In the northern part of the Kobrin fortress, Commissar Fomin was killed in the battle for the breakout.

To the northeast, another unit led by Major Gavrilov was also locked in a bitter battle, with flares rising into the air in a continuous stream, illuminating the earth as if it were day, and his troops had no room for concealment.

The sound of gunfire woke up groups of German troops, countless bullets flew from all directions, and the Soviet soldiers, who lacked heavy weapons, were overwhelmed and unable to raise their heads.

Like the Northern Route Army led by Fomin, Major Gavrilov decided to force a breakthrough in the face of the strong German firepower, and the troops would rather kill a German soldier with the sacrifice of three, four or even five soldiers, rather than shrink back in the Kobrin fortress and be beaten passively, and then be bombarded into fertilizer by the German artillery.

The sound of gunfire for nearly two hours, the situation on the battlefield was one-sided, the German firepower was getting stronger and stronger, and the Soviet firepower of the breakthrough was getting weaker and weaker, when they saw the No. 3 assault gun appearing on the German position, the Soviet soldiers who broke through had completely lost the courage to fight, and despite Gavrilov's obstruction, they turned around and fled to the Kobrin fortress.

Gavrilov shouted "Do not retreat, fight to the end." But to no avail, his troops had completely collapsed.

Looking at the figures running frantically towards the fortress, and then at the German positions, Major Gavrilov gritted his teeth, turned around, stumbled and ran towards the fortress after his subordinates.

As soon as he ran more than ten meters away, Gavrilov heard an explosion on the right side of his body, and a flash of fire.

He felt as if he had been hit with a wooden stick on his right leg, and he stumbled to the ground.

Reaching for his right leg, Gavrilov felt a slippery liquid in his right hand, and a sharp pain came from his right leg.

At this moment, Gavrilov suddenly heard a sound of metal rubbing behind him, as well as a shout. Turning his head to look behind, he saw that on the German battlefield, four or five chariots roared towards the fortress, followed by groups of infantry.

The Germans actually charged, damn it!

Gavrilov ignored the pain in his right leg, got up and limped towards the fortress. While running, he picked up his submachine gun and shot at the Germans behind him, but he panicked and didn't know where the bullet flew.

A string of bullets flew, and Major Gavrilov felt a sharp pain in his left leg, and his leg went limp, and he fell to the ground again, he put his hands on the ground, and turned over with difficulty, only to see two tall and strong German soldiers running in front of him. One German soldier raised his foot and kicked the Bobosha submachine gun next to him, while another raised his rifle with the muzzle of the rifle pressed against the door of his head.

"Shoot, shoot." Gavrilov shouted hysterically.

Two German soldiers muttered quietly, apparently unable to understand Gavrilov's shouts.

"Shoot, kill me." Gavrilov shouted.

However, his shouts were rewarded with a heavy butt, and after the butt knocked out Gavrilov, two German soldiers called for a stretcher. Two more Soviet prisoners were called in and asked to carry Gavrilov off the battlefield.

After more than an hour of fighting. The northern part of the Kobrin fortress returned to silence, the defenders of the fortress failed to break through, the commissar of the 44th regiment Fomin was killed in the breakout, the regimental commander, Major Gavrilov, was captured, and a small number of Soviet troops fled back to the fortress and put up stubborn resistance.

After daybreak, the golden sunlight re-shone around the Brest Fortress. On the ground on the north side of the Kobrin Fortress, corpses and mottled blood stains indicate that a fierce battle broke out here.

About twenty kilometers west of the fortress, on the long railroad tracks, the hill-like Gustav train cannon was slowly moving, reversing along the tracks in a southwesterly direction. The huge muzzle of the gun turned to the northeast.

To the east of the position, on the positions of the 833 heavy mortar battalion, which was closer to the Brest fortress, six Karl heavy mortars roared again, concrete armor-piercing shells flew towards the Brest fortress one after another, and in the explosion in the shaking of the ground, the Kobrin fortress followed in the footsteps of the central fortress and the Terespol fortress and was razed to the ground.

When the smoke cleared, the infantry rushed into the bombed Kobrin Fortress to clean up the battlefield, and the moment the first German infantry stepped on the Kobrin Fortress announced that the Brest Fortress had officially changed hands.

After the capture of the Brest Fortress, all the artillery battalions attached to the 12th Infantry Corps turned their guns to support the perimeter of the fortress, and the 31st and 34th Infantry Divisions attacked the city of Brest, and the guns of the six 600-mm guns of the 833rd Heavy Mortar Battalion also turned to the city.

Countless 150-mm, 105-mm and 210-mm shells fell on the city, and the entire city of Brest was set on fire, and the fragile houses and buildings could not withstand the heavy artillery damage.

Six Karl heavy mortars violently demolished a building with a single shell, and figures in dark green uniforms charged through the streets of Brest, occupying block after block.

The battle in Brest lasted until more than three o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, except for some of the stubborn Soviet troops who hid in dark corners such as basements and sewers, the surface positions in Brest City were occupied by the Germans, and the 12th Infantry Corps completed its heavy responsibility.

Chen Dao took a helicopter ride and had a panoramic view of the fall of the Brest Fortress and the city.

The helicopter circled over the city and flew over a convoy of troops passing through the fortress.

The long convoy belonged to the 2nd Panzer Army, loaded with all kinds of military supplies such as fuel and ammunition that the army urgently needed.

Chen Dao's plane landed near the position of Gustav's train gun.

Walking up to Major General Speick, Chen Dao asked: "When will our Gustav complete his turn and impose our justice on the Soviet army?" ”

"In another half an hour, our Gustav will be ready to fight again." Major General Speker said.

A BMW motorcycle rushed into the busy artillery position and came to a stop almost close to Chen Dao's side.

"General Rosen, General Schroeder invites you to the military headquarters." The herald said.

Twenty minutes later, in the military headquarters of the Twelfth Army, General Schroeder saw Chen Dao and stepped forward to stretch out his hand to Chen Dao.

"It's a pleasure to be able to fight alongside you, General Rosen, and although I don't want you to leave so early, I have to say goodbye to you."

"What happened?" Chen Dao asked.

"This is a telegram from the High Command in Berlin. I want you to rush back to Warsaw at once. General Schroeder handed a telegram to Chen Dao.

"Oh? Could it be that something happened in Warsaw? Chen Dao asked.

"I think it should be about the implementation of the general mobilization, this morning, at ten o'clock sharp, the Führer gave a general mobilization order on the radio, demanding that Germany put every ton of steel, every drop of oil into the war."

Chen Dao scratched his head. He muttered: "Before the outbreak of the war, I once proposed a general mobilization with the Führer, and the Führer said that I would think about it again, why did I suddenly figure it out now?" ”

"I think it must be because of the Soviet Air Force, last night, the Soviet Air Force attacked Berlin, although the radio said that Berlin suffered minor losses and no one died, but I think this action of the Soviets must have angered the Führer. That is why it is necessary to carry out a general mobilization and to take revenge with all its might, up to the conquest of the Soviet Union. ”

Chen Dao thought in his heart that Ge was always a strong promoter of general mobilization, after all, he was the head of German industry. Once Germany carried out a general mobilization, he, the general manager, would get countless oil and water, and eighty percent of it was President Ge who used the topic to play and persuade Hitler.

Chen Daokou said disheartetly: "I think it should be because of this." In that case, I will leave for Warsaw at once. Presided over matters related to the general mobilization of the Polish Governor's Palace. ”

When Chen Dao and General Schroeder said goodbye, the city of Rudok on the territory of Belarus. In the command of the Western Front, everything is in chaos.

The communications staff trotted to send a telegram to the communications battalion, or from the communications battalion to the operational headquarters.

The shouts of the operational staff officers came and went, almost tearing down the roof of the headquarters.

"Hey, is it the Sixth Mechanized Army? Where are you now? What the? Where is our Air Force in the case of an air attack by the Luftwaffe? I don't want to hear you say this now, Comrade Commander is not there with you? Absence. Okay, I see, I'll pass on your plight to the commander. ”

"Cavalry Sixth Army? Hello, Comrade Commander, this is the Headquarters of the Front. I ask you. The commander is not with you, what? No, what am I? The air force of the Germans was too strong? Need support from the Air Force? Okay, I'll tell the commander when I find him. ”

Major General Borkin, deputy commander of the Western Front, frowned, smoked a cigarette in his mouth, listened to the staff officers' inquiries again and again, and returned again and again in vain.

After the outbreak of the war, the communications of the Western Front Command and its subordinate armies and mechanized armies were in chaos, and the radio and telephone networks were suddenly unobstructed and interrupted, while the troops on the left and right flanks of the German army marched into the territory of the Soviet Union in great strides.

Not long after he left, the Western Front, even Stalin, who was far away in Moscow, could not get in touch with him, and the command system of the Front became even more chaotic, and the deputy commander, Major General Borkin, had to temporarily take on the burden of command.

Looking at the telegram that had just been sent from Moscow in his hand, a cold sweat broke out on Major General Borkin's head, although it was now the height of summer.

On the telegram from Moscow, Supreme Commander Stalin asked when the counteroffensive against the right flank of the Front, the German 3rd Panzer Army, began? What progress has been made?

As the deputy commander of the Front, Borkin was well aware that Pavlov took it upon himself that Lithuania was the theater of operations of the North-Western Front, and that the task of counterattacking the Third Panzer Army should be completed by the North-Western Front, and did not send armored forces at all.

Now, when the Supreme Commander suddenly asks about this, how should he answer?

His intuition told Borkin that the consequences of telling the truth to the Supreme Commander would definitely be serious, and after much hesitation, he decided to wait for Pavlov to return to the command before replying.

After searching for more than half an hour, Pavlov's whereabouts were still not found, and Borkin's heart became more and more agitated.

In the same half hour, another telegram was sent from the High Command, urging them to question the effectiveness of the counterattack.

"Comrade Commander is back, Comrade Commander is back." A shout of surprise rang out at the door.

Borkin was quickly infected by the emotions in the shout, and looked happily at the door of the combat command room.

Pavlov strode into the command room, took off his military cap and handed it to the staff officer, revealing his shiny bald head.

Pavlov waved his hand at Borkin, gasped and said, "Pick the most urgent military affairs?" Don't waste time. ”

Borkin hurriedly swallowed the inquiry that ran to his mouth back into his stomach and said: "The general secretary asked us, what progress has been made in the counterattack against the 3rd Panzer Army on the right flank?" ”

Pavlov touched his bald head, and Borkin saw that a fine layer of sweat was evident oozing from his bald head.

"Why is it so hot in the house, hurry up and turn on the fan and turn it on at a higher speed." Pavlov shouted, unbuttoning his military uniform on his chest.

"This telegram will wait and then reply, there are still important developments in the battle situation during my absence from the headquarters." Pavlov asked.

Borkin said: "A lot, the various units on the front line reacted that the German air raids were too ferocious and needed air support. ”

"Well, I see, I was almost killed by a German plane on my way back, and I will send a telegram in a moment to ask for more support from the Air Force. What else is important? ”

"The Supreme High Command also sent a telegram saying that the reserve front had been sent to support us, and that after the reserve front arrived, it asked us to hand over the supreme command of the battle to the commander of the reserve front."

"Who is the commander of the reserve front?" Pavlov asked.

"General Zhukov."

"Zhukov" Pavlov held on to the table, thought for two minutes, and suddenly raised his head and said: "Order, the main force of the 13th Army will turn to the northwest, the 44th Army will cooperate with the 6th Mechanized Army to attack Grodno, and the 21st Army will go north to counterattack the German 3rd Panzer Army." ”

Borkin glared and asked: "The Thirteenth Army is the general reserve of the front, responsible for the defense of the Minsk region, after they leave Minsk, what if the Germans take advantage of the situation to attack Minsk?" And what would be the consequences of counterattacking an armored army of the Germans with the 21st Army, an infantry corps? We still followed the original plan, let the main forces of the Front withdraw to the Minsk front, and use the fortified area to defend the German army. ”

Pavlov sighed and said angrily: "I also want to withdraw the troops, but that damn communication." The Third, Fourth, and Tenth Armies were dominated by infantry, and their opponents were the three Panzer armies of the Germans. What will be the consequences of our three armies as soon as they leave their positions and encounter German tanks on the way back? Have you thought about it? ”

Seeing that Borkin was about to speak again, Pavlov waved his hand to stop: "Don't say any more, you give the order immediately." Remember, the first telegram was to be sent to the High Command, and the second to the reserve front, so that the reserve front could rush to the Minsk region as soon as possible to assemble and deploy, so that the empty line of defense in the Minsk region could be filled. After the order is delivered, you go to the front and organize the 6th Mechanized Corps and the 44th Infantry Corps, which must hold off the German troops in the Grodno area and prevent them from cutting off the supply lines of our troops in the Bialystok area. ”

Seeing the unquestionable expression on Pavlov's face, Borkin had no choice but to say helplessly: "Okay, I'll leave immediately." (To be continued......)