In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 241 The Colonel's Fury: 35 Guns, 15 T-72s with their Turrets Blown Off
"Boom~"

The tank engine roared to life instantly, billowing black smoke from the tail chimney, and its speed suddenly increased.

The tanks that were originally moving forward along the road began to disperse rapidly.

Under the command of the tank commander, the tank turret quickly rotated towards the valley side where the guerrillas were lying in ambush. The commander lowered the muzzle of the dual-purpose machine gun, preparing to fire as soon as the turret rotated.

"Boom~"

The fastest-reacting T-72, with its gun barrel just slightly turned, had its rocket, first fired by Senid, accurately hit the side of the tank turret.

The sharp armor-piercing shell penetrated the armor on the side of the turret.

"damn it!"

The tank commander, who was about to fire as the turret's upper body was exposed, saw the armor-piercing shell flying at high speed and almost stopped, directly penetrating the not-so-thick turret armor on the side.

The tank commander cursed and braced his hands on the top of the turret, trying to escape the tank whose armor had been penetrated.

Before I could even exert any force with my hands, I felt a sharp pain in my thigh.

A stream of metal, like flames, instantly sprayed inside the tank compartment, piercing not only the gunner's chest but also the commander's thigh, which was outside the upper body.

Some even pierced through the outer shield of the ammunition compartment.

"Boom~"

The ammunition compartment was detonated, and a burst of fire blew the heavy tank turret away.

The tank commander, whose upper body was outside the tank, was thrown into the air first, followed by the tank turret.

"Bang~"

The heavy tank turret slammed down on the ground several meters away, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The tank was engulfed in flames, billowing thick smoke. All the crew members inside had vanished, and the commander's severed torso lay motionless on the ground...

Despite the horrific scene, no comrades came to the rescue or to extinguish the fire.

At that moment, all the tanks were attacked by rockets.

"Boom~Boom~Boom~"

Several violent explosions rang out in succession. Within five seconds, all six T-72 tanks were hit by armor-piercing shells. The high-temperature, high-speed metal jets generated by the penetration of the turret side armor caused the ammunition compartments to explode. The turrets were all blown off, leaving only the hulls in place, emitting raging flames and thick smoke.

"This……"

Seeing the tank's turret blown off by the rocket fired by Senid, leaving only the wreckage burning with flames and billowing smoke, Jabad, who had always been skeptical of the performance of this new rocket launcher, was so shocked that his mouth could fit a fist!
"We must get more of these rocket launchers!"

Jabbard roared inwardly.

"Damn it! Jabard, fire now! Once the machine gun on the tank turns around, we're done for..."

Before he could even admire his victory, Senid had already emptied his magazine. While reloading, he saw that Jabard beside him was not moving and roared.

Several explosions rang out in succession, stunning Senid, who was looking towards the valley.

The turrets of six T-72 tanks were blown off.

These advanced Soviet tanks were completely impervious to their rocket launchers!
Such a result shocked Senid, who forgot to fire his gun.

Not only Senid, but the entire guerrilla force was shocked; the previously intense gunfire suddenly ceased.

"Boom~Boom~Boom~"

The armored vehicle convoy behind the tank convoy, with its automated turrets controlled by semiconductor telemetry devices, aimed at the area where the smoke from the rocket launchers had been released, rotating at a faster speed than the tank turrets.

With its turret pointing forward, the twin-mounted machine guns on the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle, which only need to rotate a small angle to attack guerrilla ambush positions, instantly spewed fire. This was unlike tank turrets which require rotating more than 90 degrees.

"Da da da……"

The machine guns of 14 BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles opened fire first.

The double doors at the rear of the troop compartment opened to both sides, and fully armed armored infantrymen quickly crawled out of the compartment.

As expected of elite Soviet armored infantry, 14 BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles opened fire less than 5 seconds after the first rocket was launched.

"Boom~"

A flash of muzzle flash came from the 73mm low-pressure smoothbore gun atop a BMP-1, and it fired first.

Before the second shot could leave the barrel, a rocket struck the front of the infantry fighting vehicle.

"Boom~"

A flash of fire appeared, and the machine gun that had been spitting bullets came to an abrupt halt, while the turret also went silent.

The infantry fighting vehicle, which was moving at high speed, broke down completely after traveling more than ten meters.

"Boom boom boom~"

A series of explosions rang out.

Four infantry fighting vehicles traveling at high speed broke down, and one of them was even overturned.

Many Soviet soldiers who had just jumped off the rear of the infantry fighting vehicle and had not yet found cover were killed or wounded by shrapnel from the rocket explosion...

Meanwhile, the tanks that hadn't been hit by the rocket launchers were already aiming their guns at the hillside where the guerrillas were located.

"Da da da……"

The two machine guns on top of the tank immediately began spitting fire, with dense bullets rapidly spraying towards the area where the guerrillas were located.

"Ah~"

The guerrillas, too shocked to conceal themselves or crawl out from behind cover to check the results of the battle, were instantly hit by the 12.7mm anti-aircraft and anti-tank machine guns that were spitting out high-speed bullets from the top of the tank.

For a time, there were heavy casualties.

"withdraw!"

The entire process was very brief, lasting no more than 15 seconds from the launch of the rocket launcher to the armored forces in the valley launching a counterattack.

Seeing that the people around him were pinned down by the dense machine gun fire and unable to lift their heads, Senid decisively gave the order to retreat.

At the same time, he began to use the terrain to retreat towards the mountaintop.

"Kill them!"

In the armored vehicle convoy, a captain who emerged from the command vehicle saw the guerrillas fleeing rapidly down the hillside and flew into a rage!
They obtained accurate intelligence on the guerrilla camp in the Jiaqi Valley. The armored forces set off first, and once they reached the outskirts of the camp, Su-24s would bomb the area first, followed by Mi-24 attack helicopters cooperating with the armored forces to sweep through the guerrilla camp and eradicate the growing Jiaqi Valley guerrilla force.

What started as a routine sweep turned into an ambush.

lost heavily!

"RPG!"

As soon as the captain gave the order, a 40mm rocket hurtled towards him, and a soldier next to him quickly tackled the captain to the ground.

"Boom~"

The explosion sent mud and debris flying in all directions.

······
Three hours later.

All the high-ranking officers of the 66th Independent Motorized Infantry Brigade appeared at the location where the armored forces were ambushed.

Six T-72 turrets were blown off, with the turrets and tank wreckage separated by several meters.

Only four infantry fighting vehicles were destroyed, a loss far less than that of tanks.

The remaining four tanks and ten armored vehicles had their guns pointed in all directions, and the armored infantry had already established defensive positions on the surrounding hills.

More tanks and armored vehicles crowded the valley floor.

All tanks and armored vehicles were on high alert, with machine guns and turrets aimed at the valleys on both sides.

Large numbers of infantrymen are searching the surrounding area along the ridge.

"Can anyone tell me what kind of weapon this is? Why did it cause so much damage to our tanks? What are the intelligence agencies doing?"

The senior colonel, a brigade commander in his early forties, looked at the two rows of launch tubes in front of him and roared at the captain of the armored unit.

The command tank where the tank unit captain was stationed was destroyed, and the captain was nowhere to be found, not even ashes.

The highest-ranking officer in the entire tank unit is currently a second lieutenant.

"Comrade Brigade Commander, this must be a new type of weapon... It's too much of a threat to our tanks... The anti-tank rocket launchers the guerrillas had before couldn't penetrate our tank armor at all..."

Looking at the enraged colonel, the tank lieutenant trembled as he spoke.

too frightening.

If the rockets that attacked them hadn't missed, they would have ended up like the six tanks whose turrets were blown off.

"Crack~"

A heavy slap rang out.

"Do you think I didn't know it was a new type of weapon? Before we set off, I specifically emphasized that we must remain vigilant and not underestimate the guerrillas; they have Western support..."

The colonel stared at the lieutenant, who was covering his face, with a distorted expression.

underestimate the enemy!

Otherwise, how could the guerrillas have inflicted such heavy losses on elite tank units?
This was the first time the Soviet army had suffered such heavy losses since entering Afghanistan.

Even the unresisting Afghan regular army failed to inflict such losses on the Soviet army. In other places, guerrillas were already considered very strong if they could damage armored vehicles, let alone tanks.

Now, the 66 Independent Motorbike Brigade has become famous.

It wasn't because of any military achievements, but because of the losses!

"Brigade Commander, we need to find out what kind of weapon this is, investigate its origin, find out how many the enemy has, and report to headquarters. Otherwise, armored units in other areas will be vulnerable to ambushes..."

The political commissar, who hadn't spoken a word, squatted in front of the launch tubes, constantly examining the discarded tubes.

There were a total of 20 launch tubes, each equipped with a simple plastic sight.

These scopes were very rudimentary.

The launch tubes were very light; you couldn't tell what material they were made of just by holding them. "That's all. I've never seen anything like it before. It's likely something newly developed by the West… If it's specifically designed to target our T-72s…"

The political commissar's words caused everyone's expression to change drastically.

Since its development, the Soviet Union has been mass-producing the T-72 tank. The T-72s used by the Soviet Union were much better in performance than those exported, and even had thicker armor.

A new man-portable anti-tank weapon has emerged, capable of destroying six Soviet-made T-72 tanks with just ten rounds, even while they were in the hands of guerrillas.

If the T-72 poses such a great threat, what about the even more expensive T-64?
"We also need to wipe out the guerrillas in Jiaqi Valley first. We're sure to get useful information from them!"

"The senior colonel said in a deep voice."

Come here.

Half of the armored units under the 66th Independent Motorized Infantry Brigade have arrived here, and wiping out a guerrilla force of only three or four hundred men is no problem at all.

"Then let's wipe out the guerrillas first..."

And so, the armored forces that had been stationed in the valley set off in a grand procession.

It was dozens of kilometers away from the Soviet army.

A small mountain village with about a hundred households.

At this moment, the crowd was bustling.

Many people wearing headscarves, AK-47 rifles slung across their shoulders, and long robes were loading wooden crates containing weapons onto donkeys.

"Speed ​​up! The Soviets have suffered such heavy losses, they certainly won't give up so easily..."

A guerrilla leader kept urging the team members who were packing their weapons and equipment.

Armed men patrol and stand guard outside a house built of mud and rubble near the hillside in the village.

Inside the house, Senid was reporting the results of the ambush to several guerrilla leaders.

His deputy, Jabad, was shot in the abdomen by a 12.7mm machine gun mounted on a Soviet tank during the retreat and died instantly.

The entire team suffered heavy casualties.

Less than a third returned.

Compared to their achievements, these casualties were almost nothing to the guerrillas.

Beside him stood a middle-aged Western man in a suit.

"Six T-72s? Four BMP-1 armored vehicles? Why were more tanks destroyed, while fewer armored vehicles were lost?"

The Westerners frowned after hearing this.

There are two types of rocket launchers, one anti-armor model and one explosive fragmentation model, and the same quantity of each.

Compared to tanks, which are heavily armored, armored vehicles are definitely easier to destroy.

"Mr. Michael, all our armor-piercing rounds were aimed at the Soviet tanks... the high-explosive fragmentation rounds were fired at the infantry fighting vehicles, which were already firing, and the accuracy was..."

Senid answered the Westerners' questions earnestly.

Michael's relaxed expression instantly turned serious. "You mean, one armor-piercing shot can destroy a T-72?"

Michael didn't believe it had such power.

The report by Kesenid could not possibly be fabricated.

All of these can be found.

"Correct."

"Suck~"

Everyone in the room gasped.

Such a powerful man-portable anti-tank rocket launcher was something I had never heard of before.

“In that case, Captain Jalalil, I think we can have most of them withdraw. The guerrillas can use the terrain to launch a new round of ambushes against the Soviet troops coming to encircle and suppress them…”

To further demonstrate the power of the rocket launchers that Murita and his team had purchased from China, Michael proposed a new ambush against the Soviet armored forces that were coming to encircle and suppress them, taking advantage of the terrain.

"This……"

Guerrilla leader Jalalil was somewhat reluctant, "Mr. Michael, you only provided 50 in total, and now there are only 15 of each model left. Once the enemy gets our hands on them..."

He didn't want too many of his men to sacrifice themselves.

"To drive out the invaders, sacrifices are inevitable. A single victory is not enough to assess the power of this rocket launcher, nor can we continue to supply it on a large scale... After all, this rocket launcher is not cheap..."

Michael looked serious.

For him, it didn't matter how many guerrillas died.

As long as it makes the Soviets uncomfortable, that's fine.

"Leave only 20 men to use up the anti-armor rocket launchers, and use the demolition rocket launchers for fire support during the withdrawal..."

At the request of Michael, the financial backer, most of the guerrillas withdrew, leaving only a 30-man team to ambush the village entrance.

"Boom~"

Three Su-24 fighter-bombers, their external hardpoints fully loaded with munitions, flew over the village and dumped all their ammunition on it.

"Boom boom boom~"

After a series of explosions, almost no intact buildings could be seen in the village.

After the Su-24 formation left, six Mi-24 attack helicopters arrived over the village one after another, circled several times, and launched rockets at the better-maintained buildings, making the village even more dilapidated.

However, these helicopters did not empty all their ammunition or leave immediately after firing; instead, they expanded their search area and began searching the area around the village.

A massive armored convoy appeared at the village entrance.

Even though the fighter-bombers had already carried out a round of bombing and armed helicopters were constantly searching the surrounding area, the entire armored force remained vigilant and was fully on combat readiness.

Some of the tank commanders crawled out of their turrets, their machine guns pointed towards the hillside.

Some of the armored infantrymen on the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles dismounted and continued to search the nearby hillside.

"beat!"

Looking at the armored forces more than 200 meters away, Jalalil, carrying a rocket launcher, aimed using a plastic scope. The instant the rocket was fired, he dropped the launcher, quickly turned around, lay down on the ground, and crawled to the side, soon disappearing into a cave...

"Boom boom boom~"

The 15 rocket launchers were fired again in less than 5 seconds.

After firing their rockets, the guerrillas discarded the launchers and fled into nearby caves to escape.

"Boom boom boom~"

"Da da da……"

In an instant, the cannons of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles fired continuously, and machine guns began to roar.

The armored infantrymen, who had been unloaded from their armored vehicles, immediately lay prone on the ground upon being attacked, using the terrain as a guide to quickly move towards the direction where the smoke from the rocket launchers still lingered.

"Cease fire! Cease fire immediately!"

The senior colonel finally realized something was wrong; apart from the initial rockets, the enemy hadn't fired again.

His own troops used ammunition as if it were free.

"Report: The tank unit has lost 9 tanks, 7 of which had their turrets blown off... 2 armored vehicles have been lost..."

Upon seeing the wreckage of the launch tubes that the armored infantry had recovered, the senior colonel brigade commander instantly flew into a rage.

"Damn it, it's that thing again! Find all these rats!"

He couldn't help but be angry.

Fifteen more launch tubes were found, bringing the total to 35.

His men lost 15 T-72 tanks and 6 BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles!

Half a tank battalion was wiped out just like that!

How to avoid getting angry?
The only way is to capture the attackers and extract information from them.

Otherwise, their armored forces would suffer heavy losses throughout Afghanistan and might not even dare to deploy easily again!
"Excellent! Excellent! The power of this anti-tank rocket launcher has indeed exceeded expectations. Fifteen rounds destroyed seven advanced Soviet tanks... We must get samples and send them back home... We need to get the Pakistanis to help purchase more; only in this way can we inflict greater losses on the Soviets..."

In a ravine more than a kilometer away, Michael and his men, holding binoculars, saw the results of the battle.

While satisfied with the results, they were also shocked by the Chinese-made rocket launcher.

"Major, Jalalil and his men have no way to escape from the enraged Soviets..."

His men watched with worry as the Soviet armored infantrymen disembarked from their infantry fighting vehicles, began searching the mountains, and found a cave.

"So what? Do you think the Soviets don't know who supplied the weapons? Even if they did, what could they do? These rocket launchers will be a nightmare for their armored forces!"

Michael didn't care whether the guerrilla leader was captured or killed.

If one captain dies, just promote another.

"However, when did the Chinese anti-tank weapons become so powerful? Is it because their own tanks are inadequate, so they concentrated their efforts on developing this low-cost, high-performance anti-tank rocket launcher?"

Michael was very puzzled.

Everyone knows that China's industrial base is very weak.

But they actually created such a powerful rocket launcher!

They can be used and then discarded; it's entirely possible to have several per person during wartime!

Tell me where you got this weapon! I'll give you a quick death!

Jalalil was captured alive in less than 40 minutes.

The gloomy-faced brigade commander, pipe in mouth, spoke ominously to Jalalil, whose head was swollen like a pig's, whose leg was broken, and whose hand had been chopped off.

(End of this chapter)