The sun was scorching in the sky and Temasek was located in the tropics. At this time, the temperature was as high as over 34 degrees. On the road, an army composed mainly of infantry and accompanied by a small number of armored units was marching.
This is the 2nd Infantry Division of Johor, one of the main forces of Johor.
Although Johor has a large population, its economy is sluggish. There are only four standing divisions and ten brigades in the country. The army has 60 PT-91 tanks, 196 towed artillery pieces, 54 multiple rocket launchers, and no self-propelled artillery.
In order to attack Temasek this time, the 2nd Infantry Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, and five brigades in Johor, with nearly 40,000 troops, were divided into two lines and advanced into Temasek territory in a mighty manner.
The Johor soldiers were covered in sweat as they walked, and they were neglected in training. It was simply a torture for them to march under such a bright sun.
Many soldiers sneaked into the shade to rest while they were not paying attention. Military discipline was not to say a mess, but close to none.
The division commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, Tik Pu, was sitting in the command vehicle. Looking at the shuffling troops, he frowned and said: "Let the troops speed up. We need to occupy their military camps and cities before Temasek can react." , soldiers are valuable and quick.”
The division staff officer looked a bit troubled and said: "Division Commander, many of our armored vehicles and tanks have broken down. In addition, the soldiers' physical strength is exhausted. If we are rushing like this, we will not have an advantage when encountering a battle!"
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The corners of Tikpu's eyes twitched slightly, and he knew that the staff officer was telling the truth.
Their second division, or the entire Johor army except for the elite 10th Parachute Brigade, rarely trains, making the soldiers extremely unsuitable for this kind of fully armed long-distance attack.
Armored vehicles and tanks also break down when they drive to Temasek due to neglect of maintenance on weekdays, and equipment is lost along the way.
"That's right"
Just as Tikpu was about to urge, a communications soldier came over quickly and said urgently: "Division Commander, Jieke Group sent intelligence, and the satellite detected the presence of Temasek troops ahead."
"What, so fast."
Tikpo was shocked. Their raid was premeditated. Yesterday, the 10th Parachute Brigade captured the Johor-Singapore Causeway, a major transportation artery. Then the rocket launcher launched attacks on several Temasek airports and military camps, destroying many Temasek fighter planes. , and also destroyed the airport runway, preventing Temasek from exerting its air superiority, causing chaos in the military camp, and giving their army a chance.
"Satellites show that Temasek is forming a defense line. Their number of soldiers is about 3,000, and no heavy firepower has been found."
"Only 3,000 people? Prepare to engage the enemy and drill through them."
When he heard that there were only 3,000 people, Tikpu immediately became energetic.
The number of his 2nd Infantry Division in Johor was as high as 12,000, a difference of one to four. He was immediately overjoyed. If he annihilated this Temasek force and won the first victory, his prestige in the country would definitely increase.
Under Tikpu's order, the Second Infantry Division began to change its formation, and the armored vehicles and tanks began to move forward.
The rocket launchers and towed artillery located at the rear of the team began to build artillery positions.
An hour later, the Johor 2nd Infantry Division had already seen the Temasek force.
This is a strengthened infantry regiment of Temasek. They are urgently building a defense line. However, due to limited time and the low terrain of Temasek, there is basically no danger to defend. Their defense line is only an outline.
"Fire."
Tikpu excitedly gave the order. The artillerymen of the division artillery regiment located in the rear stuffed the shells into the muzzle one by one, and then pulled down the hair rope. With the flash of muzzle fire, 105 and 155 mm howitzers drilled out one after another. The muzzle flew towards Temasek's position.
boom! boom! boom! boom! boom!
Continuous explosions sounded, and Tikpu's face darkened because many shells were deflected.
"What are the artillerymen doing at TM? Calibrate the fire for me immediately."
Tikpu cursed loudly. He saw that the Temasek troops who had reacted had abandoned their engineering shovels and were running around. They got into the anti-gun holes and lost the killing effect of the surprise attack.
The second round of shells fell quickly, and this time it was much more accurate, but most of the Temasek soldiers had already hid in the trenches and bomb holes.
Although many of the trenches were poorly dug and not deep enough, and some of the bombproof holes were collapsed by bombing, they finally had a bunker and were not bombed on flat ground, so the number of casualties was not high.
Tikpu's face turned black and he was furious at the poor performance of his artillery. Such a good opportunity was wasted just now. He really wanted to give the commander of the artillery regiment a slap in the leg, but he couldn't even fire a single shot. , what's the use of him.
After the artillery fired a basic amount of ammunition, there were many scorched earth craters on the land where Temasek was stationed.
After the bombardment, the 2nd Johor Infantry Division also launched a formal ground attack.
The first one is the treasure of the Johor Army, the PT-91 main battle tank.
This main battle tank has a crew of 3 people, a total combat weight of 45.3 tons, a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour, and armament of 1 125 mm cannon, 1 7.62 mm machine gun, and 1 12.7 mm machine gun.
Behind the tanks were interspersed armored vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles. Soldiers rode in infantry fighting vehicles to keep up with the tanks. After approaching, they got out of the car to provide cover. A non-standard infantry-tank coordination strategy unfolded on the spot.
The reason why it is not standard is that the offensive layout of these tanks and armored vehicles is unstructured. Perhaps due to excessive tension, many tanks and armored vehicles do not travel according to the predetermined offensive route, and there are even some own accidents such as overpowering their own infantry. .
Bang!
A PT-91 main battle tank fired violently. The 125mm smoothbore cannon sprayed out nearly two meters of flames, and the shock wave raised large amounts of smoke.
Ahead, high-explosive bombs exploded. The PT-91 main battle tank was aiming at a heavy machine gun position. However, the shells did not hit accurately and instead exploded dozens of meters away, which shocked the Temasek soldiers. , immediately dropped the heavy machine gun and moved on the spot.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The machine gun on the armored vehicle opened fire, and the tracer shells drew obvious trajectories in the air. Some Temasek soldiers who had emerged retreated into the trenches.
There were also those who reacted slowly and were directly hit by machine gun shells. Their upper bodies were immediately torn apart and separated from their lower bodies. The fragments of their internal organs splashed onto their comrades nearby, and the trenches were dyed red with blood.
There was quite a commotion in the trenches, and soldiers could be seen running away and petrified.
"Fight back, beat these invading Johor bastards hard, don't let these poor devils underestimate us."
In the trenches, Temasek officers boosted morale.
The Temasek soldiers were all filled with righteous indignation. Because they had a mentality of protecting their homeland and the country, they hated the invading Johor soldiers and had a stronger will to fight. Some casualties did not deter them.
Soon, when the Johor offensive troops got closer, Temasek's counterattack soon came.
Whoosh!
A Temasek soldier suddenly emerged from the trench carrying a rocket launcher, aimed for four or five seconds, and pulled the trigger on a PT-91 main battle tank. The range of rockets is very short, and this is the time when the infantry and tank combat should be coordinated.
Although the tank has thick armor and powerful firepower, the tank's ability to perceive the external environment is weak. On the battlefield, the commander can only observe through sight equipment with limited field of view.
At this time, the coordinated infantry can clearly observe the surrounding environment, guide the tank to clear specific fire points, and provide cover for the tank to attack the enemy infantry who sneakily attack the tank.
However, the coordinated infantry following the PT-91 main battle tank were too frightened and all huddled behind the tank, completely using the tank as a shield, without forming a cover.
The rocket hit the track of the tank, and with a bang, the track of the PT-91 main battle tank was broken and detached from the tank. The tank also lost its ability to move, and now it became a living target.
Several more rocket launchers were fired, and those rockets fired from the side successfully penetrated the weak side armor of the PT-91 main battle tank. The metal jet penetrated into the interior of the tank, killing the crew inside.
Similar scenes occurred from time to time. Under Temasek infantry's frequent sneak attacks using rockets, anti-tank missiles, and even self-destructing drones, the attacking Johor army was severely frustrated.
After losing several tanks and more than double-digit armored vehicles in a row, the armored forces began to stagnate and shrink.
The accompanying Johor infantrymen were even more frightened.
A PT-91 main battle tank was hit by an anti-tank missile and exploded. The explosion overturned the Johor soldiers following behind. There were soldiers lying down and screaming and howling everywhere.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Taking advantage of the lack of firepower from the tanks, the Temasek soldiers' hidden heavy machine guns opened fire immediately, and the heavy machine guns arranged side-firing mopped up a group of Johor soldiers.
This move immediately caused panic among nearby Johor soldiers, and many soldiers turned around and ran away.
Their run caused a chain reaction, with more soldiers feeling frightened and shrinking back.
It doesn't matter if they shrink back, it also exposes heavy steel vehicles such as tanks and armored vehicles.
Without the coordinated cover of infantry, many Temasek soldiers launched attacks from blind spots of sight of tanks and armored vehicles, achieving more hits.
Now the tanks and armored vehicles were afraid, and they kept reversing and retreating. The infantry ran, and the tanks also ran. The Johor army that launched the attack was repulsed before they even reached a hundred meters in front of the trench.
The first wave of attacks ended hastily. Once the results were calculated, the Johor army, which had the advantage in firepower, suffered greater losses than Temasek's side, losing many expensive steel vehicles.
Tikpu was sitting on the armored command vehicle, watching the battlefield footage from the drone. The eye-catching operations of his own troops made his face look gloomy and scary.
"The opponent only has three thousand soldiers, and they are all infantry. Can't they defeat them?"
Tikpu wanted to curse. This attack was so poor. It did not take advantage of his own firepower. The armored troops and soldiers were more intimidated than the others.
"I will organize a second wave of attacks immediately, and I will definitely capture this position within three hours."
The staff also felt ashamed and ran to organize the second wave of offensive.
Three hours passed quickly, then five hours, seven hours, and until ten hours later, the position was still firmly in the hands of Temasek soldiers.
The Johor soldiers performed textbook withdrawal performances again and again, attacking, firing and then escaping. It was as if the Johor soldiers had practiced it thousands of times and the process of escaping was very skillful.
Ten hours later, the 2nd Johor Infantry Division did not launch another attack because a large number of Temasek troops arrived for reinforcements.
In the sky, seven or eight F15 and F16 fighter jets from Temasek arrived here. Because the airport was urgently repaired, these fighter jets were able to take off.
Boom!
As the fighter plane bombs dropped, the Johor artillery position burst into flames and was blown to pieces.
On the ground, Temasek's armored troops also appeared on the battlefield. The ones rushing to the front were dark gray Leopard 2 tanks.
The PT-91 main battle tank is not as good as the Leopard 2 tank in terms of performance and tank crew training level. Once they fight, the battle loss ratio is extremely exaggerated. More Johor tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed by F15 fighter jets.
As expected, the soldiers of the Johor 2nd Infantry Division quickly collapsed.
There were soldiers running away everywhere. The army that originally wanted to occupy Temasek suffered a huge defeat in the first contact battle.
With the defeat of the 2nd Infantry Division in Johor, more bitter pills were swallowed by Johor.
Within Temasek, other Johor troops also lost more than they won in battles with Temasek.
The large group of Johor troops that entered Temasek's territory entered the offensive posture, but were constantly suppressed and beaten by Temasek, spitting out the occupied territory.
Temasek has fully exerted its strength as a small military power in Southeast Asia. Although the population is small, the quality of Temasek's regular troops is generally higher than that of Johor.
Moreover, all 18-year-old citizens of Temasek must perform military service. After the invasion of Johor, a large number of Temasek citizens were transferred to reserve service, and the number of soldiers was actually higher than that of Johor.
In addition, Temasek is rich and occupies the golden waterway of the Strait of Malacca. It is favored by Western countries, especially beautiful countries, and all kinds of powerful military equipment are available for supply.
Temasek's air force is one of the best in the entire Southeast Asian countries, and its military budget is also the highest in Southeast Asia, with a total of 15 billion US dollars. This was the case before the emergence of Jieke Group.
Because of its money, Temasek is equipped with a variety of advanced howitzers and rocket launchers, such as German Leopard 2 tanks, French AMX13 light tanks, and more than 3,000 armored vehicles of various types. The Air Force has beautiful and advanced fighter jets such as the F-15SG and F-16C/D. About 150 aircraft, including more than 60 early warning aircraft, patrol aircraft, aerial tankers, transport aircraft, and trainer aircraft of various types, and more than 80 helicopters of various types.
As an opponent, Johor has less than a hundred tanks and less than 30 fighter jets.
In fact, it is not impossible for Johor to win. A small country like Temasek has no strategic depth or room for maneuver. If Johor can win quickly, it can completely defeat Temasek with a combination of punches and complete the occupation before Temasek can react.
However, Johor's poor military level and procrastinating efficiency ultimately missed this great opportunity.
When Temasek repaired the airport and military barracks, the disastrous failure of the Johor offensive could be foreseen.
As soon as the battle report of the defeat on the front line was sent to Johor President Datuk Seri Datuk Hau, who was quite confident and wanted to take Temasek and give it to Jieco Group, he was shocked. Unexpectedly, he had messed up, so he could only cry in despair and apologize to Jieke Group urgently requested help: "Go and ask Jieke Group quickly and report to Commander Su, we can't handle Temasek." (End of Chapter)