Chapter 24

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Holding a bowl of cool mountain spring water in his stomach, Hadim looked at the instructor and said, "Instructor, the Soviets are coming to sweep through our mountain area."

"Not in a hurry, take your time," Muhamed looked at Hadim. The task he had given to Hadim was to meet Dana, and the information Dana obtained was brought back by Hadim.

In this era, there were no mobile phones, and the guerrillas did not have radios. They could only use the primitive method of running to deliver messages.

"From Jalalabad, they have prepared ten tanks, two Soviet battalions, and one government battalion to sweep through our mountain area and completely eliminate us," Hadim said.

"How did you get the information, Hadim?" Khwaja asked from the side.

Hearing Khwaja's question, Hadim did not answer immediately. Instead, he first turned his head to look at Muhamed. Seeing Muhamed nod, Hadim then said, "It's Sahar. Sahar joined the government army. This time, the Soviets are coming to sweep through the mountains, and he is leading the way. He is familiar with the mountain environment here. With him leading, they can avoid the situation where Soviet tanks were ambushed last time."

Sahar! Mentioning Sahar, Hadim's face was full of anger. Sahar entered Jalalabad and, by guiding the Soviets to eliminate a guerrilla unit, actually lied about his achievements. They only managed to make a truck fall into a cliff, and no one died. Relying on this merit, Sahar became a platoon leader. Dana followed Sahar and learned that Sahar was going to enter the mountains. She then notified Hadim, who brought the information back.

Although Sahar was just a platoon leader, he was the main guide for this operation, so he knew how many people were coming.

Dana, following Muhamed's arrangement, began to transmit the first piece of intelligence.

Dana's identity was a secret. If it were revealed, she would face great danger. This is why Muhamed did not tell anyone, including Khwaja. The discipline of this guerrilla group was not strict, and they did not understand the importance of confidentiality. Muhamed needed to gradually change them.

"Instructor, the Soviets are coming. We should have a big fight," Khwaja said. "During this time, our Pashtun boys have been holding back their strength."

They felt their strength had improved. Even with just an AKM rifle, they could accurately hit targets at a distance of one or two hundred meters. When their weapons became more efficient, they all yearned for a real battlefield.

"No," Muhamed said. "There are ten tanks, two Soviet battalions, and one government battalion, over three hundred people. We cannot fight them head-on."

The essence of guerrilla warfare is to retreat when the enemy advances, advance when the enemy retreats, harass when the enemy stays, and attack when the enemy is tired. It is absolutely not about fighting head-on.

"We will retreat," Muhamed said. "We will retreat deeper into the mountains."

To the north of Jalalabad, there are mountains extending for hundreds of kilometers. A guerrilla group of dozens of people could hide in the deep mountains without being discovered.

Retreat? Hearing Muhamed's words, Khwaja was initially stunned, then said, "Yes, Instructor."

He had already unconditionally accepted Muhamed's orders.

Following Muhamed's command, the entire guerrilla group quickly disappeared into the deeper mountains.

"Rumble, rumble." Ten tanks led the way, stirring up dust on the road.

Behind the tanks were several infantry fighting vehicles, with Soviet soldiers constantly observing the outside through the observation ports.

Behind these infantry fighting vehicles were about twenty trucks, carrying the remaining Soviet soldiers and government soldiers.

The 40th Army was a second-line force, severely lacking in infantry fighting vehicles. Most of the soldiers had to ride in trucks. Moreover, their combat skills were not high, and their mindset was still stuck in the Soviet artillery-centric doctrine.

Thoroughly clear out the guerrillas in the mountains! Protect the safety of the Jalalabad region!

Jalalabad was not far from Kabul. The continuous appearance of guerrillas in the northern mountains of Jalalabad made the authorities in Kabul very dissatisfied. The commander of the Jalalabad garrison decided to mobilize this force of several hundred people to thoroughly sweep through the mountains.

Captain Sirovich, commanding this force, sat in the middle of a tank, constantly observing the surroundings through the periscope.

The area was full of mountains, with a high angle of elevation. The main gun of the T-62 tank was not suitable. Although the tank looked sturdy, its top and rear were weak points, vulnerable to attack.

There should be a more efficient weapon to replace the T-62 tank. A sudden thought came to Sirovich's mind: the ZSU-23-4 Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft gun! It had fierce firepower and a high angle of fire. Yes, after this mission, he would report to his superiors!

"Stop, alert." After entering the mountains and traveling for a while, Sirovich gave the order over the radio.

Hearing the order, the entire convoy stopped.

The infantry fighting vehicles behind rumbled to the sides, protecting the tanks. The Soviet soldiers on the trucks got off, holding their guns and vigilantly observing the surroundings.

The government soldiers, the most hardworking, got off the trucks and, under the cover of the tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, began to climb the nearby hills. They moved quickly, urged on by their superiors.

Finally, they reached the top of the hill, but there was nothing there. They made a familiar gesture.

The tank hatches opened, and Sirovich jumped out, his face pale.

The inside of the tank was suffocating. After getting out, he breathed in the air with a earthy smell, picked up a pair of binoculars, and looked around.

The area was full of mountains, barren and lifeless. Apart from his own people, there was no sign of anyone else.

Several fuel trucks came up behind. The tank drivers got out and quickly refueled the tanks.

A tank, a formidable offensive weapon, was also a fuel-guzzling monster. Leaving Jalalabad and entering the mountains, they had consumed most of their fuel. To prevent any unexpected situations, they had to refuel here.

On a distant hilltop, two large rocks.

A bird landed on the top of the rock, tired, resting on it.

Suddenly, the rock below moved slowly. The bird flew up, watching as an arm slowly extended from the rock, holding a binocular-like device in front.

Strange rock! It flapped its wings and flew away.

The rock began to speak.

"Distance 1500 meters, wind speed 3, adjust two mils, target, the Soviet officer with binoculars next to the T-432 tank." A calm and low voice said, "Fire."

"Bang." Following Muhamed's command, Khwaja pulled the trigger, and a 7.62mm sniper bullet, modified by hand, flew out of the barrel.

The SVD sniper rifle, equipped with Soviet infantry platoons, had one sniper per platoon. Its main role was to increase the firing range of the infantry platoon. Although it theoretically had a range of over 1000 meters, its accuracy was poor beyond 600 meters.

For such a large sweep force, approaching within 600 meters was extremely dangerous. The two could only attempt a long-range shot from 1500 meters away.

Long-range sniping required close cooperation between the sniper and the spotter. Muhamed voluntarily served as Khwaja's spotter.

The guerrillas were hidden deep in the mountains, while Muhamed and Khwaja came out to observe the Soviet movements. They originally planned to observe the Soviet route, but when they saw the Soviets stop, they decided to take a shot.

"Enemy stays, we harass. If we hit, we eliminate a Soviet. If we miss, there's no loss."

The bullet, modified by Hadim, was carefully shaped with a file to improve accuracy.

The moment the bullet left the barrel, Muhamed said, "Go."

A sniper is also known as a cannon fodder sniper. Real sniping is not as glamorous as it appears on TV. After the bullet is fired, they would face artillery fire, especially now, with over twenty Soviet tanks and armored vehicles. If those vehicles rolled over, the two of them would not survive.

The two rocks quickly disappeared from the hilltop. Muhamed folded the camouflage net and ran down the hill, quickly disappearing down a narrow path on the other side.

At 1500 meters, the bullet would take two seconds to travel. The initial velocity of the bullet was 800 meters per second, while the speed of sound was 340 meters per second. Thus, the bullet would arrive before the sound.

Sirovich put down his binoculars, picked up his canteen, and took a sip of water.

Suddenly, his ears perked up. A special sound reached his ears, the sound of a bullet slicing through the air, almost inaudible amidst the rumbling of the fuel trucks.

Sniper! He immediately reacted, turning his hand to place the canteen on his shoulder. Just as he was about to move, he felt a sudden jolt on his shoulder.

"Bang." A light sound.

The bullet that flew in pierced his canteen and hit his arm behind it. At 1500 meters, the bullet's lethality was insufficient. After passing through the canteen, the front of the bullet embedded itself in his arm, while the rear remained in the canteen.

"Twelve o'clock direction, front hilltop, sniper!" Sirovich shouted loudly.

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