Empire Conquest-Chapter 792 - 67: Unmatched Sharpness (Part 2)
If it were a fighter jet, it would be a thunderous roar. The armor-piercing bullet is too small, and the sonic boom it produces is sharper.
Clearly, Situ Lin issued the halt order after judging that the enemy’s tank was about to fire.
If Tang Xuebing hadn’t stopped the tank and continued to charge forward, it would definitely have been hit by that armor-piercing bullet!
Even though the "Leopard 2" DM33 armor-piercing bullet is not considered advanced, theoretically, it can penetrate up to 450 mm of homogeneous armor. The equivalent protective thickness of the turret and front hull of the ZT-99B is over 800 mm, which can withstand a direct hit from the DM33. However, even if not penetrated, being hit by an armor-piercing bullet can still damage the tank’s electronic equipment and injure the crew members.
At the very least, it would temporarily lose combat effectiveness.
"Boom——"
Less than a second after the enemy’s armor-piercing bullet flew past the front of the tank, Situ Lin controlled the tank gun to fire a reprisal shell.
"Chief, direct hit!"
Since the front was facing the enemy, the vibration from firing was not severe.
Wu Qitie saw very clearly that the armor-piercing bullet penetrated the front of that "Leopard 2" turret and brought out a fireball as it exited from the back.
However, the fireball was not large, unlike an ammunition explosion.
Immediately, the hatch on top of the turret opened, and a burning object, actually a tank operator on fire, crawled out of the turret.
Unfortunately, the tank operator failed to climb out of the turret and collapsed after opening the top cover.
Although sub-caliber discarding sabot armor-piercing bullets solely rely on kinetic energy to destroy targets, without explosive charge or blasting effect, they are no less effective than armor-piercing shells and grenades that create destruction through blasting when dealing with armored targets, especially personnel inside armored targets.
The key is that after penetrating armor, the armor-piercing bullet generates a large amount of shrapnel scattering at very high speeds!
These fragments are like flying shrapnel.
Moreover, a large amount of kinetic energy converts to internal energy during penetration, so the temperature of the fragments is very high, able to cause incendiary effects inside the tank.
In any tank, flammable and explosive items are not lacking.
For this reason, armor-piercing bullets have always been a potent weapon against tanks.
Later, the 3 ZT-99Bs of the guard platoon also fired one after another.
To the south, divided into 6 assault groups, all 33 tanks of 3 companies had engaged in combat and were performing at expected levels.
Although this was the 04101 Battalion’s first battle since the Boi War, and even the first for officers like Situ Lin, the value of past rigorous training was fully demonstrated at this time. Truly speaking, the significance of real-weapon confrontation exercises, conducted several times each year, is extraordinary.
At the very least, it allows the officers and soldiers to avoid panicking under enemy counterattacks when participating in battle.
In the forward command post.
Pavlov witnessed the reprisal action of the 04101 Battalion firsthand.
Before this, Pavlov had a bit of concern about the armored battalion led by the "Situ," mainly because the battalion’s officers and soldiers were very young, even Situ Lin was only in his 30s, not an experienced veteran, so their performance might not be optimal.
After the reprisal began, just the first few rounds of exchange, Pavlov changed his opinion of the 04101 Battalion.
The reprisal action was not only fierce but also very sharp.
It was not only due to the excellent performance of the ZT-99Bs but also related to the commander’s tactics and courage.
The reprisal force at the forefront was at the northernmost point, thus unwittingly flanking the back of the enemy, immediately cutting off the enemy’s retreat pathway.
Several exchanges quickly shattered the enemy’s fighting spirit with unparalleled sharp firepower.
Pavlov saw with his own eyes, even when the "Leopard 2" turned its turret and hull towards the ZT-99Bs, they could not block the incoming armor-piercing bullets.
More importantly, the "Leopard 2" reprisal posed almost no threat to the ZT-99Bs.
When the engagement distance was over 2000 meters, the "Leopard 2’s" artillery fire was completely inaccurate, and the armor-piercing bullets fired all missed the target!
It could be said that the Tiaoman armored troops’ quality definitely had issues.
In the chaos, some "Leopard 2s" were even using multipurpose grenades intended for defensive positions!
Of course, this was related to the "Leopard 2" not using an automatic loading machine and relying on a loader to load shells. Under the circumstances of needing to immediately return fire, the "Leopard 2" took considerable time to extract a chambered shell, also posing safety risks. For safety considerations and faster fire suppression on the enemy, the "Leopard 2" vehicle commander often chose to fire the shell that was already chambered.
It was also that when the engagement distance shortened to within 2000 meters, the "Leopard 2’s" performance was equally poor.
Pavlov saw with his own eyes that at least 3 ZT-99Bs were hit by armor-piercing bullets fired by "Leopard 2s" at distances between 1000 to 1500 meters. However, these 3 ZT-99Bs were not destroyed, and after halting for a few minutes, they resumed speeding forward.
The only loss in this battle was the piercing of one ZT-99B’s side by a heavy anti-tank missile fired from 3000 meters away. Subsequently, the following BZ-98 took out the Tiaoman chariot hiding in the woods using a "Crossbow Cannon" anti-tank missile.
By the time the last group of Tiaoman chariots withdrew, it was already 1:50 AM.
Seeing the tanks of the 04101 Battalion cease advancing northward and release smoke screens to withdraw in reverse, Pavlov led the guard company to advance.
They were still one step late.
The soldiers on the forward positions had already launched a counterattack ahead of them, and with the support of the 04101 Battalion, precisely with the support of the infantry fighting vehicles arriving later, they systematically eliminated the remaining Tiaoman infantry still putting up resistance and took the disarmed surrendering enemies to the rear.
Although the enemy’s attack was repulsed, it could only be considered a pyrrhic victory at the most.
As the signal was sent out, the enemy had already breached the defensive positions and occupied the forward line, preparing to launch a deep assault.
Otherwise, Pavlov would not have sent the signal.
The infantry battalion that first engaged in combat had only about one-third of its personnel still capable of fighting, with over 200 casualties.
The battalion command vehicle withdrew at a quarter past 2.
For safety, Situ Lin did not have the units remain on the forward positions, instead withdrawing them to the rear.
When he reached the forward command post, he learned from Pavlov that the initial reprisal had at least routed 2 battalions of the Tiaoman Army, comprising one armored battalion and one mechanized infantry battalion.
Although some enemies retreated, based on the findings from the prisoners, the commanders of both battalions were already dead.
The armored battalion’s commander was in one tank, and after the reprisal began, was destroyed by an armor-piercing bullet fired by a ZT-99B.
This achievement could very likely be attributed to Situ Lin.
The reason being: this "Leopard 2" was behind the attack front line and was the first to respond and open fire after the ZT-99B struck.
Subsequently, it was destroyed by an armor-piercing bullet.
Situ Lin was also quite surprised, after all, he did not expect to personally eliminate the enemy’s armored battalion commander.
As for the mechanized infantry battalion commander, he was hit by a stray bullet while organizing a retreat.
During the battlefield cleanup, one of Pavlov’s subordinates found the body of this Tiaoman officer and brought back the officer’s shoulder badge and identification plate.
Most importantly, the advancing force was indeed the elite troops of the Tiaoman Army, and the spearheading assault was the core strength of this unit.
Although this brigade still had at least 2 armored battalions and 1 mechanized infantry battalion, after suffering a heavy blow, especially with the participation of the Liangxia Empire’s armored forces, they would likely give up a second attack, leaving the western Luosha Army to take the lead and launch another assault before dawn.
If time allowed, they might launch two assaults.
Anyway, the next round of battle would begin at the earliest at 3 AM, or latest by 3:30 AM.
To ascertain the enemy’s attack timing, specifically to prepare for launching an offensive, Situ Lin adopted Pavlov’s suggestion, redeploying 3 infantry fighting vehicles from a mechanized infantry company. After disembarking the infantry, they moved northwards from the eastern side of the defense line, trying to approach the assembly area for the attack.
Normally, this type of mission is assigned to the Air Force, performed by tactical reconnaissance aircraft or joint command aircraft.
Unfortunately, the Air Force definitely cannot be relied upon.
As for the Land Air Force, even if some armed helicopters are still operational, they require refueling and rearming. If they could return by 3 AM, before the next battle begins, that would already be quite good, so expecting them to execute reconnaissance missions is unrealistic.
In Astrakhan, there are no dedicated reconnaissance helicopters either.
In fact, at a temporary support point dozens of kilometers to the rear, Lian Mingyang and the others were busy preparing for a second sortie.
