Empire Conquest-Chapter 894 - 117: The Battle for Hearts and Minds
On the morning of September 27, before dawn, Ding Zhennan arrived at the frontline combat command center.
In the previous two days, he visited all the grassroots units, investigating and understanding the conditions of the troops, especially the demands raised by grassroots officers and soldiers.
To be honest, morale isn’t an issue.
Having always won the battles, the fighting spirit of the officers and soldiers is very high.
Of course, it doesn’t mean there are no problems.
The most prominent feedback from grassroots soldiers mainly is that the use of water has been strictly restricted, and the fruit in the meal has been green apples for a month continuously.
If some other fruits, such as citrus and pears, could be provided, that would be better.
Of course, watermelon would be the best.
Although it’s already late September, the temperature in the Boss Bay area hasn’t significantly dropped. The midday maximum temperature can sometimes reach 40 degrees Celsius, and even the nighttime minimum temperature basically remains above 25 degrees Celsius. For those officers and soldiers fighting on the front lines, replenishing water is most needed.
Upon learning about these needs of the officers and soldiers, Ding Zhennan immediately made arrangements.
As a result, on the evening of the 25th, a Yun-9D from the Air Force delivered 10 tons of fresh fruit, half of which were sweet and refreshing large watermelons.
However, the most valuable feedback from the officers and soldiers concerns the issues with current equipment.
Although the Empire possesses the most powerful military force globally, the Empire Army hasn’t been on the battlefield for over a decade since the end of the Boi War.
Moreover, almost all main combat equipment developed under the impetus of the third military reform hasn’t undergone the test of warfare.
War is the only means to test weapons.
Even equipment like the ZT-99 has proven its value in battle, yet many main combat equipment still don’t perform ideally.
In fact, even the ZT-99AL is far from perfect.
During the battle to seize Basra, many deficiencies of the ZT-99AL became evident.
The primary issue is the insufficient elevation angle of the Main Gun, thus making it inadequate when encountering high-rise buildings in urban warfare.
This deficiency was especially pronounced in Basra.
It’s quite simple, Basra is the second-largest city in Iraq after Baghdad and is truly a metropolis.
Previously, whether in Sellerman or Samawa, they were actually small towns.
Small towns don’t have many tall buildings, so when attacking these small towns, the tasks assigned to Main Battle Tanks weren’t many.
Even if dealing with enemies hiding on the rooftops of buildings, Infantry Fighting Vehicles could be used.
In Basra, things aren’t so simple.
Due to the overly complex urban environment, significantly stronger enemy defenses, and higher troop density, armored tanks often had to be at the forefront to deal with encountered enemies, such as anti-tank teams hiding on the rooftops.
At this point, the problems of the ZT-99AL became apparent.
In the first two days, the 5th Marine Division lost 20 ZT-99AL tanks, eight of which were penetrated in the turret’s top armor by rockets fired from the rooftops by the enemy, and seven were ambushed by nearby anti-tank teams when disturbed by high-positioned enemies. One was deemed a total loss after having its tail compartment penetrated by a single 60mm rocket, causing damage to the power system.
After the 5th Marine Division adjusted its tactics, the situation improved.
To say so, they employed quite brute methods.
If conditions allowed, infantry would be sent ahead to seize and control the commanding heights near the attack routes, that is, the tall buildings, to provide cover for Armored Forces advancing on the ground.
Of course, such tasks were executed by elite troops, usually by strike teams organized by Reconnaissance Soldiers.
If the situation was complex, such as high enemy troop density making it impossible to seize commanding heights, the attacking troops would directly call for artillery support.
Simply put, it’s about letting Artillery tear down the buildings.
As the battle progressed, self-propelled Mortars were directly arranged to follow the troops for advancement, using 120mm Mortars to directly collapse the entire East Building when high-rise buildings guarded by enemies were encountered. If the building was sufficiently sturdy, Navy Air Force would send Attack Aircraft to resolve the battle.
No building can withstand a 500kg heavyweight bomb.
Moreover, the Navy’s ammunition depot even has specialized high-explosive bombs weighing over 500kg.
These specially designed high-explosive bombs have a blast damage radius exceeding 250 meters, only requiring one to blow a multi-story building into fragments.
Of course, the resulting consequence is that the advancing speed of the attacking troops can’t be fast at all.
Another issue with the ZT-99AL exposed during actual combat is the overly weak side and rear armor, which can’t even withstand hand-held rockets!
Among the lost ZT-99AL tanks, more than half were sneak-attacked by enemy infantry, with the side or rear armor penetrated by rocket launchers such as "Iron Fist" or RPG-7.
To enhance the side and rear defense strength, many tankers would hang spare road wheels and tracks around the turret’s rear, as well as some tools necessary for tank maintenance, like specially made logs, though usually several large barrels of fresh water would be loaded.
Of course, this also raised a new issue.
The traditional approach of increasing armor thickness to improve defensive performance won’t do at all.
Not to mention raising the side and rear armor to the same level as the front, even reaching the level to resist rockets, approximately 500mm of homogeneous armor steel defense strength, tanks like the ZT-99AL would certainly weigh over 100 tons.
