Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 236 Assault on the Southern Front, Tonight We Reign Supreme

I came out of the artillery regiment command post.

Chen Mo held a stack of documents in his hand. The artillery regiment, backed by the division headquarters, had far superior intelligence in all aspects compared to their battalion's daily haphazard speculation.

According to intelligence from the Blue Army battalion, Cheng Dong said that in the afternoon, the Blue Army's 6th Air Division and the Red Army's 7th Air Division engaged in an air combat standoff.

However, no conflict broke out.

Actually, that's not the case at all.

The overall situation of the Red Army was far worse than it had imagined. During the day, all war zones launched a unified attack, and the clashes in the other war zones were even more intense, except for the Seventh War Zone.

The old mindset of mechanized warfare is that the first step in a war is to seize air superiority.

During the day, the 6th and 7th Air Divisions engaged in battles for control of various combat zones, but the Blue Army, being the host country, arrived at the battlefield earlier.

The 7th Division is an air force unit of the Kyoto Military Region, and it came to Qinglong Gorge with Chen Mo and the others.

Unfamiliar with the terrain.

During the daytime air superiority battle, the Red Army's 7th Air Division suffered repeated defeats, losing one-third of its aircraft in just half a day.

The struggle for air superiority failed.

The Red Army's air force could only be in a passive defensive position. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for the Blue Army's 6th Air Division to remain inactive.

The afternoon's air raids were, to put it bluntly, utterly reckless and insane.

Red Army units in various war zones were frequently bombed. On average, an air raid siren would sound every thirty minutes, followed by a brief report from the command post of air attacks and equipment damage.

As the main battlefield for the two Class A divisions, the Seventh War Zone naturally received special attention.

The Red Army's 415th and 416th Regiments, which were besieging the main force of the Blue Army on the northwest front, were systematically eliminated.

Now, the main force of the Blue Army Division on the northwest front has begun to launch a counterattack, and the battle situation has been rewritten once again.

The artillery regiment's operations staff analyzed that the main force of the Blue Army had moved eastward in large numbers because the Blue Army had gained the upper hand in air combat, giving them an opportunity to counterattack on the northwest front.

The Blue Army's main force on the southern front was trying to take this opportunity to wipe out the Red Army's main force on the eastern front.

The Blue Team's confidence wasn't given by the addition of the special forces.

Chen Mo was at a loss for words when he received the intelligence from the artillery regiment.

As a commander, although I am only a battalion-level commander, I don't need to analyze and summarize the situation based on a large number of objective battlefield conditions in order to make a response.

But on their own little patch of land, they still need a clear direction for their operations.

It's good to have connections in high places.

If the Blue Army battalion were not independent, but rather attached to a division or brigade, there would be no need for a battalion commander like him to worry about these things.

Chen Mo frowned, found a secluded spot, squatted down, and started smoking.

Intelligence is the most crucial element in warfare. If the initial intelligence is flawed, the initial operational objectives may no longer be appropriate.

As a battalion commander, you can't let the soldiers in your battalion see that you have no ideas.

Therefore, Chen Mo's smoking spot was quite well hidden.

Unfortunately, there's always someone stronger, and there's always someone better.

Just as Chen Mo squatted down and lit a cigarette, Yao Jinghua, the guy who replaced Wang Jianyong, found him with pinpoint accuracy.

"Hey! Battalion Commander, what are you doing squatting here?"

Yao Jinghua scurried over, plopped down in front of him, and unceremoniously picked up a cigarette and lit one for himself.

Chen Mo turned his head and glanced at him, somewhat speechless.

This veteran reconnaissance soldier is everywhere; his eyesight is damn sharp.

"It's alright, let's think about how to fight the battle." Facing the veteran he had known since his recruit days, Chen Mo didn't need to put on airs and handed over the data on the casualties of the Red Army's 7th Air Division.

"I'm a good boy."

Holding a flashlight, Yao Jinghua's eyes widened as he saw the air force's combat data: "Is our military region's air force really that bad?"

"What a load of rubbish! They've already lost a third of their firepower right at the start of the battle. So what the company commander meant by a stalemate wasn't the case at all. It's just that the Seventh Division chickened out and didn't dare to fight?"

"That's not right either. Even if the Red Army's air force firepower is reduced, and an air division loses a third of its firepower, conservatively speaking, the remaining troops should still be able to protect the ground armored forces, right?"

"Why are the main forces of the Red Army in various battle zones suffering such heavy losses?"

"Look ahead, the loss of one-third is only from this morning; there's still the afternoon report to come."

Chen Mo just wanted to smoke a cigarette in peace and quiet, without offering any further explanation.

There's really no explanation for it; just strike while the iron is hot, that's the ironclad rule of the battlefield.

The Blue Army's 6th Air Division initially relied on the terrain and other factors to inflict some losses on the Red Army's air force.

Subsequently, they simply relied on their air superiority and employed classic air combat wolfpack tactics.

They would frequently send out a portion of their fighter jets to draw out the escorting fighters, while another portion would quickly attack from the rear or flanks.

They dropped the bombs in a short time and then scattered.

The tactics were simple, but the fighters of the 7th Air Division were simply unable to pursue them. As soon as they made a slight attempt to pursue, the fighters of the 6th Air Division would immediately circle around and bomb again.

The situation that Cheng Dong arranged for his men to investigate in the afternoon should be a similar standoff.

It wasn't that a fight didn't break out, but rather that the Seventh Division dared not pursue.

In short, by gaining air superiority, the 6th Air Division could move across a wide area like a group of ghostly phantoms on the battlefield, launching unbridled attacks on ground armor.

The problem now is that once the Blue Army battalion moves, it is very likely that it will be wiped out by a bombing before it can even get close to the main force of the Blue Army's movement.

After all, the Blue Army's 6th Air Division has one-third more main force than the Red Army, which would increase their tactical options exponentially.

Combat strength is never something that can be simply added or subtracted.

A third less or a third more is not as simple as the numbers seem.

Just as Chen Mo was pondering, a series of whistles sounded in the distance.

"Beep-beep!!"

Hearing the noise, Chen Mo quickly threw away his cigarette butt and stood up.

He knew that this commotion meant that the entire battalion's pre-battle checks were complete, and this was the roll call before deployment.

"Let's go!"

"Eh!"

Yao Jinghua patted his behind and stood up, holding the intelligence in his hand, and asked, "Battalion Commander, since the Blue Army's operation may not be due to the Special Forces Brigade, should we still attack the Blue Army's division headquarters?"

"Fight! We have to fight!" Chen Mo nodded.

"Hey, that's great. Don't worry, when it's time to take down the division commander, I'll be the first to do it."

Yao Jinghua patted his chest, adopting the posture of a soldier eager to earn merit.

Chen Mo smiled but did not respond further.

The current situation is even more complicated than the involvement of special forces.

With air superiority lost, Blue Army fighters could come and patrol at any time, making it unsafe to be near artillery units with the most intense ground firepower.

Since attacking other targets isn't appealing anyway, we might as well try to find where Commander Wang is. If we can blow him up, it would be best to blow up the Blue Army's division headquarters as well.

Actually, there were some other speculations, but Chen Mo didn't say them.

That is the special forces brigade of the Jincheng Military Region. If they really joined the Blue Army of the Seventh War Zone, then who gave them this order?
What is the purpose?
Is this specifically targeting the information technology battalion?

Perhaps he was overthinking it, or perhaps it was true, but Chen Mo had a vague feeling that after the successful information experiment, this Blue Army battalion should no longer appear on the battlefield.

Tonight's battle may be the last hurrah for the entire battalion.

Chen Mo looked up at the sky and tested the wind speed with his hand to make sure it wouldn't delay the flight of the individual soldier drone before handing all the data in his hand to Yao Jinghua.

They strolled over to the roll call area for each squad.

The tanks had started moving, and all the soldiers in the battalion looked serious. The battalion commander had just said that they were going to find the Blue Army's division headquarters.

Everyone knew that tonight would be a tough battle. Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; no matter what, the division headquarters wouldn't be so easy to capture.

Even if we manage to take it, the entire battalion will be wiped out, without exception, because the Blue Army strategist isn't nearly finished yet.

Roll call complete.

Soldiers from each detachment boarded their armored vehicles.

Chen Mo gathered all the cadres together, his gaze sweeping over the ranks, and said in a deep voice, "Speak."

"Our intelligence may be wrong. Battalion Commander Gao is right. The Blue Army's biggest asset is probably the 6th Air Division, because during the day today, the Red and Blue forces fought for air superiority, and our Red Army suffered heavy losses."

"Without the Red Army's aviation divisions to hold us back, we could be attacked at any time."

"Remember, when we move, spread out the formation as much as possible. The distance between tanks should not be less than 20 meters. Once we receive an alarm, everyone should immediately shut down their tanks, get out, and disperse to avoid the bombing."

"There is only one objective tonight: to take down the Blue Army's divisional command post."

"Comrades!"

What is our code name?

"Blue Army Camp!!"

In the ranks, dozens of officers responded in unison, drawing the attention of soldiers who had all climbed into their vehicles nearby, who craned their necks to look in their direction.

"That's right, the Blue Army camp!"

Chen Mo nodded solemnly: "We haven't been working together for long, but all good things must come to an end. Tell all the soldiers this."

"Everyone needs to be on high alert tonight."

"Blue Army camp, sharpen your swords on the battlefield, tonight you'll reign supreme!!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

In the queue, everyone roared in unison.

There was no sorrow, no hesitation. As the saying goes, from the moment the order was given to find the Blue Army division headquarters, everyone knew that tonight would be the battalion's final performance.

However, losing air superiority is far worse than they had imagined, and even if they wanted to hide, they can't escape it now.

Rather than staying here and not knowing when the air force will target us, we'd rather die on the way to the front.

Today I am crowned king, the king of the elite army!
"Target: Blue Army Division Mobile Unit on the Southern Front!"

"set off!"

Chen Mo waved his hand and gave the order.

Rumble!
The tanks and armored vehicles surged forward, heading out of the camp.

Without needing orders from the battalion command, Liu Hongyun, the leader of the ground assault team, deployed all ground firepower into the largest possible column.

As for Dong Kehao, the leader of the Army Aviation Team, he immediately deployed a large drone to conduct reconnaissance within a radius of fifty kilometers.

The radar was turned up to its maximum speed for reconnaissance of the air situation.

The defense is against the sudden appearance of Blue Team fighters. There's nothing unfair about it; in modern warfare, anything without air superiority is nonsense.

While other battlefields may still be in the stage of mutual reconnaissance between units, the Seventh War Zone has already fought several battles.

No matter how large the terrain of Qinglong Gorge is, it is still very small for a fighter jet that can cruise at supersonic speeds.

Large-scale troop movements must be guarded against.

Chen Mo sat in the command vehicle, his eyes fixed on the map, his mind racing as he considered how to locate the division headquarters from the Blue Army's mobile firepower on the southern front.

He had never served as a division commander and didn't know what covert maneuvering methods such a leader would employ, but one thing was certain.

Near the enemy's most concentrated firepower and most fully organized battalion, there is a high probability that there will be bighead carp.

Night fell, enveloping the entire earth.

The Blue Army battalion gradually increased its speed of movement, transitioning from a mobile formation to an assault formation.

A portion of the armored units acted as the vanguard, accelerating the pace.

The formation at the rear also changed, gradually shifting from a dispersed formation to deploying infantry on both flanks, creating a "U" shaped opening, with the tank group positioned to cover the rear. This change was due to two reasons: firstly, the entire battalion had completed its initial maneuvering and was ready to launch an assault.

Secondly, as they gradually approach the southern front, the Blue Army's reconnaissance capabilities cannot be too poor, and they may be attacked at any time.

The infantry were scattered on both flanks, which allowed them to change their battle formation at any time and respond to air attacks at any time.

The entire battalion was on high alert, and the air was thick with the atmosphere of a major battle.

After getting into the vehicle, Chen Mo basically didn't issue any more instructions. He was looking at the map while listening to Liu Hongyun, who managed to coordinate the various ground teams by using the cross-linked satellite positioning system and a handheld walkie-talkie.

Old Liu has very high command skills.
Chen Mo thought to himself.

"Battalion Commander, something's happened!!"

Just as he was lost in thought, the soldier from the whistling arrow pointed at the computer screen and reported.

"what happened?"

Chen Mo was startled and quickly moved closer to the screen; something was indeed happening.

In footage captured by a drone, a group of about forty or fifty people emerged from the shadows.

The enemy didn't move here by force, but rather they've been stationed nearby all along. Their tanks are covered by camouflage netting and placed in sand dunes.

If it weren't for a small drone passing by, it wouldn't have been so easy to spot these people.

"They look like special forces." The soldier from the whistling arrow stared at the screen for a long time.

That's why the response was somewhat uncertain.

Chen Mo was taken aback upon hearing this, and quickly glanced at the coordinates in the upper left corner of the terminal screen before he could give the order.

The terminal screen suddenly went black, and the drone's connection signal was cut off!

"Damn! We didn't run into the Air Force, but we ran into these special forces first."

Chen Mo cursed and immediately grabbed the communicator, saying, "Team Leader Liu, enemy traces have been spotted to the north. Take them out!"

"Roger that!"

Liu Hongyun responded, and at that moment, he also received a report from Cheng Dong, the head of the reconnaissance team, that the drone had lost contact.

"Northern mobile detachment, group one to the left, group two to the center, group three to the right, at the twelve o'clock position, spread out 300 meters laterally, locate the enemy, and take them out."

One set received!

"Second team received!"

"Group three received!"

As the order was given, the nine infantry fighting vehicles on the north side of the mobile formation began to accelerate and rush toward the target point.

A battalion-level unit with heavy equipment is not afraid of so-called special forces at all. Let alone a platoon, even a regiment would be useless.

But what makes special forces truly formidable is not their tactics, but their support firepower.

"Chen Ying?"

When Wang Jianbin learned that they might be from the Blue Army Special Forces, his expression changed. As a member of the same special forces, he knew very well that eliminating this group of enemies was pointless now.

Given the configuration of the Jincheng Military Region Special Forces Brigade, once they discover our presence, they will likely transmit our coordinates to the division headquarters very quickly and share them with the Blue Army's air force.

"I see!"

Chen Mo waved his hand to stop Captain Wang from saying anything more.

"Go, notify the technical reconnaissance team to activate electromagnetic spectrum signal jamming at full speed. Regardless of whether the message has been sent out or not, I will not allow anyone else to wait for us."

Chen Mo gritted his teeth and gave the order. Perhaps because he had been fighting too smoothly before, he was particularly frustrated when he encountered danger halfway through the maneuver.

"Order! All battalions, assault formation, disperse and evade, maintain a 200-meter distance on the left and right, and a 400-meter depth in all three bands. The entire battalion, accelerate and leave this area."

"Received!" The responses came quickly from each squad.

In an instant, the already scattered formation of the Blue Army continued to expand, with countless tanks flashing infrared lights in the night sky. From the sky, they were visible against the hazy night.

Tanks in motion are as spectacular as the earth opening up.

The special operations team, which had been spotted by the drone, watched helplessly as the other side dispatched nine infantry fighting vehicles at once.

Through the night vision binoculars, even from a great distance, one could see the heavy machine gun on the roof of the tank aiming, with other guns protruding from the other firing ports.

The team leader readily admitted defeat, immediately dropping his equipment and guns and squatting on the ground.

At this point, not squatting would be foolish.

There were only forty-odd people on our side, while the Red Army had nine truckloads of soldiers. If we didn't back down, we were afraid we'd get a terrible beating.

He wasn't worried because the mission was already complete, and the coordinates here, just as Chen Mo had feared, had been transmitted to the nearest Blue Army base.

Do you know why special forces soldiers are called "squirrel rats"? It's because they can sneak up close and transmit coordinates without anyone noticing.

She's definitely the type that everyone hates.

the other side.

Blue Army Division Command Post.

Wang Songhe was standing in front of the command platform with his hands behind his back, staring at the map.

"Commander, we have news!" said Lin Yifeng, the combat intelligence officer, with a beaming smile.

"Sixty kilometers to our north, we spotted the Blue Army battalion. We saw that this unit was using those small planes."

"Ah!"

Upon hearing this, Commander Wang sneered, thinking to himself, "Just as I thought."

"I knew that brat would try to take advantage of me again when he couldn't stay in the Red Army artillery regiment."

"You son of a bitch, you really have a big appetite, coming straight for me."

"Go, notify the rocket battalion to bomb that brat's unit. Let's see what he can do to cause trouble again."

"I won't be able to sleep peacefully until this scoundrel is killed."

"Yes!"

After giving the order, Wang Songhe felt completely comfortable.

Damn it, I'm so old, I've been a soldier for most of my life, and I got my entire armored regiment wiped out by a little brat.

Shame on you!
Your information technology battalion is so powerful, right? My 61st Division isn't to be underestimated either.

Once we understand how information-based warfare works, we'll always find a way to deal with him.

The special operations brigade of the Jincheng Military Region was not assigned to the Blue Army of the Seventh War Zone, but was dispersed to Blue Army units in various war zones.

Chen Mo only guessed half right. He knew that tonight's battle would be difficult, but he didn't expect it to be this difficult.

As soon as the mobile formation dispersed, a large drone dozens of kilometers away detected the artillery taking off.

Before the drone could transmit its location back, the radar in the middle of the formation emitted a piercing "beep beep" sound.

The sergeant in charge of monitoring the radar simply turned on his communicator to transmit the radar's warning signal to all units.

No one spoke, and no one responded.

Because they made preparations to avoid it in advance.

on earth.

With a thunderous roar, the tank formation, stretching for several kilometers, accelerated forward at full speed.

Above the tank, rockets rained down like raindrops, streaks of brilliant red light illuminating the entire night sky.

boom! boom! boom!
Dozens of streaks of light shot into the group of chariots.

The dirt, mixed with dust from the explosion, splattered and hit the car body and windows.

Thick smoke covered most of the battlefield.

The steel formation advanced amidst artillery fire, with officers in every unit keeping a close watch on the tank positioning system, ready to direct the vehicles to avoid damaged tanks at any moment.

Chen Mo sat in the command vehicle, listening to the end of the first round of bombing, before he had a chance to inquire about the battle damage.

Immediately afterwards, the drone detected another rocket launcher taking off, and the radar issued a simultaneous warning.

The second wave of rocket attacks has begun.

boom! boom! boom!
The explosion caused debris to fly at high speed, and the flying stones rained down on the command vehicle.

Countless tanks' composite armor was blackened by smoke, but fortunately, due to prior preparations, many tanks did not emit white smoke indicating battle damage.

The third wave.
The fourth wave.
The entire Blue Army rocket artillery battalion took turns firing, clearly indicating that they had been prepared in advance.

Chen Mo was holed up in the command vehicle, and the sound of the explosions was so loud that his ears were ringing.

"That old bastard, he really wants to kill me."

He cursed angrily.

They realized that the tank convoy had left the bombing zone and emerged from the dust of the explosion.

Chen Mo grabbed the communicator and shouted, "All squads, report your battle losses!"

"Ground assault team, send assault tanks to scout ahead, our final battle with the Blue Army has begun."

"Remember, in a narrow encounter, the brave will prevail. Even if the entire battalion is wiped out tonight, and only one person remains, he must die on the way to the charge."

"All drones shall withdraw and conduct mobile reconnaissance within a 20-kilometer radius. Report any abnormalities immediately."

"Received!" each team responded quickly.

During the period of statistical analysis of battle losses.

Chen Mo picked up the map and began to study the Blue Army's position. The enemy's use of rocket launchers to bombard them had naturally caused considerable casualties to his side.

However, the drone also captured the approximate location of the other party.

Artillery positions are generally located at the rear, and there will inevitably be Blue Army mobile forces blocking their way.

The real contest begins next.

Let's see if your Blue Army's main force on the southern front is stronger, or if my informationized battalion's main force is stronger.

After half an hour.

The drones were the first to detect the main ground forces of the Blue Army.

A total of 22 Type 96 tanks formed a "V" formation on the ground and were charging towards our side.

From the drone's perspective, the flashing signal lights on the ground gradually became clearer.

Wang Songhe did indeed figure out the weakness of the information battalion: its dispersed formation during maneuvers was not so easy to destroy.

The battle shifted to a ground tank duel.

Chen Mo grabbed the communicator: "Attention, all battalions! Enemy tank battalion sighted 20 kilometers ahead! All units, two-thirds down to half speed! Distribute fire targets according to formation waves! Load ammunition! Prepare for the first strike!"

"Army aviation detachment, patrol the flanks, protect the infantry detachment."

"All troops, attack!"

The battle order has been issued.

The entire Blue Army battalion's assault tank spotters stared intently at the infrared night vision rangefinders, searching for traces of the enemy.

Both sides maneuvered in opposite directions.

The approach speed was very fast: 20 km/h, 10 km/h, 5 km/h, 3 km/h.

1 kilometers.

Both sides traveling in opposite directions enter the firing range of the tank's smoothbore cannon.

nothing to say.

The flames of war ignited instantly, and tanks clashed in a night battle.

(End of this chapter)