If Chuikov still stays on the right bank of the Vistula River and prevents our army from erecting a pontoon bridge on the river, then the troops holding on to the landing site will encounter some difficulties at this moment, it will inevitably have an adverse impact on the morale and morale of the troops. .
But if he arrives on the left bank, as long as the commanders and fighters on the landing field understand that their commander is in the same danger as them, then the morale of the troops can be improved and the commanders and fighters will be more brave in the battle. "
"What a pity." Malinin said with regret: "Our air force now has to provide air support for the 2nd Tank Army and the 1st Polish Army in Warsaw, and cannot allocate forces to support Chuikov, otherwise he would not have to take risks on the left bank. .”
Speaking of the Polish 1st Army, Rokossovsky thought of the Polish anti-aircraft artillery division that was providing anti-aircraft firepower to Chuikov's troops on the bank of the Vistula River. He quickly asked Malinin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I heard that the Polish Army The artillerymen made a lot of sacrifices in today's battle, is this true?"
Malinen nodded and said in a positive tone: "Two of the anti-aircraft artillery regiments suffered more than two-thirds of the casualties, and the other anti-aircraft artillery regiment also suffered one-half of the casualties. In a word, the Polish anti-aircraft division's air defense today During the battle, it was disabled by the German air force."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, please contact General Bellinger immediately and inform him of the matter. At the same time, express condolences to those Polish soldiers who died and were injured."
After Malinin got through the phone call to the headquarters of the Polish 1st Army, Bellinger, who answered the telegram, said apologetically: "General Bellinger, in today's battle, the Polish anti-aircraft artillery division, in order to protect the pontoon bridge on the Vistula River, attacked the enemy. Huge casualties were incurred in the bombing. On behalf of Comrade Marshal and myself, I would like to express my condolences to the sacrificed and injured officers and men of the Anti-aircraft Artillery Division."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Bellinger had known about this for a long time. He was considering whether to call Rokossovsky and ask if the anti-aircraft artillery division could be withdrawn to rest. But now after listening to Ma Lining's words, I suddenly changed my mind: "In order to defend our great motherland, no matter how high the price is, we still think it is worth it. Don't worry, even if the entire anti-aircraft artillery division is exhausted, we will still We will do our best to ensure air defense along the Vistula River."
Malinin put down the phone, relayed what Bellinger said to Rokossovsky, and then asked: "Comrade Commander, do you think the Polish anti-aircraft artillery division should be allowed to withdraw for a while to rest?"
Rokossovsky thought for a while, then shook his head and said: "I don't think it's necessary. With the pontoon bridge on the Vistula River blown up, the Polish anti-aircraft artillery division will not have many chances to participate in the battle next, so let them continue Staying where they are now is equivalent to letting them rest."
"But the anti-aircraft artillery division suffered such heavy casualties, it is equivalent to being disabled." Malinen cautiously suggested to Rokossovsky: "Look, if we can find a way to supplement them."
"There is no problem with the anti-aircraft guns." Rokossovsky said to Malinin: "As for the soldiers, they need to figure out their own solutions. After all, they are Polish troops. Placing our people in their troops will make them General Bellinger is paranoid. He thinks that we are doing this just to evacuate all his commanders. In order to avoid such misunderstandings, let him figure out his own way to replenish troops."
"Okay, Comrade Commander, then do as you say." Malinen said: "I will replenish the lost anti-aircraft guns for the anti-aircraft artillery division as soon as possible. As for the soldiers, let them continue to think of a solution."
Chuikov took the members of the Army Headquarters and took advantage of the cover of night to cross the Vistula River in a small boat and arrived at the left bank area. Glazunov, the commander of the 4th Guards Army, personally led people to greet Chuikov on the shore. When he saw Chuikov appearing in front of him, he complained: "Comrade Commander, the situation in the left bank area is so bad, why do you still treat the Commander Has the department also moved here?"
After hearing this, Chuikov said with a smile: "General Glazunov, I am worried that the interruption of the relationship between the landing site and the right bank will have a negative impact on the morale and morale of the defenders on the landing site. I came here specifically to boost morale. "
Faced with Chuikov's statement, General Glazunov was speechless. After he chuckled twice, he said to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, I have selected a forest in the southwest of the landing site as the new location of the group army headquarters. The houses and positions have been constructed. You can move in directly. .”
"This is great, General Glazunov." Chuikov smiled and said to Glazunov: "I was worried at first, thinking that after the members of the headquarters arrived on the left bank, they would have to dig trenches and build houses in the dark, but no To think that you have already prepared it for us."
"Comrade Commander," Glazunov continued: "I have transferred two regiments from the 47th Guards Division and deployed them near the new headquarters to serve as security guards for you. If the German army comes to invade, use their The strength is enough to withstand three or four hours, enough to support me until I lead the main force to come over for reinforcements."
"General Glazunov, thank you for your kindness." Chuikov said gratefully: "The combat effectiveness of the 47th Guards Division is the strongest among the 4th Guards Army. I am very happy to have them responsible for the defense of the headquarters. rest assured."
After Glazunov sent Chuikov and others to the new headquarters of the army group headquarters, he excused himself and left, saying that there were still things in the army.
As soon as General Glazunov left, Belyavsky urged the communication soldiers to seize the time to set up antennas and pull telephone lines, hoping to restore the command function of the headquarters in the shortest possible time.
As soon as the telephone lines were laid, Chuikov received a call from Rokossovsky: "Comrade Chuikov, how are you? How is the establishment of your new headquarters?"
"The establishment has been basically completed." Chuikov continued without waiting for Rokossovsky to ask further: "It was General Glazunov, commander of the 4th Guards Army, who learned that we were going to establish a new headquarters on the left bank. After that, we immediately organized manpower to build houses and build fortifications at our preset headquarters location. By the time we crossed the river and reached the left bank, all these things were ready. We only needed to set up antennas and lay telephone lines to formally exercise the command of the group army. It’s the responsibility of the ministry.”
