Chapter 272 The Battle Begins

The air battle was over. After Andre returned to the ground, he received confirmation that the defected Cobra helicopter had safely arrived in Kushiro. However, before defecting, this helicopter also killed the American division commander, the head of the island's Defense Agency, and the chief of staff of the Ground Self-Defense Force!

There was no room for easing the situation. The angry islanders would definitely attack them! So, this emergency combat meeting began.

The Japanese and the Americans just needed an excuse, and now, this excuse is enough. Last year, they successfully dispelled this idea with armor-piercing shells with a penetration depth of one thousand and MiG-25 carrier-based aircraft. But now, this deceptive momentum has passed, and we are ready!

Let the flames of revolution come even more fiercely. This time, it is a battle for a complete change of the island nation’s regime!

"Our ground forces have made all preparations," Dorofeyev said. "The Type 74 and M1 tanks of the island nation's army are no match for us. We have deployed the latest tungsten alloy armor-piercing projectiles, which have a penetration depth of more than 700 millimeters and can penetrate all the enemy tanks. At the same time, we have equipped our reactive armor, which can effectively protect our tanks."

Last year, at the suggestion of Andrei and under the promotion of Kartsev, new tungsten alloy armor-piercing projectiles and reactive armor were being rapidly developed. The process of depleted uranium armor-piercing projectiles was still under research, while the tungsten alloy armor-piercing projectiles with increased aspect ratio had been successfully finalized and equipped with the T-64 and T-72 tanks in Hokkaido. At the same time, reactive armor, those brick-like things, had also been installed on the outside of the tanks. Although the increase in weight affected the mobility, the protection was absolutely first-class.

Andrei nodded. If they wanted to dominate the Hokkaido area, tanks were the main assault force, and these had always been the Soviets' advantage.

However, if you want the tank troops to perform normally, then another prerequisite is needed: air supremacy!

Without air superiority, everything is useless. With air superiority, the enemy's tank forces can also be dealt with by our own armed helicopters!

The Americans have become more aware of the importance of air superiority. At the Chitose base, they have equipped the island nation with more than 20 F-15 fighters. This time, six were shot down by their own side, and there are still more than a dozen! At the same time, on the southern island of Honshu, the US Air Force is also rapidly replacing F-15s. Now the US fleet stationed in the island nation has more than 60 F-15 fighters!

The airspace of Hokkaido is small, and dozens of fighter planes can block the entire sky above Hokkaido. Therefore, Andre knows that once the war begins, air combat will still be the key to determining victory or defeat!

Fortunately, the combination of MiG-31 and MiG-23 has been proven to be the most effective! We can completely restrain the F-15 fighter and fight for air superiority!

The MiG-25 flying regiment stationed at the Petrel Base on Kunashir Island will be mainly used to defend the sea direction. Once the US Navy comes to support, the MiG-25 will intercept them!

"Our air force and air defense force must also be fully prepared. As long as the alarm sounds, they must be able to take off and fight. If there is a problem in any aspect, the person responsible will be brought to court-martial!" said Andre.

When he was at the Sokolovka base, Andrei reformed the ground crew and adopted the method of holding a maintenance competition to eliminate those unqualified backdoor soldiers. Now, as Andrei's status in the Far East Military Region is getting higher and higher, his plan is also being promoted on a large scale. Moreover, the Far East Military Region is now facing great pressure from the war, and those backdoor soldiers and those who just want to get by have been eliminated, and the Far East Military Region has become an efficient combat force.

"We estimate that our Kushiro will be the focus of the enemy's attack." Dorofeyev said to Andrei: "Commander, can you take our headquarters and move to Shibetsu?"

Shibetsu is the base of the Pacific Fleet, where large-scale construction is underway and is also suitable for the establishment of a headquarters. However, Kushiro is right on the front line, where war could break out at any time, so it would be inappropriate to establish the headquarters here.

After hearing what Dorofeev said, Andrei shook his head firmly: "No, Kushiro Port is the most suitable place for our headquarters. As the commander, I will stay here forever."

Are you kidding? Retreat at this time? Andre, who came from the Air Defense Force, only has the nature of attacking, not retreating!

"After returning to the troops at all levels, the commanders should convey the spirit of our meeting and encourage the soldiers. We are about to launch a great war to liberate the proletariat of the island country!" said Andre.

To make a long story short, the specific combat arrangements were made as early as when they occupied this place. The Japanese still wanted to fight a ground war. Are they crazy? Don’t they know that the Soviet Union’s advantage is the ground army? The rolling armored torrent will make even Western Europe tremble!

Outside, the night was growing darker.

"Boom, boom, boom." In the silence of the night, the roar of the engine seemed particularly harsh.

Huge chariots drove out of the Baikang base and moved quickly towards the north.

With seven pairs of road wheels and tracks constantly moving forward, the vehicle body sometimes even flies up when crossing a ravine, but the entire tank remains as stable as a rock. This most advanced tank is so powerful when moving!

Inside the huge welded turret, Sakuragi Teng, the commander of the 91st Tank Regiment of the 9th Division, was calmly observing the surrounding situation through night vision goggles.

They are getting closer and closer to the Soviet-controlled area. A battle is about to break out, and the honor of being the first to recover the lost territory belongs to the glorious 9th Division!

Historically, the 9th Division was a Type A division of the old island nation's army organized in the Kanazawa area. It was one of the six new divisions added in 1898 after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, and was also known as the Kanazawa Division.

The personnel of this division are composed of soldiers from Toyama Prefecture, Ishikawa Prefecture, and Fukui Prefecture in Hokuriku. The people in these three places are very distinctive. People in Ishikawa Prefecture are quite conservative and closed, so they are also taciturn; people in Toyama Prefecture are the kind of thrifty rationalists with strong practical abilities; and people in Sabae and Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture are quite upright and hardworking. With these people as the backbone, the 9th Division has become a well-known division. From the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War to World War II, this unit has been fighting on the front line. The tough battles have forged the glorious title of the 9th Division, and it is considered a double-edged sword with the 18th Division within the army.

Unfortunately, these have nothing to do with the current 9th Division. After the end of World War II, the entire island country's army was disbanded. The current 9th Division of the island country's Ground Self-Defense Force was reorganized from the 9th Mixed Brigade, and later incorporated into the 9th Logistics Support Brigade, the 9th Air Defense Brigade, the 9th Flying Squadron, the 9th Chemical Defense Brigade, the 9th Anti-tank Brigade, and so on.