nucmednet Chapter 1216 Destructive Strike
Chapter 1216 Destructive Strike
At high altitude, the Lancaster heavy bomber formation was flying steadily, and the crew members were nervously and attentively watching the instrument panel and the external environment. After a series of avoidance and adjustments, they finally entered the predetermined bombing position.
"Target locked," the navigator reported via radio, "prepare to drop bombs."
Inside the cockpit, the bombardier held the control stick tightly, his eyes fixed on the target area below. That was the defense core of Khabarovsk, with dense air defense facilities and command centers.
"Attention, crews," the commander's voice rang through the headset, "Drop the 'Mother of Bombs' and ensure the target is completely destroyed."
"Got it," the bombardier responded, his fingers moving quickly on the control panel to confirm the bombing procedure.
Following the order, the belly of the Lancaster bomber slowly opened, revealing a huge bomb bay. The 'Mother of Bombs' - a powerful heavy bomb, quietly hung in the bomb bay, as if waiting for the final order.
"Three, two, one, drop the bomb!" The bombardier pressed the button decisively.
The 'Mother of Bombs' detached from the bomb bay and began to fall freely. The huge bomb drew an arc in the air and headed straight for the target area on the ground.
On the ground, the anti-aircraft soldiers looked up at the sky and saw in horror the huge missile falling from the sky. Although they fired desperately to try to prevent the disaster, it was too late.
A few seconds later, the 'Mother of Bombs' exploded violently in the target area. A huge fireball soared into the sky, and the shock wave swept around. Ground buildings were instantly destroyed and air defense facilities were reduced to ruins.
The moment the 'Mother of Bombs' hit the ground, a blinding white light suddenly flashed, followed by a deafening explosion. A huge shock wave spread out in a ring shape with the explosion center as the center.
Wherever the first shock wave passed, the reinforced concrete bunkers of the air defense positions were overturned like paper. Dozens of anti-aircraft guns and their operators were lifted up by the air waves and thrown into the air. The top of the underground bunker collapsed under the huge pressure, burying the command facilities and personnel inside instantly.
"Oh my God..." a pilot exclaimed over the radio.
The second shock wave followed. The high temperature generated by the explosion caused the air to expand rapidly, forming a huge mushroom cloud. Below the cloud, buildings burned and melted in the high temperature, and steel components twisted and deformed. The antenna of the air defense radar station was melted, and the communication equipment turned to ashes in the high temperature.
"The target area has been completely destroyed," the reconnaissance plane reported, with shock in its voice, "I repeat, the target area has been completely destroyed."
The aftermath of the explosion was still continuing. Glass in buildings within a radius of several hundred meters was shattered, and huge cracks appeared on the walls. A huge crater with a diameter of nearly 100 meters was blown out on the ground. The bottom of the crater was still burning, and black smoke was rising.
"Look at those anti-aircraft batteries," another pilot said. "They're all gone..."
Indeed, the dense anti-aircraft firepower points that were originally densely packed had now disappeared. Broken gun barrels and twisted equipment were scattered around the crater, and burning ammunition exploded from time to time, flashing dazzling flames in the thick smoke.
"The air defense command center was destroyed," ground reconnaissance personnel reported, "the enemy's communication system was completely paralyzed."
In the center of the explosion, the ground was scorched by the high temperature, forming a charred death zone. The remaining buildings were still burning, and the thick smoke obscured the sky, casting a shadow on the entire battlefield.
&34;This...this is hell,&34; one observer muttered to himself.
The commander was silent for a moment on the communicator, then said firmly: "Mission accomplished. All formations, prepare to return."
"Report! Enemy planes are entering the bombing route!" In the air defense command center, before the radar operator's voice fell, a sharp whistle was heard in the sky.
"What is that?" An officer looked up at the sky, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Three huge black shadows fell from the clouds and headed straight for the ground at an alarming speed. No one had ever seen such a huge aerial bomb, but everyone instinctively felt the threat of death.
"Evacuate! Evacuate immediately!" the commander yelled at the top of his lungs, but it was too late.
The first mother of all bombs exploded near the air defense command center. In an instant, the world seemed to be torn apart. A huge white light swallowed everything, and the powerful shock wave blew away the concrete bunker like a building block. The reinforced concrete building of the air defense command center was instantly vaporized in the explosion, and the people inside didn't even have time to scream.
"Oh my God..." a soldier on the perimeter had not yet finished speaking when a second bomb exploded in the barracks area.
The heat waves swept in, overturning armored vehicles and throwing soldiers into the air like scarecrows. The barracks burned, melted, and collapsed in the heat. The ammunition depot exploded, and a series of explosions occurred in the sea of fire.
"Retreat! Retreat!" shouts rang out in the chaos, but the third bomb had already fallen in the logistics supply area.
The fuel depot in the supply area turned into a sea of fire in the explosion, and a black mushroom cloud rose into the sky. The burning fuel formed a sea of fire, devouring all combustibles. Ammunition, fuel and supplies in the warehouse exploded one after another, further expanding the catastrophic destruction.
"Communications... all communications are cut off!" a communications soldier shouted desperately, but his voice was drowned out by the roar of the explosion.
The shockwaves from the explosion of the mother of three bombs bounced back and forth across the city, flipping armored vehicles over and flattening buildings. The soldiers at the anti-aircraft gun positions still maintained their firing positions, but they were frozen forever.
"Sir! Sir!" a surviving soldier yelled in the ruins, but the only response he got was the sound of burning flames and continuous explosions.
The entire defense system of Khabarovsk was completely destroyed in just a few seconds. The surviving soldiers stood in the ruins, watching the once solid fortifications turn into a sea of fire. Their ears were deafened by the explosion, their eyes were pierced by the bright light, and their lungs were burned by the smoke.
"It's over... Everything is over..." an officer muttered to himself, looking at the doomsday scene before him.
"Keep alert," Kulikov said, standing in front of the battle map, his eyes determined. "Let the third anti-aircraft position increase its firepower and prevent the enemy planes from breaking through our defense line."
Chief of Staff Sergei was about to respond when he suddenly looked up at the ceiling and his face changed suddenly: "General, listen!"
A sharp whistling sound came from the sky, and the sound was completely different from that of an ordinary bomb, much deeper and more terrifying. Kulikov realized something instantly, but it was too late to react.
&34;Withdraw—&34;
Before he finished speaking, the whole world collapsed in white light. The mother of all bombs hit the command center directly, and the huge shock wave instantly vaporized the reinforced concrete structure. Kulikov didn't even have time to feel the pain before he was turned into dust in this devastating explosion.
The battle map burned in the high temperature, and the communication equipment was shattered in the shock wave. Chief of Staff Sergei and other staff officers, along with their plans, orders, and hopes, disappeared forever at this moment.
The reinforced concrete bunker of the command center, which was supposed to be able to withstand conventional bombing, was vulnerable to the mother of bombs. The high temperature generated by the explosion melted the steel and turned the concrete into powder.
Kulikov's last order was still hanging in the air, but no one could execute it. His command career, his military honor, everything he had, came to an abrupt end in this sudden destruction.
At the center of the explosion, all that remained of the former command center was a huge crater, the bottom of which was still burning. There were no bodies, no debris, everything was reduced to ashes in that instant.
This experienced general, this commander who coordinated the overall situation, was even unable to give a complete retreat order at the last moment. He and his staff team remained forever in the ruins destroyed by the mother of bombs.
In this devastating blow, Khabarovsk lost its brain and soul. The fall of Kulikov marked the complete collapse of Khabarovsk's defense system.