There was a tanker who ran out of the tank alive. After looking around, he immediately discovered a row of German tanks parked on the left front. They were shooting at the pursuing Soviet tanks as if they were target practice.
The tank driver waved his hands quickly and ran towards the nearby tank. As he ran, he shouted loudly: "Be careful, there are German tanks nearby. Be careful, there are German tanks nearby..." However, regrettably, His shouts were drowned out by the roar of tank engines, the explosion of artillery shells, and the firing of machine guns.
Just as he was trying to climb onto a tank that had just stopped, a shell fired by a German tank landed next to him and exploded. When the smoke dissipated, the tank soldier covered his lower back with his backhand and fell to the ground on his back with a face full of pain.
The tank army pursuing the German army came under artillery fire attack from the German armored forces. The breakout organized by Rybalko also went very poorly. After learning that the attack launched by the infantrymen responsible for the breakout was repelled by the Germans due to lack of adequate tank cover, he couldn't help but anxiously asked the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, where are the tanks of the 15th Tank Corps now?"
"I'm sorry, Comrade Commander." The Chief of Staff replied with an embarrassed look on his face: "I lost contact with the 15th Tank Corps half an hour ago."
"What, lost contact with the 15th Tank Corps?" Rybalko asked in surprise: "Then have they withdrawn from Valki Town?"
"I don't know, Comrade Commander." The Chief of Staff said with a wry smile: "Before we started to break out, I sent them a telegram and asked them to consider it immediately. But I never received a reply. I thought They are marching on the road and cannot receive telegrams for the time being.”
"Continue to contact them." Rybalko said angrily to the Chief of Staff: "The number of tanks in the 9th Tank Army is too few. Without their cooperation, we would not be able to break through the German encirclement."
The chief of staff immediately followed Rybalko's order and sent another telegram to the 15th Tank Corps. But this telegram still fell into the sea, with no response at all.
Seeing that there was no response from the other party, the chief of staff became a little uneasy. He reported to Rybalko in a panic: "Comrade Commander, the 15th Tank Corps is still unable to get in touch. Could something have happened to them?"
"What could happen?" Although Rybalko also had an ominous premonition in his heart, he could only pretend to be calm and said: "They defeated the German headquarters and quickly moved towards the north because they were worried about affecting the morale of the army. If so, the Germans won’t be able to react at all, so what could happen?”
However, not long after Rybalko finished speaking, a tank lieutenant whose face was blackened by gunpowder smoke came in from outside. He came to Rybalko, raised his hand in salute and said: "Comrade Commander, I am here to report to you that the 15th Tank Corps has been completely destroyed."
"What, the entire 15th Tank Corps was destroyed?" Rybalko and the chief of staff were stunned by this shocking news. After a long time, Rybalko asked the tank soldier who reported the news: "Are you telling the truth?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, what I said is true." said the tank crew lieutenant: "We were ambushed by the Germans and all the tanks were destroyed."
Rybalko felt a chill running down his spine and up to his forehead. He asked cautiously: "Where were you ambushed by the Germans?" "
"Five kilometers south of Varki Town." said the tank trooper lieutenant: "Based on their markings, we can tell that the troops ambushing us are the German Skeleton Division."
"I asked you to move closer to the north. What are you going to the south for?"
"I don't know, Comrade Commander." The tank trooper lieutenant shook his head and said, "We were ordered to pursue southward. The fight was going very smoothly. We killed many fleeing enemies along the way. Who knew that enemy tanks would suddenly appear? Coming out, we were caught off guard.”
When Rybalko heard this, he felt blood rushing to his head, and he felt strangely angry. It was clear that the order he had given to the tank commander was for him to quickly lead his troops north to rendezvous and participate in the breakout operation. Fortunately for him, he actually disobeyed military orders and led his troops southward to pursue the fleeing enemies, resulting in the complete destruction of the troops. He asked angrily: "Where is your commander?"
The tank crew lieutenant lowered his head and replied: "Sacrificed!"
"Where's the political commissar?"
"Sacrificed too!"
"Where's the Chief of Staff?"
"Still sacrificed!"
Rybalko asked several commanders in succession, and the tank lieutenants all gave the same answer. These commanders all died in the battle. Now that the culprit had died in the battle, even if Rybalko was full of anger, he had no place to vent it. After taking a few deep breaths, he said to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, since the 15th Tank Corps has been completely destroyed, we can only find a way to bring the remaining troops back. Immediately issue an order to send another message to the German army. When the defense line launches an attack, we must break through the enemy's defense and escape the encirclement at all costs."
The chief of staff glanced at the tank lieutenant who was still standing next to him, and asked Rybalko cautiously: "Comrade Commander, what about the 15th Tank Corps?"
"Let's talk about their affairs after we successfully break through." After saying this, Rybalko asked the tank crew lieutenant: "Lieutenant, how many people are left in your army? Who is the highest commander?"
"Including the infantrymen who cooperate with the company, there are more than 300 people in total." The tank corps lieutenant replied: "Now in the entire tank corps, I am the highest-ranking commander."
"Very good, Comrade Lieutenant." After Rybalko waited for the tank lieutenant to finish speaking, he immediately gave him an order: "You immediately lead the troops to the north and launch an attack on the enemy's defense line with the infantry. Can we successfully It's all up to you to break out of the German encirclement."
The tank lieutenant raised his hand in salute, then turned and walked out of Rybalko's command post.
After watching the lieutenant's back disappear, the chief of staff asked worriedly: "Comrade Commander, there are not enough tanks now. It may not be that easy for us to break through the German encirclement."
"No matter how difficult it is, we must try. Otherwise, we will have to wait to be wiped out by the Germans." At this point, Rybalko sighed softly and said helplessly: "General Zhukov has given us instructions However, during the actual implementation process, our plan failed due to the cleverness of individual commanders. If Comrade General sends a telegram again and asks how our situation is, I don’t know how to reply to him."
