The first offensive campaign launched by Zhukov after taking office had an embarrassing ending.
The two troops of Chuikov and Kolpak in the south advanced more than ten kilometers into the enemy's defense; while the attack launched by the 65th and 70th Group Armies in the north towards the Modlin Fortress ended in failure. The 48th Group Army commanded by Sokov captured the triangle area from the enemy and became the only bright spot of the northern cluster.
Batov received the news that the 48th Army successfully occupied the triangle zone when he convened a meeting with headquarters members. After hearing this, he was completely stunned and murmured: "How can Sokov's 48th Army achieve its combat objectives? How can it achieve its combat objectives?"
The army leaders present also had the same idea as Bartov. Judging from various signs, launching an attack on the triangle area without first occupying the Modlin Fortress would be tantamount to letting the troops die. The artillery fire from the rear of the German defense area and the cross-fire composed of the Modlin Fortress were enough to make the attack The troops on the road were wiped out.
"Comrade Commander," after a long silence, the first person to speak was Military Commissar Radecki. He said with a wry smile: "You should know very well that General Sokov is the youngest general in our army. If If I remember correctly, he seems to have just turned 26 this year. The reason why he became a senior commander of our army at such a young age may have something to do with his personal military commanding ability."
With Rajecki's suggestion, Chief of Staff Glebov also echoed: "I agree with Comrade Military Commissar, General Sokov is an excellent commander, and the various tactics he used in battle can be It is said to be very novel. It is precisely because of these special tactics that our enemy has repeatedly suffered heavy losses. I think that his victory today is probably related to the fact that he used this kind of tactics."
"Chief of Staff, please be specific." After Bartov waited for Glebov to finish speaking, he said angrily: "Tell me what tactics he used to achieve this victory."
Bartov's words put Glebov into embarrassment: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, the notification we received only said that the 48th Group Army successfully completed the task of its superiors and captured the Mesopotamia from the Germans. The triangle area. As for what tactics they used in the battle, it is unknown. "
"Since you don't know, then ask." Batov said with gritted teeth: "If the front army headquarters can't ask, just ask Sidorin directly to see if you can get useful information from him."
Glebov could tell that although Batov was very angry at the moment, he also wanted to find out what tactics Sokov's troops used in the battle and successfully completed the combat mission assigned by their superiors.
Glebov thought in his mind that the front headquarters must be very busy at the moment. If he called Chief of Staff Malinin and asked what tactics Sokov's troops used in the battle, he might not get an ideal answer. Eucalyptus. The reason for this is that the other party is busy with work and has no time to explain to me in detail; the second possibility is that the tactics used by Malinin in his victory over Sokov are also unknown, so it is better to ask directly. Major General Sidorin, Chief of Staff of the 48th Group Army, should be able to get the desired answer from him.
After thinking about this, he said to Bartov: "Comrade Commander, I will call General Sidorin now and ask him about the entire battle." Seeing Bartov nodding in agreement, he picked up the The telephone in front of you.
When Sidorin received the call from Glebov, he was a little surprised. He thought that his troops had no cooperative mission with the 65th Group Army. What was the other party calling him for? In order to find out what was going on, he asked tentatively: "Hello, General Glebov, what can I do for you?"
"General Sidorin, I heard that you successfully captured the triangle area of the two rivers." Glebov said with a smile: "On behalf of Commander Batov and Military Commissar Rajecki, I would like to congratulate you!"
"Thank you! Thank you, General Glebov!"
"General Sidorin, actually I made this call because I want to ask you something."
"Please tell me, what do you want to ask?"
"We are studying your battle to seize the Triangle," Glebov said: "But no matter how you think about it, you will definitely pay a heavy price to complete these tasks. Can you tell me how your battle went?"
Faced with Glebov's request, Sidorin did not immediately agree. Instead, he covered the phone and asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, this is a call from General Glebov, Chief of Staff of the 65th Group Army. He wants to ask us something." The detailed process of seizing the Triangle. What should I do? Can I tell him to scold him?"
Sokov thought for a while and felt that there was nothing that needed to be kept secret about his troops' battle to seize the Triangle. He nodded and said, "It's okay. He will answer whatever he asks. I hope they can learn from our battle today." and learned something useful.”
After receiving Sokov's authorization, Sidorin removed his hand covering the microphone and said into the microphone: "General Glebov, since we are friendly forces, it is natural to share the battle process with you. "Then he told Glebov everything that happened in the battle.
After making the call, Glebov told the commanders present what Sidorin said, and finally said: "This is the entire battle process of the 48th Group Army to seize the triangle area of the Mesopotamia. I wonder if you can understand it. To what."
After listening to Glebov's story, Don Panov, commander of the Don Tank Corps, tapped his fingers lightly on the table, frowned and began to think.
His actions were noticed by Glebov, so he asked by name: "General Panov, what do you think of this matter?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Panov looked up at Glebov and said: "If the superiors give our army the task of seizing the triangle area, I think my tank army will definitely go into battle, but it will not play a role in the battle. Not big."
Hearing what Panov said, Bartov couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and then asked: "General Panov, tell me your reasons. Why do you say that your tank army can play such a role in the battle?" limited?"
"It's very simple, Comrade Commander." Panov shrugged his shoulders, tilted his head, and said with some helplessness: "The triangle area of the Mesopotamia is not suitable for the use of armored forces. If our tank corps is put into battle, I believe that the tanks that lead the infantry charge will soon get stuck in the quagmire. Not only will they not be able to help the infantry, they will even become a burden to the infantry."
"You are right, it is indeed difficult to use tank troops in that area." After Bartov agreed with Panov's statement, he then asked: "Do you think the tactics used by friendly forces when seizing the triangle area? Is there anything we can learn from?"
As an old subordinate of Batov, Panov knew the other party's character very well, so he did not talk in circles or make irrelevant remarks, but truthfully said what was in his heart: "To be honest, I used to be so kind to General Sokov. At a young age, he served as the commander of the group army and was even awarded the rank of general. I was somewhat resistant to it. However, today's battle has made me change my view of him. I feel that he is the right person for his current position. Very suitable."
"General Panov, you are not the personnel director of the front army, so you should not make any judgments on the senior commanders of friendly forces." Batov interrupted Panov and asked impatiently: "I asked The question is, what do you think of his tactics?"
"If I want to speak my mind, I just want to say, well done!" Panov said: "Only the tactics used by General Sokov can seize the Triangle from the Germans."
Seeing Batov frowning, Panov realized that he seemed to have said some nonsense, and quickly added: "General Sokov divided the troops into left and right wings and launched an attack on the German defense area at the same time. When he When it was discovered that the Germans had blown up the reservoir and flooded the troops' path forward, the measures taken were very effective. The troops on the left were allowed to advance deeply into the enemy's defenses; while the troops on the right, who might be attacked by the floods, Then stop the attack and switch to defense on the spot.
His tactics of attacking from the left and defending from the right successfully confused the enemy, making them think that the friendly right wing would not attack again, so they confidently and boldly transferred the main force of the right wing to the left wing to strengthen the defense there.
General Sokov's subordinates are also good at seizing opportunities. When he found that the German forces in front of him had become empty, he decisively launched another attack. The Germans realized they had been fooled and wanted to move their troops back, but found it was too late. In this way, the friendly forces successfully captured the weak right wing and sent troops to support the left wing, forming a pincer attack on the enemy..."
After Bartov waited for Panov's long speech to finish, he stood up and made a concluding speech: "Comrade commanders, today is a day of shame for us. This is the last moment for us and the 70th Group Army in the first front army sequence. The First World War could have been well represented, and it could have left a strong mark when compiling the first aspect of military history in the future.
But what was the result? Our two armies numbered over 100,000 people, but they couldn't even take down the Modlin Fortress, which was defended by thousands of people. Shame on you, comrades, shame on you! Although I don’t know what you are thinking, I feel it is quite embarrassing anyway.
In a few days, our group army, the 48th and 70th group armies will be officially placed under the command of the Second Front Army. However, so far, the only ones who can report to the Second Front Army with their heads held high are probably General Sokov's 48th Group Army. And we will become the object of ridicule by others..."
Bartov's words made all the commanders present lower their heads. Yes, there is no harm without comparison. If the offensive operations participated by the three armies this time end in failure, then the eldest brother, let alone the second brother, will be the same if he joins the new army. But now the 65th and 70th Group Armies lost in the battle, while Sokov's 48th Group Army suddenly emerged and achieved good results, which made his unit lose face.
Just as the situation was awkward, the phone ringing on the table broke the silence.
Glebov picked up the phone and listened for a moment, then a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Hello, Comrade Marshal, have you returned to the Second Front now?"
When Bartov heard what Glebov said, he immediately realized that the person talking to him might be Rokossovsky, and he quickly asked tentatively: "Chief of Staff, is this Comrade Marshal?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, the call is indeed from Comrade Marshal." After saying that, Glebov handed the phone to Batov.
"Hello, Comrade Marshal." Batov took the phone and said with some anxiety: "Are you here to notify us to return to the army?"
"That's right, Bartov, that's what I mean." Rokossovsky said with a smile on the phone: "I have been in the new army for half a month, but you guys haven't come to report for a long time. what is going on?"
"Comrade Marshal, we have just concluded our attack on the Modlin Fortress today." Batov explained to Rokossovsky: "This is the combat plan specified when you were still in office. After Marshal Zhukov took office, he will It’s implemented.”
"Yes, yes, I remember this." Zhukov did not inform Rokossovsky of the results of this battle, so he did not know how the operation was carried out: "Tell me about it. What kind of results have been achieved?”
Before answering this question, Bartov took two deep breaths, and then replied with a heavy heart: "I'm sorry, Comrade Marshal, you may be disappointed. Our army group and the 70th Group Army jointly launched an attack on the Modlin Fortress. It ended in defeat.”
"The Modlin Fortress is surrounded by water and has only a few bridges to communicate with the outside world. It is indeed very difficult to seize this fortress." Rokossovsky said: "Since there are only a few bridges that maintain contact with the outside world. It is indeed very difficult for us to attack across the bridge. But at the same time, we must also realize that if we block these bridges, the Germans in the fortress will not be able to get out. As long as the siege lasts for a period of time, the Germans will run out of ammunition and food. If we are in desperate situation, if we launch an attack again at that time, we may be able to achieve unexpected results."
"You are right, Comrade Marshal." Batov agreed with Rokossovsky's statement: "Marshal Zhukov also came to the same conclusion."
"Hey, if we can't take the Modlin Fortress, it will have a negative impact on the strategy to the north of Warsaw." Rokossovsky waited for Bartov to finish speaking, then said with emotion: "Don't say anything else, just... Our army will not be able to capture the triangle area at the confluence of the Narew River and the Vistula River..."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Marshal." Bartov heard this and quickly interrupted Rokossovsky's words, "You may not know yet, at the same time that our group army and the 70th group army attacked the Modlin Fortress, General Sokov's 48th Army also launched an attack on the triangle. Although our attack failed, General Sokov's troops destroyed the defenders of the triangle and successfully captured this area."
"What, Misha's 48th Group Army has successfully captured the triangle area?" Rokossovsky was shocked when he heard what Bartov said: "If our army had not captured the Modlin Fortress, Misha's troops would have How did you break through the German artillery blockade and successfully seize the triangle area?"
