Chapter 45 Scorched Earth Attack
It has a short fuselage, long wings, and round engine ports on both sides of the fuselage. The cockpit is so small that the pilot seems to be nestled inside.
This was an aircraft that had never appeared on the battlefield in Afghanistan. The guerrillas already had some knowledge of the Hind, but this new aircraft made them feel fearful because the wings were hung full of bombs.
Muhammad stood on a high hill and captured the two planes through a telescope. He was immediately shocked.
"Anti-
It has a short fuselage, long wings, and round engine ports on both sides of the fuselage. The cockpit is so small that the pilot seems to be nestled inside.
This was an aircraft that had never appeared on the battlefield in Afghanistan. The guerrillas already had some knowledge of the Hind, but this new aircraft made them feel fearful because the wings were hung full of bombs.
Muhammad stood on a high hill and captured the two planes through a telescope. He was immediately shocked.
"Anti-aircraft machine guns ready, shoulder-fired missiles ready!" Muhammad shouted, and he quickly jumped onto a machine gun position on the top of the mountain so that if the Soviets flew over, he could open fire in the shortest time.
The aircraft that flew here this time was the Soviet Union's latest T-8 attack aircraft!
This is a special anti-armor ground attack aircraft, which is sturdy and durable. The key parts of the fuselage are all made of titanium alloy armor. It has not been officially finalized at this time and will be called the su-25 attack aircraft later, with the NATO code name frogfoot.
Development began in the 1970s. Until now, two of the eight prototypes have been sent directly to Afghanistan to fight in conjunction with the Mi-24. During the entire battle in Afghanistan, it was badly damaged, and suffered multiple hits from machine guns and Stinger missiles. Sometimes the rear fuselage was even destroyed, but it can still fly back to the base again. It is simply a flying tank!
No matter which direction you attack from, this type of aircraft is very difficult to shoot down because it has armor protection.
And the bomb hanging under the wing, when it falls, will bring a sea of fire here. Although Muhammad thought it was not good in his heart, his face remained calm. He is the core of everyone. If he wavers, the morale of the army will be unstable.
The two attack planes glided across the sky in the distance and did not head towards the guerrilla base.
Muhammad breathed a sigh of relief. There was no leak of information here. The Soviets were supposed to know nothing about this place. Now, they might just be flying routinely to show off their military power.
The attack aircraft flew away. Muhammad stood on the top of the mountain and said, "The crisis is over. Let's continue training."
Just as he was about to come down from the top of the mountain, Muhammad's eyes suddenly widened. The wings of the two planes shook slightly, and bombs fell one by one.
That direction is Gust Village!
"Quick, assemble!" Muhammad shouted, his eyes began to turn red, and his fists clenched tightly. Soviets! They must all die!
The rest of the guerrillas followed Muhammad and ran quickly along the mountain road. At this time, thick smoke was rising from the depths of the mountains in the distance.
The mountain road was rugged. After running for two hours, the guerrillas, out of breath, looked at the village in front of them.
There were fires everywhere. All the houses, even those built of mud, were burning with fire and thick smoke billowing. There was no sound of people screaming in the fire. There was not a single survivor in the entire village.
"Mom!" Aga shouted and wanted to rush into the village. He was a native of this village. His father was gone and only his mother remained here.
"You can't go in." The two guerrillas next to him held him up tightly. If they rushed in like this, they would only be trapped in a sea of fire.
There were some black things on the ground. Muhammad knew that they were special incendiary bombs dropped by the Soviets. As long as one stepped on these black things, they would burn immediately.
Scorched earth policy! The Soviets used this policy to fight the Afghan guerrillas. Although it failed in the end, it also caused more Afghans to leave their homes and flee abroad.
The Soviets were so crazy that they dared to use this method! Muhammad remembered that the last time he came to Gust Village, the people here were very supportive of the guerrillas and helped carry ammunition. The village chief also had a very good chat with Muhammad. But now, with this fire, the people here have disappeared.
This was a very cruel and inhumane method. When the Japanese invaded China, they implemented the Three Alls Policy in North China. Anyone who supported the Eighth Route Army would be massacred. As a result, people in many villages no longer accepted the Eighth Route Army. Without the support of the people, it was like a fish without water. That period was the most difficult time for the soldiers.
Now, the Soviets also adopted this method, bombing any village that dared to support the guerrillas! They tried to force the Afghan people to surrender in this way.
Muhammad bit his lips with his teeth and blood flowed from the corners of his mouth.
"The Soviets are bastards. They can do such a beastly thing!" James, who ran over, was also shocked when he saw what was happening in front of him: "Sir Muhammad, when we return to Peshawar, I will report to the higher-ups that we in the United States fully support the Afghan guerrillas' cause of liberation!"
"Sir James, please use your camera to record everything here." Muhammad said, "This is a blatant crime committed by the Soviets. The whole world should know about it."
Although the Soviets were not afraid of world public opinion and had already lost face when they sent troops to Afghanistan, this was still an effective way to make the Western world more supportive of the Afghan guerrillas' fighting.
"Instructor, are we just going to watch our loved ones suffer brutal attacks by the Soviets? They don't even spare civilians!" said Khwaja.
This time the Soviets have completely touched the bottom line. War has nothing to do with civilians. It is okay if a few people are accidentally injured occasionally, but now, such a blatant bombing of civilian villages is unacceptable.
The guerrillas all came from the surrounding villages. The Soviets' actions were unforgivable!
"Of course not." Muhammad said, "Blood debts must be repaid with blood! Those two Soviet attack planes are the culprits of the attack on our villagers. We must kill the pilots and avenge the villagers!"
Muhammad could not deal with the planes in the sky. Even if he deployed anti-aircraft guns, he did not know the flight route of the Soviets. Even if he had Stinger missiles, he could only watch helplessly if they exceeded the range.
However, the plane will eventually return to the base, and the pilots will have to get off the plane to live a normal life, eat, and sleep. Although the ultimate enemies are the leaders in Moscow, the direct executioners now are these two pilots.
Muhammad's goal is clear. Anyone who dares to reach out to the villagers will be killed, no matter who they are, no matter how much it costs! Blood for blood, tooth for tooth!
"Lieutenant Muhammad, the mountainous area is the guerrillas' paradise. It would be very dangerous if you rashly enter a big city. Jalalabad is heavily guarded, and the air force base is the focus of their defense. A few heavy machine guns can kill all of you. How can you find the two pilots and kill them?" James asked.
"I need help from my American friends," Muhammad said. "I know your intelligence system is very complete. I need to know the exact information about these two pilots."
Although Muhammad had placed spies in Jalalabad, Dana still carried out her mission loyally. However, Dana's status was not high enough to spy on the situation inside the air force base. Only Americans could do this.
"James, I need your help. You have seen the tragedy here. If the Soviets are not effectively deterred, they will continue to resort to extreme means of harming civilians in an attempt to force the Afghan guerrillas to compromise." Muhammad said, "Please."
Muhammad's request was excessive, asking the Americans to provide them with intelligence. However, Muhammad was the most sincere, and James knew that he could not refuse.
"This is the Muslim world." James said, "I don't know to what extent our intelligence has penetrated, Lieutenant Muhammad, I can try, but don't have too high expectations."
"Sir James, you must be very interested in these two pilots. They are not ordinary pilots, they are test pilots. The value of a test pilot is more than the weight of his body in gold. If these two test pilots are lost, it will be a huge loss for the Soviet aviation industry." Muhammad said.
Now, the Su-25 has not been officially finalized yet, but the prototype T-8 has been sent to the battlefield in Afghanistan. The purpose is to test the combat effectiveness of this aircraft through the most realistic battlefield. At the same time, this attack aircraft, which has not yet been finalized and has no flight manual, cannot be flown by ordinary pilots. It must be a test pilot!
Test pilots are pilots in past careers and are more senior than pilots. They have to fly in many extreme conditions to test the performance of the aircraft and their lives are in danger at any time. For example, for ordinary pilots, a stall spin will almost certainly result in the destruction of the aircraft and the death of both pilots. However, they have to deliberately enter a stall spin and then correct it to provide a basis for the compilation of the flight manual.
The Americans may not care about the deaths of these villagers, as it is all a political show, but they will be very interested in killing two Soviet test pilots.
Sure enough, when Muhammad mentioned the test pilot, James' eyes lit up immediately: "Okay, I'll contact Peshawar right away."
Air force base outside Jalalabad.
Originally, this was just a base for Mi-24 helicopters. The dirt runway was overgrown with weeds. The Mi-24 helicopter did not need a runway to take off, only a helipad was needed.
At this time, the weeds on the runway had not been cleared yet. The Soviet soldiers lined up in a row and only had time to clean up the used cans, leftover shrapnel and other things on the runway. Then, the roar of airplanes could be heard overhead.
Two peculiarly shaped planes appeared above the airport. They flew low over the runway with a deafening roar. Then, they made three turns, flew around again, aimed at the runway, and landed.
When the wheels touched the runway, it even shook a bit, but the sturdy plane still landed successfully.