In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

第333章 远火首秀：29秒，33600公斤炸药覆盖62辆M60巴顿
"What? The 88th Armored Division was protected by AH-1 helicopters carrying air-to-air missiles, and the attack helicopter battalion lost two Mi-24s?"

This result caused Yitzhak to suddenly stand up.

He never expected that his troops would lose two expensive Mi-24s before they even set out and before the young officers' corps had even begun their first battle.

How can this be accepted?
Even if the first battle is won, the effect will be greatly reduced.

"Oh!"

His head slammed hard against the top of the armored command vehicle.

But no one laughed at his loss of composure.

"How is this possible? What exactly happened? The Mi-24's performance isn't much worse than the AH-1! It's impossible for two of them to be shot down in a single encounter!"

Yitzhak looked at the regimental staff officer with disbelief.

He truly found it hard to believe this outcome.

"The 88th Armored Division's AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters are equipped with air-to-air missiles! Our reconnaissance helicopters had just spotted them when they launched missiles..."

The only helicopter pilot who escaped, for the sake of his own future, naturally did not report that they were acting rashly out of greed for credit, ignoring Colonel Yitzhak's order to "only conduct reconnaissance," and had pounced on the Iranian helicopters as soon as they were spotted.

"Damn it! Order the reconnaissance units to maintain distance from the enemy. The anti-aircraft missile battalion will move in company-sized units alongside the tank and armored battalions. Once the Persian helicopters are spotted, deploy defenses on the spot!"

Yitzhak quickly issued the order.

The armored forces were there to draw the enemy's attention; the main combat units were the long-range artillery units still stationed in the suburbs of Basra.

With the delivery of six more launch systems by Harbin Institute of Technology in the past few months, the Long-Range Artillery Battalion of the Youth Officers Regiment now has 10 launch systems, capable of launching 80 rockets at the target area in a single salvo.

In Yitzhak's eyes, the French self-propelled artillery was not very useful: it could only fire one shell at a time, the rate of fire was not fast enough, and it could not instantly cover the target area with firepower.

"Order the troops to speed up their march."

"Colonel, should we contact the 9th Armored Division first? Their strength may be greater than we expected."

The regimental staff officer offered his suggestions, while also turning to the person beside him...
Nizar Khazraj, the scholar who was second in command of the regiment, remained silent and did nothing except to instill loyalty to the president in all the officers and soldiers of the regiment every day.

"Based on the route of advance, the area where we encountered the 88th Armored Division is very close to the 9th Armored Division. We don't need to engage them head-on. Once an opportunity arises, immediately call in artillery and long-range artillery units from the rear to strike. If the enemy catches up, we'll give them a good beating if we have the chance. If not, we'll head towards the 9th Armored Division and lure them into the ambush zone of the 3rd Mechanized Division..."

In his spare time, Yitzhak is studying "The Art of War" and "On Guerrilla Warfare." Even with advanced equipment, he is not so arrogant as to believe that his tank battalion plus an armored battalion can withstand the attack of 342 enemy tanks.

The order was issued quickly.

"Great! Excellent! This is a very good start!"

Upon hearing the report that the AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters escorting his troops had shot down two Mi-24s that Saddam had purchased at great expense before the war even began, General Salami Ali Gallam, commander of the 88th Armored Division, was overjoyed!
A very good start!
"General, according to intelligence, the 9th Armored Division stationed in the Huo Weize area does not have armed helicopters."

The chief of staff reminded the division commander that it was likely not the 9th Armored Division that was reconnoitering their troops.

"It is indeed a problem. Order the helicopters to increase their reconnaissance of the enemy ahead, and order the troops to set up camp and deploy defenses on the spot."

Due to insufficient preparation, the intelligence work for Huo Weize's operation was inadequate.

Now, a Mi-24 attack helicopter has appeared that was not mentioned in the intelligence.

"Also, transfer the two M60 Patton tank battalions together..."

According to the division's general staff, General Salami Ali Gallam's decision was correct: although the entire armored division had 280 Chieftain tanks, these outdated tanks that had not been upgraded were comparable in performance to the Iraqi T-54/55 tanks.

The more advanced M60 was deployed to the front to spearhead the attack, using its thick armor to withstand enemy fire, while the Chieftain tank was used as the main firepower unit to surround and attack the enemy tanks.

No problem.

So the troops, which stretched for more than ten kilometers, set up camp on the spot. The two M60 Patton tank battalions that were originally in the middle moved quickly to the front of the column.

"Send out reconnaissance troops!"

After the M60 tank battalion arrived at the front, it requested the division headquarters to send armored vehicles to conduct reconnaissance of the enemy's tank forces.

The 88th Division had not been expanded for long, and Persia was already short of armored vehicles. The 280 Chieftain tanks and 62 M60 Pattons were cobbled together from various sources. During combat, the tank units lacked accompanying armored vehicle units, but reconnaissance was not a problem.

At this time, the young officers' corps was still advancing.

At 1 a.m. that day, the reconnaissance vehicles of the Youth Officers Corps encountered each other more than 20 kilometers in front of the 88th Armored Division's garrison. The officers and soldiers of the armored battalion and tank battalion were unaware of the encounter between the helicopter units.

Even though Yitzhak had given orders, the young officers and soldiers of the youth officer regiment who encountered the Persian armored reconnaissance vehicle rushed forward quickly in order to gain merit.

When the BMP-2 armored vehicle reached a direct firing range of 1000 meters from the 30mm autocannon, it took advantage of the darkness to fire first.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A series of shells fired, and a Persian armored vehicle instantly came to a stop, bursting into flames and billowing thick smoke in the darkness.

"Da da da~"

The Persian armored vehicles began to fight back.

Unfortunately, the M113 they were riding in was only armed with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun and two 7.62mm M60 general purpose machine guns.

It poses virtually no threat to the BMP-2.

Left with no other option, they retreated while calling for support from the M60 Patton tank battalion behind them.

"Brothers, we've got work to do!"

Two M60 Patton tank battalions set off almost simultaneously, rushing at maximum speed toward the area where the armored vehicles were engaged in combat.

They didn't worry about their own safety at all.

The M60 tank is no weaker than the T-62 tanks used by Iraq, and the Iraqi 3rd Armored Division at the front has no T-62 tanks at all. This is an easy victory for them.

Who wouldn't want that?
"Order the anti-tank gun battalion and the armored battalion equipped with anti-tank missiles to prepare for deployment, and all units to prepare to move out..."

Upon receiving the order, the headquarters of the 88th Armored Division quickly formulated a response strategy.

Even a skirmish could escalate into a large-scale armored group battle.

Once the forward-deployed M60 Patton Battalion reports back that they have encountered a large enemy force, the entire unit must advance.

Rather than attacking the town of Howeze, which had been heavily fortified by the Iraqi army, the commanders of the 88th Armored Division preferred to fight directly in the field—tanks are made for field combat.

With the aid of fortifications, infantry, when equipped with anti-tank firepower, can inflict heavy casualties on armored forces.

The soldiers in the three BMP-2 armored vehicles that were chasing the Persian armored vehicles were not fools; while pursuing them, they also reported the situation to the regimental headquarters.

Almost simultaneously, all of Yitzhak's tank battalions were mobilized.

"Order all troops to immediately withdraw to the designated area upon contact and report the situation of the other side at any time."

Yitzhak made a quick decision.

After he took over the Young Officers Corps, he made all the decisions for the entire unit. When the regimental staff or other officers raised questions, Yitzhak would simply say: "Do you understand this new model of warfare?"

One sentence left everyone speechless.

Therefore, at this moment, no one questioned Yitzhak's orders.

"Order the long-range artillery battalion to prepare for firing immediately... and have the armored battalion lure the tanks into the ambush zone..."

In the end, after some thought, Yitzhak issued the order: "Order the artillery battalion to deploy and establish defensive positions."

Long-range artillery battalions may not be able to annihilate the enemy completely.

After the first round of attacks by the long-range artillery battalion is over, use the 155mm heavy artillery to fire several rounds of rapid fire, and finally let the tank regiment and armored regiment go forward to clean up the mess.

With the order given, the entire unit became active.

Soon, the M60 tank at the front spotted the bright lights of the BMP-2 not far away.

"Target directly ahead, 6.7 kilometers away. Grenade loading..."

The tank turret rotates.

Under the commander's command, the M60 at the front quickly closed the distance while rotating its turret and adjusting the gun barrel angle.

The M60's speed decreased rapidly. "Fire!"

Following the commander's order, the gunner pressed the fire button.

A flash of light appeared at the muzzle of the gun, and the enormous recoil caused the heavy M60 to bounce back heavily.

"Boom~"

The 105mm grenade hurtled rapidly toward the BMP-2, which was still 6 kilometers away.

This was like the beginning of a grand spectacle; less than 30 seconds after the first tank fired, several more tanks launched grenades at the area where the BMP-2 was located.

In fact, the BMP-2 that was originally pursuing the M113 infantry fighting vehicle did not initially detect the tank several kilometers away, but it quickly found it during the pursuit.

Faced with enemy reinforcements, they couldn't care less about turning the remaining infantry fighting vehicle into a battle achievement and immediately turned around and fled.

They had received orders from the regimental headquarters that the tank battalion from the rear had come to support them, and they needed to lure the enemy troops that were catching up into the ambush zone.

The reason they kept chasing them was partly because they were waiting for the enemy's armored forces to come up and lead them into the ambush zone.

"Boom~"

"Boom~Boom~"

The whistling grenades crashed heavily to the ground.

A flash of light, and the shrapnel from the explosion quickly spread in all directions.

To avoid tank-fired grenades, the three BMP-2s fled frantically along the road at speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour.

They left the explosions of the shells behind.

We were still seven or eight kilometers away from the ambush area, which would take a BMP-2 five or six minutes even at maximum speed.

The tank battalion providing support from the rear has not yet arrived.

"Boom~"

A shell suddenly landed more than ten meters in front of the leading BMP-2. The explosion did not cause much damage to the high-speed armored vehicle, but the huge crater created by the explosion made it impossible for the high-speed armored vehicle to avoid it, and the armored vehicle instantly overturned to the side.

The two vehicles behind, seeing that the road was blocked, drove directly off the roadbed.

The pursuing tanks were getting closer and closer, and they no longer cared about their comrades inside the overturned armored vehicle.

"damn it!"

The soldiers who climbed out of the armored vehicle saw their departing comrades and the approaching Iranian pursuing forces. They carried the rocket launchers from the armored vehicle, abandoned the vehicle, and disappeared into the darkness on the side of the road.

"We're almost there!"

Upon seeing the armored vehicle on the road, the M60 rammed into it violently.

"arrive!"

Once they reached the outer edge of the ambush zone, the reconnaissance officers of the youth officer corps breathed a sigh of relief.

Eleven T-72 tanks, with their lights off and engines running, were quietly parked 1500 meters away on one side of the road.

Amidst the roar of tank engines, the pursuing Iranian forces were completely unable to detect them.

About 5 kilometers ahead on the road, there were two tank companies stationed.

They are arranged in a triangular pattern on both sides of the road.

This area was the ambush zone chosen by Yitzhak, and it was also the target zone for the long-range artillery battalion still in Basra.

The pursuing tanks, unable to see any armored vehicles, slowed down, knowing full well that they could be ambushed by Iraqi tanks at any moment.

After turning off the tank's headlights at night, no trace of the enemy could be seen.

"Turn off the lights!"

The commander in the M60 tank that was chasing ahead sensed something was wrong and ordered the driver to turn off the headlights.

The moment the lights were turned off, a flash of fire appeared not far away.

"Boom~"

"Boom~"

"Boom boom boom..."

More than 20 tanks opened fire almost simultaneously. The M60 at the front was instantly penetrated by armor-piercing rounds. Due to inertia, it lurched forward for a distance before coming to a stop in the middle of the road.

Several other tanks were also destroyed, instantly blocking the narrow road.

The vehicles behind quickly moved off the road and drove to the sides.

"Enemy attack!"

The M60s behind them accelerated, firing as they rapidly surged into the area.

Both sides turned off their headlights, and firing would expose their positions, yet few tanks stopped firing.

"Two battalions? That's enough!"

When Yitzhak heard that two battalions had entered the ambush zone and that there were no more tank units to support them from the rear, he was somewhat disappointed.

"Order the artillery battalion to open fire."

In a remote location on the southeastern outskirts of Basra, ten long-range rocket launchers are ready for launch.

With a single command, all eight missiles on each launcher will be emptied within a mere 21 seconds.

"volley!"

"Fire!"

Upon receiving Yitzhak's order, the battalion commander immediately issued the command.

The commanders of the various launch systems, which were already prepared, pressed the launch button at the same time.

"Boom~"

The rocket engine ignited, and the heavy rocket was propelled out of the launch box by the enormous thrust, trailing a long plume of flame as it hurtled rapidly toward the southeast.

A bright spot appeared in the sky.

"Boom boom boom~"

The tank formations were engaged in combat, and tanks were being shot down from time to time.

For better results, the Persian tanks were grouped together, and whenever they spotted the flashes of enemy fire in the distance, multiple tanks would fire armor-piercing rounds in that direction.

Surely one of them will hit the enemy!
They also discovered that the enemy's numbers were far fewer than theirs.

There's even less to worry about then.

"Boom~"

Just as the two sides were engaged in a fierce battle, a bright spot appeared rapidly from the northwest sky.

As the first rocket landed and exploded in the middle of the M60 tank formation, the entire area was instantly covered by the explosion of nearly 34 tons of high explosives carried by 80 rockets.

The outcome has been decided.

At this moment, the 150mm long-range artillery piece stepped onto the historical stage of the international arms market.

"..."

Outside the ambush zone, the M60 tank unit, engulfed in the flames of the explosion, stood frozen in shock.

(End of this chapter)