Chapter 81

Military vehicles, one after another, started to move in. Both the 177th and 682nd regiments were motorized infantry regiments. Although the Soviet term for motorized infantry regiments essentially meant mechanized infantry regiments, much of the equipment still had to be transported by trucks.

Especially when entering the valley, the infantry often could not stay in the infantry fighting vehicles and had to climb the steep slopes on foot. The preparation of supplies had to be even more thorough.

Moreover, as night fell, the real attack was just a few hours away. These were the leading vehicles, and behind them, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles rumbled into the valley, quickly sealing off all the entrances.

Watching the trucks drive in, Major Mastorov of the Gurbahar garrison frowned. The town was too small, and the supplies could no longer be stored. The only option was to park the trucks on both sides of the road to avoid blocking it.

The little soldiers with red flags kept directing traffic, but there were too many vehicles. Outside the small town, as the vehicles piled up, the passage gradually became blocked.

"Damn it, clear the way!" Mastorov shouted, but his voice was almost drowned out by the rumbling of the engines.

In the past, attacks always began during the day. This time, who came up with the idea to attack in the middle of the night? The Afghans were as cunning as foxes and might have already noticed the movement.

Mastorov glanced at the sky, which was still pitch black. In the distance, there was a rumbling sound. Could it be that the helicopter units were already in action?

At that moment, a cluster of bright flames appeared on the distant hillside, followed by more and more, like fireworks during a festival.

"Enemy attack, alarm!" Mastorov shouted. He immediately recognized that those flames were definitely from rocket attacks!

Damn it, when did the guerrillas get rockets? And how did they transport the rocket launchers in this mountainous terrain?

None of that mattered now. The important thing was how to deal with the incoming rockets. They had only one choice: to take cover!

Dozens of rockets, trailing flames, drew beautiful arcs in the air, flying from the hillside and approaching rapidly.

With vehicles everywhere, where could they hide? The combat units were still behind, and they were just transport units. In an instant, they were in a panic.

"Boom!" The first rocket landed among them. When the rocket hit the ground, it produced a brighter flame, and the flying shrapnel hit the surrounding parked vehicles.

"Boom!" With the explosion, several nearby military vehicles burst into flames.

The Soviet soldiers closest to the explosion tried to put out the fire, but before they could act, a series of explosions echoed, and they found themselves surrounded by raging flames.

"Boom, boom!" The explosions startled the residents of the small town. Another battle was happening outside! They tightly shut their doors, not daring to come out.

Fahim rubbed his eyes. These rockets had a sufficient range to allow them to attack the Soviets from such a distance. They were truly invaluable! More useful than sniper rifles or RPGs! And without a launcher, they could carry the rockets and fire them, making them perfect for the guerrillas!

Fahim put aside his contempt for Muhammad's unit, and his eyes grew hot.

"Move quickly!" Muhammad shouted.

The Soviet reaction was very swift. They had to retreat immediately after the attack.

Hearing Muhammad's order, the guerrillas quickly ran back along the planned route.

"Boom!" At that moment, a series of intense artillery fire came from a distance, and shells flew from the road, accurately hitting the place where the rockets were launched.

Soviet heavy units! Muhammad took one last look at the distance, where he could see what appeared to be Soviet tank units. These were the Soviet forces that had entered the Panjshir Valley first!

Behind the supply vehicles, the 682nd motorized infantry regiment's tank battalion followed closely. When they discovered the attack, they began firing on the road.

105mm shells shattered the hillside in front of them.

Seeing that the road ahead was completely blocked, the tank battalion commander, Fonkovsky, ordered over the radio: "Turn right, drive down the road, and enter the valley!"

It was still an hour before dawn, and they had already been ambushed by the guerrillas before they even began their operation. This made Fonkovsky very frustrated. How was the rear command set up? If his tank battalion had been at the front, they would have already charged ahead!

The tank tracks crushed the fields beside the road, the only flat land outside the mountains. The Afghan residents of Gurbahar mostly relied on farming.

Now, the crops in these fields had just begun to sprout, and the tank tracks crushed them. After one tank after another passed, the area had turned into a wasteland.

Moving between the high mountains on both sides, the T-62 had significant limitations. The elevation was too high, and the tank guns couldn't reach.

However, Fonkovsky had no other choice. The guerrillas had attacked their supplies, and he had to pursue them. The road was already blocked, and only by pursuing them could he clear the way for the units behind.

He was not afraid of the guerrillas' ambush. Behind his tank battalion was a special unit equipped to deal with Afghan guerrillas.

Entering the Gurbahar mountain pass, the mountains inside were quiet. It was the middle of the night, and the moon cast a pale light, with stars twinkling in the sky.

The infrared lights on the T-62 turret continuously scanned the surroundings. Even if the guerrillas were hiding on the hilltops, they would be exposed under the infrared lights.

The ambush just now was an accident. Fonkovsky believed that once the Soviet forces moved out, the guerrillas would definitely hide and would not dare to ambush again.

Traversing 50 kilometers through the valley to reach another entrance, the tanks would serve as a fixed position to block the exit. This was Fonkovsky's mission, which he needed to complete before dawn.

It was a simple task.

There was not a single sign of Afghan guerrillas anywhere! After another full scan with the commander's periscope, Fonkovsky relaxed. The guerrillas had either been blown away by the rapid fire he ordered or had fled.

"Boom!" At that moment, an explosion sounded ahead, followed by the shouts of the lead driver in his ear.

"Report, vehicle 312 hit an anti-tank mine, and the tracks were blown off!"

Anti-tank mines! Did the Afghan guerrillas already know they were coming?

These mines were triggered by pressure and would only explode when a weight of over 180 kilograms was applied, so they only damaged vehicles, not people. Although they had low power, they could destroy a tank's tracks, rendering it immobile.

"Engineers, immediately clear the mines." Fonkovsky ordered over the radio.

Continuing forward with the threat of mines was not a good idea, even for the most reckless commander. They could only wait.

The two motorized infantry regiments and a government regiment had a large force. The vanguard had already entered the Panjshir Valley, while the government forces were still waiting on their trucks, not advancing.

In the middle of the road between Bagram and Gurbahar, General Kurikov sat in a command vehicle. For this operation, he did not stay in Bagram but came to the front lines himself.

Kurikov's blood ran hot, just like that of a warrior. He thought of his son's tragic death and his hatred for the Afghan guerrillas reached an extreme. He even wanted to personally take up an AK-74 and charge at the front.

The command vehicle suddenly stopped, and Kurikov heard the report from the 682nd motorized infantry regiment's tank battalion. They had just entered the valley and hit an Afghan guerrilla mine!

He must have been outdone by Diakov! Thinking of the five mountain passes he needed to secure, two were already in his hands, and he only needed to send troops to the other three. Who would have thought that before they could deploy, they would encounter a counterattack from the Afghan guerrillas!

"Order Bagram to send out six Mi-24s to escort six infantry platoons to secure the 4th, 6th, and 7th valley entrances." Kurikov issued the order.

The Bagram base was already lit up, and the Mi-24 helicopters quickly started and flew into the night sky.

Each valley entrance would have only two infantry platoons, a small number, but this was temporary. Once the mines were cleared by the engineers, more soldiers could be sent over at any time.

Although they had infrared night vision, flying helicopters at night in the mountains was still very dangerous, and Kurikov would not risk more soldiers' lives.

At the valley entrance, under the pale moonlight, the engineers carefully checked the safety of the area ahead.

Anti-tank mines did not harm people, but no one believed that the Afghan guerrillas would only bury one. If there were anti-personnel mines, a careless engineer could lose his life.

Equipped with full mine-clearing gear, the engineers cautiously searched the road ahead.

The eastern sky gradually turned light, and the night had passed.

The area 100 meters ahead had been thoroughly searched, and no second mine was found except for the one that had been detonated!

They had been tricked! Blocked by one mine, they had spent the whole night, only to find out that there was only one mine!

The long-waiting tank units could no longer suppress their anger. The lead driver slammed on the gas, and a cloud of black smoke billowed from the rear as the tank quickly moved forward.

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