Chapter 336: Company Inspection

"Boom!" With a loud bang, Liu Zhiye stood in the roaring Type 63 armored command vehicle, his heartbeat accelerating in sync with the vibration of the machine.

Through the telescope, he clearly saw that target No. 59 was accurately hit by a Type tank.

Liu Zhiye then grinned, a gleam of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

"Good! One shot hit!"

"As expected, an elite division."

The armored regiment commander Meng Luyu put down his binoculars and raised his lips. Liu Zhiye said, "Chief of Staff! You are too kind. Our regiment has been training for so long. If we miss the target when shooting at a fixed target, it would be really laughable."

Liu Zhiye laughed and punched Meng Luyu, "You are so good, old Meng. You are still being modest to me after not seeing me for a few years. Where is the bold Meng who didn't even take the M Cavalry 1st Division seriously?"

Meng Luyu pretended to be sour and said, "Oh, isn't it Shangguan who is here? I am so terrified!"

After hearing this, Liu Zhiye gently tapped Meng Luyu with his finger. Meng Luyu knew what was going on, and before Liu Zhiye could start to make fun of him, he just laughed to himself, his hearty laughter echoing in the air: "Hahaha... When I first heard that my unit was going to be reorganized into a garrison unit, I was indeed a little reluctant. But when I learned that I could fight alongside you, my inner joy was beyond words."

"Old Liu, after all these years, I've missed you so much..."

When Liu Zhiye heard this, his eyes turned red. When he saw his comrade Meng Luyu, his mind came back to those comrades who were alive and those who had sacrificed.

Meng Luyu, formerly known as Meng Xuecai, is 34 years old. He once served as a captain and company commander of the armored troop in the 74th Division of the Kuomintang's ace army. He went to the United States when he was a student and studied armored troop majors at the US military academy.

However, just after returning to China, he happened to catch up with the Battle of Menglianggu. From then on, his fate experienced a turning point. After being captured, he chose to join our army and actively applied to join the party.

In order to commemorate his new life and beliefs, Meng Xuecai changed his name to Meng Luyu and embarked on a new journey in life.

This man was a genius in armored forces. On March 1951, 3, he first went to North Korea with the 31st Tank Division of the Volunteer Army Armored Forces.

He was just a platoon leader at the time, commanding three T-3/34 medium tanks. In one battle, he destroyed eight Sherman tanks while losing only one tank himself.

At that time, before the Volunteer Army tank soldiers arrived at the front line, the old M tank troops took advantage of the Volunteer Army's lack of anti-tank weapons and often boldly sneaked into the defense line during battles, sometimes penetrating into the Volunteer Army's positions to a depth of more than 10 kilometers, attacking the Volunteer Army's front-line troops from the flank and rear, posing a great threat to the front-line positions.

In response to the arrogance of the M Army's tanks, the Volunteer Army decided to use tank troops to ambush the M Army when it penetrated deep into its positions.

10月12日，志愿军坦克第1师第2团按照上级命令，派1個排协同第139师第317团第2营，埋伏在沐浴洞江北的阵地上，待机消灭迂回志愿军阵地翼侧的M军坦克。

Late at night on October 10, three tanks from the 14rd Platoon of the 2st Company of the 1nd Battalion, led by Platoon Leader Meng Luyu and under the cover of the sound of artillery shells, drove to the ambush position, camouflaged the tank bunkers with grass and branches, and built a solid bunker made of logs and stones.

At that time, no one knew that this ambush would become the longest ambush record in the history of our army.

"We continue to hold our positions!" Under the leadership of Platoon Leader Meng Luyu, they were only 500 meters away from the enemy's front line, and every move of the enemy was under their eyes.

The enemy could be clearly seen from the firing hole, and the entire platoon patiently lurked for 17 days, setting a record for the longest lurking time in the history of our army.

In the early morning of October 10, more than a dozen Sherman tanks of the M Army moved toward the ambush position, and the 31rd Platoon, which received the order, quickly entered combat status.

When the M Army tanks climbed to the top of the winding mountain road, the 8 tanks behind them stopped secretly, and only the 4 tanks in the front continued to climb.

Moreover, after crossing the mountain pass, the M Army tanks extended the distance, advancing slower and slower, and blindly fired machine guns at the Volunteer Army positions to conduct fire reconnaissance.

The three tanks of the Volunteer Army were loaded with armor-piercing shells and waited patiently for the enemy to enter the ambush circle. Unfortunately, the enemy tanks did not cooperate. The tanks at the back did not move, while the four tanks in front had already entered the ambush circle, only 3 meters away from the Volunteer Army's ambush position.

If these two tanks were allowed to continue advancing, the Volunteer Army's tank positions might be exposed.

Meng Luyu judged that the enemy wanted to conduct fire reconnaissance and must be killed. At this time, the US tanks conducting fire reconnaissance seemed to have discovered the ambush of the Volunteer Army tanks and turned around to escape.

Meng Luyu decisively gave the order to fire. Vehicles 7 and 9 opened fire at the same time, and two armor-piercing shells penetrated two enemy tanks respectively...

After the ambush at Yumudong, the 3rd platoon was awarded the second-class collective merit, Meng Luyu was awarded the first-class individual merit, and was awarded the "Second-Class Warrior Medal of Honor" by the Northern Dynasty People's Government.

After that, the M Army tanks never dared to break into or approach the Volunteer Army's front-line positions without infantry accompaniment.

In the report summarizing the battle, the leaders of the Volunteer Army highly praised the achievements of the Volunteer Army's armored forces: "In areas where our tanks are active, enemy tanks dare not arbitrarily bypass us."

It was because of this battle that Meng Luyu became famous.

In fact, Liu Zhiye and Meng Luyu have been old friends for a long time.

The two met at a commendation ceremony where they were both awarded first-class merit by the Volunteer Army Command. Because they were of similar age and both were students joining the army, they felt a sense of mutual appreciation.

During the Volunteer Army period, the reconnaissance unit led by Liu Zhiye often intersected with various troops for special reasons. Therefore, although Liu Zhiye and Meng Luyu belonged to different units, they often met.

Although Meng Luyu was a few years older than Liu Zhiye, their status was similar at the time. However, Meng Luyu had a deep respect for Liu Zhiye.

Because it was the light infantry that Liu Zhiye was in that defeated the then M Ace Cavalry First Division with a smaller force.

Others don't know the combat effectiveness of the M Ace Cavalry 1st Division, but Meng Luyu is an exception. He once studied in a military academy in M ​​country, had in-depth contact with this elite force, and had a deep understanding of its combat effectiveness.

The 1st M Cavalry Division is one of the few veteran units of the M Army. The division was originally a solid cavalry unit, but was later reorganized into an infantry combat unit. According to the terms at the time, it was also considered a mechanized unit.

北朝战场上的骑兵第1师，下辖有骑兵5团、骑兵7团和骑兵8团三个团，同时配属有第70中型坦克营、第71重型坦克营、第8工兵营、第61、77、82、99炮兵营和第29防空炮兵营等单位，满编骑兵第1师有1.8万人左右。

As the trump card unit of the M Army, the 1st Cavalry Division's weapons and equipment are naturally solid American weapons. In the previous Liberation War, the so-called "five major forces" of the National Army were also equipped with American weapons, but their combined firepower was not as strong as this division.

Even this combat division, which is called cavalry but is actually infantry, is equipped with hundreds of main battle tanks. An armored division can be formed based on these tanks alone.

So, the American weapons of the M Army are really American weapons. It is known as "undefeated for 160 years". The 1st Cavalry Division of the M Army was established during the American War of Independence. It participated in two world wars and always served as a pioneer in combat. It has never suffered a defeat and is known as the "founding hero division."

Although it has long been equipped with mechanized equipment, the division still retains the designation of "Cavalry Division", and the armband still has a horse head pattern, which is full of pride.

Such a powerful ace force, under the cover of crazy aerial bombing, was blocked for three whole days in the Yunshan Battle by the blocking force where Liu Zhiye was at the time, using weapons "made in various countries", and finally ended in a miserable defeat.

From then on, Meng Luyu admired Liu Zhiye who participated in the bloody battle and survived.

…………

Today is the third day of Liu Zhiye's company inspection. He came to the armored regiment training ground in the northeast of the MTG area. Here, the steel behemoth stood quietly, waiting for his inspection.

After witnessing the new equipment, Liu Zhiye couldn't wait to order the 1st Armored Regiment to conduct a live-fire exercise.

He was eager to witness the power of these advanced equipment in actual combat, and also wanted to test the soldiers' operating skills and fighting will.

The Second Guard Division Armored Regiment, a unit reorganized from an elite mechanized army division, lived up to its reputation. Their soldiers were all elite, brave, fearless, and well-trained. The Second Guard Division Armored Regiment was composed of three main battalions, the core of which was the First Main Battle Tank Battalion.

The battalion is equipped with the latest domestically produced Type 59 tanks, totaling 35 vehicles, and the total number of officers and soldiers in the battalion reaches 550.

They are the indestructible armored torrent on the battlefield and the strong backing for safeguarding the peace of the country.

The 63nd Armored Infantry Battalion is well-equipped and has domestically-produced Type armored vehicles. The total strength of the battalion is people, and it has strong mobile combat capabilities.

The Third Battalion is an armored automatic artillery battalion, which is well-equipped with armored self-propelled artillery, 120 mortars and rocket launchers. The battalion has a total of 530 brave soldiers and is the firepower strike force of the entire regiment.

In addition, the regiment also has a communications company, an air defense company, a guard company, a logistics company and a medical company, with a total of 2325 brave officers and soldiers.

The Type 63 armored vehicle series and Type 59 main battle tanks they are equipped with are new weapons and equipment that were only put into service last year. Their sophisticated equipment is eye-catching.

The Type 63 armored vehicle is the first armored vehicle independently developed by the New Xia Kingdom. This steel behemoth, known as the "Type 63 tracked armored transport vehicle", embarked on its development journey in July 1958.

Its original design mission was very clear: it had to be a fully enclosed armored vehicle, capable of floating on water, with power and transmission devices placed in the front to cope with complex battlefield environments.

In order to meet these stringent requirements, engineers carefully selected the 260-horsepower 6150L liquid-cooled 6-cylinder diesel engine imported from the "Russians" as its heart.

This powerful engine not only provides the Type 63 armored vehicle with a steady supply of power, but also allows it to thrive and be invincible on the battlefield.

The first prototype was assembled in March 1959. However, in May of the same year, engineers discovered some problems and quickly redesigned the engine, gearbox, travel system and control system.

It is particularly worth mentioning that they have made improvements to the problem of the vehicle's center of gravity being biased forward.

The vehicle's factory code was 531, which, according to documents from the First Ministry of Machine Building, meant it was a transport vehicle (5), amphibious (3), and the first design (1).

It was not until two years later in 1961 that the factory code-named 531A began rectification work on past problems, mainly targeting the deficiencies exposed in the 531 plan.

On March 3 last year, the vehicle was finally finalized and named "Type 18 Tracked Armored Transport Vehicle."

The Type 63 tracked armored personnel carrier is 5.476 meters long, 2.978 meters wide, 2.58 meters high, weighs 12.6 tons, has an armor thickness of 14 mm, and is a welded steel plate type that can block attacks from 7.62 mm caliber weapons, but has no protection against attacks from 12.7 mm caliber weapons.

The vehicle has a crew of three people, with the driver on the left front of the vehicle and the mechanic and machine gunner on the right. The commander is behind the driver, and the vehicle is usually operated by both the commander and the driver.

The armored vehicle adopts a design with the power compartment at the front and the crew compartment door at the rear, and has the ability to float and overcome river obstacles.

It adopts a synchronized mechanical gearbox with 5 forward gears and 1 reverse gear, and the steering gear is a multi-plate steering clutch. The brake is a belt type, and the side reducer is a single-stage cylindrical gear type.

The power system is an inline 6-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine, which can provide the armored vehicle with a maximum range of 500 kilometers, a maximum road speed of 65 kilometers per hour and an off-road speed of 46 kilometers per hour.

The traveling part has four pairs of single rubber-wheeled large-diameter road wheels, with the driving wheels in the front and a torsion bar suspension device.

In terms of weapons and equipment, it is equipped with a Type 59 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun.

Later, many improved models were derived from the Type 63 according to needs. A variety of models such as self-propelled mortars, command vehicles, ambulances, and rescue vehicles were also developed.

The Type 59 medium tanks equipped by the First Battalion were a type of medium tank that was copied and equipped in large quantities by the Xia Kingdom in the 50s based on the "old Russian" T-54A medium tanks.

The Type 59 medium tank is the first generation of main battle tanks equipped by the Xia Kingdom. The tank was put into service in the Xia Kingdom army in 1959.

"As the core concept and basic symbol of our armored forces, the Type 59 tank once became the symbol of our armored forces and even the Xiaguo Army."

The tank has a combat weight of 36 tons, a crew of 4, a maximum speed of 50 kilometers per hour, and a maximum range of 560 kilometers.

主要武器有1门100毫米线膛炮，战斗射速7发/分，1挺12.7毫米高射机枪和2挺7.62毫米机枪，配有红外夜视仪可夜间驾驶。

The front and side armor of the vehicle body are thicker, and the turret is streamlined, with good anti-ballistic capabilities. The tank has strong firepower, good armor protection and mobility, light weight, simple structure, reliable operation, and easy use and maintenance.

The tanks and armored vehicles in front of him were moving around like wild beasts, raising clouds of dust and looking very powerful. Liu Zhiye couldn't calm down.

He recalled those difficult days, and mixed emotions welled up in his heart. He whispered to himself: "Alas, if we had these advanced equipment, perhaps we could have avoided the sacrifice of so many comrades."

Meng Luyu, though gentle in appearance, revealed a kind of boldness in his words. He said bluntly: "If those foreign invaders dare to invade our territory again, we will give them a heavy blow..."

Liu Zhiye nodded slightly, walked out of the armored vehicle, and walked towards a high ground with firm steps.

There, he could overlook the entire training ground. The sound of artillery fire was deafening and the machinery was roaring, as if a passionate symphony was being performed.

Liu Zhiye took the cigarette handed to him by Meng Luyu, took a deep breath, and said solemnly: "The life we ​​have today is not easy to come by. As soldiers, we must always remain vigilant and not let down our guard, so as not to repeat the same mistakes."

"At Songgufeng, in order to destroy a Sherman tank, we needed to sacrifice the lives of four or five soldiers..."

"I have a little soldier under my command. He is from Jiangnan. Because he is an orphan and has no name or surname, we all call him "Little Jiangnan".

His greatest wish in life was to work in a factory when peace came. He said he wanted to build lots of machines and produce more airplanes and cannons, so that he would no longer be afraid of being bullied by foreigners..."

"But...but...Alas!"

"In fact, he was not very courageous, but at the last moment, he still chose to rush towards the enemy tank with the explosive pack... He was shot in the stomach by a machine gun, and he crawled towards the enemy tank step by step, dragging his intestines and blood..."

"Now we have a strong national defense industry, but what about our troops? Are they still..."

Meng Luyu raised his right hand solemnly and saluted in a standard military salute. His voice was firm and powerful: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please rest assured! The Armored Regiment will live up to the trust and remain highly vigilant at all times, ready to meet challenges at any time!"

His words were full of confidence and determination, as if an invisible force was spreading in the air, making people feel the indomitable and courageous spirit of the armored regiment.

Liu Zhiye saluted in return, then waved his hand and said bluntly: "Old Meng, I understand that you are somewhat dissatisfied with being transferred from the main field force to our garrison force."

Then, he stopped Meng Luyu from speaking and said, "Listen to me first. In fact, the importance of our garrison guard division is no less than that of the main force. In fact, it is much more important. We are the last line of defense to protect the Party Central Committee and the leaders..."

Meng Luyu lowered his head slightly, gently touched the back of his head with his hand, and showed an awkward smile on his face. He admitted: "I understand, but for a while, my thoughts have not changed."

Liu Zhiye's eyes were like knives, shooting straight at him, and his voice was as cold as iron: "As the military leader of the armored regiment, if your thoughts waver in the slightest, the thoughts of the entire regiment's officers and soldiers will be confused. This kind of ideological confusion must not be allowed to exist, it will seriously weaken the combat effectiveness of our troops."

Meng Luyu was shocked when he heard this, and immediately said, "Yes! I have figured it out now. I will do a self-examination at the regiment party committee meeting. Please supervise me, Chief of Staff!"

Liu Zhiye glared at Meng Luyu and said, "Why should I supervise you? This requires your self-awareness..." This was one of the main purposes of his visit today.

(End of this chapter)