Empire Conquest-Chapter 755 - 50: Armor-Piercing Repeating Crossbow
"Boss, battlefield information received!"
5:55 AM!
When Jiang Shanggui reminded him, Lian Mingyang instinctively glanced at the time on the left screen.
The battlefield information provided by the early warning command aircraft then appeared on the screen.
The situation was even worse than previously anticipated!
Not only had the enemy’s Armored Forces crossed the Volga River, occupied the river beach positions, but they had also advanced about 20 kilometers west.
That distance would take at least an hour!
This meant the Armored Forces of the West Continent had broken norms, not waiting for daylight but instead launching an attack just before dawn, precisely during preparatory fire.
Furthermore, aside from deploying amphibious armored troops to capture the river beach positions, the enemy’s engineering troops had also quickly constructed pontoon bridges.
According to Reconnaissance Aircraft information, there were a total of five pontoon bridges, each with a carrying capacity exceeding 50 tons.
The efficiency and speed were sufficient to prove the West Continent forces were well-prepared.
Of course, it would have been strange if they hadn’t prepared!
Now, the enemy had breached the defenses and was advancing deep into the defensive lines, led by an Armored Battalion with dozens of T-80Us.
If the Eastern Group’s defenses along the Volga River were likened to a dam, then this breach was the ant hole leading to the dam’s collapse. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
Although theoretically, it was already impossible to block this hole, and none of the defense plans emphasized fighting the enemy to death at the forefront—contradicting the deep defense theory—no matter what it cost, they had to find a way to delay the enemy’s advance.
Indeed, this was the number one value of armed helicopters.
In deep defense theory, only combat helicopters could quickly reach the front lines and crush the enemy Armored Forces that had breached.
Attack Aircraft were faster, but their sustained combat capability was significantly inferior to that of combat helicopters.
Armored Forces had adequate sustained combat capability, but their movement speed was less than one-tenth of that of combat helicopters.
Now, the focus was on the several dozen "Z-10As."
"All squadrons, proceed as planned!"
After grasping the battlefield situation, Lian Mingyang immediately issued combat orders.
There was no time to delay.
The enemy’s Armored Forces were about 20 kilometers ahead, still maneuvering southeast, seemingly attempting to encircle Volzhsky.
In that small city, there was an infantry division from Eastern Luosha, with thousands of soldiers!
If they couldn’t stop the enemy’s Armored Forces from maneuvering south, the infantry division would surely be annihilated.
As for launching an attack, it was actually by the book.
On Lian Mingyang’s side, commanded by him, the first squadron consisted of 6 "Z-10As," divided into three pairs.
Because they were flying at the front of the Plane Group, they were to initiate the attack.
According to intel provided by the Reconnaissance Aircraft, there were no Tunguska or similar air defense systems, so the primary targets were the main battle tanks leading the charge.
Judging from the intensity of the heat radiation, it appeared to be the T-80Us from the 9th Armored Division.
Also, photos taken by the Reconnaissance Aircraft confirmed that the tanks at the forefront were several dozen T-80Us fitted with Reactive Armor, thus in their strongest state.
Crucially, these tanks were equipped with gas turbines, making their heat radiation signatures very conspicuous during charges.
It was a forced choice to equip the T-80 with a gas turbine.
Starting from the earlier T-64 to the simpler-equipped T-72, they actually used multi-fuel diesel engines, only the T-80 employed a gas turbine. The Western Luosha military’s explanation was that gas turbines had superior adaptability, being able to use almost all types of fuel oil. Thus, during offensive phases, the main battle tanks using gas turbines could more effectively utilize fuel captured from the Eastern Group.
As for the high fuel consumption of gas turbines, the Western Luosha military didn’t see it as a significant issue.
Even in field conditions, the T-80’s operational range exceeded 250 kilometers, and over 450 kilometers on roads.
Within a 250 kilometers range east of the Volga River, there were dozens of cities and military bases, with over a hundred small and large fuel depots.
Expanding the range to 450 kilometers included even more.
Moreover, they could also resupply via railways.
Strategically, being able to advance 250 kilometers in one assault was considered an incredible victory.
Allowing the Armored Forces to stop for resupply was only natural then.
In summary, the Western Luosha military wasn’t too concerned about fuel consumption.
However, these were all excuses and rhetoric.
Most notably, only the T-80 series main battle tanks used gas turbines, while the accompanying self-propelled guns and infantry fighting vehicles used diesel engines.
Infantry fighting vehicles could be explained away since they were lighter and required less engine power, hence diesel was sufficient.
But self-propelled guns had combat weights comparable to main battle tanks and often used main battle tank chassis. So why not develop self-propelled guns based on the T-80’s chassis, instead using a lower-equipped T-72 chassis to design frontline self-propelled guns?
Fundamentally, it was because the West Continent severely lacked oil.
Because the Baku oil fields were in Eastern Luosha, Western Luosha had always been an oil-importing country, only self-sufficient in natural gas.
Thus, they needed to import oil from other West Continent countries.
Unfortunately, those other countries also lacked oil.
