When the tankmen were launching their tanks, Lieutenant Palansky tried to get in touch with the battalion, but because of the distance or interference, the communications corps called through the radio for a long time and failed to get in touch with the battalion headquarters.

The signal soldier stopped calling in vain, looked at Palansky helplessly and asked: "Comrade lieutenant, we can't get in touch with the battalion headquarters, what should we do?" ”

"Since we can't get in touch with the battalion headquarters, let's move on." After Palansky finished speaking, he raised his hand and patted the driver's shoulder, and commanded loudly: "Go!" ”

Seeing that the platoon commander's tank rushed out first, the rest of the tanks also started to follow. Four tanks lined up in a column, keeping a distance of fifty meters from each other, and quickly rushed along the road towards the town of Gorodok.

There were more than 500 German troops stationed in the town of Gorodok, not only infantry, but also artillery and even logistics units. Don't look at the battle ahead, but since it's far from the front line, the guard is lax. Except for seven or eight German soldiers guarding the barricades at the entrance of the town, the rest of the officers and soldiers were still sleeping in the houses.

Hearing the roar of tank engines, several soldiers on duty thought that their tanks were coming, and came out of the fortifications with sleepy eyes, trying to remove the obstacles on the road.

A young soldier said as he walked, "Hell, why are there tanks coming early in the morning?" ”

A corporal next to him glared at him and said dissatisfiedly: "Don't talk nonsense, others may be on a mission in the rear, hurry up and move the barricades, don't delay them to get down to business." ”

As soon as the barricade in the middle of the road was removed, the German corporal looked up and suddenly saw that it was not the usual No. 4 or Tiger tank, but the Soviet T-34. As he shouted, he took his rifle off his shoulder, scrambled to pull the bolt, and prepared to shoot at the tank.

The tankmen in the tank had long been ready for battle, and when they saw that their whereabouts had been discovered by the enemy, Palansky immediately pulled the trigger of the machine gun and fired at several German soldiers on the road, sweeping them all to the ground. The loader also quickly stuffed a high-explosive shell into the shell, and the gunner, with a slight aim, decisively aimed at the German barricades and opened fire.

The German soldiers, who were hiding in the fortifications, saw the Soviet tanks rushing violently along the street, hurriedly grabbed the handle of the machine gun, desperately pulled the trigger, and tried their best to concentrate on the tank's observation hole. The bullets clanged on the armor plates, but they did not cause any damage to the tank, on the contrary, they got closer and closer to the fortifications.

Palansky's tank, stopped fifty meters from the fortifications, ignoring the tickling of the German machine guns on it, the turret slowly turned to face the position of the fortifications. With a loud bang, a meter-long flame erupted from the thick barrel, and the barricades not far away exploded, and the German machine gunners hiding inside were blown to pieces.

Having eliminated the enemy at the entrance to the town, Palansky's tanks restarted and rushed down the streets towards the town.

Hearing the dense sound of gunfire and explosions, the German soldiers, who were sleeping, were awakened. They rushed out of the houses on both sides of the street to find out what was going on, but were swept down by the fighters of the tank platoon with machine guns.

Two German machine gunners, armed with machine guns, set up machine-gun emplacements on top of a two-story cement brick and concrete house, and fired condescendingly at the tanks. The Palansky tank was followed by a tank commanded by the deputy platoon commander, who hurriedly pointed to the point of fire that was being fired and decisively ordered the gun commander: "Do you see that machine-gun position?" Destroy it! ”

With the order of the deputy platoon commander, the tank fired a shot at the machine gun fire, and the hit building exploded and collapsed, and the two German soldiers were blown to pieces.

Although the Germans in the town were outnumbered, they were not at all prepared for battle, and they were immediately thrown into confusion in the face of Soviet tanks that suddenly rushed into the town. Except for a few German soldiers who instinctively resisted, the rest fled out of town in disheveled clothes and dragged their weapons.

The battle lasted only half an hour before it ended, and Palansky's tank platoon managed to capture the town of Gorodok, capturing four heavy guns and a large amount of weapons and ammunition in the open space outside the church in the middle of the town.

Palansky climbed out of the tank, walked in front of the captured heavy artillery, touched the thick barrel with his hand, and said to the deputy platoon commander who followed him with some fear: "Comrade deputy platoon commander, fortunately the Germans did not place such heavy artillery in their front line, otherwise our attacking tank units would have suffered heavy losses......

Before he finished speaking, the communications soldier poked his head out of the turret and shouted in surprise: "Comrade platoon commander, we have contacted the battalion headquarters, and the battalion commander wants to talk to you." ”

Palansky rushed to the tank, climbed up with agility, stood next to the turret, took the headset and microphone in the hands of the communications soldier, and said excitedly: "Hello, Comrade Major, I am Palansky. ”

The nervous voice of the battalion commander came from the headphones: "Lieutenant Palansky, where are you?" ”

"We are in the town of Gorodok," Palansky, fearing that the battalion commander would blame him for his own actions, quickly explained: "Last night our platoon lost contact with the main forces of the battalion and unwittingly broke into the rear of the enemy. At dawn today, I found out that the town of Gorodok was nearby, so I launched an attack with a platoon of tanks. ”

"What, you led people to attack the town of Gorodok?" When the battalion commander heard Palansky say this, his heart immediately rose to his throat: "Comrade lieutenant, I order you, immediately stop the offensive. According to the information we have, there is a German heavy artillery company, an infantry company, and many other units in the town, and you only have four tanks. ”

"But, Comrade Major." Palansky was also taken aback by hearing that there were so many enemies in the town, but after glancing around, he replied proudly: "We have captured the town, and we have captured four German heavy guns, as well as a large amount of weapons and ammunition." ”

"Comrade lieutenant, what do you say, you have already taken the town?" Palansky's words frightened the battalion commander almost to sit on the ground, and he was so excited that he asked a little inarticulately: "You...... Is everything you say true? ”

"That's right, Comrade Major." Palansky hurriedly said: "I am a regiment, how can I lie to the organization, we have successfully captured the town of Gorodok, eliminated seventy or eighty German soldiers, and captured a large number of weapons and ammunition, including four heavy guns. ”

"I see, Comrade Lieutenant, you are standing by now, and I will contact you again." After the battalion commander put down the phone, he felt that the results of the battle that Palansky said were a bit too unbelievable, and hurriedly ordered the signal soldier: "Pick up the brigade commander for me." ”

The brigade commander was also shocked to hear that a tank platoon under his command had captured the town of Gorodok, which was guarded by more than 500 German soldiers. But fortunately, he was much more stable than the battalion commander, and he repeatedly asked the battalion commander: "Comrade Major, are you sure that your tank platoon has occupied the heavily defended German town of Gorodok?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander," the battalion commander hurriedly replied affirmatively, "I have done it repeatedly, they have indeed occupied the town." ”

"Incredible, just incredible." The brigade commander shook his head and said: "I can't believe that our fighters can actually create such a miracle of war." Comrade Major, I will immediately report this to my superiors, and you wait for my news. ”

The news of the capture of the town of Gorodok by a tank platoon under the command of Lieutenant Palansky was quickly conveyed to the headquarters of the 65th Army. When Rokossovsky heard the news, his first reaction was: Could it be that the people below lied about the military situation? But he quickly overturned this idea, and the person who lied about the military situation did not need to have a head, because this kind of thing only took a few hours at most to find out.

Batov stared at the telegram in his hand, flipped through it several times, then looked up at Rokossovsky and asked: "Comrade commander, do you say this is true?" A tank platoon with only four tanks actually captured the town of Gorodok, which was defended by more than 500 German troops, which does not look like it is true. ”

"General Batov, I feel that the report of the 157th tank brigade is true." "I don't think that the tank crews of the 1st Guards Tank Army will cheat on such things, because it will be easy to be exposed. ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say with such certainty, General Batov said with suspicion: "Comrade commander, so to speak, the results achieved by the tank army are real? ”

"That's right, General Batov, it's definitely true." After Rokossovsky finished speaking, he leaned down at the table, carefully examined the map in front of him, and pointed to a settlement north of the town of Gorodok with his hand, and said to Batov: "You see, there is a settlement seven kilometers north of the town, and since the tank platoon can take advantage of the victory and occupy the settlement, then it can successfully cut off the enemy's retreat." ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, please come over." Batov waited for Glebov to come over and immediately asked impatiently: "Which of our troops is closer to the town of Gorodok?" ”

"Comrade commander, we have a guards regiment here, less than three kilometers from the town of Gorodok." Pointing to the map, Glebov said to Rokossovsky and Batov: "I propose to send them immediately to the town of Gorodok to take over the defense of the tank crews. ”

After waiting for Glebov to finish speaking, Batov asked Rokossovsky again: "Comrade commander, do you think this will work? ”

"I don't think the Germans will return to Gorodok anytime soon, so I'm going to take a risk." Rokossovsky's eyes were fixed on the map and he said: "In addition to letting the Guards Regiment rush to the town of Gorodok as soon as possible, in addition to ordering Lieutenant Palansky's tank platoon, immediately continue to advance towards the settlement. ”

"Immediately advance to the settlement?" Batov looked at Rokossovsky with a look of surprise and asked puzzledly: "Don't let the tank platoon and wait for the infantry of the Guards Regiment to arrive?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Batov." Rokossovsky said firmly: "If we wait until the Guards Regiment arrives in the town of Gorodok, and then our tank platoon advances to the residential area, then it will leave enough time for the Germans to organize their defense, and it will cause unnecessary casualties for our next offensive." Therefore, the tank platoon had to immediately attack and take the Germans by surprise. ”

Having comprehended Rokossovsky's intentions, Batov immediately instructed Glebov: "Chief of Staff, immediately contact General Panov and let the 157th Tank Brigade immediately go into battle and cooperate with the infantry to advance to the town of Gorodok." In addition, Lieutenant Palansky's tank platoon was ordered to immediately abandon the town of Gorodok and quickly rush to the settlements to the north, leaving no time for the Germans to organize their defense. ”

After receiving the telegram from Batov, Panov, after consulting with his chief of staff, decided to carry out the order. But at the same time, he also told the chief of staff: "Order the 19th Tank Brigade and the 14th Motorized Infantry Brigade to also immediately enter the battle, and let them follow the 19th Tank Brigade and advance towards the town of Gorodok." ”

…………

Lieutenant Palansky: They were eating breakfast around the tank at the moment, and the deputy platoon commander asked Palansky while eating: "Comrade Lieutenant, when do you think our reinforcements will arrive?" ”

Palansky thought about it, his expression became serious, he shook his head and said: "Comrade Deputy Platoon Commander, I don't know about this. However, according to the analysis of the situation on the battlefield, they could not get here at all without four or five hours. ”

"Comrade lieutenant," interjected the commander of another tank crew, "we are running out of ammunition, and if the Germans counterattack, we will not be able to hold it at all." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Palansky comforted his men and said, "Aren't there still four heavy guns and a lot of weapons and ammunition there?" With these munitions, how can we hold out until reinforcements arrive? ”

The communications corpsman, who was staying in the tank, suddenly came out again and shouted at Palansky, who was standing next to the tank: "Comrade lieutenant, we have just received an order from our superiors that they order us to abandon the town of Gorodok, quickly advance to the settlement of Staroduki to the north, and decisively occupy it while the Germans have not yet come to their senses. ”

"Brothers," Palansky immediately shouted at the tankmen, "our life is coming, we are all back in the tank, ready to go!" ”

"Comrade Lieutenant," the deputy platoon commander asked, noising at the heavy artillery and weapons and ammunition placed in the church square, "what about all these munitions, will they all be blown up?" We can't leave this to the Germans. ”

Palansky patted his deputy on the shoulder: "Don't worry, comrade deputy platoon commander, since the superiors ordered us to attack immediately, presumably the reinforcements that will take over our defense are already on the way." Well, don't think about it, hurry up and get into the tank! We're going to go north and teach the Germans a good lesson. ”