Chapter 663 Paddy Field

In order to boost morale, Pavelkin kept shouting on the walkie-talkie: "Keep formation, keep calm! Comrade Stalin is watching us, the Soviet people are watching us, they will give us courage, once you see the enemy... ...Don't be merciful, think about what these invaders have done on our land, we have enough reasons to eliminate them all..."

In fact, there is another reason why Pavelkin keeps shouting like this, which is to vent his inner fear.

This is actually not surprising or embarrassing, because as long as you are an individual, you have enough reasons to be afraid in this situation... The sky is full of enemy fighters and bombers, whether they are machine guns or bombs falling from the sky. , these things coming from the top can easily penetrate the armor of the tank and beat the people inside into a bloody mess.

However, Major General Pavelkin cannot be afraid, not only because he is a Soviet soldier, but also because he is a major general, a model who has won the Order of Defense of Moscow, and he cannot show any timidity in front of his own men.

The German defense line was getting closer. Through the observation hole of the tank, Major General Pavelkin could even see the figures of the Germans running in the trenches.

Pavelkin couldn't help but give another order: "Slow down when you are three hundred meters away, and wait for the infantry to catch up!"

This order is of course correct, because the tanks need infantry cover, especially since the Germans also have rocket launchers with a range of 160 meters.

However, at this moment, the tank's speed suddenly slowed down.

"What's going on?" Major General Pavelkin asked, "I'm not talking about now!"

"I don't know, Comrade Pavelkin!" the driver replied: "I didn't reduce the speed, but I don't know why the tank slowed down! It's like... it was caught on something!"

"You fool!" Pavelkin yelled: "What can stop the tank? Speed ​​up!"

"I've accelerated!" the driver replied innocently.

At this time, a subordinate's report suddenly came from the walkie-talkie: "Left side, enemy tank!"

"Right side, enemy tank!"

"Comrade Pavelkin, we are surrounded!"

…

Pavelkin couldn't help being shocked when he heard this. He could no longer care about the danger. He opened the hatch cover, stuck his head out and raised his telescope to observe. Sure enough, he saw enemy tanks appearing one kilometer away on both sides of the tank.

"The enemy is still far away from us!" Pavelkin shouted: "Speed ​​up, we can break through the defense line before them, and then we can enter Stalingrad..."

Pavelkin's plan was correct, because the main purpose of their battle was to get in touch with Stalingrad.

Now in this situation of being ambushed by the German army, it is obviously impossible to split the German army in two, and it is impossible to retreat... Let alone whether he can retreat back, Order No. 227 does not allow him to do so.

Therefore, rushing to Stalingrad is the best choice. After all, this is not an escape. It can even be described as a heroic breakthrough of the enemy's defense line to reinforce Stalingrad.

However, his hope soon came to nothing, because the tank motor roared but the speed never picked up. It was not until a tank stopped and the tank crew jumped out of the vehicle to check that they discovered that the wheat field was full of water.

Obviously, the water is a trick played by the Germans.

I have to say that this trick was done very cleverly, because the first half of the wheat field was not soaked in water, so the Soviet army did not notice anything strange at all, and even though the second half was soaked in water but covered with wheat straw, it was also invisible.

If the infantry follows the tank closely, the infantry may be able to spot it because the tank tracks will bring up splashes of water. The problem is that the tank is driven faster by the fighter planes...

What's more serious is that only mid-level and senior officers in the Soviet tank force have walkie-talkies for two-way communication. Ordinary tanks only have one antenna, which only allows them to passively receive information and cannot send information.

Therefore, even if some tanks discovered problems or even got stuck in the paddy fields, they could not warn other tanks and could only watch those tanks continue to move forward into the paddy fields.

Until Pavelkin's tank got stuck in a paddy field and couldn't move.

After discovering the reason, Pavelkin was horrified and immediately ordered: "All tanks, divide into two teams and fight on the spot!"

It should be said that the orders given by Pavelkin are appropriate.

Because it is impossible to retreat or advance in this situation of being stuck in a paddy field, the best way is to change the direction and fight from the left to the right. In this case, the frontal armor of the T34 can be used to carry the enemy tank troops for a while.

But by then it was too late to realize this.

The water in the wheat field is water from the irrigation ditch. It has been soaking in the wheat field for several hours.

The mud in wheat fields has a characteristic, that is, it is very dry and hard when there is no water. Once soaked in water, it quickly becomes soft and sticky.

Of course, because they haven't been soaked in water for long, they won't be so soft that they will trap the tank immediately.

But if the tank turns, it will be different... When the tank turns, one side of the track is fixed and the other side rotates, so the side with the fixed track will form a spiral and dig downward.

Therefore, it was okay for the tanks not to turn, but once they turned, each tank was stuck in place and unable to move.

What's worse is that the Soviet driver, eager to escape, will naturally activate the tracks on both sides. As a result, the side that is trapped will sink deeper and deeper. The entire center of gravity will tilt to one side, and the tank body will also tilt to one side. .

The result of this is that...the tank guns of the Soviet tanks cannot aim at the target at all, and they can only watch the German tanks gradually approaching from the left and right wings.

It was the 21st Armored Division approaching from both wings.

The 21st Armored Division did not go to rescue Yeltsovka at all, but circled back and hid shortly after leaving the state farm.

Needless to say, the method of hiding is to dig a hole that a tank can drive into, just like in the desert, and then cover it with branches and the like.

As for the tanks that reinforce Yerzovka, they are tanks from the German infantry division and motorized infantry division in the Kotluban area, as well as tanks that were repaired in Kotluban due to malfunctions... Put together, there are only There were more than thirty vehicles, but they still frightened the Soviets.

Looking at the Soviet tanks stumbling and trapped in the paddy field in front of him through the telescope, General Strike ordered with high spirits: "Gentlemen, the season of abundance is here. Who said that only wheat and vegetables can grow on the farm?" ?”

The German officers couldn't help laughing.