“When attacking a strong natural fortress like Eagle Valley, normal light firepower is completely useless.”

"Therefore, no matter how many soldiers we have, without heavy artillery and better methods, taking Eagle Valley will only be a joke."

Having given the answer, Gu Long began his methodical analysis:

"Don't forget, the more troops our army deploys 80 kilometers into the Ganxi Mountains, the greater the pressure on logistics and supplies will be."

"At that time, as long as Kunzhai holds the fortress at the valley entrance, even if they do nothing, they can wear us down in a few months."

"Modern warfare is all about money. Without huge profits, why would a war drag on?"

Dubois fell silent. Although he was very unwilling, he had to admit that the chief of staff was right.

In the past two days, Dubois has observed the fortress at the valley entrance more than once, and has also sent out reconnaissance teams to conduct on-site investigations around Eagle Valley.

The final conclusion is:

Eagle Valley is surrounded by cliffs on all sides, and the Mist River flows around three of them, making it impossible for an army to cross.

The only entrance is the narrow pass to the east, but it is simply impossible to breach this 60-meter-high concrete fortress without heavy artillery and high explosives.

Judging from the fortification's strength, even a large number of heavy artillery pieces and explosives would require an immense amount of firepower.

Besides that, the other shortcut is undoubtedly the airspace above the valley.

Dubolai finally understood why Commander Gan Shang insisted on deploying Black Hawk attack helicopters and the Mountain Eagle Special Operations Brigade.

It is estimated that from the very beginning, Gansu merchants never intended to break through the valley from the front.

The massive ground forces and firepower are most likely intended to lull and tie down Eagle Valley's main force.

The real trump card in this battle is the aerial raid...

"Chief of Staff Gu, I completely agree with your analysis. Therefore, in addition to ensuring the safety of the mountain road, the forward positions should not be too close."

"Conventional light firepower poses no threat to concrete bunkers; charging in would only be suicide."

Du Boleyn, with a solemn expression, echoed:

"Establishing artillery positions two kilometers from the valley entrance ensures the effective range of heavy artillery while avoiding close combat, making it the most feasible solution at present."

"Sigh... I was full of enthusiasm before entering the mountains, and I wanted to show off the military might of my first mixed regiment through this battle."

"But I never expected that the turtle shell would be so hard to chew!"

The soldier who delivered the order had returned by then.

Dupolley immediately relayed the Chief of Staff's order to "dig deep trenches and establish artillery positions" to the messenger for execution...

The main force of the army will enter the mountains in the afternoon, and the time before the first attack on Eagle Valley should not exceed 48 hours.

Time is running out for the First Mixed Regiment to build its forward positions.

................................................

On this side of the valley entrance, they are frantically digging trenches and setting up heavy artillery positions.

At 3 p.m., the search teams on both sides of the mountain road finally confirmed that the enemy within a 3-kilometer radius had been cleared.

Those three troublesome mountain guerrilla teams seemed to be quite sensible, and quickly moved away from this mountainous area, disappearing without a trace into the deep mountains.

................................................

Kun Zhonglun led a guerrilla squad and found the secret supply point No. 3.

After replenishing sufficient ammunition and five days' worth of rations, the entire team turned north, traversing mountains and valleys, crossing the Wulu River, and making a large detour.

We arrived at Luoshiyan at 1 a.m. the next day.

Luoshiyan is located on section 4 of the mountain road, which happens to be in the middle of the 80-kilometer mountain road.

The mountains here are steep and the rocks are rugged, but the trees on the mountains are sparse.

A winding mountain road stretches right at the foot of the mountain...

Kunzhonglun's guerrilla squad climbed to the top of Luoshiyan Peak and was preparing to rest there.

The rumble of cars could be heard from the road at the foot of the mountain.

A dragon of headlights stretched as far as the eye could see, winding and twisting, extending forward into the pitch-black night.

Without even guessing, it's clear that this is the main force of the Ke Yin Independent Army advancing into the mountains.

The Kachin King really spared no expense in dealing with Kunzhai and the Dragon Gang!

Kun Zhonglun lay on a rock, calming his turbulent emotions for a while.

He then put on night vision goggles, raised his binoculars, and carefully observed the area down the mountain a kilometer away.

The vehicles traveling on this mountain road are mainly transport vehicles.

Through the telescope lens, Kun Zhonglun discovered that at least half of the vehicles had a howitzer covered with camouflage canvas towed to their rear.

Judging from the size of the gun barrels, these heavy artillery pieces are most likely American or Soviet 152mm howitzers.

The destructive power of the 152mm howitzer was already feared on the battlefields of World War II.

The absolute effective kill radius of a single shell is as high as 30 meters.

To put it more vividly, one shot could wipe out half a football field.

On the battlefield, the crater created by the explosion of a 152mm howitzer shell can be as deep as 1.8 meters.

This demonstrates just how terrifying this conventional heavy artillery firepower is.

If these howitzers were equipped with explosive shells, they would cause even greater damage to the concrete fortifications at Eagle Valley Pass.

Kun Zhonglun, who had been hanging out with the Kun Sheng brothers since childhood, was very familiar with the parameters and power of various firearms.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!