With the opening of the passage to the hinterland of East Prussia, Admiral Volisky's 5th Guards Tank Army was quickly transferred to this area, swept away the German units that had fled in a hurry, and quickly rushed to the Baltic Sea, leaving no chance for the enemy to hold on to it.

Of course, on the way to the offensive, there will still be formed German troops, hiding in strong fortifications and putting up stubborn resistance. In the face of such an enemy, the commanders and fighters of the tank army adopted a roundabout tactic, quickly bypassing these strongholds and continuing to advance, leaving these enemies to the troops of the 48th Army and the 2nd Shock Army to follow.

General Kirichchenko's 29th Tank Army, as the vanguard of the 5th Guards Tank Army, rushed to the front. Since they did not encounter any decent resistance along the way, they attacked very quickly, and after penetrating five kilometers deep into the German defenses, the formation of the troops was completely disrupted with the difference in the speed of advance, and the tank crews continued to attack forward in the size of battalions or companies.

A tank company, commanded by tank captain Diachenko, quickly advanced in a long line of nine T-34 tanks along a gravel paved road.

Luckily, they advanced almost twenty kilometers without any resistance. The deputy company commander in the first tank, through the lookout, saw that there was a desolation outside, and there was not a single figure on the road, so he reported to Diachenko behind him by radio: "Comrade company commander, we have traveled almost 20 kilometers, not only have we not encountered resistance, but we have not even seen a human figure, are we going the wrong way?" ”

When Diachenko heard the deputy company commander say this, he couldn't help but suspect that he was on the wrong path. He hurriedly took advantage of the dim light in the tank, carefully checked the map, and confirmed the direction with a compass, and then replied: "Deputy company commander, there is nothing wrong with the road, don't stop, keep going, keep going!" ”

The tank company drove for another half hour or so, and the tanks in front suddenly stopped. Diachenko didn't know what was going on, and hurriedly shouted to the deputy company commander: "Hey, deputy company commander, why did the tank stop?" ”

"Comrade Company Commander," replied the deputy company commander with some hesitation, "there are a large number of refugees on the road ahead. ”

"Refugees, what refugees?" After hearing the report of the deputy company commander, Diachenko couldn't help frowning slightly, and he thought to himself, the Germans have been driven out of the border by us, where will there be any refugees. When he was about to reproach the deputy company commander, he suddenly shook his whole body, thought of another possibility, and hurriedly asked: "Deputy company commander, you are talking about German refugees, right?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Company Commander." The deputy company commander gave Diachenko an affirmative answer: "The road ahead is full of German refugees, they have blocked all the roads, do you think we are going to make a detour?" ”

Diachenko leaned out of the turret of the tank and raised his binoculars to look into the distance, the road ahead was paved with a slowly creeping crowd, and there were hardly any young people in sight except for the elderly, women, and children. Except for a few frail people who sat in the carriages, the rest of the refugees carried large bags and walked slowly into the distance.

Seeing this familiar scene, Diachenko's heart couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion, it was the ordinary people of the Soviet Union who were forced to abandon their homes and evacuate to a completely unfamiliar place. And now, the same fate has befallen the Germans, who, in order to escape the approaching Soviet troops, have left their homes and fled to what they felt safe.

After retreating back into the tank, Diachenko picked up the microphone and said to the deputy company commander: "Comrade deputy company commander, go ahead and pass through the middle of the refugees. ”

"What, through the middle of the refugees?" Diachenko's order surprised the deputy company commander, and he hurriedly reminded: "Comrade company commander, they are unarmed civilians, not our enemies, and we can't crush them with tanks!" ”

"Who said you were going to run them over with tanks?" Hearing that the deputy company commander actually misinterpreted his meaning, Diachenko hurriedly explained: "I'm talking about passing through the queue of refugees, and I don't intend to hurt anyone. I would like to stress here that no one is allowed to open fire unless it is absolutely necessary. Do you understand? ”

After the deputy company commander understood Diachenko's intentions, he immediately readily agreed: "Understood! ”

The tank company moved on. The refugees, who were slowly moving forward, heard the roar of tank engines behind them, thinking that the German tank units were coming up, and no one complained, and took the initiative to give way to both sides of the truth, while the advancing tank company gave way to a passage.

When the tank company marched through the passage vacated by the refugees, the commanders and fighters in the tank were in a cold sweat, fearing that any Prussian refugee would take drastic action when they found out that it was not their own tank, but the enemy's tank. However, all worries seem to be unnecessary. It was not until the tank company passed through the two-kilometer-long refugee line that none of the refugees noticed that the tank that had just passed through their ranks was not their own tank, but belonged to the hostile Soviet army.

After passing through the ranks of refugees in this section, the deputy company commander felt that his back was drenched with sweat. He stabilized his mood for a while, and then continued to ask Diachenko for instructions: "Comrade Company Commander, what should we do next?" Stop here and wait for the follow-up troops to arrive? ”

Diachenko's idea was simple, the superiors ordered their troops to advance as far north as possible until they met resistance from the Germans and could not move on. It was on the basis of this consideration that, after hearing the question of the deputy company commander, he replied decisively: "Comrade deputy company commander, we are already behind enemy lines, and we must continue to advance towards Erbin while the enemy has not discovered us, and strive to arrive before dark." ”

The tank company continued to march north, and after a short journey, they encountered another crowd of fleeing people. This time, in addition to civilians, there was also a convoy of twenty trucks. Hearing tanks coming from the rear, the refugees voluntarily moved to both sides of the road, and the truck convoy also drove on the right, clearing the road on the left for the tank company to pass.

The deputy company commander saw the German soldiers sitting on the truck with loaded guns, and hurriedly issued a combat alarm through the radio, informing all the tanks to be ready for battle. As soon as it is discovered by the enemy, it will immediately open fire and strive to destroy all the enemies in the shortest possible time.

But the vigilance of the German army did not seem to be as high as the deputy company commander imagined. For these tanks that passed by the convoy, the Germans thought they were their own tanks and did not pay special attention at all. A soldier in a military coat and a steel helmet sat on the cargo of the carriage with a gun, and watched one T-34 tank after another pass in front of him with a dull gaze, but did not make any reaction.