Red Moscow

  Chapter 2089

As the 1st and 6th Guards Divisions arrived near the fortified area, the strength of the troops under the command of Ponegelin was enhanced. They could only defend, but after dawn the next day, they launched an attack on the German defense line. .

In the face of the Soviet attack, the Germans did not dare to show weakness. They mobilized two infantry regiments and one armored regiment. Their offense thus further strengthens their defense.

  The battlefield lasted until noon, and the two sides were still deadlocked. Seeing that the situation of the battle had not turned around, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little anxious, so he called Ponejelin himself to inquire about the situation on the battlefield.

  But after Ponegerin told Sokov about the current situation on the battlefield, Sokov couldn't help being silent. Now I have invested four infantry divisions, and several artillery regiments and tank brigades in this area. If none of them can break the siege of the German army and rescue the besieged cavalry army, then even send more troops there Also to no avail.

  Pornegelin heard that Sokov remained silent, so he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, what do you think should be done next?"

Sokov quickly glanced at the map spread out in front of him, and then said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, the 211th Infantry Division of Colonel Liuzhikov is the reserve team left by you. Stalemate, the best thing to do is to throw them into battle immediately to crush the enemy's resistance."

"But if the 211th Division is put into battle, I don't have any reserves in my hands." After listening to Sukov's order, Ponejielin said with some embarrassment: "If the 211th Division is put into battle, it still cannot break the enemy's The siege, or even the failure of the attack, when the enemy starts to counterattack, what kind of strength should we use to stop them?"

After thinking for a while, Sokov made a decisive decision: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I still have two infantry divisions and three infantry brigades in my hands. If the situation in your place is really unfavorable, I will consider Put the rest of the troops into battle."

Ponegerin had known Sokov for a long time, but he had never seen him act so recklessly, so he cautiously reminded: "Comrade commander, have you ever thought that if our troops If they are all shot, even if the cavalry army is rescued, it will not be of much significance. And our army group will also be incorporated into the reserve team of the base camp because of the loss of troops. I am afraid that we will not be able to participate in new battles for a long time. "

   What Ponegerin said, Sukov felt very reasonable. But the reason why he made such a decision was because he remembered that in real history, the cavalry army besieged in the fortified area was rescued by the 65th and 70th armies. His own troops have been fighting in the fortification area for several days, and these two troops should also appear. As soon as they appear, the enemy who is worried about being surrounded will take the initiative to withdraw from the battle.

Sokov was praying in his heart that the troops of the 65th and 70th armies would appear sooner, when he suddenly heard the sound of cheers from the receiver. He asked loudly into the microphone: "Comrade Deputy Commander, what happened to you?"

After a brief silence, Ponegerin's excited voice came from the receiver: "Good news, Comrade Commander, it's good news, great news." Without waiting for Sokov to ask, he continued. Said, "Colonel Ismailov just called and said that a large number of troops appeared on the right flank of their division. At first he thought it was the German army, but after a closer look, he found that the tanks leading the infantry charge ahead, T-34 and IS-2 tanks."

  When Sokov heard this, he couldn't help feeling ecstatic. But in order not to let Ponegerin hear his strangeness, he still tried his best to ask in a calm tone: "Have you confirmed which army is here?"

   "Colonel Ismailov said," Ponedelin continued to report, "there are the 4th and 40th Guards Divisions of the 65th Army, and they are led by a tank brigade."

"There are a lot of troops here." Sokov breathed a sigh of relief, and continued: "With the cooperation of the friendly forces, I think you will soon be able to break through the encirclement of the German army and rescue the friendly forces trapped in the fortification area. "

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Now that there are friendly troops on the battlefield, Ponegelin's heart suddenly feels confident: "With the cooperation of this new force, breaking through the enemy's defense line should not be a big problem. "

  After putting down the phone, Sokov waved his fist excitedly. He knew in his heart that the most difficult stage had passed, and the Germans had no choice but to retreat in the face of the powerful Soviet offensive.

Sidolin had just walked in from the outside and happened to see Sokov waving his fist. He knew that this was a sign of Sokov's joy, so he tentatively asked, "Comrade Commander, what makes you so happy?" , Could it be that the deputy commander has made progress?"

  He was just asking casually, after all, he had not received any good news from the fortification area before he left the headquarters. Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished asking, Sokov nodded vigorously and said, "That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff, there is indeed good news, and it's great news."

   "Extremely good news?" Sidolin immediately became interested, and asked, "I wonder what good news it is?"

"Colonel Ismailov reported to the deputy commander that a large number of friendly troops appeared on their right flank." Sokov said: "After understanding, they are from the 4th and 40th Guards Divisions of the 65th Army. force."

   "Oh, the friendly army has finally appeared." Upon hearing the news, Sidolin immediately showed a relaxed expression: "With the help of the friendly army, we will soon be able to complete the task assigned to us by our superiors."

  The two were talking when the phone on the table rang suddenly. Sidolin stared at the phone and said tentatively, "Comrade Commander, do you think this call is from Comrade Marshal?"

   "Why did the marshal call?" Sokov asked puzzled.

"The reason is very simple." Sidolin replied: "We have been fighting the enemy alone in the fortified area for a few days, and now we have finally waited for a new force from our friendly army. I think Comrade Marshal's call should be to tell us the good news. Yes." After speaking, he grabbed the microphone and stuck it to his ear.

After listening for a while, he said excitedly to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, good news, good news, two infantry divisions under General Popov's 70th Army have also appeared on the battlefield, and they are heading towards The German right flank was turning around and preparing to encircle them."

   "Who is calling?" Sokov heard the good news, and in order to find out the authenticity of the information, he tentatively asked, "Is it the deputy commander?"

   "No, Comrade Commander." Unexpectedly, Sidolin shook his head and said, "It was General Popov, commander of the 70th Army, who personally called."

   Knowing that it was General Popov, the commander of the 70th Army Group, who called in person, Sokov hurried over to take the microphone in Sidolin's hand, and said politely, "Hello, General Popov!"

"Hello, General Sokov!" Popov repeated what he had just said on the phone again: "I have dispatched the 171st and 181st Infantry Divisions, and with the cooperation of the tank units, we have implemented a detour from the north of the German army. , ready 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 opponent would bring to his troops.

After Popov finished speaking in one breath, Sokov said: "General Popov, the enemy has used a large number of armored troops in order to destroy our cavalry army. If you want to surround them, you must first find a way to destroy them." armored forces."

After listening to Sokov, Popov was silent for more than a minute, and then said: "General Sokov, our army has just broken through the German defense after a fierce battle, and now there are not many tanks that can be put into the battlefield. According to what you said, our encirclement plan seems difficult to realize."

"The Germans suffered a lot in our Bagration operation," 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 However, even if the Germans can escape our encirclement, they will surely suffer heavy casualties, which will cause these troops to lose their combat effectiveness in a short period of time, which will be very helpful for our subsequent offensive."

"You're right, General Sokov." Popov agreed with Sokov's statement: "As long as we can eliminate the Germans' vital forces, it doesn't matter much if we can't encircle them. "

  In the ensuing battle, as Sokov expected, the German army discovered that the troops of the 65th and 70th armies appeared on the battlefield. In order to avoid being encircled, they decisively chose to retreat and retreated in the direction of Warsaw.

  But shortly after the enemy's retreat began, the 4th Guards Cavalry Corps, which had been staying in the fortified area without moving, began their operations. The commanders and fighters of the cavalry army, who had been trapped in the fortified area for several days, watched the friendly army and the German army fighting outside every day, but they could not go out to help, and they were already suffocating in their hearts. Seeing that the enemy was beginning to retreat at this moment, he decisively chose to attack.

   Don't see that the cavalry army was the last to attack, but their offensive force composed of tanks and cavalry quickly surpassed other infantry units that were chasing the enemy. The tanks of the cavalry army that opened the way ahead disrupted the German retreat. The cavalry following the tank rushed into the chaotic German infantry line, like chopping melons and vegetables, slaughtering the chaotic German officers and soldiers, and it is right to be ashamed.

  Although the German army left blocking troops along the way, they tried to prevent the pursuit of the Soviet army. But in the face of the imposing Soviet army, their resistance seemed insignificant, and the remaining troops were quickly overwhelmed by the Soviet attacking troops.

  The battle lasted until dark, and the German army, which had retreated nearly 30 kilometers towards Warsaw, finally entered one of their defensive positions, where they stubbornly blocked the pursuing Soviet army.

  The cavalry army, which rushed to the forefront of all troops, carried out an attack on the German position during the march, but failed, so they withdrew from the battle in time, retreated two kilometers, chose a place and turned to defense.

   Rokossovsky was relieved to learn that the 4th Guards Cavalry Army had escaped, and that the 48th, 65th, and 70th armies had joined forces. He said to Ma Linin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, now the three armies of our right wing have joined forces, which means that our strength in the direction of Warsaw has been strengthened."

Hearing this, Ma Linin couldn't help interjecting and asked: "Comrade Commander, in this way, together with the Polish 1st Army, our troops in the east of Warsaw have reached five armies. Look, are you taking the opportunity to attack Warsaw?" Attack?"

  Unexpectedly, after listening to Rokossovsky, he just shook his head slowly and said, "No, Comrade Chief of Staff, we cannot attack Warsaw now."

   "Why?" Ma Linin asked inexplicably: "From entering Poland to the present, we have never had troops in any area that can reach as many as five army groups."

"The attitude of the Warsaw Uprising Army is not clear now. Whether they are willing to accept our aid is still unknown." Rokossovsky frowned and said: "So far, there is no important leader of the Krajov Army. People, come to discuss cooperation matters with us, if we recklessly launch a campaign to attack Warsaw, it may be thankless in the end.”

   "Comrade Commander, I don't understand." Ma Linin said with a serious expression: "Since the allies cannot provide enough assistance to the Warsaw Uprising Army, why should they support their uprising?"

Hearing this question from Malinen, Rokossowski smiled lightly and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, there are two reasons: first, they hope to occupy a moral high ground, saying that the allies are supporting the just cause of the Polish people." , It will be of great help to prevent the expansion of our country's power in Eastern Europe in the future.

  Second, they found themselves powerless to stop the Polish uprising. You must know that the Polish nation has historically been known for its lack of strategic vision, and they will act arbitrarily in any situation they think is feasible. Since the uprising has been unstoppable, it is better to acquiesce in their actions. "

  Malinin continued to ask: "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 liaison officers from the allies." Rokossovsky went on to say: "The Krajov army's uprising preparations were very hasty and whimsical. They hoped that, Hitler is dead, and the German army will quickly withdraw from Poland with no fighting spirit. Therefore, the Krajov army did not even destroy many important bridges and roads, which allowed the German army to quickly mobilize forces in a short time, extinguish the uprising, and stop our army Advance to Warsaw."

Ma Linin stared at the map and murmured: "So, in the end, the Warsaw uprising will end in failure? And what we can do is to stand on the right bank of the Vistula River and watch them being killed. Are the Germans wiped out?"

"There is no way around this," Rokossovsky said rather helplessly: "After Chuikov's Eighth Guards Army established a landing field on the left bank, it was attacked continuously by the Germans. All the troops rushed into the Vistula River, so that up to now, Chuikov's troops have been unable to leave the landing field and go north."

  (end of this chapter)