When the commanders and soldiers rushed to seventy or eighty meters away from the entrance of the village, sporadic gunfire sounded in the village.
Colonel Ruhle, who was watching the battle behind, heard the gunshots coming from the village, which were basically the sound of rifle shooting. There were two submachine guns firing sporadically, without machine guns. He immediately judged that there would be no more than two squads of Germans in the village.
The Chief of Staff, who was standing next to Ruhle, also discovered this problem and quickly suggested to him: "Comrade Brigade Commander, based on the gunfire, there are not many enemies in the village. In order to resolve the battle as soon as possible, I suggest putting the entire brigade into the battle."
"There is no need for this." Ruhlei denied the proposal of the Chief of Staff: "There are more than 400 people in the vanguard, which is enough to solve this enemy. If all the troops are put into battle, it may cause unnecessary chaos."
The battalion commander of the pioneer battalion is still very capable. Although there are not many enemies in the village and the firepower is not strong, he still arranged several machine guns outside the village to suppress the exposed shooting positions in the village and cover the soldiers' attacks.
The three companies of the vanguard battalion rushed into the village from different locations. Soon, the sound of gun shooting, grenade explosion and the screams of the hitters came from the village.
The German army in the village was the remnants of the 61st Motorcycle Battalion. After being defeated by the breakthrough troops, they fled here. Unexpectedly, they were attacked by the tank brigade after staying for a short time. Although they fought tenaciously, due to the difference in military strength and weapons, the entire battle lasted less than half an hour before it ended.
The results of the battle were soon counted out, and 16 people were killed and 29 people were injured. 17 Germans were shot and killed, and 2 submachine guns, 14 rifles, 1 pistols, and 6 tricycles were seized.
As for the prisoners, there was no one. Even if Ruhle did not explain anything in advance, the soldiers knew very well that the next breakthrough battle would be extremely difficult, and it would be unrealistic to march with the prisoners. Therefore, in the battle, even if the enemy put down his weapons and surrendered, they would still shoot at the other side.
The accidental seized motorcycle made Luhre overjoyed. He said to the Chief of Staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, put all our seriously injured people into the sideboard of the motorcycle. Although it was a bit bumpy when marching, it was better than walking."
"Do you set out now?" asked the Chief of Staff tentatively: "It's almost dark. I think I'd better rest in the village for one night and set out tomorrow."
"No, Comrade Chief of Staff." Ruhlei said: "Although the scale of the battle here is small, it may have alarmed the enemy. If you do not transfer as soon as possible and be entangled by the enemy who follows you, you will not agree if you want to escape again."
Through the attitude of the Chief of Staff, Ruhlei realized that the number of commanders in the brigade with similar ideas should still be very large, so he ordered, "Call all the company-level commanders, and I will explain to them the reason for the overnight march."
Ruhle's judgment was accurate. The commanders and soldiers in the brigade participated in two battles today and walked so many distances. They finally occupied a village. Although it was a little smaller, everyone hoped to rest here for a night and set off after dawn tomorrow.
Unexpectedly, after cleaning the battlefield, the orders received were transferred overnight. Not only did the soldiers not understand this, but even commanders at all levels were very dissatisfied. After receiving the notice from the Chief of Staff, everyone did not dare to neglect them and immediately appeared in front of Ruhlei as quickly as possible, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Comrades," seeing that the company-level commanders under his command were basically here, Ruhlei said, "I know that everyone is very confused about the order I issued overnight march, so I will hurry you and explain it to you. I hope that after you return to your respective troops, you will also tell the soldiers truthfully so that they can know what they know."
The commanders who came to attend the meeting originally wanted to give Ruhlei their own opinions, hoping that the already very tired troops would rest in this village for a night and set off again after dawn. But when Ruhlei said this, no one spoke, but looked at Ruhlei quietly, wanting to hear what he would say.
"I know that after two battles today and after rushing so far, most of the commanders and soldiers have become exhausted. Many people hope to have a good rest in this village tonight and wait for dawn to set out again tomorrow." Luhrey said: "But it is not possible, comrades, you must know that we are still surrounded by the German army. The reason why the commander chose to break east was simply because the enemy's defense in this direction was weak, and friendly forces were also supporting us in Luhansk. But now the enemy has discovered our intention to break through, and the troops originally deployed in several other directions have pressed towards us.
If we stay in the village for one night, maybe by dawn, the enemies we caught up with had already surrounded us. Therefore, in order for everyone to successfully break out of the enemy's encirclement, we must come overnight and throw the enemies we catch up as far as possible."
The commander who had already had a resistance to Ruhle's order, after listening to Ruhle's detailed explanation, realized that his troops were still in siege. If he stayed in a certain place for too long, there was indeed a possibility of being surrounded by the enemy. The second battalion commander Kogol, who had just joined the Tank Brigade, walked out of the crowd and straightened his body and said to Ruhle: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are right. We are still surrounded by the Germans. If we don't consider it as soon as possible, we will wait for our destiny, either to be completely annihilated or to become prisoners of the enemy. I will immediately return to my own troops and convey your words to the soldiers to understand our current situation."
Since someone had expressed his attitude first, the other commanders realized that it was indeed an inappropriate thing to rest here, and they also expressed their opinions: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we firmly obey your orders and lead the troops to move overnight, so we will never give the enemy the chance to surround us."
Seeing that all the commanders realized the seriousness of the problem, Ruhlei couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, then waved his hand to everyone, saying, "Since everyone understands the meaning of rushing overnight, then return to their respective troops. Remember, under the current circumstances, the faster we move, the greater the chance of successfully breaking out of the enemy's encirclement."
After commanders at all levels left one after another, the Chief of Staff asked Ruhlie: "Comrade Brigade Commander, are we still moving closer to the main force according to the original plan?"
"No, if we want to successfully break through, we must not move closer to the main force, but should try to move north." Ruhrei said: "In this way, we can get rid of enemies coming from different aspects and the defenders living in Donetsk."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," the Chief of Staff was a little uneasy when he heard Ruhle's order: "You have changed the breakout route without authorization. If your superiors blame you in the future, you may not be able to bear it."
Chapter completed!