From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

The war zone's top leader was completely outmaneuvered by the 7th Steel Brigade, and the staff of the command center's directing department were utterly dumbfounded, setting a precedent for the Langshan Base.

As a professional exercise base built by the theater command, which has conducted hundreds or even thousands of exercises, this is truly the first time such a situation has occurred.

It was precisely because the 7th Steel Brigade was so outrageous that this exercise gained an extra dimension, destined to be recorded as a classic confrontation case.

Meanwhile, everyone in the entire directing department became increasingly curious about the outcome of this exercise.

Ultimately, it was the Red Army's 7th Steel Brigade that, with its overwhelming superiority, crushed the remaining Blue Army forces, ending the exercise with a resounding victory in the complete annihilation of the Blue Army.

It was the Blue Team that turned the tide when they were in dire straits, thanks to the reconnaissance team's decapitation strike.

It was under this intense anticipation that, with only an hour or so left before dawn, the group, who had stayed up all night, showed no signs of sleepiness.

But even if everyone isn't sleepy, it won't help; the answer won't be revealed for another four hours.

The 7th Steel Brigade assembled and set off three hours later, and it would take an hour to reach the Blue Army's location.

Therefore, everyone had to suppress their anxiety and, apart from the staff on duty, everyone else went back to rest temporarily.

"See you at nine o'clock. Don't miss this final show."

The war zone's top leader and Chief of Staff Shen agreed on a time, and then he returned to his residence. As soon as he saw the bed, he was overcome with sleepiness.

The big boss, who was so worried about oversleeping that he couldn't stay awake any longer, specifically instructed the civil servants to wake him up.

……

Half past seven in the morning.

"Beep beep..."

A sharp whistle rang out.

After a brief three-hour slumber, the 7th Steel Brigade awoke as whistles sounded at the various company outposts, quickly entering the atmosphere of the final decisive battle.

The whole process of getting up, washing up, eating breakfast, and collecting supplies and ammunition is as follows.

It was already past 7:50.

After each unit assembled at its own camp for pre-battle mobilization according to the tasks previously assigned by Chen Jun, they set off in an orderly manner as ordered.

The troops responsible for defense went to the position first to relieve the troops guarding it.

Then, the battalion and company commanders below them adjusted their troops according to the missions issued by the brigade and began to advance towards their destinations as ordered.

The first to set off were helicopters from the Army Aviation Battalion, which split into multiple groups to conduct a thorough reconnaissance.

Not only must all potential dangers be eliminated along the path of the Steel Seven Journey, but the reconnaissance team hiding in the shadows must also be given no chance.

The terrain along the route also needs to be scanned to ensure there are no accidents such as landslides or mudslides.

With armed helicopters conducting reconnaissance ahead, ensuring the safety and smooth passage of the marching route, the other troops were able to set off in an orderly manner.

The marching formation was very conventional, with no special arrangements.

The remaining mechanized infantry battalion led the way, while the armored forces were divided into two parts, one in front and one behind, with the artillery battalion and brigade command post all in the center and protected.

Air defense battalions are deployed according to operational needs, and are separately arranged to accompany various units.

If the Blue Army dares to call in its attached air force to launch an air strike while the Red Army is on its march, the air defense battalion of the 7th Steel Brigade will ensure that it never returns.

The 7th Steel Brigade made a grand departure from 535 and launched a proactive attack in the direction from which the Blue Army was coming.

The directing staff received the information quickly, but the war zone's top leader and Chief of Staff Shen had not yet arrived, and most of the other officers who were observing were also absent.

I estimate I won't arrive until after nine o'clock.

The main force took more than an hour to march, so we just drove along the road and there really wasn't much to see.

The command post of the Blue Army's 909th Brigade was packed with people. All the officers of battalion level and above who could be there were present. Even though they hadn't slept all night, they showed no signs of fatigue.

It's not that they don't want to sleep, it's that they're simply too afraid to sleep.

The Blue Army command post is now completely cut off from all external forces, and they can't even contact the only surviving reconnaissance battalion.

Everyone, including Chu Zhangang, had no idea what was happening outside.

Did the Red Army's Seventh Steel Battalion make a decision to attack? If so, when to set off, how many troops to send, and from which route to attack, etc.

All information regarding this matter was completely blacked out at the Blue Team command post.

Not knowing the current situation of the Red Army, everyone, including Chu Zhangang, was very panicked. The only thing they could do was to be vigilant, be prepared to fight the Red Army at any time, and be ready to flee if things went wrong.

After all, Chu Zhangang's current tactics were aimed at merely delaying the main force of the Red Army, giving the reconnaissance brigade a chance to carry out a decapitation strike.

It wasn't really about fighting the Red Army to the death, or about being annihilated in a heroic and magnificent way.

but.

The Blue Army brigade command post was completely unaware of the Red Army's movements, while the reconnaissance battalions below were better informed and discovered the Red Army's actions immediately.

The reconnaissance battalion was hiding in the woods near 535. How could the Red Army headquarters possibly escape its notice with such a large-scale operation?

All the Red Army's attacking troops left the defensive line, and all the intelligence gathered in Hong Yi's hands.

"What's going on? The Red Army troops have basically all gone out. What are they going to do?" The deputy battalion commander couldn't understand the Red Army's intentions at all.

Because communication and external connections were completely cut off, the reconnaissance brigade was unaware that the Blue Army's left and right flanks were gone; the information was still retained from the time Li Zuo brought it back.

"Judging from the direction they're heading, that's the direction our main force came from. If I'm not mistaken, the Red Army is preparing to intercept our main force," Hong Yi guessed.

"The Red Army is quite clever. They know they can't win a direct confrontation and their defenses can't hold, so they simply go all out and launch a preemptive attack to try and create an opportunity," the deputy battalion commander laughed.

"Hey, even the Red Army knows how to be flexible, but look at the attack plan our brigade commander devised, it's utter garbage."

Hong Yi was furious and said coldly, "We have clearly infiltrated right under the noses of the Red Army and could have launched a surprise attack first."

In particular, the troops ambushed on both sides of the western gully completely avoided the Red Army's line of sight. They could quickly climb the cliff and sneak up behind the Red Army to launch a surprise attack.

If they can attack the Red Army command post, they will definitely disrupt the Red Army's deployment, cover the Blue Army's ground forces' attack, and take position 535 better and faster.

But our brigade commander is something else; it's like he's been kicked in the head by a donkey.

He insisted that it was outside the exercise area, and no one could see it, especially not the commanders. What kind of talk is that?

Hong Yi recalled the orders Chu Zhangang had just given, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

He continued to complain, "The brigade commander told us to give up our advantage of concealment and follow the 2nd Motorized Infantry Battalion to attack the 535 defense line. We've been lying here in the sun and rain, hungry and cold for eight whole days. Wasn't that all for nothing?"

Hong Yi's words were direct and reasonable. The deputy battalion commander agreed, saying, "Yes, our reconnaissance battalion's strength does not lie in frontal assault operations. The brigade commander's arrangement was indeed ill-considered."

Now that the main force of the Red Army has gone out, their rear must be undefended. Moreover, the Red Army most likely doesn't know that we're hiding right under their noses, which is definitely a great opportunity for us.

"If we can capture the Red Army command post, that would be a tremendous achievement, perhaps even the greatest accomplishment of this exercise."

The deputy captain became more and more excited as he spoke, his eyes shining as he spoke, as if he could already see the immense honor that was about to fall upon him.

"what do you mean……"

Hong Yi instantly understood the deputy captain's idea. As expected of family members, they were like-minded. His eyes lit up as he said, "Let's take advantage of the Red Army's weakened rear, sneak up from Chongpo, infiltrate the Red Army's rear, and take down their command post in one fell swoop!"

"correct."

The deputy captain nodded excitedly and said, "The brigade commander did issue the combat order, but things change rapidly on the battlefield, and the plan made at that time is no longer suitable for the present."

When the brigade commander was making the attack plan, he certainly didn't expect the Red Army to take the initiative and fight back.

Therefore, as long as we can capture the Red Army command post and completely disrupt the Red Army's rear, the Red Army's main force that takes the initiative to attack will inevitably be leaderless.

Under the command of the brigade commander, our main force of the Blue Army will surely be able to easily defeat the main force of the Red Army.

Therefore, the key to winning this exercise has become our reconnaissance battalion's decapitation strike behind enemy lines. I don't think the brigade commander will blame us.

The scene described by the deputy battalion commander was very enticing.

Normally, this would indeed happen. Assuming the Blue Team's left and right flanks are not wiped out, they would merge with the middle flank, forming a complete torrent.

Meanwhile, the main force of the Red Army actively sought out the Blue Army to engage in battle, and during the fighting, they heard devastating news from their rear—

The command post was wiped out, and all the high-ranking officers were killed.

The main force of the Red Army, which was fighting the Blue Army, would surely suffer a great blow in morale under the impact of such bad news, and would be annihilated by the Blue Army in a crushing defeat.

Hong Yi was never an honest man, and he deeply resented Chu Zhangang's battle plan.

Upon hearing the deputy battalion commander's vivid description of the perfect scene, Hong Yi barely hesitated, deciding to take the gamble even if it meant disobeying orders.

Moreover, Hong Yi has enough confidence.

With the reconnaissance battalion's formidable combat capabilities, the Red Army's rear was completely undefended. Even if he couldn't find the Red Army command post to carry out the decapitation strike, he could still lead his troops to safely withdraw from the Red Army's rear.

If we cooperate with Chu Zhangang's plan at that time, it won't really be considered disobeying orders.

At most, it can be considered as launching an unauthorized attack.

All that was required was an acceptable price to achieve a tremendous result that would end the exercise in one fell swoop. Hong Yi immediately made the decision and began issuing orders.

Order all the squadrons and platoons that are hidden in various places to assemble near the gully in the southwest.

More than ten minutes later.

All three hundred-plus members of the reconnaissance battalion had arrived and gathered in the woods where the gully was located. The three company commanders also came to Hong Yi's side.

Hong Yi first explained his action plan in detail to the three company commanders.

After all, operating right under the noses of the Red Army, the reconnaissance brigade had absolutely no communication equipment, and all communication had to be done by word of mouth.

Explaining the details beforehand ensures that everyone can cooperate effectively during the operation.

When the three company commanders learned that the operation was carried out without the brigade commander's permission, none of them objected, because they only trusted Battalion Commander Hong Yi.

With the support of his subordinates, Hong Yi began to make arrangements and deployments in an orderly manner.

In addition to leaving a small number of people to keep watch and ensure the safety of the gully, so that they can be safely evacuated from here in case of any unexpected events during subsequent operations.

Everyone else participated in the decapitation operation, and nearly three hundred people stormed into the Red Army's headquarters.

8:45 a.m.

The three squadrons of the reconnaissance brigade were divided into three groups and began climbing towards the top of the cliff in an orderly manner, starting from the gully.

It is estimated that it will take about ten minutes for all three squadrons to climb up.

After a brief few hours of calm, the director's office is now packed to capacity again, with everyone gathered here once more.

The war zone's top leader and Chief of Staff Shen, along with other high-ranking officials, remained seated in the first row.

They were unaware that the Blue Army's reconnaissance battalion had already set off to attack the Red Army's command post; the focus was entirely on the main forces of both sides engaged in combat.

The main force of the Red Army is about to reach its destination, and the Blue Army has made full preparations for defense.

The war is about to start.

At this crucial moment of the decisive battle, the atmosphere in the command center became tense, with almost everyone whispering and discussing among themselves.

Most people felt that there was no suspense left; the moment the main force of the Red Army arrived would be the Blue Army's final swan song.

Only a small minority are more optimistic about the Blue Team, believing that the professionally trained reconnaissance brigade is fully capable of turning the tide for the Blue Team.

This group of people were eager to know whether the reconnaissance team could truly understand Chu Zhangang's intentions.

After all, this is a "command" given without any communication.

Unfortunately, the reconnaissance team traveled by commercial airliner, without any coordinators from the directing department accompanying them, and their location remains a mystery.

Even the directing department had no way to find the reconnaissance team.

Therefore, no matter how anxious you are, you can only wait.

……

The time has come to 8:58.

All three battalions of the reconnaissance brigade climbed to the top of the cliff without alerting any Red Army sentries or guards, and thus easily penetrated the 535 defense line.

"Target: Red Army command post. Proceed."

Hong Yi personally led a large force to attack the location of the Red Army command post.

Hong Yi had participated in military exercises at the Wolf Forward Base more than ten times, and the location of the defensive command post was already etched in his mind.

He didn't even need to open a map; he could lead his men to fight his way there just by remembering it.

However, there was a distance of more than two kilometers between the front line and the Red Army's command post, and as the rear of the Red Army, it was possible to collide with the Red Army's troops at any time.

In order to avoid being discovered by the Red Army, Hong Yi had to remain hidden.

We traveled through the woods the whole way, searching for the most secluded routes.

It will take at least half an hour. (End of Chapter)