It can be said that although there are many jokes in later generations that ridicule the combat effectiveness of the French Army, such as the brand-new French rifle, which was only thrown to the ground once, or the armpits of French soldiers that are easy to tan.
But in fact, those are very subjective and biased stereotypes. In fact, the French have always been very effective in Africa.
Major Duvalier's team can be considered an elite division. When the Libyan artillery fire extended, the French withdrew to a safe position early. Therefore, the Libyan artillery bombardment did not hit anything, and the destroyed fortifications did not matter. , the French did not intend to rely on those fortifications to fight.
The French rely on their VAB armored vehicles and AX10P infantry fighting vehicles.
Because there is no heavy equipment such as the AX30B2 tank, Major Duvalier's battalion mainly relies on anti-tank missiles for anti-armor tasks. Both VAB and AX10P infantry fighting vehicles can be mounted with the Milan anti-tank missile weapon station, plus vehicles The built-in 20mm rapid-fire automatic cannon, heavy machine gun and other equipment are not a problem to deal with some ordinary African rebels.
Even facing the Libyan army, it still has good combat power. The maximum range of those Milan missiles is two thousand meters, while the Libyan armored forces can generally only reach around one thousand five to one thousand two hundred meters. After searching for the enemy and firing, if you want to shoot accurately, you have to even approach a thousand meters.
Therefore, after the artillery preparations are completed, the French only need to drive the vehicle back to the preset position and then be ready to launch.
The Libyans began to take action at this moment. About thirty tanks and a larger number of infantry fighting vehicles carried infantry and began to attack from the breakthrough point. These attacking Libyan troops seemed to have received detailed Soviet training, and the offensive formations advanced and retreated. In an orderly manner, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and infantry covered each other and supported each other. They were well organized and did not interfere with each other. They seemed to be 100% serious.
Of course, the defenders were not bad either. In addition to the French, there were about two Chadian infantry regiments holding their positions on the defensive line.
Because the Chadians lacked fire support, they prepared a large number of 107 rocket launchers on the defense line, and a considerable part of the rocket launchers were vehicle-mounted.
Seeing the appearance of the Libyans, the Chadian rocket launchers started firing volleys without hesitation.
The 107 rocket launchers soon exploded in the Libyan offensive queue. Several infantry fighting vehicles were hit by shrapnel on the spot and were unable to move. The Libyan soldiers in the vehicles immediately jumped out of the vehicle in a hurry because the stopped infantry fighting vehicles The chariot is a living target, f
Sure enough, the Chadians' second round of rockets was aimed at the stopped infantry fighting vehicles. Dozens of rockets landed densely around the infantry fighting vehicles, immediately igniting the two infantry fighting vehicles. car.
The members of the vehicle were still using automatic cannons to continuously fire at the high ground in the distance. Now that they saw the infantry fighting vehicle on fire, they were so frightened that they ran out and crawled out. However, before they could take a few steps, the dense rockets that fell again hit them. Several people were sent to heaven.
After being bombarded by rockets, the Libyan offensive troops began to panic slightly, but they quickly adjusted. Not only did their formation become more scattered, but their speed also increased a bit.
Soon, the Libyans were within the effective range of anti-tank missiles.
"Free fire!"
The French Milan missiles had assigned their respective attack targets early. After confirming the firing order, the shooters pressed the launch button one after another.
Like the TOW missile, the Milan also uses visual targeting, infrared semi-automatic tracking, and wire transmission command guidance methods.
Although the range is only two thousand meters, which is not as far as the Tao style, Milan's armor penetration is deeper, and the two have their own merits.
The missiles are then ignited and launched. When the projectile flies out, it drags a slender wire. The shooter's aiming instructions are transmitted to the missile through the wire, so that the missile continuously adjusts its attitude during flight and then hits the target.
The incoming Milan missiles were so fast that the Libyan tank crews had no time to react. In the first salvo, the Libyans lost nine tanks. The missiles shot straight into the turret and then exploded, piercing the metal jet into the armor. After piercing the armor, the metal jet immediately began to move around inside the vehicle body.
Sputtering will damage and injure components and personnel inside.
Only six people escaped alive from the nine tanks that were hit. The others were either killed on the spot or lost the ability to move due to injuries in the tanks.
But now there is no way to save the tank soldiers who are still alive. We can only pray that they can survive until the end of the battle and that the tanks will not be attacked again or set on fire.
Nine tanks were blown up in one breath, and the Libyan commander almost jumped up from his seat. He immediately roared on the radio and ordered the infantry fighting vehicles to go around from both sides and began to suppress fire from the direction of the frontal missile attack. and requested artillery support from the rear.
The roaring automatic cannon then fired 30mm ammunition to the high ground in the distance, intending to suppress the opponent's anti-tank firepower. However, those Milan anti-tank missiles were installed on the vehicle-mounted weapon station, and the members were all operating in the vehicle. Therefore, due to the angle problem, the barrage fired could not hit the Frenchman's head at all.
On the contrary, the French used the machine guns and missiles of the AX10P infantry fighting vehicle to fight back and beat back the advancing infantry fighting vehicle.
However, the French defense line was subsequently hit by another round of artillery fire. Although the artillery fire still caused no damage under the commander's astute dispatch, it successfully allowed the Libyans to get into a position where they could fight back.
To make matters worse, just as the fierce battle between ground units was in full swing, several fast-moving black spots suddenly appeared in the sky.
"MiG fighter!"
"Prepare anti-aircraft missiles!"
The French soldiers who noticed what the little black dot was showed a loud warning, and even the infantry fighting vehicle's cannon changed its direction and started shooting in the air.
But at this moment, the Libyan Su-17 attack planes have entered the attack route. They chose to enter the battlefield from the nine o'clock direction of the defense line. This can cover the defender's position to the greatest extent, but it will also expose them for a longer period of time. in anti-aircraft fire on the ground.
However, the Libyan pilots may have felt that the Chadians did not have many anti-aircraft missiles, so they chose to enter in this direction.
Therefore, when he saw the eye-catching smoke rising from the ground, the Libyan pilot was a little frightened, but looking at the plane that had begun to slow down, the pilot quickly became determined. He knew that he could not hide after having exhausted his energy. To fire the individual anti-aircraft missile, he chose to fire all the rockets towards the position where the smoke and dust were rising. After his fighter plane was hit, he tried his best to move towards that direction, and then, before falling towards In front of the ground, drop the two mounted 500kg bombs together.
