21st century Goguryeo

Chapter 508: Season 2 Book 20 Shadow of War-5-2 New China’s Defeat

January 16, 2024, 00:20 (Russian time: 06:20)

The Strait of Kerch, Republic of Crimea, Russia

Following the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia commenced construction of the Kerch Strait Bridge, which passes through Tuzla Island, in May 2015 for overland development, and it was opened in December 2018 as a double-track, four-lane highway.

Therefore, the Crimean Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which has been burdened by the time and expense of receiving various goods by sea as a result of Ukraine’s blockade of land routes, is now connected to the Russian mainland and, to some extent, relieved in that aspect.

A large number of vehicles were moving along that bridge. These were the vehicles belonging to the 31st Motorized Infantry Brigade of the 49th Army of the Southern Military District of Russia.

The Crimean Autonomous Army currently has three divisions, two brigades, and one missile battalion stationed in Crimea, and the 49th Army’s 30th Motorized Infantry Brigade from the Southern Military District had already been providing support. Even so, they were afraid that they would be taken over by Ukrainian forces, so President Putin ordered additional reinforcements to be sent, and the General Staff moved the 31st Motorized Infantry Brigade of the 49th Army, which defends the Black Sea Fleet’s garrison.

As a result, the 58th Army of the Southern Military District was left to defend the southern section of Russia. However, the peace units that came up from the southern edge of the south, the 35th Mechanized Vase Brigade, 11th Marine Mobilization Brigade (Gwangryong) and 7th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, were less powerful than a division in terms of organizational scale.

In response, the General Staff made a careful judgment that the 58th Army, a military level or higher, could be prevented by the autonomous forces of the Republic of Kabardinobalkar, the Republic of Karacha Yeboczekskaya, the Republic of Chechen and the Republic of Severosetia.

Despite the darkness, the T-90M Pro-Leaf III tanks, which were moving in four lanes, turned on their lights and continued maneuvering after being rearranged into two lines and began crossing Tuzla Island, the middle bridge. Behind them, various armored vehicles and cars followed one at a time.

The Kerch Strait Bridge has a total length of 19 kilometers, which is 700 meters longer than Korea’s Incheon Bridge, and it is considered one of the longest bridges in the world. As soon as the entire force of the 31st Motorized Infantry Brigade crossed the Kerch Strait Bridge in a long procession, two sleek aircraft approached at a frightening speed from 300 kilometers away. It was a CUF/A-29NP Phoenix unmanned fighter that was transferred from the 12th Carrier Squadron belonging to the Republic of Korea Navy.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff regretted that the reconnaissance was delayed the last time when the 30th Motorized Infantry Division crossed the Kerch Strait Bridge, and thus they were unable to attack. As a result, this time he ordered the Aerospace Force’s reconnaissance satellite group to conduct an intensive reconnaissance mission. A brigade-level force was discovered during 24-hour reconnaissance by the CS-SS Apollo Reconnaissance Satellite No. 12 and was immediately reported to the Aerospace Forces Command and the 12th Carrier Group.

Accordingly, two of the four CUF/A-29NP Phoenix planes of the Bravo Squadron, which were flying on standby over the Republic of Kurdistan, immediately turned and headed to the Kerch Strait Bridge.

The 880 kilometers distance from the Republic of Kurdistan to the Kerch Strait Bridge couldn’t be considered as a long distance for the CUF/A-29NP Phoenix aircraft, as they could fly at a hypersonic speed of 20 Mach.

They arrived at the Kerch Strait bridge in less than three minutes, switched into attack mode, and began firing.

Eight C-SDB-10 (plasma coagulated bombs) mounted on the cogwheel conrod appeared as the arming room fairings opened on both sides, and then began to descend toward the earth.

They descended toward the earth at a horrifying speed as soon as they were freed from the conrod, precisely aiming the target sites thanks to the delicate movement of its projecting tail wings.

At that time, the T-90M Pro-leaf III tanks, which had taken the lead, were currently approaching the western end of the Crimean Peninsula. Following that, additional armored vehicles and trucks gently maneuvered and followed them maintaining a distance of 15 kilometers to ensure the bridge’s safety.

Moreover, eight Su-57 Parkpa fighters from the 4th Air Force provided air protection over that region. In addition, because of the importance of the Kerch Strait Bridge, the General Staff deployed all available anti-aircraft units to prepare for possible strikes.

Despite their best efforts, they were unable to detect the CUF/A-29NP Phoenix, a 7th generation unmanned bomber, and only discovered it after the bombs had been dropped. As a result, there was insufficient time to intercept the descending bomb from a height of 10 kilometers while they were traveling.

Despite the lack of time, they couldn’t just sit there and do nothing, so the Anti-Squadron, which was waiting near Temluk, launched six S-300 Grumble missiles to intercept the C-SDB-10 (Plasma Coagulated Coal).

However, due to the lack of time, the 16 C-SDB-10 (plasma coagulated bullets) hit their designated targets one by one, triggering a massive explosion before the S-300 Grumble missiles could even reach them.

As a result, both bridges, spanning several kilometers, were cut off, except for the road passing through Tuzla Island. In other words, two-thirds of the brigade’s strength was lost to the water.

Furthermore, the rest of the brigade’s force, which was maneuvering on Tuzla Island’s route, was not spared.

As the two CUF/A-29NP Phoenix, which had dropped the 16 C-SDB-10 (plasma coagulated bullets), they moved on to immediately drop another two C-SDB-20 (plasma cluster bullets) onto Tuzla Island.

A total of four C-SDB-20s (plasma cluster bombs) were dropped from the side internal armament chamber. Each fired submunitions when it reached a certain altitude, resulting in covering the entire length of Tuzla Island with hundreds of submunitions.

As soon as it touched the ground, it engulfed the surrounding area with tremendous explosive power. It destroyed everything in its path, whether it was a tank, an armored vehicle, or an ordinary vehicle.

Because of these two CUF/A-29NP Phoenixes, not only the 31st Motorized Infantry Brigade but the Kerch Strait Bridge as well, the only land route in Crimea, disappeared into history forever.

In addition, the two CUF/A-29NP Phoenix aircraft successfully intercepted the eight Su-57 Parkpa fighters that were flying at an altitude of 100 kilometers. They then returned safely to Gu-Ham Baek (CV-001).

All the eight Su-57 Parkpa fighters were shot down without a fight, as they were overwhelmed by the alien fighter’s incredible speed and high-flying abilities, which they had only seen in science-fiction movies.

* * *

January 16th, 2024, 12:00 (New China time: 11:00)

22 kilometers west of Tangshan, Hebei Province, New China

On the 9th, the 22nd Armored Brigade of the 6th Mechanized Infantry Division (Cheongseong), which had completed its reorganization from division to brigade level and had entered full-fledged engagement, launched a fierce attack against the New China Army, which had used the people as a shield and employed defensive tactics, as it did during the Battle of Puding County.

They were resting for a while today after scouring the area from Tangshan to the west end, which was about 32 kilometers away, and waited for the arrival of the 23rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade, a 3rd Armored Division subordinate force (Baegol).

“How’s the viewer?”

First Lieutenant Na Tae-kyung, commander of the 1st Platoon and Tank 511, approached Corporal Hong Il-joon while carrying a cauldron in his hands and asked.

Corporal Hong Il-joon turned his head, frowned and shook his head in response.

“The maintenance manager says some parts need to be replaced. However, as there are no spare parts right now, it seems that we cannot have them replaced right away.”

“When can it be done?”

“I don’t know exactly but it’ll probably take a week.”

Hearing this the first lieutenant Na Tae-kyung came out of the tank and looked at the viewer.

It was hit by an anti-tank fragment during the battle the day before, and as a result, the rotation motor broke and it could no longer turn properly.

The division’s maintenance staff was currently unable to intervene because they were also being attacked by the plasma bombs, which had damaged the replacement part.

Furthermore, if the nearby 3rd Armored Division (Baekgol) had been using the C-2A1 black tank, they could have received supply parts from them but as they were operating the C-3 white tiger tank, the parts did not fit.

Just like this, the unfavorable situations merged, creating an even more unfavorable situation in which even basic replacement parts could not be provided at this time.

“Il-joon, turn left!”

“Yes.”

The sight camera, which had been working normally earlier, suddenly rotated oddly, as if it had become stuck in something, and stopped working.

“Oh, we can’t use this anymore?”

“Nothing we can do. Why don’t we use the microscope instead for the time being?”

“Well, we should do that.”

First lieutenant Na Tae-kyung, hit the sight camera and went back into the tram, took out the cauldron he had brought earlier and asked Corporal Hong Il-joon.

“Where’s Sergeant Kim?”

“He went to the battalion for training.”

“Really? Then have your lunch first!”

“What is it?”

“Hamburger!”

“Oh! Is it today’s meal”

“Won’t it be lunchtime soon?”

Corporal Hong Il-joon, who was biting the hamburger, stopped eating and asked.

“Today’s battle has been rescheduled from 2:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. We’ll have to move quickly since enemies are flocking to Tangshan. So go ahead and eat it right now. Once the battle starts, you’ll never know when you’ll be able to eat again.”

“Platoon commander, you’re not going to eat?”

“I’m going to talk to the platoon’s tank managers. Just finish your meal!”

“Yes.”

As soon as the first lieutenant Na Tae-kyung left, someone suddenly appeared in the seat of the gunnery tower and showed an insidious smile.

“What? What are you eating?”

It was Sergeant Kim Ki-il, the pilot of the 511’s tank.

“Huh? Are you done with the training?”

“Yes, but what are you eating?”

“Come here quickly, we’re having a hamburger instead of lunch today.”

“Oh! Hamburger! But why is it instead of lunch? Is it not time to eat yet?”

“The time of the engagement has been shifted from 2:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. So now, instead of lunch, we’re having a hamburger.”

Sergeant Kim Ki-il opened the hamburger package immediately after entering the tram and took a big bite. While chewing he asked.

“Why did the engagement time change all of a sudden?”

“According to the platoon commander, the enemies are flocking toward Tangshan. So, we will need to quickly go after them.”

“Gasp! Gasp! Ah! I’m thirsty. Water, water!”

Sergeant Kim Ki-il, who had drunk the water from the bottle, took another mouthful of the hamburger and muttered.

“Since we’ve brought the battle forward, this battle must be tough.”

“Even though, wouldn’t it be easier this time since we have the 3rd Division Brigade?”

“That’s true!”

“Sergeant Kim, what kind of training did you have?”

“Training? Oh! I received training on the anti-tank.”

Sergeant Kim Ki-il, who had finished his hamburger before he knew it, answered while lying down on the narrow tram.

“Woah, even landmines…I couldn’t even fix the microscope. Oh! This is kind of uncomfortable.”

Corporal Hong Il-joon frowned as he ate the hamburger.

“You couldn’t fix that?”

“Yes, we don’t have any spare parts.”

“Oh my God, how did our division end up like this?”

At that moment, several tanks and armored vehicles approached from the east-end direction. It was the 23rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade of the 3rd Armored Division (Baekgol) who was joining the Tangshan occupation operation alongside the 2nd Armored Brigade of the 6th Mechanized Infantry Division (Cheongseong)..