Boom, boom, boom!" Several shells, in an arc, came out of the barrel of the infantry fighting vehicle and accurately hit the top of the mountain in front.
The T-62 tank's elevation angle is not enough, so it can only look at the area but cannot hit it. Only the infantry fighting vehicle's 73mm low-pressure smoothbore gun can shoot.
The top of the mountain was filled with smoke and debris from the explosions were flying everywhere. Not to mention people, even a bird could not survive the artillery fire.
In order to protect this place, Slovic mobilized armored vehicles around, let Soviet soldiers guard on the left and right, and let the government soldiers climb to the top of the mountains on both sides. However, the top of the mountain directly in front was missed. It was very far away and there should be no problem.
As a result, there happened to be some damned guerrillas hiding there, 1,500 meters away, how did they do it? Slovic looked at his bleeding arm, which was quickly bandaged by the medical soldiers in the team, with anger in his eyes.
Since there are guerrilla snipers, there must be more guerrillas hiding nearby!
"Search the surrounding mountains!" Slovic shouted, "Stop refueling and drive to the high ground ahead!"
The tanks were rumbling as they started. Because of the sniper fire, the entire army was filled with depression. They wanted to fight and kill the guerrillas!
"Saha, you are most familiar with the terrain here." Slovic called over a platoon leader of the government army and said to him, "Do you know the guerrilla base camp?"
Listening to Slovic's words, Saha nodded quickly: "I know. These few days, I have thought about the surrounding terrain. Let's go another fifty miles forward. There is a terrain that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is most suitable for the guerrillas to use as a base."
"Take your platoon and lead the way," Slovic said.
Leading the way at the front? Saha's heart trembled immediately. This was using him as cannon fodder. The sniper was too scary. If he rushed to the front, there was a high possibility that he would become a martyr.
However, he had no choice. If he did not obey the Soviet man's orders, the other party would shoot him without hesitation.
"Yes." Saha said, "Third row, follow me."
A Kamaz truck drove to the front and Saha got on the truck. There were three rows of people in the truck. He sat in the cab and the truck drove forward along the mountain road.
It took more than two hours to walk fifty miles on the bumpy mountain road. Along the way, Saha, who was trembling with fear, did not hear a single gunshot and did not encounter any ambush.
Maybe the guerrillas had left. This time there were so many Soviets that they must have been scared.
The truck stopped in front of a narrow path. Saha jumped out and said to Slovic in the tank behind: "Report to the battalion commander, we can't drive ahead. We have to walk in, and it's still about five miles."
Impatient Slovic sent two platoons of Soviet soldiers to follow Saha and walk in along the mountain road.
The rugged mountain roads made the soldiers form a long snake that was most vulnerable to ambushes. On this kind of road, the advantage in numbers would be greatly offset.
Saha was very nervous. Although he was walking in the middle of the team, after encountering the guerrillas, a traitor like Saha would definitely be the guerrillas' primary target. When he knew that he was exposed in the village, he dared not return to the village.
It took them half an hour to walk the five-mile road. When they arrived at the natural cave, the Soviet soldiers behind them quietly passed them.
The combat effectiveness of these government soldiers was too poor, and the Soviet soldiers would rather do it themselves than let these government soldiers mess things up.
Two fragmentation grenades were thrown in.
"Boom, boom!" There were two loud noises and air waves came out from the cave entrance.
When the air wave rushed out, the Soviet soldiers on both sides suddenly rushed into the cave entrance and fired a volley of bullets from the automatic rifles in their hands.
"Da da, da da da."
"Stop shooting, stop shooting!" a platoon leader shouted. He turned on the tactical flashlight and illuminated the surroundings. There was nothing. It was just an ordinary cave.
He gave Saha a fierce look, took back his gun and walked out.
After working for hours and searching a useless cave, his eyes looked like they could kill Saha.
Saha couldn't help but shudder inwardly, and his eyelids began to twitch.
I did hear that there were guerrillas in this cave before. They must have all run away. Yes, they all ran away!
The sky gradually darkened, and the mopping-up team had already entered the deep mountains. They could not go back tonight.
After occupying a high ground, arranging the armored vehicles and tanks in a circle and setting up enough sentries, Slovic finally felt relieved and fell asleep in the tank.
They came to wipe out the guerrillas, but the guerrillas had already fled after discovering them. The guerrillas would never fight them head-on, so this mission would probably be in vain.
No, now that I'm out, I must bring back some military achievements. If that doesn't work... I'll just raid a few villages! Capture some Afghan locals, kill them as guerrillas, and report them. I'll definitely be promoted to the next level as the battalion commander! How can I not make some military achievements after risking my life to come out?
The night is getting darker and darker.
The sentries on duty also began to yawn slowly. They were tired after being busy all day.
They didn't see that several people appeared on the side of the foot of the mountain.
In the 1980s, night vision goggles were not yet popular, especially among the Soviet army, which gave Muhammad more room to operate.
Herman, along with two or three guerrillas, followed Muhammad and came here quietly.
Muhammad made a skillful gesture, and the guerrillas put the things they were carrying on the ground and assembled them quickly.
The base, the gun mount, the gun barrel, in just a dozen seconds, the 82mm mortar stood intact on the ground.
Hermann quickly adjusted the gun mount. Now, to fire at the maximum distance, the gun barrel needed to be adjusted to a forty-five-degree angle.
Mortar shells are precious, and Hermann has been practicing all the time, but this is the first time he has fired live ammunition.
In the distance, the Soviets were huddled together, sleeping soundly.
Hermann confirmed it again and gestured to Muhammad.
Then, Hermann picked up the shell next to him and listened to Muhammad say, "Fire!"
The 82mm shell slid into the barrel due to gravity, and several people immediately turned their bodies to the side and covered their ears.
"Bang." After the shell fell to the lower end, it hit the target and fired, then flew out of the barrel. When the air flow rushed out of the barrel, a loud noise was made.
Hermann quickly picked up the second shell and put it into the barrel again at Muhammad's command.
At this time, the first shell had not yet reached its highest point, and the second shell had already been fired. After firing only these two shells, Muhammad waved his hand and said, "Retreat!"
The mortar was quickly disassembled, and as they carried the mortar and quickly disappeared into the darkness, the two shells just fell into the Soviet team.
"Boom!" A shell fell from the sky and landed on a truck.
With a loud roar, the earth shook and the sleepy soldiers lying on the ground felt a huge force from the ground, hitting their abdomen and almost drawing blood.
A big fireball was formed, and the truck immediately caught fire under the impact of the shell.
"Enemy attack! Alert!" At this time, everyone reacted and picked up their weapons. Before they found the enemy's location, the second shell fell among them.
This one happened to land in the middle of a group of Afghan government soldiers who had just opened their eyes. The shell fell to the ground and exploded, sending countless shrapnel flying. The few people closest to the center of the explosion were covered in blood and flesh, and their broken limbs were blown into the air by the airflow and then fell down.
Saha was lying under a truck, holding his head. Just when the first shell fell, he rolled under the truck. The shrapnel hit the body of the truck, making popping sounds. He was pleasantly surprised to find that he was not hit by the shrapnel.
Those Afghan soldiers who were just bombed were all from his platoon. The platoon was already not fully staffed, and now, a dozen people were missing all of a sudden. He was going to be demoted from platoon leader to squad leader.
"What's going on?" Slovic shouted on the radio. The situation outside was unclear at this time, and he didn't dare to come out of the tank again.
"We were hit by two mortar shells and lost a dozen people and a truck." An echo came from the radio.
Two mortar shells? When did the Afghan guerrillas become so rich that they even have mortars?
"Mechanized Infantry Company, send a platoon to chase them immediately!" Slovic shouted, "Don't let the guerrillas get away!"
Three infantry fighting vehicles started up with a rumble. They passed through the truck positions and the panicked Afghan soldiers, and chased forward in the dark night.
When the shell flew over, the company commander of the mechanized infantry company determined the location where the shell was fired by its trajectory. After receiving the order, he immediately went out.
There are only small roads there, which are not suitable for armored vehicles to pass through! Saha thought to himself, but he failed to guide the guerrillas' positions during the day, and he had no say. He could only watch those armored vehicles disappear into the darkness.
In battle, if an armored vehicle turns on its headlights, it would be courting death. Therefore, these armored vehicles move forward in the dark. Although the road is rugged, they can still drive the vehicles accurately, thanks to the simple night vision system.
There is an infrared searchlight on the right side of the turret. This light is invisible to the naked eye. When the light shines on the object in front, it is reflected back and detected by the user's observation mirror. This was also the standard equipment of the Soviet army at that time.
Platoon leader Huokov stared at the observation mirror closely. As long as he found those hateful guerrillas, he would completely eliminate them! These bastards actually dared to use mortars to attack their own side!