In the next two days of fighting, the defense lines of the 3rd Army and the 2nd Assault Army were leveled with Sokov's 48th Army.
But it became very difficult for them to continue to advance deeper into the German defenses, and the German resistance became extremely tenacious.
After the day's battle, Sokov and others sat in the headquarters eating dinner and chatting. Sidorin said puzzledly: "The East Prussian campaign we launched was a desperate defense for the Germans. They had almost no chance of winning. But in the face of our army's attack, they were still resisting tenaciously. Even the People's Stormtroopers, who have little combat effectiveness, are involved in the battle. Isn't this equivalent to letting civilians die in vain?" Regarding Sidorin's question, Ponjelin expressed his opinion: "Comrade Chief of Staff, we are now The enemy they dealt with was the German army group that had just been renamed the "Army Group North". They were the Army Group Center that was defeated by our army in the "Operation Bagration". After the defeat, they retreated to East Prussia for repairs. For them, East Prussia is a holy land in the hearts of Germans, and it is of even greater significance to Germany. Since the 19th century, Germans have considered themselves Prussians. 'Prussians will not surrender' and 'Prussian generals will not betray the country.' These concepts have been deeply rooted in their bones. In order to preserve their birthplace, the Germans spread the propaganda in East Prussia that "the German nation is on the brink of extinction" and asked a large number of old people and children to put on military uniforms and conduct simple military campaigns. After military training, he joined the war under the leadership of veterans." Potapov, sitting next to Ponedelin, interrupted: "I heard that the city of Memel, which originally belonged to Lithuania, was cut off as early as October last year. The city was besieged by General Chernyakhovsky’s troops, but three months have passed and the city has still not been captured.” Listening to Potapov mentioning Chernyakhovsky, Sokov His heart couldn't help but move. He clearly remembered that one week before he was to become marshal, that is, on February 18, when he was riding to the front for inspection, he was shelled by the German army and unfortunately died heroically. .
What is strange is that none of the four people traveling with him were injured. Seeing that a senior Soviet general would die on the battlefield soon, but not being able to remind him, this made Sokov feel very uncomfortable.
At this time, he heard Sidorin say: "The German 3rd Armored Army and 4th Army have been renovated and replenished in East Prussia, and a large-depth defense belt has been built on the border with dense fortifications and complex tunnels. . If we want to break through the German defense line, I'm afraid we need the full cooperation of the artillery." Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, the artillery director Potapov waved his hand and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, your idea is good, but To break through the German defenses, it is not enough to rely solely on our artillery. You must know that many of the German fortifications are located in the blind spots covered by our shelling. Even if we use more artillery shells, we will not be able to destroy these German fortifications. Once When our infantry launches an attack, these hidden fortifications will cause us huge casualties." Potapov's words aroused Sokov's curiosity, and he asked tentatively: "Comrade Artillery Director, what do you have? What’s a good way to deal with the German fortifications?”
"Artillery bombardment is definitely necessary." As an artillery director, Potapov will naturally not forget his responsibilities: "We must first destroy the more obvious fortifications on the defensive zone, and those that are highly concealed and dangerous to our infantry Fortifications that pose a huge threat should be left to the air force to deal with."
"Yes, Misha is right." Ponejelin agreed: "To destroy the German fortifications, artillery alone is not enough. It also requires the support of the air force. Those fortifications that cannot be destroyed by artillery fire are nothing more than They are in the blind spot of artillery fire, but in order to ensure the range of fire, their position is particularly conspicuous, and they can become targets for our air force bombing." Sokov had already told Chernyakhovsky's affairs at this moment Forgetting it, he was eager to know how to destroy the strong German defenses and open up a path for his offensive troops to attack.
Seeing that Sokov seemed interested in this topic, Ponedelin took the initiative and said to him: "Comrade Commander, should you call the Marshal and report to him what we discussed?"
"Well, Comrade Deputy Commander, what you said makes sense." In response to Ponejelin's proposal, Sokov nodded and said, "I'll call him right now." When he got through to the front army headquarters, he answered the phone The person in question happened to be Rokossovsky. When he recognized that the person calling him was Sokov, he asked directly: "Misha, what do you want from me?"
"Comrade Marshal, the situation is like this." Sokov said into the microphone: "Although the front lines of the 3rd Army and the 2nd Assault Army have been leveled with our group army, because the German defenses are too strong, we continue to attack It becomes very difficult to move forward.”
"Yes, this is indeed the case." Rokossovsky felt that Sokov would not call him for no reason. He must have something important to say, so he took the initiative to ask: "Have you figured out What good idea is there?" Sokov glanced at Potapov sitting next to him, and said modestly: "Comrade Marshal, in fact, this idea was thought up by my artillery director, General Potapov. He thought it was just Covering the German positions with artillery fire will not destroy some fortifications located in blind spots, and these indestructible fortifications will cause us huge casualties when our infantry launches an attack. Therefore, other methods must be used to destroy Germany. These human fortifications.”
"Then have you thought of a good idea?"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal, we have figured out a way." Sokov said: "Those fortifications that cannot be destroyed by artillery fire are usually located in more conspicuous positions. If we dispatch the air force, they can be easily destroyed."
"In the past two days, we have also dispatched the air force to bomb the enemy's defensive positions." Rokossovsky sighed and said, "But the effect achieved was not obvious."
"The accumulation of quantity will inevitably lead to qualitative changes." After Sokov said this pretense, he continued: "I think the reason why the two days of bombing did not achieve the desired results is because the size of the air force we dispatched was too large. Small."
"The dispatched air force is too small?" Rokossovsky couldn't help but frowned after hearing what Sokov said.
"Our Air Force's 6th Army dispatched an aviation division's fighter planes every day to carry out indiscriminate bombing of German ground targets, but it still had little effect."
"Less, there are too few aircraft for one aviation division." Sokov shook his head and said: "If we want to completely destroy the German defense system, we must carry out large-scale, non-stop bombings, so that the Germans have no time to attack. Repair the fortifications. In this case, if our army launches an attack on the enemy's defense line, the chance of breaking through their defense line will be greatly improved."
"Misha, if according to your statement, large-scale, non-stop bombing of German positions will be carried out, the ammunition and fuel consumed will increase exponentially." Rokossovsky said hesitantly: "If If we really do this, the ammunition and fuel stored by the Air Force can only last a few days. After the ammunition and fuel are consumed, our Air Force will no longer be able to provide air support to the ground forces for a long time."
"You are right, Comrade Marshal." Sokov agreed with Rokossovsky's concerns, but he continued: "But have you ever thought about it, maybe after these few days of bombing are over, Huge holes will be torn open in the German defense line, and our troops will be able to penetrate deep into their defense through these holes." Rokossovsky frowned at Sokov's statement. After thinking about it, I think it makes perfect sense.
He nodded and said: "Misha, what you said makes sense. However, this matter is of great importance. I still need to discuss it with the leaders of the front army before making the final decision." Rokossovsky and Soko The call between Kov., as Chief of Staff Bogolyubov also heard it.
As soon as Rokossovsky put down the phone, he couldn't wait to say: "Comrade Commander, I think General Sokov's proposal cannot be adopted." Rokossovsky asked noncommittally: "Why?"
"The reason is very simple." Bogolyubov said: "During this period, our air force has already mastered the air superiority on the battlefield. But if, as General Sokov said, we carry out large-scale, uninterrupted bombings on the German defensive positions, , then the fuel and ammunition stored by the Air Force will soon be exhausted. Aircraft without fuel and ammunition cannot fight at all. In this way, the German Air Force will regain air supremacy on the battlefield, which will lead to us The ground troops were unable to obtain cover from the air when attacking."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I admit that what you said is very reasonable." Rokossovsky looked at Bogolyubov and said: "But we have been shelling and bombing the German positions for the past two days, but we have never been able to Destroying the solid defenses of the German army, thus slowing down the progress of the troops." He picked up the tea cup on the table and took a sip, and continued: "You know, the East Prussia Campaign has only been carried out for three days, but our army's casualties There are already more than 70,000 people, and the German defense zone is only a few kilometers away. If we continue to fight like this, not only will the morale and morale of our commanders and soldiers be affected, but the Supreme Command will also be dissatisfied with our performance." Bogolyubov, who wanted to refute Rokossovsky, immediately shut up when the other party mentioned the Supreme Command.
Yes, the failure of the Third Belarusian Front's offensive some time ago made Stalin furious.
If his Second Front cannot achieve brilliant results in a short period of time, it may also arouse the dissatisfaction of the Supreme Commander himself.
After a pause, Bogolyubov asked cautiously: "Comrade Marshal, I wonder what your plans are?"
"As the battle continues, our first priority is to break through the German defenses as soon as possible and lead the war to the enemy's controlled area." Rokossovsky said: "I think we should follow Misha's suggestion and dispatch all air forces. Carry out large-scale, non-stop bombings on German positions to completely destroy the German defense system and open a gap for our offensive forces."
"Comrade Marshal," seeing that Rokossovsky had already made up his mind, Bogolyubov knew that nothing would change if he continued to persuade him, so he changed the subject in time: "I think we should inform the logistics department. Seize the time to rush to transport the ammunition and fuel needed by the air force. Our air force has enough ammunition and fuel to ensure that it can provide necessary air cover for ground forces while intensifying bombing of German positions."
"Well, we should give this greeting to the logistics department." Rokossovsky said: "But I also want to remind them that while increasing the delivery of ammunition and fuel to the Air Force, it cannot affect the supply and transportation work to other units. .”
"Understood, Comrade Marshal." Bogolyubov nodded and said: "I will immediately convey your order to the logistics department." Rokossovsky nodded and said with emotion: "Nowadays, in wars, logistics is what we fight. . If the supplies cannot keep up, even if we have the advantage in troops and equipment, we will not be able to achieve the final victory. This was confirmed during the third Battle of Kharkov." Bogolyubov said. A senior commander naturally knew that the Third Battle of Kharkov that Rokossovsky was talking about was after the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, when the Southwest Front and the Voronezh Front attacked Manstein's troops on the left bank of the Dnieper River. The attack launched.
At the beginning of the battle, the Soviet army had an absolute advantage in terms of strength and equipment.
From the beginning, this battle was a bit like an adult beating a child. The Soviet army is the adult, while Manstein's German army is the child.
At that time, almost everyone felt that it was just a matter of effort to eliminate the enemies on the left bank of the Dnieper River.
But the next development was far beyond everyone's expectations. Since the Soviet logistics supply base was more than a thousand kilometers away from the front line, the roads, railways, bridges and culverts along the way were all damaged to varying degrees by the German army. , As a result, supplies came very slowly and very little, which was not enough to make up for the Soviet army's consumption on the battlefield.
As a result, at the end of the battle, the Soviet army, which was supposed to win, was beaten to pieces by the weak German army.
This battle established Manstein's prestige, and he gained
After receiving the title of "Conqueror of Sevastopol", he became a god in another battle and became a demon that frightened the Soviet army.
"Don't worry, Comrade Marshal." Bogolyubov assured Rokossovsky: "Our Second Belarusian Front is not the Southwest Front or the Voronezh Front. We will never lose to the Germans."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I feel relieved to see you have such confidence." Rokossovsky waved his hand to Bogolyubov and said: "Hurry up and call the Minister of Logistics to inform us of our decision. Him." While Bogolyubov was on the phone, Rokossovsky looked up at the map on the wall, thinking to himself: Is Misha's suggestion really effective?
While our artillery prepares artillery fire on the German defensive positions, we also dispatch the air force to carry out large-scale, uninterrupted bombings against the enemy. This can really destroy the German defense system and open the door for our troops to rush into the depth of the enemy's defense. The gap?
