northernbook Chapter 273: First destroy one infantry division, then attack the 1th Armored Division
Chapter 273: First destroy one infantry division, then attack the 1th Armored Division
The 9th Motorized Infantry Division suffered heavy losses in this battle.
The division consists of two brigades, six infantry regiments, a field artillery regiment, support and service units, etc., totaling more than 12,300 people.
By the time they retreated 20 kilometers to regroup, their total strength was only more than 7000 people.
There were about 5,000 casualties and missing persons.
The entire 9th Motorized Infantry Division no longer had the high morale it had before.
Each of them looked like a defeated rooster, with fear on their faces.
This was the first time they had experienced this type of warfare, and the tactics they had were completely unable to cope with it.
At night, the temporary camp was brightly lit, quiet yet lively.
The quiet here means that few people speak, and even those who do speak are very quiet.
Lively means that there are many soldiers and officers walking around, making a lot of noise.
There is also the crackling sound of burning firewood.
"Damn the Air Force! They're just good-for-nothings!"
The man cursing the Air Force was none other than Major General Ken Fisher, commander of the 9th Motorized Infantry Division.
In his opinion, their failure this time had a lot to do with the inaction of the Air Force.
If their artillery positions had not been destroyed by fighter planes, they would have been able to counterattack.
Even if we cannot continue to advance, we will not lose our weapons and retreat in defeat.
"The Air Force still refuses to take action?"
After scolding the air force stationed in Baixiang, he asked an officer.
"Yes, they say the ancients had anti-aircraft missiles designed to attack aircraft.
They had already lost more than half of their aircraft to the attacks of these missiles, and few pilots survived.
So they all refused to carry out their mission in Shan State.”
Refuse to perform the task.
This is a niche term for soldiers, but it actually happened to the 18th Regiment stationed in Baixiang.
Once hit by a SAM-2 air defense missile, how could the small body of a propeller fighter withstand it?
You should know that this thing is mainly used to deal with large fighter jets.
For example, strategic bombers, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, etc.
Therefore, once a propeller aircraft pilot is hit by the warhead of a SAM-2 air defense missile, he or she is almost certain to die.
A 195kg warhead is no joke.
It is said to have a 195 kg warhead, so basically a few 12.7 mm caliber bullets can shoot down a fighter plane.
Faced with a mission with no chance of survival, the John pilots from the 18th Wing were extremely terrified and each of them found various excuses to refuse to go out.
Faced with such a task, they would rather go to military court than do it.
"Woooooooo..."
Suddenly at this moment a sharp whistling sound was heard outside.
When they heard this voice for the first time, everyone's face changed drastically, and fear surged in their hearts.
"Bombardment!"
"Enemy attack!"
155mm caliber high-explosive bombs, shrapnel shells and 122mm rockets once again poured down.
As the shells landed rapidly, a firestorm instantly arose in the camp where the 9th Motorized Infantry Division was stationed, sweeping across the entire camp.
When the shells landed, the entire camp of John's 9th Motorized Infantry Division was in an uproar.
They ran around in panic.
When the shells exploded around them, the shock wave brought dense fragments and blew them to the ground.
If you are lucky, you can still keep your body intact.
If the explosion point is very close, a 155mm shell will basically turn you into a bloody mist, and not even a single intact bone will be found.
The blast knocked over group of enemies one after another, and their bodies rolled in the air like broken rag dolls, falling heavily to the ground without a sound.
As the bombardment continued, the entire camp seemed to have turned into a hell on earth.
Especially when round after round of rockets are fired, the end of the world is coming.
The entire camp was filled with raging fire and billowing smoke.
"Brothers, charge!!!"
"kill!!!"
After the shelling lasted for half an hour, the 17th Infantry Brigade, which was ready for the attack, plus two infantry regiments of the 19th Infantry Brigade formed a skirmish line and launched a charge towards the camp.
The soldiers of the two brigades were in high spirits and rushed forward shouting.
The moment the ancient country's national defense forces appeared, they knew they were sure to win and had a sufficient sense of security.
So everyone was in high spirits and rushed forward roaring.
This type of troops is a typical army that fights with the wind in its favor. Once it encounters an adverse wind, it may not run faster than anyone else, but its morale will definitely drop quickly.
After all, they were not fighting on their own land. Even if there were land rewards, they did not have much sense of belonging in this strange country.
As the attacking group approached the camp, the artillery fire stopped.
However, at this time, the assault troops of two brigades, numbering nearly 10,000 people, had already rushed into the camp.
The surging tide of people swept through the entire camp in just half an hour.
Fierce gunfire rang out around the camp.
The soldiers of John's 9th Infantry Division were either killed or surrendered.
The battle ended with a great victory for the two brigades.
A total of more than 3,000 of John's soldiers were killed and more than 3,000 were captured.
The rest were basically blown to pieces.
John's 9th Motorized Infantry Division was almost completely wiped out.
"Keep moving forward."
When Tian Hua received the battle report, he was not surprised at all.
If they could still lose this kind of battle, then the Long family army would be completely hopeless.
"Send a telegram back home, saying we won our first battle and annihilated John's 9th Motorized Infantry Division.
At the same time, request reinforcements from the air defense forces."
"Continue to draw local defense forces from northern Shan State to form an independent infantry regiment as a strategic reserve."
The next battles will be tough ones, not easy.
And there is a high possibility that they will face a crazy counterattack from John's people.
The 8th Air Defense Brigade is now deployed on the battlefield on the Dagon side and has no time to take care of them.
Therefore, it would be more reliable to mobilize another air defense force to enter Shan State to provide them with an air defense umbrella.
As for the Mandela Aviation Brigade... during the daytime combat, 4 of its planes were shot down by anti-aircraft artillery, so it was not that reliable.
After all, we are all rookies, so the requirements cannot be too high.
The 17th and 19th Infantry Brigades continued to advance with high morale.
However, since they were walking, their progress was not very fast.
John's Fourth Army also received news that the 9th Motorized Infantry Division had been completely wiped out.
At this time, Lieutenant General Whitney suddenly felt that something was wrong.
He was somewhat skeptical whether his Fourth Army could withstand the attack of the ancient people.
"Have the 12th Infantry Division build a defensive line, and the White Elephant 4th Infantry Division build the first line of defense, awaiting the arrival of reinforcements."
If the ancient people directly joined the war, then relying on the strength of their Fourth Army would definitely not be enough.
Their Fourth Army consisted of only one armored division, one motorized infantry division, and one light infantry division, totaling three divisions with a total strength of more than 30,000 people.
As for the White Elephant people... apart from waving flags and shouting to gather numbers, they can hardly play any role.
Lieutenant General Whitney's idea was simple: to build a defense line on the spot and wait for more reinforcements to arrive.
At the same time, it bought time for the advancing 7th Armored Division.
The fighting on the Dagon front remains fierce.
Fortunately, Mandela held on, so the transportation line remained smooth.
Large amounts of military aid were transported via the Mandera to Dagon road.
"Commander Long, this batch of weapons is specifically designed for anti-tank operations.
Includes FT-2 anti-tank rocket launcher, anti-tank mines, recoilless guns, etc.
According to our reconnaissance information, a large number of John armored troops are advancing towards you. These weapons should be distributed as soon as possible.
Our instructors in the army will teach soldiers how to use it as quickly as possible."
Long Jianzhang said with joy, "Great! With your support, I am confident that we can win this battle."
Dagon began to switch from offense to defense and established a large number of anti-tank teams.
The mission of these teams is to ambush John's armored forces in the jungle.
The main weapon is the FT-2 anti-tank rocket launcher.
This thing is actually the RPG-2 anti-tank rocket launcher that the army has a lot of in stock.
The army is about to put the new RPG-7 into service, so these RPG-2 rocket launchers will be used as military aid.
The first to feel the enthusiasm of the anti-tank rocket launcher was the vanguard of the 7th Armored Division: Tank Squadron B of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment.
Tank Squadron B is equipped with A9 cruiser tanks and has 5 tank detachments with a total of 18 A9 cruiser tanks.
The A9 cruiser tank is also a new type of tank that has been in service for less than a year.
It has a total weight of 12.4 tons and is equipped with a 40mm tank gun.
The terrain in the Nanyang region is indeed very suitable for this type of light cruiser tank to carry out combat.
After all, tanks that are too heavy cannot pass through more than 90% of bridges, which is very restrictive.
At this time, Tank Squadron B was traveling on a road on the edge of the jungle.
The road was severely damaged, and even tanks had to be careful when passing through.
This also drew a curse from John the Tank Soldier.
"Sir, the road ahead has been cut off. I'm afraid we need reinforcements from the engineering corps!"
A large hole more than ten meters long appeared on the road in front of Tank Squadron B. The tanks could not move forward and had to stop.
And just as they stopped, they suffered a devastating blow!
"Cut off the head and tail. Now that the head can't move forward, let's hit the tail first."
The infantry battalion lying in ambush in the jungle launched its first tank ambush under the command of the instructor.
“Whoosh…whoosh…”
Several 2mm anti-tank rockets fired from the FT-80 anti-tank rocket launchers went straight towards the John A9 tank below.
“Boom…Boom…”
The small body of the A9 cruiser tank cannot withstand the shooting of 80mm super-caliber rockets.
The armor-piercing warhead directly blew up the A9 cruiser tank on the spot.
Then more rockets whizzed towards John's tank troops who were caught off guard.
Explosions occurred before the tanks could even move.
"Come on!"
"kill!"
The anti-tank squad's more than ten rocket launchers blew up most of the tanks, and the soldiers of the infantry battalion also rushed down screaming.
In less than ten minutes, the battle here was over, and the battlefield was cleaned up.
However, the main force against the 7th Armored Division was not these anti-tank teams, but the nemesis of tanks - armed helicopters.
An attack helicopter battalion was dispatched from the Mandela direction and was on its way to deal a heavy blow to the 7th Armored Division.
As long as the tanks of the 7th Armored Division were destroyed, they would be like toothless tigers and would not be able to pose a threat to Dagon's troops.
This is Tian Hua’s tactic.
First resolve the crisis on Mandela's side, then destroy the tanks of the 7th Armored Division, and then the situation can be turned around.