In the face of the attack of the 5th Guards Cavalry Division, the commander of the German garrison suddenly realized that he had made a fatal mistake: it was very difficult to resist the onslaught of the Soviet army by relying only on a small number of regular troops, people's stormtroopers and policemen with little combat experience; And the main force that poured out of the nest was also very unsmooth in the battle to attack the station at the moment. A garrison in the fortified area that was supposed to give the Soviet army a headache turned into a field force with worrying combat effectiveness, and at this moment they wanted to return to the city to rescue, but the far water could not save the near fire.

The 299th Infantry Division and the 18th Panzer Division, which were attacking from the other direction, were also attacked from the flanks by the 32nd Cavalry Division, and fierce fighting ensued in the open area near the station.

Two tank brigades and two infantry divisions sent by the 48th Army, as well as several self-propelled artillery regiments, arrived, the artillery regiments stopped at a distance and shelled the German armored units with artillery fire, while the tank brigades launched a direct assault on the area where the Germans were located. Seeing that the Germans suffered heavy casualties under artillery fire, and that the tanks that were assaulting the troops were divided into several large pieces, Osirichowski immediately threw several heavy machine-gun battalions into battle, which had just arrived.

A four-wheeled carriage drawn by three war horses used by the heavy machine-gun battalion, with a driver driving the carriage in front; The Maxim heavy machine gun was mounted in the rear half of the carriage and was fired by the machine gunner, while the secondary shooter was responsible for supplying ammunition, maintaining the machine gun, and was also a substitute shooter.

The wagon rushed to the vicinity of the German units, which had lost their formation and were in disarray, immediately turned the head of the wagon, pointed the side where the machine gun was placed at the enemy, and opened heavy fire. A heavy machine gun battalion had 43 heavy machine guns, and so many machine guns fired at the same time, forming a dense network of fire, like a scythe of death, frantically harvesting the lives of German officers and soldiers.

The 6th Guards Cavalry Division, which was stuck in the station, had already suffered more than half of the casualties under the attack of the Germans, regardless of Yegor's several wounds, even the division commander Blickory personally took a submachine gun and led the remaining soldiers of the guard company to rely on the dilapidated buildings and the wreckage of the overturned train on the railway as cover, and launched a fierce battle with the Germans who rushed into the station.

When he saw the arrival of the main force and the large-scale rout of the German army, he couldn't help laughing, and then ordered the signal corps to inform the 28th Guards Cavalry Regiment, which was in reserve outside the station, to immediately enter the battle, follow the friendly forces to attack the enemy, and be sure to annihilate some more German troops to vent the resentment in his heart.

Under the powerful offensive of the Soviet army, the 299th Infantry Division and the 18th Armored Division, which were divided into several large pieces, were able to resist in local areas; The troops that came out of Aarenstein were completely in chaos, and the Soviet troops surrounded from all sides had no power to fight back. If you want to go on the attack, the defenders of the station are unusually stubborn, and they have to pay heavy casualties for every step they take; Have the intention to retreat, the troops of the 5th Guards Cavalry Division, which have occupied most of the area of the city of Arunstein, have no way to retreat.

The defenders of Alenstein, who had no home to return from, decided to stop their resistance and surrender to the Soviets after consulting the garrison commander, so as not to be completely annihilated. With an order, thousands of German officers and soldiers immediately stopped resisting, waved the improvised white flag, and surrendered to the Soviet troops who rushed up.

After defeating the enemy in Aarenstein, the Soviets concentrated their efforts on the 299th Infantry Division and the 18th Panzer Division, which were still stubbornly resisting. The German division commanders of these two divisions, relying on a lot of tanks and artillery in their hands, still carried out the last stubborn resistance.

In particular, the commander of the 18th Armored Division ordered the artillery to open fire on the battlefield that was still in the midst of the melee, regardless of the fact that the shells would accidentally injure his own people. As the order was given, the artillery regiment of the armored division began shelling towards the area where the Soviet and German soldiers were fighting, and one after another shells fell on the crowd and exploded, setting off countless stumps and broken legs and a mist of blood.

Seeing that the German artillery was firing, the Soviet self-propelled guns immediately turned their guns and began firing at them. After paying a certain price, the opponent's artillery was finally suppressed, and then the tank units with their hands freed up launched a surprise attack on the temporary position of the 18th Panzer Division.

The officers and men of the 18th Armored Division, which was hit hard, were either killed or wounded. Some shrewd soldiers, hiding in bullet craters and strapping white handkerchiefs to their guns, waved desperately, and told the Soviet commanders and fighters who rushed up that they had surrendered. Although they are ordinary soldiers, they also know in their hearts that the general trend has gone, and continuing to resist stubbornly is the only way to die.

Fortunately, the two German division commanders were not the characters who went all the way to the black, seeing that their soldiers were demoralized, and the hastily established defense line collapsed under the attack of the Soviet army, knowing that if they continued to fight, they still could not escape the fate of annihilation, so they decisively issued an order for the troops to stop resisting and surrender to the Soviet army.

Half an hour later, reports of the battles outside Arunstein were sent to the Front Command in the form of telegrams. Seeing this report, Bogolyubov immediately excitedly reported to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, the 3rd Guards Cavalry Army of Oslikovsky, in cooperation with the units of the 48th Army, captured a large amount of booty and captured several thousand German officers and soldiers. At the same time, Aarenstein was captured, opening a gap in the second defensive zone in the fortified area of the German army, opening the way to the hinterland of East Prussia for our troops. ”

Such an exciting report made several front army commanders present feel rejoicing. Trubnikov was the first to say: "Comrade commander, such good news, we should immediately report to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief......"

No one had any objections to Trubnikov's proposal, and while the chief of the communications corps, General Bortsov, was sending a telegram to the General Staff, Rokossovsky read the battle report he had received from beginning to end. After reading this, he looked up at Bogolyubov and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the 3rd Guards Cavalry Army has contributed to our victory in the Alenstein area, but the 6th Guards Cavalry Division should be the first to do so. With the strength of a light cavalry division, they attracted more than 20,000 German troops near the station, creating favorable conditions for our troops to successfully capture Arunstein. ”

After Rokossovsky finished expressing his opinion, he turned his head to look at Su Bojing and asked: "Comrade Military Commissar, I propose to award the Order of the Red Banner of the 3rd Guards Cavalry Army, and the commander Oslikovsky and the three division commanders under him are awarded the 'Hero of the Soviet Union'. Don't know what your opinion is? ”

"I agree." Through the battle report just now, Su Bojing also has a certain understanding of the combat experience of the 3rd Guards Cavalry Army. After waiting for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, he immediately expressed his approval, while adding: "Comrade Marshal, in the battle for holding the station, Colonel Yegor's 25 Guards Cavalry Regiment established immortal merits, and I propose to award the regiment the honorary title of 'Arunstein Regiment'. ”

After listening to what Su Bojing said, Rokossovsky turned his head and asked his colleagues sitting on the side: "Do you have any objections to the proposal of Comrade Military Commissar?" ”

"Nope." Everyone replied in unison.

"Since there are no objections, it is officially adopted." Seeing that there was no objection from everyone, Rokossovsky made a decision on the matter of awarding the honorary title of the 25th Guards Regiment. "Chief of Staff, immediately send a telegram to Osilikovsky and tell him the good news."