Blickory called the commander of the 23rd Cavalry Regiment, only to learn that two battalions of the regiment had been evacuated outside the station, and hurriedly ordered him: "Comrade Colonel, immediately send the remaining battalions to the position east of the station, the commanders and fighters of the 25th Cavalry Regiment have suffered heavy casualties and are almost unbearable." In addition, the order was given to the two battalions, which had already withdrawn to the outside of the station, to immediately charge the flanks of the Germans, to be sure to crush their assault on the station. ”

According to the situation on the battlefield, Blickori judged that the German army was increasing its troops, and it was very difficult for his cavalry division, which lacked heavy weapons, to block the German attack. Therefore, after giving the order to the commander of the 23rd Cavalry Regiment, he asked the telegraph operator to send a report to the commander of the corps, Osilikovsky, to report his situation to him, and at the end of the message, begged the corps commander to order the other two cavalry divisions to move closer to him as soon as possible.

Oslikovsky, who was sitting in the command car, hurriedly asked his chief of staff after receiving a telegram from Blicori: "Where are the 5th Guards Cavalry Division and the 32nd Cavalry Division?" ”

The chief of staff glanced at the map spread out on his knees, looked up and replied: "Comrade commander, the three regiments of the 32nd Cavalry Division are currently almost twenty kilometers away from Arunstein; And the 5th Guards Division was even further away. It would take them at least three hours before they could get to the station. Moreover, after a long journey, the troops were already exhausted, and whether they could immediately enter the battle was still a question. ”

"I see." After listening to the chief of staff, Oslikovsky nodded, walked behind one of the operators in the car, put his hand on his shoulder, and ordered: "Send a report to the front headquarters that the 6th Guards Cavalry Division, after occupying the station west of Arunstein, was subjected to a fierce counterattack by the Germans, and that the division suffered heavy casualties due to the lack of heavy weapons. In order to ensure that the station was not captured by the Germans, the Front was requested to send air support ......"

After listening to the telegram dictated by Oslikovsky, the chief of staff, who was sitting on the side, asked with some scruples: "Comrade Army Commander, in the telegram sent by the 6th Guards Cavalry Division, there is no mention of heavy casualties at all. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I knew Blicori before the war, he was a commander with a lot of combat experience." Osilikovsky looked at his chief of staff and said: "Although his telegram does not say anything, I know very well in my heart that if he had not encountered insurmountable difficulties, he would never have sent a telegram asking the troops of the other two divisions to move closer to him." ”

After receiving the telegram from Osilikovsky, Bogolyubov immediately reported to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, this is a telegram from the 3rd Guards Cavalry Army, the Germans have gathered superior forces and are counterattacking the station occupied by the 6th Guards Cavalry Division. ”

After quickly reading the contents of the telegram, Rokossovsky raised his head and asked Bogolyubov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what do you think about this matter?" ”

"The cavalry is just a fast mobile force, and there may be no problem with using it for raids, but if it is used for defense, I'm afraid it will be a little problematic." Bogolyubov shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said helplessly: "After all, in the process of rapid maneuvering, they cannot carry a large number of heavy weapons, so in the face of the German counter-assault, they may suffer." ”

Rokossovsky looked down at the map in front of him and asked casually: "Which army group is the closest to Arunstein at the moment?" ”

Without hesitation, Bogolyubov replied: "It's the 48th Army of Lieutenant General Gusev." ”

"Give Gusev an order immediately," Rokossovsky ordered without raising his head, "let him send the tank brigade and infantry closer to the station as quickly as possible in order to reduce the casualties of the cavalry corps." After giving this order, he added, "Order the air force to attack and provide the necessary air support to the troops holding the station." ”

The German commanders threw the newly arrived troops into battle in an attempt to recapture the station from the 6th Guards Cavalry Division. The other two divisions of the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps, after receiving the order, also rushed to the station as fast as possible to support the 6th Guards Cavalry Division that was attacked.

As the Germans continued to attack, the positions of the three battalions in the east became precarious, and in some sections German soldiers jumped into the trenches and engaged the soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. In the fifty or sixty-meter-long trenches, both sides exhausted all their skills, and people were constantly knocked down by bullets, blown over by grenades, and stabbed to death with bayonets.

At this critical moment, two battalions of the 23rd Cavalry Regiment arrived. The cavalrymen, in a row of eighteen men each, with their guns slung cross-twine on their backs and swords in their hands, rushed from the flank of the German attacking troops.

Seeing the appearance of Soviet cavalry on the flanks, part of the German tanks immediately turned in place and intercepted them with machine guns and tank guns. The soldiers who were charging were constantly shot and fell from their horses on the way to the charge, and some of the horses were constantly falling over due to bullets while running, and while tripping other horses, they were swept under the surrounding iron hooves together with their owners.

Although the German firepower was very fierce and caused a lot of casualties to the Soviet cavalry, even so, the remaining cavalry commanders and fighters were still in the high-speed attack. After only a few minutes, the fighters of the 23rd Cavalry Regiment rushed to a distance of just over fifty meters from the Germans. Hundreds of horses galloped at the same time, and the movement of the iron hooves was like rolling thunder, and the ground trembled, making the German soldiers facing the cavalry tremble.

Just as the cavalry had cut through the German offensive line, Soviet bombers appeared in the air, swooping down from a high altitude and dropping bombs on the German tanks that were stationary. In the midst of the explosions, the German tanks turned into flaming torches one by one. The German soldiers, who had just broken through the Soviet position, saw that the tanks that provided fire support for themselves were being reimbursed one after another under the bombardment of Soviet planes, and where did they still have the heart to fight again, they either turned around and fled, or laid down their arms and surrendered.

After repelling the German attack, the commanders and fighters in the station heard a loud rumbling sound from the west, which, in everyone's experience, was the hoofs of thousands or even tens of thousands of horses. Blickory hurriedly came to the water tower, which was half destroyed by German artillery fire, stood in a position with a wide field of vision, raised his binoculars and looked to the west, only to see a group of swarthy cavalry, rushing quickly in the direction of the station.

Blicori knew in his heart that the German cavalry unit had long been lost in the previous blows, and such a large cavalry could only belong to his own people. Although he couldn't see the other party's flag clearly for the time being, he guessed that it was the troops of the 5th Guards Cavalry Division and the 32nd Cavalry Division. As soon as they arrived at the station, even if the Germans launched a fierce attack, they would not want to retake the station.