The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse
Chapter 573 - 566 The Final Glory

Chapter 573: Chapter 566 The Final Glory

The trackless 59G fired a shot, and with the help of the brand-new fire control system, the barrel steadied and aimed precisely at the enemy’s tank before hitting its target.

The first 59G was hit by the enemy and caught fire and exploded, while the second 59G had its track blown off by a hit to the front right side. However, the second 59G managed to fire in time, striking the enemy.

The barrel of the enemy’s leading tank drooped, followed by a puff of blue smoke from the muzzle. It was the enemy’s tank that had fired first and was in the process of reloading when it was struck by a 125mm tank cannon. The armor-piercing round penetrated the turret, and the resulting blue smoke emerged from the yet-to-be-loaded, unsealed breach.

But then the second enemy tank fired, with a roar, the turret of the trackless 59G was hit, and after firing just one shot, it never had the chance to fire again.

Even after the 59 was refitted with a 125mm main gun and upgraded fire control system, giving it the strength to contend with third-generation main battle tanks, the 59G was, after all, still a 59G. In terms of protection, the 59G was far inferior to the Abrams M1A2.

However, in terms of main gun power, the 125mm main gun and tungsten-core armor-piercing rounds used by the 59G were capable of penetrating Abrams’s armor.

But ultimately, the 59G is still a modification of the 59, with a small platform and limited retrofit capabilities. Compared to the M1A2, it lagged far behind in all aspects.

The 59’s target was not meant to be heavy tanks like the M1A2; the M1A2’s counterpart should have been the Type 99 tank. But now, the 59G could only rely on the powerful firepower of its main gun to confront the enemy who, on paper, had an overwhelming advantage.

When narrow paths meet, the brave emerge victorious, and now, both sides demonstrated the courage to never retreat.

The rescue team led by Li Pengfei was down to its last tank, a 59G.

That 59G completed its turn and swiftly advanced forward, then suddenly stopped. In that moment of stopping, the main gun fired, instantly destroying the enemy who had also fired just one shot.

Neither of the two M1A2s suffered blast or caught fire, which begrudgingly acknowledges that in terms of protective performance, the performance of the Abrams M1A2 was indeed excellent. It was very effective at reducing secondary damage.

But facing two Abrams with three 59Gs, both sides firing two shots each, the end result was still two-for-two.

In terms of tank duel results, the 59G won. Despite being three against two, the 59G emerged victorious over the technologically superior Abrams, even at a numerical disadvantage.

However, looking at the overall situation, achieving two-for-two was still a loss for the 59G since only one tank remained that could protect Li Pengfei’s command vehicle and the armored vehicle towing Gao Yuan.

As for the enemy, just two vanguard tanks had been revealed, with an unknown number still behind.

Why is urban warfare difficult? Because the close distance and numerous obstacles pose a danger to infantry and even more so to tanks.

If given the choice, tanks would never enter urban combat zones, due to limited visibility and numerous obstacles, which reduce engagement distances. When the distance is significantly reduced, the tank’s protective capabilities are naturally greatly weakened.

In open terrain, less advanced tanks struggle to close within two thousand meters of advanced tanks, whereas, with the help of advanced fire control systems, the latter can fire earlier. However, in urban combat, when both sides engage at a distance of one or two hundred meters, the heavily armored Abrams become equal to the 59G.

At this range, a hit would result in penetration, so both sides depend on who can fire first and if they can hit the crucial parts directly.

The sole surviving 59G began to rapidly reverse, then took cover behind the freshly destroyed tank on the right. The two tanks almost overlapped, with only the barrel of the surviving tank protruding from the side of the destroyed turret.

The first shot was especially important for the 59G, because it basically only had the chance for one shot.

As soon as it had concealed itself, the third Abrams appeared at the street corner.

The Abrams spotted the destroyed tank, and at that moment, the hiding 59-I opened fire.

A shot hit, and the third tank to appear immediately stopped, but there was also a fourth Abrams appearing alongside it.

That hidden 59-I was in a tricky situation.

Remaining in place to reload would in no way enable it to fire before the enemy, who had not yet shot, and leaving cover to reload while on the move, hoping the enemy’s first shot would miss, seemed a wiser choice.

But the Abrams’ fire control system was very advanced; as long as the crew didn’t make a mistake, even a moving tank would be hit.

So the 59-I made a quick decision, the tank moved just a bit, and completely hid behind the carcass of the tank on the right.

Tanks can also seek cover, and even if it means using the wreckage of a comrade’s vehicle and the bodies of fellow soldiers for cover, on the battlefield, respect for the bodies of comrades sometimes has to be set aside.

The fourth Abrams fired.

The enemy made a mistake; they aimed at the wreck of the 59-I with its tracks blown off, while their real target was behind the debris.

The 120mm tank cannon fired, a depleted uranium penetrator punching through the wreckage and then, immediately after, punching through the 59-I hiding behind it.

The enemy had made a mistake, but in the face of overwhelming power, the error was corrected by the power of the tank cannon.

The enemy’s tank shell penetrated the 59-I’s two layers of side armor. Although the trajectory of the long-rod shell changed after penetrating the armor and the length of the penetrator was shortened, it didn’t completely shatter because any tank’s side armor is much thinner than the front, so the 59-I hiding behind the right-hand wreckage was also penetrated.

There was a component of luck, but the enemy did indeed penetrate the armor of the first tank and pierce through the second.

The 59-I was still the 59-I, ultimately just a medium main battle tank.

Three for three, the 59-I had won, not just in an honorable defeat, but in a thorough victory. It was an old soldier’s victory over a newcomer, the last glory of an old warhorse.

But for Li Pengfei, he had lost all hope.

An Abrams could easily decimate ten armored vehicles without anti-tank missiles.

"Charge! Rush at them! Ram them!"

Li Pengfei was roaring, but his command vehicle driver didn’t ram them.

The enemy’s tank was squeezed onto a not-so-wide street, with hardly any space for maneuvering back and forth, while the armored vehicle, on the other hand, had plenty of room to maneuver and also had the advantage of speed.

Li Pengfei’s armored vehicle, pulling Gao Yuan, was retreating in a straight line as the command vehicle was performing a snake-like maneuver, but it was retreating rapidly.

Furious, Li Pengfei bellowed, "You dare defy orders? I told you to ram them!"

The driver yelled back urgently, "You don’t know a damn thing, ramming them wouldn’t do shit. If you want cover, you’ll have to rely on my moves."