Less than an hour after Ruhle's troops left, part of the German 15th Armored Regiment that followed appeared at the position they had abandoned.
The leading German company commander, after carefully inspecting the hastily constructed field fortifications, immediately ordered the communications personnel: "Immediately report to the regiment headquarters that our company has successfully occupied the Russian position after a fierce battle. .”
"Mr. Captain." Seeing that his company commander was about to lie to his superiors about the military situation, the radio operator quickly reminded him cautiously: "But we occupied the Russian position without firing a single shot."
"The regiment headquarters is still more than ten kilometers behind us." The German company commander sneered at the signalmen's worries: "I reported to the regiment commander that our company was fighting the Russians, but he didn't know whether it was true or not."
"But, Mr. Captain," the signal soldier said tremblingly, "If my superiors pursue me, I may be sent to a military court or even be shot directly."
"Don't worry, if you send the report according to what I said, your superiors will definitely not send you to a military court or shoot you on the spot." The German company commander threatened the signal soldier: "But if you don't send the report, I will I can shoot you."
The communications soldier was frightened and hurriedly followed the company commander's instructions and sent the telegram to the regiment headquarters.
Seeing that the communications soldier followed his instructions and sent a telegram to the regiment headquarters, the German company commander smiled and nodded and said: "Did you see the burning tanks and armored vehicles in the distance? I can definitely send those burning tanks and armored vehicles, counted as the victory of our company. When writing reports in the future, I will specifically emphasize that after a fierce battle between my troops and the Russians, they successfully destroyed the tanks covering the Russian infantry attack. Seeing that the situation was not good, the Russians Abandoned the position and ran away.”
The communications soldier looked at the burning tanks and armored vehicles in the distance, and suddenly felt more at ease. Even if the Russians set fire to the tanks and armored vehicles when they were fleeing in panic, they could still be included in the company's results. In doing so, they might still have a chance to get a cross.
Ruhle's tank brigade, after blowing up the tanks and armored vehicles that had no fuel, marched quickly along the forest on the roadside toward the assembly point to the east. In order to prevent soldiers from falling behind or from being greedy for life and becoming deserters, he also ordered the chief of staff to organize a special reception team to take in soldiers who fell behind or attempted to become deserters.
After walking for more than two hours, there were close to a hundred soldiers taken in by the containment team.
Ruhelie was shocked when he received the report from the Chief of Staff. He quickly asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, why are there so many deserters?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander, these people have just been incorporated into our troops and their emotions are not yet stable. If there is any disturbance, they may become panicked." The Chief of Staff reported: "I am worried that once any deserters are captured by the Germans, , I’m afraid our whereabouts will be exposed.”
"Go and tell those soldiers who are lagging behind or trying to be deserters, just say that from now on, no matter what their previous thoughts were, I can forget them." Ruhle said with a straight face: "But if the battle starts, who will If you dare to be a deserter, I will enforce battlefield discipline."
"Understood, comrade brigade commander." The chief of staff agreed, turned around and ran to convey Ruhlie's order.
After walking forward for more than two hours, the commander of the leading battalion sent someone to report that a small village had been discovered ahead. German sentries were found at both the east and west entrances of the village.
After listening to the report, Ruhle asked the soldier: "How many enemies are there in the village?"
"Ah, how many enemies are there?" The soldier couldn't help but be stunned when he heard Ruhle's question, and then replied awkwardly: "Our scout saw enemies in the village in front and felt the need to report to you immediately, so he didn't Close to the village for reconnaissance.”
"Nonsense, you are simply making nonsense." Ruhle said angrily: "As a scout, you don't even know how many troops the enemy has. You know, when we as commanders formulate combat plans, we rely on The intelligence obtained by the scouts. Now that you are asking questions, what order should I give to the soldiers? Should I attack the village or bypass the village? "
The soldier blushed and replied: "Understood, Comrade Brigade Commander. I will go back and report to the battalion commander immediately and ask him to send someone to reconnoiter."
"It's too late." Ruhelie knew very well that if he wanted to get rid of the enemy behind him, he had to speed up his march, so he said to the soldier: "Tell your battalion commander to launch a probing attack on the village."
"I understand, I'll tell him immediately."
After the soldiers ran away, the chief of staff asked worriedly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we ordered the troops to attack without even understanding the enemy's situation. Is this decision too hasty?"
"It's not rash at all." Ruhelie waved his hand and said: "The village in the distance is not big. Even if it is full of enemies, there will only be more than 200 people in total. But we have thousands of people now, so we can still kill them. owned."
"However, we can definitely find other roads to bypass this village." The chief of staff was always worried that the enemy behind would catch up, so he reminded Ruhle: "If the battle starts, it cannot be ended within two hours. , we may fall into an enemy encirclement, and then our entire army may be destroyed.”
"Bypassing the village is easy to say, but not so easy to do." Ruhle denied the chief of staff's statement: "If you want to bypass the village, not only do you need to walk a longer distance, but you also have the possibility of getting lost. Most of the soldiers in the brigade are now in a state of low morale. If we choose to take a detour, it will make them even more depressed. Maybe after we bypass the village, some of them will be missing."
Seeing the thoughtful expression on the chief of staff's face, Ruhle continued: "But if we launch an attack on the village and eliminate the enemies entrenched in the village, it will boost the morale of the troops. effect."
The chief of staff thought for a long time and finally nodded: "Comrade Brigade Commander, your view is completely correct. Our army with low morale and unstable military morale really needs a victory to unite people's hearts."
"However, we can definitely find other roads to bypass this village." The chief of staff was always worried that the enemy behind would catch up, so he reminded Ruhle: "If the battle starts, it cannot be ended within two hours. , we may fall into an enemy encirclement, and then our entire army may be destroyed.”
"Bypassing the village is easy to say, but not so easy to do." Ruhle denied the chief of staff's statement: "If you want to bypass the village, not only do you need to walk a longer distance, but you also have the possibility of getting lost. Most of the soldiers in the brigade are now in a state of low morale. If we choose to take a detour, it will make them even more depressed. Maybe after we bypass the village, some of them will be missing."
Seeing the thoughtful expression on the chief of staff's face, Ruhlie continued: "But if we launch an attack on the village and eliminate the enemies entrenched in the village, it will boost the morale of the troops. effect."
The chief of staff thought for a long time and finally nodded: "Comrade Brigade Commander, your view is completely correct. Our army with low morale and unstable military morale really needs a victory to unite the people."
