Chapter 1059 Offensive Combat (Part 2)

  Ruhelie led the 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 fighters began to look for a place to rest, Rukhle asked the chief of staff: "The scouts who stayed behind, did you find anything?"

"Comrade Brigadier, your judgment is correct." Hearing Ruhlie's question, the chief of staff quickly replied: "According to the report of the scouts, a German army on motorcycles entered at three o'clock in the morning. The village. If we had stayed in the village overnight, we would have had an exchange of fire with the Germans."

   "What size German?" Ruhlie asked.

   "According to the scout's report, the number of the enemy is not large." The chief of staff replied: "There are about 20 people wearing camouflage uniforms, carrying submachine guns, and sitting on three-wheeled motorcycles."

After listening to the chief of staff's description, Ruhlie said: "This should be the German reconnaissance squad, and their large forces are still behind. If we are discovered by them, they can hold us back by exchanging fire. Buy precious time for their large forces to arrive."

   "Order the scouts to closely guard this group of enemies." Ruhlie thought that there was no snow last night, and as long as he was not blind, he would be able to see the traces left by his troops on the snow. He ordered the chief of staff: "Once there is any latest situation, you need to report to me immediately."

  The troops rested on the spot for two hours. Ruhlie was about to order the troops to set off when the originally clear sky suddenly began to snow. Snowflakes like flakes fell one after another, falling on the hats and shoulders of the commanders and soldiers, and soon a thick layer of snow fell.

  With this sudden snowfall, visibility will be reduced, but for Ruhlie, it is a pleasant surprise. Therefore, in this way, heavy snow can quickly cover the whereabouts of the troops, making it impossible for the enemies trailing behind to find themselves.

The chief of staff ran up to Rukhle and reported to him: "Comrade Brigadier, the scouts sent another telegram saying that there was probably a battalion of German infantry who had entered the village. Due to the heavy snowfall, they stayed in the village for the time being." Li. What should we do next, continue on our way?"

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Knowing that the German army has new troops stationed in the village, Ruhlie was still very disturbed. After all, the location of his troops is only twenty kilometers away from the village, and the enemy may catch up at any time . He hurriedly ordered: "Order the troops to continue marching northward, and be sure to get rid of the pursuers in the shortest possible time."

  Ruhlie's order was faithfully conveyed, and the commanders and fighters who had not yet recovered their physical strength learned that the enemy's large forces had entered the village last night. While lamenting that the brigade commander's judgment was accurate, he also felt the crisis. With an order, he marched northward on the snow.

  The heavy snow did not stop until noon, and at this time, the troops of the tank brigade had already advanced more than ten kilometers northward. Seeing that the snow had stopped, Ruhlie again ordered the troops to rest in the forest. After the troops were settled, he asked the chief of staff, "Is there any news from the cluster command?"

"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 Temporarily cut off contact with the superior, and ordered the operator not to reply to the superior's inquiry telegram."

"Chief of staff, you are right." After listening to the report of the chief of staff, Ruhlie said approvingly: "We are too far away from the headquarters, and the superiors don't know our situation at all. If they give us wrong orders, It may lead to the destruction of our entire brigade. As the brigade commander, I absolutely cannot tolerate this happening. Therefore, there is no need to restore contact with the combat group until the troops reach Luhansk safely."

  The chief of staff looked up at the clear sky because the snow had stopped: "Comrade Brigadier, when shall we start again?"

   "Don't worry." Luhlie waved his hand and said, "The commanders and fighters haven't had a good rest since last night. Let them eat something first, take a nap as soon as possible, and set off after replenishing their strength."

   "Comrade Brigadier." The chief of staff asked in surprise: "Are you still planning to let the troops march at night?"

"That's right, that's how I thought about it." Luhlie replied: "After dark, the enemy also stopped searching. We marched in the dark, and the chance of being discovered by the enemy will be very small. By the way, the village How is the situation on the side, has the enemy dispatched?"

   "No." The chief of staff shook his head and said: "According to the scout's report, in the past few hours, two more troops have entered the village one after another, and more than a dozen tanks have appeared."

"What, even tanks have appeared?" Knowing 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. What we have to do is to narrow the encirclement and find ways to annihilate our troops caught in the encirclement."

   "In this way, the main force of the cluster may be severely hit by the German army." The chief of staff carefully asked Ruhlie: "Comrade brigade commander, do you think we need to provide them with assistance?"

"There is no need for this." Ruhlie shook his head and said: "Our troops are limited and our equipment is poor. If we rush to reinforce, we may not be able to help, but we will get ourselves in instead. According to the original plan, we will go to the Detour north and quickly approach Lugansk."

The chief of staff knew that Ruhlie was telling the truth, and he didn't object. Taking advantage of the time when the troops were resting here, he sent scouts forward to find out whether there were enemy troops stationed on the next marching route of the troops. .

   After three o'clock in the afternoon, the scouts sent back returned and reported to Ruhlie with a look of panic: "Comrade Brigadier, about a battalion of troops is stationed in the forest five kilometers in front of us."

   "The strength of a battalion?" Lu Helie frowned. He didn't expect that he would lead his troops to detour to the north and still encounter a large number of enemies. He asked with a fluke mentality: "What kind of fortifications does the enemy have, and what about their weapons and equipment?"

   "Only some half-deep trenches." The scout replied: "I saw several armored vehicles in the woods, but no enemy tanks."

"Comrade Brigadier, what should we do?" The chief of staff asked in a panic: "The enemy has a battalion of troops. Although they have no tanks, once the two sides exchange fire, the battle cannot be resolved within half a day. If the fighting time is too long Long, I am worried that the enemy behind us will pounce on us. At that time, we will be caught in a dilemma."

"Chief of Staff, we have already come here, and it is impossible to retreat." Lu Heli said with a serious expression: "No matter how many enemies are in front of us, we will fight a battle. As long as we break through the enemy's line of defense, we will Only the best troops can have a chance. Continue to send scouts to find out the enemy's defense situation, and we will launch an attack on the enemy after dark."

  (end of this chapter)