Early the next morning, when the 4th Air Force Army was still bombing the German firepower points, headquarters, communication hubs and artillery positions on the west bank of the Oder River, Bartov called Rokossovsky. Rokossovsky took the microphone from the staff, put it to his ear and asked with a smile: "General Bartov, are your troops ready for an attack?"
"Comrade Marshal," Batov said on the phone: "Now the situation on the battlefield has undergone unexpected changes. I hope to launch an attack in advance."
"Start an attack in advance?" Rokossovsky frowned and asked, "Why?"
"The wind is blowing on the river," Bartov said: "My subordinates reported to me that the water in the Oder River is rising, and part of our offensive position is submerged by the river, which has brought a lot of inconvenience to our crossing the river. .Also, the troops we sent to the West Bank seemed to have been noticed by the Germans. They were moving towards the area we occupied despite our bombing. I felt it was necessary to rush over to support as soon as possible, otherwise the troops who established the landing site would , there is a possibility of being annihilated by the German army."
Rokossovsky knew very well that the troops Batov sent to the West Bank were only one battalion. Even if they were annihilated by the Germans, it would be nothing. After all, they were a small force. But now the offensive campaign is about to begin. If a battalion-level unit is annihilated by the Germans in the early stages of the campaign, it will have a huge impact on the morale of the troops.
It was out of this consideration that Rokossovsky agreed to Batov's request after some thought: "Okay, General Batov, I agree with you to take offensive action. But not now, At least until the air force completes its bombing mission and the front artillery on the ground starts firing again, it will not be too late to launch the river crossing operation, do you understand?"
Bartov heard what Rokossovsky was saying. When the bombardment started, the enemy was suppressed by the artillery fire and could not observe the situation on the river. When the time came, he would not encounter much resistance when he sent his troops to cross the river. He quickly said: "I understand, Comrade Marshal. After the front artillery fires, I will order the troops to launch a forced crossing operation."
After putting down the phone, Batov said to Glebov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the marshal has agreed that we should take action one hour in advance. You tell the division commander responsible for the forced crossing task to wait for the front artillery to open fire and carry out the forced crossing as soon as possible. We boarded the West Bank at a high speed, joined up with the advance battalion standing there, and consolidated our landing site to allow the main force to successfully board the West Bank."
"Yes, I understand." Glebov said: "I immediately called and asked the troops to carry out the forced crossing operation immediately after the front artillery opened fire."
After the German positions on the west bank suffered an all-night bombing, there were fires and gunpowder smoke everywhere. Most of the German soldiers were hiding in shelters or air raid shelters to avoid Soviet air attacks and had no time to observe what was happening on the river. movement.
When the Soviet bombing ended, the German positions fell into a brief silence. The German soldiers who had been bombed all night heard the absence of the roar of aircraft engines and the explosion of aerial bombs. They walked out of their hiding places with lingering fear and looked towards the sky to confirm whether the Soviet bomber group had left. .
When the German soldiers discovered that there was indeed no trace of Soviet aircraft in the sky, many officers and soldiers fell helplessly in the trenches and began to cry and laugh. They were thankful that they could still save their lives after suffering an all-night bombing. .
However, they were not happy for long, as the screams of artillery shells piercing the air were heard again. Before the German officers and soldiers could shout, artillery shells rained down on the position and exploded, killing many officers and soldiers who had not had time to take cover. When the remaining officers and soldiers saw the Soviet artillery fire starting again, they fled back to their hiding places in panic, preparing to continue to avoid the fierce Soviet artillery fire.
Batov's troops took advantage of the fact that the German army was under heavy shelling and fell into chaos, and began their crossing operation. As soon as the wooden boat was put into the water, the soldiers waved the engineer shovels in their hands and used them as oars to row quickly, hoping to reach the west bank as soon as possible and join the advance battalion standing there.
Sokov arranged observation posts near the crossing point of Batov's troops, so that he could know in time when the other party would start crossing the river, and he could arrange the troops to force the crossing based on the situation at that time.
When the artillery of the front army was just shelling the opposite bank, a call from the observation post came to the headquarters. Sidorin, who answered the phone, was shocked after hearing this. He asked loudly: "Is what you said true?"
After receiving a positive report from the other party, Sidorin put down the phone, came to Sokov, and reported to him: "Comrade Commander, we have arranged for the observation post at the 65th Group Army to report that friendly forces have begun to carry out the river crossing operation. .”
"What, friendly forces have begun to cross the river?" Sokov heard the news, with an expression of disbelief on his face: "As soon as the front artillery began to shell the other side, they began to cross the river? Aren't they afraid of being attacked by our army? Was it accidental damage from artillery fire?”
"Comrade Commander, I asked the observation post carefully." Sidorin pointed to the map and introduced to Sokov: "In the section where the 65th Group Army crosses the river, the artillery fire is the sparsest. According to my analysis, General Batov The action must have been approved by Comrade Marshal, otherwise the artillery fire in their offensive area would not have become so sparse."
"It makes sense, it makes sense." Although Sokov didn't have much time to deal with Bartov, he knew Bartov very well and knew that he was a cautious person. If he didn't get the early attack like this, With Rokossovsky's permission, he did not dare to make the decision casually: "I agree with your statement. General Bartov's advance action should have been authorized by Comrade Marshal."
"Comrade Commander," Sidorin asked Sokov tentatively: "Now that the friendly forces have taken action, what should we do? We can't just sit here and do nothing, just wait for the shelling to end, and then start the forced crossing operation. Bar?"
Sokov knew very well that if he waited until the bombardment was over before arranging troops to carry out the forced crossing, the German troops who were suppressed by the artillery fire and could not raise their heads would have already entered their respective combat positions. They would just wait for their troops to enter their firing range. Will entertain with artillery, machine guns, rifles and submachine guns. Thinking of this, Sokov felt that he should also adjust his plan and not wait until the bombardment was over before organizing troops to carry out the forced crossing.
He picked up the phone on the table, and after connecting to the artillery headquarters, he said to Potapov: "General Potapov, the 65th Army on our left has begun action and is currently crossing the West Oder River."
Potapov was surprised after hearing this: "Oh my God, if you are crossing the river now, don't you rush under our army's artillery fire? I don't know how much accidental damage this will cause."
"I think it is impossible for accidental damage to occur. According to my analysis and that of the chief of staff, General Batov's early action should have been approved by Comrade Marshal, otherwise he would never have the courage to do so." Sokov said: "Now that they have started to take action, we cannot sit still. We must take advantage of the favorable opportunity when the enemy is suppressed by our artillery fire to launch an attack on the west bank."
After hearing what Sokov said, Potapov thought for a while and then made his own suggestion: "Comrade Commander, do you think this will work? I will order the artillery to fire smoke grenades towards the west bank and use the smoke to cover the German observation posts. The noise made it impossible for him to see our actions clearly."
Sokov thought that the West Bank was filled with smoke. If he fired smoke bombs towards the other side, wouldn't the effect be obvious? He said with this question: "General Potapov, the other side is already filled with smoke. Isn't it a bit unnecessary for us to launch smoke bombs again?"
"Comrade Commander, it is completely necessary to release smoke bombs on the other side." Potapov explained to Sokov: "Don't see our air force carrying out an all-night bombing on the West Bank, but due to the German defense It is ten kilometers deep and wide. I think most of the fortifications have survived the bombing. Even if the artillery of the front army is bombarding the west bank at this moment, if we act rashly, we will still be discovered by the German observation posts. Although the German troops on the position They couldn't get into defensive positions under fire, but they could call in fire from behind and hit our ships crossing the river."
After Potapov explained this, Sokov immediately realized that he had thought of the problem too simply. Whether it was an all-night bombing or the shelling at this moment, they were still some distance from the river, which meant that the enemy's observation posts could still understand the movements on the river in a timely manner. If he directly ordered the troops to start a forced crossing, the troops operating in the river would suffer heavy casualties under the German artillery fire.
"General Potapov, I agree with your proposal. Immediately launch smoke bombs to the opposite bank to block the view of the German observation posts so that they cannot detect our actions." Sokov said: "Wait until the smoke on the west bank is enough to block the Germans. Once within sight, our troops can begin to cross the river."
Sokov put down the phone and said to Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, since the 65th Army has begun to cross the river, we cannot be idle. Order the 120th Guards Infantry Division and the 109th Infantry Division to enter a state of combat readiness and only wait for the artillery. After the smoke grenades launched blocked the view of the German observation posts, the river-crossing operation began."
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Sidorin replied resoundingly: "I immediately called General Nikitin and Colonel Braginsky to ask their troops to prepare for the attack and wait for the smoke bombs fired by the artillery. After blocking the view of the German troops on the west bank, they immediately took action to force the crossing."
It was indeed a good move to launch smoke bombs towards the West Bank. When the German observation posts faced the sudden rise of smoke, they thought it was the smoke caused by the explosion of artillery shells. After all, the West Bank was being bombarded by the Soviet army, so they did not arouse enough vigilance.
Through the telescope, Sokov saw that the west bank position was shrouded in smoke. He turned to Sidorin and said: "Chief of Staff, give the troops an order to start the forced crossing immediately. They must be able to successfully cross the river before the enemy comes to his senses." Ascend to the West Bank.”
"Yes!" Sidorin agreed, and then spoke into the microphone to Nikitin and Brazinsky, who had already been waiting for orders: "Comrades, two division commanders, start taking action. The opportunity to make a difference is right in front of you. I hope you can get it." Brilliant fighter."
As the order was given, the soldiers who had been waiting by the river rushed into the river with shouts and put the boats they were carrying into the water. They didn't care about the splashing water that wet their clothes. He climbed into the boat with his feet and started paddling quickly using the engineering shovel as an oar.
When the soldiers crossed the East Oder River and reached the shoal area, they jumped out of the boat one after another, lifted the boat again, and trudged forward with knee-deep river water. After finally entering the Theod River, the soldiers put the boat back into the river and continued to advance toward the west bank without taking a break.
At this time, Batov's vanguard had successfully crossed the Theod River and joined the advance battalion standing here.
The German troops, who had been suppressed by artillery fire, were shocked when they discovered that a large Soviet army had actually landed on the west bank, and quickly reported to their superiors. When the commander of the 3rd Armored Group, General Mantefel, learned of the incident, he was immediately shocked. He quickly ordered his chief of staff: "Immediately order the artillery to bombard the place where the Russians landed, and at the same time mobilize another armored regiment. After our bombardment is over, we will launch an assault and we must drive all the Russians into the Oder River."
"Your Excellency, Commander," the Chief of Staff quickly reminded Mantefel: "Now we do not have air superiority. Once the artillery exposes its position, I am afraid it will be bombarded by Russian planes. Also, our tank troops are seriously short of fuel and ammunition. , even if we order them to fight back, it may be difficult to achieve the desired results."
Mantefield didn't know what the chief of staff said. However, he knew better that if the landed Russian troops were allowed to gain a foothold on the west bank, it would mean that more Russian troops would land, and then the Oder River defense line that he had worked so hard to experience might be breached. It was based on this consideration that Mantefel hardened his heart and said to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, execute my order. If decisive action is not taken, the Russians will soon gain a foothold on the West Bank. Wait for more information. After a large number of Russians have landed on the west bank, it will not be so easy for us to drive them into the Oder River."
"Understood, Your Excellency, Commander." The Chief of Staff understood what Mantefel meant, which was that he planned to sacrifice his artillery to ensure that the West Bank positions would not be breached by the Russians. However, after he issued the order, he also asked: "Do we need to send armored troops to carry out an assault and drive the Russians into the Oder River?"
Mantefel knew that his armored forces were seriously short of fuel and ammunition. If they rushed into battle, they would soon be paralyzed due to lack of fuel. At that time, they would become living targets on the battlefield and be attacked by Russian cannons. Or the plane is blown to pieces. He shook his head and said: "Forget it, we have already sacrificed our artillery. There is no need to let the armored troops die anymore, just let them stay where they are. We will wait until our superiors have replenished us with enough fuel and ammunition before launching a counterattack against the Russians." It’s not too late.”
"Okay, Your Excellency, Commander." The Chief of Staff nodded and said, "I will immediately convey your order to the artillery to fire on the Russians who boarded the west bank."
(End of chapter)
