Shortly after the bombing ended, before the smoke from the German positions had dissipated, the front artillery units began shelling the German positions.
Listening to the rumble of artillery coming from outside, Sidorin said in surprise: "Comrade Commander, I really didn't expect that just after the bombing of the German positions was completed, artillery preparations for the enemy's positions began again. I believe that by the time the bombardment is over, , there are no complete fortifications found on the German positions."
Sokov nodded and then asked: "When can those two infantry brigades enter the town of Puutusk?"
"The troops are being assembled." Sidorin replied: "It will take at most an hour to enter the town and take over the defense of the 1st and 6th Guards Divisions."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." Lunev interrupted Sidorin at this time: "I think the infantry brigade entering the town should not take over the defense of friendly forces for the time being."
Hearing Lunev say this, Sidorin couldn't help but be startled, and then asked: "Comrade Military Commissar, why is this?"
"Isn't this obvious?" Lunev said: "Just after the bombing of the German positions was completed, the artillery of the front army opened fire. This indicates that a full-scale attack on the German army will be launched next. If our superiors order us to also participate in the attack, just It is not enough to rely on the 3rd Infantry Division and the 120th Guards Division deployed at the front. New forces are also needed, and the two infantry brigades that entered the town of Puutusk with bonuses are undoubtedly the new forces we can rely on. You think so, Misha?"
When Sokov heard Lunev asking himself, he nodded and agreed: "Yes, Comrade Military Commissar is right. Judging from the current situation, Comrade Marshal intends to order the frontline troops to launch a large-scale attack. We must prepare reserves in advance and wait until the strength of the troops that launched the attack weakens before committing new troops to the battle."
Although Sokov and Lunev had reached an agreement, Sidorin still seemed a little hesitant: "But, Comrade Commander, I have already told the two brigade commanders to let them lead the troops into Puutusk The town takes over the defense, if the order is changed at this time, it may not be appropriate?”
"There is nothing inappropriate." At this time, Ponejelin intervened and said: "The situation on the battlefield is always changing. We have to modify the original plan according to the changes in the situation. Anyway, these two brigades are also going to enter Puutu People from Skok Town, after they arrive at the designated location, they can temporarily modify their mission."
"Okay then." Seeing that Ponejelin had already spoken, Sidorin could not continue to be stubborn, so he nodded and said: "I will immediately convey the new combat order to the two brigade commanders."
Just after announcing the new combat order to the two brigade commanders, a call came in from the front army headquarters.
The caller, Bogolyubov, said to Sidorin who answered the phone: "General Sidorin, Comrade Marshal ordered that after our army prepares artillery fire on the German positions, there will be a round of bombing. Once the bombing is over, You immediately launch a full-scale attack on the German defense lines. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sidorin said respectfully: "I will convey your order to all units."
After listening to the order conveyed by Sidorin, Sokov said to Ponedelin, Runev and others: "Comrade Marshal is really generous. First, he dispatched a large number of aircraft to bomb the enemy's positions indiscriminately, and then tens of thousands of The artillery fired in unison, blasting the enemy's position into a sea of flames. Even I thought that after the preparations for this round of artillery fire, I would order the troops to attack, but who knew that he also arranged a round of bombing to wait for the Germans."
"Comrade Commander is right." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Ponedelin continued: "We were still wondering just now. In the past, when attacking German positions, we always bombed them with artillery first, and then bombed them with aircraft. Why was it reversed this time? Now it seems that the order of the attack was not reversed, it was just an additional round of bombing. Not to mention that the enemy could not understand his deployment, even our own people were confused. .”
"This is the best." Lunev said: "We are not clear about Marshal Rokossovsky's intentions, and the enemy will naturally be even more confused. I believe that after this attack begins, we will definitely be able to achieve Not a bad result.”
"I agree with what Comrade Military Commissar said." Ponejelin said approvingly: "After two rounds of bombing and one round of artillery shelling, the fortifications on the German positions were basically destroyed, and the troops must have also suffered a lot of casualties. Our army Launching an attack under such circumstances will surely reduce many unnecessary casualties.”
An hour and a half later, the preparations for the powerful artillery fire ended, and the battlefield was filled with black smoke that blocked the sky. Just when the German troops on the position were thankful that they had escaped the Soviet artillery fire, the roar of aircraft engines came from the air.
When they first heard the sound of the plane's engine, the German soldiers thought it was their own plane coming to assist in the battle, but they soon discovered that their thoughts were too naive. The sound came from the direction of the Soviet defense zone. Soon, dense black dots appeared in the sky. As the sound got louder, these black dots became clearer. Even without a telescope, you could clearly see that the Soviet aircraft appeared in the field of view.
Seeing the Soviet aircraft reappearing, the German soldiers complained endlessly and fled into nearby air raid shelters or shelters, preparing to avoid a new round of Soviet bombing.
When the German command far behind learned that the Soviet army had just completed its artillery preparations and dispatched the air force to bomb their positions, they couldn't help but be dumbfounded. They couldn't figure out what Rokossovsky wanted to do, and he actually did such a thing. As soon as they came out, they were first bombed by planes, then bombarded by artillery, and now they are sending out planes again. It seems that they will not give up until all the fortifications on their own defense line are destroyed.
A subordinate asks for instructions, what should I do next? The German commander was in a state of confusion at this moment. How did he know what to do? He could only reply to his subordinates with a smile: "If you hold on to the position resolutely, there will be a way."
For such a general order, the subordinate could only convey his original words to the officers and soldiers who could be contacted: "Your Excellency, the Commander, has an order: if you hold on firmly, there will be a way."
It was originally thought that after the Soviet bombing ended, there would be a new round of shelling. But what the Germans didn't expect was that as soon as the bombers returned, the Soviet army launched a comprehensive fortification. Thousands of commanders and fighters followed the tanks and rushed towards the German positions, shouting loudly.
Facing the influx of Soviet troops, the German officers and soldiers who had just recovered their senses entered the defensive positions one after another and shot at the rushing Soviet commanders and fighters.
However, the defenses that the Germans relied on had been almost destroyed in the recent bombing and shelling. The German army without solid fortifications seemed so powerless when faced with an infantry attack covered by tanks. The Soviet commanders and fighters successfully occupied the German position without paying much cost. A small number of troops were left to eliminate the remaining enemies, and the remaining commanders and fighters followed the tanks and launched an attack on the next line of defense of the German army.
Progress on the battlefield was constantly communicated to the front army headquarters via phone calls or telegrams. Bogolyubov took the stack of battle reports he had just received, walked quickly to Rokossovsky, and said excitedly: "Comrade Marshal, good news, good news. Our offensive troops were only weakly attacked. The resistance has continuously broken through the two lines of defense of the German army and is developing in depth."
Rokossovsky took the battle report from Bogolyubov's hand and read it carefully. Although he didn't speak, the slightly upward corners of his mouth already showed that he was in an excellent mood at the moment.
After reading the battle report, Rokossovsky put it on the table, raised his head and said to Bogolyubov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, it seems that the proposal Misha gave us is very effective. We first used The air force bombed, then bombarded with artillery, and finally ordered the air force to bomb again, completely blinding the enemy and making it impossible to organize effective resistance. It is precisely because of this that our army was able to break through the German defense line so smoothly."
The high-frequency phone on the table rang. The call was from Chief of General Staff Antonov. He knew that Rokossovsky had adopted a new offensive tactic today, so he called specifically to find out how the battle was going.
"The effect is very good, Comrade Antonov." Rokossovsky said in a relaxed tone: "I thought that after carrying out two rounds of bombing and one round of artillery shelling on the German positions, and then launching a full-scale attack, there would definitely be more There was a certain intensity of resistance. But according to feedback from each unit, the enemy's resistance was very weak, and the rapidly advancing troops had advanced about five kilometers deep into the enemy's defenses within an hour."
"Oh, some troops advanced five kilometers deep into the German defenses?" If we were in a hurry, five kilometers was not a long time. It would take about ten minutes to drive and no more than an hour to walk. But if it is on the battlefield, this distance seems very unusual. You must know that in many cases, even if the progress goes smoothly, the troops may not advance forward five kilometers in a day. So after hearing what Rokossovsky said, Antonov asked tentatively: "Comrade Marshal, are you talking about General Sokov's troops?"
"That's right, it's his unit." Rokossovsky nodded and said: "I have so many group army commanders, and the one who reassures me the most is him. If in the battle, which unit has achieved good results? The result of the battle, no need to ask, is known to be the troops commanded by him. By the way, how is the progress of our friendly forces? "
Rokossovsky's original intention was to ask how Chernyakhovsky's third front army was progressing. After all, the opponent was on his right wing. If the progress of his troops was not satisfactory, then the defense zones of the two front armies would be Disjointed. But Antonov misunderstood what he meant, and said to himself: "It's not going well, Comrade Marshal. The attack launched by Marshal Zhukov's First Front encountered stubborn resistance from the German army, and progress was very slow.
As for General Chernyakhovsky's Third Front, the main forces were used to besiege the city of Memel, and the remaining troops could only stick to the existing defense lines. It is obviously unrealistic to move forward before the city of Memel is completely liberated. "
After listening to Antonov's story, Rokossovsky couldn't help but feel heavy. He didn't expect the current situation to be so pessimistic. Except for his own army which has made some progress, the progress of the other two armies is unsatisfactory. I originally thought that it was a good thing for my men to advance quickly, but now it seems that if I recommend too much speed and lose touch with the friendly troops on the left and right flanks, it will turn into a lonely force. If the German army gathers heavy troops to launch a surprise attack on its flank, the situation will become unfavorable to it.
While he was thinking wildly, he heard Antonov say again: "Comrade Marshal, let me give you a break in advance. The Supreme Command will consider it in the past two days and prepare to let your troops adjust the direction of attack."
"Adjust the direction of attack?" Rokossovsky asked in surprise: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, I wonder how the Supreme Commander plans to adjust the direction of our attack?"
"Originally, the superiors planned to let you seize Königsberg, but judging from the current situation, this task is likely to fall on General Chernyakhovsky." Antonov said unhurriedly : "And you will turn around and head west to participate in the attack on Berlin."
Rokossovsky stared at the map in front of him and continued: "If we really adjust the direction, it will be equivalent to Marshal Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal Zhukov's 1st Belarusian Front and my 2nd Front armies, march forward toward Berlin, right?”
"Yes, it is indeed like this." Antonov gave him an affirmative answer.
Hearing what Antonov said, Rokossovsky's heartbeat couldn't help but speed up. He originally thought that he had completely lost the chance to capture Berlin, but if his troops adjusted their attack direction, they would turn west from their current position. Therefore, it is still unknown whose troops can enter Berlin first.
"Comrade Chief of the General Staff," Rokossovsky asked cautiously: "When does the High Command plan to change the direction of our attack?"
"It is still under discussion." Antonov said: "You know, the progress of the Third Front is not ideal. If you are transferred to the west too early, I am afraid it will cause them to be in trouble."
Rokossovsky thought about it carefully and realized that this was really the case. The troops of the Third Front fought so hard that if they did not have their own troops to help them, they would repeat the same mistake they did at the end of last year and be eliminated by the Germans. Drive away from some areas. "I understand, Comrade Chief of General Staff. We need to wait until the situation here is clear before the Supreme Command makes the final decision, right?"
"Yes, that's true."
"Okay, Comrade Chief of General Staff." Rokossovsky knew that if Stalin didn't nod, it would be useless to worry, so he said into the microphone: "If you have the latest news, please inform me in time. .”
"Don't worry, Comrade Marshal." Antonov said: "I will inform you as soon as there is new news."
