"Fire!" Colonel Albridge ordered loudly.

From the snow south of the anti-tank trench, German soldiers with bazookas suddenly appeared, and as soon as they pulled the trigger, the rockets flew "whoosh" into the anti-tank trenches.

Listening to the explosion of "boom", patches of smoke and fire rose from the anti-tank trenches, followed by the screams and wails of Soviet soldiers.

A group of German soldiers appeared in front of them, picking up grenades and anti-tank grenades and throwing them into the anti-tank trench, and even screams and wails disappeared after the explosion

What's even more powerful is ...... The follow-up Soviet tanks were on the other side of the heights, so they couldn't see what was happening here, and they continued to rush at full speed in the direction of the anti-tank trenches.

Perhaps because the flames and smoke coming from the anti-tank trench attracted the attention of the tank crew, the tank driver who was walking in the front row noticed that there was a situation in front of him and put the brakes on urgently.

But that doesn't get them away at all......

On the one hand, there is a lot of snow on the slope, and it is difficult to stop with the weight of the tank and the smoothness of the slope.

Therefore, even the emergency braking of the tank could not stop the momentum from falling into the anti-tank trench one by one.

Even if a few tanks reacted quickly and braked early, they soon hit the rear tanks one by one.

Suddenly, the Soviet tanks were in a mess, those who braked and slid on the inclined plane, those who turned around to escape from this "dead land", those who collided and tumbled over the inclined plane, and fell into the anti-tank trench......

The Germans took advantage of this time to greet the Soviet tank team with their weapons, and of course the ME63 was indispensable.

At this time, the German tanks also stopped retreating, and one by one they stepped forward to adjust their turrets in a position with a good view, and fired shells at the Soviet tanks that were in a mess.

In the end, the anti-tank trenches were almost all filled with Soviet tanks, so much so that some Soviet tanks could smoothly cross the anti-tank trenches with the "corpses" of friendly tanks.

But even then, it was difficult for them to survive on the other side of the anti-tank trenches...... Countless tank guns, bazookas, and anti-tank grenades were waiting for it, and before it could fire a single shell, it was hit and turned into a pile of flames.

Finally, after twenty minutes of confusion, it finally stopped, because a tank driven by a Soviet captain was lucky enough to get stuck in a stake.

The stake was thick and long, more than a meter high as a bucket, and its main trunk fell on the other side more than ten meters away, presumably blown off by aerial bombs dropped by bombers.

On the one hand, this stake prevents the inertia of the tank from rushing downward, and on the other hand, it becomes a good cover for the tank...... Several shells hit it, but they were blocked by wooden stakes.

Or it can also be said that the tank gun of the original "No. 4" tank could have penetrated the front armor of the T34 from the front, but the stake actually thickened the armor of the tank, so that the armor-piercing projectile that was supposed to penetrate was stuck on the armor.

This was confirmed after the war, when German soldiers found two armor-piercing shells stuck on the abandoned T34 front armor.

If it were other tanks, it probably wouldn't have much of an impact.

But this tank is the captain battalion commander of the 3rd Tank Battalion of the 25th Tank Brigade of the Soviet Army, and tanks above the company level have two-way communication equipment, so the captain battalion commander immediately reported the situation to the command: "There are enemy anti-tank trenches in front, there are enemy anti-tank trenches in front, stop attacking!" ”

Lieutenant General Kirichenko, who was in charge of directing the frontal attack, immediately understood what was going on and immediately ordered his troops to stop the offensive by walkie-talkie...... Although the communication equipment of the Soviet tanks was very backward, at least the orders from the upper could still be conveyed, so the attack of the Soviet tanks slowly stopped, and a few tanks that happened to cross the ridge line of the high ground were anxious to retreat.

They did go back, but they were bombarded by German fire...... One by one, the fireballs slowly slid down from the other side.

"What's the situation?" Rotmistrov asked Lieutenant General Kirichenko.

"Comrade Rotmistrov, there is an anti-tank trench for the Germans behind the heights!" Lieutenant General Kirichchenko replied in a puff: "We failed!" ”

"What does it mean to fail?" Rotmistrov angrily yelled into the microphone: "It's just an anti-tank trench, we have sappers, I order you, cover the sappers to fill up the anti-tank trenches and continue the attack!" ”

"Comrade Rotmistrov!" Lieutenant General Kirichchenko replied: "Our main tank forces are almost completely lost!" ”

"What did you say?" Rotmistrov couldn't believe what he heard.

"Yes!" Lieutenant General Kirichchenko replied: "Because we did not notice that anti-tank trench, we lost at least two hundred tanks there." All we can use now is the reserves! ”

"Then send the reserves!"

"Comrade Rotmistrov!" Lieutenant General Kirichenko objected: "The Germans did not suffer much in combat effectiveness, that is, they probably had a hundred more tanks with advanced performance......"

"And we still have two hundred!"

"Yes, we do have two hundred!" Lieutenant General Kirichenko replied: "But most of these tanks are 'Matilda', 'M3', and T60 light tanks, and they are no match for German tanks at all!" ”

This was a mistake on the part of Rotmistrov, because the troops that were in reserve were supposed to be elite units, because only elite units could be ready to be engaged and functional in the event of an emergency on the battlefield.

However, because of Rotmistrov's underestimation of the enemy and his eagerness to win, he used a mixture of American, British, and Soviet tanks, mostly light tanks, as a reserve, and as a result, there were no troops available.

Just imagine, if it was these mixed light tanks instead of the T34 that fell into the anti-tank trench at this time, then the Soviet army would still have the strength to fight and even hope to win, but now......

"Comrade Rotmistrov!" Lieutenant General Kirichchenko said: "I think we should be on the defensive, not offensive, because now is the time for the Germans to attack!" ”

Lieutenant General Kirichenko was right, the Germans were preparing for the offensive at this time.

The trouble for the Germans was ...... The anti-tank trenches, even across the slope of the anti-tank trenches, were filled with the wreckage of Soviet tanks, and they had to clear a way out of the wreckage before launching a counteroffensive.