Chapter 40: The Offensive
"Tank battalion, form up in assault formation." Rajavi yelled into the radio from inside the command vehicle behind.
Attack formation? In that case, we'd have to leave the road we just paved and venture into this marshy area. Can we move freely here?
However, the armored division had no other choice.
The entire 1st Armored Regiment was just wiped out because they were stationary in one place. The advantage of tanks lies in their mobility, but they didn't move and became live targets. Rajavi doesn't want to make the same mistake.
As long as you can move on your own, is T-62's simple fire control system a match for you?
Upon hearing the order, the Type 97 Chi-Ha tanks on the concrete road immediately deployed to both flanks.
Khava drove the tank, as soon as it left the cement road, he felt dizzy. On this kind of road surface, the tank was very difficult to maneuver, and he could hear the roar of the engine but couldn't effectively drag the heavy body.
But he can't afford to think about that anymore, as the distance between them is gradually getting closer.
This time, tanks from both sides deployed to both wings, forming two iron torrents that could collide at any moment.
The first to make contact were the 2nd and 3rd Armored Battalions.
Avenge our regiment! They gazed at the tribal chief next to them with overturned cannon tower, anger bursting in their eyes.
For tanks, the best type of ammunition is still armor-piercing rounds.
The two gunners had already loaded the shells into the barrel, the vehicle commander was closely observing the surrounding situation, and the gunner was tensely aiming.
None of them noticed that the most nervous one was the driver.
Once in combat, the driver could not drive with his head exposed and the top hatch closed, relying on a small periscope for observation. The view was already greatly restricted, while all the terrain of the swampy area seemed to be against them, their hearts were tightly strung like a bowstring.
Following them, the 4th and 5th Armored Regiments formed a second line of defense.
At a distance of eighteen hundred meters, the tribal chief fired first.
A 120mm caliber cannon, a huge flame shot out of the muzzle, shell after shell flew towards the opponent.
This is a rain of death!
Khawaldeen deliberately chose a seemingly flat land at the moment of the previous shot, and the huge recoil just now made him feel lingering fear.
Suddenly, he felt that the tank was starting to lose control on its own, originally without changing direction, but the war vehicle was involuntarily turning left.
"Havaladin, are you trying to retreat at the last minute?" The voice of the team leader came through the headset, furious: "The enemy is right in front of us, what are you turning around for?"
"Report, after firing that last shell, we've got a recoil malfunction and it looks like our left tread is stuck." said Khavardin.
Due to the action of the differential, the engine provides power evenly to both tracks. However, if the left track is stuck and not moving, the right track will rotate more, causing the vehicle body to involuntarily turn left, which is beyond the driver's control.
Stuck? The company commander burst into a rage: "Khavalgin, how are you driving the tank? I'm telling you, get the tank out of here quickly, or I'll kill you."
"Yes." Khawalidin muttered a quick prayer under his breath and shifted into reverse.
"Vroom, vroom." The engine emitted a huge cloud of black smoke, and finally, the vehicle's body lifted lightly, getting out of the place it had been stuck in earlier.
Haval Dineen was sweating all over his head.
The previous shooting killed at least a dozen T-62s, leaving the Iraqis almost powerless to fight back.
Able to effectively manipulate the fire control system, at a distance of one thousand eight hundred meters, accurately aim and shoot the moving tribal leader, Iraqi tankers didn't have this skill yet, not even Elrad, this seed player, missed the first shot.
The level of Iranian people is indeed very high! Especially this armored division, it's one of the most powerful armored divisions in Iran, with a strong combat capability.
Several unlucky tank commanders didn't even have time to react before being hit by the enemy's armor-piercing shells, with only one consequence: the destruction of the vehicle and loss of life.
The internal design of the T-62 tank is even more unreasonable. Once hit, it can basically cause an explosion of ammunition inside the vehicle, and in an instant, the hit T-62 will have its turret blown off, completely destroyed.
Muhammad couldn't care less about all that, his own tankers, at such a distance, it was absolutely difficult to hit the enemy, he admired Kusay's foresight even more: they must train their tankers to eliminate enemies at long distances, if they could use the fire control system correctly, they wouldn't just take a beating without fighting back.
However, the Iranian tank regiment that was just annihilated had all its soldiers still in a state of excitement, and the destroyed tanks did not affect their morale at all. They drove the T-62s without hesitation, attacking again and again!
For armored troops, offense is everything.
Through the periscope of the tank, Ali Lianchang was delighted to discover that the enemy had more than a dozen tanks stuck in the swamp and unable to move.
This made him overjoyed, and he immediately commanded his tank company to head towards those few tanks.
Chieftain, this is your tomb!
The T-62 fires, although it will also cause some difficulties, but it is not impossible to move. The T-62's lighter body and wider tracks have a strong adaptability.
The tribal chief had already been hit by more than a dozen arrows and was stuck in the marsh, unable to move.
They had no choice but to keep rotating the turret, ready to attack any tank that approached them at any time.
"Charge and wipe them out!" Ali shouted at his own several T-62s.
In Elara's scope, a Warlord was spinning its tracks futilely.
"Target locked, requesting permission to fire."
"Affirmative, halt advance."
The moment the T-62 stopped, Elrad pressed the firing button hard, and the heavy tank body shook with a jolt.
After firing, the driver restarted the tank and moved forward.
The commander saw through his periscope that the targeted tank had its armor penetrated from the side, and then a fierce fire broke out.
Not bad! That's a distance of 1,300 meters, and the other tanks are still closing in. I've already taken out one Chieftain.
"Front 215, dense position 418, chief one vehicle." The trainmaster gave the target again.
"Boom!" The loader had already loaded the second armor-piercing shell into the breech.
Eira rotated the turret with a flick of her wrist, starting her next targeting sequence.
Iran's tank soldiers are also making repetitive movements.
Once the battle begins, there is no second road to choose from. That is, before being hit by oneself, take out a few more enemy tanks!
That's the cruel war.
The Chiefains took out some T-62s at long range, thanks to their fire control systems and training, which was the time when the T-62s suffered the most losses. However, as the distance between the two sides narrowed, the T-62's advantage in agility began to play a role, and they started to counterattack, especially against those Chiefains that had been trapped, often attracting several tanks to gang up on them.
Tanks of both sides clashed and killed each other on this land.
A T-62 tank suddenly broke through the enemy's two lines of tank defenses and entered their armored vehicle formation, immediately "indulging" in these delicious meals.
It's incredibly easy to hit an armored vehicle with a tank cannon. The formation of the M113 armored vehicles was instantly dispersed.
Several warlords immediately turned their heads and went to surround this threat.
The war is raging on relentlessly, with every minute, a tank is being hit. This epic tank battle is unfolding in a bloody manner.
Muhammad felt a bit anxious, seeing that the tribal leader had also been killed by him, but his own losses were greater, and the enemy's tanks had an advantage in numbers. As they clashed, he was at a disadvantage.
Where are the ground-attack aircraft and armed helicopters of the military region? Can't hold on any longer.
Muhammad knew that the air force's mobilization had always been relatively low-key, and it was likely that they hadn't even finished loading their bombs yet. By the time they arrived, everything would be over here.
It seems I can only rely on myself now.
T-62s are gone, then on to the BMP-63s, using anti-tank missiles to destroy them. The BMP-63s are gone, then on to the soldiers, even if they're carrying RPG rocket launchers, we must stop the Iranian armored group in the swamp.
Because this is very advantageous for our side, once out of the swamp, we will have to pay a greater sacrifice.
Rajavi also felt that things were a bit troublesome, because the 720-horsepower engine of the Chieftain tank performed poorly here, but the fuel consumption was extremely large.
The fierce battle had just ended, and more than half of the fuel of some battalion commanders had been consumed. He had to issue an order: "Armored Second Regiment and Third Regiment, withdraw from combat, prepare for refueling, Fourth Regiment Fifth Regiment, continue to hold off the enemy's attack."
Field warfare is also a very high-level subject.
Can't wait for the fuel to run out before refueling, at that time, the tank has already become scrap iron.
Nor can they all be withdrawn, otherwise, the other side will rush over and our side will suffer a great defeat.
Withdraw part of it, retreat to a safe place, fill up with oil, and then launch an attack again.
The only thing that made him feel lucky was that the other side reacted in time, and there was only this tank brigade in front of him. If the opponent's air force had arrived at this moment, his armored division would have been completely finished.
Upon receiving his order, the oil tanker trucks stationed at the rear base were ready to depart.
