Chapter 25

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"Boom, boom!" Several shells, with arcs, came out of the infantry fighting vehicle's gun barrels and accurately hit the mountain top in front.

The elevation angle of the T-62 tank was not enough; it could only watch but not hit. Only the 73mm low-pressure smoothbore gun of the infantry fighting vehicle could fire.

The mountain top was shrouded in smoke, with debris flying everywhere from the shell explosions. It was clear that not even a bird could survive in this bombardment.

To protect this area, Sirovic positioned the armored vehicles around, with Soviet soldiers guarding on both sides, and government soldiers climbing the adjacent mountain tops. However, the mountain directly in front was overlooked. It was very far, so it should have been fine.

As it turned out, there were some despicable guerrillas hiding there, at a distance of 1,500 meters. How did they manage to do it? Sirovic, looking at his bleeding arm, which was being quickly bandaged by a medic, felt a surge of anger.

If there were guerrilla snipers, there must be more guerrillas hiding nearby!

"Search the surrounding mountains!" Sirovic shouted. "Stop refueling, move up to the high ground ahead!"

The tanks roared to life. Due to the sniper attack, the entire army was filled with a sense of depression. They wanted to fight, to eliminate the guerrillas!

"Sakha, you know this terrain best," Sirovic called over a government army platoon leader and said, "Do you know where the guerrilla base is?"

Hearing Sirovic's words, Sakha nodded quickly. "I know. In the past few days, I've thought about the surrounding terrain. If we move forward fifty miles, there's a place that is easy to defend but hard to attack, perfect for the guerrillas to use as a base."

"Lead the way with your platoon at the front," Sirovic said.

Lead the way at the front? Sakha's heart trembled. This was using him as cannon fodder. The sniper was terrifying, and if he charged at the front, the likelihood of becoming a martyr was high.

However, he had no choice. If he didn't follow the Soviet's orders, the other side would not hesitate to shoot him.

"Yes," Sakha said. "Third Platoon, follow me."

A Kamaz truck drove to the front. Sakha got in, and the third platoon was in the truck bed. He sat in the cab, and the truck moved forward along the mountain road.

It took over two hours to travel fifty miles on the bumpy mountain road. Along the way, Sakha, who was on edge, did not hear a single gunshot or encounter any ambush.

Perhaps the guerrillas had left. With so many Soviets this time, they must have been scared.

At a narrow path, the truck stopped. Sakha jumped out and reported to Sirovic in the tank behind, "Report to the battalion commander, we can't drive any further. We need to go in on foot, about five miles left."

Impatient, Sirovic sent two platoons of Soviet soldiers to follow Sakha, and they walked into the mountain path.

The rugged mountain road made the soldiers an easy target for ambush. On such a road, the advantage of numbers was greatly reduced.

Sakha was uneasy. Although he was in the middle of the formation, if they encountered the guerrillas, Sakha, as a traitor, would be the primary target. After he exposed himself in the village, he didn't dare return.

It took half an hour to cover the five miles. When they reached the natural cave, the Soviet soldiers quietly passed them by.

The combat effectiveness of these government soldiers was too poor. The Soviet soldiers preferred to do it themselves rather than risk these government soldiers messing up.

Two fragmentation grenades were thrown into the cave.

"Boom, boom!" Two loud explosions, and a shockwave surged out of the cave entrance.

After the shockwave dissipated, the Soviet soldiers on both sides rushed into the cave, firing bursts from their automatic rifles.

"Rat-tat-tat, rat-tat-tat."

"Cease fire, cease fire!" a platoon leader shouted. He shone a tactical flashlight around, but there was nothing. It was just an ordinary cave.

He glared at Sakha, put away his gun, and walked out.

After hours of searching, they found nothing in the cave. His gaze seemed to want to kill Sakha.

Sakha couldn't help but shiver, his eyelids twitching.

He had indeed heard that there were guerrillas in this cave before. They must have all fled. Yes, they must have all fled!

The sky gradually darkened, and the sweep team had entered deep into the mountains. They wouldn't be able to return tonight.

They occupied a high ground, with armored vehicles and tanks arranged in a ring, and sufficient sentries posted. Sirovic finally felt at ease and fell asleep in the tank.

They had come to sweep the guerrillas, and after discovering them, the guerrillas had fled. The guerrillas would never engage in a direct fight. This mission would likely end in failure.

No, since they had come out, they had to return with some achievements. If not... they would sweep a few villages! Capture some Afghan locals, pass them off as guerrillas, and report it. This battalion commander would definitely get a promotion! They couldn't come out and not achieve anything!

The night grew darker.

The sentries on duty slowly yawned. They had been busy all day and were tired.

They didn't see the figures appearing on one side of the mountain foot.

In the 1980s, night vision devices were not yet widespread, especially in the Soviet army, giving Muhammad more room to operate.

Herman and two or three guerrillas followed Muhammad and quietly arrived.

Muhammad skillfully made a gesture, and the guerrillas placed the items they were carrying on the ground and quickly assembled them.

The base, the gun mount, the barrel—within seconds, the 82mm mortar was fully set up on the ground.

Herman quickly adjusted the gun mount. They were firing at the maximum range, requiring the barrel to be set at a 45-degree angle.

Mortar shells were precious, and Herman had been practicing. But this was his first time firing a live shell.

In the distance, the Soviets were huddled together, sleeping soundly.

Herman confirmed again and made a gesture to Muhammad.

Then, Herman picked up a shell and listened to Muhammad say, "Fire!"

The 82mm shell slid into the barrel by gravity. The group immediately turned and covered their ears.

"Bang." The shell hit the bottom and was fired, and a loud noise followed as the air rushed out of the barrel.

Herman quickly picked up the second shell and, at Muhammad's command, loaded it into the barrel.

The first shell had not yet reached its highest point when the second shell was fired. After firing these two shells, Muhammad waved his hand, "Withdraw!"

The mortar was quickly disassembled, and they carried it away, disappearing into the darkness just as the two shells landed in the Soviet camp.

"Boom!" A shell fell from the sky, landing on a truck.

With a loud explosion, the ground shook. The drowsy soldiers lying on the ground felt a massive force hit their abdomens, almost causing them to bleed.

A large fireball formed, and the truck was immediately engulfed in flames.

"Enemy attack! Alarm!" Everyone reacted, picking up their weapons, but before they could locate the enemy, the second shell landed among them.

This one landed right in the middle of a group of Afghan government soldiers who had just opened their eyes. The shell exploded, sending shrapnel flying in all directions. The soldiers closest to the explosion were torn apart, with limbs and body parts flying into the air and falling back down.

Sakha was under a truck, hugging his head. When the first shell landed, he had rolled under the truck. The shrapnel hit the truck's body, making a loud noise, but he was surprised to find that he hadn't been hit.

The Afghan soldiers who had just been blown up were from his platoon. Already understaffed, they had now lost over a dozen men. He would have to be demoted from platoon leader to squad leader.

"What's happening?" Sirovic shouted over the radio. The situation outside was unclear, and he didn't dare leave the tank.

"We were hit by two mortar shells. We lost over a dozen men and a truck," came the reply over the radio.

Two mortar shells? When did the Afghan guerrillas get so rich? They even had mortars?

"Mechanized infantry company, send a platoon to pursue immediately!" Sirovic shouted. "Don't let the guerrillas escape!"

Three infantry fighting vehicles roared to life, crossing the truck formation and the panicked Afghan soldiers, chasing forward into the dark night.

When the shells flew in, the company commander of the mechanized infantry company determined the firing position from the trajectory and immediately moved out upon receiving the order.

Those were all narrow paths, unsuitable for armored vehicles! Sakha thought, but after failing to guide the guerrilla base earlier, he had no say. He could only watch as the armored vehicles disappeared into the darkness.

In battle, turning on the headlights of an armored vehicle was a death sentence, so these vehicles moved in the dark. Despite the rugged terrain, they could still drive accurately, thanks to their rudimentary night vision systems.

There was an infrared searchlight on the right side of the turret. This light was invisible to the naked eye. When it illuminated objects ahead, the reflection was detected by the observer's scope, a standard Soviet army equipment of the time.

Platoon leader Kozhakov stared intently through the scope, determined to eliminate those despicable guerrillas! How dare they use mortars to ambush us!