Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 213: Trapped in a Dire Situation, Mainly Because the Principles Are Not on Our Side
In mechanized warfare, hiding troops is indeed quite effective in many situations, especially hiding dozens of tanks.

The 188th Division's efforts were considerable.

Unfortunately, due to the commander's habitual thinking, he believed that they were well hidden and that scouting soldiers and sniper teams could avoid being detected by the enemy by spreading out around the battlefield.

The problem is that with an information-based system, there is no need for human reconnaissance.

Drones suspended high in the sky can take in all of the other party's actions.

The drone's flight altitude and speed make it difficult even for armed reconnaissance aircraft to detect its presence.

Seeing the main force of the 188th Division mobilize, concentrating all forces from Zones 4 and 11 from Zone 8, including mechanized infantry, artillery, and armored vehicles, forming a mighty torrent, rushing towards Zone 2.

The entire scene was captured by three patrolling 206 drones.

Inside the auditorium of Huanglongwangou military camp.

Many cadres' eyes changed, and a group of people subconsciously swallowed their saliva, looking at Chen Mo with disbelief.

What shocked them was not the magnitude of the victory achieved by the combined battalion.

So far, we've only destroyed a few hundred mechanized infantrymen; it's hardly a major victory.

What they found incredible was that all the actions of a division-level unit could be seen on a small display screen.

There are no secrets at all.

You have to understand that the hardest part of fighting is getting intelligence; without intelligence, you can't fight at all.

This information-based tactical thinking almost overturned all previous war thinking, even though the officers present were at the grassroots level and their own ranks were not high.

But you've seen a lot.

They were all elite companies from various units, and they knew very well how difficult the previous battles had been.

According to conventional combat tactics, even if a battalion has an advantage in fighting a regiment, it would never expand that advantage to this extent.

It's not hard to imagine how many people will have their backs broken after this battle, their thinking reshaped, and their embracing of information technology.

I watched Chen Mo's command.

Some people at the scene were reminded of the gap between the Bay Area and the United States back then.

At that time, the United States destroyed its million-strong mechanized army in 81 days.

This has caused onlookers around the world to tremble with fear.

Has the field army finally been able to take this step?
Inside the auditorium.

As the officers watched the enemy's mobile forces, they exchanged glances, their initial worry gone.

If anyone was worried about losing before, it was because they feared the division-level firepower and were unsure of what tricks the opponent might have up their sleeve.

Now, watch as Chen Mo uses the enemy's tank corps to besiege and ambush reinforcements, forcing the enemy's main force to gather and be exposed ahead of time.

They're playing their cards right now.

What else is there to worry about?
Now, all the officers in the joint battalion on site can responsibly tell those who are still worried.

Tell them that in future wars, human wave tactics will be meaningless, and the number of people will no longer be the crucial factor in determining victory.

Because in terms of numbers, the joint battalion is far inferior; it doesn't even have as many logistics personnel as the other side.

However, the situation took a completely unexpected turn.

Even after pushing the 188th Division to this point, the combined battalion only deployed three companies.

Chen Mo ignored the shock of the officers on site. He looked at Zone 2, where the reconnaissance company members, carrying their weapons, scattered and retreated in different directions, fleeing the enemy assembly area.

The angles from which the drones were shooting began to deviate.

Chen Mo knew that the long-range rocket artillery battery was ready to bombard the area.

The so-called "encirclement and suppression of reinforcements" is merely a tactical concept and does not actually mean encircling the entire area from beginning to end.

Once the enemy's main force is drawn out, there's no point in surrounding them anymore.

After all, if such a large tank regiment were to actually join up with the enemy's main force, all the previous preparations would be in vain.

Chen Mo stood up, took out a map of the combat zone, and studied it carefully.

He turned around and said, "Comrades, it's our turn to go up."

"Always be prepared!!"

Inside the auditorium.

Liu Hongyun of the 2nd Armored Battalion, Chen Haitao of the Howitzer Company, Zhang Mingjian of the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Company, Fu Xiangfei of the Radar Anti-Aircraft Artillery Company, Liang Hongjie of the Logistics Company, and Dong Kehao, the commander of the 9th Attack Helicopter Squadron assigned by the military region, all responded in unison.

The sound was not loud.

But everyone had a smile on their face, mainly because this way of fighting with complete control was just too exhilarating.

Previously, it was the reconnaissance, engineers, and long-range artillery that were doing the work; now it's finally their turn.

Looking at the confident expressions on everyone's faces, Chen Mo remained silent. He casually grabbed the map, used the projector to project the image onto the white cloth in the auditorium.

Then, he picked up a wooden stick he had found on the spot and placed it on combat zone 5 on the map.

"Comrades, the enemy's main force is currently moving from Zone 8 towards Zone 2, and is expected to reach the area of ​​Zone 2 within an hour and a half."

"In about fifty minutes, I will arrange for long-range artillery to completely destroy the enemy's heavy positions."

"Given the enemy's speed of movement, they will be able to reach Operation Zone 5 in just fifty minutes."

"With our heavy equipment destroyed, the enemy is likely to change their battle plan immediately. Therefore, we will choose this area as the decisive battleground."

As he spoke, Chen Mo held a wooden stick and tapped it on the inverted "Y" shaped terrain in Zone 5.

"Order! Army Aviation deployed!"

"Coordinate with the Second Battalion to attack the enemy's main force. No tactics are needed. Just use overwhelming bombardment to drive the enemy's main force to the right-hand maneuvering lane."

"At the same time, clear the left flank. The grenade company will be stationed five kilometers away. Upon receiving orders or discovering enemy traces, they will launch a full-scale attack without reporting."

"The Second Battalion will attack in platoons. Pay attention to the direction of the interception point. If the enemy converges to the right, then prepare for tank mobile warfare."

"In short, the goal is to completely eliminate all enemies in Operation Zone 5 in this battle."

"Is it clear?"

"Yes, sir!" The squad leaders, battalion commanders, and company commanders responded simultaneously.

"Okay, let's go."

"Comrades, I wish you a resounding victory. The collective second-class merit award will be waving to us after the battle."

Chen Mo stood at attention and saluted, watching the group of cadres leave the auditorium with high aspirations.

Sound the horn, assemble, move out!!
Last night, when the tank battalion returned, the road back to Huanglongwangou was too difficult to navigate, so the tanks couldn't even get in.

Deploying at this time would save a lot of time, allowing them to arrive in the combat zone before the main force of the 188th Division.

The sounds of armored vehicles and helicopters roaring into action could be heard throughout the camp.

Chen Mo stood in the auditorium, staring at the inverted "Y" shape of Section 5, without moving for a long time.

He chose this terrain after careful consideration.

This terrain is such that a highway leads from a distance, where two roads branch off, with towering cliffs on both sides.

It can greatly disperse the firepower of the enemy's main force, preventing them from effectively launching mobile warfare.

This was a last resort.

Even if the 188th Division loses its heavy armored regiment, it still has nearly a hundred infantry fighting vehicles, as well as a small number of tanks and artillery vehicles for coordination.

If they were to encounter the enemy in open terrain, the combined battalion, with its twenty-odd tanks, would be unable to engage in a direct confrontation.

The only way to limit the enemy's excessive firepower is to rely on the terrain.

Chen Mo stood in the auditorium, his eyes fixed on several screens, monitoring the enemy's advance.

As the 188th Division penetrated deeper into enemy territory, it still failed to discover any trace of the enemy's army aviation brigade.

Chen Mo's previous worries began to gradually subside.

Come to think of it.

It was just an experimental exercise. The 188th Division already had a lot of strong soldiers and generals, and its staff officers were numerous.

On the other hand, the command team of the joint battalion was far from being described as shabby.

There aren't even many advisors. And if there are, they're the kind who've just graduated and can only run errands.

In this situation.

The 188th Division already had the advantage of its organizational structure; if it also possessed air and ground firepower, it would be truly impossible to fight.

Chen Mo tried every means to weaken the enemy's forces so much that, in the final battle, he would choose specific terrain and do everything he could to lure them over.

The difference between the two is evident.

Time passed little by little.

As the reconnaissance company broke free from the obstruction of the 188th Division's eliminated soldiers in Zone 2, they gradually broke through and scattered.

Company Commander Hu of the long-range rocket artillery company requested the order to fire several times.

About fifty minutes had passed since our forces were deployed when the tank battalion entered Operation Zone 5.

Chen Mo nodded to the staff officer in charge of communications, signaling that he could open fire.

Boom boom boom.
Outside Huanglongwangou, a row of nine rocket launcher vehicles launched their shells into the sky, like giant dragons soaring into the heavens, their tail flames obscuring the sky.

The decisive battle has begun.

Taishan Training Base, conference room.

Many leaders watched helplessly as the armored formations in Zone 2 were destroyed by rockets dropped from the sky.

The reconnaissance plane hovered in mid-air.

The ground was shaking, and yellow dust from the explosion swept up and enveloped the heavily armed positions within a radius of several kilometers.

Fu Hongyi, the commander-in-chief of the Kyoto Military Region, twitched his eyebrows slightly and clicked his tongue in amazement.

He had certainly figured out the tactic of besieging a point to lure reinforcements, but he hadn't expected the joint battalion to be so decisive in blowing up that "point".

That's nearly a hundred tanks.

Most of the leaders watching in the base's conference room had come through the most difficult period of the field army, and they hadn't been exposed to mechanized warfare for many years.

In regular exercises, who would have the resources to blow up nearly a hundred tanks?
Even a third of the firepower of a combat assault division, if deployed to the battlefield, can hold out for at least a week, as long as the intensity is not too high.

Never thought.

So many key forces were wiped out by an unknown joint battalion.

If Fu Hongyi was only feeling sorry for Chen Mo, he was somewhat surprised that Chen Mo would be so heartless as to do it.

Meanwhile, on the 188th Division's side, many generals and staff officers were so enraged that their eyes turned red.

Tang Haodong, the commander of the 188th Division, sat in his chair with his fists clenched, so angry he almost cursed.

Those were his prized possessions, and before they could even be assembled or used, they were blown to bits. The 188th Division had never suffered such a loss since its formation.

But anger is anger.

Inside the meeting room, everyone gradually realized the terrifying power of the information system.

Just like the terrifying American troops in mythology.

If it weren't for the power of the information system, there would be no way to explain how the joint battalion located the 188th Division's hidden soldiers, including their exact coordinates.

Wang Songhe felt extremely uneasy, as if he were sitting on pins and needles.

He regretted it.

Why the hell did they have to hide their troops? If they hadn't concealed so many tanks and had used tractors for transport, the situation wouldn't be so passive now.

But now, it's too late to say anything.

He felt as if countless eyes were fixed on him, eyes like wolves and tigers, urging him to slap himself in the face.

"furious!"

Commander Wang roared in anger to cover it up.

"Block the point and attack the reinforcements, damn it, I've already sent troops to support you, but you son of a bitch flipped the table first and blew up my heavy regiment."
Are there really people who lack martial ethics?

"Order!!"

Just as Wang Songhe was about to issue an order requiring his main force to cease maneuvering and to deploy all reconnaissance troops to search for the enemy's main force across the entire area.

His voice suddenly stopped.

It wasn't that he didn't want to give the order, but rather that he didn't need to look for it anymore; it was displayed on the large screen in the conference room.

It is clearly visible that on the flank of our main force's maneuver, a row of 27 Type 96 tanks, at full power, stretched out a horizontal line more than 2,000 meters long.

It pressed deep ruts into the ground and charged straight toward its own convoy.

"DiDi!!"

"DiDi!!"

The radar detection screen of the 188th Division turned bright red.

"Enemy attack! Prepare for battle!!"

The sergeant in charge of guarding the radar in the 188th Division picked up the communicator and roared, "In wartime, the radar has the highest communication privileges and can connect to all units."

Give an order.

The main force of the 188th Division immediately ceased its movement, with tanks acting as outer perimeter protection, while infantry and artillery moved quickly to set up temporary combat positions.

Looking forward to it.

At that moment, the tanks of the combined battalion came from the flank, which was only visible to Division Commander Wang from the perspective of the reconnaissance plane.

The main force on site could only judge based on radar warnings; they had no idea how many enemies were coming.

But what they couldn't see was that Chen Mo, through the drone, had a clear view of the entire situation.

He grabbed the communicator: "Battalion Commander Liu, this is Chen Mo."

"The enemy's forces have ceased movement. Now, I order the tanks to disperse and retreat in a line formation, with a 200-meter lateral distance and a 400-meter depth in three-wave zones. Armored vehicles will infiltrate, and area fire will cover the area from below."

"Don't linger in the battle; force them into a corner at all costs."

"Army Air Force, awaiting orders to coordinate the attack!"

"Second revenue secured!"

"Land Aviation understands!"

A series of responses followed.

The second battalion's mobile force began to change formation, with six armored vehicles interspersed among the twenty-seven tanks.

They also accelerated their pace and launched surprise attacks.

To support this information technology experiment, the 7th Armored Brigade used its best resources when it sent the 2nd Battalion to the base.

The infantry of the Second Battalion were equipped with not only rifles, but also 35mm howitzers, 40mm rockets, 87mm mortars, Fenix-6 anti-aircraft missiles, and PG-3 anti-tank rounds—they had everything.

They brought all their family's wealth with them.

High-altitude drones provided battlefield image transmission, while Chen Mo was responsible for correcting formations.

The gap between the two sides' main forces began to narrow steadily.

5000 meters, 3000 meters, 2000 meters.

At this distance, both sides can see each other with the naked eye.

The main force of the 188th Division spread out in formation for several kilometers along the main road, while the combined battalion only had more than twenty tanks and a few armored vehicles.

But their demeanor was anything but timid.

2000 m.

1300 m.

1000 m.

The fifty-ton armored monster is as spectacular as a fan opening up the earth.

When the distance between the two sides increased to 800 meters.

When the missile enters the range of the exercise and its accuracy has been greatly improved.

As if they had planned it beforehand, both sides opened fire simultaneously.

boom! boom! boom!
Amidst a series of explosions, the steel formation advanced through the gunfire.

Three armored vehicles of the 188th Division were hit, emitting plumes of yellow smoke, and a tank of the combined battalion was hit by several shells.

It exploded on the spot!

3:1 casualties
But it was clear to anyone with eyes that the joint battalion suffered a great loss in their first encounter because they were outnumbered and outequipped.

Followed by.

The second wave of attacks.

Dozens of streaks of light roared and crashed towards the opponent.

boom! boom! boom!
A grenade landed ten meters in front of the speeding Type 96 tank. Instantly, thick smoke covered the vehicle, and shrapnel from the explosion flew at high speed, with gravel raining down on the tank.

The armored vehicle crews of the Second Battalion, following behind the tanks, had drivers looking nervously at the vehicles in front of them.

The tank was 10 meters from the center of the explosion, falling somewhere between combat damage and non-combat damage.

Two seconds later.

The Type 96 tank emerged from the smoke and flames, its composite armor blackened by the smoke, but no white smoke indicating battle damage was emitted.

The armored vehicle crew breathed a sigh of relief and accelerated past the tank crew.

now.

The main force of the joint battalion was less than 400 meters away from the main force of the 188th Division.

The assault, which covered only a few hundred meters, resulted in the destruction of nine tanks in the combined battalion, equivalent to a company of heavy equipment, which were lost halfway through the battle.

But it's okay.

The task of the heavy infantry was to get them three to four hundred meters away from the battlefield.

Six armored vehicles simultaneously moved sideways and stopped, and 25mm heavy machine guns began tactical fire coverage on the enemy ahead.

Da da da.
Bullets flew everywhere, and smoke billowed.

The infantrymen inside the armored vehicles quickly disembarked, and 40mm mortars, 87mm mortars, and PG-3 anti-tank rockets were launched at the main force of the 188th Division as if they were free.

Seeing that they had paid such a high price to finally get close and tie down the enemy's main force.

Chen Mo picked up the communicator: "Land Aviation, it's your turn."

"receive!!"

Buzz buzz.
More than a dozen WZ-9 attack helicopters, which had been waiting in the distance, took off together.

The reason for not moving at first is that helicopters, as combat aircraft operating at near-low altitudes, are not as powerful as imagined.

Especially if the enemy has anti-aircraft artillery, sending helicopters up would only result in more severe battle losses.

But I'm not afraid anymore.

The main force of the 188th Division was unable to disperse and was suppressed at close range by the combined firepower of tanks and infantry.

They had almost no heavy equipment; the majority of their vehicles were armored vehicles, which were simply no match for heavy machine gun fire.

Not to mention the dozen or so Z-9 attack helicopters, each carrying an HF-type rocket launcher.

Coordinate with heavy tanks for close-range attacks.

The Z-9 attack helicopter launched an attack from a distance, and the commander of the 188th Division quickly realized something was wrong.

They were attacked suddenly while on the move, before they could even set up their formation. This kind of fighting will only lead to them suffering more and more losses.

While concentrating firepower is an important principle in assault warfare, the problem is that this principle isn't on their side.

Without even heavy equipment, who would dare to launch an assault?

"withdraw!"

"Order to strike the enemy's left flank, cut off their tank formation, and seize the opportunity to break out."

Under continuous interference from armored vehicles, army aviation, and ground and air forces, the main force of the 188th Division was finally about to retreat.

There's a fork in the road ahead. As long as we force the enemy's main force to that fork, their mobile warfare will never be able to commence.

Chen Mo observed the enemy and, following his plan, began a gradual, mobile retreat.

He smiled, then let out a long sigh and sat down in the chair.

I couldn't help but think that it was much easier to command and fight a war at this time.

Commanders at all levels lack shrewdness and are deficient in various reconnaissance capabilities.

Even without communication interference, an information system can still wage a part of a system-wide war under intrusion conditions.

That's definitely easy.

From then on, Chen Mo no longer needed to give orders.

Because the main force of the 188th Division entered the side road, the troops would be severely dispersed, with pursuers behind and howitzer companies and anti-aircraft companies blocking the exit in front.

Without reinstalling.

The main force of the 188th Division, numbering over a thousand, had no way out.

(End of this chapter)