Thunder Strikes Back

Chapter 572 Emergency Repair Work
The major has already dismantled the artillery regiment and scattered them in various valleys. This is used to counter the enemy's reconnaissance. Of course, the shortcomings are also obvious. Once a counterattack can be formed, not every position is in an ideal shooting area. Inside.Due to the complex terrain here, it is impossible to obtain the possibility of a counterattack at a theoretical range in every direction; and the efficiency of artillery is much lower than that of concentrated use.

Right now, he has two platoons that have just finished shooting and are still on the move, and most of the rest of the platoons are in a state of being unable to shoot due to one or another reason (geographical occlusion, insufficient range, or poor communication).

He delineated all 4 platoons of 8 guns with good shooting range on the monitor and put them into counterattack. Through the inter-vehicle data link and the air intelligence relay system, he can control all his troops in a mountainous area of ​​about 650 square kilometers. ;The parts that cannot be reached by inter-vehicle communication are implemented through a British drone; of course, due to the vast deployment area, some vehicle groups are always in a state of being unable to communicate, so it is better to leave room for this situation when he deploys in advance .

The major compressed the number of shots from each vehicle from the preset 4 to 3, which would greatly reduce the strike capability, but given the speed of the enemy's counterattack after the previous shot, it seemed safer to reduce one shot.Generally speaking, the biggest problem is that the number of artillery capable of projecting firepower is insufficient, but it cannot be made up by increasing the number of fired ammunition; but he is not a greedy person, he knows that provoking a strong opponent must be measured, so it is easy to put himself The old book took it in.If the 40th regiment is destroyed, the British will cry.

The Indian artillery on standby received the order and quickly began to counterattack. Of course, it is impossible to shoot with precision methods, and can only quickly project firepower to the target area. Considering that the target may be protected by armor, the major also modified the ammunition. Instead of using high-explosive rounds, he chose to carry pre-fragmented multi-purpose rounds that can penetrate light armor.

Amidst the sound of rumbling guns, the bottom exhaust bomb fired by the Indian artillery was spotted by the Chinese artillery's reconnaissance radar when it flew halfway through a trajectory close to 45°.Before the location could be calculated, the siren sounded over the 122mm artillery position. This was Xu Jingzhe's proposal to increase the alert level, which worked.Of course, with such a blind investment, the superiors have always been worried about the enemy's countermeasures.As a unit that cannot change positions frequently, it is practical to keep personnel first.

The artillery already knew in advance what to do when the alarm sounded, which was part of their usual training, and the performance of the Chinese military in wartime was always better than in exercises.
They must hide in the solid underground bunker built a few years ago in the shortest possible time (the artillery is pushed out from here), of course, the idea of ​​pushing the artillery back is unrealistic.

The soldiers on the ground did not panic. They dropped everything and took actions to avoid the cover of the artillery fire. No one panicked. As artillerymen, they also knew that it took a long time for the artillery shells to fly.

The process of the shell flying 40 kilometers in the air with a high parabolic trajectory is indeed a rather long (not less than 80 seconds) process.The first batch of 8 shells almost coincided with the time when the last batch of soldiers retreated into the bunker.

A huge explosion came from a distance, and the subsequent explosions were closer. The fourth shell landed more accurately and fell near the piled-up propellant packs, triggering a chain explosion in an instant, which would expose the Everything on the field is destroyed.The guns were left crumbling in place, mostly badly damaged and in a state of impossible repair.This is almost the most professional and efficient counterattack shown by the Indian Army since the outbreak of the war.

The charge of the second unit of the Indian Sikh Battalion has already started. They rushed down the mountain unhurriedly (the plateau area cannot run too fast), and soon passed the potholed ground. This is the area that the Chinese army shelled just now, but they did not Encountered a strong fire counterattack.There is always the sound of airplanes flying overhead, and occasionally you can see the flames of airplanes flying out of the clouds. However, the Chinese Air Force is not effective enough for a period of time after the sun sets, and the range of white light and night vision equipment is not ideal.

In the end, the J-16 in the sky chose to fire rockets at the indication area of ​​the flame flare fired by the ground troops.But the Indian troops were so spread out that the attack could not prevent the enemy from rushing down from a wide area.The Chinese army withdrawing from the tunnel is about 1 kilometer away from the enemy's forward, and constantly reports the area where the enemy has assaulted to the superior.But there was never the expected repeated shelling.

Xu Jingzhe has been communicating with the Air Force, hoping not to waste time on the enemy infantry, and must give priority to the artillery behind the enemy, which is the biggest hidden danger.But judging from the position of the enemy artillery that had been exposed, they were hiding too far behind, and Srinagar seemed to be hiding something new, which was enough to make Xu Jingzhe even more worried.

The safest method that can be used at present is still to use ammunition outside the area to attack, but in the face of a retreating army controlled by a slick commander, it is impossible for those gliding bombs to get a chance.

"I don't believe that the enemy has no communication at all. Can your monitoring team hear useful calls? I need detailed information." The major general asked on the phone.

"Director. The battlefield calls are very complicated, and there are some clues at present. The NATO JTIDS-based communication system was intercepted, which is different from the conventional equipment and communication protocols used by India. We are still tracking."

"Does that mean you don't know anything?" He asked sternly, and he had to pass on the pressure put on him by his superiors to his subordinates.

"From the characteristics of the terminal, the information distribution system belongs to the United Kingdom, but the situation of the receiver is more complicated. For the time being, it can be confirmed that there are systems from other NATO countries, and two ground signal sources with characteristics of the command level have been found. We have not yet been able to track them completely. The FM signal cannot be deciphered, but at any time the drone conducts several kinds of interference."

"No, you can't interfere now. You have to think of other ways to locate its chain of command."

Xu Jingzhe interrupted his subordinates' suggestions and disrupted the enemy's communications, which is certainly attractive.But it doesn't help to solve the problem completely, what he wants is to completely wipe out the ground forces.

"We have been able to monitor a special drone of the enemy, hovering in the deep area, most likely as part of the relay communication of the artillery unit."

"Send the target data over and let me have a look."

He hung up the phone, hesitated and picked up another red phone.

"Chief. My people have done a full assessment, and I still can't make a recommendation to use the air force to attack deeply. There are indications that, in addition to the NATO artillery system, there are also some that we are not familiar with. NATO air defense weapons are deployed at the forward edge The zone is currently in a state of radar silence. Judging from European intelligence sources, the intelligence can be compared. I need further satellite reconnaissance to verify the situation after dawn."

Obviously the situation is unprecedentedly responsible.To deal with the new artillery in the hands of the enemy, we can only continue to wait for it to fire and expose its position. Judging from the position information of the Indian artillery that has been intercepted by the artillery radar, the deployment of this group of enemies is very scattered, which means that they need a high degree of command Coordination is the only way to achieve tacit cooperation.Of course, too many things cannot be determined from a strange drone, but there are some details, which are better than nothing, so I can explain them to the higher authorities.

The other end of the phone reluctantly accepted this suggestion, and the in-depth air strike could only be postponed until daytime.

Hariyaman waited for the opponent's counterattack, but this time it came much later, and it was not a vigorous counterattack. It was just a satellite-guided bomb thrown by the Air Force. The interference zone laid by Mu will destroy the navigation accuracy to some extent.

The major knew that the above signs showed that the enemy's counterattack capability was declining. On the other hand, the enemy's air force was very afraid of targets in the area 40 kilometers away from the front line.It occasionally approaches during the day, and hides farther away at night.

Srinagar is the new commander of the air defense force. It is said that he has experienced a lot of offense and defense in Assam. This person is different from his predecessor. Most of the time his guidance radar is not turned on, and only the long-range 2D long-range warning radar keeps working. , But what's interesting is that such a loose defense actually formed a greater deterrent to the enemy's air force.Judging from previous battles, every formation of the Chinese Air Force has anti-radiation missiles, and they have been searching for gaps to attack the radar, but the radar is silent, and they dare not go deeper.Of course, the Chinese Air Force is familiar with the characteristics of the S300, and they suddenly became cautious, which should not be due to a simple reason.Hariyaman expects that Srinagar's air defense commander will be a witty guy, and he will not leak any flaws in this battle of wits and defenses, and don't ruin a good hand.

"Major, the relay drones are always far away from us, causing many crews to be unable to contact them."

"You thought the Naga plane was just working for us?" Hariyaman smiled mysteriously.This made the deputy who commanded with him a little confused.

"I guess that the Aster 30 system newly acquired by Meneam should be behind it. The Chinese are very familiar with our previous anti-aircraft weapons, so the Lieutenant General's intentions are very commendable."

"No wonder, their air force has recently retreated a bit."

"That's why I said that arrows are most deterrent only when they are on the bowstring, and the Chinese are the most prone to this. They are always cautious about unfamiliar things."

Hariyaman talked eloquently. As a commander who fought against the Chinese army twice without losing a single chariot, he is indeed qualified to sum up his thoughts on the war.He is confident that he has a good talent, and he is one of the first commanders who realized the corresponding strategy in the battle with China. Since India fought against China in 1962, it has never been able to gain advantage at the tactical level when confronting the Chinese army, let alone It's strategic.However, even if the Indians are not very good at fighting, they are still a smart people. He felt that there should be a group of people emerging, and he hoped that he was not the only one.

By 9 o'clock in the evening, the Indian ground troops had reached the bottom of the valley under the constant attack of weak mortar shells and launched a new formation.They didn't know that they arrived here by luck after a series of accidental factors on the battlefield.Sikh soldiers believed that only their own bravery played a role.So far, they haven't seen a Chinese face clearly. The enemy retreated very quickly, without the expected situation of being out of breath and unable to walk.

In the cold wind, the commander of the deputy battalion ordered each company to count the number of people. The four reinforced companies that went into the attack had nearly 4 people, and there were more than 700 people left.The more serious problem was the loss of two company commanders. This loss could have been avoided, but the company commanders insisted on advancing with their heads held high when the shells roared. This is a precious heritage left over from the colonial era, but In fact, it doesn't make much sense, especially at night, when the soldiers don't know which heartless person didn't lie down, and they were hit by shells.

Unlike most Indian troops, every soldier in this unit is equipped with low-light night vision goggles.In this area, night vision devices have inherent advantages and can see farther.Soldiers have reason to believe that they can rely on these things to win the victory.Victory in such a key area may cause the enemy's entire front to collapse.Obviously the enemy did not show strength. Their previous victories were probably just because they did not encounter Sikh veterans?

The battle zone is 2 kilometers away.He Fan was wearing a thick protective mask and holding a plasma torch in his hand.A dazzling electric arc was ejected from his hand, which hit the tank chassis and turned into brilliant sparks.

He was repairing the hole in the engine baffle of the tank and the damage to the side fender.The machine repair platoon is short of manpower, so they don't rush at all.Fortunately, he is an all-round tank expert, and he can still help out and repair some small parts at the moment.

Another of his platoon leaders was replacing balls and applying grease to the chassis races.The self-forging fragments flew randomly in the tank, causing all kinds of damage.

He Fan has already received the mission to attack, the enemy is less than 500, maybe there are some anti-tank weapons.He didn't know why he entrusted such a trivial task to himself.It was no challenge for him to defeat a group of ignorant infantry.There are 1 soldiers and horses here, but he wants to play his trump card, which inevitably makes him feel uncomfortable.However, the superiors decided that he was the most suitable candidate.This is not the first time that He Fan has experienced this situation. He Fan thought about it from a different angle, just like in Assam, Lin Huaisheng left him, and he would hardly know how to fight.

On the hanger, the repaired turret slowly lowered.When finally closed, the tank looks complete.He Fan took off his thick protective mask and threw the welding torch aside.The sound of guns and guns outside the valley can already be heard, and it doesn't sound like the exchange of fire is very intense.He jumped into his tank, leaned on the turret, and someone inside handed him a communicator, and he communicated with his superiors.The superior suggested that he use all 5 active tanks to deploy side by side, followed by several companies of troops, to repel the enemy in the shortest possible time.

He Fan immediately vetoed this idea. He said that his tank could not be used as a mobile turret to cover the infantry, and it might take until dawn to fight this way. He had another plan, which could be done faster and more beautifully.

(End of this chapter)