Chapter 246
February 14th, 2021, 20:30
The Jugoku road 33km west from Tsuyama at Okayama prefecture, Honshu, Japan
Three days ago, the 3rd mobile marine division had defeated the 13th mechanized infantry brigade and the 8th armored regiment near Gotsu. It’s subordinate force, the ranger armored battalion was conducting reconnaissance along the designated roads before they reach their destination, Tokyo. After three days, the marines were 33km west of Tsuyama. They had moved about 240km in that time.
Based on the reports from the ranger battalion, the 12th, and 14th mechanized infantry brigade’s subordinate force, the Nihonbara reserve forces were stationed at Tsuyama.
The Nihonbara reserve forces were the size of a brigade by Corean military standards. The 14th mechanized infantry battalion under the 14th mechanized infantry brigade, the 13th mechanized infantry brigade’s 13th artillery battalion, 13th anti-air battalion, and 13th armored battalion were stationed there as well. They were also 110km away from Tsuyama, which allowed the 14th aerial battalion to aid them in battle with their Apache attack choppers at a moment’s notice.
In short, the forces stationed at the area consisted of armored forces, artillery, anti-air, and aerial forces. They had comprehensive coverage of the area, with a power that rivaled an entire armored brigade. The ranger battalion’s commander Hong Man-ho stopped the movement of his forces and requested aerial reconnaissance from HQ.
The Spider II drone with a length of 1m detached itself from the battalion headquarter vehicle and flew into the sky silently. The engine was so quiet that it could not be heard from the ground. The Spider II drone that the ranger battalion was using was the improved version of the Spider drone equipped with new features and improved functions.
The size of the drone was reduced by 30%, but its range had increased by 20km and could now move in a 70km radius. Also, the quiet plasma engine had made it impossible to be heard by human ears when it was 30m above the surface. The infrared and magnetic vision was enhanced, so it would not be limited by light, weather, and other environmental factors. With inverter vision mode being added in, the drone was now able to detect enemy tanks waiting for an ambush under a bunker. Three high optical lenses provided the user with high-quality footage as well. Finally, if the drone detected attacks from the enemy while conducting its mission, it would emit powerful SEMP waves and use its TCS (Transparent Cloaking System) to improve its chances of survival.
The Spider II drone had moved 5km above the surface in a short time after detaching itself from the armored vehicle. It started to take pictures and scan the area with its optical lens. A flying object the size of 1m at 5km above the surface was difficult for a person to see with the naked eye, and anti-air radars would either be unable to detect it or think of it as a bird.
The drone used its optical lens and different vision modes to send footage to the HQ company in real-time.
The drone first detected armored forces camouflaged and waiting to ambush 21km away from the plains. There were 42 tanks detected by the inverter vision mode, 12 armored vehicles, and 4 trucks were waiting as well. The computer checked with the database and analyzed the enemy vehicles. Soon they were determined to be Type 10 tanks and Type 96 armored vehicles. The intelligence director confirmed them to be vehicles under the 13th mechanized infantry brigade.
“They’re planning for an obvious ambush!” Captain Gil Sung-joo, the HQ company’s commander, was checking over the footage from his armored vehicle.
The footage from the Spider II drone was being sent over to the HQ company in real-time. If they were to find additional information, their analysis would be transmitted into the computer and sent over to each vehicle commander’s monitor. Each commander was watching the screen and checking the enemy’s position before entering the battle.
The three optical lenses equipped on the Spider II drone detected more armored forces.
The drone detected magnetic signals from the dense forest area along the road. Soon, dozens of outlines resembling tanks and armored vehicles showed up. They were determined to be Type 90 tanks and Type 89 armored vehicles. The intelligence director identified them to be from the 14th mechanized infantry brigade and sent the information to the vehicle commanders.
“Two armored battalions, there are 84 armored vehicles in total,” Lieutenant Colonel Hong Man-ho, the commander of the armored ranger battalion, glanced at his screen and muttered to himself.
“Commander! Couldn’t we easily break through their defenses based on their numbers?”
“You are right, but... Why don’t we continue our reconnaissance and come up with a strategy afterward.”
While the officers of the armored ranger battalion were speaking to each other, the Spider II drone had flown across the entire skyline of Tsuyama and took photos of the entire city. Since it was a smaller city, there were more low-rise buildings in the area. When the drone was filming the area with the inverter vision mode, something suspicious came up. When the interior of the buildings was scanned by the inverter and magnetic vision modes, outlines of tanks could be seen. These tanks seemed more like self-propelled guns.
The computer also identified them as Type 75 self-propelled guns. Captain Gil Sung-joo ordered the intelligence director, “If those are type 75 self-propelled guns, then they are from the 13th artillery force. Input the data as so.”
The intelligence director had assigned the objects detected on the Tsuyama buildings as forces from the 13th artillery force. There were 18 self-propelled guns in total.
Meanwhile, the spider drone had detected a Hummer type vehicle at the underground parking lots. They were determined to be Hummer vehicles operating close-ranged Type 93 surface-to-air missiles. These were known as the SAM-3 missiles and they replaced the previous 35mm L-90 anti-air cannons. They had been deployed on the field since 1993 and were a very old anti-air weapon that used the portable Type 91 anti-air missile (FIM-92 Stinger) with a range of 5km and speed of Mach 1.9.
The armored ranger battalion had finished its reconnaissance with the Spider II drone in 1 hour. They used the intelligence they gathered to establish a strategy for their attack.
The battalion commander, operations director, and company commanders started a meeting using the battalion communication line. The most urgent issue was dealing with the self-propelled guns hiding within the city.
-Even though there are only 18 self-propelled guns, if they focus their firepower, our forces will face heavy casualties. Why don’t we have the 7th company take on the 13th armored battalion, while the 8th company disperses the firepower of the self-propelled guns by attacking the 14th armored battalion, and have the 9th company head towards the city at high speed?
Major Na Hae-sung, gave a clear solution that fit his role as the operations director.
“Does anyone else have any opinions besides Major Na?”
“Don’t we need to consider being attacked by enemy choppers as well, sir?”
“Of course! However, I think we have about 25 minutes once the battle starts. Within that time, we will break the two Japanese armored battalions and switch over to defending the air.”
The C-3 White Tiger tank’s anti-air capabilities and the HQ company’s Flying Tiger and Flying Horse armored vehicles were more than enough to defend against enemy attack choppers or fighter jets. The 20th armored division’s 26th tank battalion had demonstrated that in the war against China.
“As I have stated before, the 7th and 8th companies are to break through the enemy tank battalions as quickly as possible. When mobilizing, have each platoon spread their forces in a horizontal line to avoid the enemy fire!”
Vroooooo~ Vroooooo~
The C-3 White Tiger tanks lined up at the Jugoku road started to rev up their engines and move forward.
Then, the 7th and 8th companies raised their speed and burst forward in the formation of two lines.
The 7th tank company moved over the road’s guardrail and moved towards the 13th tank battalion while the 8th tank company moved towards the forest in their left. The 9th company took the road and headed towards Tsuyama.
When the 7th tank company was 10km away from the 13th mechanized infantry brigade’s 13th tank battalion, shots of cannons being fired began to ring out across the battlefield.
Boo boo boom~ boom~ boom~ boo boo boom~
The winter had made the sunset earlier than usual and the sky was getting dark. The cannons lit up the dark sky. The 13th mechanized infantry brigade’s 13th artillery battalion simultaneously fired their 155mm cannons.
The Japanese forces had detected the movements of the armored ranger battalion’s movements quicker than expected, despite losing control of the air and their reconnaissance satellite. Japan’s military was no longer able to deploy fighter jets, reconnaissance planes, and early warning planes after losing control of the skies and satellites. Since the Japanese army could no longer receive air support, they had used working CCTVs to conduct reconnaissance. The CCTVs on the Jugoku road had detected the movements of the Corean armored ranger battalion.
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February 14th, 2021, 20:50,
The Nihonbara camp at Tsuyama, Okayama prefecture, Honshu, Japan
Captain Yoda Hiroshi, who was checking the CCTV footage being sent in from the department of transportation, became wide-eyed and paid attention to a monitor from the 30 he was watching.
“Enemy’s approaching!” Captain Yoda Hiroshi urgently reported to his superiors.
The 13th anti-air battalion’s commander Lieutenant Colonel Nakata Geiji ordered his forces to fire their cannons. Also, he requested air support from the 14th mechanized infantry brigade’s 14th aerial forces.
Vroooooo~ Vroooooo~
The Type 75 self-propelled guns hiding in buildings emerged and started to prepare their cannons. The self-propelled guns finished their preparations in a minute, and the operators inputted the target information. With each company commander’s order, the cannons begin to fire at the enemy.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
When the Type 75 self-propelled 155mm guns fired their rounds, the shock caused the nearby buildings to shake and kick up dust.
When the Type 75 self-propelled guns started to fire 6 rounds per minute, dozens of DP-ICM rounds started to fly towards the tanks of the 7th and 8th company under the armored ranger battalion. The HQ company’s Flying Horse armored vehicle started to intercept the 155mm DP-ICM rounds falling on their allies.
Pew pew pew pew pew pew~ Pew pew pew pew pew pew~
Booom~ boom~ Boo Boom~
The laser Vulcan beams lit up the dark sky. A few rounds were falling to the ground, but most had exploded 1km above the surface, and created flashes of light.
“Ignore the enemy fire and push on through,” Commander Hong Man-ho alerted his forces through the communication line.
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