Ruhelie led his troops to walk in the forest all night. When it was almost dawn, he ordered the troops to stop and rest in the open space in the forest.
When the commanders and soldiers began to look for a place to rest, Ruhlie asked the chief of staff: "Did the scouts who stayed behind find anything?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander, your judgment is correct." Hearing Ruhlie's question, the Chief of Staff quickly replied: "According to the scout's report, a German troop on a motorcycle entered the city at three o'clock in the morning.
Village. If we had stayed in the village overnight, we might have exchanged fire with the Germans."
"What size of Germans?" Ruhle asked.
"According to the scout's report, the number of enemies is not large." The chief of staff replied: "There are about twenty people wearing camouflage uniforms, carrying submachine guns, and riding three-wheeled motorcycles."
After listening to the chief of staff's description, Ruhle said: "This should be a German reconnaissance team. Their large force is still behind. If we are discovered by them, they can hold us back through a firefight.
Buy precious time for their large forces to arrive."
"Order the scouts to closely guard this enemy group." Ruhelie thought that there was no snow last night, and anyone who was not blind would definitely be able to see the traces left by his troops on the snow. He ordered the chief of staff: "Once
If there is any latest situation, please report it to me immediately."
The troops rested in place for two hours. Ruhlie was about to order the troops to set off when suddenly it started to snow in the originally clear sky. Snowflakes like broken flakes fell one after another, falling on the hats and shoulders of the commanders and soldiers, and they were very heavy.
A thick layer of snow soon fell.
With this sudden falling snow, visibility will be reduced, but for Ruhle, it is an unexpected surprise. Therefore, the heavy snow can quickly cover up the whereabouts of the troops, making it impossible for the enemies following behind to find them.
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The chief of staff ran to Ruhle and reported to him: "Comrade Brigadier, the scouts sent a telegram again, saying that about a battalion of German infantry has entered the village. Due to heavy snowfall, they temporarily stayed in the village.
Here. What should we do next, continue on our way?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." After learning that the German army had new troops stationed in the village, Ruhelie was still very uneasy. After all, his troops were only about 20 kilometers away from the village, and the enemy could catch up at any time.
. He quickly ordered: "Order the troops to continue moving northward and be sure to get rid of the pursuing troops behind them in the shortest possible time."
Ruhelie's order was faithfully passed on, and the commanders and soldiers who had not yet recovered their strength learned that the enemy's large forces had entered the village last night. While feeling grateful that the brigade commander's judgment was accurate, they also felt the crisis, and then
After giving the order, they headed north through the snow.
The heavy snow did not stop until noon, and by this time, the troops of the tank brigade had already marched more than ten kilometers north. Seeing that the snow had stopped, Ruhle once again ordered the troops to rest in the forest. After the troops were settled,
He asked the chief of staff: "Any news from cluster headquarters?"
"During the march, I received a telegram from the combat group." The chief of staff reported: "The superior asked us where we are. I remember you said that if you want to jump out of the enemy's encirclement, you must
The contact with the superior was temporarily interrupted, so the operator was ordered not to reply to the superior's inquiry telegram."
"Chief of Staff, you did the right thing." Ruhle said approvingly after listening to the Chief of Staff's report: "We are too far away from the headquarters, and our superiors don't understand our situation at all. If they give us the wrong order,
It may lead to the destruction of our entire brigade. As the brigade commander, I will never tolerate this happening. Therefore, there is no need to restore contact with the combat group until the troops arrive safely in Luhansk."
The chief of staff looked up at the sky that had become clear because the snowfall had stopped: "Comrade Brigade Commander, when will we set off again?"
"Don't be anxious." Ruhelie waved his hand and said: "The commanders and soldiers have not had a good rest from last night to now. Let them eat something first, take a nap as soon as possible, and replenish their physical strength before setting off."
"Comrade Brigadier." The Chief of Staff asked in surprise: "Are you still planning to let the troops march at night?"
"Yes, that's what I think about." Ruhelie replied: "After dark, the enemy also stops searching. If we march under the cover of night, the chance of being discovered by the enemy will be very small. By the way, the village
What's the situation on the border, has the enemy taken action?"
"No." The chief of staff shook his head and said, "According to the scouts' reports, in the past few hours, two more troops have successively entered the village, and more than a dozen tanks have appeared."
"What, even tanks appeared?" After learning that enemy tanks were found near the village, Ruhlie immediately realized the seriousness of the problem: "It seems that German troops have been transferred from several other directions. They will next
What we have to do is to narrow the encirclement and find ways to annihilate our troops trapped in the encirclement."
"So, the main force of the cluster may suffer a heavy blow from the German army." The chief of staff cautiously asked Ruhle for instructions: "Comrade Commander, do you think we need to provide them with assistance?"
"There is no need." Ruhelie shook his head and said, "Our troops are limited and the equipment is poor. If we rush to reinforce, we may not be able to help, but instead get ourselves involved. We should follow the original plan and go to
Detour north and quickly move towards Lugansk."
The chief of staff knew that Ruhle was telling the truth and did not object. While the troops were resting here, he sent scouts forward to find out whether there were any enemy troops stationed along the troops' next march route.
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After three o'clock in the afternoon, the dispatched scouts returned and reported to Ruhlie with a panicked expression: "Comrade Brigade Commander, there is about a battalion of troops stationed in the forest five kilometers ahead of us."
"The strength of a battalion?" Ruhelie frowned. He did not expect that he would lead his troops to the north and still encounter a large number of enemies. He asked with a sense of luck: "What kind of fortifications does the enemy have?
What about weapons and equipment?”
"There are only some half-man-deep trenches." The scout replied: "I saw several armored vehicles in the woods, but no enemy tanks."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, what should we do?" the Chief of Staff asked in a panic: "The enemy has a battalion of troops. Although they do not have tanks, once the two sides engage in firefights, the battle will not be resolved in less than half a day. If the fighting time passes,
Commander, I'm worried that the enemies behind us will pounce. At that time, we will be in a predicament of being attacked from both sides."
"Chief of Staff, we have come here, and it is impossible to retreat." Ruhlie said seriously: "No matter how many enemies are in front of us, we will fight. As long as we break through the enemy's defense line, we will
Only in this way can the troops have a chance of survival. Continue to send out scouts to find out the enemy's defense situation, and we will launch an attack on the enemy after dark."