On the night of 28 June, countless people were doomed to sleepless nights, including Stalin in Moscow, Hitler in Berlin, and even more so the nearly 400,000 enemies in the Belarusian encirclement.

On this day, not only the German 2nd and 3rd Panzer armies met south-east of Minsk, but also the units of the German 4th and 9th armies triumphantly joined in the Volkveysk area, southeast of the city of Bialystok.

Upon hearing this exciting news, the headquarters of the German 1st Panzer Army erupted in cheers in the city of Vappe on the banks of the Naref River.

After laughing with his subordinates for a while, General Kleist, commander of the group army, said: "After today, we finally don't have to hide our strength, we can let go and stride forward." I ordered the Fourteenth Panzer Corps to remain to assist the Fourth and Ninth Armies in destroying the enemy in the encirclement, and the Third Panzer Corps quickly passed through the city of Bialystok and attacked Minsk in the shortest possible time, catching up with the itinerary of Generals Hott and Rommel, we were so far behind that we had to speed up our march. ”

The Chief of Staff, Major General Tomaller, had just finished recording his dictated orders when Kleist saw a staff officer hurrying into the operational command room.

"Commander, the battlefield inspector of the Supreme Command has arrived and is waiting outside the door, do you see if it is?"

The smile on General Kleist's face froze, and he whispered: "Battlefield inspector Until now, I still haven't figured out what position this battlefield inspector is?" What is the level? What attitude should we have towards him? Especially since the identity of the inspector is really "

After sighing, General Kleist straightened his collar. Su Rong said, "Please come in, Mr. Battlefield Inspector." ”

Half a minute later, Chen Dao stood opposite Kleist and respectfully saluted General Kleist.

"Hello. Your Excellency, I have hardly seen each other since the Battle of France, and I miss the days when we swept through France under your command. ”

Chen Dao's posture was very low, not only to affirm the position of General Kleist, the commander of the group army, but also because of another reason.

As a modest and polite promising young man. Chen Dao and his old subordinate Mandolfer have a friendship with each other, and now they meet their former superiors, Mandolfer's father-in-law. Chen Dao consciously treated Kleist as a junior, and did not fly arrogantly because he was a special envoy sent by the Supreme Command.

It was obvious that Chen Dao's low profile had the effect he expected, and General Kleist smiled back. Then he said, "General Rosen." I heard you did a good job in the Brest Fortress. ”

Chen Dao said with a smile: "I didn't do anything big, I just used the Brest Fortress to test the power of Gustav's cannon." For a long time to come, I will act with you, Commander, in the hope of being able to achieve new feats with you. ”

"General Rosen, if it's convenient, can you tell me exactly what your mission is? The telegram from the headquarters of the army group was not very clear. The Chief of Staff, Major General Tomaller, took the initiative to ask questions that were inconvenient for General Kleist.

Chen Dao said with a smile: "Because the First Panzer Army will shoulder a heavy responsibility in the next battle, and this task is related to the success or failure of the "Barbarossa" plan, so the Führer and Marshal Brauchitsch discussed it. Send me here to serve as an inspector and liaison in the event of any difficulties for the 1st Panzer Army in the ensuing battle. You can tell me that I can go beyond the army group headquarters and contact the Supreme High Command directly to solve it for you. ”

General Kleist and Major General Tomaler had thoughtful expressions on their faces, both pondering the deep meaning of Chen Dao's words.

Major General Tomale then asked, "Are you the only one of the battlefield inspectors?" Responsible only for coordinating the liaison between the 1st Panzer Army and the High Command? ”

"That's right, because the only unit that shoulders this decisive task is the 1st Panzer Army, and I'm the only inspector here." Chen Dao said.

General Kleist said: "Well, since you are from the High Command, can you tell us what our mission will be after we reach Minsk?" ”

Chen Dao showed a smile full of sunshine, and his snow-white teeth almost flashed into General Kleist's eyes.

"If you want to know what the new mission is, we won't be able to announce it until we get to Minsk."

General Kleist was immediately distracted, but Major General Tomaler was intrigued by Chen Dao's confessional answer.

"I heard that the E-40 tank was developed under your direction? I have already seen with my own eyes how powerful this tank is, when will this tank become widespread? Can you reveal that. ”

"After solving the Brest Fortress, in addition to reporting the results to the Führer, I am dealing with government affairs in Warsaw, I think you all know that the Führer has issued a general mobilization order, and all weapons and equipment will have a qualitative leap in output, and with the current production progress, the combat effectiveness of our armored forces will usher in a qualitative leap this winter."

"You mean that our armored forces will be completely reequipped with E-40 tanks?" Major General Tomaler asked.

"That's just one of the factors that make the armored forces more combative, in short, if you want to get more E-40 tanks and come up with outstanding results as soon as possible, I can reveal to you a piece of news, the troops that perform well in the summer and autumn operations will be given priority in the winter." Chen Dao said.

"In that case, let's complete the task in front of us first and hit Minsk as soon as possible." Kleist said.

"If possible, try to get to Minsk within three days, that is, July 1 at the latest, so that you will have more time for the next stage of your mission." Chen Dao said.

"Three days? It was 400 kilometers from Bialystok to Minsk, and there were Soviets in the way. Major General Tomale asked in surprise.

Admiral Kleist, on the contrary, was indifferent and did not care about the three-day deadline.

"Since our troops have a heavy responsibility. We need to prove to the High Command that we are up to the task of accomplishing tasks that no other force can do. The deadline is July 1. We must reach Minsk. ”

Turning around, Kleist asked Chen Dao, "On the first of July, you won't hide from me the task we're going to accomplish, will you?" ”

"Of course not, but I would like to make a small request in order to be able to do that task better."

"What requirements?" Admiral Kleist asked.

"Lend me an armored division."

General Kleist made the bold statement that he would reach Minsk in three days, in the Bialystok forest southeast of Bialystok. The commander of the Soviet Tenth Army, Major General Golubev, was full of sorrow.

He also learned from the German radio and the reports of the logistics units that the Germans had joined forces in Volkovysk, and that he and his men were already in an encirclement. After sending a telegram requesting a breakthrough, he waited for six hours to receive a reply from the Front Command, but when he saw the reply from the Front Headquarters, Major General Golubev felt as if he had been struck on the head. I felt a wave of lightheadedness.

I read the telegram in my hand several times. Golubev confirmed that he was not mistaken, and the order given to him by the front command was to stay where it was, and not to retreat a single step.

Major General Golubev did not know at this time that the commander of the Western Front had been replaced by Zhukov, who was known for his toughness, and the order not to retreat was also the first order given by Zhukov after taking office.

Major General Golubev was pondering why his superiors had given such an impersonal order, when a man suddenly rushed to his side.

"Comrade Commander, I found what you wanted."

It was his adjutant who spoke, Captain Popov, who was holding a half-worn military uniform in his hand. The rank of the military uniform is the same as his, and he is also a captain.

Watch Captain Popov holding this military uniform as if he were offering a treasure. Golubev waved his hand and said, "I don't need this uniform anymore. ”

"Why? When breaking through, changing into this uniform will not let the Germans notice you. Captain Popov said.

"There are not so many whys, we will not break through, we will fight here with the Germans to the last man, the last bullet."

Captain Popov grew his mouth in surprise: "But aren't we already surrounded?" If we don't break through, we"

Golubev said: "You have asked too many questions, and if you have time to ask questions, you might as well practice your marksmanship more and use it when you fight the Germans." ”

"But outside, I saw the chiefs of staff and they were all changing their clothes." Captain Popov said.

When Golubev stepped out of his tent, he saw that the chief of staff and the chief of operations and other officers had changed into low-ranking military ranks, even soldiers' clothing, and two staff officers had changed into civilian clothes that they had obtained from nowhere, standing in the middle of a group of officers with unusual eyes.

"Everyone obeys my orders, within three minutes, change back into their original clothes, and then return to their respective posts, no one is allowed to say the word of retreat, immediately contact the subordinate divisions, and ask them to be ready to stay where they are." Golubev said.

"Why?" The chief of staff asked.

Golubev did not speak, but raised his hand to look at his watch.

"Now the countdown begins, there are two minutes and fifty-nine seconds and two minutes and fifty-eight seconds"

Under the orders of Golubev, in the forests of Bialystok, the soldiers of the 10th Army, using dense bushes and various trees, strengthened the fortifications overnight and prepared to deal with the German attack.

On June 29, as soon as the sky was brightened, Golubev heard a dense burst of gunfire outside the forest.

The roar of an engine familiar to him but disgusted could be heard in the sky.

A week after the outbreak of the war, Golubev was already able to distinguish certain types of German weapons, especially aircraft, by sound.

When he heard the buzz of a chainsaw sawing wood from outside the house, he knew that the plane, which looked like a large tadpole and could hover in the sky, was here again.

He knew that whenever that type of aircraft appeared, it meant that countless artillery pieces were staring at their positions behind them, and once that plane gave a signal, countless shells would fall on their positions.

Outside Bialystok, he painstakingly built a position for nearly a year, carefully laying a criss-crossing barbed wire, stretching anti-tank trenches, vast minefields, and various machine-gun bunkers and anti-tank gun bunkers dotted around.

However, under the guidance of that kind of aircraft, the German artillery fire seemed to have eyes, and one area after another, one line after another, and countless shells drowned out the fortifications they had worked so hard to build.

For five days of a week's fighting, the battle outside Bialystok was spent under German shelling, and after five days, whether it was a minefield, barbed wire, an anti-tank trench or a firing point, it was covered with large and small craters, and even he, the commander who led his subordinates to defend the line himself, could not recognize the original appearance of the position.

In five days, the German artillery bombarded the outlying positions of Bialystok beyond recognition, and it took another two days to occupy those positions, driving themselves and their men out of Bialystok.

Now the reappearance of such obnoxious aircraft over their own lines means that the German shelling will soon begin.

Hopefully, the dense bushes and trees near the position will block the enemy's view and prevent the enemy from discovering his headquarters.

Major General Golubev's plea was effective, and two FI-282 helicopters flashed over his headquarters, without making any stops, and flew straight north.

To the north, Highway 65, which leads from Bialystok to the heart of the Soviet Union, passes through dense forests, filling the north and south sides with the pungent smell of gunpowder and the sound of gunfire breaking the silence of the woods.

The soldiers of the 1st Waffen-SS "Hitler Guard Banner" division, fighting in the woods, under the cover of bushes and trees, were destined to close the distance between the two sides.

German soldiers in camouflage uniforms and Soviet soldiers in green uniforms chased and killed each other, and the two sides sometimes fought at a distance of more than ten meters or even several meters, with grenades, pistols, and submachine guns becoming the main weapons of engagement, and flamethrowers becoming weapons of mass destruction in the hands of SS soldiers.

After numerous bayonet-to-gun and sapper-to-butt hand-to-hand combat, the battle lines on both sides grew farther and farther away from the road, bending deeper and deeper into the forest, until the command of the First Panzer Army confirmed safety.

Accompanied by the sound of gunfire in the depths of the forest, the 9th Panzer Division, as the vanguard of the 1st Panzer Army, was the first to pass through the Bialystok forest and rush towards their ultimate target, Minsk. (To be continued.) )