As the 1st and 6th Guards Divisions arrived near the fortification area, the strength of the troops commanded by Ponejelin was improved. Originally they could only defend, but after dawn the next day, they launched an attack on the German defense lines. .
Facing the Soviet attack, the Germans did not dare to show weakness. They mobilized two infantry regiments and one armored regiment. Under the cover of artillery fire, they launched a counterattack towards Ponejelin's troops, trying to push them back again. their offense, thereby further consolidating their defense.
The battlefield lasted until noon, and the two sides were still at a stalemate. Seeing that the situation of the battle had not turned around, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little anxious. He personally called Ponijelin to inquire about the situation on the battlefield.
But after Ponedelin told Sokov about the current situation on the battlefield, Sokov couldn't help but fell silent. I have now invested four infantry divisions, several artillery regiments and tank brigades in this area. If they cannot break the German siege and rescue the besieged cavalry army, then I will send more troops there. To no avail.
When Ponedelin heard that Sokov remained silent, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, what do you think we should do next?"
Sokov quickly glanced at the map spread out in front of him, and then said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, Colonel Liugekov's 211th Infantry Division is your reserve force. I think we must break the situation in front of us as soon as possible." In the event of a stalemate, the best course of action is to throw them into battle immediately to crush the enemy's resistance."
"But if the 211th Division is put into battle, I won't have any reserves in my hands." After listening to Sokov's order, Ponedelin said with some embarrassment: "If the 211th Division is put into battle, it will still be unable to defeat the enemy. The siege, or even the attack fails, and the enemy begins to counterattack, what kind of power do we use to stop them?"
After thinking for a moment, Sokov made a decisive decision: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I still have two infantry divisions and three infantry brigades in my hands. If the situation there is really unfavorable, I will consider Put the remaining troops into battle."
Ponedelin has known Sokov for a long time, but he has never seen him act so recklessly, so he cautiously reminded: "Comrade Commander, have you ever thought about what would happen if our troops If they are all exhausted, even if the cavalry army is rescued, it will not make much sense. And our group army will also be incorporated into the base camp reserve because of the total loss of troops. I am afraid that we will not be able to participate in new battles for a long time. "
What Ponedelin said made sense to Sokov. But the reason why he made such a decision was that he remembered that in real history, the cavalry army besieged in the fortification area was rescued by the 65th and 70th Group Armies. His own troops had been fighting in the fortification area for several days, and it was time for these two troops to appear. As soon as they appeared, the enemy, who was worried about being counter-surrounded, took the initiative to withdraw from the battle.
When Sokov was praying that troops from the 65th and 70th Group Armies would appear soon, he suddenly heard cheers coming from the receiver. It seemed that people in the Ponejelin temporary command post were cheering loudly. He hurriedly He asked loudly into the microphone: "Comrade Deputy Commander, what happened to you there?"
After a brief silence, Ponedelin's excited voice came from the receiver: "Good news, Comrade Commander, good news, great news." Sokov continued without waiting to ask. Said, "Colonel Ismailov just called and said that a large number of troops appeared on the right wing of their division. At first he thought they were German troops, but when he took a closer look, he found tanks leading the infantry charge in front. It’s T-34 and IS-2 tanks.”
When Sokov heard this, he couldn't help but feel ecstatic in his heart. However, in order to prevent Ponejelin from hearing something strange about him, he still tried his best to ask in a calm tone: "Have you confirmed which army is coming?"
"Colonel Ismailov said," Ponedelin continued to report: "The ones coming are the 4th and 40th Guards Divisions of the 65th Army, and they are being led by a tank brigade in the attack."
"There are a lot of troops coming." Sokov breathed a sigh of relief, and then said: "With the cooperation of friendly forces, I believe you will be able to break through the German encirclement soon and rescue the friendly forces trapped in the fortification area. "
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Now that friendly troops appeared on the battlefield, Ponejelin suddenly felt confident: "With the cooperation of this new force, there shouldn't be much problem in breaking through the enemy's defense line. "
After Sokov put down the phone, he waved his fist excitedly. He knew in his heart that the most difficult stage was over, and the Germans had to choose to retreat in the face of the powerful Soviet offensive.
Sidorin just walked in from the outside and happened to see Sokov waving his fist. He knew that this was a sign of Sokov's happiness, so he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, what makes you so happy?" , is there any progress with the deputy commander?"
He was asking casually. After all, he didn't receive any good news from the fortification area before he left the headquarters. Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished asking, Sokov nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, there is indeed good news, and it is great news."
"What great news?" Sidorin suddenly became interested and asked, "I wonder what the good news is?"
"Colonel Ismailov reported to the deputy commander that a large number of friendly troops appeared on their right wing." Sokov said: "After understanding, they came from the 4th and 40th Guards Divisions of the 65th Group Army. force."
"Oh, friendly forces have finally appeared." When Sidorin heard the news, a relaxed expression appeared on his face: "With the help of friendly forces, we will soon be able to complete the tasks assigned to us by our superiors."
While the two were talking, the phone on the table suddenly rang. Sidorin stared at the phone and said tentatively: "Comrade Commander, do you think this call is from Comrade Marshal?"
"Why is it the marshal calling?" Sokov asked puzzledly.
"The reason is very simple." Sidorin replied: "We have been fighting the enemy alone in the fortification area for several days, and now we finally have the friendly forces. I think Comrade Marshal called us to tell us the good news. "Yes." After saying that, he grabbed the phone and put it to his ear.
After listening for a moment, he said excitedly to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, good news, good news, two infantry divisions under General Popov's 70th Group Army also appeared on the battlefield, and they are heading towards The German right wing took a detour and prepared to encircle them."
"Who called?" Sokov heard the good news, and in order to find out the authenticity of the information, he asked tentatively: "Is it the deputy commander?"
"No, Comrade Commander." Unexpectedly, Sidorin shook his head and said, "It was the commander of the 70th Group Army, General Popov, who personally called."
Knowing that the call was from General Popov, the commander of the 70th Group Army, Sokov quickly walked over and took the microphone from Sidorin's hand, and said politely: "Hello, General Popov!"
"Hello, General Sokov!" Popov repeated what he just said on the phone again: "I have dispatched the 171st and 181st Infantry Divisions, with the cooperation of the tank troops, to carry out a detour from the north of the German army. , prepare to cooperate with your troops to cut off their retreat..."
When Popov introduced his battle plan, Sokov stared at the map in front of him, wondering what benefits the other party would bring to his troops.
After Popov finished speaking, Sokov said: "General Popov, in order to destroy our cavalry army, the enemy used a large number of armored troops. If you want to encircle them, you must first find a way to destroy them. of armored forces.”
After listening to Sokov's words, Popov was silent for more than a minute, and then said: "General Sokov, our army has just broken through the German defenses after a fierce battle, and now there are not many tanks that can be put into the battlefield. If you go by what you said, our encirclement plan seems difficult to implement."
"The Germans suffered a big loss in our Operation Bagration," Sokov said: "Once they find that something is wrong, they will definitely choose to retreat in time. It may not be easy to trap them. Things. However, even if the Germans can escape from our encirclement, they will definitely suffer heavy casualties, which will cause these troops to lose their combat effectiveness in a short period of time. This will be very helpful for our next attack."
"You are right, General Sokov." Popov agreed with Sokov's statement: "As long as we can eliminate the effective strength of the Germans, it doesn't matter much even if we cannot encircle them. "
In the ensuing battle, just as Sokov expected, the German army discovered that the troops of the 65th and 70th Army appeared on the battlefield. In order to avoid being encircled, they decisively chose to retreat towards Warsaw.
But soon after the enemy's retreat began, the 4th Guards Cavalry Corps, which had been staying in the fortified area and had not moved, began their operations. The commanders and soldiers of the cavalry army who had been trapped in the fortification area for several days were filled with anger as they watched the friendly forces and the German troops fighting outside each day but could not go out to help themselves. At this moment, seeing the enemy begin to retreat, he decisively chose to attack.
Although the cavalry army was the last to attack, their offensive force composed of tanks and cavalry soon surpassed other infantry units that were chasing the enemy. The tanks of the cavalry corps, which opened the way in front, disrupted the German retreat queue. The cavalry following the tanks rushed into the chaotic German infantry ranks and slaughtered the chaotic German officers and soldiers like chopping melons and vegetables, avenging their previous humiliation.
Although the German army left blocking troops along the way, trying to prevent the Soviet pursuit. But in the face of the powerful Soviet army, their resistance seemed negligible, and the remaining troops were quickly overwhelmed by the Soviet offensive troops.
The battle continued until dark. The German army, which had retreated nearly thirty kilometers towards Warsaw, finally entered one of their defensive positions, where they tenaciously blocked the pursuing Soviet army.
The cavalry corps, which was at the forefront of all the troops, launched an attack on the German position during the march, but without success, it withdrew from the battle in time, retreated two kilometers and selected a place to switch to defense.
Rokossovsky felt relieved when he learned that the 4th Guards Cavalry Corps had escaped and that the 48th, 65th and 70th Group Armies had joined forces. He said to Malinen: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the three armies on our right wing are now united, which means that our strength in the direction of Warsaw has been strengthened."
When Malinin heard this, he couldn't help but interjected and asked: "Comrade Commander, with this, including the Polish 1st Army, our troops east of Warsaw have reached five armies. Do you think we can take the opportunity to attack Warsaw?" Launch an attack?"
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Rokossovsky just shook his head slowly and said: "No, Comrade Chief of Staff, we cannot launch an attack on Warsaw now."
"Why?" Malinen asked in confusion: "From the time we entered Poland until now, we have never had as many troops in any region as many as five armies."
"The attitude of the Warsaw Uprising Army is unclear now. Whether they are willing to accept our assistance is still unknown." Rokossovsky frowned and said: "So far, there is no significant person responsible for the Krajow Army. People come to discuss cooperation with us. If we launch an attack on Warsaw regardless, we may end up being thankless in the end."
"Comrade Commander, I don't understand." Malinen said with a solemn expression: "Since the Allies cannot provide sufficient assistance to the Warsaw Uprising Army, why should they support them in launching an uprising?"
Hearing Malinin's question, Rokossovsky smiled lightly and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, there are only two reasons: First, they hope to occupy a moral high ground and express that the allies are supporting the just cause of the Polish people. , which will be of great help in preventing the expansion of our country's power in Eastern Europe in the future.
Second, they found themselves unable to stop the Polish uprising. You must know that the Poles are historically known for their lack of strategic vision, and they will act arbitrarily in any situation they deem feasible. Since the uprising cannot be stopped, it is better to acquiesce in their actions. "
Malinen continued to ask: "In an uprising involving tens of thousands of people, didn't the Allies send them liaison officers?"
"According to the information we have now, this uprising does not have any liaisons with the Allies." Rokossovsky continued: "The preparations for the uprising of the Krajov Army were very hasty and whimsical. They hoped that, Hitler is dead, and the German army will quickly withdraw from Poland with no intention of fighting. Therefore, the Krajow army did not even destroy many important bridges and roads, which allowed the German army to quickly mobilize forces in a short period of time, extinguish the uprising, and stop our army Advance towards Warsaw.”
Malinen stared at the map and murmured: "So, the uprising in Warsaw will end in failure? And what we can do is stand on the right bank of the Vistula River and watch them being destroyed. Are the Germans annihilated?”
"There is nothing we can do about this," Rokossovsky said helplessly: "After Chuikov's 8th Guards Army established a landing site in the left bank area, it was attacked continuously by the German army. The Germans tried to push us All the troops rushed into the Vistula River, so that even now, Chuikov’s troops are unable to leave the landing site and go north.”
