The seemingly impregnable defensive line was now in a precarious state under the fearless and suicidal assault of the Iranians.
The first line of defense, composed of mines and oil drums, had already lost its intended purpose due to the self-sacrifice of the ascending teenage soldiers.
They finally reached the trench ahead.
Looking at the trench, ten meters wide and three meters deep, they waited for the transport teams from the rear to arrive with firewood. Only by filling the trench with firewood could they pass through this area.
The enemy's machine guns, automatic rifles, and various types of firepower were all unleashed in this direction. Even the Chieftain Tanks, which were unafraid of light arms fire, waited helplessly before the trench.
No one knew who was the first to push the body of a fallen soldier down, but soon a second and a third followed; they used the corpses of their own brothers to pave a path.
People fell constantly, and more rushed forward; the fallen corpses became stepping stones once again.
Finally, relying on the bodies of their brothers, they filled the trench.
The Chieftain Tanks waiting nearby rumbled across.
In the pitch-black night, the T-62 tanks positioned behind the lines could not aim at the rolling Chieftains. Most tank crews were not yet accustomed to using the outdated infrared searchlights for aiming. They could only fire by estimation, and this firing happened to expose their hidden positions.
They had been charging and sacrificing silently just now, and now, they had finally broken through!
The Chieftain Tank crews utilized their advanced fire control systems to blow the turrets off several firing T-62s.
"2nd Brigade, 3rd Battalion! 2nd Brigade, 3rd Battalion! Counter-attack! Drive the Persians back!" the Division Commander's angry roar came over the radio.
The 3rd Battalion was a mechanized infantry battalion. Seeing that their tanks could not compete with the Persian Chieftains, the battalion commander immediately shouted to his soldiers: "Rocket men, follow me forward! Take out the Persian tanks!"
As he spoke, he shouldered an RPG rocket launcher and ran forward.
Because they had been suppressed earlier, the Chieftain Tank crews were full of anxiety. Now that they had passed the trench, they couldn't wait to wipe out all the enemies opposite them. The Chieftain Tanks drove faster and faster, pulling away from their own infantry.
The 3rd Battalion Commander carried the rocket launcher, listening to the rumbling of the enemy tank engines and knowing he was getting closer. In the blur, he saw the silhouette of a Chieftain. He immediately turned and jumped into a nearby crater.
"Da-da, da-da." The coaxial machine gun at the front of the tank turret fired continuously as the turret rotated.
The 3rd Battalion Commander saw several soldiers following him get hit by the tank's machine gun before they had time to hide.
The 7.62mm machine gun bullets knocked them to the ground one after another, blood staining the earth red.
Fury flared in the 3rd Battalion Commander's eyes. At this moment, the tank had already passed him from the side. He quickly aimed at the rear of the tank and pulled the trigger.
A puff of white smoke emerged from behind him, and a tongue of fire rushed toward that Chieftain.
A tank without infantry protection is easily attacked by infantry from the sides or rear. The visibility inside a tank is narrow, with many blind spots.
They were still moving forward when suddenly, they felt a violent impact.
The rocket hit the rear of the Chieftain accurately.
On any tank, the rear armor is the weakest, and this is also where the engine is located. The thermal jet from the rocket ignited a terrifying fire.
Instantly, the tank crew was surrounded by flames.
Ahead was a machine gun position where several NSVS heavy machine guns were frantically spitting tongues of fire. The charging soldiers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were all torn in half by the powerful 12.7mm machine gun bullets.
This heavy machine gun was designed in 1972 by three designers—Nikitin, Sokolov, and Vladimir Volkov—and was equipped by the Iraqi army in the late 1970s.
The gun uses 12.7x108mm heavy rounds, has a total length of 1560mm, a total weight of 25kg, and a barrel weight of 9kg. It can be used as different types of machine guns with different mounts. The mechanized infantry brigade soldiers used the 6T7 mount, mainly for ground targets, known as the NSVS machine gun. It has an effective range of 1500–2000 meters, a theoretical rate of fire of 700–800 rounds per minute, and a combat rate of fire of 80–100 rounds per minute. It is more than capable of handling light armored targets and fire points within 1500 meters. It is belt-fed, and the belt box can hold 50 rounds.
The most advanced feature of this machine gun was the 1PN52-1 night vision sight. However, even in the 10th Armored Division, only the machine gun squad of this mechanized infantry division was equipped with this sight for experimental use.
Tonight, they were showing off their prowess.
They happened to block the path of the charging Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The machine guns spat out tongues of fire, consuming the lives of the Persians.
Although it was a pitch-black night, the green silhouettes of living soldiers could be seen through the night vision goggles. All they needed to do was aim at these silhouettes and fire continuously.
Those who could join the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were all die-hard members of the Iranian Revolution and the most loyal followers of Khomeini. They were not afraid of death at all, charging continuously and then falling.
The predecessors of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were merely activists in the revolution; many were radicals who had just picked up guns and did not understand much about actual combat maneuvers.
Soon, an entire company of the Revolutionary Guard had fallen on the path of the charge.
The machine gunners became somewhat numb; all the enemies were so tenacious that the more they fought, the more alarmed they became.
An army willing to go to its death is very terrifying.
Next, a regular army infantry company came up.
They were all rigorously trained. Their company commander, although he had just been released from prison as a target of the purges, was still full of love for his motherland, Iran. Therefore, he was full of hatred for the invading Iraqi army.
If it hadn't been for the Iraqi invasion, he likely would have been purged. Now, returning once again, it was ironically Iraq that had saved his life.
Of course, he wouldn't think that way. Seeing the fierce firepower of the opponent's position, he immediately ordered his soldiers to crawl forward, circle to the side of the enemy position, and use rockets to take them out!
The machine gunners were already tired. Many corpses lying on the ground still showed faint shadows in the night vision goggles because they still had body heat. Therefore, the machine gunners did not notice that some green shadows on the ground were moving slowly.
Suddenly, a green shadow leaped up, followed by a streak of fire flying over.
A rocket launcher!
The machine gunners were shocked; their only instinct was to quickly jump away and dive for cover.
"Boom!" The rocket exploded accurately on the machine gun position, turning the heavy machine gun into scrap metal.
The battle continued until dawn, and the 10th Armored Division had already suffered heavy losses.
Division Commander Karma strictly executed the plan formulated by the military region. Only when the defenders inside Abadan came out could they retreat.
And the defenders of Abadan would surely come out of the city only when he was at his weakest. Under the pincer attack of both sides, he would inevitably suffer a "great defeat."
Karma knew he had to hold on.