Munitions Empire

On the ground, Liu Guozhu was in no mood to watch the two crashing Qin Country fighter jets; in front of him, the tanks of the 4th Armored Division under the Qin Country's 4th Armored Corps were launching an attack towards his position.

This time, Qin Country had deployed an overwhelming number of armored tanks, with two armored divisions on the flanks of the 5th Armored Corps, seemingly aiming to knock out the attacking force of the Tang Army.

However, Ying An never anticipated that his plan would fail from the start: the 5th Armored Corps on the flank was knocked down by the air power of the Tang Army at the beginning of their action.

The Tang Country dispatched over 40 armed helicopters and more than 30 Thunderbolts, directly crippling over 400 Qin Army tanks on the path of their advance.

To cover these tanks, the Qin Army deployed more than 100 anti-aircraft guns, but they hardly achieved any results. The Tang Army's TV-guided bombs easily eliminated these exposed anti-aircraft positions, taking out all these guns.

Without cover, the Qin Army's 5th Armored Corps became a complete target, with most tanks being destroyed on the path of their advance.

The opponents used many methods to avoid losses, including sticking branches on the tanks or advancing as much as possible along the forested areas.

Unfortunately, these methods had little effect, as most tanks were knocked out by various ammunitions before reaching the Tang Army's flanks.

The Tang Army deployed cluster bombs and various types of TV-guided bombs, and even rockets... the entire battlefield seemed like a fireworks show, with the Qin Army being utterly desperate.

"Alright! Gentlemen! While the Air Force and Land Aviation are engaged, it's finally our turn to take the stage!" Liu Guozhu tapped twice on the tank's top and commanded over the radio: "Attack! Let the enemy in front see how lucky they would have been not to encounter us!"

The Type 64 tanks started their engines, rushing through the shrubbery ahead, crushing the soft farmland soil, and the long cannon barrel agilely pointed in the direction of the incoming enemy.

The entire tank company commanded by Liu Guozhu consisted of 15 tanks, with 11 currently on the frontline in very good condition, having just undergone maintenance.

The remaining few had issues and were left behind for repairs. This is an unavoidable problem for the armored corps; unless they engage in battle immediately after a war breaks out, it is usually impossible for the entire force to participate in combat.

In fact, most of the time, armored corps cannot even reach full capacity; during peacetime, most troops are lucky to have around 80% equipment, with most only achieving about 60% equipment rate.

Of course, once combat begins, it's even less likely for many units to be supplemented with equipment. New equipment is likely to be allocated to newly expanded forces rather than given to old units.

This results in most units having only about 70% of the combat capability on paper, and with combat losses, there's no telling how much remains.

However, this notion is actually inaccurate, as it also depends on the actual environment at the time: attacked units on the offensive side might receive more and better resupplies, so their organization might become more complete, possibly even superseding expectations; conversely, defending units with the wind against them might see their supplies diminish passively as the battle continues, with some units losing their structure altogether.

The 1st Armored Division of the Great Tang Empire, where Liu Guozhu was, is the absolute elite and main force of the Great Tang Empire, so there were no cases of understaffing. This armored division has always been fully equipped, even during peacetime.

Moreover, this division has always been outfitted with the most advanced equipment, first adopting the Type 59 tanks and later replacing them with the Type 64 tanks.

This time, the understaffed battle is entirely due to advancing too quickly and attacking too successfully, so some tanks had their motion mechanisms rendered inoperative.

It should be noted that this is a long-distance offensive spanning several hundred kilometers, or rather a long-distance raid, and still having 11 tanks remaining in this condition is a very good state of equipment maintenance.

As Liu Guozhu's tanks advanced forward, several wheeled armored vehicles equipped with 105 guns followed, along with some infantry fighting vehicles responsible for covering the tanks.

This grand procession appeared quite spectacular. Just like many years ago, the armored corps of the Great Tang Empire habitually laid the Dragon Banner on top of their tanks for simple friend-or-foe identification.

Though many vehicles of the Great Tang Empire had simplified friend-or-foe identification signal transmitters installed, such intangible things were not really reassuring.

In fact, it was indeed the case; even during the Gulf War, the issue of friendly fire was not completely resolved. At that time, the Lighthouse Country aircraft even mistakenly attacked John Bull soldiers, preserving the illustrious tradition of the War of Independence.

"Enemy tanks spotted! Very clear!" Through the gun sight, the gunner shouted excitedly. This was the first time he aimed the gun barrel at a target in real combat after switching to a new tank.

With the mechanical motion, a shell was swiftly loaded into the cannon breech, the breech block closed automatically, and the 125mm caliber tank gun was aimed at a Qin Army tank crossing an obstacle in the distance.

This distance was approximately 1,000 meters! Tanks with only ordinary optical sights rarely fire at this range.

However, the nearby Tang Country's wheeled mobile gun platform fired first, the 105mm cannon emitting a burst of flame, and the massive cannon sound was deafening, though the shell fell next to the enemy tank.

This was a tactic frequently used by Tang Army reconnaissance units—anyway, fire a shot first to intimidate the enemy. If the enemy retreats, continue advancing; if the enemy retaliates, it's still far enough to quickly reverse and run…

"Damn it, firing so early exposes the target, doesn't it?" The gunner fixedly stared at the gun sight and complained.

"Those guys are used to bullying others! They forgot that the Qin Army is on the offensive!" Liu Guozhu was already dissatisfied with those marauding and cowardly reconnaissance companies.

Too much bullying, treating the Qin Army like a herd of sheep, not even giving their tank units a morsel, capturing prisoners all the way—such allies were better off without them!

While cursing aloud, the speed of the Tang Army tanks didn't slow down. These highly mobile tanks stopped at a relatively suitable position and then began attacking their selected targets.

The tank Liu Guozhu was in also came to a halt, and the gunner aimed at a Qin Type 4 tank that was turning and pulled the trigger.

"Boom!" The 125mm caliber tank gun barrel burst out more spectacular flames, and the roiling white smoke blew away the low, dry shrub branches and decaying leaves ahead in an instant.