Chapter 163: Entire Regiment Attacks!!
First Battalion is the main assault battalion of the Seventh Hundred and Second Regiment, with three heavy tank companies equipped with main battle tanks, and two light tank companies equipped with light tanks.
When flares soared into the sky and illuminated it, the deafening engine roars converged into an armored flood.
Except for one heavy tank company and one light tank company as reserves, the remaining three tank companies all mobilized, charging toward the three Blue Army forward positions respectively.
Right from the start, three tank companies were deployed, simultaneously attacking three Blue Army positions.
This showed Regiment Commander Wang’s determination to win this military exercise.
As the tank companies kicked up clouds of dust and rumbled toward the Southern Army position, all five companies of Third Battalion sprang into action at that moment.
Logistics Support Company was responsible for providing fuel supplies, serving as the best logistics support for the armored tanks.
One company had to support a fully mechanized unit, that is, a regiment where every company had armored vehicles and tanks; the support mission was extremely arduous.
So they needed to temporarily draw idle personnel from other companies in the regiment to assist on duty.
Old Ma, Xue Lin, and Old Wei from Grassland Fifth Squad were the most typical “idle personnel.”
Among the three, only Old Ma was relatively calm, having served in the Seventh Hundred and Second Regiment for over ten years and seen all kinds of major and minor battles.
Xue Lin and Old Wei were beyond excited!
They were much greener than Old Ma and had always been stationed in the remote and desolate Grassland Fifth Squad.
Normally, they hardly saw anyone; this was the first time in their lives they were participating in a large-scale regiment-level military exercise.
Last night, during their first rest in the camp, the two were so excited they couldn’t sleep all night.
While excited about witnessing a grand spectacle, the three, including Old Ma, were also looking forward to seeing Xu Sanduo in this military exercise.
There was nothing too important; they just wanted to sit together, chat, and catch up.
After all, since Xu Sanduo left Grassland Fifth Squad, it had been several months since everyone had seen him or heard any news about him.
They thought Steel Seventh Company would also come for supplies, giving them a chance to catch up with Xu Sanduo in person.
But later, they received an order from the regiment: according to the combat plan from Regiment Command Post, Second Battalion did not need to come for fuel supplies.
Old Ma and the other two were dumbfounded on the spot!
So during yesterday afternoon’s preparations, Old Ma and the other two could only think of another way.
Every time they refueled armored vehicles or tanks, they would specifically ask the warriors inside if they had seen Xu Sanduo from Steel Seventh Company.
Regardless of whether the other had seen him, they would earnestly ask for help in passing a message to Xu Sanduo.
“Just say his comrades from Grassland Fifth Squad are also participating in this military exercise. If he’s free, ask him to come see the old guys, especially Squad Leader Old Ma, who misses him very much.”
Although the message they asked to pass was very simple, it was filled with deep emotion between the lines, and the comrades they asked were all willing to help deliver it.
They promised that if they saw Xu Sanduo, they would definitely pass on their words.
Unfortunately.
If it were any other company from Second Battalion, passing a message to Xu Sanduo wouldn’t be difficult.
After all, in the combat plan, tanks would first attract the Blue Army, and after confirming the situation on the Blue Army position, the warriors from Second Battalion’s companies would then charge the position.
The two were in a cooperative relationship, so there would be some chances to meet.
Finding someone to pass a message wasn’t hard!
But Seventh Company was a reconnaissance company and did not participate in any assault operations.
Moreover, Xu Sanduo was in Vanguard Reconnaissance Squad, operating throughout the combat detached from the main force, deep in infiltration at the enemy frontline—a special existence.
It was already hard for warriors from other companies to encounter Steel Seventh Company, let alone Vanguard Reconnaissance Squad.
Old Ma’s simple desire to see Xu Sanduo during the exercise might turn out to be exceptionally difficult.
…
Logistics Support Company of Third Battalion had an arduous mission; the other companies were equally busy.
Two artillery companies, one equipped with Type 83 152mm self-propelled howitzers and the other with Type 89 multiple rocket launchers, positioned on the left and right flanks of the Red Army position, supporting each other.
Both types of artillery were based on armored vehicle chassis, so they didn’t need to find firing positions like towed artillery.
As soon as Seventh Company sent intelligence on the Blue Army forward position, the two artillery companies could stop in place at any time and quickly provide artillery support covering the entire battlefield.
After firing, they didn’t have to worry about enemy counterattacks; they could start their vehicles and relocate immediately.
They fired fast, moved even faster, and their chassis was tough.
This was the advantage of mechanized artillery companies!
Mechanized troops were all armored tanks, basically the strongest existence among ground forces, except vulnerable to attacks from the sky.
So the remaining two companies of Third Battalion were both fully mechanized Artillery Air Defense Companies.
Although there was still a big gap compared to missile companies, at the heavy infantry regiment level, they couldn’t afford a missile company yet—unless upgraded to a combined arms regiment, then they could have one.
After all, conventional regiments lacked an information company for support and couldn’t fully utilize missile unit power.
But having two Artillery Air Defense Companies in a regiment basically achieved air defense self-protection.
And following Chen Jun’s suggestion at the meeting—anti-air forces should move with the tank units to prevent attacks from enemy attack helicopters.
Two anti-aircraft companies, one equipped with Type 88 twin 37mm self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and the other with Type 92 wheeled 25mm dual-purpose autocannon combat vehicles, assigned two anti-aircraft platoons to each attacking tank company route.
The Blue Army position at Highland 034 was the exception, assigned only one anti-aircraft platoon for defense.
The remaining anti-aircraft platoon was sent to Regiment Command Post.
In Chen Jun’s combat plan, Regiment Command Post was just an empty shell, placed there as bait to lure the enemy.
Assigning one anti-aircraft platoon was to make the command post look more realistic.
This way, when old A team infiltrated for close-in reconnaissance, they wouldn’t spot the trick at Red Army Headquarters.
Meanwhile, in Second Battalion, which had all dismounted to infantry, except Steel Seventh Company moving with the tank companies to scout Blue Army positions from advantageous spots.
The other three armored infantry companies were the second assault echelon, temporarily on standby at our position.
Only Tenth Company served as the reserve force, staying with Battalion Headquarters to protect it and provide mobile support when needed.
…
Ten minutes later.
The Red Army’s four tank companies reached the frontline and began striking according to the combat plan, with tank platoons taking turns to charge the Blue Army position.
Rumbling and belching black smoke, they charged to the foot of the mountain but then turned sideways, not rushing up to the mountaintop.
The main goal was just to intimidate!
The following anti-aircraft platoons responsible for defense remembered Deputy Company Commander Chen’s details from the meeting and temporarily hid in the forest with camouflage.
To prevent discovery by Blue Army frontline reconnaissance soldiers, leading to vigilance and changes in their combat plan.
Both reconnaissance squads of Steel Seventh Company mobilized fully, splitting into three reconnaissance teams for divided operations, heading to the three Blue Army positions to gather highland intelligence.
The Red Army tank companies made a full show of attack momentum, stirring up a commotion below the three positions.
Some tank vehicles even pulled back, elevated their gun barrels to maximum, and fired at the mountaintop positions for heavy firepower strikes.
But the three Blue Army positions reacted to the attack in exactly the same way.
That is, no reaction at all!
“What? The Blue Army position is completely silent? No reaction whatsoever? That shouldn’t be; there must be something wrong. Switch to Steel Seventh Company.”
Regiment Commander Wang received the frontline report and sensed a major issue, so he could only confirm through Steel Seventh Company.
Steel Seventh Company reported the same situation as the frontline: no Blue Army spotted on the positions.
Regiment Commander Wang was puzzled, unsure what trick the Blue Army was playing.
To avoid it being a Blue Army trap, Regiment Commander Wang didn’t rashly order an immediate attack but cautiously had Steel Seventh Company further confirm the situation.
Gao Cheng received the order and then instructed the two reconnaissance squads to continue deep reconnaissance.
This time, personally conducting close-in reconnaissance on the position!
He handed the radio microphone back to the communicator and said in surprise to Chen Jun, “Old Chen, amazing! You really guessed it. There’s actually no one on the Blue Army position. How did you know?”
“Yeah, Deputy Company Commander Chen, how did you know the Blue Army was playing an empty fort ploy with no one on the position?” Political Instructor Hong Xingguo was also surprised.
“Actually, I explained it clearly at yesterday’s regiment meeting; you just didn’t think of it.”
Chen Jun couldn’t say he knew from watching television; he needed a reasonable explanation, so he pointed to the very quiet Highland 034 in the distance.
Smiling, he said, “The Blue Army chose mountainous terrain for the exercise, with steep slopes at every position that tanks can’t climb, meaning they don’t intend to fight a traditional assault battle.
So yesterday, I speculated that the Blue Army definitely has no heavy armored units.
Without heavy armored units, they certainly won’t fight us head-on, especially not an assault battle—that’s even less likely.
Our heavy artillery isn’t for show; if they defend, they’re just offering up combat loss ratios. The Blue Army isn’t that foolish.
For them, the best way to fight is to voluntarily abandon all positions, then use the vast jungle as strategic depth, conducting jungle maneuver combat to wear down our troops.
If I’m not mistaken, once our troops reach the hilltops, they’ll most likely encounter Blue Army interception.”
Hong Xingguo, hearing Chen Jun’s deduction, laughed convincingly, “Deputy Company Commander, you’ve calculated the Blue Army to death. If they knew we have a Zhuge Liang, I wonder what they’d think, haha.”
“What else could they think? They’d be furious… absolutely furious, haha.” Gao Cheng laughed.
Just as Chen Jun and the other two were in high spirits, chatting and laughing, Platoon Leader Shi Jin personally went into action, leading Wu Liu Yi, Cheng Cai, and several elite fighters, sneaking up to Highland 034 from the side.
Observation confirmed no traces of Blue Army presence on the position.
“Calling Steel Factory, this is Shi Jin. We’ve reached Highland 034; no Blue Army sighted. Repeat, no Blue Army sighted; the position is empty. Over.” Shi Jin reported via radio.
“Received. Maintain vigilance, watch for Blue Army sneak attacks. Hold position.”
Gao Cheng received the definite news from the reconnaissance squad and immediately switched communications to the regiment, informing Regiment Command Post of the confirmed information.
“Report to Regiment Commander Comrade, Steel Seventh Company reports confirmation: no Blue Army on the position.” The signalman immediately reported the news to Regiment Commander Wang.
“Good, playing empty fort with me? Then I’m not holding back.”
Regiment Commander Wang snorted coldly and ordered coldly, “Notify immediately: order Second Battalion Sixth Company, Eighth Company, Ninth Company to launch simultaneous attacks on the three Blue Army highlands in two minutes. After capturing the highlands, hold position and await new orders.
Order Third Battalion’s two artillery companies to combat ready status, prepare for immediate firepower support…”
Even after confirming no defenses on the Blue Army positions, Regiment Commander Wang didn’t greedily advance but followed Chen Jun’s suggestion of steady and firm tactics, setting up position defenses on each highland.
“Platoons attention: in two minutes, launch full-speed charge toward 453 direction, seize Blue Army defensive zone’s Highland 034 at maximum speed, establish fortifications to control the position, and await further orders.”
“Units attention: attack in two minutes, target Blue Army defensive zone’s Highland 053…”
“Squads attention…”
The three armored infantry companies that received the regiment order all began issuing attack instructions to their subunits, and the horn of attack officially sounded.
The armored infantry, long pent-up with energy, charged toward the Blue Army positions undeterred even without armored vehicles.
Among them, Great Merit Sixth Company attacking Highland 034 had the most ferocious momentum; all company warriors ran with flying kicks.
Their speed charging the mountaintop position was extremely fast, evoking the fearless spirit of martyrs.
Their company commander also had a bold tactical style, not staying back at the position waiting for the warriors to capture it before going up.
Instead, he chose to follow behind the team, charging Highland 034 together with the warriors.
“You say, there’s no one up there; does Sixth Company need to go all out like that? Charging up the mountain so fast, not afraid of twisting an ankle.”
Cheng Cai, who had long reached the upper part of the highland, felt it odd watching Sixth Company charging up with howls.
“Maybe the regiment didn’t tell them there’s no Blue Army on the highland. But don’t forget what Deputy Company Commander said: the Blue Army will play dirty tricks. No Blue Army here doesn’t mean they won’t sneak attack. We’d better stay cautious.”
Shi Jin remained steady, preemptively arranging, “Cheng Cai, you’re good at observation. Go to the back mountain now for vigilance.”
“Alright.”
Cheng Cai pursed his lips, not feeling any danger, but he followed Shi Jin’s order, grabbed his sniper rifle, and ran toward the rear of the highland.
…
In ancient times, the emperor personally leading the army boosted morale.
Great Merit Sixth Company, with their company commander personally leading, saw their warriors’ morale surge repeatedly, becoming the first among the three companies to reach the highland.
Since the prior notification didn’t mention no Blue Army on the position.
Sixth Company’s warriors had prepared during the charge for a major battle with the Blue Army, ready to take one down even if eliminated.
But upon reaching the highland, they were stunned!
There was no Blue Army on Highland 034 at all, not even trenches or fortifications.
If not for having reached the absolute top and seeing the vast jungle behind, plus their own Shi Jin coming to greet them.
They would have thought they charged the wrong highland.
“Report to Battalion Commander, my company has secured Highland 034; no Blue Army sighted.” Sixth Company Commander immediately reported the situation to Second Battalion Headquarters.
“Received. Set up defenses in place, await orders.”
Second Battalion Commander, already aware of the situation, calmly ordered Sixth Company Commander.
