Thunder Strikes Back

Chapter 796 New Delhi Zoo
Shells shot through the parched air and fell in succession around the besieged Pakistani troops.They have lost command and are completely passive.

Two hours ago, these soldiers were making a final attack on downtown New Delhi with the heroism of winning, but now, they just want to escape from this nightmare as soon as possible, as far as possible.

Everything was reversed too quickly, the enemy was clearly defeated, they no longer had cannons and tanks, and even let teenage children fight. There were piles of Lee Enfield rifles and Bren machine guns on the battlefield, which were originally It belongs in the museum.

Even the most obtuse can see that the enemy is doomed and about to fall.The main argument among the soldiers centered on the fact that the war would be over in a few days, and no one discussed the possibility of the enemy counterattacking, which was impossible.But in an instant, Indian cannons and tanks appeared again, as if the White Tiger Division had been revived.

A fighter jet from the Black Panther Squadron quickly flew over the battlefield, but a few inaccurate bombs could not stop the enemy's crazy attack. The young pilot saw a huge Indian tank force break away while avoiding anti-aircraft fire. He broke through the encirclement and started to make progress in depth. He notified the news to his superiors.

The pilot felt that things might be getting worse. For the past few days, he had been responsible for ground support missions in this area, and flew over the theater at least once a day. He knew that behind the besieged assault group, there was only one empty division, except for the three transport lines And a large number of trucks, there is no force to stop the enemy, and the other Pakistani divisions on the two wings also have the same problem. The assault force of these troops usually has only one reinforced battalion, which are all placed in the front, and the rear is very empty.

The plane hurried back to replenish its ammunition, and maybe it would have to come again at night. The pilot could not go directly through New Delhi, and had to go around where the enemy missiles in the east could not reach.Flying along the endless retreating traffic below, he could see the trucks dragging the artillery to occupy the potholed roads, and the infantry abandoned the trucks and fled on foot in the water-logged ravines.Indian artillery fire followed closely behind.

Nine months ago, when the pilot was a member of the fleeing crowd, he had seen such a scene of disintegration, which was still east of Lahore.There seemed to be something in the shadow below moving towards the area where the enemy counterattacked. They deliberately avoided the main passage and did not emit the slightest light. The pilot was convinced that this was his own illusion, and he did not lower the altitude to confirm.

Aerial intelligence from various sources was gathered to the temporary headquarters of the 1st Armored Division, which confirmed that the enemy not only surrounded the prominent Amir cluster, but even started to develop towards the rear of the 1st Armored Division. This is a very dangerous signal.

"I thought we wouldn't be defeated again, but still..." Younis stood on a high swell of ruins with a bandage on his head.

Through the binoculars, he could see the soldiers that had collapsed in front of them. It seemed that they had to retreat far enough to organize their troops.He knew that the 1st Armored Division had nothing behind the glamorous Amir brigade, but Yahini was not an obedient officer, and judging from his current actions, it seemed that he was ready to disobey orders to the end.Younis simply stopped ordering Yahini, and Yahini hated being led by the nose, not just enemies.Apparently Yahini had an unexpected solution, and the deputy commander had no choice but to continue to trust this man.

"Report, the enemy tanks and Amir's troops have been engaged in hand-to-hand combat. The Chinese refuse to use long-range rocket support to avoid harming their own side. In addition, the enemy's air defense focus is on our side. The air force must first solve the newly emerging positions. Support can only be implemented. However, the Chinese command judged that after nightfall, the enemy's offensive will tend to stop."

"understood."

"Deputy division commander, a tank unit of the enemy in front of us has interspersed among several retreating units of our side. It is not far from the headquarters at present. We must retreat."

"There is no rush to retreat, where is Yahini?"

"The headquarters is still at the original location, and his rear troops are still gathering in concealment. Six tanks have broken down for various reasons. Judging from the action plan he reported, he will not participate in the battle to rescue the Amir cluster, nor will he It's a very serious act of disobedience."

"What do the Chinese say about his plan?"

"It's strange that the Chinese command believes that Yahini's plan is more feasible than the plan submitted by the division headquarters, and it has great flexibility. They can use the air force for support."

"Maybe we misunderstood this kid," Younis shook his head, "Yahini doesn't like to dance with the enemy's movements, he is better at attacking proactively; send a report to him and let him deal with it according to common sense, and I will take care of all the consequences for him Bear it. In addition, tell him that the division headquarters will do everything possible to contact the Chinese side for long-range fire support."

"Yes."

Yahini received a message from Younis in his own car. The message from his old superior showed that he had given up thinking about his personal future and was completely on his side, which made him feel guilty.As Younis said, he hated fighting with the enemy to fuel each other, so he could not devote this precious force to the battle to save his friends and neighbors.

About 40 Indian tanks were approaching from the side. They planned to pass through the south road and attack the headquarters.Yahini made up his mind to let them pass.The rear of this army must be very empty, and there will be a gap in case they shrink at any time.Night is falling and all favorable conditions are being met.He ordered all the troops of the three main companies to shut down and stand by in the ruins.

Less than 500 meters away, enemy tanks were passing by. Although the enemy turned off the lights, the sound of rumbling engines was clearly audible. They were rushing to stop Younis' lair.

"Commander of the 2nd Battalion, you don't have to come and join me. Stand by and monitor the enemy tanks. After we take action, we launch an attack, and then launch an attack to hold it back. You command the 3rd Battalion on your behalf. If it is not necessary, don't let them participate in night battles. .”

He made a simple deployment. Rajani's 2nd Battalion originally belonged to Amir. Because of the convenience of logistics supply, it was given to Yahini, which is an experienced force.As for the 3rd Battalion he organized by himself, he lost six or seven vehicles along the way, obviously not yet ready for night battles.

The enemy gradually passed by, it was already dark, and it was finally time to fight back.

"All listen to my instructions and act according to the plan. No fire is allowed without my order. The target after the breakthrough is the New Delhi Zoo behind the enemy's line of defense. The vehicle crews that fall behind during the operation can choose to withdraw from the battle and reorganize themselves, or gather at the zoo."

His three main tank companies and a mechanized infantry battalion went into action.They moved towards the starting position of the enemy just past, which of course was unexpected by the enemy.

Thirty or so tanks moved forward, and the Indian troops encountered along the way began to retreat. Obviously, the Indian troops lacked night vision capabilities, and the attack was unsustainable. The main force began to retreat to the air defense fire protection circle in the city.All went as Yahini had expected, his troops could be heard but not seen, and things went well at first.

He drove all the way to the Jumuna River, and there were continuous signals from the opposite bank, indicating the location of the river crossing. Obviously, not every section of the river can be allowed to wade through the tanks, and Pasade has already sat down and deployed.Yahini asked the division headquarters for firepower to attack the main position on the opposite bank, creating chaos conducive to his breakthrough.

While waiting for the attack, he kept observing the opposite bank, and found that there was a faint light in a room in a dark house on the opposite bank. The windows of this house were blocked, so it was difficult to find light in the sky.But next to the house there are several jeeps that have been modified to set up drums, which seem to be front-line pay-off vehicles.He judged that this is at least a regiment headquarters, and its communication capabilities must be destroyed immediately.

After waiting for a while, the headquarters informed that air support was approaching, and he commanded the tank group to line up in two columns and advance down the river.The river is very shallow and has not submerged the chassis, so the tank can pass through easily.Light signals from the other side continued to be sent, asking for passwords and serial numbers, but the Ba tank group ignored them and continued to move forward.

Yahini can clearly see through the night vision device that there are several enemy tanks parked on the shore, hidden behind the simple fortifications and used as forts. .

Gliding bombs screamed and flew over the tanks in the river, hitting the opposite bank, and immediately triggered an attack from small-caliber artillery on nearby buildings. Some bombs were hit and fell into the river, while others hit enemy positions.Amidst the huge flames, the building fell down instantly, burying the tanks below, and the rest of the tanks began to reverse. The Indian commanders knew very well that satellite-guided bombs could not fly into urban areas full of tall buildings.

Yahini's tank took advantage of the opportunity to go ashore and turned on the headlights to further confuse the enemy's judgment. The dazzling headlights at close range can destroy the observation of the enemy's tank commander and gunner. No matter the white light or the night vision channel, it seems It was a vast expanse of whiteness, and this was the effect he wanted.

Yahini quickly jumped onto the river bank in a car, approached the retreating Indian tank, and was ready to attack.After all, Tasim was an old soldier. He aimed at the enemy tank within a short distance, but he was not in a hurry to fire, and only waited for the nearby bombs to hit the ground.That way the sound of the explosion would drown out the sound of the cannon.

When Yahini turned on the headlights to expose the position, the commander on the Challenger was furious. He climbed out of the turret and shouted. When he was angry, he threw a flashlight directly on Yahini's perimeter mirror. Shocked, Yahini, who was observing below, subconsciously shrank to the side and hit his head on the smoke control box.

A bomb fell a few hundred meters behind. In the flames, Tasim pressed the launch button, and the huge flames from the muzzle directly enveloped the Challenger vehicle that was a short distance away.The armor-piercing projectile can detonate the ammunition, and you can see that the commander of the opponent's car was collapsed to the top by the huge explosion, and the builder did not fall.

Another tank arrived in front of the enemy headquarters in time and fired a cannon almost through the window.A huge gap was opened in the house by the air wave, and the soldiers covered in fire were rolling on the ground.This cannon destroyed a communication center established at the front of Pasad, making it temporarily impossible for the Indian army to notice that the situation had changed.

The tank group drove through the streets along the river and came to the open area in front of the southeast of the Red Fort, where an enemy 122 artillery position and a nearby air defense position were hiding.Yahini ordered them to be left alone, and continued to move forward to make room for the rear machine battalion to land.Then he notified the enemy's location to his superiors.

Younis replied that the long-range rocket was about to launch, and asked him to leave the river bank quickly.

Yahini's assault group could see the brightly lit tall building in front of them, and used it as a reference to judge the direction. It was the Kempinski Hotel where foreign journalists gathered.

Some Indian infantrymen were already alert. They realized that there seemed to be enemies hidden among the troops crossing the river bank, but they lacked night vision means.

Yahini's tanks and infantry fighting vehicles accelerated past without getting entangled in them. They knew that if they didn't move fast, the Chinese's long-range rocket attacks would come soon.

The reporters on the top floor of the hotel set up cameras to capture the scene of the scuffle right in front of them, but then the falling long-range ammunition printed a more glorious scene. The sea of ​​flames engulfed the entire block. After the flames, all the buildings were on fire and collapsing.

At the same time, Rajani's 2nd Battalion has intercepted the Indian tank unit that was about to turn back. The night vision equipment of the Type 96 tank had no obvious advantage over the enemy's T90S equipment, but the opponent's T90 tank was in the ruins. Traveling some distance in the middle, the source of heat became apparent, giving Rajani the upper hand.In order to prevent unnecessary accidental injuries, Yahini's new car crew did not go into battle, but hid in the distance to observe, and the recruits who watched were itchy.

Yahini continued to charge forward. Of course, his destination was not the Prime Minister's Office or the government area surrounded by walls. Although there were only a few kilometers left, he knew that if he went too deep, his team would soon be cut off. The back road, then gets consumed in the block.

His first goal is to attack and rescue the besieged allies. Of course, this is not enough. He also needs to wedge behind the enemy's main line of defense and disintegrate the entire eastern defense.For the purpose of this campaign, how far to enter the enemy's defense line supported by the Zhumuna River is a question worthy of careful consideration.After his troops got out of the sea of ​​flames behind them, they did not go straight to the Prime Minister's Office, but turned to the most open area in New Delhi-the New Delhi Zoo.

The New Delhi Zoo has a relatively high terrain and has always been an important support behind the enemy's defense line.It is not far behind the enemy, just 1 km behind the enemy's main defense line. It can use direct fire to attack the enemy's defense line from behind. Even without the cooperation of friendly forces, only his other two battalions can carry out front and rear flank attacks and destroy the entire defense. .Of course, taking advantage of the commanding heights, he can also directly indicate the target for the superior artillery fire and air firepower, and the strike range is not limited to the range of tank guns.

The surrounding area of ​​the zoo has been bombed with potholes. Since it is relatively open and easy to attract bombs, there are not many defenders.When the Pakistani army tanks arrived, a 6th Battalion of Sam was rushing to escape from here, just bumped into it head-on and was blocked.

Within 5 minutes, the main vehicles of the missile battalion were completely destroyed by Rahman's VT4 weapon station.The north of the zoo is close to the Ministry of Justice building of India. It is a higher terrain and easy to hide anti-tank missiles. Yahini requested long-range firearms and razed it to the ground.However, due to certain considerations, the Chinese side did not launch the attack.

Now that he had disappeared behind enemy lines, it would probably take some time for the enemy to find the whereabouts of this unit from the confused reports from the front.Yahini occupies the top of the hill, and terrified monkeys squeak in the trees.Through the thermal imaging camera, he observed the enemy's deployment in the east, and he could see the retreating troops on the other side of the river preparing to cross the river and flee into the urban area.The relay drones transmit back the enemy's defense lines captured by the tanks, and those targets hiding behind buildings to avoid aerial reconnaissance can now be seen at a glance.

(End of this chapter)