With Mare Ridge secured, the 5th Guards Tank Corps proceeded with a swift strike south in pursuit of elements of the 10th Panzer Grenadier and 20th Panzer Divisions. The Germans were steadily pushed south, and by the 24th of August, the corps had taken Birlad. On the 27th, the 20th Panzer Division was racing to cross the bridge over the Siret River with the Soviets nipping at their heels.
Objectives: Your company, supported by one additional company to the south, will move southwest to crush the rearguard positions of the Fascists, and reach the river crossings. Your platoon will form the northernmost unit of the company, and will move to the objective in the southwest. If the attack is successful, escape to the west will be impossible for many enemy formations still on the east side of the river.
