In order to rescue the tank company trapped north of Elbin, Rokossovsky contacted the commanders of the 5th Tank Army, the 48th Army, and the 2nd Shock Army, and asked them to actively move and attack Elbin from several directions at the same time.

After receiving a call from Bogolyubov, Fedyuninsky immediately called his chief of staff and instructed: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the marshal ordered us to immediately transfer troops to the north to rescue a tank company trapped in the north of the city. You now immediately inform the 22nd Infantry Brigade and the 185th Tank Brigade to turn north of the city. ”

The chief of staff hesitated to remind Fedyuninsky of this order: "Comrade commander, the two troops you mentioned have also reached the western outskirts of Elbin, and they can completely rush into the city in one go. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Fedyuninsky said with a serious expression, looking up at his chief of staff, "the troops trapped in the north of the city have only one tank company, and their strength must be quite limited, and if we do not rush to their rescue, they are likely to be completely annihilated under the siege of the Germans." Do you understand? ”

"Understood." The chief of staff nodded, pointed to the map and said to Fedyuninsky: "Comrade commander, the 372nd and 376th Infantry Divisions, as well as the 98th Tank Brigade, are also advancing in the direction of Elbin, and the task of rescuing the tank company can be completely entrusted to them. ”

In response to this proposal of the chief of staff, Fedyuninsky did not immediately express his position, but asked rhetorically: "How long will it take for them to reach the western outskirts of Erbin?" ”

"It's as fast as three hours." Seeing the displeasure on Fedyuninsky's face, the chief of staff quickly explained: "Judging by the road conditions in the area, this is already the fastest speed. ”

"Three hours at the earliest?" After repeating the words of the chief of staff, Fedyuninsky thought to himself: three hours is already the most ideal state, and it will take much longer if they really arrive at the western outskirts of Erbin. Thinking of this, he shook his head and said resolutely: "No, it will take at least four or five hours for them to rush to the western outskirts of Elbing, and then turn around and rush north to support the tank company." I was worried that the commanders and fighters of the tank company would be able to support the enemy for such a long time. ”

"Well," Hearing Fedyuninsky say this, the chief of staff also realized that if he had to wait for the troops who were still on the road to rescue the encircled tank company, maybe the tank company had already been wiped out before he reached the place, so he had to reluctantly say: "I will go and send a message to the brigade commanders of the 22nd Infantry Brigade and the 185th Tank Brigade, and ask them to immediately adjust the direction of their actions and rush to the north to rescue the encircled tank company." ”

Seeing that the chief of staff was leaving, Fedyuninsky stopped him again and asked: "Not long ago, General Gusev called me and asked our artillery to provide artillery support to their troops. Our artillery, which unit is closest there? ”

"Lieutenant General Pern's 8th Estonian Infantry Corps is now approaching the southwest of Erbin." The chief of staff hurriedly pointed to the map and said to Fedyuninsky: "Right here, six kilometers away from the troops of the 48th Army. The artillery commander of this army is Colonel Aru, and the 23rd and 779th artillery regiments and the 85th artillery regiment under the command of the army have a total of 500 artillery pieces and mortars of various calibers, and are fully capable of providing artillery support for the 48th Group Army. ”

"That's great." Fedyuninsky decisively ordered the chief of staff: "Send a telegram to Lieutenant General Pern and ask him to immediately send someone to the south of Erbing, to get in touch with the commander of the 48th Army there to discuss artillery support." ”

With Fedyuninsky's order, the troops approaching the western outskirts of Elbin immediately divided into two routes, one way north to rescue the besieged tank company, and all the way to the east, rushing to join the 48th Army south of the city.

However, the troops heading north, on the way, were suddenly attacked by the Germans. The cunning enemy hid in the forest and, in units of machine-gun squads, strafed the troops on the march with MG42 machine guns. When the 22nd Infantry Brigade rushed into the forest in battle formation, they immediately stopped firing, gathered their weapons and retreated into the depths of the forest; As soon as the attacking troops left, they reappeared in new positions and machine-gunned the marching troops.

After tossing back and forth a few times, the infantry brigade commander felt that attacking the forest with infantry was not only a waste of time, but also had no effect at all. Therefore, they had to call for help from the tank brigades, asking them to bombard the enemy hiding in the forest with artillery fire when the infantry was attacked. But the enemy was very cunning, they all fired a shot to change places, and the Soviet tank brigade bombarded the exposed fire points in the forest for a long time, but did not destroy a few enemies, but wasted a lot of ammunition in vain.

Due to the attack of small German forces, the reinforcements rushing to the northern outskirts were slow, and they advanced less than three kilometers in an hour. And at this moment, the tank company in the northern suburbs has reached the last moment.

After a series of battles, all the tanks of the tank company had been destroyed, and only Diachenko, the telegraph operator and two tank men were left in the position. Relying on the destroyed tanks, they used captured submachine guns and rifles to return fire at the onrushing enemy. Almost every time the Germans took a step forward, one or two soldiers fell, and near the tanks lay German corpses and wounded soldiers.

By the end of the evening, the German attack was once again repulsed, but only Diachenko and the operator were left on the position. Looking at the retreating enemy, Diachenko, who was covered in wounds, sat down beside the destroyed tank and said to the operator on the side: "Send a report to the brigade headquarters that the tanks of our company have been completely destroyed by the Germans, and only the last two commanders and fighters of the company are left." But we will fight to the last moment of our lives and will definitely not discredit Lenin's banner. ”

After sending the telegram, the operator smashed the radio station, sat down next to Diachenko, and asked: "Comrade Company Commander, are we all going to die?" ”

Hearing the operator's words, Diachenko nodded, sighed softly and said: "Yes, we will die soon, but to my regret, we will never see the final victory again." ”

The Germans soon attacked again, and in the face of the enemy rushing from all directions, Diachenko and the operator stood back to back, next to the wreckage of the tank, and fired at the rushing enemy with submachine guns, knocking down one enemy after another. But it didn't take long for the operator to fall to the ground with his eyes wide open, holding the submachine gun that had not yet run out of bullets.

Although Diachenko was shot in the shoulder, abdomen, and leg, he fell to the ground and continued to fire at the enemy with his submachine gun. When the bullets were finished, he threw the submachine gun to the ground, pulled out his pistol and continued to shoot at the enemy. The pistol ran out of bullets, and before he could change the magazine, the German soldiers came up from all sides and pointed their guns at him with black holes. They recognized this as a Soviet officer, so instead of shooting, they tried to capture him alive.

A German commander came out in line, confronted Diachenko, and said in broken Russian: "Mr. Officer, you have completed your mission, and now you have lost the ability to resist, surrender!" I will give you the treatment that a prisoner of war deserves. ”

Diachenko understands that the last moment has come for him to dedicate himself to the motherland and the people. Unhurriedly, he withdrew his empty magazine, took a bullet from his pocket and placed it in, and then loaded it into his pistol. He smiled at the German commander, calmly raised his gun to his temple, and pulled the trigger with his fingers without hesitation.

The German commander saw Diachenko, who was leaning on the tank tracks, his eyes were not closed, and a wisp of blood ran down his cheek, which remained on his uniform, staining the epaulettes on his shoulders red. He stepped forward, raised his hand and closed his eyes for Diachenko, then got up and said to the soldiers around him: "He is a hero to the Russians, bury him on the spot!" ”