Chapter 7: The Tiger in the Jungle (Part 1)
Article (1)
Socialist Republic of Vietnam, December 4th, 2005, outside Hue City. "On the other side of the mountain is the elite 12th Armored Brigade of the Vietnamese People's Army, and we will receive sufficient support from the Air Force and Navy. I reiterate: Hue is the gateway to all of southern Vietnam, and we cannot give it up. Alright, the 77th Tank Regiment of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Marine Corps sets out!"
In the midst of a thunderous roar, 20 Type 63D amphibious tanks of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Marine Corps launched a surprise attack along the highway from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City in the direction of the enemy. Above them, a squadron of FB-7D bombers and Z-11H light armed helicopters occasionally swept across the battlefield. Along both sides of the highway, the wreckage of Vietnamese "Northern Army" T-72 main battle tanks could be seen everywhere, some still burning fiercely.
"Report. Enemy armor column spotted straight ahead, 'Heartbreak Ridge'"
20 vehicles, 3 BMPs. Armored units are ready to engage the enemy. We will suppress them first." As the voice came from the headset, all 63D amphibious tanks quickly entered combat state, and in the sweltering turret, a 105mm tungsten alloy armor-piercing shell was tightly held in the hands of Chinese tank soldiers.
"We're starting, good luck to you." With the roar passing over their heads, 6 Z-11Hs fired out a suffocating flame with 12 sets of 7-tube HF-7D rocket launchers, and the enemy tank formation in the distance instantly became a sea of fire.
"It's up to us now." The command vehicle of the regiment commander transmitted a firm attack message, and the 63D-type amphibious tank with naval camouflage accelerated forward. In the smoke released by the enemy tanks just now, what was left was probably only a pitiful moan!
"Damn it! There's still a live mouth." The radio of the 125th car at the forefront came with the slightly terrified voice of Old Zhang, and in an instant, the armor on the left side of the 125th car was hit by the opponent's shell. Although the 63A, which used a welded turret after modification, further enhanced its protective capability compared to the old-style amphibious tank with a semi-egg-shaped cast turret, and also added reactive armor. But in front of the Russian Army's "Bastion" gun-launched missile, it was still as fragile as paper, and the exploding shell blew off the entire turret of the 125th car.
"Car 125 has been attacked. All cars, activate your infrared imaging systems, the enemy is in the smoke. Give me a good beating."
The 3rd Tank Battalion's cannon fire concentrated on the fuzzy images of those fire control systems, and their columns also had tanks hit one after another.
"We shot through their frontal armor." The export brochure of the Northern Company says 105mm tungsten alloy tail-stabilized discarding sabot armor-piercing projectile initial velocity 1455 m/s.
Seconds. The direct shooting distance for a 2-meter high target is 1830 meters, and the armor-piercing power at a distance of 2500 meters is 105 mm.
60 degrees. 105mm tungsten alloy extended tail wing stabilized armor-piercing shell, initial velocity 1530
Seconds, 2000 meters distance armor-piercing power is 150 mm
71 degrees (equivalent to 445 mm homogeneous steel plate), the direct shooting distance for a 2-meter high target is 1830 meters. Can penetrate German Leopard II A1
The frontal armor of an A4 tank. But numbers are so pale in actual combat.
A shell that hit an enemy T-72 tank was lethal, but the enemy's artillery fire became more and more intense as more enemy tanks appeared on the thermal imaging system of the Type 63D amphibious tank. "We can't knock out an armored brigade!" Another blue-painted Type 63D was hit by a Vietnamese anti-tank missile and turned into a burning hell.
"We need air support." Looking at the seemingly endless possible enemy armor targets, Lieutenant Shen's face began to show fear and despair. His tank company had already lost three tanks. Although at least twice as many enemy tanks were also destroyed, such casualties were unbearable for the newly landed Chinese Marine Corps. An AT-4 anti-tank missile hit the right side of Lieutenant Shen's command vehicle, "The enemy infantry is coming up." A terrible thought flashed through Lieutenant Shen's mind.
"It's the enemy's mechanized infantry." A BMP-type infantry fighting vehicle loaded with Vietnamese suddenly drove out of the dense forest on the right side of the Chinese tank column. "These Vietnamese are crazy."
Shen Fang accurately skipped the artillery, directly dropping the main cannon to the right wing and knocking over that BMP infantry fighting vehicle with one shot. Watching the Vietnamese infantry run out of the tank in flames, the familiar sonic boom sound of the Chinese Air Force FB-7D bomber also came from the air. "The enemy's mechanized infantry is in the jungle on our right flank..." An RPG-70 anti-tank rocket flew over, and Lieutenant Shen Fang's vehicle shook violently...
"Comrade Regiment Commander, the troops are about to board the plane. Shall we say a few words?" asked the Regimental Chief of Staff as he walked up to Colonel Shen Fangzhong. "What's there to say? I'm cursed with bad luck again and ran into that incompetent Ren Lianyu. This old bone is going to be buried in Indonesia!" On the runway of the "China-Vietnam Friendship" military airport on the west outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, various armored vehicles belonging to the 77th Amphibious Infantry Brigade's Special Task Tank Regiment of the People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps were slowly driving into the open belly of a Y-8S aircraft.
Under the night sky, the "Ziying" airport on Weli Island, which had just changed hands not long ago, was brightly lit. The 50 FC-1B fighter jets and FB-7 fighter-bombers from two squadrons that had transferred from various airports in Vietnam had arrived earlier and were deployed. After this sleepless night, they would become the first batch of Chinese aircraft to support Java Island from here. In the hinterland of Weli Island, the battle between the Chinese special forces and the remaining Japanese Self-Defense Forces was still ongoing, with occasional gunfire heard from afar as proof.
Tonight, after the long-distance raid of the Chinese Air Force, they had to temporarily withdraw from the battlefield for reorganization and handed over the front-line close air support mission to the naval aviation troops deployed on the aircraft carrier "Shanghai". Ren Lingyu walked out of the temporary command center of Zǐ Líng with his beloved in his arms, looking at the clear starry sky above the Java Sea. How much he wished that where he stood was not a battlefield.
"Be careful!" She struggled free from her lover's gentle arms, a hint of reluctance flashing in Zilan's eyes. "Promise me to take care of yourself, until I marry you." He lightly kissed his lover's forehead and said with deep emotion, "What's the matter! You should hurry back to your command post instead!"
Leng Ziyun smiled slightly, and on the face that had been tanned dark by the scorching sun of the South China Sea under the starry sky, there was a blush like any ordinary girl.
Back on his old Y-5D special plane, Ren Lingyu returned to being a soldier, a soldier commanding thousands of troops. "Fly towards Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport." Picking up his laptop, Ren Lingyu gave an order that could only be described as crazy for most high-ranking commanders. "But, Commander, we..." The pilot looked at Ren Lingyu with a stunned expression, thinking he had misheard.
"Is the fuel not enough?!" Ren Lianyu, who had calculated the maximum flight distance of Y-5, knew that if they could fly from Ho Chi Minh City to here, they could also fly from here to Juanda International Airport on Java Island. "Commander, our air force has not yet gained comprehensive air superiority, shouldn't we report this action to Commander Qian first?"
The pilot replied helplessly.
"What's wrong with that? Many warriors are flying to the front line under such conditions, risking being shot down by the enemy. Why can't I?"
Ren Lingyu's voice rose in anger, "Yes!"
The pilot reluctantly started the engine and prepared for takeoff.
"Don't worry, the Yun-5D has a wooden skin that's just a small dot on modern radar screens. Plus, with the complex electromagnetic environment on the battlefield today, it won't be easy for the enemy to detect us. Even if they do, they won't think this old plane has any strategic value." After calming down slightly, Ren Lingyu told the still nervous pilot in a gentle tone about his own thoughts. To be honest, the idea of conducting an on-site survey of the damage at Sanbao Airport had been in Ren's mind for some time. He wanted to check if the airport runway could still be repaired, whether the repaired runway could handle the takeoff and landing of Y-8S military transport planes, as well as the Il-76 large transport planes that would arrive later. And whether the armored troops arriving later could launch a smooth attack from the airport."
These situations all require Lieutenant General Ren to conduct a field survey as the commander of the battlefield. Familiar with the history of war, Lieutenant General Ren knows that during the Balkans Campaign of World War II from May 20 to June 1, 1941, the German army implemented a large-scale airborne operation codenamed "Mercury" to capture Crete Island. The first wave of troops suffered heavy casualties. It was not until an intelligence officer, Lieutenant Clea, risked flying to the war zone on a supply plane and learned that Maleme Airport had been controlled by their side that Sturmbannführer decided to order all transport planes at the airport to take off immediately and throw every available soldier into Maleme Airport. This turned the tide of the battle in favor of the German army. Another reason that prompted Lieutenant General Ren to make this trip to the front line may be his guilt towards the 77th Marine Brigade - this heroic unit!
