allonlinenovel Chapter 330 Nameless Heights!
Chapter 330 Nameless Heights!
An enemy soldier struggled to climb out of the aircraft hatch, "rat-a-tat-tat!"
A burst of fire followed, blood spurting from the enemy soldier's chest. Hit by several bullets, he fell into the ditch, utterly dead. Without resting, he swiftly drew a Type 67 wooden-handled grenade from his waist, jumped into the ditch, pulled the pin, and threw it directly into the tank's engine compartment. This Type 67 wooden-handled grenade weighed 600 grams, but contained only 38 grams of explosive. The explosive charge was too small, limiting its power, but in the confined space of a tank's engine compartment, a single shot would obliterate the crew.
He threw the grenade in and immediately climbed out of the ditch. With a loud "boom," a plume of black smoke billowed from the cockpit. Yuan Jun jumped back into the ditch to check the situation inside the cockpit. The stench of blood was overwhelming, and there were bloodstains everywhere. There was no way he could survive. He breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he couldn't show any mercy to the enemy; otherwise, it would be the greatest cruelty to himself and his comrades.
At this moment, Li Shengli also came out of the cabin, went to the ditch, and pulled Yuan Jun up.
"No survivors, right?"
"Gone!"
Yuan Jun went ashore and examined the enemy tank. "Damn it, where did this tank come from? Have you seen this model before? What country is it from?"
Li Shengli took a look.
"It looks like the Russian PT-76 amphibious tank. I saw it in a military magazine before. It weighs only a little over 10 tons, and its main gun has a caliber of only 76 mm, so its armor-piercing capability is weak and its armor is thin."
Yuan Jun said:
"We were lucky. If we had encountered a Russian T-34/58 medium tank, we would have been taken out by the first shot."
Li Shengli was still shaken when, at that moment, another deafening cannon shot rang out in the distance.
"Let's get into the tank quickly and rendezvous with Deputy Battalion Commander Duan and the others. Street fighting like this is too dangerous without infantry coordination. Our Type 59 tank weighs over 30 tons and is too conspicuous, making us an easy target."
Yuan Jun nodded, and the two climbed onto the tank and continued their advance into the city.
Meanwhile, Zhong Yuemin's small team reached an unnamed enemy hill on the outskirts of Lao Cai city. They learned from the guide that this area was called Xiao Cao, and its geographical location was extremely important. It connected Highway 7, the riverbank, and the transportation line behind the mountain. It was a pressure point on the outer defense line of Lao Cai and a "throat" between the unnamed hill and the opposite Hill 3. The enemy had set up heavy defenses here. Our army made huge sacrifices to capture these two hills. The battle was extremely fierce. The tunnels, trenches, and bunkers were filled with the corpses of enemy soldiers and our own comrades.
Thick smoke billowed, gunpowder filled the air, the flames of war raged, and corpses piled high – this scene was more like hell itself.
Zhong Yuemin and his group hid in a trench. Zhang Haiyang said:
"Yuemin, how the hell are we going to take this? The Vietnamese have a commanding view, with fortifications, bunkers, trenches... damn it, they've practically turned the whole mountain into a sieve. Every point has machine guns set up, and there's barbed wire all around. It's like a turtle shell. If we just stay put, we'll have to retreat. Plus, with the fire support from the other side at Hill 3, even a whole regiment wouldn't be able to take it, let alone our small force."
Zhong Yuemin leaned against the trench.
"Don't rush. Even if it's a thousand-year-old turtle shell, we have to smash it. If we don't take these two high grounds, the old town will be within the range of the Vietnamese artillery. Wait until it gets dark. Now everyone should conserve their energy and get some rest."