From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

If Chen Jun cannot hack into the railway system within two hours, he will resort to a more direct approach.

Armed helicopter airstrike!
Although armed helicopters are the Seventh Steel Brigade's trump card and should not be used lightly unless absolutely necessary, they should be used when necessary to eliminate the Blue Army's left flank.

So after Qiu Ming left with the instructions, Chen Jun immediately introduced the walking combat method to everyone.

"At the current speed, their armored battalion will be able to reach Wolf Mountain Camp by tomorrow night. If we can hack into the railway system and modify the scheduling, we can make the left flank stay at the first marshalling yard for at least 24 hours."

When they arrive at the second marshalling yard, they will have to go through a similar process, using the railway system to make them stay for more than 48 hours.

Only in this way can the desired effect be achieved.

"Even if their armored battalion reaches Wolf Mountain, the exercise will be nearing its end, and there won't be enough time. It will be useless even if they arrive," Chen Jun said.

"But what if we can't keep the Blue Army's left flank stuck on the road through strategic maneuvering?" Gao Cheng asked impatiently.

"That's what I'm going to say next."

Chen Jun pointed to the left flank of the sand table and said, "If this plan doesn't work, then we'll use the second plan. We'll concentrate our superior forces, send out armed helicopters, and completely wipe out the Blue Army's left flank."

However, the Blue Army is too far away from us, beyond the combat range of armed helicopters, so the attack plan needs to be adjusted.

We'll ignore the first formation station and let them reach the second formation station smoothly. During this time, we'll focus our attack on the right flank, which will help to lull the Blue Army's left flank into a false sense of security.

When the Blue Army's left flank departed from the second marshalling yard, they were less than 500 kilometers away from us.

At that time, we will be able to directly arm helicopters to form an air strike formation and launch a swift attack on the left flank of the Blue Army.

The main objective is to destroy the railway and the Blue Army's tanks, with the goal of completely crippling the Blue Army's tank battalion.

The Blue Army's left flank consisted of an armored battalion, an engineer battalion, a logistics department, and a field hospital. They had absolutely no air defense capabilities, making them easy targets for us.

The success rate of an army aviation battalion launching an attack with armed helicopters is practically 100%.

Without its tank battalion as a battering ram, even if the rest of the 909th Brigade reached Langshan, capturing position 535 wouldn't be easy for the Blue Army.

When Chen Jun revealed his backup tactics, it immediately caused a great stir.

"That's right, how come I didn't think of that before? The Blue Army's left flank has no air defense capabilities and can't be in combat mode on the train. If they launch an attack with armed helicopters, the Blue Army's left flank is simply meat on a chopping board."

Gao Cheng was so excited that he slapped his thigh. Chen Jun's plan was exactly what he wanted.

Wang Qingrui was equally satisfied with this tactic, and even more eagerly than Gao Cheng said, "Only a dead enemy is the best enemy."

Since we have the capability to destroy the Blues' left flank, let's not keep it as a backup plan; why not make it our primary strategy and execute it immediately?

Wang Qingrui's idea was not wrong.

The preferred solution now is to hack into the railway system and modify the scheduling of the Blue Army's left flank trains, preventing them from reaching the battlefield in time.

While this solution would certainly be more convenient if successful, it ultimately carries significant hidden risks.

That means the Blue Army's left flank was merely stalled, not wiped out. No one could have predicted in advance whether the Blue Army would find a way to break the deadlock.

If the Blue Army finds a way to solve the dispatch problem and allows the left flank troops to arrive at the assembly point in time.

That would be a big problem for the Red Army!

Therefore, the best way to eliminate this possibility is to completely destroy the Blues' left flank, which would then eliminate any threat whatsoever.

Chen Jun did want to do as Commander Wang suggested, but he had more to consider.

Therefore, he specifically explained: "Brigade Commander, in the previous battle with the 708th Brigade, we canceled the bridge attack plan and did not expose our armed helicopter force."

Therefore, even if Chu Zhangang specifically sought out Wang Kezheng, he could not possibly know that we possessed an armed helicopter squadron.

The regular brigade-level combat units of our army are not equipped with army aviation units, let alone armed helicopters. The 708th Brigade and the 909th Brigade are the same.

Therefore, the 909th Brigade did not make any air defense plans in the design of the marching plan.

This gives us a good opportunity to launch an airstrike, but we only have one chance to strike. Once we launch an attack, the other units of the 909th Brigade will immediately be on alert, and the air defense battalion will definitely be immediately deployed to the other two routes.

Therefore, this precious opportunity is very important to us. It might just be the turning point that allows us to reverse the situation and turn defeat into victory. We should only use it as a last resort.

The Blues' left flank is not in a dead end. If there is still a way to hold them off and prevent them from posing a threat to us, then we should not reveal our trump cards.

If we can hold onto our trump cards, our chances of winning will increase by 10%.

Originally, Ma Tianxiang, Tian Baoguo, and a few others shared the same thought as Wang Qingrui: eliminating the enemy would be safer.

However, after hearing Chen Jun's explanation, their ideas were shaken.

Yes.

This is our trump card.

This is a battalion-sized formation of armed helicopters, and its capabilities are so powerful that they can influence the outcome of a normal exercise.

If such a trump card were to be revealed so easily, it would be a huge loss for the Seventh Steel Battalion.

Especially now, with the enemy outnumbered and the Seventh Steel Battalion at a significant disadvantage, this valuable trump card must be used with utmost care.

"Our chief of staff is very thoughtful. Let's do as he says."

Unlike Chu Zhangang, who would immediately become red-faced and angry if his ideas were opposed by his subordinates, Wang Qingrui had absolute trust in Chen Jun.

Since the brigade commander felt there was no problem, there was no need for the others to say anything more.

Next, we began to discuss the Blue Team's mid-lane strategy.

……

Blue Team 909th Brigade.

The central troops exited the highway at the nearest exit and parked their vehicles in a wide area outside the exit, forming a long line of dozens of military vehicles.

Chu Zhangang and Xu Xiaocun got out of the command vehicle and waited by the roadside for the chief of staff to arrive.

Chief of Staff Ding Kai was responsible for bringing up the rear, so he arrived later than the two of them. His car didn't arrive until most of the team had exited the highway.

"Brigade Commander, the 7th Steel Brigade has gone too far. We can go to the war zone and report them."

Chief of Staff Ding Kai had barely stepped out of the car when he eagerly offered suggestions to Chu Zhangang, clearly annoyed that the marching route had been exposed.

"What? You want me to halt the troops and run to the war zone to report on things like Wang Kezheng did?"

Chu Zhangang was much more rational than Wang Kezheng, and he wasn't swayed by Ding Kai at all. With a casual remark, he shut Ding Kai up. "There isn't enough evidence to prove that the Seventh Steel Brigade was responsible for this, right?" Xu Xiaocun also comforted him.

"The facts are already laid out before us. Who benefits most from doing this? Isn't it just the 7th Steel Brigade? Do we really need evidence for something this simple?"

Ding Kai was still very angry, and then said, "Several battalion commanders called me and said that the exercise could not be continued."

"That Smurf's scheme has exposed our every move to the Blue Team's eyes!"

"Chief of Staff, why are you so agitated?"

Chu Zhangang remained remarkably calm, standing with his hands behind his back and confidently stating, "This is the Seventh Steel Brigade playing tricks on us; in professional terms, they're waging psychological warfare against us."

Their ultimate goal is to deliberately spread this information online, causing panic and confusion among our officers and soldiers, and bringing our troops to a standstill.

The 7th Steel Brigade knows they can't beat us, so they can only resort to petty tricks on the road. As long as we remain calm, the 7th Steel Brigade can't do anything to us.

Chu Zhangang's mental fortitude is indeed very strong. If Wang Kezheng had even half of his ability, he wouldn't have lost so badly.

“But this is not just psychological warfare, I think it also involves personal attacks,” Ding Kai said with dissatisfaction.

"I was the one who decided on this marching plan, and I didn't take it to heart, so you don't need to worry about it too much," Chu Zhangang said reassuringly.

"Chief of Staff, the situation that the brigade commander and I just analyzed shows that the Blue Army is now daring to take the initiative and use psychological and information warfare to harass us, which proves that our brigade commander's analysis at the operational meeting was correct."

Xu Xiaocun also offered words of comfort and analyzed, "The Blue Army knows very well that in actual combat, their strength is far inferior to ours."

We also know that as long as we arrive at Langshan on time, given the gap between us and the two sides, it is simply impossible for them to hold onto Hill 535 for three days.

Therefore, we wanted to make a move during this 1,500-kilometer march, as long as we could effectively stop and delay our arrival at Langshan.

Therefore, they have less time to defend, and their probability of holding on is higher.

Avoid the strong and attack the weak.

This is the core of the current tactics of the 7th Steel Brigade.

"Actually, the leaders all know this very well, and I've figured it out now too."

Chu Zhangang picked up the conversation and said, "Why did the commander send our 909th Brigade on such a long-distance raid, with such a strict time limit?"

The purpose is to test our mobility and command and coordination capabilities during the march.

If we can't even overcome this small difficulty, and then go and report to him halfway through, what will the commander think of us? Where will our 909th Brigade put our faces?

After Chu Zhangang and Xu Xiaocun explained everything, the chief of staff's anger finally subsided.

Realizing he had almost fallen for the Red Army's trick, the chief of staff straightened up and replied, "Brigade Commander, Political Commissar, I'll go down and inform the troops to shut down all computers connected to the local area network. No one is allowed to go online without permission."

"Well, let's do it."

Just as Chu Zhangang finished issuing the order, a lieutenant colonel ran over to report: "Brigade Commander, Political Commissar, Chief of Staff, in response to the Smurfs' provocation, our battalion's cyber counterattack team has launched a counterattack against the Smurfs."

The lieutenant colonel who gave the report was the battalion commander of the electronic warfare battalion. After he finished speaking, he placed the military laptop he had brought over on the hood of the off-road vehicle next to him and opened it.

It's not that I don't want to open it directly in my hand, it's just that military laptops these days are too heavy.

The laptop brought over by the battalion commander already weighed over seven kilograms, and with the addition of NBC protection for military use, it weighed over twelve kilograms.

Opening something weighing over 20 kilograms with one hand is no easy feat.

"Cyber ​​retaliation?"

Chu Zhangang, Xu Xiaocun, and Ding Kai were all attracted by this novel term.

The electronic warfare battalion is a new addition in this division-to-brigade reorganization. The previous 909th Division did not have such a unit, and it has been part of the 909th Brigade for less than half a year.

Even though Chu Zhangang and Xu Xiaocun were the commanding officers, they didn't know much about the electronic warfare battalion.

After all, everyone has their own specialties.

The brigade commander only needs to direct the artillery to fire; he doesn't need to fire the cannons himself.

"Yes, they're not the only ones who know how to work with the internet."

The electronic warfare battalion commander was quite pleased with himself. He opened a webpage on the local area network and pointed at it, saying, "Our counterattack has begun. You can see this."

Chu Zhangang and Xu Xiaocun both crowded around and stared at the content on the computer screen.

The post exposing the Blue Army's marching route has been attacked by a group of people, and the comments left are highly inflammatory.

"Smurf, if you've got the guts, step forward and reveal your true identity."

"That Smurf is clearly a despicable scoundrel, a ghost from the gutter, he's really disgusting."

"I suggest taking him out and shooting him for half an hour."

……

There are many similar offensive comments, with more than a dozen comments already posted on the thread, all of them cursing the Smurfs and ruining the atmosphere of the entire thread.

"Who organized this?" Chu Zhangang asked.

"At first, it was spontaneous from the soldiers. Later, I suggested forming a cyber counterattack team to concentrate firepower and launch targeted counterattacks. Everyone responded very positively. They are all cyber experts in our brigade, college student soldiers."

After explaining, the lieutenant colonel scrolled down the post and pointed to one of the comments, saying, "Take a look at this one."

"Comrades, thanks to the meticulous reconnaissance of the Kyoto Radar King, the Smurf has been exposed! He's the Red Army's Steel Seventh Brigade. Lacking real strength, he resorts to such underhanded tricks. We must break through the 535 defense line! Come on, comrades!"

The lieutenant colonel thought that Chu Zhangang would definitely praise him for doing a good job after reading this.

Chu Zhangang shook his head speechlessly and said, "This is not a counterattack, you've clearly fallen into the trap of the Seventh Steel Brigade and are being led by the nose."

Xu Xiaocun immediately ordered, "Battalion Commander Xue, immediately inform the soldiers to stop this pointless debate."

The Blue Army wanted to create trouble along our march route, disrupt our marching plans, distract us, and slow down our march.

"If you let the soldiers waste their energy on this, aren't you falling into their trap?"

"Ah? So that's how it is?" Battalion Commander Xue suddenly realized, his face full of guilt.

"Immediately issue the order: have all units shut down all computers connected to the internet. Knowing it's a psychological warfare tactic by the Blue Team, why waste time arguing with them online? Go now," the chief of staff urged. (End of Chapter)