21st Century Goguryeo

"Ignore the enemy tanks and move forward!"

As reports of damage from various tank commanders continued, the company commander's shouts rang out through the communication network.

It was unlikely for the 7th company's Black Tiger tanks to be hit with shots from the tanks behind the village unless the caterpillar tracks were hit and damaged. However, mortar bombs raining down like hailstones and this was making defense technologies like SECM (Radio Disruption System) useless.

In short, it wasn't anything other than luck if you didn't get hit with a mortar bomb.

<Bang! Bang! Bang!>

The Black Tiger tanks moved forward in short zigzag motions in an attempt to dodge the bombs. In between each of the tanks moving forward, pillars of dirt shot up. Splatters of thick mud covered Black Tiger Tank 732, which was moving in the front of all of the tanks.

"Ack! What? I can't see ahead!" Sergeant Kim Min-jin, who was driving the tank, shouted, looking at the dark screen. A lump of mud the size of a watermelon had flown into the camera that was displaying the path ahead for the driver.

"What? You can't see?"

"Mud or whatever it is—it's covered the front cameras," said Sergeant Kim Min-jin, who replied Sergeant Na Sang-hyun's urgent question while relying on the side camera to drive.

"Is it bad?"

"Yes, it's impossible to see through both of the front cameras."

"Ugh, f*ck that! It's not like we can go out to clean it."

The tank commander yelled, biting his lower lip. He turned the scope towards the village.

"Sergeant Na! I'll guide you, so drive in the direction I tell you!"

"Yes, sir."

"Turn 20 degrees to the left in 10 meters!"

"Yes, sir."

Suddenly, there was a dull impact on the right side.

<Doongkang! Rumble~>

At that moment, Tank 732 lost its balance and swerved to the right.

"What is it?"

"Ah! Commander! There's big trouble. The right caterpillar track has been shot."

It was like one misfortune after another. The right caterpillar, hit by a dart bullet, broke away from the bogie wheel and hung limp. Tank 732 had lost one of its axes for maneuvering. It could no longer move forward, and could only rotate to the right in place.

As the mortar bombs fell from the sky and with around 30 125-millimeter smoothbore guns aimed at them from a village 500 meters away, Tank 732, having lost its ability to move became the perfect prey.

"This is Hwanggu 3! This is Hwanggu 3! No longer able to move, the right caterpillar has been shot!" After urgently reporting to the Company Commander, Sergeant Na Sang-hyun turned his scope and searched for the enemy tank that shot them.

He was able to identify the barrel of a Type 99 A2 tank, spewing white smoke, between the two-storey buildings located in the direction of 9 o'clock. It seemed to be reloading so that it could fire again.

"It's that b*stard, Corporal Hong!"

"Copy that."

"Designated target 1! Shoot as soon as you're able to aim at it!"

"Sir? Aren't we banned from shooting because of civilians?"

"Do you want to f*cking die here then? I'm telling you to shoot! B*stard!" Sergeant Na Sang-hyun yelled, his face scrunched up in anger. At this, Corporal Hong Min-ho, slightly scared, moved the turret.

<Kkiiiing!>

The body of the tank continued to rotate in place to the right. The gun turret, located at the center of the tank, rotated rapidly. The aiming point of the gunner was aimed precisely at the center of the enemy tank that Sergeant Na had just indicated as a target.

"Click!"

Corporal Hong Min-ho bent his index finger on the trigger of the controls.

<Boom!>

Dark red flames seemed to come out of the 120-millimeter smoothbore cannon. Soon after, the plasma bullet flew as if it was a clothesline and pierced precisely in between the enemy tank's body and its turret.

<Bang!>

With an explosion, the entire turret flew into the sky. Dancing black flames erupted from the body of the enemy tank.

"One hit kill! Enemy tank hit!" Corporal Hong Min-ho shouted, pumping his fists in the cramped tank.

But the urgent voice of Sergeant Na Sang-hyun rang inside the tank, interrupting his celebration. "Hey! Corporal Hong! This isn't the time."

After their fellow tank had been shot, the turrets of the other Type 99 A2 tanks that were in the area aimed toward Tank 732 at the same time.

"Target 2, Target 3, Target 4! Shoot automatically as targeted!" Sergeant Na Sang-hyun issued orders once more. Corporal Hong Min-ho immediately moved the controls, placing the aiming point at the bottom part of the turret of the tank designated as target 2.

<Boom!>

<Bang! Boom! Bang! Boom!>

Gunshots rang out simultaneously from Tank 732 and the enemy tank. The plasma and dart bullets crossed over each other and each flew to their destination.

<Bang!>

The Type 99 A2 tank that had been designated as target 2 shook and exploded. A huge pillar of fire swallowed everything around it, and black smoke shot out of the fire.

Meanwhile, out of the four dart bullets that had been shot at Tank 732, two of them hit the frontal armor of the tank and bounced off. The other two bullets shot through thin air, missing their target.

<Tung!>

<Tung!>

<Shiiiing Shiiiing>

An unpleasant noise rang through Tank 732 in succession. Just then, the Company Commander issued an order to the entire company to open fire.

"7th Company, open fire to suppress the enemy while performing evasive maneuvers from now on." The Company Commander, who had ordered an evasive maneuver in fear of civilian harm, gave the order to open fire. He had taken on the risk of being put on military trial in the future, to reduce ally damage.

At the Company Commander's orders to open fire, the 7th Company tanks simultaneously opened fire at the enemy tanks as if they had been waiting for the order to attack.

<Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!>

The front of a Type 99 A2 tank that had been firing from behind the building with only its barrel sticking out from behind the buildings was shot with a plasma bullet that pierced through a wall and a house. It exploded, engulfing and destroying the houses surrounding it.

The remaining Type 99 A2 tanks that had previously aimed for Tank 732 were either engulfed in flames or had their gun barrels hanging limply as the shots of ally tanks continued.

Meanwhile, the 6th Company had detoured to the left and was moving forward in the second lane. The tanks started to slow down in order, starting from the leading tank, 1 kilometer from the target of the strike.

"This is Red Fox 1! Ahead! 200 meters away, detected anti-tank mines! About 30 have been detected so far!" From the leading tank, Lieutenant Min Ki-cheol, commander of the 1st Platoon and Commander of Tank 611, informed the Company through the communication network.

"This is black pig 1! Is it impossible to break through?" The Company Commander's question followed.

"This is Red Fox 1! It's not impossible, but it might take some time."

"Got it. Be alert of all sides from the current location!"

The Black Tiger tanks that had stopped in a line turned their barrels to the right and left alternately and stood on alert. Soon after, the Company Commander issued more orders after he had observed the situation ahead with a reconnaissance drone.

"This is Black Pig 1! Red Fox 1, start getting rid of the anti-tank mines in the current location. Gray Bear 1, start moving on the coastal road to the right. White Tiger 1, cover and guard Red Fox 1. Over!"

"This is Red Fox 1! Copy that!"

"This is Gray Bear 1! Copy that!"

"This is White Tiger 1! Copy that!"

While the Red Fox platoon tanks moved into a zigzag position in the second lane, preparing to fire, in order to get rid of the anti-tank mines ahead, four of the Gray Bear platoon tanks drove over the railing of the road toward the direction of the coastal road. The White Tiger platoon tanks, assigned to the duty of covering and guarding the Red Fox platoon, swiveled each of their barrels to their designated directions and checked the situation through various modes.

<Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!>

Four minesweeping bombs flew along the road, scattering small debris on the ground. Along with the sound of a large explosion, large puddles were created in the ground.

There were still a dozen camouflaged anti-tank mines left on the road. While the Black Tiger tanks of the Red Fox platoon were reloading, suspicious shadows were moving in secret around the surrounding houses and buildings.

They were the special forces infantry of the 38th Army Group, the equivalent of a special attack infantry in the Korean army.

The special infantry soldiers, each carrying large firearms, moved inconspicuously and swiftly through the buildings. They were soon 400 meters from the Red Fox platoon tanks.

"Forward at 7 o'clock! 400 meters away, unidentified units have appeared! Their weapons look like anti-tank missiles! Confirmed as an enemy! Confirmed as an enemy!"

The commander of Tank 632 informed the Company Commander through the communication network. Tank 632, among the White Tiger platoon tanks that had been on guard, had been monitoring movements from the directions of 6 o'clock to 8 o'clock. At this, the Company Commander immediately issued an order to open fire.

"Open suppressing fire! Open suppressing fire!"

"Ah! A large number of people that appear to be civilians inside the buildings are at fire target locations!" An additional report came in from the commander of Tank 632.

"Civilians? Are you sure?"

"Yes, there are children as well."

"Damn it!"

The enemy here had also placed civilians inside several houses and were using them as a human shield.

"These crazy b*stards are f*cking using their own people as a shield!" While the Company Commander was swearing, questions from several tank commanders flooded in.

"Are we going through with suppressive fire?"

"Commander?"

"Do we attack? Please speak."

The company commander could not reach a decision easily. But he wasn't in a dilemma for too long. The battalion commander had been informed of the 7th company's situation, and he had thought that the same situation would be happening to the 6th company. The battalion commander's orders couldn't have been issued at a better time.

"This is North Star 1! From now on, ignore civilians and enter normal engagement procedures. Repeat. Ignore civilians and enter normal engagement procedures!"

Right as the battalion commander's order was issued, the White Tiger platoon tanks opened fire all at once. The two-story building that was designated as a target, exploded, with debris flying in all directions. The special infantry soldiers and several civilians, who had been inside of the building, were swallowed up in flames.

<Kwaaaang!>

Buildings around the area collapsed one after another from the force of the explosion.

<Kurururung~>

The special infantrymen, sensing that their identities had been revealed, started to attack with the anti-tank missiles they had in possession. The portable anti-tank missile that they were carrying was the latest model of the 3rd generation anti-tank missile, the HJ-12. This was the first model of New China that had the 'Fire and Forget' function, using infrared homing technology.

As soon as the last anti-tank mine was removed from the road, a laser detection warning rang out from the LWR (Laser Warning Receiver) in the Red Fox platoon tanks.

<Shuuuuhwaaaa~ Shuuuuhwaaaa~ Shuuuuhwaaaa~>

The special infantry soldiers, like the special force they were, quickly fired their anti-tank missiles. Several missiles, which had trails of white smoke, flew toward the Red Fox platoon tanks.

<Bang! Bang!>

Two out of the several anti-tank missiles hit the turret of the Red Fox platoon tanks that were standing still—Tank 611 and Tank 613. The other four missiles were neutralized by the SECM (Radio Disruption System). They lost their targets, flew through the air and exploded.

Tank 611, hit directly on the frontal armor of the turret, was shaken by the strong impact for a moment. However, there was no serious damage. Only the commander's scope and the 12.7-millimeter machine gun were destroyed.

But the damage to Tank 613 was serious. This was because the anti-tank missile soared in pop-up form and hit the upper armor of the turret hard. The HJ-12 anti-tank missile was small enough to be portable, but its penetration power was similar to that of the HJ-10 missile, which was usually mounted and fired on an armored car.

It wasn't a complete blow, but the impact shook the inside of Tank 613. Dark red flames and smoke shot up through the cracks that were created in one half of the tank. All of the external optical equipment was destroyed.

It could still be moved, but it was no longer able to fight! It was like a death sentence.

"This is Red Fox 1! Red Fox 3 fall back. Red Fox 4, fire consecutive suppression shots! Red Fox 2, move together with 3 and cover for 3." As the Platoon Commander calmly gave orders, the tanks of the Red Fox platoon moved accordingly. Tank 613, still puffing out black smoke, retreated backward slowly. Tank 614 fired a series of suppressive shots forward. Tank 612 moved in front of Tank 613, moving backward while covering for Tank 613.

On that day, the 1st Tank Battalion suffered many difficulties from the New China Army that used its people as human shields while fighting. The result was a victory, but ally damage was severe and civilian harm was much greater than expected. Although it wasn't in an official announcement, a document that was sent to the Joint Chiefs of Staff reported 876 casualties and 395 deaths among civilians. And among the civilian deaths, 59 of them were children.