Just as Colonel Domlin's motorized brigade was blocked by the Germans south of Erbin, the tank company's position on the northern outskirts of the city was attacked by the Germans.

Captain Diachenko stood in the trench and watched the approaching German tanks with a telescope, except for the two Leopards, the rest were the No. 4 tanks, which were moving in a wedge-shaped formation towards their positions. Although the enemy tanks were still thousands of kilometers away, the rumbling roar of the motors was already clearly audible.

“4:10！” Diachenko secretly calculated the comparison between the enemy and us in his heart, not to mention that the number of tanks on his side was far less than that of the enemy, but they all did a good job of concealment, as long as they did not fire, they would not be discovered by the enemy's tanks. The only thing that gave him a headache was behind the enemy's tanks, followed by a dozen trucks, and roughly calculated that the enemy numbered at least two or three hundred people.

For a moment, Diachenko regretted a little in his heart, feeling that he should not go deep alone, so far, there were only four tanks and twenty people left, except for the eight tank crews who stayed in the tanks, there were only twelve people on the position, except for two submachine guns, the rest of the tank crews were equipped with pistols. It is obviously irrational to go head-to-head with the enemy with such equipment.

He put down his binoculars and said to the operator crouching in the trench: "Tell the gunners to wait until the German tank has approached a range of 400 meters before firing, our armor-piercing shells can easily penetrate the frontal armor of the German tank at that distance." ”

The German tank stopped at a distance of 800 meters from the tank company's position, the top hatch of the leading Leopard tank was opened, and a German officer in a black tank uniform leaned out and raised his binoculars to look at the position occupied by the tank company.

"What is he going to do?" Diachenko looked at the German tanks that suddenly stopped, and muttered in his heart: "Is it preparing to shell our positions?" His brow furrowed at the thought that the enemy might be shelling from a distance, even though at such a distance, with the level of his own gunners, he could completely hit the German tanks that were standing still. However, if you can't penetrate the frontal armor of the enemy's tank, even if you hit the target, what is the use, but it will expose the target and make your own tank a target for the enemy.

The German officer observed for a while and found that there was no movement at all on the position in the distance, he couldn't help but be a little confused, and thought to himself: "It's strange, why can't you see a tank on the position, could it be that the Russian tank has been transferred?" Thinking of this, he put down his binoculars, retracted into the tank, and instructed his subordinates: "Keep going!" ”

Diachenko couldn't help but be overjoyed when he saw the black smoke rising from the tail of the German tanks when they suddenly accelerated, it seemed that the enemy had not found himself, and when these tanks had entered the best range, his own tanks could teach them a hard lesson.

After only two minutes, the German tanks were only 400 meters away from the position, and Diachenko, seeing that the time was ripe to open fire, nodded to the operator who was squatting beside him, and motioned for him to inform the artillery to open fire.

As the order was given, the four tanks, which had long been ready to go, simultaneously opened fire on the onrushing German tanks. Sadly, three of the shells missed, landing next to the speeding tank and exploding, kicking up a rush of dirt. After a successful hit by an armor-piercing shell on a German tank, it caused the ammunition inside the vehicle to detonate, and a tankman covered in fire screamed out of the tank and rolled wildly on the ground in an attempt to extinguish the flames on his body. But everything he did was in vain, and soon he fell to the ground, motionless and allowed the flames to burn in his body.

The German tank units that came were obviously well-trained, and their formation was not affected in the slightest. The tanks in the rear bypassed the burning wreckage and stopped to fire at the positions of the tank companies. The accuracy of the artillery was naturally not guaranteed, and the shells fired by the German tanks did not cause any damage to the Soviet troops, but only blew up a few large craters outside the trenches.

Diachenko shook his head, shook off the dirt that had fallen from his hat, and shouted at the operator: "Keep firing!" ”

As the Soviet tanks opened fire again, the trucks following the German tanks stopped, and the soldiers jumped out of their compartments, formed battle formations, and rushed towards the positions of the tank companies.

Looking at the approaching German infantry, Diachenko thought bitterly: "If the tank men in the trenches could each have a spear, even a Mosin Nagant rifle, I would be confident that I would crush the enemy's attack." But now, we only have two submachine guns and a dozen pistols, and we are at an absolute disadvantage in terms of firepower......"

But when the German infantry was still a hundred meters away, the course machine guns of the Soviet tanks began to fire, spitting out the flames of death from the muzzles, knocking down the German soldiers who rushed into the firing range one after another. Several German soldiers managed to approach the trench and were wounded by crossfire from two submachine guns in the trench, making it impossible for them to enter the trench at all.

After more than 20 minutes of fighting, the Germans, who could not figure out the reality of the Soviet army, saw that the attack could not be effective, so they resolutely withdrew. In this battle, the Germans had four tanks destroyed, one wounded, and more than fifty infantry casualties. Three Soviet tanks were destroyed, five were killed and seven were wounded.

After seeing the enemy retreat, Diachenko ordered people to treat the wounded, and at the same time personally led people out of the trenches and went to the corpses of the Germans to collect weapons that could still be used.

In the process of collecting weapons, one of the commanders asked Diachenko: "Comrade company commander, when will our reinforcements arrive?" ”

Diachenko shook his head and said with a wry smile: "According to the telegram received, our reinforcements have reached the south of Erbin, but they are blocked by that anti-tank trench and cannot get close to us for the time being. ”

The commander recalled the area that had blocked them for several hours before they barely passed, and could not help but say with emotion: "It seems that we can only rely on our own strength to meet the enemy's attack, and I hope we can support until the moment when the friendly troops arrive." ”

After collecting weapons and ammunition and returning to the trenches, Diachenko looked at the few scattered subordinates in the trenches, and thought to himself: "The commander has a point, if the friendly forces do not move closer to us as soon as possible, we will not be able to support us for long." Thinking of this, he called the telegraph operator over and instructed, "Comrade telegraph operator, immediately send a telegram directly to the brigade headquarters, saying that we only have one tank and a dozen soldiers left, and if we cannot reinforce them as soon as possible, we are in danger of being wiped out." ”

The telegrapher, following Diachenko's orders, sent a telegram to the brigade headquarters. After sending the telegram, he looked at Diachenko and asked nervously: "Comrade Company Commander, do you say that our reinforcements will arrive on time?" ”

Diachenko looked at the operator and smiled faintly, and asked rhetorically: "Isn't it possible for us to hold out without reinforcements?" Rest assured, judging from the battle that has just ended, the enemy's combat effectiveness is not as strong as we imagined, and even without reinforcements, we can hold on for a long time. ”