In Leping Village, Xiang Ziyu's battalion had already assembled. Although more than 100 people were still missing, they gathered most of the soldiers after dawn and arrived at the important node of Leping.
Also arriving at almost the same time was Mirage's 2nd Armored Division. A light tank with thin armor produced by Mirage itself appeared in the sight of the paratroopers of the Tang Empire, followed closely by a second and a third.
This was obviously a vanguard unit coming for reconnaissance. They advanced very cautiously, and there were some infantry covering the tanks scattered around.
"The tactics are good... It seems that I learned a lot in Fengjiang." Seeing these mirage troops putting on the air of infantry and tank coordination, Xiang Ziyu put down the telescope in his hand and gave the enemy a thumbs up .
After the Mirage mercenaries returned to the country from the Toyie battlefield, they also brought some tactical systems back to the Mirage army: in Toyie, they covered tanks approaching the enemy positions in this way, and now they also follow the same example and prepare in advance. Opened the formation.
"It's a pity that they are still a little young." The deputy company commander grinned and said, "I will teach them how to behave in a while!"
Sure enough, as soon as the deputy company commander finished speaking, the battalion mortars deployed behind Leping Village opened fire. More than a dozen 80mm caliber mortars fired a series of shells, which landed very accurately on these mirages. In the ranks of the army's vanguard.
"Boom!" The explosion blew away the Mirage infantry next to the tank. All the Mirage soldiers following the tank fell down at once. The tank continued to move forward. They had no problem dealing with the fragments of the mortar.
"The Navy said that air support will not arrive until the afternoon." Xiang Ziyu did not expect the Navy to help at all, and said casually: "We can only rely on ourselves now. The open space on the left is the most dangerous. After testing it twice, the Mirage people will definitely We will attack from there."
On the other side of them is a small high ground, where the men of the 2nd Company are stationed. They are so high up that it is difficult for the Mirage people to attack. The flat area on the other side is a good place for the opponent's tanks to deploy, and it is obviously an area that is more beneficial to the attacker.
"I have put most of our anti-tank fighters over there, just to see if those goblins can get on the road." The deputy company commander said while looking at the vanguard of the Mirage Armored Forces that began to retreat in the distance.
Xiang Ziyu lowered his head and looked at his watch: "They wasted at least another 20 minutes. When they come up again, it will probably be 11 o'clock..."
Sure enough, as time passed, the Mirage Armored Forces resumed their attack. Some of them deployed on the front, and the other part relied on their own strength and strength to start extending towards Leping's flanks.
The battle soon started again. The opponent's artillery fire fell on Leping Village. A building was directly hit and collapsed. The house next to it that was burned to only its frame also collapsed completely due to the vibration.
The courtyard wall built with earthen walls broke and collapsed section by section amidst the sound of cannon fire, and the whole village seemed to be shaking and shaking.
After dozens of shells fell, Mirage's tanks couldn't wait to start charging. This time, there are not only thin-skinned light tanks, but also some heavy tanks that look very strong.
It is said to be a heavy tank, but in fact it can only be regarded as a medium tank: the situation is similar to that of Japan, a mirage country that only focuses on the development of its navy, and the tanks equipped by its army are not worthy of using a large amount of steel.
However, due to the exciting technical indicators of the Tang Empire's tanks, Mirage's tanks are much more powerful than the Japanese tanks in World War II: at least they are equipped with a 75mm long-barreled gun imitating the Datang Empire's Leopard tank!
It's a pity that this thing is basically a knockoff, not nearly as powerful, and more expensive. Mirage was reluctant to use it on a large scale, and finally purchased a batch together with the navy.
Yes, this kind of artillery is an anti-aircraft gun used on many warships of the Mirage Navy. It is modified from an anti-aircraft gun to be used as a tank gun. It is also a traditional skill of many countries.
The Mirage armored forces, which were mixed with light tanks and heavy tanks, and under the cover of at least one battalion of Mirage infantry, started a stud as soon as they came up.
It seemed that they were really in a hurry, and they didn't seem to pay much attention to the paratroopers of the Tang Empire: in their view, light infantry had no way to compete with heavy tank troops.
"Coming up!" A Tang Army soldier muttered, stuffing the grenade in his hand into the muzzle of the grenade launcher directly in front.
Even though the paratroopers of the Tang Empire were light infantry, their advanced weapons technology gave them ferocious firepower.
The sniper hiding in the dark looked through the scope at the targets that were already "close at hand". His finger pressed on the trigger, and then with a slight exertion, the recoil from the gun stock was transmitted to his on the shoulders.
"Bang!" There was a sudden gunshot mixed in with the sound of artillery. A Mirage officer who was following the troops fell down at the sound. His chest was penetrated by bullets, and blood even splashed on the body of the tank next to him.
With the sound of gunfire, the paratroopers' counterattack began. Mortar shells fell one after another, and the goblin soldiers following the tanks were suppressed by the firepower of the paratroopers and were unable to raise their heads.
"How much ammunition can they have? How fierce are they when they come up?" On a high slope in the distance, the commander of Mirage's 2nd Armored Division, who was watching the battle in Leping, sneered and said disdainfully: "I see you'll all use them up in a moment. What to do with the shells!”
Just as he watched his troops regroup and continue the attack, another round of less powerful artillery shells came down and landed among the crowd of his troops.
He didn't know that it was the rifle grenade of the Tang Empire's paratroopers, but the ferocious firepower still made him gnash his teeth in hatred. He really didn't expect that the so-called light infantry would be so difficult to deal with.
On the other side, the extended Mirage troops also encountered trouble on the Leping flank: there were also Datang paratroopers on the small high ground on the Leping flank, which made the extension of the Mirage army meaningless.
If they continued to extend to the flank, it would be equivalent to bypassing Leping: a pure wilderness over mountains and ridges, tanks could pass through, but cars and luggage could not pass.
What's more, taking a detour is equivalent to leaving the Tang Army paratroopers in Leping alone. Doesn't that mean that the flank of the entire armored division is thrown to the opponent, allowing the opponent to harass and attack at will?
"Continue the attack! Within half an hour, I will have lunch in Leping." The commander of the 2nd Armored Division did not look at the heavy losses of his own troops on the battlefield. He put the binoculars into the hands of the commander of the 1st Regiment and ordered coldly.
"Yes!" The regiment leader bowed slightly, and then ordered: "Let the 2nd Armored Battalion charge forward! Contact the following infantry and ask them to send another battalion! Capture Leping at all costs!"
In order to support their own attacking troops, the artillery of the Mirage Armored Forces really tried their best: they deployed as soon as they arrived at the front line, and then began to violently bombard the Tang Army's defensive positions.
A dozen large-caliber artillery pieces were obviously more powerful than the Tang Army's mortars, and the shells fired by the heavy artillery were more effective than those of the paratroopers.
More than a dozen large-caliber artillery shells fell in the village of Leping, and some weak houses collapsed in the explosion.
The raised dust filled the entire village, but the paratroopers of the Tang Empire still fought back at their own pace without any confusion.
"The secret will be exposed during the fight... and it will explode on the house." Looking at the ruins behind him, Xiang Ziyu's deputy company commander couldn't help complaining.
"We are almost reaching the front line. It seems that the opponent is really anxious and has not even bothered to test our firepower." Xiang Ziyu squinted at the position in front. The sniper slowed down the opponent's attack speed and also made the opponent's tanks slow down. There is a little distance between them and the infantry.
What he has to do now is to wait for the other party to get closer, use light machine guns to block the enemy's infantry, and then let the anti-tank team kill those tanks that go deep alone.
There was no other way, he only had this one trick. There is no need to hide any trump cards. The only anti-tank weapon the paratroopers have is the RPG rocket launcher.
Therefore, they can easily repel the enemy's first attack, but the second and third times when the enemy is on guard, it is not easy for them to succeed.
But they can only fight like this, which is nothing more than using tactics flexibly, recombining old methods and continuing to fight for their lives with the enemies in front of them...
"Thud, tug, tug!" According to the pre-plan, gunshots came from the light machine gun position ahead. The bullets fired from the flanks indeed pinned all the Mirage soldiers to the ground.
But the tanks of the Mirage Army did not know what was happening behind them. They continued to move forward, twisting their bulky bodies in the fields.
A few seconds later, in the foxhole that had been hidden, the anti-tank hand of the Tang Army picked up an RPG rocket launcher, reached out and aimed the rocket at the advancing Mirage tank.
"Hoo!" The Tang Army paratrooper pulled the trigger, and a rocket rushed toward the advancing Mirage tank with white smoke, blasting a hole in the tank's side armor and paralyzing the tank on the battlefield. .
Shaped charges are really useful against steel plate protection, not to mention that the armor of the Mirage Tank is extremely thin. After this tank was destroyed, another advancing Mirage tank was also killed by paratrooper anti-tank crews ambushing on the other side.
"What is that?" The commander of the Mirage Army, who was watching the battlefield, frowned, looked at the white smoke trails that suddenly appeared, and his own burning tank, and asked angrily.
Unfortunately, no one could answer his question. He could only watch his tanks being destroyed one after another on the battlefield.
In just a short time, seven or eight tanks were already smoldering and on fire, paralyzed on the battlefield. The infantrymen who rushed up with the tanks had also been tortured to death by the Tang army.
Even though they were the elite of the mirage army, and even though they were determined to recapture Leping in one attack, in the end these mirage goblins retreated.
The losses were too much. Without a clear understanding of the Tang army's firepower deployment, a blind attack was in vain. An hour later, the Mirage army still did not approach Leping. They only left the wreckage of more than a dozen tanks and the bodies of more than 300 soldiers in the northern part of Leping.
"This is the light infantry? Did they really parachute here?" Looking at the messy battlefield, the commander of the Mirage 2nd Armored Division, who was not able to have lunch in Leping, asked in disbelief.
He really didn't expect that a group of infantry could stand in front of his tanks for so long...or that the other side could even repulse his attack easily.
"Hurry up and arrange the follow-up troops! Rush over! Within half an hour! At any cost, rush into Leping for me!" He held the handle of the command knife at his waist and roared angrily.
——
Two updates today
(End of chapter)
