Chapter 288, Let the Boltguns Roar!
Valenzuan's 9th Company had to cross 35 kilometers of desert and reach the designated combat site within two hours, and no more than three hours.
There is relatively plenty of time, but it is still impossible to just run around with a bunch of heavy equipment on foot, so I still have to drive.
He sat in the passenger seat, holding two maps in his hands, one large and one small.
The big one was drawn before departure, the scale is very large, and it roughly plans the route - only for his company. This was copied from the regiment staff when he went to the regiment headquarters for a meeting. The small one was just drawn, according to the large map, the scale was reduced, and it was drawn according to the mission briefing given by the regiment chief of staff during the call just now.
While looking at the map, he directed the driver next to him to correct the route.
Marching in the desert is very difficult, even with a car.
In the Western Desert, apart from the main road that runs through the east and west, there are no roads to speak of anywhere else - if there are any, they were trampled out by caravans using their feet, ox hooves, and wheels.
This is a very difficult journey.
Although the terrain here is generally flat and endless, when you really drive on it, gravel, sand, small potholes and small slopes are all things that restrict the passage of vehicles, which is quite a test of the vehicle's off-road performance.
Fortunately, the Alliance's new Iron Bull-200 military version has been greatly upgraded compared to the previous generation. Not only is the rear cargo box fully enclosed with metal, but the tires, suspension and other aspects of the vehicle have also been upgraded, with particular emphasis on off-road capabilities.
Bumps are inevitable, and you can't drive too fast, otherwise who knows if a piece of gravel under the wheel will burst your tire at the critical moment of the mission, and then you're done. Although there is a spare tire, changing a tire is a waste of time, not to mention that the spare tire may not be enough.
The convoy was running across the desert at a speed of about 25 kilometers per hour, leaving some extra time.
Valenzuan felt that under the current circumstances, they should be able to arrive at the destination at the scheduled time.
The earlier they arrive, the easier it is to get there. If they arrive earlier, they will have more time to dig a few more foxholes and make them deeper, which will make the following battle easier.
Seeking war and being belligerent does not mean that a real fight will break out and you will risk your brothers' lives.
While moving, they are not walking foolishly.
Valenzuan had already sent out a reconnaissance squad, driving several tricycles in the company, to investigate the situation to the west.
The Alliance's army has fully distributed communications equipment to the squad level.
The reconnaissance team would pass back intelligence every once in a while.
They also encountered scouts from other brother companies. Based on this intelligence, as well as the battles detected ahead, Valenzuan roughly pieced together the current situation.
An unknown but certainly not small number of mechanical corps were being attacked by a synthetic battalion of the Wind-Extinguishing Brigade. That should be the 2nd Battalion of the Wind-Extinguishing Brigade. They were bombed and were counterattacking under fire.
They alone are definitely not enough. Although they have Lion tanks, armored vehicles, and elite infantry, numbers are always a problem.
However, although the number of the front-line attacking troops was much smaller than that of the enemy, their firepower was extremely fierce!
Among them, the main source of firepower was the alliance artillery units that were already on the march.
It wasn't just the artillery of the synthetic battalion of the Xifeng Brigade that participated in the battle. The artillery battalions under the brigade, the artillery support companies within the reach of other battalions, and even the artillery of the 3rd Brigade next door, anyway, all the artillery that could hit were pouring fire on that place.
The intensity of the artillery support is much greater than the scale of the participating troops should have.
With such artillery support, the brother troops of the 2nd Battalion next door made rapid progress.
Valenzuan actually felt a sense of urgency in his heart.
He calculated the distance and time, and thought it would be no problem to arrive at the designated location in two hours, but he still had to try to arrive earlier.
After rushing for a long time, they arrived at the designated combat site about an hour and a half after setting off.
The enemy has not arrived yet.
They hurried to set up their positions.
In theory, they would have about an hour to set up their fortifications.
Their company had only about 130 people, and they were equipped with some engineering equipment, including shovels, hammers, etc. Each squad and platoon found a suitable place and started working.
With such a small number of people, it is certainly impossible to dig a complex battlefield trench with all the necessary functions in just one hour.
Anti-gun holes, tunnels, bunkers, command posts, rest areas...
None of these things exist.
But it is impossible to stand upright in the wasteland and shoot at people.
They would temporarily dig some foxholes, pile them up with some rubble they could find and place them in front of the pits to serve as shelters and firing points; if conditions permitted, they would also dig another pit next to the foxhole - a pit with a cover to serve as an anti-artillery hole.
But it's not easy.
The wasteland in the Western Desert is not a desert, and there is no quicksand everywhere. However, the soil structure is still not solid, and if you dig a hole without artificial support, it may collapse.
The company now only has some simple engineering tools available. It does not have a formal engineering company or engineering battalion, which have recently been equipped with military-grade engineering machines. It is a bit difficult to dig such a hole.
Valenzuan and the company instructor walked around, checking the deployment of each team and evaluating the progress of the project.
But just as they were working hard to dig the hole, something happened.
There was a figure moving from the northwest.
The soldiers immediately became nervous.
They haven't finished digging the hole yet. In fact, it hasn't even reached the scheduled two hours yet, there are still twenty minutes left.
But on the battlefield, anything could happen. The enemy could not possibly coordinate with our actions and arrive when we said they would. They might have withdrawn early, or they might have sent out scouts or vanguards to make sure the retreat was safe.
The soldiers still had to quickly prepare for battle and crawled into the shallow foxholes that had not been dug yet; some of them had no place to crawl so they could only hide behind the Iron Ox trucks at the back; on the battlefield, using vehicles as cover was obviously not a good option, but if the soldiers did not even have this option, they could only find a place to lie down on the spot.
However, what happened afterwards... I don't know if it was a false alarm or worse news.
Those who came were not enemies, but friendly forces.
There are many familiar faces inside.
That is the brother company next door, the 3rd Company of the 2nd Regiment of the 3rd Brigade.
There were about twenty people coming over, many of whom were injured and looked very miserable.
When he saw these guys from afar, Valenzuan had some bad thoughts in his mind.
He shouted to his brothers to do what they should do next. At the same time, the company instructor had already led a team of people to meet them.
Valenzuan took the telescope and took a look.
The sound in the distance was not clear here, but it could be seen that there seemed to be some conflict between the two sides. The good-tempered instructor of the 9th Company seemed to be very angry and was cursing something, and he even pulled out a pistol and loaded it. The soldiers on the opposite side were dejected, and some argued for a few words, but in the end there was no movement.
In the end, the instructor and the soldiers of the company forced this group of people to walk back.
Fortunately, there was no bigger trouble, and it was not to the point where we had to disarm those guys.
After bringing the people back, the instructor arranged for them to find a place and temporarily formed an extra squad to dig pits and make preparations for the war. He himself came back to find the company commander to report the situation.
Valenzuan asked, "Deserter?"
The instructor's face looked a little ugly. He hesitated for a moment and then changed his characterization: "To be precise, they should be fleeing soldiers."
Valenzuan did not comment.
The instructor was still a little soft-hearted.
The nature of deserters and deserters is completely different. The former will be brought to court-martial, or any military commander or military and political commander at the front has the right to shoot them directly. As for the latter, it is a helpless choice, there is no other way.
If they were fleeing soldiers, that would be fine, they could be gathered and used. But if they were deserters, Valenzuan would not dare to trust them.
If you can escape once, you can always escape a second time. At the critical moment of the battle, if one of your defense lines escapes directly, it will affect the life and death of the entire company.
Seeing the look on the company commander's face, the instructor quickly said, "They are really deserters! Look, there are no officers among them. The highest rank is only a sergeant..."
Then he told the information he got from the defeated soldiers.
The 3rd Company is just northwest of their current location. The mission they received is similar to that of the 9th Company, which is to outflank the enemy and fight a blocking battle.
But their situation and luck were both bad. First, they ran into trouble on the road. They encountered a small group of enemies and had to get off the car to fight. This made them arrive at the battlefield later than scheduled, and their scheduled area was relatively close to the enemy, so they ran into the majority of the enemy without having time to prepare.
"...According to them, they were attacked by artillery fire before they even got out of the vehicle. Some vehicles were blown up and a whole vehicle was killed. They had just gotten out of the vehicle and had no cover, so they could only rely on the vehicle to fight the enemy. However, they were unable to resist the continuous artillery fire and the attack of combat drones from the sky. The company's firepower points could not be deployed, and casualties were heavy from the beginning. When the mechanical dogs rushed over, they could not stop them."
"The entire unit suffered heavy casualties. The remaining men had to fight and run. Not to mention the dead, the survivors were all scattered. They don't know where their comrades have gone, or even if there is anyone alive besides themselves."
Valenzuan felt quite emotional and sympathized with the 3rd Company's plight.
The outcome of a battle will be very different if you are prepared or not.
He stroked his chin and said, "That does sound understandable. However, if we want them to participate in the next battle, we must always pay attention to their fighting spirit."
"I'll be watching."
…
The defeated soldiers have already arrived, so the enemy cannot be far away.
In fact, just a few minutes later, scouts on the front line sent intelligence saying that they had seen traces of the enemy and had even shot down two combat drones.
And soon, they returned to the team.
There was no need to move forward to explore, the enemy was already here. Valenzuan could already see them with his telescope.
"Fire!" he ordered.
There was no need to wait until they were close to the enemy before fighting. This was not an ambush, and there was no condition for an ambush in this endless wasteland. It would be best to destroy the enemy at a long distance and prevent them from getting close.
However, the guns in the hands of ordinary soldiers did not fire.
Now, the enemy is still more than three thousand meters away, and firing with ordinary rifles would be a sheer waste of bullets.
At present, the only mortars that can fire are those owned by the company and platoon level units. The upgraded 80 mortars have much stronger firepower than before, without sacrificing portability. Five such guns, under the operation of mortar gunners, fiercely project firepower forward.
The other weapon that can fire is the heavy bolter. The effective range of this thing is well over 3,000 meters, and at this distance, it can still guarantee accuracy - it is the human who cannot guarantee accuracy. After all, when the human eye sees something 3,000 meters away, it can only see a small black dot.
However, if there are a bunch of small black dots, just sweep them based on the scale on the gun and your training experience.
It was heavy firepower at the infantry company level. When the enemy suffered such a blow, they were really blown to pieces for a moment.
They seemed to be somewhat unprepared to encounter such a fierce firepower from the infantry. They had just destroyed and defeated the 3rd Company, which was not well prepared for the battle. At that time, the soldiers of the 3rd Company did not even have time to deploy their heavy weapons before they suddenly entered into a close-range firefight.
Now, facing the firepower of the prepared human infantry positions, they suffered heavy losses.
Valenzuan, holding a telescope, saw many cyborgs, mechanical dogs, and even another previously rare machine with four mechanical legs that could walk sideways like a crab and was equipped with a firepower platform. It was also blown to pieces by a string of heavy bombs.
Captain Valenzuan smiled.
It is very important to take the initiative, at least the morale of the troops is boosted.
But soon, the enemy's counterattack arrived.
There was a whistling sound in the sky as shells came towards us.
The shells were fired at places that were beyond their reach, and they certainly could not counterattack. The enemy did have large-caliber self-propelled heavy artillery that could hit targets dozens of kilometers away, and at least its power was no less than the Alliance's 155mm howitzer.
These shells fell and hit the position of the 9th Company, and suddenly the entire area was filled with dust.
When Valenzuan heard the sound of artillery shells whistling, he shouted "fire", then lowered his head and wished he could bury himself in the soil of the foxhole.
The violent shaking of the earth, the explosion that almost deafened him, the sand and gravel that fell on his helmet and military uniform...
These are extremely shocking.
But as soon as the shelling ended, Valenzuan immediately raised his head and looked around.
The losses are difficult to assess. One iron bull was blown over, and no one has emerged from the other foxholes yet, so no one knows what happened to them.
But he clearly saw that the bodies of the original gunner and the ammunition supplier at the location where the heavy bolter was placed were abnormally twisted, and they were obviously dead.
Looking further ahead, the mechanical monsters that had been suppressed by firepower before had taken the opportunity to launch a charge.
He gritted his teeth, grabbed a soldier next to him, and rushed out with his back bent.
He was in charge of the grenade launcher, and the little soldier who was pulled over by him and was still a little dazed supplied him with ammunition.
Fortunately, the heavy bolter itself was relatively sturdy, and the shell did not fall directly into the foxhole, so the gun was still usable.
After some operations, he made the grenade launcher roar again!
(End of this chapter)
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