The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse-Chapter 431 - 424 A Mighty Army

The issue was no longer about whether to abandon the injured, but that even if they did abandon the injured, every person here wouldn’t stand a chance to escape the enemy’s encirclement.

Special forces are formidable, but their greatest fear is being surrounded by armored units, with no place to run or hide, no matter how strong they are, they’re done for.

Zapolov had joined up with Green Hat.

It was easy to recognize one of their own.

Though Green Hat lay on the ground, his clothing and his demeanor revealed a strong odor of braveness, so Zapolov naturally approached and said, "Brother, are you alright?"

Green Hat, lying on the ground, smiled at Zapolov and said, "Not good, my captain is dead, all my teammates are gone, I’m the only one left."

Zapolov glanced at the injured scattered on the ground and then at Green Hat, who was wounded in the leg. He sighed softly and asked, "Signal Flag?"

"Alpha?"

Zapolov and Green Hat both nodded, then Zapolov asked, "How did you end up here?"

"We were in Israel, but staying there was pointless."

Zapolov was moved, he spoke softly, "You were dispatched to fight in Israel, right?"

"Yes."

Zapolov exhale deeply once again, then spoke softly, "Brother, you’ll be okay, trust me, you’ll definitely be okay!"

After speaking, Zapolov saluted Green Hat, who lay on the ground. Without lingering further, he called out loudly to his own squad, "Set up the defense line immediately!"

It should be said that this Uranus 12 Squad had strong anti-tank capabilities. They had a total of five missiles, and based on the penetration power of the Red Arrow 12 missiles, taking on a T55 was a piece of cake, even a simplified export model could easily pierce through a T55’s front armor.

Therefore, the choice of anti-tank missile positions was extremely crucial.

Ralph was using the sniper grenade launcher, a weapon not designed primarily for anti-armor, but it did possess some anti-armor capabilities. The grenade’s initial velocity was rather slow, which made hitting moving targets a bit difficult, but stationary vehicles were another matter. Furthermore, there were plenty of grenades, and after observing for a moment, Ralph, armed with the sniper grenade launcher, went alone to a side location, preparing to take a surprise shot.

Building a position to directly confront the enemy’s armored forces was impossible. The greatest hope for the Sanitation Worker was to turn the battle into a trench warfare of attrition. As for the Sanitation Worker’s enemy, they naturally sought to avoid trench warfare at all costs.

Gao Yuan had already geared up again, just waiting for the enemy’s arrival.

This time, Gao Yuan didn’t dare to charge into the enemy convoy and launch an attack as he had done before, because the enemy had clearly come prepared this time. Not to mention the slightly rearward positioned tanks and Infantry Fighting Vehicles, but the critical point was that the enemy’s armored vehicles had cover. If Gao Yuan jumped in again, he would become a live target for concentrated fire.

"The enemy has stopped advancing!"

Harry Keen shouted in the walkie-talkie, then he quickly continued loudly, "The enemy tanks are deploying in a wedge formation for attack, the Infantry Fighting Vehicles are in the rear, and the assault vehicles are covering the flanks. They’ve closed the hatches on top, and the enemy infantry... the enemy infantry are still gathering, but they haven’t followed up with an assault!"

The Sanitation Worker arranged a typical formation for an assault on the position, or rather, what the enemy employed was a classic tactic of firepower reconnaissance, sending out an armored force to make a strike at the enemy’s position, to test the intensity and direction of the enemy’s defensive firepower, and then decide on the next course of action.

The attack method adopted by the Sanitation Worker only indicated one thing: they regarded Spark Squad as an equal opponent.

In ancient times, it involved cavalry charges to test the mettle of the enemy with many sacrifices, then deciding whether to overwhelm with a large army or to proceed with caution.

During World War I, the strategy was to unleash a barrage of artillery fire and then send the infantry to charge.

In World War II, tanks led the advance, with infantry following closely behind.

During the Cold War era, it involved a coordinated tank assault with Infantry Fighting Vehicles supporting the progression; once they reached engagement distance, the infantry would disembark to fight.

Times may change, but tactics remain consistent. This was the first genuine assault witnessed by Gao Yuan since his deployment, an age-old, orthodox tactic that has been classic throughout history.

This was a formal attack, not a raid, not a surprise attack, not a case of the strong bullying the weak. It was straightforward and honorable, a head-on confrontation.

When an enemy force, the size of which was yet unknown but was undoubtedly overwhelmingly superior, launched such a firepower reconnaissance against a small squad of merely a dozen people, the outcome was already sealed.

Either flee or die; there was no third option. Really, there wasn’t.

"Eight tanks, there are eight tanks! Eight armored vehicles! Four assault vehicles on the flanks! Numbers confirmed, no follow-up troops!"

Harry Keen’s drone played a critical role; now Gao Yuan and his team had identified the enemy’s direction of attack and their mode of advance.

In the radio, Sirte rushed to speak, "The enemy is conducting firepower reconnaissance. They don’t know our actual strength. We must retaliate hard to buy time for reinforcements to arrive. If the enemy discovers our real strength, their subsequent attack will be immediate! Do not conserve anti-tank missiles, we must repel the enemy’s probing assault!"

Zapolov didn’t wait for Sirte to finish speaking because he knew what to do.

"Launch all the missiles! As fast as possible! Fire!"

Zapolov’s hand swung out, and almost simultaneously, an anti-tank missile with an unstable flight attitude soared towards the enemy’s lead tank.

The enemy tanks were fast, but the missile kept adjusting its trajectory. After flying for several seconds, it struck the tank precisely at the wedge-shaped tip.

A shot that hit its mark with soul.

The tank was hit and immediately exploded in sympathy, then slumped its gun and burned fiercely in place.

Generally speaking, after firing a single anti-tank missile, soldiers would need to relocate to avoid enemy retaliation. However, Uranus 12 Squad didn’t do that.

The second missile was launched. The Red Arrow 12 had advanced "fire and forget" capabilities. After some wobbly and seemingly unstable flight, it accurately struck another tank’s turret.

The tank’s gun had already turned, but Zapolov was shouting, "They can’t hit accurately while moving! Fire another one, fire another one!"

Feeding another missile into the tube, the firing system locked on the target. Just as the attacking tank fired its first shell, a 105mm high-explosive round exploded fifty meters in front of the anti-tank team, raising the first cloud of dust from the blast.

The fire control system of the T55 tank was outdated with both vertical and horizontal stabilization systems, yet its accuracy during movement shooting was not exceedingly poor.

Another tank fired, and the accuracy of this one greatly improved—a high-explosive round exploded less than thirty meters to the left of the anti-tank team, a fairly high degree of precision for tank fire against infantry while on the move.

But the third missile was still launched steadfastly. Then, the two missile operators hoisted their gear and ran.

Since the enemy had initiated a firepower reconnaissance, one could either feign weakness to let the enemy close in before striking back or use an even more aggressive approach to push the enemy back. In a situation where time was required to wait for reinforcements, Spark Squad chose the latter.