Rokossovsky looked at the operational map with a worried face, and in the past three days, according to the command of the Front Command, his 9th Mechanized Corps and the 8th Mechanized Corps have launched a counterattack, easily crushing the German troops in front of them, and advancing to Warsaw along the Pławi, Demblin, and Galvoxon railway lines. The 20th Tank Division, which was the main force of the army, had arrived in Garverson, and Warsaw was already close at hand.

It will take a day at most for Rokossovsky to reach the city of Warsaw, which is the second time since 1920 that the Red Army has arrived in Warsaw, and according to the battle plan, the Ukrainian Front will cut off the retreat of the German Army Group Center in one fell swoop, and cooperate with the Belarusian Front and part of the Baltic Front to annihilate the enemy Army Group Center.

But the closer he got to Warsaw, the more uneasy Rokossovsky became, and he could sense the danger ahead, and if he continued to move forward, it seemed that the whole army was in danger of being destroyed.

Why did Rokossovsky feel this way? Quite simply, the front of the Red Army units thrown into the counterattack was stretched too long, and several mechanized corps ran fast and plunged into the enemy's depth in one breath. But the infantry corps, which cooperated with the mechanized corps, lagged far behind. According to his understanding, the main forces of the Front had just crossed the border, and the advance had only reached the outskirts of Lublin. Such a large gap, once it is used by the German army, the consequences will be unimaginable!

Rokossovsky was not only worried about the front, but also about the situation in southern Ukraine, and the front army, in accordance with the instructions of the Military Commission, left only a few troops to contain the Romanian and Hungarian troops that broke through, and the main forces were all put into the counteroffensive. This is simply a heavy head and a light body, once the troops are contained, there will be a mistake. The entire Front army will be in a predicament of being surrounded!

Rokossovsky really couldn't figure it out. Why did the Military Commission engage in such a counterattack plan? Even in his opinion, it is not appropriate to choose to fight back at this time. According to his understanding on the battlefield, the main force of the German army was not at the end of the crossbow, and although its assault spearhead suffered a certain blow, it did not break its muscles and bones. The battle sequence of its troops is quite complete, and its fighting spirit and combat effectiveness are also quite strong. Counterattacking at such a time is tantamount to meeting on a narrow road and tantamount to a head-on collision. If the Red Army can crush the opponent in one fell swoop, it will be enough. If it can't be done, with the Red Army's plain zhì, I am afraid that after the three-board axe is chopped, it will be crushed for thousands of miles.

What was even more terrifying was that Rokossovsky felt that the Red Army's three-plank axe had almost run out, and in this round of assault, his armored forces were met with stubborn resistance from the Germans, and almost every step forward had to pay a heavy price. Yesterday alone, fifty tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed, and the destroyed tanks basically belonged to the best T-34 and T-35, which were the core of the army's assault force. After this period of high-intensity consumption. The T-34 and T-35 in his two tank divisions and one mechanized division had been reduced to the alarming Cheng dù. If you continue to raid like this, you will reach Warsaw. I'm afraid that all advanced tanks and armored vehicles will be lost!

And at that time, it means that his troops have become the end of the canopy, and in the face of the big city of Warsaw, I am afraid there is no way at all.

"Give me the army group headquarters!" Rokossovsky felt that the current situation was very dangerous, and it was necessary to warn the army group, "Comrade Mostovenko, the situation here is very serious, the losses and attrition of the armored forces are very staggering, and it is very likely that after reaching the outskirts of Warsaw, the troops will lose most of their combat effectiveness......"

Rokossovsky gushed about his concerns, but Lieutenant General Mostovenko did not pay much attention to them, the commander of the army group was quite satisfied with the results of the rapid assault of his troops, and the front demanded that he continue to advance boldly and resolutely, to crush the enemy's resistance with the sharpest breakthroughs, until the storming of Berlin.

And now, the battle has just begun, Rokossovsky began to complain and complain, isn't it the consumption of a part of the mechanized troops? Without the T-34 and T-35, would there be no war? Mostovenko felt that Rokossovsky was too petty, and according to his understanding, the mechanized units of the Red Army had a comprehensive advantage in the face of their German counterparts, not only the T-54 and T-34 could crush the opponent, but even the T-35 had a great advantage in the face of the German tanks No. 1 and No. 2. Besides, there are still a lot of BT-7 and BT-5, in this case, do you need to worry? I'm afraid it's the Germans who really need to be worried!

Not to mention, the Germans are really worried, for example, Guderian, the armored monster wrote in the memo: "Russian tanks have an overwhelming advantage, I thought that the BT-5 in the Spanish Civil War in the depth of the improved model BT-7 is the best Russian tank, but from the actual situation on the battlefield, Russia's armor technology has made significant progress, the new T-34, T-35 belong to the epoch-making design, and its comprehensive performance is already the world's first...... In addition to these two medium tanks, the smaller number of heavy T-36s and T-54s is even more striking, especially the latter, I got a report yesterday that one T-54 defeated an entire division, and this monster-like tank withstood the fire of our cannons of all calibers, destroying twelve of our tanks as well as seven anti-tank guns...... In view of the threat of the latest Russian tanks, our army must immediately develop a tank that can regain the advantage on the battlefield! ”

Well, the German tank designers are going crazy, of course, the most crazy is probably the mustache, this nationalist will never tolerate the German Lion losing to the backward Slavic pigs, he will do whatever it takes to regain the advantage and earn this face.

However, this will take time, at least in 1941 the Germans have no chance of regaining the advantage, and for the time being they will have to use backward tanks against the terrifying stuffy bears. Of course, the Germans will not be stupid and tough, and they will make reasonable use of tactical coordination to offset the advantages of the woolly bear, such as air-ground coordination.

When the torrent of ironclad armor of the Ukrainian Front rushed to the outskirts of Warsaw, the Stuka soldiers who were ready to attack made the Red Army armored soldiers shouting hula and rush understand a truth - there was no air force cover. Even the ironclad torrent will be truncated!

Packs of Stuka pounced on their prey on the ground like wolves. Every dive, every round of strafing can get results. This one-sided slaughter lasted a whole morning, and the commanders of the Red Army, who had thought of the war too simply, soon tasted the consequences!

In just one morning, hundreds of Red Army tanks fell to Stuka, and the 12th and 34th tank divisions of the Eighth Mechanized Corps suffered heavy losses, more than a third of the tanks were destroyed, and another third were in urgent need of repair. What was even more terrifying was that just as the commander of the corps, Major General Lyabishev, was about to suspend the offensive and regroup his troops, the German grenadiers, who had been running away like rabbits in a panic, suddenly turned around and killed them.

Where are these damn Germans still a little bit of wolf bèi running away. It was like a pack of wolves, caught off guard, the 12th Tank Division fell into chaos, and then the 34th Tank Division also began to be in chaos, seeing that the 8th Mechanized Army was about to be dumpled, Rokossovsky arrived.

Unlike Lyabishev, Rokossovsky did not continue to rush forward without hesitation, as Mostovenko ordered. Rokossovsky slowed down the assault and reorganized the formation of the troops, although this made Mostovinko very dissatisfied and looked down upon, but it turned out that Rokossovsky was right. The 9th Mechanized Corps quickly relieved the 8th Mechanized Corps from the chaos. Repelled the German counterattack. Lyabishev, who escaped alive, personally called Rokossovsky and thanked the elder Rokossevsky for his kindness.

"Comrade Lyabishev. Now the situation is not getting better! Our troops are too protruding, and Yan zhòng lacks air cover! Without air cover, it is unlikely that our troops will be able to break through the enemy's defensive line, I think we should rest for the time being, build a defensive line first, and wait for the main forces of the army group to converge! ”

Lyabishev was a little hesitant, because the orders of the front army and the army group were placed there, and they all stipulated the time for death, and if he could not complete the task, he would be responsible for the government, he did not have a thick backstage like Rokossovsky, Yakir and Tukhachevsky would be held responsible, and he, the small army commander, would be crushed to death in minutes!

"Konstantin. Comrade Konstantinovich, we are military men and can only obey orders! ”

Rokossovsky's answer was quite disappointed by Lyabishev, who knew very well that tomorrow the 8th Mechanized Corps would continue to try to assault, which in his opinion was like a meat bun beating a dog. However, he was also well aware of Lyabishev's concerns, the military order was like a mountain, and not everyone could be exempt from the foreign monarch's order.

However, Rokossovsky could not watch the 8th Mechanized Army die, and he first called the army headquarters again, strongly demanding that this unreasonable order be canceled. After this failure, they strongly demanded that the Front send more fighters to cover their attack, and the answer to this request was: "No!" ”

Why can't it be done? It's simple, remember the footcloth of East Poland that didn't give up? Previously, their airports suffered a heavy blow, a large number of planes and facilities were destroyed, and these goods chose to run away, and the final result was that these airports were completely unrepaired, and the guide was unusable. The Red Army's more advanced fighters, such as the Yak-1 and Yak-3, were short-legged and could not stay long after flying over Warsaw, unable to cover the armored forces on the ground. And in the Warsaw area, the Luftwaffe is not ordinarily powerful, so air supremacy has changed hands, and Rokossovsky should not think about any air cover at all.

What will happen to armored units without air cover in the face of a superior air-ground joint strangulation, this is really no nonsense. On 17 June, two assaults that Lyabishev painstakingly organized were crushed by the Germans in minutes, and nothing more could be achieved than to bury the last of the army's assault force.

In fact, not only did the assault spearhead go wrong, but the foundation of the Ukrainian Front was also a little unstable, and the Soviet troops responsible for containing the Hungarian and Romanian armies were obviously unable to complete the tasks assigned to them by their superiors, first retreating little by little, and then there was a big collapse, especially after the German army adjusted its deployment and transferred a part of the troops of Army Group Center to this direction, the collapse came faster!

In just three days, the door of Kyiv was wide open, and about 60 divisions of enemy troops rushed towards Kyiv like a surge. What's even more terrifying is that the Ukrainian Front does not have any reserves to use to plug the pass, and most of the main forces of the Front have gone to Eastern Poland. This opening can't be blocked at all!

"Once Kyiv falls. There is no way out for the entire Ukrainian Front. It is likely to be surrounded by the enemy! Triandafilov gave a gloomy look at the situation on the battlefield, and it was clear that he was aware of the seriousness of the problem.

Tukhachevsky's face is very unpleasant, because he was the one who advocated an immediate counteroffensive, and now the worst is happening, but he still refuses to believe that the Ukrainian Front is in danger of being surrounded and annihilated.

"The Ukrainian Front has basically crushed the German army on the front, and our army has advanced to the Warsaw front, as long as we keep up our efforts. In one fell swoop, it will not be a problem to defeat the enemy's central front. Tukhachevsky said confidently, "As long as the Belarusian Front continues to put pressure on the German troops on the northern flank and contain the enemy." The possibility of the destruction of the enemy by the Ukrainian Front is still very high! ”

After a pause, he said firmly: "We cannot be afraid of the slightest risk, as long as we are more resolute than the enemy, before the enemy captures Kyiv, our army will be able to occupy Warsaw, and then the enemy will collapse!" ”

Tukhachevsky appeared confident, and his confidence reassured some of the more vacillating senior officers, obviously. The generals were still willing to continue to gamble, which made Li Xiaofeng quite helpless.

He had no choice but to settle for the next best thing: "I can only keep my opinion to myself." I always thought it was too risky to risk fighting back at the beginning of the war. And Kyiv is also of great importance for maintaining the offensive at the front. I must draw the attention of comrades to the fact that Kyiv has hoarded a large amount of supplies, and it is a question of whether the offensive of the Ukrainian Front can be maintained once the enemy cuts off the communication lines from Kyiv to the front line. I insist that troops be immediately transferred to Kyiv, even if not from the Ukrainian and Belarusian fronts, but from other directions, such as the Caucasian Front or the Central Front. ”

Tukhachevsky objected to this: "Troops must not be transferred from the Central Front, as a vital reserve of the Belarusian Front and the Ukrainian Front, the Central Front is related to the success or failure of the second stage of the counterattack against Germany, and not a single soldier of the Central Front can be mobilized!" ”

After some bargaining, the military commission finally decided to transfer 15 divisions from the Caucasian Front and the Crimean Front to fill the hole in Kiev. However, in Li Xiaofeng's view, this little bit of strength is simply not enough, even if these 15 divisions and the troops left behind by the Kiev Military District are added, there are only less than 30 divisions around Kiev, and in the face of the enemy of 60 divisions, who dares to say that it is foolproof.

Tukhachevsky, however, did not care about all this, he had already been so absorbed in the strategic concept of annihilating the enemy's Army Group Center that he could not climb out, he was bent on attacking against attack, and Trotsky, who was bent on solving the German problem as quickly as possible, plus Sverdlov, who was unwilling to lose an inch of his country and was distraught by the crying of his friends in East Poland, how difficult it was to change the battle plan.

For such an adventure, not only Li Xiaofeng has a complaint, but the officers on the front line, such as Rokossovsky, such as Meretskov, and Konev, have expressed considerable concern.

For example, Konev, who is currently the commander of the 6th Mechanized Corps, said: "The progress is not smooth, the enemy in front of him is stubbornly resistant, and the advance of the mechanized troops is quite difficult...... After learning about the determination of the Front Command (the Belorussian Front), I could not help but suspect that the reason for such stubborn resistance on the northern flank of Army Group Center opposite us was solely to buy time for the southern flank of Army Group Center and Army Group South, which were encircling the Ukrainian Front from the south...... What's even more terrifying is that the Ukrainian Front is still advancing in depth towards the enemy, and once Kyiv loses, what a catastrophe it will be! ”

As the commander of the Central Military District of Moscow, Yakir is not too optimistic about the current battle, and also reminded his good friend Tukhachevsky to be cautious, but unfortunately Tukhachevsky did not listen and still urged the Ukrainian Front to strengthen the offensive.

At the same time, senior German generals, including Halder and Brauchitsch, also sensed a possibility that the blindly advancing Ukrainian Front could be surrounded and annihilated at the junction of East Poland and Ukraine.

And the always crazy mustache directly turned this idea into reality, and he said to the senior officers in a seductive voice: "The Russians are falling into a trap!" Reserves must be mobilized immediately, and Army Group Center and Army Group South must be ordered to eat these rabbits that have been sent to the door! ”

The Germans moved quite quickly, and soon the German army, which had been in reserve, and a considerable part of the army of the client states were transferred to the direction of Warsaw, and Army Group North, which had been attacking East Prussia, had not made much progress, and a considerable part of its forces were also diverted to reinforce the northern flank of Army Group Center.

After this adjustment, Army Group Center has been greatly strengthened, especially the German troops on the front line of Warsaw have increased suddenly, which has doubled the pressure on the Ukrainian Front that insists on advancing on the front, and after arriving at the front line of Warsaw, it is almost impossible to move an inch!

And just as the Ukrainian Front continued to pour a large number of troops into Warsaw, with the cooperation of Romanian and Hungarian servants, the German army on the southern front finally reached the periphery of Kiev, and for a time Kiev's shape was precarious...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to Fat Cat ICK, Plane Wanted, Wasters, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom 2, Armored Train, Ryoko 913, Glorious Charter and Comrade Juventus!