Thunder Strikes Back

Chapter 648 Crossbow II Self-Propelled Artillery
Soon the tanks hiding in the uninhabited village quietly entered the water from the river bank. The tank turret had a huge snorkel for practice instead of the ordinary slender snorkel, which allowed the commander to stand on the turret. The trachea is used to command the advance instead of a simple inertial navigation system, which greatly increases the safety of crossing the river. After the river crossing is completed, these uncarryable equipment will be discarded by the river. The transportation capacity of the Chinese army makes He Fan’s troops Actions can be a little extravagant.

After the reconnaissance an hour ago, He Fan knew that all the main forces of the enemy had already pressed up. They were attacking Pakistan's flanks in an attempt to complete the outflanking. However, their own flanks were not complete. The reconnaissance troops just crossed the river and confirmed. The last message sent back by the drone.Time to kick India's ass from behind.

He Fan stood on the snorkel, observing the dark hills ahead with binoculars from time to time. Five minutes before he crossed the river, the unmanned aerial vehicle in charge of frontier investigation was unfortunately shot down by the beech master, but he didn't want to waste time. Insist on leading the troops down the river.It is indeed risky to do so. For the time being, there is only one company of reconnaissance troops deployed near the preset landing site on the east bank of the river. The area observed by these people is very limited. In principle, he should at least wait for the next drone to arrive, or wait for the next drone to arrive, or It is safer to leave some covering firepower on the west bank, but now he is in the middle of this 5-meter-wide river, the tank is completely submerged in the water, and is in the most vulnerable state.Of course, he didn't want to waste time waiting for reconnaissance. For the same reason, he didn't want to leave some troops to cover the starting position. It would take a lot of time to completely seal a tank and prepare for the dive, and crossing the river in batches is equivalent to Spend double time.

"Report. A group of Indian chariots were found 2 kilometers southeast, driving from south to north." The company commander of the reconnaissance company on the opposite bank reported.

"What's wrong, I'm only reporting now." He Fan frowned, not coming sooner or later, he is now in such a desperate situation, he may not have the opportunity to go ashore before the enemy.

"What tank?"

"It's very big, I can't see it clearly, the gun is very long, and the turret is very large, but it is at the back."

"Is it Leopard II?" He had been looking forward to a match with Leopard II.

"No, there seems to be a roof."

"ceiling?"

He really couldn't understand the description of the reconnaissance company commander. He raised his binoculars to observe the general position carefully, but he couldn't see anything due to the obstruction of trees and houses.

"4th company, you quickly seize the beach and ensure the troops cross the river." He gave an order to the infantry fighting vehicles floating on the water. He never wanted to take these cumbersome things to participate in the attack, but sometimes you can't do without them; for example Now, these light and thin tanks like square boxes do not require much preparation for wading, and their speed on water is also good; more importantly, they can also use thermal imaging equipment for reconnaissance on water, not Type 99 tanks , can only move on the bottom of the river.

The machine steps are connected to the command, switching from the relatively concealed low-speed wading gear to the faster gear, so that the sound of their driving on the water will increase, like a motorboat, which cannot be integrated into the background sound of the water.

Each team began to use night vision equipment to observe the shore, and the information obtained could be transmitted to He Fan's vehicle through inter-vehicle communication.

Now the situation is becoming clearer. It can be seen that at a distance of less than 200 meters in front of the reconnaissance troops lying still, a train of Indian chariots is driving from south to north. The destination of the drive should be the fighting area full of flames .Judging from the outline, they are indeed some chariots with roofs, the artillery is raised high, and they are huge.

"The report is the Indian Crossbow II self-propelled artillery. There are a large number of them. I saw about 10 of them. There must be more than this number. There are also Indian infantry vehicles accompanying them." The company commander of the machine infantry company said.

"Do they have infantry sitting outside the chariot?"

"I didn't see it."

"You rush ashore, occupy a favorable position, and try not to alarm the enemy."

The Crossbow II is a self-propelled artillery that uses the chassis of the Arjun tank. The artillery structure is very rough. In fact, there is no turret at all. Naturally, it does not have very advanced night vision equipment. Maybe it can be fooled under the nose of the enemy.However, he was negligent. The sloppy open design of the Crossbow II made it easier for the occupants to detect the wind and grass nearby than the people in the closed tank.

Several infantry fighting vehicles rumbled towards the shore. Before they landed, the lightly armed reconnaissance company could not fight the enemy. As these tanks shifted gears and landed, He Fan's beachhead support was initially established, but from the front The enemy convoy passing at a distance of 800 to 900 meters has never stopped, at least the size of a reinforced battalion. What a crisis-ridden scene.

He Fan looked up at the exceptionally bright moonlight. It would be great if there was a dark cloud that could temporarily cover the annoying moon. He knew that under certain circumstances, the reflection of the river would make distant enemies no longer need night vision equipment You can see the faint clusters on the river bank.

He had stalked Indian troops at a closer range without being detected, but that was a matter of luck, and he was with only one company at the time.

"It would have been much better if he had left a company on the other side of the river, if he had gone down the river in 20 minutes at night..."

Of course, where in the world are there so many ifs? Chances are not always on my side. A gust of wind blew past He Fan's back, making him tremble with fear.

The Indian troops marching in a column 1.2 kilometers away are a reserve team sent by Spanga. They requested to arrive at the front line to join the support within a limited time, but the troops went astray and got in front of He Fan. If they can realize this, it may even turn the whole war over. He Fan's army has 50 tanks, the latest tanks brought in by air. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is Lin Huaisheng's darling.

The subcontinental monsoon from west to east blows through the sparse jungle and has been blowing past the Indian convoy driving on the potholed dirt road.This army is marching in fear. Everyone must be on guard against the movement above their heads at all times. Maybe at any time a bomb will fall from the sky and blow up the chariot. Such a night with bright moon and few stars and no clouds is just right. Drones drop bombs from a relatively high altitude.

An extremely vigilant company commander has been standing behind the driver's side of the Crossbow II, holding the gun barrel with one hand to guard against the surroundings. This position is not a conventional position for a commander, but it is better to stand here to observe the field of vision. Easier to jump out of the car and get away.

He heard something different in the wind, a mechanical sound, not a drone or a helicopter in the sky.He had been logging in the forests of Uttarakhand since he was a child, and he could tell that it was not the sound of a strong wind tearing the dry winter forest. The company commander held his breath, waiting for the uncertain wind direction to continue to change.

Ten seconds later, he was able to recognize what it was, the distinctive monotonous thud of diesel engine strokes, no different from that of an Indian armored force engine, only located to the west.He must immediately report this discovery to his superiors.

"Captain Akpon, I am Commander Lubano of the forward company. I think something is wrong with the west bank. It seems that there are some idling vehicles."

"Don't worry too much, even if the enemy can maneuver to our flank, they are still on the other side of the river, and they can't get through." The regiment leader said.

"No, I did hear the movement in the wind. They must be within 1 kilometer. If they are 2 kilometers away, I can't hear it. Can you send some tanks with thermal imaging cameras to search, or else How many flares do I fire?"

"Don't fire flares," the regiment commander hurriedly stopped him. He was worried that the enemy air force would come to his door. "Okay, I'll send a platoon of infantry fighting vehicles to take a look. All you have to get out of the way and stay in the original position to keep monitoring .”

"Yes."

The 10 Crossbow II self-propelled artillery began to turn halfway on the spot to drive down the dirt road and enter the ravine beside the roadbed.The undulating terrain here is a nightmare for Crossbow 2. It is difficult to adjust and move the vehicle body, aim horizontally, and the depression angle is even more terrible; The 130mm plus howitzer is aimed at any target, although when it was finalized, the Army paid more attention to the straight ballistic anti-tank ability of this gun, but now it can only wait for the arrival of infantry fighting vehicles.

The VCC80 infantry fighting vehicles have always been at the rear of the queue, following the command headquarters, so they need to go through the marching formation to get there. It took a lot of trouble. These tanks also came from the selfless assistance of NATO countries. In fact, After the Spanga troops took over these equipments, the evaluation of this tank has been higher than that of the same type of tanks provided by other NATO countries, not to mention the BMP tanks made by India. He scattered these precious weapons, Distributed to various units; this of course violates the basic military principle of concentrating the use of major weapons, but it is conducive to alleviating the poor night combat capabilities of the Indian armored forces. A chariot with reliable thermal imaging night vision capabilities, although the technical level of these thermal imaging cameras has fallen far behind the trend.

He Fan was still 80 meters away from the river bank. He endured the low-speed crawling of the tank in the mud at the bottom of the river. Due to the lack of hydrographic and geographical data, he miscalculated the speed of the dive, and the actual speed was only about half of the original estimate. , and now he has to face the longest minute in his life.

The enemy in the front is obviously aware of it and is turning around, but he is not in the water and cannot play a role.He began to recall the big words he had said in his previous life. Is this some kind of retribution?Why does this happen every time I cross the river?The tank below was trying to climb up the river beach. He could feel the cold wind swishing behind him, and the air bubbles on one side of the river were also fluttering. The diesel engine was speeding up and climbing up the sloping river bank.

Every ten seconds, he would receive a radio communication from the reconnaissance company or the machine infantry company in front, informing him of the newer and worse situation. Obviously, the infantry fighting vehicle still has the upper hand, and it is impossible to wait until the enemy's huge artillery is adjusted. only to fight back.

An impatient infantry chariot commander on the river bank finally fired first, and a 100mm shell hit the bottom of a catapult chariot that was forcibly climbing a hill with its body raised high.Immediately the rest of the 11 IFVs started firing together, the infantry dismounted from behind, and they had some 80mm bazookas, which were effective against targets.

On the infantry fighting vehicle, the 30mm parallel artillery quickly knocked the unprotected vehicle crew on the enemy turret upside down, and easily detonated the ammunition piled up on the site.The crossbow chariots had no power to fight back at all. Within 30 seconds, half of the company was smashed into piles of burning scrap iron, but the rest of the chariots were trying to turn and adjust their pitch. There is a formidable 130mm gun.

The VCC80 tank rushed over from the side and fired with a weak 25mm machine gun. This type of tank can be equipped with various weapons and weapons, but the entire platoon sent by Colonel Akpen only has 25mm Otto machine guns. Better suited for hitting infantry rather than armored targets.

He Fan's tank was the first to emerge from the water.The cooling of the river made it impossible for the Indian infantry fighting vehicles to separate the tanks from the background noise.

He slid under and pressed the detonating cord button, blew off the muzzle seal, and forced the turret to turn, breaking the seat ring seal, and he didn't care how much the recoverable equipment was worth.

A chariot on the left was being beaten by a 25mm cannon from one kilometer away and could not return fire. Perhaps the crew was injured. He ordered the driver to drive to the front to block the fire.

Italian tanks can't see the wet Type 99 tank that has just come ashore, but as time goes by, it is showing up.The Indian crew did not have a good grasp of these European systems. He tried to increase the cooling power, and the last thing he saw was a gun aimed at himself.A shell pierced through the infantry fighting vehicle, and the firepower of the opposing sides on the river bank showed a trend of ebb and flow.Both sides started to shoot smoke to protect themselves, but He Fan's tank unit, with a ridiculous snorkel, rushed forward desperately, and the opponent only had to parry.He wants to put on a big show today, and the enemy sent to his door is just a gift for Spanga.

"For each vehicle group, give priority to destroying the enemy's new infantry combat. Other tanks do not have field combat capabilities."

He gave orders to all, and he has been keenly aware of the opponent's weakest short board from the battlefield-only the firepower of VCC 80 is accurate, and the tracer armor-piercing grenades they launch serve as instructions to other Indian tanks However, other Indian chariots, including the already-appeared Crossbow II and BMP-1 chariots, if there is no instruction, they are basically fighting.Spanga was so obsessed with night combat that his troops simply did not have the technical support for night combat under modern conditions.In addition, he found that there was indeed no serious tank in the enemy's queue in front of him. Maybe Spanga was really exhausted.

More and more tanks climbed ashore, and their excellent night vision capabilities enabled these tanks to quickly dominate the situation, knocking out all VCC1 tanks in their field of vision within 80 minute.The Stone Crossbow II is the next priority target, but it seems that there is no need to attack it. He Fan found that most of the crew of the Stone Crossbow II had already abandoned their vehicles and fled.What is the value of this nondescript weapon?Using an expensive chassis to carry a cannon with no turret protection and a small left and right shooting range, what kind of idea is this, anyway, he can't figure it out.

The tanks in the front began to develop and win. When chasing and fleeing the enemy, the tanks that stayed behind and did not have their turn to fire began to dismantle the diving equipment. A drone that had just arrived began to take over the reconnaissance, and the enemy was retreating. , They made a mess in the night, and directly crushed the jungle and villages blocking the way into flat ground.He Fan's pursuit is enough. He doesn't need to seize a solid bridgehead for the follow-up troops. He only needs to catch his breath and remove the air pipe above his head. Next, he will play the role of the rescuer and go from behind. Kick the ass of those Leopard II tanks who are acting aggressively.If several of Spanga's main teams can be disabled at once, there will only be a group of mobs left on the periphery of New Delhi.

(End of this chapter)