Big Time 1958

   The Soviet Union did not plan a tank battle, never. The United States used air power to cover ground troops, and the Soviet Union used ground power to hold up the iron curtain in the air, with the ultimate goal of supporting air supremacy. It is not 40 years ago, and a simple tank battle will basically not happen. If the US Air Force directly and decisively broke the battle when the Soviet Red Army entered the Middle East, or the sandstorm did not appear, this unexpected tank battle would be does not appear.

   Nature's little willfulness made the U.S. Seventh Army and the Soviet Red Flag Tank Sixth Army engage in ground confrontation in an era when a tank war was basically impossible. General Bagramyan clearly understands that this is temporary, unless the sandstorm continues forever, and once the sandstorm that hinders the intervention of air power stops, the air force will become the protagonist.

   The most dangerous place is not the battle zone between the two armies. The first distance is too close, and the dispatch of the air force will inevitably cause accidental injuries. The second war zone is the scope of the sandstorm, but the main force of the southern theater led by General Bagramyan personally.

"Build a field air defense system and carry out mobile defense. The radar is turned on, the Doyle anti-terrorist missile is in progress, and the entire army is accelerating Basra. This time we have to fight it hard." The air strikes of the Air Force, the troops of the Southern Theater Command immediately launched in full swing, and carried out layer-by-layer defense against air-to-air missiles, low-altitude barrages and armed helicopter groups. Interception of fighter jets in US Air Force and Naval Aviation positions.

The Doyle air defense missile system is mainly equipped in the air defense missile regiments of the Soviet Red Army tank divisions and motorized infantry divisions. Every Soviet division-level unit is fully equipped. There are no exceptions. Six hundred anti-aircraft missile launch vehicles.

  The major air bases of the United States and the Soviet Union all over the Middle East are busy at this time, and the ground staff are sweating like rain. The U.S. military who attacked first, the air group that covered the sky and the sun went straight to General Bagramyan's troops from all directions. This ground force was so huge that it was terrifying at a glance. The group army converges, otherwise once it starts, it will definitely sweep everything.

The launch of the Doyle anti-aircraft missile, the roar of the Shilka River anti-aircraft vehicle, and the roar of the Tunguska, vented all the achievements of the Soviet Union in the field of field air defense for decades. When the number reaches a certain scale, it is enough to cause a qualitative change.

  The missiles attacked in the sky, facing the complete Soviet field air defense system, up to thousands of surface-to-air missiles, portable missiles, and anti-aircraft machine guns shot straight into the sky, telling the Iraqis what it means to really control the air with land.

   There have been continuous volley explosions of missiles attacking from outside the war zone, and the situation of the US Air Force unilaterally suspending the Iraqi Army has not been reproduced today. The United States has 1,110 combat aircraft in the entire Middle East air base, and even fewer aircraft with ground-to-ground capabilities. After deducting transport aircraft and overhauled aircraft, it is very difficult to face the Soviet field air defense system like a hedgehog.

   From time to time, aerial bombs exploded on the ground, causing earth-shattering noises, but for the southern theater of operations with 400,000 soldiers and more than 7,000 tanks, this loss was insignificant at all.

Thirty-eight days of air strikes weakened half of the Iraqi Air Force, which had 4,000 tanks and 2,000 armored vehicles. Several batches of air strikes had to face the fully mechanized Soviet Union, which doubled its heavy weapons and had a complete field air defense system. military.

In Baku, the most important town in the Caucasus of the Soviet Union, Xie Nin of the Red Flag 24th Air Force has learned that the US Air Force has been dispatched. Among the several aviation forces transferred to the Caucasus, the Red Flag 24th Air Force is very different. , because this unit is one of the five aviation corps directly under the direct leadership of the Soviet Air Force, and is more important than the Fourteenth Air Force and the Seventh Air Force in the Soviet Air Force.

"General Bagramyan has deployed a field air defense system, but because of the disruption of the U.S. Air Force, the speed of advancement has been affected!" An Air Force staff officer is currently facing the difficulties encountered by the troops in the southern theater, and where is the position for Admiral Shainin Pointing out, he said, "The casualties of the entire force are currently unknown."

"It won't be too much. This kind of intensity cannot be considered as large in our previous exercises." Admiral Xie Ning comforted in reality, and then said, "But the army has the task of the army, and the US Air Force should give it to us. The 14th Air Force of Syria took off to intercept the U.S. Air Force bases in the direction of the Mediterranean Sea and the direction of Turkey, and the Seventh Air Force of Iran and the short-range missile force of the Air Defense Air Force destroyed the airfield of Saudi Arabia. The task of our Air Force is to face the Persian Gulf. The carrier-based aircraft group here, that's all!"

   Admiral Shainin's confidence in the ability of ground forces to withstand an attack came from an understanding of NATO's air power in Europe. The Soviet Union's northern and western clusters would face air strikes from NATO countries during the war. NATO's 7,000 or so combat aircraft were the enemy of the two groups' 800,000 Soviet ground assault force.

   After the calculation of the Soviet Union itself, as long as the Soviet Union first acted and withstood the indiscriminate bombardment of the air forces of all NATO countries, it could also occupy the entire Federal Republic of Germany. At that time, the second-line troops and the troops of the Warsaw Pact allies would still continue to attack until victory.

Now General Bagramyan leads the 600,000 Soviet troops including the Red Banner Sixth Tank Army, facing less than one-sixth of the North Vietnamese air force, using the field air defense system no less than the Soviet troops stationed in Europe. The U.S. Air Force, which points to air power, will never have a problem as long as it does not make mistakes.

   Not to mention that the Soviet Air Force still exists. Admiral Xie Nin does not know why the military services that have served with political achievements have such a low sense of existence. Could it be that the Soviet Union's ground power is too strong, robbing the air force of its glory? The Soviet Air Force is definitely not weak, and it is more powerful in cooperation with the ground forces!

"Kvassnin, hold on to the Seventh Army. Once you get out of contact with the U.S. Air Force, you will be attacked by air strikes. The situation on my side is relatively stable. I will arrive at the war zone in eight hours." General Bagramyan said During the call, I suddenly looked up and saw a squadron of fighter jets flying overhead. The red five-pointed star on the tail was very conspicuous. He added again, "Maybe four hours!" greatly accelerated.

After several rounds of air raids, the main troops in the southern theater also suffered losses, and more than 170 tanks were destroyed. No country could afford such losses, but unlike the Soviet Union, the losses were less than 30 percent. one. To put it in a bad way, it only caused General Bagramyan's troops to rub a little skin.

Forty kilometers south of Basra, in the battle area between the Red Flag Sixth Tank Army and the U.S. Seventh Army, the raging sandstorm has gradually subsided. In the battle area that is dozens of kilometers long, tanks that have been abandoned with thick smoke can be seen everywhere, pure meaning The tank battle on the top of the tank has ended. With the end of the sandstorm, the fighting method will become more three-dimensional. The commanders on both sides are well aware of this, but Lieutenant General Franks is more and more heavy. The opponent was defeated. Although he knew as early as in Europe and Europe that the Soviet Army was not just accumulating tanks, it was as difficult as a hedgehog-like field air defense system, but it was another matter to really see it.

   "Disengage, and use a group of armed helicopters to stop the opponent from pursuing." Lieutenant General Franks sighed. In terms of exchange ratio, the US military might be a little cheaper. However, there are too many tanks on the other side, so much that it is cheap to attack first, without causing the other side to feel any damage.

   Faced with this situation, Lieutenant General Franks had to order the 7th Army units to turn the offensive into the defensive. He had already learned from Admiral Schwarzkopf, commander of the U.S. Middle East Forces, that the take-off air force was intercepted by the Soviet air force, and the two sides could not tell the winner in a short time. .

   "Commander, it seems that your mood is a little down." Lieutenant General Franks' combat staff asked worriedly.

   "I've never missed the Fifth Army so much!" Lieutenant General Franks said with a wry smile. The Fifth Army's other American heavy-armed unit in the Federal Republic of Germany was a friend of the Seventh Army when it faced the Soviet Union's western cluster raid.

The first battle between the Soviet Red Army and the U.S. Army was full of unexpected factors, but the whole world did not pay attention to how the fight broke out. Instead, they blamed the Soviet Union and the United States in unison. The accusation between East and West Europe was only a small part of this voice. France The voice of calling for a ceasefire with China calling on third world countries is the strongest among them.

"The US spokesperson said that the use of nuclear weapons is not ruled out? Replace the US with the Soviet Union and return this sentence. Tell them that it is absolutely impossible to withdraw troops at the same time as the Soviet Union, and it is absolutely impossible to withdraw troops alone. As for the joint initiative of France and China, it seems to be very powerful. But it will take time to brew the pressure of public opinion. Another issue that makes me pay attention" Serov said with an ugly face, "We also paid 4,000 deaths when we conquered Soviet Grad. Today we fought for just a few hours, and we were even hit by air strikes. In addition, the number of casualties in the battle between the ground and the Seventh Army today is close to 3,000, which is terrifying."

"After all, the opponent is the United States. Although we have also shot down a lot of American fighter jets, compared with our casualties on the ground, it is unrealistic to want to recover this casualty." Marshal Ahromeyev replied, "Our The advantages have not yet been brought into play, and the general secretary should understand the difference between ground power and air force than the combat radius."

   "The U.S. will definitely threaten nuclear weapons if it hurts. At present, they are not hurt." Shelov turned to ask, "How about the situation of U.S. nuclear submarines and domestic ICBMs?"