January 1945. General Chuikov’s 8th Guards Army storms the fortress-city of Poznan. In the vanguard of the advancing forces is the battalion of Major Prokhor Burmistrov. The fighters knock the Germans out of the railway station, ford the Varta River, and capture one of the forts of the fortress. But after recovering from the first blow, the fascists launch a counterattack and block ours on the upper floors of the buildings. The difference between life and death comes down to minutes. Burmistrov realizes that breaking through the ring of encroaching Hitlerites will have to be done with their own strength…