Chapter 303
The White Tiger tanks went zigzag, trying to avoid the 70mm Hydra rockets. Then, they also fired Black Dragon missiles from the launch tubes on both sides of their main turrets. The Black Dragon missiles flew with trails of blue flames. The Hellfire and Black Dragon missiles passed each other and crashed. A series of rough explosions occurred simultaneously in the air and on the ground.
Boom! Booooom! Boom!
The Japanese military did not have enough information about the anti-aircraft system of the Corean White Tiger tanks. 16 AH-1 Ninja attack helicopters were shot down by the Black Dragon missiles, without even the opportunity to evade them. They fell to the ground like fallen leaves in autumn. Due to the counterattack by the White Tiger tanks, the pilots of the 16 AH-1 Ninja attack helicopters, including Squadron Commander Shibano Doramaru, could not complete their mission and died.
Meanwhile, several C-3 White Tiger tanks were also hit by Hellfire missiles in the upper part of the main turrets, but only a few optical pieces of equipment were smashed. There were no internal damages. So, there were no casualties.
It was a widely-accepted theory that in war tactics, it was good to use attack helicopters to fight against tanks. However, as the battalion-class attack helicopters were annihilated by the anti-aircraft missiles of the tanks, it showed that this tactic was not entirely effective.
But this time, 155 high-explosive bombs began to fall from the sky like hail on the White Tiger tanks which had just crushed the 1st Attack Helicopter Battalion of the 7th Aviation Group.
Major General Harumachi Kensey of the 7th Armored Division, who had heard the news that the 1st Attack Helicopter Battalion had been destroyed, gave an order to the 7th Artillery Regiment to begin the attack.
The 7th Artillery Regiment was organized into four artillery battalions. Each artillery battalion had two companies and headquarter management units. All of these artillery battalions operated 52 calibers, 155mm Type 99 self-propelled artillery.
Type 99 self-propelled guns were slightly inferior in performance to the C-9 self-propelled guns. The C-9 self-propelled gun was the old version of the self-propelled gun in the Corean army. However, the Type 99 self-propelled guns were still good enough guns, but they were too expensive for the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
Each Type 99 self-propelled gun was insanely priced at 960 million yen per unit. As a result, the number of deployments per year had been decreased by 50% of the previous plan. Currently, only 176 Type 99 self-propelled guns were deployed in combat, and 14 artillery battalions operated them. Of these, 28% were in the 7th Artillery Regiment.
Boom! Boom! Wham!
Forty-eight Type 99 self-propelled guns of the four artillery battalions shot armor-piercing bombs at the speed of six rounds per minute. The area where the White Tigers were moving was razed. However, due to the limitations of the shells, there were no armor-piercing shells that fell on the turrets of the White Tiger tanks. Also, even if the area of the upper turret was hit by armor-piercing shells, it was impossible to break because it was made of Hydronium.
Pillars of soil rose. The 10th Artillery Battalion, part of the Capital Artillery Brigade, which had been maneuvering with the 26th Armored Brigade entered the procedure of cannonball fire as the enemy appeared.
The 10th Artillery Battalion had three batteries, Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie. They kept a three-shift system of radiating heat, dissipation, and maneuvering. That way, they could constantly fire without interruption. In other words, when the Alpha battery radiated heat, the Bravo battery would prepare to leave, and the Charlie battery would start moving. By deploying such a sequential artillery tactic, one battery unconditionally maintained heat dissipation, so when a call sign came in from another unit or an enemy shell was detected, it was able to fire immediately.
A C-9 self-propelled gun was said to be a masterpiece of self-propelled artillery. Its improved version, the C-9A1 Lightning SPG, had a maximum range of 85km. Also, the powerful DP-ICPDM (dual-purpose modified plasma cluster bomb) was used, with ammunition and charge integrated.
The FDC Armored Vehicle was an artillery unit and was equipped with its own artillery mini-radar. It would calculate the specifications for the source of the bombardment after detecting the enemy shell. After that, it would transmit the calculations to six C-9 SPGs. Everything happened in just 20 seconds.
DP-ICPDM bombs were fired from six barrels that had radiated in the shape of W. The C-9A1 Lightning SPG operated a fully automatic reloading system capable of firing up to 30 rounds in three minutes. This fired bombs with a loud explosive sound, recoiling every 6 seconds. It shot DP-ICPDM bombs into the air.
The 7th Artillery Regiment was on the field at the front of the New Yokota underground bunker. They had been radiating and firing at the White Tiger tanks. The DP-ICPDM bombs reached the 1st and 2nd companies of the 1st Battalion of the 7th Artillery Regiment. The shell exploded in the air for the first time, spraying plasma cluster bombs.
Boom! Boooom! Wham! Bam! Boooom!
There were 20 sub-bombs per DP-ICPDM bomb. They turned areas of a 25m radius into a sea of fire. The cluster bombs could penetrate the armor of Type 90 tanks. Therefore, the tops of the turrets of Type 99 self-propelled guns were torn like a sheet of paper. The bombs heated the inside of the turrets. One self-propelled gun was beaten by three cluster bombs and melted, turning into a giant pillar of fire.
The DP-ICPDM bombs of the Corean C-9A1 self-propelled artillery fell in succession and destroyed two companies of the 1st Artillery Battalion in only three minutes. Next, the 2nd Artillery Battalion was set as the next target. The 2nd Artillery Battalion had finished shelling at 3km to the west and was preparing to escape.
The C-9A1 self-propelled guns fired DP-ICPDM bombs, their barrels turned towards the 2nd Artillery Battalion. Six bombs broke through the air, making a strange sound like the cry of a giant, and exploded in the air near the 3rd and 4th companies of the 2nd Artillery Battalion, which had just begun to move.
Boom!
Along with the first air explosion, numerous cluster bombs were fired into the surrounding air. Steel rain poured down on the 2nd Artillery Battalion. Several Type 99 self-propelled guns were hit by the cluster sub-bombs and crashed down onto the ground, emitting dark red smoke and fire.
The remaining 3rd and 4th artillery battalions began the counterbattery attack at the Corean battery. As a result, 155mm self-propelled artillery shells from both countries flung over 20km from the ground, aiming at each other.
Meanwhile, the 8th Tank Battalion and the 35th Tank Battalion of the 26th Armored Brigade, which was advancing through zigzag evasive maneuvers through the pouring armor-piercing bomb storm, accelerated further and ran at the maximum speed that could be achieved on the field.
The 8th Tank Battalion, which was moving on the field from the left on Route 126, turned left to face the 73rd Tank Regiment of the 7th Armored Division, which had detoured to Ichihara to hit the rear of the 26th Armored Brigade. Also, the 35th Tank Battalion attempted to enter the city to defeat the 71st Tank Regiment, which was aiming for the Corean White Tigers, hiding among buildings in various places in Ichihara city.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
First, the 35th Tank Battalion fired photon cannons at once toward downtown Ichihara. The buildings in which the Type 10 tanks hid collapsed from the indiscriminate bombing. The shrapnel scattered everywhere.
The small, 4 – 5 story buildings collapsed one by one at the power of the photon cannons. Various debris and fragments poured down over the Type 10 tanks that were ambushing. Some tanks were buried by the wreck of concrete.
The damage on the Japanese tanks was biasedly high. Since the Corean tanks were firing beyond their attack range, the Japanese tanks began to back off into the inner city. The Corean tanks maneuvered at high speed and aimed photon cannons fiercely at the Type 10 tanks.
***
February 26, 2021, 17:20
New Yokota underground bunker, Chiba Prefecture, Honshu, Japan
The commanders of the Joint Command Office had an emergency meeting an hour ago. They all had agreed without objection to the operation that was suggested by Chief of Staff Masaki Hajime. Therefore, each of them held a second meeting with the commanders of the relevant military so that they could start the operation immediately.
Then, the operator in charge of communications reported in a sad voice. “This is a report from the 6th Motorized Infantry Division of the North Eastern Army. Twenty minutes ago, the 1st Vehicle Infantry Regiment, a subordinate unit that defended the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office Building, the Assault Regiment of the 12th Air Mobile Assault Brigade, which was a reinforcement force, and the 32nd Armored Regiment of the 1st Armored Division have been almost wiped out. The remaining people have retreated to the rear. It is said that the current 5km area, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office Building, has fallen into the hands of the Corean military.”
All reports from the units currently in charge of defending Tokyo were gloomy.
Chief of Staff Masaki Hajime said, biting his lower lip, “Wasn’t Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office Building defended by the regiment-class? We also sent assault forces and tank regiment! How they could lose? How big was the Corean army?”
“Apparently, it was a battalion-sized infantry but we received the report that all their infantrymen were wearing heavy armor suits.”
“Only a battalion-sized? Even if they wore heavy armor suits or whatever, how the hell did they defeat a division-sized force!” Chief of Staff Masaki Hajime threw a glass onto the floor in rage.
Clang!
For an instant, the situation room was silent as if time had stopped. The suffocating stillness was broken by the words of the Army Chief of Staff Takitayo Ohjiro.
“Sir! We have selected members of the special forces who will fight to the death.”
Chief of Staff Masaki Hajime, who was staring at the screen with a serious expression, opened his eyes wide and asked, “Really?”
“Yes, sir. Fifty people are on standby.”
“Fifty people... That should be enough to stop the Corean soldiers for now. Alright! Then what is going on with the tactical nuclear bombs?” Masaki Hajime turned his head to the Director of Defense Watanabe Hideaki and asked.
“Yes, sir. The soldiers you sent and our staff are working on it in the warehouse.”
“Do you think you can bring that here safely?”
“I will make sure to bring them here safely.”
“Good. This will be the last chance for our self-defense forces.”
“But sir, don’t we have to report this to the deputy prime minister?”
“I’ll take care of that,” Masaki Hajime said shortly.
Then, another communications operator reported, “Currently, the brigade-level armored unit that advanced to Ichihara via Route 126 has begun the battle with the 7th Armored Division.”
It was only 13km away from the New Yokota underground bunker to Ichihara. In other words, the Corean military had almost arrived at where they were.
“Use all available forces to stop the Corean army.”
Currently, the only forces defending the New Yokota underground bunker were these: Units directly under the 7th Armored Division, the 72nd Tank Regiment, the 11th Mechanized Infantry Regiment, the 2nd Attack Helicopter Battalion of the 7th Aviation Division, and the Guard Brigade.
“Director Watanabe, we need to hurry. Also, Army Chief of Staff Takitayo Ohjiro, be prepared to dispatch the special force members as soon as we get the tactical nuclear bombs. I will meet Deputy Prime Minister Aso Taro right now.”
“Yes, sir!”
The operation suggested by Chief of Staff Masaki Hajime was the tactic called Kamikaze, which was used to attack Pearl Harbor during World War II. In the 21st century, once again, Japan was preparing suicide bombers to jump into enemy camps with nuclear backpacks in the name of a desperate fight against the Corean army.
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