From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

"Reporting to the brigade commander, the directing staff has issued a notification."

The operator ran to the side of the cot and saw that Chu Zhangang was sleeping soundly. She could only raise her voice and try to wake him up.

Chu Zhangang hadn't slept well for the past seven or eight days, but today he was finally able to sleep soundly, and he slept very comfortably.

But they are soldiers after all, and they are very vigilant.

When I woke up and saw the operator standing in front of me, I sat up and took a few seconds to calm myself down before asking, "What's wrong this late at night?"

At this moment, Chu Zhangang was unaware that during the time he slept, the situation in the Blue Army had changed drastically.

"Brigade Commander, we just received another report from the directorate. Our left flank unit was attacked by the Red Army's air force and has been deemed incapable of combat. We have officially withdrawn from the exercise."

The operator carefully reported to Chu Zhangang, fearing that Chu Zhangang would lose his temper and give him a good scolding.

"Hehe, interesting, really interesting."

Instead of the rage the operator had imagined, Chu Zhangang calmly sneered and mocked, "The Red Army's psychological warfare is really getting more and more out of hand."

Even if you're going to spread fake news to fool us, you should at least put some effort into making it up. What kind of nonsense is this?

First they said our right flank was completely wiped out, and then less than an hour later, the Blue Army's left flank was also destroyed. My command post still hasn't received any news. This is just too ridiculous.

"Don't even mention me, Chu Zhangang; you couldn't fool even a kid on the street."

Chu Zhangang was convinced that this was a psychological warfare tactic employed by the Red Army. In fact, from his perspective, the recent events were simply too outrageous.

The Blue Army's left and right flanks combined comprise a force of several thousand men.

Even if we didn't consider how long it would take to kill these thousands of people, we still couldn't finish killing them in just two hours, even if we dragged thousands of pigs out on the road to slaughter them.

pity.

Chu Zhangang hadn't realized the cruelty of war, how fragile life was in the face of heavy firepower.

He never imagined that Chen Jun's elimination of the left and right flanks was not the conventional frontal combat he was familiar with, nor was it about eliminating the enemy in the traditional way.

Chen Jun's tactics are extremely cunning and are specially designed in a series of interconnected schemes.

That's why he made that misjudgment.

The operator initially trusted Chu Zhangang, but recalling how Chu had questioned him on the phone and been met with a stern rebuttal from the directing department, he realized that things weren't so simple.

So, mustering his courage, he added, "Reporting to the brigade commander, I have confirmed with the directing staff that the report seems to be true."

"Really? Really my ass."

Chu Zhangang outwardly feigned disdain, but his actions betrayed his words. He sat up from his cot, put on his shoes, and headed toward the radio station.

As he walked, he ordered the operator, "Get me connected to the director's office. I want to call and ask personally whether it's a trick by the Red Army or not."

"Yes, Brigadier."

Seeing that Chu Zhangang's expression was not good, the operator quickly ran back to make the call.

The call was quickly connected to the director's office, and the microphone was then handed to Chu Zhangang, who had walked over.

"Hello, this is Chu Zhangang, the commander-in-chief of the Blue Army. We received two notifications from the directorate. I need to confirm with the directorate whether the notification that the Blue Army's left and right flanks withdrew from the exercise was issued by the directorate."

Chu Zhangang asked very directly, expecting a negative answer, and was even mentally prepared for it.

"Chu Zhangang, I am Zhou Weimin, the chief commander of the directing department. I can tell you with certainty that the previous two reports came from the directing department. Your Blue Army only has the central force left. Please make adjustments in time."

Because Chu Zhangang had previously forced the director's department to resign, Zhou Weimin was somewhat dissatisfied with Chu Zhangang, so he hung up the phone immediately after finishing his sentence.

"Are...all of this true?"

Chu Zhangang was very familiar with Zhou Weimin's voice. After confirming that both reports were genuine and not a psychological tactic by the Red Army, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

The previous calm, confidence, and composure vanished, replaced by disbelief, fear, and doubt.

A few seconds passed.

"No, it's impossible, this is impossible."

Chu Zhangang couldn't accept this result. Even with confirmation from the directing department, he still couldn't accept it; the blow to him was simply too great.

This completely robbed him of his reason, and he frantically ordered, "Make a call, quick, call Commander Zhu, call the battalion commander in charge of the left flank, contact them immediately, use every means to do so."

The operator wanted to tell Chu Zhangang that our communications had long been intercepted and interfered with by the Red Army, and we had no way to contact other units.

But in just a few seconds, Chu Zhangang's eyes were already bloodshot, and his emotions were extremely broken.

The operator chose to keep quiet. Not wanting to be scolded, he opted to follow the brigade commander's orders and contact the left and right flank units by radio.

Both sides contacted each other several times, using different frequencies and methods.

The answers are all the same.

There was no response.

"Reporting to the brigade commander, both the left and right flanks are currently out of contact. I have tried all available means of communication, but I still cannot reach them," the operator said.

"This……"

Chu Zhangang plopped down in the chair, looking completely deflated.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Chief of Staff Ding, who was sleeping in the tent next door, was awakened by the commotion and rushed in from outside while getting dressed.

"Report to the Chief of Staff: The directing staff has informed us that both our right and left flank units have been attacked by the Red Army and have now been ordered to withdraw from the exercise."

Even if the operator's heart was trembling, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and say it again.

"What? Both the right and left flanks have withdrawn from the exercise? How is that possible?"

Chief of Staff Ding's first reaction was disbelief. Both units were fine before he went to sleep, without any signs of anything unusual. But when he woke up, he found that the sky had fallen, which was indeed hard to accept.

In a moment of heightened emotion, Chief of Staff Ding grabbed the operator's shoulder and asked, "Did you call to confirm? Could this be a psychological warfare tactic by the Red Army?"

"No, it's not psychological warfare."

There was no need for the operator to answer. After standing there dumbfounded for a while, Chu Zhangang said in a dejected and depressed tone, "I have already confirmed with the director's department that the left and right flanks are gone. We are doomed in this exercise."

“There’s a tank battalion on the left flank and an artillery regiment and a motorized infantry battalion on the right flank. How could they just disappear without a trace? Could something have gone wrong, and the directing staff made a misjudgment?” Chief of Staff Ding still didn’t believe it.

The main point is that it overturned his understanding, making it impossible for him to comprehend it.

"Oh no, we lost, we lost."

Chu Zhangang had considered calling the command headquarters again to demand evidence, but remembering how his previous call had displeased Chief of Staff Shen and almost brought him disaster, he dared not make the call again. Moreover, after calming down and thinking it over, Chu Zhangang realized that, based on his understanding and experience in military operations, he already knew the approximate reasons why the left and right flanks had been destroyed by the Red Army.

His strategy of having the main force split into three groups was what Chu Zhangang was most proud of.

The reason for using the tactic of dividing the troops into three routes was mainly because they made the same mistake as the 708th Brigade in underestimating the enemy and did not regard the Steel 7th Brigade as an evenly matched opponent.

They assumed that the 7th Steel Brigade was weak in direct combat and were certain that the 7th Steel Brigade would never dare to launch a counterattack.

At most, they would send small groups of troops to harass the enemy en route.

Therefore, Chu Zhangang's attention and focus from beginning to end were on avoiding the Red Army's harassment, which prevented the troops from arriving at Langshan on time.

They never considered that splitting the troops would create obvious defensive vulnerabilities in all three routes.

They are either unable to defend against air attacks or have weak ground combat capabilities.

If the Red Army targets these points and launches a significant attack, the three armies will be completely defenseless – a “huge hidden danger.”

It was precisely because of Chu Zhangang's "oversight" that his plan to divide the troops into three routes resulted in the complete army being split into three large parts, each with obvious loopholes, thus creating a huge hidden danger.

This would allow the Red Army to exploit the loopholes and destroy the left and right flanks one by one in this final crucial battle.

In other words.

It's as if Chu Zhangang himself destroyed the 909th Brigade, handing over the victory of this exercise to the Red Army.

If only Chu Zhangang hadn't been so scheming in the early stages, going to the war zone to find connections and pull strings, and eating and drinking with Wang Kezheng to dig up intelligence.

They adopted the most conventional troop marching pattern, advancing towards Langshan via the central route.

At the same time, maintain sufficient vigilance.

Even if the Red Army could carry out various harassments along the way, it could not pose any major threat to the 909th Brigade, let alone prevent the troops from reaching Langshan.

Don't forget that the 909th Brigade is not the same as the 708th Brigade; this is a brigade with a division-level organizational structure.

Its overall combat capability far exceeds that of the 708th Brigade.

However, Chu Zhangang's cleverness was too much, and he made too many unnecessary and superfluous moves, which gave the Red Army the opportunity to annihilate the 909th Brigade.

Now the Blues have lost their left and right flanks, leaving only the middle lane clinging to life.

It was impossible to stop the main force of the Red Army!
The thought that if the 909th Brigade were to be completely annihilated by the Red Army, as an offensive force being wiped out on the way by the defending forces, would be a much more devastating defeat than that of the 708th Brigade.

Chu Zhangang felt a sudden dizziness, as if he had nowhere to put his face.

I have the heart to want to die!
I really want to find a rock, smash my head against it, and die.

At least the 708th Brigade only suffered the capture of its commander and the destruction of its rear base by the Red Army, while the main force suffered no losses.

Chu Zhangang's 909th Brigade fared much better; not only was its political commissar captured by the Red Army, but it was no better off than the 708th Brigade.

An entire brigade was wiped out.

They were completely wiped out!
Chu Zhangang is a man who is so concerned with saving face that he would rather suffer than accept it. How could he possibly bear such humiliation of losing both his dignity and face?

If we don't raise the white flag and surrender now, it would be even more humiliating than being completely annihilated.

Chu Zhangang was even considering surrendering.

This way, at least half of the brigade can be saved.

"Hey, this Chu Zhangang isn't mature enough yet."

"The director's office has not yet decided the final outcome, but Chu Zhangang's performance was indeed inappropriate."

The two theater commanders in the director's command center saw Chu Zhangang's distraught state and lost all courage to fight. Their faces were full of disappointment.

For the two commanders who had a comprehensive view of the situation, it was normal for the troops below to fail; there is no such thing as an invincible army in the world.

What I fear most is that as the commander of an army unit, one loses the courage to fight even before a complete defeat has been achieved.

If we were on a real battlefield, where we had to fight to the death with the enemy, down to the last man, how could we entrust the troops to you, Chu Zhangang?

You should know that our ancestors fought to the last man in wars and never surrendered.

If Chu Zhangang were to act more proactively, displaying greater courage and fighting spirit, he could immediately organize the remaining troops to make preparations for the final battle.

Even if the Blues still cannot avoid losing, the two leaders will still give Chu Zhangang a high evaluation.

Because the strength demonstrated by the Red Army's 7th Steel Brigade far exceeded that of conventional troops, it earned the approval of the theater command.

Their counterparts are unlikely to be a match for them.

It's quite normal for the 909th Brigade, having fought a long and arduous campaign, to lose to the well-rested 7th Steel Brigade.

……

Perhaps it was the protection of Chu Zhangang's ancestors in the dark, who did not want him to leave a very bad impression in front of the leaders. In the end, he not only failed to become the deputy chief of staff of the group army, but he also lost his military uniform.

Or perhaps it was a sudden, serendipitous moment that made my previously malfunctioning brain suddenly clear.

Chu Zhangang, who had previously looked dejected, suddenly remembered that his superior was watching from behind the camera, and he had to present a good image to his superior.

Even if you know you're going to lose, you still have to make it look "spectacular" in front of your superiors.

Even if we lose.

Even in defeat, you must lose gracefully.

Under the influence of this peculiar showmanship, Chu Zhangang, who had originally lost all will to fight, miraculously regained his fighting spirit.

"No, we haven't lost yet. We still have attached troops to support us, we still have a reconnaissance battalion, and we still have the central force. Even if we can't take the 535 defense line, we will hold onto this last force."

Chu Zhangang's words were very inspiring, completely changing the atmosphere in the command post where morale had been waning.

"Yes, we still have people, and we still have a chance to win."

Chief of Staff Ding remembered the crucial information, strode to the map, pointed to one of the spots, and said, "The reconnaissance battalion is already lying in ambush right under 535's nose. This is our last trump card, our trump card to turn the tide."

As long as we can hold the central route and find a way to lure out the main force of the Red Army to encircle and annihilate our central route, we can create an opportunity for the reconnaissance battalion.

Once the Red Army gathers its main force and leaves 535, intending to completely annihilate us, there will definitely be loopholes in our defenses.

I believe that with Captain Hong's abilities, he will definitely find a way to launch a decapitation strike. Once they succeed, it will be equivalent to us controlling the 535 defense line.

According to the rules of the exercise, final victory will definitely belong to us. (End of Chapter)