When Ruhlie arrived at the field position, the defeated troops were already not far from the trenches.
Looking at the defeated troops coming towards his position, Ruhelie couldn't help but frowned. He knew very well that the appearance of these defeated troops would affect the morale and morale of his troops. He quickly crossed the half-man-deep barrier.
The trench quickly came to the front of the group of defeated soldiers, raised one hand high, and shouted loudly: "Stop, everyone, stop!"
Perhaps because his voice was too soft, the defeated soldiers did not hear him, and they still walked slowly towards the field position. A tank soldier following Ruhelie saw that the defeated soldiers did not hear Ruhelie's shout, and quickly moved his weapon.
The muzzle of the submachine gun pointed at the sky and fired a burst. The sudden sound of gunfire shocked the dejected soldiers who were walking aimlessly. Some people who were close to Ruhelie stopped unconsciously.
steps.
"Stop, everyone, stop!" Seeing that the defeated soldiers at the front had stopped, Ruhelie continued to shout loudly: "Everyone, stop, don't go any further."
The tank soldiers behind Ruhle were afraid that the defeated soldiers in the distance would not hear them, so they also shouted and shouted several times. The defeated soldiers who were walking towards the position stopped and stood still.
daze.
"Who among you is the commander?" Ruhelie looked at the dark crowd in front of him and asked loudly: "Come to me!"
After a while, several lieutenant-level officers squeezed out of the crowd. They came to Ruhelie and asked with a dull expression: "Comrade Colonel, do you have any instructions?"
Ruhelie glanced at the few people and found that the one with the highest rank was just a captain, so he asked with a straight face: "Comrade captain, can you tell me where you plan to go?"
The captain replied with a look of panic: "Comrade Colonel, can't you see that we were attacked by the Germans and the troops have been defeated?"
"I saw it." Ruhelie said calmly: "But what I'm asking is, where are you going to go next?"
"I don't know, I don't know." The captain continued: "Anyway, as long as we can stay as far away from the Germans as possible, the better."
A soldier standing not far away, whose face was blackened by gunpowder smoke, shouted loudly: "Comrade Colonel, what are we still doing here? Let's move quickly before the Germans come."
"Move, where are you going to move to?" Ruhelie saw a tree stump not far away, and with the help of the tank soldiers, he stood on the tree stump and said loudly to the group of defeated soldiers in front of him: "I
This is Colonel Ruhle, commander of the 19th Independent Tank Brigade. Not long ago, our brigade used the last artillery shell to repulse a German attack. Now a German armored regiment is following us, heading here.
Come here. If you want to pass through our positions and continue to retreat west or south, you may encounter this enemy head on. Do you want to be captured by the Germans?"
Ruhelie's words made the defeated soldiers fall silent. Everyone worked hard to withdraw from the battlefield just to escape danger, and no one wanted to be a prisoner. Once he became a prisoner, it didn't matter whether he would be able to stand up to outsiders for the rest of his life.
At first, it might even hurt your own family.
"Our brigade is preparing to continue moving eastward according to the orders of our superiors." Seeing that the defeated soldiers were silent, Ruhlie knew that what he had just said had moved them: "If you are not willing to become prisoners of the Germans, let yourself and your family
If you are ashamed, then join us."
"Time is of the essence." Ruhle understood the principle of striking while the iron is hot. Seeing that the defeated soldiers seemed a little hesitant at the moment, "I will immediately incorporate you into the army and register your name, rank and unit. As long as you can
Follow us to break out. When reporting the results of the battle in the future, I will truthfully report to your superiors the personal heroism and bravery you showed in the battle. At that time, not only will you not be deserters, but you will also become the motherland.
's hero."
"Hello, Colonel Ruhle!" After hearing Ruhle's promise, the captain first made a decision. Instead of being a prisoner of the Germans, it would be better for this tank brigade to fight bravely, and maybe return it in the future.
He could gain honors. Having made up his mind, he took the initiative and said to Ruhelie: "I am Captain Kegor, and I am willing to join your army."
Ruhelie jumped off the tree stump, came to the captain, raised his hand and patted him twice on the shoulder, and then said with a smile: "Captain Kogor, on behalf of the entire brigade commanders and fighters, I welcome you to join. You are now the staff officer
Register with the commander, and then you will be the commander of the second battalion."
Captain Kogor thought that even if he agreed to join the tank brigade, the other party would probably give him the position of company commander at most, but unexpectedly he was actually asked to be the battalion commander. While grateful, he quickly straightened his body and said to Ruhle: "
Comrade Colonel, thank you for your trust in me, I will definitely perform well in the next battle."
Considering that reorganizing this group of broken troops is a very time-consuming matter. If the previous reorganization method is followed, the Germans behind may have caught up before the reorganization is completed. So Ruhle moved the surviving battalion and company
The commander-in-chief called them forward and told them: "Comrades, time is tight. We cannot reorganize the troops as we have in the past. You now select people to organize into their respective companies, and then register them during the march.
.”
The battalion and company commanders all understood the situation of the tank brigade, and after a loud agreement, they got into the group of broken soldiers. They shouted their company numbers loudly, and asked at the same time: "Which of you is willing to join?"
In this way, in less than twenty minutes, more than 700 defeated soldiers were organized into three battalions of the tank brigade.
Ruhle looked at the tanks and armored vehicles parked in the forest in the distance, and turned to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, those tanks and armored vehicles are all out of fuel. You send people over to blow them up. They will never be intact."
The land is left to the Germans.”
After the chief of staff arranged his manpower to blow up the tanks and armored vehicles, he looked at the troops not far away, which had completed their assembly, and asked Ruhle for instructions: "Comrade Brigadier, the troops have been assembled. What should we do next?
Should we hold on to our position or seize the opportunity to move east before the enemy comes up?"
"Move eastward." After weighing the pros and cons, Ruhle made a decisive decision: "If we want to completely break out of the German encirclement, we can only continue eastward and rush to Luhansk and the troops who stand there.
Meet. Chief of Staff, order the troops to set off immediately!"