"Everyone listen to the command and pay attention to the two hooks in the front and back."

Next to the helicopter, Jiang Shanggui was giving orders to several soldiers of the logistics support company of the 04101st Battalion to load "repeater" anti-tank missiles weighing tens of kilograms onto the launcher.

To be precise, it is actually hanging on the launch stand.

Because the size is too large and it is very troublesome to fold the wings, the "repeater" does not use a launch canister, but is hung directly under the launcher.

Normally, this type of work is carried out by ground crew and does not require the crew to have to worry about.

It's just that when replenishment is carried out at field airfields, it can only be commanded by the crew members themselves.

It was not difficult, mainly because of the lack of necessary tools, such as flatbed forklifts designed to transport and lift missiles. In the case of relying only on manpower, it is not that ammunition cannot be loaded, but it is much more troublesome, especially when mounting, you have to make sure that the data interface is connected.

To be on the safe side, the weapons officer is personally responsible.

Fortunately, the logistics officers and men of the 04101st Battalion have strong operational capabilities.

More importantly, all helicopter gunships, including the "Z-10A", have been designed with reloading operations in field situations in mind, so the relative height of the hardpoint is controlled within two meters, and the interface of the missile launcher is facing downward.

At this height, you can operate it from the ground.

In addition, the weapon operator must master the method of reloading ammunition such as missiles.

Pilots are responsible for replenishing fuel, hydraulic fluid, and other oil and water, and overhauling power equipment such as engines and gearboxes when necessary.

Fortunately, fighting on the plains, the failure rate of the engine is not too high.

"Major Lian Mingyang, who is Major Lian Mingyang?"

"I'm here!"

After hearing the greeting, Lian Mingyang answered, and then stood up.

A soldier ran over. "Major, the operational order from the front, expect the enemy to relaunch the attack around 3 o'clock, ask if you can make a sortie."

"Before 3 o'clock?" Lian Mingyang asked knowingly, and glanced at his watch when he asked.

It was already 2:45 a.m.

15 minutes to go!

Even if you set off now, it will take more than 10 minutes to fly over.

"Let's go for it."

The soldier nodded, didn't ask any more questions, turned and ran away.

Lian Mingyang's reply was actually very polite.

In previous battles, the low-altitude assault force under his command had lost nearly half of its strength, and only 22 helicopter gunships had withdrawn.

Five of them were badly damaged and could not continue fighting.

According to Lian Mingyang's order, the pilots have dismantled the sensitive equipment on the five "Z-10A" planes, and removed some usable parts to repair other damaged helicopters.

Lian Mingyang only has a total of 17 "Z-10A" in his hands, and 6 of them have been damaged.

It will definitely be able to continue fighting, but how much combat power there is, then it is not clear.

In fact, the main thing that can retain half of the combat power is luck.

In the early hours of the morning, when Lian Mingyang and they arrived, the enemy was launching a surprise attack.

After making contact with the defending forces, that is, the Eastern Luosha army under the command of Pavlov, Lian Mingyang and them took the lead in the battle.

More than 30 "Z-10A" in two batches, 5 kilometers behind the battle line, attacked the enemy's tank fighting vehicles with "repeaters".

Because it was too far away, and it was at night, the situation on the battlefield was particularly complicated, so the attack was guided by ground forces, that is, by illuminating the target with a laser designator.

In fact, this is the attack method usually used by the "Z-10A".

Because the laser travels in a straight line, when using its own laser irradiator, the helicopter gunship will also enter the enemy's field of vision, and it may be attacked by anti-aircraft weapons. In coordination with friendly forces, the allies use laser illuminators to guide the attack, and the gunship can remain hidden.

At least be able to stay outside of the danger zone.

Under friendly guidance, it is possible to launch multiple missiles at once to attack multiple targets, rather than launching missiles one by one.

After using up all the anti-tank missiles, Lian Mingyang and they met a real opponent.

It's just that the situation is not the same as predicted.

The first to kill was not the "tiger" type of the Riman Empire, but the "hind" of Xiluosha.

Although the infrared imager can accurately determine the model of the enemy plane, there is no room for any mistakes on the battlefield where the situation is changing rapidly.

As a result, when fighting with the "Hind", Lian Mingyang and his team used up almost all of the TY-1 missiles.

As for the results, they are not worth mentioning.

In fact, this is also expected by Lian Mingyang.

During the acceptance test, it was found that when the helicopter was attacked by an air-to-air missile, as long as it reduced its speed and flight altitude, it had a great certainty to avoid the missile. Even if the missile is not shaken off, the goal can be achieved by dropping the jamming bomb during the maneuver evasion.

And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

When Lian Mingyang and the others were fighting with the "hind", the "tiger" style of the Manman Army was killed.

Because of the fear of accidentally injuring friendly aircraft, the "Tiger" did not use air-to-air missiles to attack from a distance, but joined the melee air combat after flying closer.

There are not many "Tiger" types put into operation by the Manman Army, and there are more than 10 in total.

If you want to say, this is also the key to Lian Mingyang's survival.

By the time those "Tiger" style kills arrived, the "Z-10A" had already defeated the "Hind" and had enough strength advantage.

In this case, that is, almost two to one, 14 "Z-10A" were still lost, of which 8 were shot down by Mistral missiles carried by the "Tiger". The "Z-10A" has only achieved more than 10 results in the case of having twice the superiority in troops.

It can be seen that the air combat performance of the "Z-10A" is indeed average, at least in the face of the "Tiger" type, there is not much advantage.

If you encounter the "tiger" style again, I am afraid that it will be more than lucky.

Don't forget that the Men Army sent 1 low-altitude assault brigade, and the maximum of 1 battalion encountered before, there were 2 battalions that did not participate in the battle.

The key is that even if the low-altitude assault force in Xiluosha is not defeated, it cannot support it, so it can only rely on the low-altitude assault force of the Manman Army.

The probability of encountering the "tiger" again is extremely high!

It's just that I can't care about that much at all now.

Zheng Zhishuang fulfilled his promise and sent transport helicopters to send anti-tank missiles, but he did not send TY-1, probably because he did not expect an air battle.

Of course, it is not clear whether there will be air battles or not.

After completing the inspection, Lian Mingyang gave the combat order.

This time, it was an anti-armor mission, and there was no TY-1 available, so each helicopter carried 2 rocket launchers in addition to 8 anti-tank missiles.

When dealing with stationary targets at a distance of 1,000 meters, rockets are actually more effective.

When it was almost 2:50, Lian Mingyang took the lead in taking off the plane.

At this time, on the northern defensive line.

Although only one of the three infantry fighting vehicles sent out escaped, and the other two were discovered by the enemy's anti-tank team while trying to approach and then destroyed by anti-tank fire, the price was enormously valuable, that is, the enemy's operational disposition was discovered.

Presumably having tasted the bitterness, the enemy was massing forces on both the west and east sides of the defensive line.

From this, both Pavlov and Stuart concluded that the enemy would attack at both ends of the line at the same time, and that it was likely to focus on the east.

The reason is also very simple, the defense of the East Luosha army is focused on the west, holding the road to the south.

In this way, the enemy will choose to attack from the east when attacking, and after going around to the south of the defensive line, then switch to the west.

As long as you can outflank the rear of the defensive line, you will definitely be able to make a breakthrough.

In addition, it may be possible to annihilate the East Luosha army in this direction.

It was precisely because of this that the two men decided to let the withdrawn low-altitude assault force return again.

However, the key remains on the ground.

Although Pavlov did not emphasize, Situ Lin knew very well that when two-thirds of the troops had been used, the East Luosha army would not be able to increase troops to the east in any case, and could not strengthen the defense of the eastern section of the defensive line, so it could only rely on the armored forces commanded by Situ Lin.

To this end, Situ Lin made two preparations.

First, leave a tank company on the west side of the line of defense, but deploy it in the rear.

According to Situ Lin's deployment, after the enemy's artillery fire was ready to pass, the tank company rushed to the position and acted as a mobile anti-tank fire point.

The main task, of course, is to deal with enemy tanks.

If the previous judgment is correct, and the Xiluosha army that replaced it will attack, then the ZT-99B can rely on advanced infrared night vision devices to gain a very huge tactical advantage, and can destroy the enemy's tanks with point-like accuracy at a distance of more than 2,000 meters.

Previously, in the Volzhsky counterattack, the East Luosha Army used the ZT-99AG to teach the armored units of the West Luosha Army a hard lesson.

Those T-series tanks of the West Luosha Army had to be within 1000 meters, or even 800 meters, to be able to detect the ZT-99B with active infrared night vision devices.

This difference in the distance of engagement is enough to determine the victory or defeat of the battlefield.

Situ Lin also left one tank wheel in the rear to act as a tactical reserve to ensure that it could be pushed up in time if there was a hole in the defensive line.

The remaining 1 tank company, 2 infantry companies and guard platoons all followed Situ Lin to the eastern end of the defensive line.

Only now, the guard platoon has only 4 tanks, and 1 is replenished to the 1st company to replace the tank that was destroyed by an anti-tank missile during the counterattack.

For this reason, Pavlov also handed over the command of the eastern section of the defense line to Situ Lin, and specially sent a regimental staff officer to coordinate the command.

On the east side of the defensive line, Situ Lin's defensive deployment was equally straightforward.

The infantry of the two infantry companies were all incorporated into the tactical reserve and remained in the rear of the defensive line, fighting side by side with the officers and men of Dongluosha, who were also in reserve.

Critically, the infantry of the 2 companies was mainly engaged in anti-tank tasks.

This arrangement was made up for the lack of anti-tank weapons in the East Luosha army.

The infantry fighting vehicles of the infantry company also remained in the rear, but they were responsible for the task of fire support, that is, using machine guns against lightly armored targets of the enemy.

Strictly speaking, it is to combat the opponent's long-range fire, such as heavy machine guns, to provide cover for the forward infantry.

The tank company that came with it acted as a moving anti-tank fire point, as it did to the west.

The guard platoon remained in the rear of the defensive line, and Situ Lin was under direct command as a mobile unit.

According to Situ Lin's judgment, the army of Xiluosha will invest enough armored forces here, at least one battalion, and possibly even two battalions.

The reason is also very simple, we must break through this line of defense in one go, and we must not continue to delay.

If it is delayed until dawn, I am afraid that there will be sudden changes.

Don't forget, the Imperial Air Force's "Attack-9A" is mainly active during the day, and a small squad can take out an armored battalion in one sortie.

You can't take this position at night, and it's even more impossible during the day!

In addition, after the breakthrough, it is necessary to expand the breakthrough so that the rear troops can keep up.

By increasing the frontal width, it is possible to avoid the opponent's key defensive areas more effectively, so that the tactical detour can return its due value.

It was precisely because of this that Situ Lin transferred the four ZT-99Bs of the guard platoon to serve as firefighters.

Because it had been exposed, and because it had inflicted heavy damage on the Hindan army in the beginning of the battle, the tanks of the 04101st Battalion were all scattered.

It's just that the enemy's artillery fire before the attack was noticeably more intense.

Just after 3 o'clock, artillery preparations came.

Although they retreated to about 5 kilometers behind the defensive line, they were still within the enemy's artillery fire range, and the intensity and density of the shelling increased considerably.

Before the first shells could be dropped, Situ Lin got into the tank.

His ZT-99B was hidden in a makeshift tank bunker, which was actually a large pit that was just enough to accommodate the ZT-99B and was more than 2 meters deep. Sleepers were laid on the top of the crater, which could not block large-caliber shells, but allowed them to detonate early.

As long as they are not directly hit by shells, the lives of the members inside the tank are not in danger.

This time, the enemy resorted to a barrage of artillery shelling that progressed gradually.

Even a 60-ton main battle tank was jolting violently when shells fell in batches, and it felt like an earthquake.

"Haha......"

"Big rice balls, what are you laughing at?"

Tang Xuebing suddenly laughed, and Wu Qitie, who was sitting behind him, asked and kicked him by the way.

Because he was half a body taller, he could kick Tang Xuebing's shoulder with his right foot a little forward.

Actually, this design has a special purpose.

To put it simply, it is to be able to transmit combat information through simple body movements after the failure of equipment such as a car radio.

Decades ago, during the last Great War, tank crews often communicated with each other in this way.

"Don't you think that Simau is celebrating our upcoming victory in this way?"

"The battle has just begun, it's impossible to say if you can survive to the end, have you got water in your head?"

"It's like firecrackers."

After Situ Lin said this, Wu Qitie understood.

The explosion I heard while sitting in the tank was actually similar to the firecrackers during the Spring Festival, but it was lower, like a large bomber.

The shelling soon passed.

"Head?"

"Don't worry, wait!"

Situ Lin gave some advice, then gave orders to several other commanders, and then opened the roof and got out of the tank.

The night sky was clear, but there were no stars in sight, all gunsmoke.

The shelling lasted less than ten minutes, and the barrage advanced so fast that there was almost no pause.

This usually means that there will be another round of shelling later!

Soon, there was a whistling sound in the air, it was the sound of cannonballs flying.

However, the sound came from the south.

A counterattack by the artillery of Dongluosha?

It's just that the sound is clearly wrong.

Situ Lin just didn't react for a moment, and then it occurred to him that it was not a cannonball that flew overhead, but a more powerful rocket.

The long-range rocket artillery of the East Luosha Army has finally spoken!