A convoy of three Renault heavy trucks headed toward Dogo, 700 kilometers away, at a speed of 50 km/h, while a helicopter formation arrived at the supply point set up by the Germans in Mopti before nightfall.
A rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow; Ace's party exercised restraint at this supply point, otherwise, attacking here would have definitely garnered more attention.
"You told me to be careful of the Germans, they couldn't find me anywhere. Bermukhtar, have you become more timid since you went to Niger?"
Sahara finally found an opportunity to mock his former partner.
"Just because the Germans can't find you today doesn't mean they can't find you tomorrow. If you continue to be so arrogant, even Allah can't save you."
"If we don't see eye to eye, there's no point in talking further," Belmukhtar said coldly, ending the call.
He had already done everything he could to remind the other party to be careful, but if they wouldn't listen, there was nothing he could do.
The Sahara, which was originally happy about the success of the battle, was now also disappointed.
"Give the order that Abdullah's men are granted leave, and that the others be more vigilant recently."
In the end, he still gave instructions to his subordinates.
No matter how much you disagree, you have to respect the instincts of veteran jihadists. Belmukhtar's journey from the Middle East to Afica, focusing on jihad for over two decades, is the best proof of that.
"Yes, Chief!"
Although he didn't know why, his subordinates still obeyed the order and went down to coordinate security work with the various grassroots commanders.
In the past, security in the mining area was very strict in order to avoid being discovered.
They disguised themselves as an "innocent" armed group, and the nearby villagers, intimidated by their strength and knowing that the government forces were incapable of driving them away, sold the gold ore they had dug by hand to them at low prices, cooperating fully.
Actually, it's not bad. Whether it's Zhongfei or Guo, many warlords and their armed forces still capture slave laborers. In order to prevent the news from leaking out, these people who are engaged in holy war have not exploited the villagers too severely.
This is also an advantage of having mineral resources. The border between Kinabalu and Marie is bustling, but there are not many mineral resources. They rely more on animal husbandry. Xie Fu and his men can only resort to force to collect taxes and rob the villagers of their cattle and sheep.
If we move to the Southeast Ya war zone, the conditions are so restrictive that we don't even have cattle and sheep, so we can only engage in prostitution, gambling, and drugs. But now it seems there's a more profitable business out there.
Nothing happened that night, and the next morning, the transport convoy successfully reached the area between Mopti and Dogo.
After a bumpy night, the crew and Claude's group only got a so-so rest. Fortunately, the actual operation wouldn't begin until tonight.
When they went to fight on distant missions, and were ground troops, their food supplies consisted only of individual combat rations.
It just so happened that the staff of Jihuo Defense and the soldiers of the Fajun Army all took out the same type of rations and ended up eating the same thing.
Time froze for only a few seconds before everything returned to normal. After all, for Claude and his crew, having their rations recognized by others was something to be proud of.
The bagged coffee and drinks inside are rather low-end.
Hans, the chief barista of Jihuo Defense, took out a Challenger 2-style vehicle heater from the troop transport compartment of the Marder S3. Christian had gone through connections to get it.
Fill the container with 4.5 liters of purified water, connect the 24V power supply to the vehicle, and the heater will start boiling the water.
"Even without a semi-automatic coffee machine, a moka pot is still better than instant coffee!"
As Hans spoke, he skillfully pulled out a 12-cup moka pot.
His series of moves left the Hairy Army soldiers stunned. Was this really someone who came here to fight?
Not only does Jihuo Defense have top-notch medical facilities, but you can also drink freshly brewed coffee. The British, at most, will brew some black tea. Their moka pots use hot water, and even the Italians aren't this particular.
Leonardo testified that he uses cold water at home, but that's what happens when their company pays them well!
Xia Yu didn't spend any money; the equipment was all put together by the employees themselves, and it also greatly boosted morale.
The two men got to know each other, and since they were in a cooperative relationship, they each got a free drink.
This tastes really good; it's made with freshly ground Kennea premium beans, so it's definitely different.
On the other hand, Louis's airborne team was a bit lacking. Due to the limited range and frequency of use of helicopters, they couldn't do as many fancy things, and their meals were simply taken care of at the supply camp.
The two sides maintained contact and spent their time eating, drinking, checking equipment, and familiarizing themselves with the battle plan until nightfall.
After handing over the gold ore they had dug up all day, and paying taxes to the Aspire according to a percentage, the villagers received a meager amount of cash and trudged home through the muddy water.
A few kilometers away, the driving school also closed its gates, ending its day's business.
Another day passed peacefully, but this kind of life could only last for a month at most before the Ace faction would strike again, targeting the Germans, government troops, or blue helmet troops, launching a holy war against any of them.
Unfortunately, due to the betrayal of a traitor, this cyclical life is about to come to an end.
Unaware of the situation, the Ace faction members simply set up two more checkpoints at their leader's request.
"The wind is from the southwest with a speed of 8 m/s. Approach from the downwind side of the mining area and send infiltration personnel to points b and c, which are 1.7 kilometers away."
Xia Yu was not in command. In the combat command center of the Germans, a colonel looked at the data transmitted back by the drone and issued combat orders.
Wind can interfere with the propagation of odors and sound waves, and even electromagnetic signals.
Conversely, they can also make use of this trait.
The transport convoy arrived first and waited within 5 kilometers of the mining area, while the helicopter formation consisting of Hind and Super Hornet helicopters split up and headed to the pre-marked points b and c when they flew within 3 kilometers.
"Swish, swish, swish"
The two helicopters did not touch the ground; several ropes were thrown out of the cabin and lowered down. Louis led the first team to rappel to the ground, followed closely by his soldiers.
He led 25 men, while his deputy platoon leader led 6 men, and they infiltrated the mining area in two groups.
In addition, each of the Hind and Super Hornet's transport pods had a sniper, and the Super Hornet, which lacked firepower, also had an additional door gunner.
As for whether the helicopter might attack our own people in the dark, there's no need to worry about that.
Although the German military does not have the finger-type laser friend-or-foe identification device like the US military, their combat uniforms are equipped with IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) patches for night vision, which are clearly visible in night vision goggles.
Of course, the enemy is also very clear, but you know how extremist organizations are. The rebels themselves lack military skills and have mercenaries to back them up. They're the kind of people who do holy war, and it's hard to hire experts even if you spend money.
Their sentries, both visible and hidden, only detected anomalies with their naked eyes and ears. To the special forces soldiers equipped with night vision goggles, they were all marked targets.
The difficulty lies in discovering that once the stronghold is located, even the most incompetent of the five philanthropists, the British, can be dealt with by sending .s; there is no other possibility.
Similar counter-terrorism operations can be compared to the Dark Forest theory.
This is also why Xia Yu lamented that the work had been taken over by the Chinese.
However, with many hands make light work. After being surveyed by drones, the driving school and mining area were found to have at least 300 targets.
Without the assistance of the Anka Mechanized Infantry Battalion, his small force really couldn't have sealed off such a large area; at least thirty to fifty of them would have escaped after the battle with the Ace Pirates.
These are dozens of suicide cars; it's best to take them all out at once.
After watching Louis lead his troops away on a rapid march, the helicopter formation that had joined them retreated one kilometer to land, keeping the propellers idling.
This way, fuel is more economical. Even though Xia Yu estimates that all ammunition can be depleted within half an hour of the start of the battle, fuel still needs to be used sparingly.
"Calling the meerkat, this is the yellow weasel, how are things on your end?"
Xia Yu turned on the radio and called Hans Dao.
"All vehicles in the convoy are in good condition and ready to be deployed at any time."
In the commander's compartment of the Leclerc UAE turret, Hans responded after confirming with the sergeant.
This operation also marked the first time, since becoming a tank commander, that he had taken over the command baton from Xia Yu and Kuhn and independently commanded ground operations.
As the scale of concentrated fire defense expands, it will inevitably lead to situations where two-front operations are required. Therefore, the two armored vehicle convoys that are subsequently formed must each have a command core.
Before, Xia Yu was in charge of joint operations, then the responsibility gradually shifted to Kuhn, and now it's Hans' turn to take the lead.
This operation is a good test to see if he can handle things on his own. I hope everything goes smoothly.
"Calling Weasel, this is Locksmith, we have arrived at the designated location in the mining area."
Louis's voice came through the radio channel; they had infiltrated.
"As planned, the harassment will begin in three minutes, and the glider and I will arrive in five minutes."
"yes!"
Xia Yu needed Louis and his men to bomb the targets out, carry out demolitions and blow up houses. That was the job of fighter-bombers. Armed helicopters were more for killing personnel and armored targets.
Extremist groups may not have tanks, but they have a lot of cars. According to intelligence transmitted by drones, not to mention driving schools, there are double-digit numbers of motor vehicles in the mining area alone.
The province should save money and spend it wisely. Most of these cars are assembled from scrapped vehicles, so it seems that in addition to driving talent, they have also recruited a lot of auto repair talent.
In order to deal with these small vehicles that might run around with bombs after the battle starts, the Japanese directly dug out 12 HOT-3 missiles from their old stockpile and hung them on the short wings of the Hind in a configuration of 2, 4, (20), (20) 4, 2.
If it were replaced by the Tiger, it could only carry 8 anti-tank missiles, and its fragile wingtips could only carry anti-aircraft missiles that were not actually used, because it would be difficult to have the opportunity to shoot down high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.
The special forces soldiers, scattered in all directions of the mining area, raised the muzzles of their HK416 and HK417 rifles and aimed at their assigned targets.
"10, 9, 8..."
Louis started a countdown in the team chat.
"3, 2, 1, Action!"
"Bang bang bang"
Pulling the trigger, the Aspian sentry fell to the ground, seeing Pearl, before he could even figure out what was happening.
"Put-put-put"
The machine gunner's FN Minimi also began to roar, and the sound of gunfire instantly resounded throughout the entire mining area.
"Oops"
Holding his newlywed holy war bride, Sahara was jolted awake and sat up abruptly in bed.
They were attacked; Belmukhtar was right.
This was the first thought that popped into Sahara's mind after she regained consciousness.
It was too late for regrets; he was ready to fight those people.
Pushing aside his second wife, Sahara took his AKM and walkie-talkie from the cabinet beside him.
"Don't go out, everyone stay away from the outside. They're all wearing cameras that can be seen at night. If you go out, you'll become their target."
He called out to all the lower-level commanders on the channel.
Although he was reluctant to admit it, this was a combat tactic he had learned from Belmukhtar, a tactic for fighting Western regular armies at night.
Who told them to always launch nighttime raids? Countless jihadists have fallen victim to these guys.
"Stay in the room and fight back before you understand the other side's situation."
"Yes, Chief!"
Upon receiving the message, the junior commanders immediately stopped the hotheads who wanted to rush out and engage the attackers in a gunfight.
"Wait a minute, platoon leader, why aren't they coming out?"
Two or three magazines were shot out in quick succession, and sensing something was wrong, the soldiers of the Hairy Army quickly questioned Louis.
This is quite different from the extremist groups they have previously eradicated; it's not "brave" at all.
Apart from the sentries who were already outside, no one dared to show their faces; they simply stood guard at the narrow windows and doorways, firing at the general area in front of them.
Although their aim was inaccurate, they managed to suppress the enemy's firepower. Most importantly, in infiltration and harassment operations, their ammunition was only a fraction of the enemy's.
"Whoosh!"
The platoon's rocket launcher gunner fired an AT4CSAST anti-fortification rocket, blasting it into an earthen house equipped with a general-purpose machine gun, silencing it completely.
Even if they hide and don't come out, they can still be attacked by rocket launchers. However, there are fewer of these things than hand grenades, and each shooter only carries two launchers.
"Calling the weasel, calling command center, an anomaly has been detected."
During a lull in the fighting, Louis immediately reported the matter.
This commander is smart; he knows how to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses. Xia Yu was a little surprised, but hiding and not coming out wouldn't solve the problem.
"Calling the meerkat, let's strike ahead of time. It's up to you this time."
After a brief communication with the command center, Xia Yu immediately contacted Hans.
"Yes, boss!"
For an armored convoy, 5 kilometers is just a matter of charging forward, and the tanks in the convoy are the best way to solve the immediate problem.
Inside the drum-shaped ammunition compartment on the right side of the Leclerc UAE cockpit, there are 18 manually loaded rounds of various types of ammunition, and 22 rounds of ammunition with an automatic loader. This time, the configuration consists entirely of HE120F1 high-explosive shells with a projectile weight of 15.5 kg.
Yes, when fighting extremist groups, you don't need steel needles or armor-piercing rounds; high-explosive grenades are enough to solve 99% of the problems.
Using a tank for counter-terrorism means positioning it simply as an armored direct-fire howitzer.
Xia Yu originally thought that the doe would be enough, but it seems that the revenge war of the Haired people still has to be fought by Leclerc.
"Buzz"
Leclerc UAE led the charge, followed closely by Weasel S30 and S3, with only Weasel K1 and the second echelon remaining in place.
Armored ambulances are only used in formations for patrols. For assault operations like this, it's more appropriate to leave them in the rear to be ready to provide support and rescue at any time.
The two VAB armored vehicles in the second echelon, besides the Germans, also had two members of the concentrated fire defense team.
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