Munitions Empire - Chapter 1470 - : 1387: the unshakable 7th corps
Chapter 1470: Chapter 1387: The Unshakable 7th Corps
The battle between both sides continued into the deep night, and resumed the next morning. However, compared to the fierce attacks of the first day, the Qin Army’s offensive seemed to falter.
It’s not that Sun Guang wasn’t trying hard, but the Tang Nation Air Force’s H-6 bomber squadron bombed the Qin Army during the night, almost paralyzing all their departure positions.
The artillery that was showing off yesterday was suppressed by the Tang Nation artillery, cleaned out by the Tang Navy’s carrier-based aircraft, and finally bombed at night, leaving almost nothing remaining.
Therefore, the total number of artillery supporting the Qin Army’s attack on the second day plummeted from 51 to a pitiful 17. Judging by the total number, it’s clear how significant the Qin Army’s losses were.
Without artillery support, for the Qin Country, the only weapons occasionally able to shake the Tang Army’s positions were the tanks.
Thus, early the next day, Sun Guang threw in his chips, sending 5 tanks as vanguard to launch a new round of fierce attacks on the Tang Army.
The fierce battle between the two sides continued until noon, when the Tang Army destroyed 12 Qin Army tanks, ending the morning’s combat.
During the battle, the Tang Army suffered 57 casualties, while the Qin Army lost 192 men. It might not seem a large gap, but considering the Qin Army’s equipment losses, Sun Guang has almost spent all his reserves.
In fact, the 1st Division of Dorne’s Expeditionary Force, which Sun Guang pulled back from the front line to serve as reserves, already lost a battalion of tanks, while the Qin Army itself also lost a battalion of tanks.
This means one-third of the tank troops gathered by the Qin Army have been eliminated by the Tang Army, including the Tang Nation Air Force. Even the most optimistic view on these losses, Sun Guang knew his offensive was nearly finished.
That’s because he had little left to maintain an offensive stance; his heavy equipment was almost all destroyed after being exposed.
Without heavy equipment support, his light infantry couldn’t even touch the front lines of the Tang Army’s positions. Such futile attacks are nothing but reckless disregard for life.
The most despairing thing for Sun Guang wasn’t his losses, but his accomplishments: after 36 hours of effort, he hadn’t captured one Tang trench, nor found any flaw in their defense.
Thousands of losses, dozens of tanks, and artillery consumption didn’t force the Tang Army to retreat one step, making Sun Guang very angry.
Like many Qin Country generals, or most generals from other nations, he only knew the famed 1st Armored Division and the renowned 2nd and 3rd Corps of the Tang Country… He didn’t know where this 7th Corps came from or why it was so formidable.
He recognized Tang Country’s Marshals Redman and Tagg, knew Bernard and Luff, and was very familiar with the so-called Empire’s twin swords, Strauss and Bolton…
Yet, the commander of the 7th Corps before him was apparently an “insignificant character” he didn’t recognize, why was he so strong?
Even at this point, he hadn’t learned who his opponent was; even if he did, he wouldn’t be too familiar with an old officer from distant Brunas, a man called Eric with a big beard.
Estimating that his strength would be exhausted in two days, Sun Guang immediately contacted Zhang Xuan, informing him that the offensive toward Qingluan Port might stop at any moment.
Zhang Xuan also understood the immense pressure on Sun Guang for launching a solo counterattack and thus acknowledged Sun Guang’s predicament.
After a brief communication, Zhang Xuan decided to launch a full counterattack on the Tang Army early the third day. Having adjusted for more than a day, he had already moved his elite troops close to the Tang Army, with no choice but to proceed.
But during the recon feedback over these two days, he discovered the Tang Army hadn’t mobilized as he planned, nor had they started committing their main forces to battle with Sun Guang.
The Tang Army was quietly waiting in trenches without any massive mobilization, and even received some reinforcement.
On the third day of counterattack, Zhang Xuan’s main forces joined the fray: the 5th and 15th Armored Divisions deployed numerous tanks on the Tang Army front.
Soon, they were ambushed by the Tang Army’s armed helicopters: these helicopters took off from field airports hastily repaired, and Eric hadn’t wasted time these days, preparing several big surprises for the Qin Army.
The sudden appearance of the armed helicopters was one of them: the 7th Corps’ Engineer Corps had rushed to repair several field airports in two days and nights. Though unable to land air force planes, land aviation helicopters could utilize these airports.
This directly provided the Tang Army with considerable “air support,” and Eric could even use helicopters to transport supplies, move personnel and materials, greatly enhancing the Tang Army’s mobility.
Unanticipated by Zhang Xuan that the Tang Army could quickly deploy battle helicopters on the front lines, he suffered a hidden loss. His forces had just begun their offensive, immediately entering the heavy-loss phase.
The painstakingly gathered over a hundred tanks hadn’t even reached the front for battle before being reduced to one-third.
The powerful 5th Armored Division from Qin Country was left paralyzed mid-way waiting for reinforcements, while the 15th Armored Division initiated an attack only to be quickly repelled by the ready Tang Army.
Zhang Xuan’s carefully planned counterattack became difficult from the start; by noon on the third day, Qin Country lost roughly 70 tanks, with 50 artillery pieces destroyed en route.
Such losses were unbearable for Zhang Xuan; his offensive weakened, not even approaching the intensity of Sun Guang’s forces.
Without any retreat, Zhang Xuan had to once again mobilize forces from other areas to compensate for his losses, boost his offensive, and achieve some results.
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But no matter how hard he tried, it was impossible to change anything. Because temporarily mobilized forces would take at least a day to reach the battlefield.
That day, the fierce battle continued until the end, with no change in the Tang Army’s defense line, and any lost frontline trenches were quickly recaptured.
It’s undeniable, such outcomes were like a miracle in war history: under the enemy’s fierce attack, the Tang Army didn’t retreat an inch!
Also, because the Tang Army didn’t retreat an inch, the Qin Country’s counterattack became a joke that day. The decisive battle, Zhang Xuan and Sun Guang had high expectations for, didn’t make any impact.
The news reached Qin Country, leaving Emperor Qin Ying Duo bedridden with fury, as the increasingly arduous conflict had to be managed by Prime Minister Ying Ke.
