From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

Chapter 547 Troublesome! The Only Way to Break the Stalemate!

The first phase of the exercise has only just begun, and they're already preparing to deal with the enemy in the second phase. Chu Zhangang's actions can be seen as a way of opening champagne halfway through the exercise.

However, the 909th Brigade has a defensive advantage, making it a tough opponent.

The reconnaissance drones dispatched by the 7th Steel Brigade were detected by the Red Army's radar as soon as they entered the Dongpingshan position. Zhu Rongsheng did not hesitate to issue the order to shoot them down.

"Report to the Commander-in-Chief, the Special Operations Battalion just reported that our reconnaissance drone was shot down by the Red Army over the hills north of Dongping Mountain."

Intelligence officer Qiu Ming rushed up to the deck to report to Chen Jun, who was surveying the terrain from the deck.

In the joint operations of the army and navy, Chen Jun was promoted to commander-in-chief.

"Shot down? It seems the Red Army reacted quickly. Send another drone over." Chen Jun decisively ordered.

"The Red Army's air defense radar lines are very tight, and it will be difficult to break through them even if we go again. I'm afraid we'll just end up with nothing," the fleet commander advised.

“Yes, if this continues, our drone attrition rate will be very high,” Qiu Ming said worriedly.

“I think we can afford this loss compared to the task at hand,” Gao Cheng said, offering a different perspective.

"Deputy Brigade Commander Gao, what do you mean? I don't quite understand," the fleet commander asked.

"It is now very clear that the Red Army's long-range artillery is a major threat to our frontal assault."

Gao Cheng analyzed seriously, "Moreover, the hilly area behind Dongping Mountain is densely forested, which is conducive to the static concealment of long-range artillery. If the Red Army's long-range artillery units do not move, the reconnaissance effect of satellites and drones will not be obvious."

"Perhaps we could lose a few more drones to scare them off; it might have a surprising effect."

As soon as Gao Cheng finished speaking, Hong Yi immediately realized what he meant and said with delight, "Deputy Brigade Commander Gao means to use our drones for a suicide reconnaissance mission, right?"

"Correct."

Gao Cheng nodded and said, "The Red Army's long-range artillery positions will definitely be surrounded by air defense forces. Once my drones approach the long-range artillery positions, they will be intercepted by the air defense forces."

If we send more drones to conduct reconnaissance from different directions into the hinterland of the Dongping Mountain hills, we can attract the Red Army's anti-aircraft fire.

By calculating its firing points, the relative positions of the Red Army's long-range artillery battalion can be roughly estimated and delineated. This also allows for the definition of a relatively precise area for subsequent reconnaissance, with calculations layer by layer until the final accurate location is determined.

Gao Cheng is actually very talented in military affairs, but his talents are usually overshadowed by Chen Jun, whose brilliance is simply too dazzling.

His logical reasoning immediately drew applause from the crowd.

“Deputy Brigade Commander Gao is right.”

Chen Jun was the first to stand up and agree: "The more heavily guarded the Red Army's air defenses are in an area, the closer it must be to the area where the long-range artillery battalion is located."

The long-range artillery battalion is their most powerful trump card, and they will definitely put a lot of effort into protecting it.

Using multiple drones to probe the area, although drone losses will be significant, the rewards are considerable. It will likely allow us to deduce the location of the long-range artillery battalion, or at least narrow down the reconnaissance area.

……

The Dongpingshan position is located on the coast.

Chu Zhangang leisurely started fishing, chatting with Ding Kai as he did so.

"The 708th Brigade has been working diligently to improve its combat effectiveness over the past year, and its strength should not be underestimated. It is our real enemy, and we should focus more of our attention on the second phase in advance," Chu Zhangang said.

"If we defeat the Steel Seventh Brigade's combat group and capture their commander-in-chief Chen Jun alive, wouldn't that be a good way to vindicate Wang Ke? He might even thank us, so he'll probably hold back a bit," Ding Kai predicted.

“I know my older brother’s temper better than anyone else. He won’t hold back when it comes to a fight,” Chu Zhangang sneered.

"Chief of Staff Shen is right. Our biggest advantage over the 708th Brigade is that we have the advantage of being well-rested and ready to fight. We have a 60% chance of winning from the start," Ding Kai said optimistically.

"The 708th Brigade is a heavily equipped brigade. With so much heavy equipment in operation, plus the long distance of several thousand kilometers, they were exhausted by the time they arrived in Chenghai."

Chu Zhangang calmly analyzed: "So, the reason I asked you to deploy the armored battalion and artillery regiment on the northwest front is to wait until they have established a firm foothold and then give them a head-on blow with long-range artillery."

With the added firepower of the artillery barrage, Wang Kezheng's advance will definitely slow down significantly, or even stop altogether.

"What are armored battalions for? They're for charging into battle. At that time, our armored battalion, which has been lying in ambush, can launch a tactical assault and give them a head-on blow."

Chu Zhangang has already formulated a detailed plan on how to proceed in the second phase.

That's really "far-sighted"!
“Brigade Commander Wang would never have imagined that he would encounter our ambush 160 kilometers away from Chenghai City, and that he would suffer heavy losses,” Ding Kai said with a smile.

"Commander-in-Chief, Chief of Staff Zhu called to report that he just shot down one of the Blue Army's drones, and then spotted another one. He requests instructions on how to handle the situation."

A staff officer strode over and handed him the microphone of a portable radio.

"Zhu Rongsheng, in the future, there's no need to ask for permission in this situation. If you see it, just abort it immediately." Chu Zhangan took the microphone and gave the order without hesitation.

……

Ten minutes later.

On the deck of the command ship of the 7th Steel Brigade.

"Report to the commander-in-chief, our third drone has also been shot down by the Blue Army."

Upon hearing Qiu Ming's report, Hong Yi frowned and said, "It seems that the Red Army's radar network is more sophisticated than we thought. Sending drones to investigate would probably be like moths to a flame."

The results of sending out three drones in succession did not achieve the initial expectations.

Chen Jun and the others frowned.

"The reconnaissance submarine and frogmen sent out to infiltrate ashore also failed, and the reconnaissance team has now returned to the submarine," Qiu Ming reported the second piece of information.

"If we can't get intelligence on the Red Army's long-range artillery battalion, we won't know where to start. If we can't destroy their long-range artillery, our ships won't be able to get our landing troops ashore. It's like we're stuck in a dead end now," Chen Jun said in a deep voice.

"It seems that taking over the Chenghai defense line within three days will be very difficult. I'm not confident at all," the fleet commander sighed.

"Commander-in-Chief, I heard that you took down the 909th Brigade in the last exercise, is that right?" the fleet's deputy commander asked curiously.

"Their failure last time was largely due to their unfamiliarity with the tactics of our 7th Steel Brigade. They didn't pay enough attention to the use of cyber and electronic warfare. But now it seems that their defensive capabilities, awareness, and deployment have all improved significantly," Chen Jun analyzed impartially.

"So, it seems your 7th Steel Brigade's hypothetical enemy has been quite effective," the fleet commander said with a smile.

"That's true. Ever since our Steel 7th Brigade appeared, the entire theater army has been studying how to defeat it. Many of our tactics are cutting-edge and have greatly promoted the training reform of the Red Army."

Wang Qingrui spoke with great confidence, and as the brigade commander, he was also very proud. "Commander-in-Chief, I have an idea," Hong Yi suddenly said.

"Speak," Chen Jun immediately approved.

Hong Yi is quite capable; he might be able to come up with a way to break the deadlock.

Everyone else turned their attention to Hong Yi. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Hong Yi analyzed, "Judging from the area where the Red Army is defending against our drones with high density, the approximate location of their long-range artillery battalion's position can be determined to be within a range of thirty square kilometers."

I'm thinking, could we send our special operations company to conduct special reconnaissance, to go deep into the rear of Dongping Mountain, and find out the actual situation of the former Huoying?

Then they managed to install the satellite positioning and guidance device on the command vehicle of the long-range artillery battalion.

If successful, no matter where they run, we can lock onto them and launch a devastating attack on the Red Army, thus gaining the initiative.

Hong Yi himself is most fond of and best at special operations, so this kind of reconnaissance method is not unacceptable.

Since the Red Army troops were hiding in the woods and camouflaged, making aerial reconnaissance impossible, I decided to launch a ground-based breakthrough. By conducting manpower searches on the ground, I could perfectly avoid the Red Army's powerful anti-aircraft fire.

It can be said that this is the last and most effective way to break the deadlock under the current circumstances of the 7th Steel Brigade.

Chen Jun had already thought of this method. You should know that he was a pioneer of modern special operations in this era and the person in the country who knew the most about special operations.

The reason Chen Jun didn't say it from the beginning was still the same as what he had said before.

In order to broaden everyone's thinking and get everyone's brains working, instead of relying solely on Chen Jun and becoming overly dependent on him, which would lead to stagnation in their own development.

As of now.

Chen Jun's method was very effective. Gao Cheng, Hong Yi, Qiu Ming and others all made great progress and did not become "soldiers" who only knew how to obey orders.

"This idea is good and bold, but how to infiltrate it is a big problem," the fleet commander questioned.

"The Red Army's radar deployment was extremely tight, so even if they wanted to airdrop, it wouldn't be so easy, or rather, it was almost impossible," Qiu Ming also analyzed.

"There must be a way to infiltrate. Putting that aside for now, I personally think the method Hong Yi proposed is very feasible, and it is the only feasible method so far."

Chen Jun knew how to infiltrate, but he still didn't say it directly.

After confirming that Hong Yi's idea was feasible, he immediately instructed, "There's no time to lose. Now that we have a solution, let's hurry back to the command post, discuss it thoroughly, and resolve this issue."

Chen Jun came up with a way to break the deadlock. He returned from the deck to the conference room and began to work on it in depth, determined to come up with a complete action plan in the shortest possible time.

After all, the offensive period is only three days, and if they fail to win within three days, they will be declared the loser.

Chen Jun didn't want to lose.

The 7th Steel Brigade cannot afford to lose.

With new developments in the 7th Steel Brigade's combat group, Chu Zhangang finally put away his fishing rod and returned to the command post with Ding Kai.

"The Blue Army sent three drones to scout ahead. It must have been Chen Jun's idea. Their purpose was clear: they were targeting our long-range artillery battalion. Unfortunately for them, they were destined to fail," Chu Zhangang said smugly.

"The exercise has been underway for six hours, and the Blue Army has not launched any frontal offensive, which proves that the deterrent effect of the long-range artillery battalion is working. However, is there another purpose behind the Blue Army's frequent deployment of drones for reconnaissance?"

Ding Kai rarely put his mind to work, and he actually guessed something.

"Then tell me, what else is his purpose?" Chu Zhangang asked expectantly.

"It's hard to say right now, but the air defense battalion says that this kind of fighting is too costly. We have a limited number of surface-to-air missiles, and if we use them all up against drones, it will be very troublesome to deal with the Blue Army's air force later," Ding Kai said.

"Then save the missiles and send out the portable, shoulder-fired missile teams separately to occupy the high ground on all the nearby hills. Shoot them down one by one when you spot one," Chu Zhangang instructed.

Unlike the 7th Steel Brigade, the 909th Brigade did not enjoy the privilege of being a pilot unit and was equipped with the most advanced "Qianwei-1" man-portable surface-to-air missile.

However, as the first batch of elite units to be converted from divisions to brigades, they were also equipped with man-portable surface-to-air missiles, which were not available to most units at that time.

Moreover, the performance of the "Hongying-6" man-portable missile is not much worse than that of the Qianwei-1.

Shooting down a drone is a piece of cake!
"Okay, I'll go and make the arrangements right away."

When Chu Zhangang, the commander-in-chief, gave the order, Ding Kai naturally carried it out immediately.

That's when.

The fish that Chu Zhangang had caught by the sea earlier had been cooked and brought up by the cooks.

Chu Zhan hadn't eaten fish he'd caught in a long time, and the smell made his stomach rumble. He excitedly said, "Bring me my pepper. Pepper with fish makes it even more delicious. You two come and have a taste."

Done.

Chu Zhangang paused his discussion of tactics and led Ding Kai and Zhu Rongsheng to a small table to enjoy the sea fish he had caught.

……

708th Brigade Camp Area.

Wang Kezheng is a very kind person. To thank the veterans for their help, he fulfilled their previous requests.

I want to go back to my old unit for a visit.

They were specially taken back to the 708th Brigade camp, and the veterans were personally guided on a tour of the camp, including a wide array of weapons and equipment.

"Oh my, Brigade Commander Wang, this equipment is so advanced, it really amazes me."

Looking at the rows of armored vehicles in front of him, the latest tanks with their cannons raised high, Old Zhang felt a deep sense of emotion when he compared them to the old tanks he used when he was in the army.

"It's much better than what you had back then, isn't it? We have the latest equipment here," Wang Kezheng said with a smile.

"It's not just much better, I'm incredibly envious."

Old Zhang wiped away non-existent drool from the corner of his mouth and said, "Let me tell you, Old Fang, I was the one who introduced him to Chenghai. He started as a truck driver, and later bought his own truck and started a logistics company."

Moreover, it has been doing better and better, winning several major projects across the country and establishing branches overseas.

"Leave the warehouse rental to him; there won't be any problems at all. You can rest assured, he'll handle everything perfectly."

After speaking, Old Zhang looked to his right front, where two people were fiddling with something next to the tank.

(End of this chapter)