It was an anti-tank trench, a hidden anti-tank trench.

It's as simple as laying a wooden plank on top of it and a layer of earth...... From a distance, it was no different from the rest of the place, and it didn't even interfere with the passage of the infantry.

However, it is clear that a tank weighing more than a dozen tons can not withstand it.

It was a full 100 meters from the Soviet tank line.

In other words, the Germans actually did not have a chance to approach the Soviet tanks at a distance of 100 meters from the beginning.

Major General Schroeder should have thought about this a long time ago: if the Soviets had enough time to build a tank bunker for the 2.7-meter T34 in which it could be completely hidden, then of course they would have had time to build an anti-tank trench, although it was not visible on the surface.

But even if Major General Schroeder thought about it, it wouldn't change anything.

As he thought, if the 79th Panzer Division retreated, it would mean that it would be pursued by the Soviets...... This was really just wishful thinking on the part of Major General Schroeder, and another Soviet tank battalion had already outflanked and cut off their rear route.

At this time, the German tanks and the soldiers who followed them were all confused.

German tanks could not advance, because to advance would mean falling into anti-tank trenches waiting to be captured by the enemy.

At the same time, the German tanks could not retreat, because they were too close to the Soviet tanks, only 100 meters...... Retreating at this distance is no different from suicide, as it completely exposes the oversized side armor and weak rear armor to enemy fire.

In fact, not to mention ordinary officers and soldiers, even the experienced Major General Schroeder did not know how to deal with this situation.

"General!" There was a burst of instructions from his subordinates on the walkie-talkie:

"What should we do?"

"What's your order?"

"We were blocked by anti-tank trenches and could not advance!"

……

Although the weather was cold, beads of sweat the size of beans seeped down the forehead of Major General Schroeder.

After thinking about it, Major General Schroeder ordered: "Shoot in place and destroy them!" ”

"Yes, shoot in place!"

"Shoot on the spot!"

……

It has to be said that the communication of the German army was still very efficient, and the orders were quickly conveyed layer by layer.

The surviving German tanks then formed a line along the anti-tank trenches and engaged in an artillery battle with the Soviet tanks.

This can hardly be called tank warfare, it is more like a battle in the era of medieval flintlock pistols...... Playing bagpipes and rhythmic war drums, approaching in a neat formation, and then raising guns and shooting at each other from a distance of more than 100 meters.

The difference is only that it is not soldiers who shoot at each other on the battlefield, but tanks.

With the sound of "boom", a puff of smoke came out of the neat barrels of both the enemy and us, and shells flew between the two lines of queues.

However, it was clear that the German tanks were at a disadvantage, although they had a numerical advantage.

The T34 bevel armor has two benefits:

The first is that the shell is easy to bounce off after hit...... The armor-piercing bullet commonly used in this period was a pointed armor-piercing projectile, which would change its direction due to torque after hitting the inclined steel plate, which is often referred to as a ricochet.

As it is now, a shell that hits the T34 but only makes a scratch on it, and the shell is shot straight into the air or in other directions, which of course cannot penetrate the armor and cause damage to the tank.

Another advantage is that according to the formula of armor-piercing bullets, the angle of inclination is constant, and the penetration of armor-piercing bullets is proportional to the size of the caliber.

Therefore, when fired by German artillery, the armor of the T-34 tank was almost 45 mm thick and 60 degrees beveled to almost 90 mm.

This equivalent thickness basically rendered the German tank guns useless.

Thus, even if the German tanks were superior in other aspects, even if the German gunners were well-trained, even if they hit the target accurately...... But they are helpless and cannot pose a threat to the target at all.

The disadvantage of Soviet tanks is that the 1941 version of the T34 has a two-man turret...... This was due to the small turret space and the lack of space for three people, so the T34 tank, which was supposed to have five people to operate, was reduced to four.

As a result, the commander had to be the gunner, and sometimes the loader or even the driver.

For example, Kalashnikov is the driver and the commander.

The consequence of this was that the T34 tank reacted rather clumsily...... On the one hand, he must complete his own tasks and be responsible for directing and coordinating the whole crew.

However, this problem is not so obvious here, because there is no difficulty in command, they just need to aim at the target one after another and open fire.

As a result, one German tank after another was beaten into black smoke and even exploded into a ball of fireball, while the Soviet army suffered almost no losses...... If anything, the tracks of several tanks were broken by enemy tanks, and this was perhaps the only damage that the German tank guns could inflict.

Colonel Katukov did not even order the tanks to advance, because he thought that it would be more beneficial for the Soviet troops to continue fighting like this.

It is also true that if the Soviet tanks advance at this time, even if only a few tens of meters...... In fact, it was all about giving German tanks a chance to destroy them.

Eventually, the German tanks collapsed, and they desperately retreated, then turned around and tried to escape from the battlefield.

In fact, at this time, Major General Schroeder also realized that the German tanks would only be reduced one after another, and that they could only play a role in consuming the enemy's shells.

So, in desperation, he could only order a retreat.

Only then did Katukov order the troops to advance...... There were several gaps in the anti-tank trenches that only the Soviets knew, and Soviet tanks chased through these gaps one after another.

During the pursuit, they also stopped from time to time to aim, and then with a "boom", they smashed the fleeing German tanks into a ball of fire...... In the face of the enemy's weak rear armor, Soviet tanks did not need to use armor-piercing shells, high-explosive grenades could penetrate them.

In this case, Soviet soldiers preferred to use high-explosive grenades, not only because they saved more expensive armor-piercing shells, but also because the high-explosive grenades hit the target with a higher probability of igniting the gasoline engine or causing the explosives to detonate...... The soldiers enjoyed the feeling of the target tank being ignited or exploding.

Shulka, who was advancing forward after the tanks, looked at the wreckage of German tanks one after another around him, and knew that the outcome of the battle was decided.

Major General Schroeder, on the other side, also knew this, because he received a report from his subordinates at the front, or arguably from the rear:

"General, a large number of enemy tanks have appeared in the north, and it is T34! Our retreat is cut off! ”

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