Chapter 1091 There are always unexpected surprises
A tanker who ran out of the tank alive looked around and immediately discovered a row of German tanks parked in front of him on the left. 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 masked 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 cleared, the tank soldier covered his lower back with his backhand and fell to the ground on his back with pain on his face.
.
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. It was learned that the infantrymen who were responsible for the breakout were attacked by the German army due to lack of sufficient tank cover.
After being repulsed, he couldn't help but anxiously asked the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, where have the tanks of the 15th Tank Army reached 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 Rybalko asked in surprise: "Then have they withdrawn from the town of Valki?"
"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 small. 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. However, 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?" Rybalko also had an ominous premonition in his heart, but because he was worried about affecting the morale of the army, he could only pretend to be calm and said: "They defeated the German headquarters and quickly moved towards the north.
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 soldier lieutenant whose face was blackened by gunpowder smoke came in from the outside. He came to Rybalko, raised his hand in salute and said: "Comrade Commander, I
I came to report to you that the 15th Tank Corps has been completely destroyed."
"What, the entire 15th Tank Army 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: "That's all you said.
real?"
"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."
"Rebalko 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." The tank trooper lieutenant said: "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 the enemy's tanks would suddenly appear?
When we came out, we were caught off guard."
When Rybalko heard this, he felt blood rushing to his head, and he felt strangely angry. 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 the military order.
, led his troops south without authorization to pursue the fleeing enemies, which resulted in the complete destruction of the troops. He asked angrily: "Where is your commander?"
The tank 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 had all died in the battle. Since the culprit had died in the battle, even if Rybalko was full of anger, he could not
He took a few deep breaths and 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. Give the order immediately,
To launch another attack on the German defense line, we must break through the enemy's defense at all costs and jump out of the encirclement."
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 them 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 are cooperating 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 escape 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, in the actual implementation process, due to the cleverness of individual commanders, our plan failed. If Comrade General sends a telegram again and asks how our situation is, I don't know how to reply to him."
