From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

Chapter 451 Cutting Off the Blues' Left Arm Again
For the first ten days of the exercise, the Red Army did not make any major moves.

With only one day left in the exercise, Chen Jun suddenly dropped a bombshell in the dead of night, slashing off the Blue Army's right flank in one fell swoop.

This kind of quick, accurate, and ruthless attack is incredibly adrenaline-pumping.

It really makes you want to look forward to it...

What will Chen Jun do next?!

Seeing that he had piqued the boss's interest, Chief of Staff Shen couldn't help but smile and said, "Chen Jun's tactics have always been unconventional, and it's impossible to predict them using ordinary logic."

The Blues' remaining central and left flanks are both highly valuable for attack, but also carry significant risks; a failed attack would come at a high price.

Based on my understanding of Chen Jun, I think he might take a gamble and concentrate his forces to attack the Blue Team's middle lane.

The Blue Army's frontal combat forces in the central direction are limited, with only one motorized infantry battalion and an air defense battalion protecting the brigade command; the rest are all logistical units.

If an armored battalion and an infantry battalion can approach the Blue Army before the Blue Army can react and call for reinforcements, a strong attack can be launched, and the Blue Army's right flank can likely be destroyed.

Attacking the middle lane may seem very profitable, but it actually carries huge hidden risks.

If the Blue Army discovers them in advance and calls in air force aircraft for an air strike, along with the armored battalion on the left flank, they can arrive to provide support in just over an hour.

Doing so would have the exact opposite effect, and the Red Army would certainly have suffered heavy losses.

Chief of Staff Shen's analysis was spot on. The 7th Steel Brigade has always liked to use decapitation tactics, and there is a high probability that they will use a decapitation tactic again to end this exercise.

"Chief of Staff, if that's the case, then the second attack launched by the Red Army will determine the outcome of the confrontation. I'm really looking forward to it even more, haha."

The war zone's top leader laughed heartily, and with a wave of his hand, ordered, "Brew another pot of strong tea. I'm not sleeping tonight; I must witness who will emerge victorious between the Steel Seventh Brigade and the 909th Brigade."

“Alright, then I’ll wait with you, Chief of Staff. Such a wonderful show is a rare treat,” Chief of Staff Shen said with a smile.

It's already past 3 a.m., and in the past, the event would have ended long ago, leaving only the staff on duty, who would be very tired.

But now the command center is full of people, all waiting for the outcome of this great battle.

Simultaneously.

To satisfy their eagerness, the command center's large screen was focused on the Red Army command post, hoping to deduce the Red Army's next move from the discussions among the people there.

Everyone stared intently, their ears perked up like rabbit ears, but they couldn't hear a single word and were completely baffled.

Chen Jun is incredibly tight-lipped.

Aside from issuing large-scale troop mobilization orders, instructing them to assemble at specific locations and await his next instructions, he uttered not a single additional word.

Even if you want to analyze which troops are being mobilized to determine which route will be attacked next.

There's simply no way to do that.

Because almost all the remaining troops of the 7th Steel Brigade had received the order to prepare for battle from Chen Jun, the entire brigade was almost mobilized.

There was no trace to be found, and no way to analyze it.

So everyone could only wait.

Inside the vast command center, everyone waited anxiously. Inside the Red Army command post, discussions continued incessantly, while only the Blue Army command post had entered "sleep mode."

Half an hour passed before we knew it, and it was four in the morning.

The Blue Team set up camp on the left side of the train station, and the entire camp entered a period of peaceful rest. However, this peace was about to be broken.

"Reporting to the battalion commander, we received a notification from the stationmaster that our freight military train will arrive at the station in five minutes." A sergeant ran to the battalion commander's tent to report.

"Okay, we've finally arrived."

The tank battalion commander, dressed and resting on his cot, ready to depart at any moment, rubbed his face to refresh himself and then got up and stretched.

He lifted the tent flap and stepped out, saying happily, "Immediately notify all units to prepare to receive the vehicles. They must be ready to depart before dawn."

"Yes."

The sergeant saluted and strode out.

The Blue Army's left flank, consisting of an engineer battalion, a logistics department, a field hospital, and a tank battalion, is comprised of units with abundant supplies, including a large number of vehicles and equipment, which a single military train simply cannot fully accommodate.

To be precise, the 909th Brigade has limited capabilities and cannot mobilize large-scale dedicated military trains.

Therefore, the left flank troops had to separate their personnel and vehicles, with the personnel departing on two separate trains. The train carrying the personnel departed first, followed closely by the freight train.

Under the orders of the tank battalion commander in charge of the left flank, the quiet camp quickly turned into a flurry of activity.

The personnel of the tank battalion, engineer battalion, and other units all put on their uniforms and assembled on the train platform, waiting for their freight train to arrive.

However, a full ten minutes passed, and the train they were waiting for still hadn't arrived at the station.

"What's going on? Weren't you told the car was coming soon?"

The tank battalion commander paced back and forth with a frown, unable to wait any longer. He specifically sent his communications officer to the train dispatch office to inquire about the situation.

The messenger returned in less than three minutes, bringing very bad news.

Two kilometers from the train station, a barrier gate malfunctioned for some unknown reason, making it impossible to control the platform and guide the train onto the tracks.

The station has now notified the train to slow down and stop, and other trains behind it are also adjusting their speeds accordingly.

Passage can only proceed after the situation has been ascertained.

"The food was almost in my mouth, and then it still messed up. Sigh."

The tank battalion commander was so anxious he wanted to curse, but there was nothing he could do about it. He could only lead his men to continue waiting on the platform until the gate malfunction was resolved.

The other thousands of Blue Army soldiers who were there to receive the vehicles could only wait patiently.

at this time.

"Buzzing..."

The roar of a helicopter filled the air as it rapidly passed over the train station from afar.

"Helicopters? Or a formation of armed helicopters? Is this what we called for?"

The tank battalion commander looked up at the dark sky and could vaguely make out the shape of a helicopter, but in the pitch black, he couldn't tell friend from foe.

but.

His first instinct was that this must be the air force that his own unit had called in.

The tank company commander couldn't believe that while his own 909th Brigade, also at the brigade level, didn't even have a single helicopter, the Steel 7th Brigade could possess an armed helicopter squadron.

"It seems this battle will be over soon."

The tank battalion commander was filled with confidence when he realized that the brigade commander had even called in armed helicopters in advance for this final battle.

But his smile didn't last long before he was startled by a sound coming from the distant sky.

"Bang bang bang bang..." "Puff puff puff..."

The sound of the cannons firing was exceptionally dense, and the flames spewed from the rocket pods were exceptionally conspicuous in the air, clearly visible even from a kilometer away.

Everyone immediately understood the reason from the sound: it must have been the helicopter that had just flown by firing.

But look at the direction of the firing.

Everyone's heart skipped a beat.

"The direction these helicopters are firing from, and their location, seems to be in the direction of the military train. Could it be that they are attacking the military train?"

The tank battalion commander was quite capable; he quickly made a judgment based on the limited information available.

But the moment that judgment was made, the tank battalion commander felt an uncontrollable chill run down his spine, and his entire mind went completely blank.

Because all the information combined made him realize a terrifying possibility.

The gate malfunctioned inexplicably, forcing the military train to stop on the tracks. When attacked by armed helicopters, they became sitting ducks with no way to escape, and the armed helicopters were specifically targeting them.

Would these stationary targets have any chance of surviving an attack by a squadron of armed helicopters?
The answer is beyond doubt.

100% "dead and gone".

Having figured out the whole story, the tank battalion commander finally understood that this was an attack launched by the Red Army against them.

It wasn't targeting their personnel at all, but specifically their vehicles and equipment.

Judging from the current situation, all the vehicles and supplies are gone.

The tank battalion commander in charge of the left flank was terrified, watching his equipment and supplies being destroyed before his eyes, yet he was powerless to do anything to stop it.

The other Blue Army soldiers waiting on the platform for the troops to arrive were also dumbfounded at this moment.

They all realized what was happening.

At the same time, my heart sank.

The several coordinators and referees at the scene witnessed the entire incident and immediately reported the situation to the directing staff.

The dispatcher who traveled with the military train also relayed the information to the command center at that moment.

Another attack without warning, this time even more efficient than the last, taking no more than two minutes from start to finish.

The cadres and staff in the command center were once again deeply shocked.

It's not that they're naive or making a fuss over nothing.

That's just too exaggerated.

They first used tactical maneuvers to force the train to stop, then used the fastest and most powerful armed helicopter formation to launch a lightning-fast attack on the enemy.

They gave the enemy no time to react and swiftly destroyed all the vehicles and supplies.

no doubt.

This was a near-perfect lightning strike.

"I'm impressed. This kid is really wicked. I never expected him to use a tactic of attacking only the vehicle and not the person. But this method is the most efficient. It can not only avoid anti-aircraft fire, but also completely paralyze the right flank."

The war zone commander once again gave it high praise, and added with a sigh, "Tonight's night was well worth the effort; it has truly broadened my horizons."

The commander of the war zone had served in the military for three or four decades and had seen all kinds of big scenes.

But Chen Jun's playing style was something he had never seen before.

"Indeed, letting the people through first, making the Blue Army's left flank lower their guard, tampering with the barrier in advance to turn a moving target into a stationary one, and finally sending a helicopter to wipe them all out—this combo was indeed executed very smoothly."

Chief of Staff Shen was very satisfied and commented, "Without tanks, there is no armored battalion; without engineering vehicles, there is no field hospital; without medical pods, the left flank of the 909th Brigade is useless, completely useless."

"Yes, these troops are quite special. Without core equipment, they are useless even on the battlefield."

The theater commander agreed with Chief of Staff Shen's words and immediately issued an order: "Switch the camera to the Blue Army command post and report the verdict on the left flank. I want to see if Chu Zhangang can still sleep soundly."

Chief of Staff Shen was also quite curious about how Chu Zhangang would react after both the left and right flanks were destroyed.

Will they break down into hysteria, or continue to fight tenaciously?

soon.

Swish.

The base's deputy commander picked up the phone and made a call to the Blue Army command post to report the latest ruling to the Blue Army.

The same operator answered the phone; I almost dropped the microphone when I heard the announcement.

However, remembering Chu Zhangang's previous suspicions, the operator did not immediately report it this time, but questioned, "This is definitely psychological warfare by your Red Army. Our brigade commander said that we don't need to pay any attention to you."

"This is the director's command center. The ruling has been communicated to your department. Believe it or not, it's up to you." The deputy commander-in-chief hung up the phone after saying this.

Zhou S, who had listened to the whole thing from the side, shook his head with a smile and said, "It's true what they say, once bitten, twice shy. The Seventh Steel Brigade has left him with a psychological trauma, and he even doubts the director's report."

"I think the 909th Brigade is going to lose, and it won't be a bad loss at all. The 7th Steel Brigade is far, far stronger than them," the deputy commander-in-chief said solemnly.

"Alas, the gap is so vast, it's not like the soldiers of a single nation. If all our troops were like this..."

Zhou Sling from the base didn't finish his sentence, and his expression turned extremely ugly. It wasn't that he didn't want to say it, but that he couldn't.

Because it would be too embarrassing to say it out loud.

As an elite unit, the 909th Brigade frequently participates in exercises and is already a "familiar face" at the Wolf Forward Base.

The result is that this team, which is renowned and has rarely encountered an opponent in previous exercises at the Wolf Former Base, is one of the few in the entire war zone.

But this unit, which was so formidable in previous exercises, became so pathetic when facing the 7th Steel Brigade.

That's indirectly telling everyone that the Wolf Former Base's previous exercise and confrontation modes were flawed, and the troops trained there were simply no match for them.

It wasn't just the 909th Brigade that embarrassed itself; the Wolf Former Base also bears a lot of blame.

Therefore, Zhou S couldn't bring himself to say it.

That's why he looked unwell.

Just as Zhou S was feeling immense pressure, everyone else in the director's command center was focused on the screen of the Blue Army's command post.

Everyone was just like the big boss of the war zone, wondering how Chu Zhangang, who was still sleeping soundly, would react when he learned that both the left and right flanks were gone.

Does he have the mental fortitude to handle this, and what methods will he use to clean up the mess?

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the operator at the Blue Army command post hesitated for several seconds before finally deciding not to make a decision on his own.

They decided to tell Chu Zhangang about it so that the brigade commander could determine whether it was a psychological tactic by the Red Army.

(End of this chapter)