A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

"The Blue Army's forward outposts are also strategically positioned in depth!" Both Red Army Battalion Commander Thorpe and A Company Commander Musk noticed this.

This means that the suppressive and lethal effects of the artillery firepower of the infantry battalion will be greatly reduced, and an enemy platoon, relying on favorable terrain and strong fortifications, can hold out for a period of time against an attack from a reinforced company.

The Red Army quickly discovered a flaw in the Blue Army's troop deployment: the forward outposts were positioned too far forward, exceeding the fire support range of the battalion's 81mm mortars.

The Red Army readjusted its offensive deployment and firepower, and under the cover of fierce artillery fire, launched another attack, and the battle quickly became fierce.

After a fierce battle, the directing group determined that the Blue Army's outpost platoon had suffered nearly half its casualties and was no longer able to stop the Red Army's attack, thus ruling that the Blue Army's position had fallen. Meanwhile, the Red Army's A and B companies each lost more than half a platoon after the battle for the outpost.

However, after the Blue Army's forward platoon withdrew from the position, it did not retreat back to the main position, but instead retreated to the two flanks, where it had already set up backup positions and maintained a constant presence to contain and threaten the Red Army's attacking forces.

This forced Red Army Companies A and B to detach some of their forces to defend against flank threats from the Blue Army's outpost platoons. The two sides remained locked in a stalemate along the outpost line, further weakening the Red Army's forces attacking the Blue Army's main position.

The Red Army then used the newly captured Blue Army outposts as a base to advance and launch an attack on the initial area. While traversing a relatively open area, the Red Army's formation was subjected to heavy fire from Blue Army blocking forces—another layer of Blue Army blocking positions deployed in an echelon. Clearly, the Blue Army was employing a tactic of successive blocking attacks based on echeloned positions.

However, what Red Army Battalion Commander Thorpe did not expect was that the Blue Army had set up two successive lines of blocking positions from the outposts to the main front. Each line of blocking positions also had a certain depth, which greatly reduced the effectiveness of the Red Army's artillery fire. Each Blue Army defensive line had to be taken head-on and at great cost.

The Red Army commanders at the battalion, company, and platoon levels were suffering immensely and were furious. They cursed inwardly, thinking that they had never encountered such a persistent Blue Army in military academy exercises! They were like leech, impossible to shake off, and they had to be wary of them suddenly biting them! They feared that at this rate of casualties, even if they reached the Blue Army's main position, they wouldn't be able to launch another attack.

Generally speaking, according to the rules of combat, with the same level of technology and equipment, it is more prudent for the attacking side to have a troop ratio of three to one or two to one.

However, an exercise is still an exercise, and it has a directorate and contingency plans. After several fierce battles, seeing that the training objective had been achieved, the directorate determined that the Blue Army's several blocking positions had been captured by the Red Army.

At this moment, the Red Army was furious. They had been fighting for most of the day, struggling to break through the enemy's main position. They were filled with rage and bloodlust, determined to take down the Blue Army's base.

The Blue Army was furious. They had put in so much effort to dig trenches and set up two tiers of defensive positions. They had fought so well, and the Red Army had been attacking for so long but hadn't been able to take the position. How could they just declare them the losers with a mere flick of their lips?

The Red Army readjusted its attack force deployment and firepower configuration, and under the cover of battalion-level mortars, infantry guns, and heavy machine guns, moved toward the attack line.

After crossing the attack starting line, Companies A and B made brief adjustments and completed their combat formation. They immediately moved rapidly towards the assault starting line under the cover of battalion fire. Upon reaching the assault starting line, they fully deployed and launched an assault on the Blue Army's main position under the continuous fire cover of battalion and company fire platoons.

As the Red Army advanced from its assembly area, the Blue Army's battalion-level firepower continuously launched barrages, and the battle immediately intensified, becoming increasingly fierce.

The Red Army launched several fierce attacks, but the Blue Army fought back valiantly, refusing to retreat and repelling each of the Red Army's attacks.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Blue Army launched several counterattacks. The Red Army's attacks failed several times, and they had to retreat to the position where they started the attack. The two sides exchanged continuous long-range fire. The heavy machine gunners on both sides had bloodshot eyes and turned their anger into the furious roar of the heavy machine guns.

Brigadier General Edward, the British team leader, watched intently from the observation platform, praising repeatedly, "The West Point cadets' exercise is indeed very realistic."

West Point Superintendent Major General Smith remained calm, wondering to himself what this old cat was up to. Although he had read the Blue Team's report beforehand and approved the Blue Team's "combat-oriented" modification plan, he did not expect the Blue Team to make such a big fuss.

However, he also noticed that the exercise was very effective. Under the atmosphere and pressure of realistic combat, everyone brought their tactical and technical skills to a level that was unimaginable under normal circumstances. Both the red and blue sides showed fighting spirit and tenacity. The intense battle scenes made the staff officers, instructors and junior students watching on site feel their blood boil.

"The results are good. The trainees have gained a deeper understanding of combat realism. It seems that this experience can be used for future exercises." Major General Smith nodded, thinking thoughtfully.

Everyone in the command center had run out and stood on the high ground, watching with wide eyes, discussing something excitedly and enthusiastically. Was the Blue Team really going for it? At West Point, such an intense and realistic exercise seemed to have never been seen before.

Both sides were enraged, and it looked like the Red Army's assault team and the Blue Army's forward defense forces were about to clash in close combat, escalating into a large-scale brawl.

The two sides clashed, and fists and feet flew in a chaotic melee. At such close range, they dared not fire again, as blank rounds still had lethality at close range.

The instructors were on tenterhooks. They felt they had lost control of the situation. The two sides were already locked in fierce fighting. At this point, who cared about casualty assessments or withdrawing from the exercise? It wasn't live ammunition. Of course, the deaths and injuries were real, but who would admit to that now?

The directors managed to separate the two sides that were fighting. After an emergency meeting, the directing department decided that the Blue Army's forward positions had been captured by the Red Army and that the Blue Army should retreat to the mountainside and ridgeline positions.

The directing staff then ordered the Red Army to launch a strike on all the fortifications and firing points of the Blue Army's mountainside defense line, and then attack the ridgeline positions to capture the entire Blue Army base.

Unexpectedly, the Blue Army deployed its reserves and charged out from both flanks and rear. Taking advantage of this, the Blue Army launched a fierce counterattack on the main position, and the forward positions that the Red Army had just occupied were recaptured by the Blue Army.

Enraged, the Red Army soldiers shouted, "You're not following the exercise regulations!"

The Blues were equally defiant, launching a fierce counterattack: "Shameless! You can't even take it yourself, yet you keep complaining!"

Only under strict orders from the directorate did the Blue Army obediently retreat to their positions on the hillside and mountaintop.