The sacrifice of the company commander inspired the courage of the soldiers. More people jumped out of the trenches and rushed towards the German tanks with cluster grenades, preparing to destroy these steel behemoths and defeat the German attack.
A young soldier named Peter rushed towards a Panther tank with two bundles of cluster grenades. He threw the first bundle of cluster grenades hard, but due to insufficient strength, the grenade landed two or three meters away from the tank and exploded.
, although the flying shrapnel rattled the tank body, it did not affect the tank's driving speed at all.
The tank crew discovered the young soldier and immediately fired at him with a vehicle-mounted machine gun. Several evil bullets hit Peter's chest. Before he fell, he used his last strength to throw away the second bundle of cluster grenades.
came out. The grenade drew an arc in the air, fell under the tracks of the German tank and exploded. The tank whose tracks were blown off was immediately unable to move.
When the battle was in full swing, the chief of staff reported to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, good news, the 27th Guards Infantry Division commanded by Major General Glebov is crossing the river. Where do you think they are placed?"
The idea of deploying the division near the headquarters flashed through Chuikov's mind, but he quickly rejected his idea and instead asked Belyavsky: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what do you think of the 57th Guards Division?"
Can our two regiments stop the German attack?"
When Belyavsky heard what Chuikov said, he was stunned for a moment, and then understood what he meant. He nodded quickly and said: "Comrade Commander, I understand what you mean. Although the German offensive is fierce, but with the close guard
The strength of the 57th Division is fully capable of blocking the enemy's attack."
"Since we can block the enemy's attack, then deploy the 27th Guards Division to the landing site." Chuikov said to Belyavsky: "There is a greater need for troops there than here."
"But now the German offensive is very fierce." Although Belyavsky knew in his heart that more troops were needed at the landing site, but now the enemy was under the nose of the army headquarters, and he had to find a way to drive them away, so he tried
He asked: "Then how can we resolve the crisis here?"
Chuikov thought for a while and replied: "Comrade Chief of Staff, although the artillery on the right bank of the Vistula River cannot provide us with the necessary artillery support, the artillery on the landing site on the left bank can. They can be ordered to move towards the attacking enemy.
Fire and resolve the crisis here."
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Belyavsky nodded, "I immediately called the artillery unit and asked them to intercept artillery fire on the enemies at the offensive headquarters."
Just a few minutes later, hundreds of shells were poured onto the German tanks that were attacking the headquarters. Some of the tanks were destroyed on the spot. The tanks that survived and continued to charge forward were also isolated from the infantry charging behind them.
Already.
Three artillery regiments deployed on the landing site aimed at the German forces trying to drive the army headquarters into the Vistula River and continued to bombard them for a quarter of an hour. At the same time, the air force sent by Rokossovsky also carried out attacks on these enemies.
bombed.
Soon, Air Force Lieutenant General Porenin reported to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, our pilots observed a real chaotic scene on the left bank of the Vistula River: there were burning tanks everywhere, destroyed
artillery and German infantry scurrying in panic. The German plot to drive Chuikov's headquarters into the Vistula failed."
"Well done." After Rokossovsky praised Polainin, he asked curiously: "How is the situation in Warsaw now?"
"In order to defend Warsaw, the enemy dispatched a large number of fighter planes to compete with us for air superiority on the battlefield." Polainin reported: "So far, our army's aircraft have suffered a lot of losses, but they still have not been able to escape from the Germans.
Seize air superiority."
Knowing that his air force failed to control the air over Warsaw, Rokossovsky could not help but feel a little disappointed. But in order not to dampen Polainin's enthusiasm, he still pretended to be nonchalant and said: "Keep fighting, Polenin."
General Lei Ning. I believe that sooner or later, you will be able to completely control the air over Warsaw."
When Rokossovsky put down the phone, Malinin came over and asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, it seems that the situation at Chuikov is not good. Otherwise, let him withdraw the headquarters!"
Rokossovsky was also dissatisfied with Chuikov's unauthorized move of the Army Group Headquarters to the left bank. But now that he has crossed the river, if he moves back again, it will definitely have an adverse impact on the morale and morale of the troops. So,
He shook his head and said: "It's too late, Comrade Chief of Staff. Since Chuikov has crossed the river, he cannot return to the right bank of the Vistula River before we take Warsaw, otherwise it will affect the morale and morale of the troops."
will have an adverse impact."
"Don't look at Chuikov's current strength on the left bank, which has reached five or six infantry divisions, several artillery regiments and two tank brigades." Malinin said: "But the Germans continued to bomb the Vistula River, making it impossible for them to
A bridge was built across the river, resulting in a shortage of ammunition and supplies for the troops on the left bank."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, we must find ways to improve this situation so that Chuikov's troops can gain a foothold as soon as possible." Rokossovsky told Malinin: "I think we can immediately mobilize three anti-aircraft artillery divisions and deploy them in
Along the Vistula River, cover the engineering troops to set up pontoon bridges on the Vistula River. As long as there are pontoon bridges, close connections can be established on both sides of the Vistula River, and Chuikov will not have to worry about the lack of ammunition and supplies for his troops."
"Comrade Commander, Sokov proposed two days ago that his troops should participate in the crossing operation." Malinin waited for Rokossovsky to finish and asked in confusion: "Why don't you agree to his request?"
"The reason is very simple." Rokossovsky said: "The first is the problem of supplies. If Mischa's troops want to gain a foothold on the left bank, they need at least 20,000 to 30,000 people. Now we can't even complete supplies for Chuikov's troops.
, adding another 20 to 30,000 people will be a huge burden on our logistics."
"The second and most critical factor." Rokossovsky recalled the conversation between himself and Zhukov, and said to Malinin: "Now we can already judge that an uprising occurred in Warsaw. But who led the uprising?
What is the current progress? Even if we asked Polish comrades to come forward, we still did not get any useful information.
Comrade Chief of Staff, I do not deny that with Mischa's ability, if he really crossed the river with 20,000 to 30,000 troops, he could take the west side of Warsaw by surprise. But after taking the city, what should he and the rebels in the city do?
How to get along with each other? If it were Liudov's army and comrades of Liudov's Guards, maybe the two sides could continue to fight together and eliminate the remaining German troops in the city.
But if the leader who controls the rebel army is from the Krajov Army, once they discover that our army has entered the city, who can guarantee that they will not take measures to cooperate with the Germans in order to transfer control of the city to the exiled government in London?
.If this situation really occurs, then the troops entering the city will be in danger, and there is even the possibility of the entire army being annihilated."
"But our troops are still fighting east of Warsaw." Malinen asked puzzledly: "Aren't you worried that they will also encounter the situation you are worried about?"
"I'm not worried about this." Rokossovsky said: "The troops attacking east of Warsaw, whether it is the 2nd Tank Army or the 1st Polish Army, are backed by the main force of our front army. Even if they are
After entering the city, we faced the uncooperative Krajov army. With our strong strength, the other party did not dare to do anything inappropriate."
After listening to Rokossovsky's analysis, Malinen said with emotion: "If the rebels in Warsaw can take the initiative to contact us, then now will be the best time to capture Warsaw. If we miss it, we don't know what else will happen.
How long do you have to wait?”
Rokossovsky was silent for a moment, and then said: "If the German army really puts out the uprising in the city, then the difficulty for us to capture the city will increase exponentially. According to my judgment, it will not be earlier than ten
February."
After hearing this, Malinin couldn't help being surprised. August had just entered, and there were still four months until November, and Rokossovsky actually felt that the powerful First Belarusian Front could not be liberated before December.
This city proved that he was not optimistic about the war happening in front of him.
"General Chuikov's 8th Guards Division is now at the landing site on the left bank." Malinin said with some reluctance: "If we really complete the erection of the pontoon bridge on the Vistula River, more soldiers and weapons and equipment can be flown in continuously.
By crossing the river, wouldn't it be possible to advance the time for the liberation of Warsaw?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, under the current circumstances, you should not put too much hope in Chuikov's troops." Rokossovsky pointed to the map in front of him and said to Malinin: "Look, look around the landing site he established.
They are all rivers. If the German army concentrates heavy troops to guard a few ferries, it will be difficult for him to advance towards Warsaw."
Having said this, Rokossovsky thought of the battle in Smolensk in the past. After taking a sip of tea, he continued: "When we defended Smolensk, we controlled two villages on the Dnieper River.
At the ferry crossing, even if the German army had the advantage in numbers and equipment, it still took more than two months to completely occupy Smolensk. After my troops left Smolensk, they fought again in Yartevo
The area held out for a long time, using the crossings on the river to prevent the enemy from advancing."
After listening to Rokossovsky's story, Malinin nodded silently, because during the time period mentioned by the other party, he had become his chief of staff, so he naturally knew everything that happened at that time.
"You are right, Comrade Commander." Malinin nodded and said: "Back then, we relied on the ferry of the Dnieper River to block the German army from attacking Smolensk for two months. It seems that Chuikov's troops are now
, will also be blocked by several rivers near the landing site, making it impossible to quickly advance towards Warsaw."
"What we can do now is to consume the effective strength of the German army at the Magnushev landing sites east of Warsaw and south of Warsaw at the same time and buy time for other troops to rest and recuperate." Rokossovsky said confidently: "Wait a minute.
By the time the main force of the front army has completed its rest and replenishment, the German army near Warsaw has already become exhausted. At this time, if we put the new force into the battlefield, we can achieve unexpected results."
"That's right." Malinen agreed with Rokossovsky's statement: "In order to prevent our army from entering Warsaw, the German army must concentrate heavy troops to fight. After a month or two, they will fight effectively.
When we are exhausted and suffer heavy casualties, our replenished troops will be able to replace those still fighting the Germans and deal a heavy blow to the enemy."
But Malinen soon thought of another question: "Comrade Commander, I am thinking about something. Can you tell me, how will the uprising in Warsaw end?"
Hearing Malinin's question, Rokossovsky smiled bitterly and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I am not optimistic about the uprising in Warsaw. How should I put it? First of all, the insurrectionary army is fighting alone and does not receive any support; secondly,
, they did not undergo strict military training, and to deal with the well-equipped and experienced German troops was tantamount to seeking death. Even in the early stages of the uprising, they caught the Germans by surprise, but when the Germans reacted, they
After deploying heavy troops, their destruction will only be a matter of time."
"One more thing." Malinen continued to ask: "Why was the intelligence system we deployed in Warsaw completely destroyed by the Germans, but the Germans didn't know anything about such a big thing as the Warsaw Uprising?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, to tell you the truth, this is also something that confuses me." Rokossovsky frowned and said: "If there is to be an uprising in Warsaw, there will definitely be a lot of people involved. Even if they do
No matter how hidden it is, nothing will leak out. Since the Germans can destroy our underground intelligence organization, they can naturally detect unusual movements in Warsaw.
But the current situation is that our strict underground intelligence system has been destroyed, and the preparations for the Warsaw Uprising Army have not caused the Germans to have the slightest suspicion. There must be something wrong."
"Is there such a possibility?" Seeing that he could not get the answer he wanted from Rokossovsky, Malinin began to analyze: "The person in charge of the Warsaw Uprising, in order to prevent his preparatory work from being
When the Germans noticed it, they deliberately reported it to the Germans and reported our underground intelligence organization in Warsaw, thereby diverting the attention of the Germans."
After listening to Malinin's analysis, Rokossovsky couldn't help but take a breath: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if things are really like what you analyzed, it would be terrible. If I am not wrong, this
Only the Klajov Army can do such a thing. Although they do not take hostile actions against us on the surface, they always regard us as their enemies in their hearts. It is not surprising that they would do such a thing."
"Suppose, I am talking about what if." Malinen said: "Comrade Commander, if it is really as you analyzed, we will liberate Warsaw around December, and when we enter the city, we will encounter this kind of Krayo.
Fujun, how should we deal with it?"
"You can try to cooperate with them again." Rokossovsky said without hesitation: "If they still refuse to cooperate, then drive them away from the city and drive them to the Germans."