From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

The first breakout attempt by the fifty-strong Blue Army was thwarted by the water after only a few splashes.

This undoubtedly tells everyone in the reconnaissance battalion that such an infantry charge and breakout attempt is simply not feasible and will only lead to certain death.

No matter how many soldiers you have, it won't be enough to send them all.

If it were an ordinary character, encountering this situation would basically be a dead end, and the entire team would be wiped out before long.

But the situation was completely different when Hong Yi was in charge of the Blue Army.

Hong Yi was not only stubborn, but he also dared to confront even the brigade commander.

He was also a clever commander.

Although the Blue Army's first breakout attack failed to break through the Red Army's encirclement, it allowed Hong Yi to keenly discover two key points.

The key to breaking the deadlock!!
First, there were the Red Army soldiers outside the front and back gates. Hong Yi could tell their approximate numbers just by listening to the gunfire. The Red Army soldiers in both places combined should be a company.

Judging the number of enemies by the sound of gunfire is difficult for the average person, but for Hong Yi it was a basic skill.

Secondly, the fallen Blue Army soldiers will emit white smoke, and if there are enough of them, they will form a large-scale barrier. If they can be moved outside the gate, they can block the Red Army's line of sight and prevent them from firing accurately.

Having grasped these two key points, Hong Yi quickly devised a countermeasure.

They employed a feint attack and also imitated the Red Army's shameless tactics.

Twenty men were sent to the front gate to fire at the Red Army from a distance, making it appear as if they were still breaking out from the front and back gates respectively, thus deceiving the Red Army ambushing outside.

Then the remaining Blue Team members all gathered at the back door and concentrated all their forces to break out from there.

Before the breakout.

Hong Yi first instructed the second wave of soldiers at the front and back gates, namely the 40 people arranged to "pave the way," to pretend that they were slow to react and did not notice the smoke from the smoke canisters when they broke through, even if they were hit.

Despite the thick white smoke billowing out, they rushed to the outside of the gate before stopping, allowing the smoke to concentrate outside the gate and form a wall of smoke between them.

Taking advantage of the smoke, the remaining members of the reconnaissance team rushed into the woods behind through the back door in one go.

Once you can get into the woods, it's like a fish entering the water.

Hong Yi then had the means to persevere.

The tactics were executed quickly and the operation commenced. Twenty Blue Army soldiers, deployed at both the front and rear gates, launched an attack just like the first wave.

"Da da da da..."

The Red Army special operations company fired their guns, their marksmanship as precise as ever.

But the Blue Army soldiers who were hit changed. They no longer obediently stopped and remained standing, smoking and dying, as before whenever they were hit.

Even after being hit, the Blue Army soldiers will continue to charge forward.

Following Hong Yi's instructions, they did not stop until they reached the gate.

"Damn it, those Blues bastards are cheating."

The special operations soldiers were so angry they were cursing, but they couldn't do anything about the Blue Army soldiers.

The exercise only used blank rounds. A laser was used to trigger the enemy's receiver, which would then detonate the smoke canister. White smoke indicated that the enemy had been killed.

It doesn't fire actual bullets, but it has a very strong stopping effect on the target.

Furthermore, these Blue Army soldiers did not "intentionally survive"; they simply reacted much slower when they died, dragging their bodies for a long time before stopping.

Even if this situation is reported to the directing department, the Blue Team will not be punished in any way.

After all, the other party was really "dead," just dying a little slowly.

They just happened to exploit a loophole in the rules!

The twenty Blue Army soldiers who were killed at the front and back gates all ran outside the gate before stopping, sitting on the ground and waiting for smoke to rise from their bodies.

The smoke rising from these twenty soldiers, plus the smoke from the first wave of fallen Blue Army soldiers.

The front and back gates were shrouded in white smoke, rising straight up from the ground and blocking the way between the woods and the base camp, effectively creating a super-large bunker.

Seeing that his plan had worked, Hong Yi decisively ordered the remaining nearly two hundred soldiers to rush out through the back door.

They must all rush to the woods behind before the smoke dissipates.

Nearly two hundred men rushed out in a huge swarm. Given good visibility and shooting conditions, and the special operations company's accurate marksmanship, only a handful would be able to escape.

But now that the white smoke is blocking the way, the special operations company's firepower has plummeted.

Being blocked by smoke not only makes it impossible to aim accurately, but the laser beams fired from the gun also have poor penetration in the smoke, and some shots will not trigger the smoke canister even if they hit.

This means that the Blue Team has once again exploited a loophole in the exercise equipment.

Of the two hundred Blue Army soldiers who were supposed to be all left behind, less than half were left behind; the remaining hundred or so all ran into the woods.

Despite the reconnaissance team of about 300 men rushing over, only about 100 managed to escape, meaning nearly 200 were left behind.

From any perspective, this was a resounding victory.

However, from a tactical perspective, as long as the enemy is not completely eliminated, the remaining hundred-plus Blue Army soldiers can still pose a significant threat.

"Damn it, these Blue Team players are really something, they've started playing the same tricks we like to play."

Tuo Yonggang looked at the hundred or so Blue Army soldiers who had fled, but he was not annoyed or angry. Instead, the Blue Army's unusual nature aroused his strong fighting spirit.

"Don't think that you can escape once you're in the woods. Once you're in my hands, you won't be able to get away."

Driven by his competitive spirit and fighting will, Tuo Yonggang was not about to let the reconnaissance team slip away, and immediately issued an order to pursue them.

Leading nearly a hundred elite special operations soldiers, they chased after the fleeing Blue Army.

While keeping a close watch, they also reported the latest situation of the battle with the Blue Army to the brigade command post through the infantry radio, without missing a single word.

At this time, Chen Jun's reconnaissance work was also in its final stages.

The intelligence gathering of the Blue Army brigade headquarters has been basically completed.

Upon learning that the Blue Army's reconnaissance brigade, which had been missing for a long time, had now reappeared at his headquarters, and that he would have been nearly beheaded if he hadn't taken precautions in advance, Chen Jun finally realized what was happening.

"Ha, so the Blue Army brigade headquarters didn't run away. They knew they couldn't win, but they're still putting up a stubborn resistance. They're secretly plotting to launch a surprise attack. Unfortunately, when it comes to decapitation strikes, you, Chu Zhangang, are just showing off your limited skills."

The thought that Chu Zhangang had orchestrated a decapitation strike against the Steel Seventh Brigade, the very brigade most adept at such operations, made Chen Jun want to laugh.

At this moment, Wang Qingrui, Gao Cheng, and the others, just like Chen Jun, understood what gave the Blue Army the confidence to fight the Red Army to the death here.

Their thoughts were similar to Chen Jun's; they all felt a sense of absurdity.

What does it mean to show off one's skills in front of Guan Yu? What does it mean to teach a fish to swim?

This is!
Chu Zhangang didn't even use his brain to think. The 7th Steel Brigade was the unit that loved decapitation strikes the most, so how could they not be prepared for decapitation strikes?

Originally, because the Blue Army reconnaissance team had not yet appeared, the high-ranking officers of the Steel Seventh Brigade thought that the Blue Army was going to play some sophisticated trick, and they were very interested.

I want to play with Chu Zhangang a little longer.

But now the Blue Army's last trump card has been exposed, and there is no way they can survive the pursuit of the Special Operations Company. Everyone in the 7th Steel Brigade knows the value of the Special Operations Company.

The Blue Army only had this one infantry battalion left, which posed no threat to the Red Army whatsoever.

Something that isn't challenging.

Naturally, everyone lost interest in continuing to play.

Since you don't want to play anymore, let's end it here.

Almost all the high-ranking officers of the 7th Steel Brigade, including Chen Jun, made their decisions at the same time, and Brigade Commander Wang Qingrui issued the final order for the general offensive.

No need for elaborate tactical arrangements; brute force alone can crush the Blue Army's mid-lane.

The tank moved forward.

The artillery was moved to the rear.

Cannons are the only truth; just keep firing and that's it.

With only a small number of Blue Army troops in the middle, bombarding them with artillery shells for twenty minutes will basically destroy most of them. The rest can be dealt with by sending infantry and tanks to take a quick look around.

However, just as the Red Army was deploying its troops, Chu Zhangang immediately received the information.

At this time, Chu Zhangang was unaware that the reconnaissance brigade he had placed high hopes on was already preoccupied with its own problems and was still trying to stall for time.

Therefore, he immediately called on the air force to send air power to strike the Red Army.

It's unrealistic to expect the complete annihilation of the Red Army.

Their only goal was to disrupt the Red Army's rhythm and delay the inevitable for as long as possible.

The Blue Army's attached air force was indeed effective; in less than ten minutes, armed helicopters flew over the position, ready to strike the Red Army's artillery battalion.

Bombers, which have a relatively slow takeoff speed, will follow closely behind.

As a result, the Blue Army bombers, which had come with great force, were struck by lightning before they even got close to the Red Army artillery battalion, and within two minutes all of them were billowing white smoke.

The anti-missile and air defense battalion of the 7th Steel Brigade is no joke; it is a truly top-tier unit.

A mere squadron of armed helicopters can be taken down in minutes.

Even the bombers that followed were locked onto by the anti-aircraft missile fire control system and fled in disgrace from dozens of kilometers away.

Chen Jun decisively destroyed the Blue Army's counterattack, ending their last hope of a comeback.

They didn't forget to kill him out of his spirit, delivering the final, decisive blow.

They aggressively and proactively cut into the Blue Team's command and communications, making it clear to Chu Zhangang through a phone call.

"Commander Chu, I have some bad news for you. The helicopters and bombers you called for have all been shot down by me."

Here's some even worse news: the reconnaissance team you pinned your hopes on has been completely crushed by us and will soon be wiped out.

Finally, I am officially announcing to you that the exercise will be completely over in 10 minutes.

Before Chu Zhangang could speak, Chen Jun cut off the call between them.

All that was left was Chu Zhangang, his face ashen with rage. His hand, gripping the phone, veins bulging, heated up for a few seconds before he slammed the phone down on the table.

He smashed the excellent quality military telephone microphone in half.

This shows how angry he was at that moment.

With the Blue Army units suffering such a blow, no one in the command post dared to breathe; it was eerily quiet—you could hear a pin drop.

As Chu Zhangang remained silent with a livid face, wondering if it was another psychological warfare tactic by the Red Army.

The reconnaissance team had not been discovered, and he wondered if he should continue to stall for time.

"Boom boom boom boom..."

The deafening roar of cannons erupted.

With the artillery battalion unleashing its full firepower, regardless of whether Chu Zhangang could accept the outcome, the exercise was already drawing to a close.

After the low-pitched artillery fire lasted for a full seven or eight minutes, the Red Army tanks and infantry charged onto the Blue Army's position.

Based on a large amount of combat data promptly transmitted back by dispatchers, the command center conducted simulations, and Commander Zhou made the final announcement in public—

The Red Army's 7th Steel Brigade emerged victorious in the 2001 Theater Army Decisive Battle Live-Fire Exercise!

Clapping sounds...

The moment the director announced it to the public, everyone in the command center stood up and gave it the warmest applause.

Upon receiving notification from the directing department that they had won, the entire 7th Steel Brigade erupted in jubilation.

Excited laughter echoed in every corner.

The 7th Steel Brigade has had a tough journey so far. This exercise was against all odds from the very beginning, and no one was optimistic about its chances.

However, the final result was exactly the opposite, with the 7th Steel Brigade achieving victory by annihilating the 909th Brigade.

The significance of this victory.

Those who understand, understand; there's no need for further explanation.

One family rejoices, another grieves.

In contrast, the Red Army's victory in the exercise had plunged the entire brigade into a festive atmosphere, with joy radiating from everyone's face.

On the other side, the 909th Brigade, which had suffered a crushing defeat and was completely annihilated, had mournful faces on everyone's faces.

Especially at this moment, the brigade headquarters...

Chu Zhangang could not accept this tragic ending, could not accept that he had lost even more miserably than Wang Kezheng, and in his anger and shame, he almost ground his teeth to pieces.

Having lost all face, all he could do was clench his fists and roar in utter helplessness, "Chen Jun, you'll remember this!!"

……

The grand exercise has come to an end, but although the exercise is over, the shockwaves it has generated are growing stronger.

The shock quickly spread from the command center of the Wolf Former Base to the heart of every commander in the Capital Theater.

On the surface, this exercise...

The fact that the 7th Steel Brigade was able to defeat the 708th and 909th Brigades in succession proves that the 7th Steel Brigade is gradually maturing on the path of becoming a professional combined arms brigade.

However, the performance of Chu Zhangang and the 909th Brigade was rather disappointing.

It could even be said that it exceeded everyone's expectations.

While shocked by the outcome of the exercise, the theater command was also forced to consider a question due to the various situations exposed during the exercise.

The 708th and 909th Brigades are both elite units in the theater, representing the highest level of the theater army.

Now, however, they have suffered repeated defeats at the hands of a newly formed combined arms brigade that has not even undergone any professional training and can be described as a disorganized and untrained force.

This phenomenon is enough to make the leaders shudder.

If war were to break out now, and if the 7th Steel Brigade were a real invading enemy, given the current performance of the theater army, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Is our carefully built team really so vulnerable?

Obviously not!
The strength of my country's army is best demonstrated by its historical achievements, and the fighting spirit of its soldiers is beyond question.

Yet this army, with such an excellent tradition and an iron will, has suffered such a miserable defeat.

So where exactly does the problem lie?

The leaders are all searching for the reason!!! (End of Chapter)