In order to boost morale, Pavelgin kept shouting on the walkie-talkie: "Stay in formation, calm down!" Comrade Stalin is watching us, the Soviet people are watching us, they will give us courage, as soon as you see the enemy...... Don't be merciful, think of what these invaders have done on our land, and we have enough reason to wipe them all out......"

In fact, there is another reason for Pavelkin's incessant shouting, and that is to vent his inner fear.

This is actually not surprising or ashamed, because as long as it is an individual, there is enough reason to be afraid in such a situation...... The sky was full of enemy warplanes and bombers, whether it was cannons or bombs falling from the sky, these things from the top could easily penetrate the armor of the tank and beat the people inside into a bloody mess.

However, Major General Pavelkin could not be afraid, not only because he was a Soviet soldier, but also because he was a major general, a model of the Order for the Defense of Moscow, and he could not show the slightest cowardice in front of his own men.

The German line of defense was getting closer and closer, and through the viewing holes of the tanks, Major General Pavelkin could even see the figures of the Germans running in the trenches.

Pavelgin couldn't help but give another order: "Slow down at a distance of three hundred meters, and wait for the infantry to follow!" ”

This order, of course, was also correct, because tanks needed infantry cover, especially since the Germans also had bazookas with a range of 160 meters in their hands.

However, at this very moment, the speed of the tank 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's like stumbling over something! ”

"You fool!" Pavelgin scolded loudly: "What can stumble on a tank? Speed me up! ”

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

At this time, the voice of his subordinates suddenly came from the walkie-talkie: "On the left, enemy tank!" ”

"On the right, enemy tanks!"

"Comrade Pavelkin, we are surrounded!"

……

Pavelgin couldn't help but be taken aback when he heard this, he couldn't care about the danger anymore, opened the hatch and poked his head out and raised his binoculars to observe, and sure enough, he saw enemy tanks on the left and right sides of the tank a kilometer away.

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

Pavelkin was right, because their main purpose in the battle was to get in touch with Stalingrad.

Now in this situation of being ambushed by the Germans, it is obviously impossible to split the German army in two, and it is impossible to retreat...... Not to mention whether he can be withdrawn or not, Order 227 does not allow him to do so.

Therefore, rushing to Stalingrad is the best option, after all, it is not an escape, and it can even be described as a heroic breakthrough of the enemy's defense line to reinforce Stalingrad.

However, this hope was soon dashed, because the tank motor roared but never got up to speed, until a tank stopped, and the tank crew jumped out of the car to check, only to find that the wheat field was full of water.

Obviously, the water was a trick of the Germans.

I have to say that this trick is very clever, because the first half of the wheat field is not soaked in water, so the Soviet army did not notice anything unusual at all, and although the second half is soaked in water, it is covered with wheat straw and it is also not visible.

If the infantry is closely behind the tank, the infantry may be able to notice, because the tank tracks will bring up splashes, and the problem is that the tank is being driven by the fighter to speed up......

What's more serious is that only middle and high-ranking officers in the Soviet tank forces have walkie-talkies for two-way communication, and ordinary tanks only have one antenna, which is only allowed to passively receive information and cannot send information.

As a result, even if some tanks found out that there was a problem or even were trapped in the paddy field, they could not warn the other tanks, and could only watch as those tanks continued to advance into the paddy field.

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

After discovering the reason, Pavelgin couldn't help but be horrified, and immediately ordered: "All tanks, divide into two teams and meet on the spot!" ”

It should be said that all the orders given by Pavelgin are suitable.

Since it was impossible to retreat or advance in such a situation of being stuck in a paddy field, the best way was to turn around and meet the enemy tank forces on the left and right, so that the frontal armor of the T34 could be carried by the enemy tank force for a while.

But it was too late to realize it.

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

One of the characteristics of the mud in wheat fields is that when there is no water, it is very dry and hard, and once it is soaked in water, it will quickly become soft and sticky.

Of course, because they haven't been soaked in the water for long, they haven't gotten so wet that they can trap the tank right away.

But if the tank turns it is different...... The tank turns by fixing one side of the track and turning the other side, so that the side where the track is fixed will form a spiral and dig deeper.

As a result, it was good that the tanks did not turn, but as soon as they turned, they fell into place one by one and could not move.

To make matters worse, the Soviet driver, in a hurry to escape, naturally activated the tracks on both sides, and the side that sank into it fell deeper and deeper, and the entire center of gravity tilted to one side, and the tank body also tilted to one side.

The result of this is ...... The tank guns of the Soviet tanks could not aim at the target at all, and could only watch the German tanks gradually approach from the left and right flanks.

Approaching from both flanks was none other than the 21st Panzer Division.

The 21st Panzer Division did not go to the rescue of Yeltsovka at all, but shortly after leaving the state farm, went around and went into hiding.

Needless to say, the way to hide is to dig a pit 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 reinforced Yertsovka, they were tanks of German infantry divisions and motorized infantry divisions in the Kotluban area, as well as tanks that were repaired in Kotluban due to breakdowns...... There were only about thirty of them together, but they still scared the Soviets.

Looking at the Soviet tanks trapped in the paddy fields in front of him in front of him, General Stryk ordered in a grand manner: "Gentlemen, the season of abundance has arrived, who said that only wheat and vegetables will grow on the farm?" ”

The German officers burst out laughing.