Red Moscow

  With the pressure of the 284th Infantry Division and the Tank Brigade, the hastily established defense line of the German army became precarious.

   And when the two infantry brigades were crossing the river, they also brought an artillery regiment across the river. After the artillery regiment crossed the river, they did not choose any place to establish an artillery position, but followed the assault troops and moved forward.

   When it was discovered that the attacking troops in front were being stubbornly blocked by the German army, the artillery regiment commander immediately ordered the artillery to build fortifications on the spot and fired at the enemy's defense line. Use artillery fire to destroy enemy fortifications and open a path for infantry and tanks.

  At the beginning, the progress was very smooth. Whether it was the enemy's fortifications or tanks, as long as a shell exploded, it would be wiped out immediately. But as the distance from friendly positions gets closer, the resistance encountered by assault troops becomes stronger. When the Ismailov Division was five kilometers away from the preset position by the river, it was hit by a frenzied counterattack by the German armored forces, and it was impossible to take another step forward.

   But even so, the pressure on the 4th and 40th Guards Divisions has been greatly relieved. The German army originally concentrated a large number of tanks and superior infantry, and launched wave after wave of attacks on the preset positions by the river, making the positions of the two Guards divisions precarious.

  In order to eliminate hidden dangers from behind, the German army slowed down its attack on the two Guards divisions, and allocated half of its troops to deal with Ismailov's troops. The two sides launched a scuffle at the Pultusk landing field.

Levchuk saw the battle taking place in the distance clearly through the telescope, and said with emotion in his heart: "The reinforcements sent by the friendly army came in a timely manner. If they hadn't attracted the Germans, I think the Germans only need to attack again. We can't keep our position."

  After putting down the binoculars, he turned to Chief of Staff Platon and said: "Chief of Staff, immediately arrange for troops to repair the fortifications and treat the wounded. The time that the friendly forces finally helped us buy, we can't waste it in vain."

   While Platon was calling the troops below to assign tasks, he picked up the phone and called the Army Command to report the situation to Batov.

  Batov heard Levchuk's voice, and asked impatiently: "General Levchuk, how is the situation there, have you held your position?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, the position is held." Before Ismailov's division arrived, the artillery deployed by Batov on the right bank used direct-point fire to destroy some German tanks and relieve the pressure. Levchuk planned to report to Batov about the grim situation on the ground: "Except for the artillery fire from the right bank that destroyed the attacking German tanks, the friendly reinforcements who just arrived are now fighting fiercely with the German occupation a few kilometers away. It has greatly eased our situation here.”

   "Friendly army?!" Batov didn't understand Levchuk's meaning for a while, and continued to ask: "Where did the friendly army come from?"

"It came out from behind the enemy." Levchuk has never sent anyone to contact the opponent, so he naturally doesn't know which army is coming, so he can only use friendly troops to refer to it in general: "I don't know this army for the time being." number."

"It's the 284th Infantry Division under Misha's 48th Army." When Rokossovsky was on the phone with Sokov, he had learned about the reinforcements, so he naturally knew the number of the troops and the name of the commander. With a blank expression on his face, Tove added next to him: "The division commander is Colonel Ismailov."

   "Comrade Commander," said Chief of Staff Glebov, "Since General Sokov has helped us so much, do you think you should call him to thank him?"

   Batov agreed with Glebov's proposal. If Sokov's reinforcements hadn't arrived in time, the defense line of Levchuk's 4th Guards Division might have been breached.

But when Batov was about to reach for the phone, he was stopped by Rokossovsky: "Comrade Batov, this is not the time to chat on the phone. You must first find a way to keep the landing site on the left bank. As for If you are grateful, let’s wait until the German attack is completely repelled.”

Hearing what Rokossovsky said, Batov nodded his head and echoed: "Comrade Marshal, you are right. Our current priority is to keep the landing field on the left bank. As for expressing gratitude to General Sokov Let’s wait until the battle is over, I believe he can understand.”

"Don't worry, Batov." Rokossovsky comforted him and said, "Even if he has any bad thoughts, I will explain them to you. By the way, strengthen your anti-tank regiment and tanks." The brigade will arrive at the designated location soon, and you will be solely responsible for how to use these troops, and I will not ask about it."

  Batov couldn't help being overjoyed when he heard this. When he said that reinforcements had arrived, he was still quite nervous. After all, the Marshal himself was in his headquarters. It's really hard to say whose orders these troops listened to. At this moment, since Rokossovsky said to give himself full command, he has no worries.

Rokossovsky stepped aside to call Sokov and said to him: "Misha, your reinforcements have reached a few kilometers away from the 4th Guards Division, but they seem to have been attacked by the Germans. It seems that it is difficult to continue to move forward."

"Oh, is Ismailov's attack blocked?" Sokov couldn't help being taken aback after hearing this, but then he understood Rokossovsky's intentions in saying this to himself, and quickly said: "Comrade Marshal, I I understand what you mean. Don't worry, this army is not going deep alone. I have placed two infantry brigades behind him. Once they see that his situation is critical, the infantry brigades will strike in time to save them from danger. Get out."

A smile appeared on Rokossovsky's face, and since Sokov had considered so comprehensively, he felt relieved: "Okay, Misha, since you have considered all the issues that should be considered, then I will not Sorry to bother you. Good luck!" After finishing speaking, he hung up the phone without waiting for Sokov to finish.

  Telekin, who heard him on the phone, came over and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Commander, were you talking to General Sokov just now?"

"Yes, Comrade Military Commissar." Rokossovsky nodded, and said to Terekin: "Just now the 4th Guards Division reported that their reinforcements had a collision with the Germans a few kilometers away from the position. After a fierce battle, I was worried that the reinforcements would suffer, so I called Misha to ask. But what I didn’t expect was that he had already considered these issues and made corresponding preparations to prevent the worst from happening.”

When Ismailov's division approached the position of the 4th Guards Division, it encountered a frenzied counterattack by the Germans. Although the commanders and fighters fought tenaciously, due to the disparity in strength, Ismailov had to order the troops to adopt alternate counterattacks. Covering, the tactics of fighting step by step, withdrawing step by step to the starting point of the attack.

Seeing the retreat of the Soviet army, the German army immediately became excited as if they had been beaten with chicken blood, and even accelerated their attack speed. However, they did not rush forward blindly, but sent troops to guard on both wings, so as not to encounter the enemy of the Soviet army. ambush.

   Fortunately, Sokov got in touch with Ismailov in time at this time, and asked bluntly: "Comrade Colonel, how is the situation there?"

"Not very well, Comrade Commander." Ismailov replied: "At first our division and tank brigade were progressing smoothly, but when we reached a position a few kilometers away from friendly positions, we were met with a frenzied counterattack by the Germans. We were at a disadvantage in terms of strength and equipment, and were unable to stop the enemy, so we were forced to retreat."

"Comrade Colonel, don't worry." Sokov worried that Ismailov would lose his footing when he saw the situation was not good, and the retreat might turn into a rout, so he quickly told him: "I will immediately send the infantry brigade to support You guys, you must stabilize the troops, and don't turn the retreat into a rout, understand?"

Seeing that the situation on the battlefield is not good for him, Ismailov originally wanted to ask Sokov for help. Now that the other party mentioned it first, he felt more at ease, and quickly assured Sokov: "Commander Comrades, don't worry, I will firmly control the troops, and it will never turn into a rout."

After finishing the conversation with Ismailov, Sokov realized that the situation at the Pultusk landing site was more responsible than he had imagined, so he said to Ponejielin: "Comrade Deputy Commander, the infantry brigade will soon To fight against the Germans, there are several troops on the left bank, but there is no unified command. In order to avoid confusion, I would like you to cross the river to command the troops. How about it, no objection?"

   "No." Pornegerin readily agreed to Sokov's arrangement, "The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, so I won't delay, and immediately set off to the left bank to command the battle."

  Pornegelin took less than an hour to stabilize the troops and consolidate the original occupied area after arriving at the left bank area. There was even a counterattack, which drove back the enemy who was chasing Ismailov's division.

After repelling the enemy, Ponedelin called Ismailov and several brigade commanders to his temporary headquarters, and said to them: "Comrade commander, I think that after several hours of fighting, you all found There is one problem. That is, the enemy is stronger than we thought."

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander." Ismailov said with a blushing face, "The initial attack was very smooth. I thought the enemy was vulnerable, so I directed the troops to rush directly to the friendly positions. Who Knowing that the closer we are to the positions of friendly forces, the greater the resistance we encounter, so that in the end we tried our best, but we couldn't move forward at all."

"Colonel Ismailov, the Germans released smoke bombs some time ago, intending to launch a powerful offensive at the Magnusev Landing Field in the south, while the Narew River Basin where we are located is standing still, which has created an illusion for us , thinking that the enemy's next main attack direction is the Magnusev landing field established by General Chuikov, thus relaxing his vigilance.

   Seeing that their plot had succeeded, the Germans used their already assembled troops to launch a fierce attack on General Batov's Pultusk landing site. Since they have prepared for such a long time, they will naturally use a lot of troops. Not to mention your single division, I think even if we pull out our entire group army, it will not be easy to rush over to join the friendly army smoothly. things. "

   "Comrade Deputy Commander," Ponejielin had just finished speaking, and Sukharev, commander of the 109th Infantry Brigade, asked, "Then what shall we do next?"

   "Under the current circumstances, it is obviously unrealistic to continue to attack." Ponejelin said thoughtfully: "So we will focus on sticking to the current position."

   "But the task assigned to us by the superior is to rush there to rescue the friendly troops." Ismailov tentatively asked: "Will the commander blame us if we just stop here?"

"Comrade Colonel," Ponedelin said, looking up at Ismailov, "even if we have to carry out the task of rescuing friendly troops, the premise is to save ourselves first. Think about it, if we attack the enemy recklessly, If you fall into the siege of the German army, or even be annihilated by the enemy, then who will rescue the friendly army next?"

  Sukharev said cautiously: "If the superior blames..."

  Before Sukharev finished speaking, Ponejielin raised his hand and interrupted him: "This is not something you need to worry about. If the superior really wants to blame, I will bear all the responsibilities."

Although Ponejielin's words were so blunt, Ismailov couldn't help saying: "Comrade Deputy Commander, if the friendly army's position is lost because we don't send reinforcements, the consequences will be serious." It's serious. I'm worried that even Comrade Commander will be implicated."

"Comrade Colonel, our rescue can only relieve the pressure on the friendly forces, and will only play a limited role in driving away the enemies occupying the landing site." Ponedelin said to Ismailov and everyone: "I'm here Earlier, I heard the conversation between the commander and the marshal. In addition to the reinforcements we sent, we also mobilized anti-tank artillery regiments and tank brigades from the troops directly under the front army to attack the enemy on the left bank. In addition, Barto General Husband's main force is on its way back and will reach the left bank by dark at the latest.

  If you still want to send troops to rescue, you'd better wait until the troops directly under the front army and Batov's main force arrive and launch a counterattack against the German army. It will not be too late to attack. At that time, the attention of the German army will be attracted by friendly forces, and the strength of the enemy we have to face will be greatly weakened. Launch an attack at this time, and we can achieve good results. "

  After listening to Pornegelin's analysis, everyone nodded with relief, and each returned to their own troops, seized the time to strengthen the fortifications and treat the wounded, and sent those seriously wounded who could not be treated back to the field hospital on the right bank by car.

Bonegerin, who stayed in the command post, was not idle either. He stared at the map, recalling the information reported to him by the commanders in his mind, and pondering what tactics to adopt in the next attack to be able to Great victories were achieved with very few casualties.

  The phone on the desk rang, and it was Sokov calling: "Comrade Deputy Commander, how is the situation on the left bank? Has the situation stabilized?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, the situation has stabilized." Pornegelin replied: "Given that the enemy's strength is much stronger than ours, it is obviously unrealistic to continue to launch a new offensive. I suggest that the troops temporarily Turn to defense, and wait until the strength of the enemy and ourselves on the Pultusk landing field has undergone fundamental changes before launching a new offensive."