In front of Beloborodov was a roadblock, and the German troops defending Qiqiangka were quite tenacious, and they unbelievably blocked the siege of the Red Army infantry and tanks for two consecutive days. To tell the truth, when formulating the initial battle plan, neither Petrovsky nor Beloborodov took Chiqiangka's German army too seriously, thinking that they could be easily crushed. But they were surprised by the fact that the German troops stationed there were unusually strong and experienced in combat, and the fighting around the houses and streets was a great pain for the Red Army.

The troops stationed at Chichanka belonged to the German Rauss Battle Group, a temporary group of wounded veterans, roughly the size of a battalion. However, what is more interesting is that the "battalion" does not have a number at all, and the entire battle group is just a place for temporary wounded soldiers to recuperate and recover. To put it bluntly, this is a temporary institution, and once the wounded soldiers have regained their combat effectiveness, they will go back to their respective homes. However, it must also be noted that it was these German veterans with very rich combat experience who caused Petrovsky great trouble.

However, when the brutal offensive and defensive battle entered the third day, the Rouse battle group was also a little overwhelmed, and the temporary battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Rouse, sent a telegram to his superiors asking for help, and at the same time actively visited every position, telling all the German officers and soldiers: "We must hold on, and we must not let the Russian partisans cross our defensive line, reinforcements are already on the way!" ”

However, that same night, according to Petrovsky's orders, the Red Army carried out a more forceful penetration and breakthrough than during the day, which made Lieutenant Colonel Laus feel unprecedented pressure, and his soldiers could no longer push back the infiltrating Red Army stubbornly as they had done two days earlier, and replaced it with brutal reports of lost positions. First of all, the south of the city. Then came the west of the city. Then there is the east of the city......

Even Lieutenant Colonel Laus himself knew that he had to accept the reality that the three days of fierce fighting had exhausted all the strength of his troops (after all, most of them were wounded), and the ammunition was even more scarce (it was originally a unit that had been demobilized and cultivated, so naturally it would not prepare too much ammunition), and to make matters worse, as the water source was cut off by the Red Army, almost all the German soldiers hiding in the ruins and trenches felt smoke rising from their throats.

Even a part of the tried and tested veterans reached their limits, giving the impression of stupidly waiting for the arrival of the Red Army. Then symbolically release a few shots, and finally let the enemy's bullets pierce a hole in your head or body, which is also a relief.

Rouse himself was not confident that reinforcements would arrive, and although he believed that the higher forces would not deceive him, the momentum of the Red Army was so amazing that they were trying to make a bloody way to escape. And this trapped beast is the most terrible when fighting the enemy. The helplessness and despair in the lieutenant colonel's heart can also be seen from the notes made by Rouse in his last period:

"At 21:30, the situation was very bad, and there was nothing I could do about the Russian soldiers who had infiltrated like rats. Links between the forces in the various sectors have been severed. I dare not imagine what a terrible end it would have been for the Russians to continue to intensify their existing offensives. It seems that the rescue operation is too late......"

"2:11 a.m. That past night, the whole city was suffering from the flames of war, my soldiers were getting fewer and smaller, most of the city had completely fallen into the hands of the Russians, the gap was still widening, my stubborn snipers were still struggling to hold on, but I heard that the Russians had approached the road there from the north. ”

"At 6:05 a.m., from 5 a.m., a large number of Russian tanks and infantry could be seen in the dilapidated streets, accompanied by the sound of rumbling howitzers."

"At 9:17, the 2nd Company reported to me that the center of the city had been lost, that they were forced to retreat north, and that it might not be long before the Russians would come and knock on the door of my command post......"

"At 11:47, the last resistance in the east and center of the city was crushed, and the artillery and machine-gun companies told me that all the ammunition had been exhausted, and where were the reinforcements, my general?"

By 1 o'clock in the day, the Red Army's three-day multi-pronged advance had completely dismembered the city defense system of Chichanka, and the remnants of the defenders were divided into two isolated parts, and the city defense commander, Lieutenant Colonel Laws, led a company to defend a small complex of buildings in the north and adjacent areas of the city center, while Demubaren, to the northwest of the city, continued to recount their miracles, which firmly held the northwest corner of the town, reserving a way for Rolls to break out.

Considering that the situation had deteriorated to the extreme, and that in addition to inflicting more casualties in continuing the fighting, Rouse made the painful decision that afternoon - not to wait for reinforcements and to retreat directly.

Captain Smith, Rouse's staff officer, recalled: "The battalion commander told me that he was ready to order the troops to retreat, and from his painful expression I could feel the contradiction in his heart at that time. Although I personally also very much support this decision, after all, without the permission of the superiors, the battalion commander will have to take all the responsibility for this. Of course, perhaps what really saddened him was that at least a significant part, such as those who were incapacitated and seriously wounded, would be left to Chichanka, and their fate would be decided by the Russians......"

By dusk that day, Rouse had gathered all his available forces, including all the wounded who could move, and a total of more than 230 men began to retreat to the northwest corner of Chichanka. The heavy armament included two No. 2 tanks, a 37-mm anti-tank gun and two light howitzers.

Demubaren (the remaining 60 men) remained in Chiqiangka, and their mission was to hold the pursuing Red Army back until the main force withdrew to safety, while also destroying a valuable military supply. The whole retreat lasted for one night, but to Lieutenant Colonel Law's surprise, the Reds found that after the retreat, instead of actively pursuing and encircling him, they let them go unharmed.

In fact, this is not surprising, for Petrovsky, as long as the enemy of Chiqiangka takes the initiative to disappear, he is definitely happy to see it, after all, he is not here to destroy the opponent, but to break through and run away, without the enemy's obstacles!

After the war, Petrovsky recalled the battle of Chichanka: "The situation was extremely dangerous, and the enemy was followed by a division. The resistance force I left on the banks of the Bug River was under great pressure. And in Vyshkuv to the west, there was also a regiment of the enemy approaching. As for the east, the enemy from Verkhniy Maukinia and Ostruf also had two regiments, the nearest of which was only 7 kilometers from my headquarters, and whether or not they could break through Chiqiangka was a matter for the safety of the whole army. ”

"But we were faced with an extremely tenacious group of Nazi bandits, who fought to the end in three days of fierce fighting, causing us heavy casualties. Lucky. Before the battle of the fourth day was about to break out, they broke down and fled with the tail wolf Bèi between their legs. I breathed a sigh of relief at that moment, because I knew we were going to win! Yes, I deeply feel that not only will I win this narrow battle, but I will also feel that the prospects of the Great Patriotic War will be infinitely brighter! ”

After Rolls retreated, Petrovsky ordered the troops not to rest and continue northward as fast as they could, and he said to the commanders of every regiment and battalion: "Time is of the essence. We have already lost too much time to waste. North! Immediately go north and force the Naref River! ”

On the other hand, the Germans also realized the severity of the problem, and Marshal Bock more than once ordered reinforcements from all walks of life to move closer to Chiqiangka, and even directly issued a death order: "From now on, let your tank tracks and car wheels keep running forward, Qiqiangka is already in danger, the situation does not allow you to have any more delays, every minute counts!" ”

He even flew to the reinforcements himself, shouting over the radio in Guò, demanding that the German soldiers move forward quickly. It's just that at this time, let alone Bock, even if Hitler came, it would not help.

On the morning of the fourth day of the outbreak of the fighting in Chichanka, the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 9th SS Panzer Regiment of the SS with a telescope was held by Bitrich, the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 9th SS Panzer Regiment of the SS, who was close to Chichanka, and the trenches, pillboxes, abandoned and destroyed tanks and armored vehicles around the town were faintly visible. At that time, Bitrich asked his good friend and deputy battalion commander: "Meyer, do you think Rouse's troops are still holding their ground?" ”

Meyer replied: "I don't see much sign of the battle, no gunfire or gunsmoke, not even a shadow of a person, to be honest, it's not a good sign!" ”

Major Meyer was right, Chichanka had fallen, and Petrovsky's troops were moving quickly north through the small city, and at this time, only a few of the Red Army troops remained in the city, and even these troops were about to retreat.

On the previous night, Petrovsky's sappers were exhausted, and they rushed all the way north to the banks of the Narev River, and they had to plunge into the intense work of building bridges without even having time to breathe. They had to erect a pontoon bridge in the dark, and they were busy until seven o'clock in the morning, when the pontoon bridge was completed.

Between six and eight o'clock, when the pressure of the Red Army engineers was at its highest, German fighters constantly flew over to drop bombs and strafe them, and the bombs fell on the nearby river from time to time, and the splashes wet the soldiers' clothes, making people feel a chill.

The good news was that Petrovsky had finally made contact with his allies, and when Triandafilov and Tukhachevsky learned that the remnants of the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps were moving towards East Prussia, they immediately ordered the East Prussian side to give Petrovsky the necessary assistance.

The Air Force deployed hundreds of fighters to escort Petrovsky, and even sent an infantry corps to attack in the direction of Ciekhanov, pinning the Germans firmly to the ground and covering Petrovsky's breakthrough of the enemy position at Marcov.

With the support of the air force, the German planes over the pontoon bridge were quickly driven away, and even bombed the German reinforcements by the way, so that they had to stop and suspend the pursuit when they had just arrived at Chichanka.

The high-intensity air raids lasted for a whole day, which greatly slowed down the pace of the German pursuit, so that the Germans could only watch Petrovsky's troops easily cross the river and leave.

A day later, under the cover of friendly forces, Petrovsky's troops managed to break through the German line near Marcov, and after nearly a month of fighting behind enemy lines, these strong lads managed to return home!

When the news came back to Moscow, both the Politburo and the Military Commission were boiling, and since the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, there has been constant bad news, and the atmosphere is almost hopeless. For the Politburo and the Soviet people. There's a great need for exciting good news. And at this time Petrovsky's feat was really a doping. In such difficult conditions. The fact that the commanders and fighters of the Red Army were able to turn danger into a disaster does not fully prove that the Red Army is invincible and that the enemy is not terrible at all!

Tukhachevsky was the first to mention: "Comrade Petrovsky should be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, it was his outstanding command that created this miracle." In addition, I would like to mention that all the officers and soldiers who participated in this breakout operation will be awarded the Order of the Red Star, which they deserve! ”

It stands to reason that Tukhachevsky's proposal is reasonable and should not be objected to. But Li Xiaofeng is the unusual person: "I am against it!" ”

Tukhachevsky suddenly burst into smoke and said angrily: "Comrade Andrei, do you think that this breakthrough operation is not a miracle and does not represent the indomitable fighting spirit of the commanders and fighters of the Red Army? If such a feat is not even honored, then what should we be honored? ”

Li Xiaofeng snorted lightly: "I am not opposed to awarding medals to the soldiers who participated in this operation, but I think that neither the title of Hero of the Soviet Union nor the Order of the Red Star is enough to reflect the great significance of this act." We should create a special medal to honor these indomitable fighters! ”

Speaking of this, Li Xiaofeng paused: "I propose to award everyone who participated in this operation, whether it was those who returned to East Prussia alive or those soldiers who died halfway, should be awarded a commemorative medal for the East Poland Breakout Campaign. In addition, each person was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and the Order of Lenin was awarded to those who stood out. The key table xiàn was made individually and collectively awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Golden Star. Even we should create a medal that symbolizes victory, well, let's call it the Victory Medal, which will be awarded to all the collectives involved in this operation! ”

Tukhachevsky was stunned, he thought that his reward scheme was high enough, who would have thought that someone would be more exaggerated than him, and that a Red Banner medal could scare people to death, and as for the Order of Lenin, according to someone, hundreds of them would have to be sent out, and it might even be possible to give birth to more than ten Heroes of the Soviet Union in one go. Forget about these, someone also asked for a special commemorative medal to raise this breakthrough operation to the height of the battle, and the most amazing thing is that someone also created a unique medal, just by listening to the name of the Victory Medal, you can know how high this specification is, to put it mildly, just rush this name to surpass the previous Soviet Union set up a qiē medal of honor.

Tukhachevsky thought that the Politburo would probably not agree to someone's exaggerated nonsense, but what he didn't expect was that the Politburo unanimously agreed to mention someone without any discount. This made Tukhachevsky understand that he knew six out of seven about politics, but in fact he still didn't know anything.

Not only is the standard of the award high, but the scene of awarding is even more amazing. All the outstanding officers and soldiers who took part in the breakout were airlifted to Moscow, where they were honored by Trotsky in the Kremlin.

Soon, the entire Soviet Union became aware of the exploits of Petrovsky and his boys, and various activities to learn from and pay tribute to the heroes were widely carried out. Let's put it this way, all those who participated in this breakthrough will never have to worry about work and starting a family in the future, and the enthusiastic Russian girl stuns the boys with a wagon of love letters.

Of course, these ceremonies are only one aspect, there are no practical things in the ceremonies alone, and the soldiers will also be chilled, in this regard, Li Xiaofeng showed an extremely pragmatic style, not to issue a certificate and medal, but to give all the soldiers a month-long vacation with a wave of his hand, allowing them to go home to visit relatives. As for those who were wounded or disabled, they were immediately sent to Sochi for recuperation and arranged for future work, so that in a word, the heroes would not shed tears after shedding blood.

In addition, all officers and soldiers were promoted to the rank of 1st rank, for example, Petrovsky, who was promoted to major general before the outbreak of the war, and in less than a year he was promoted to lieutenant general, and he was appointed commander of the 1st Guards Mechanized Army.

Although the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps is now just an empty shelf, and the entire army will see if there are 2,000 people left, the appointment of him as commander is a gesture. It proves that the Military Commission will give priority to the reconstruction of this heroic force.

The pace of the rebuilding was so rapid that Petrovsky did not have any holidays at all, and in just one month the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps was rebuilt, and note that the quality of the rebuilding was quite high, and the best weapons and the best soldiers were given priority to the corps. So much so that in the second week after the completion of the reconstruction, the army took full part in the Battle of Bryansk under the leadership of Petrovsky.

In this major battle to crush the final offensive of the German army in 1941, the 1st Guards Mechanized Army, as the spearhead, crushed Guderian's second tank group in one fell swoop, drove the German army away from Russian soil in one fell swoop, and advanced hundreds of kilometers in one fell swoop, reopened the connection with Kiev, ensured that the Kiev army and civilians could obtain sufficient supplies for the winter, and in a sense, avoided a large number of unnecessary casualties.

Of course, that's all for later, so let's turn back to Rokossovsky's side and see how he continued to play with Guderian...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, the ashes of the sycamore, the second kill potato, Huyan haha, hzwangdd and Comrade Juventus!