From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

The Red Army's first phase of the exercise plan was inherently somewhat based on underestimating the enemy and taking a gamble.

They placed all their bets on the long-range artillery battalion's sea interception, leaving very little ground defense force, which they had already allocated to the second phase of the exercise.

Without the deterrent capability of the long-range artillery battalion, the deployment for the second phase of the exercise is completely useless.

Their combat effectiveness collapsed completely.

Not the kind where you're cut in half at the waist, but the kind where you're beheaded.

The moment the Blue Army destroyed the Red Army's long-range artillery battalion, the 909th Brigade's journey in this exercise came to an end, and the outcome was completely predictable.

No longer needing to worry about the suppression from long-range artillery, the Blues launched a general offensive without any hesitation.

The naval fleet, fully loaded with the attacking forces of the 7th Steel Brigade, brazenly charged toward the coast of Dongping Mountain, its imposing presence quite impressive.

Fifty kilometers!

Thirty kilometers!

……

As the Blue Army's 7th Steel Brigade fleet drew closer, Chu Zhangang, the commander-in-chief of the Red Army headquarters, grew increasingly anxious, his face growing increasingly grim.

He wanted to stop the Blue Army fleet from getting closer, but his heart had already died.

Chu Zhangang's heart sank when he received the notification from the director's office a few minutes earlier that the Red Team's long-range artillery battalion had been precisely located and wiped out by the Blue Team.

but.

Even a trapped beast will at least struggle in its death throes.

Chu Zhangang naturally couldn't stand it, and watched helplessly as the Blue Army got closer and closer, eventually landing successfully and leading to defeat.

So Chu Zhangang racked his brains and used every means at his disposal, hoping for a slim chance.

The Red Army's high-ranking officers, including Chu Zhangang, were also increasingly anxious and impatient, and each of them used their own unique methods to overcome the difficulties.

They not only called for air support, hoping to use air power to strike the fleet.

Even if we can't destroy the fleet, we can at least buy some time.

They even hastily mobilized the ground troops deployed in the northern basin for the second phase of preparation, intending to deliver a head-on blow to the 708th Brigade, and urgently transferred them to the Dongpingshan position to block the Blue Army forces after their landing.

However, all of this was in vain.

The air force was not only assigned to the Red Army, but also to the Blue Army.

As the Red Army called for air power to take off, the Blue Army also called for air power that was already poised and ready on its way.

The air force called by the Red Army was engaged in combat with the air force called by the Blue Army halfway there.

There's no way they can come over and stop the Blues!

Without the air force's interception and delay, the main force of the Red Army's ground troops stationed in the northern basin had no time to move to Dongping Mountain.

Not to mention that after arriving at Dongping Mountain, it will take enough time to build up positions.

The final result was as expected.

The Blue Army fleet successfully arrived outside the Dongpingshan position, and the armed helicopter formation of the 7th Steel Brigade's Army Aviation Battalion also arrived in the sky at almost the same time.

The land, sea, and air forces belonging to the Blue Army thus completed their rendezvous outside Dongping Mountain.

This has created a powerful three-in-one strike formation!
The various units of the 7th Steel Brigade, the main ground attack force, braved almost negligible coastal defense fire from the Red Army and, under the cover of their own army aviation forces, swarmed off the landing ships with indomitable morale.

They launched an unprecedented and fierce attack on the Red Army's coastal defense positions on Dongping Mountain.

Under Chu Zhangang's operational strategy, the Red Army placed its main defensive hopes on long-range strikes from the artillery battalion, as the ground defenses of Dongping Mountain were inherently weak.

As a heavily armed combined arms brigade, the 7th Steel Brigade possesses extremely fierce and powerful offensive capabilities.

A spear forged of titanium alloy attacks a shield made of tofu.

The result is obvious!
The armored battalion and mechanized infantry battalion of the 7th Steel Brigade landed and broke through the Dongpingshan defense line in less than half an hour, and controlled the entire Dongpingshan in less than an hour.

Meanwhile, the ground troops that the Red Army was sending to support them, even though they had rushed as fast as they could, had only just arrived halfway there.

Upon learning that the entire Dongping Mountain had been lost, Chu Zhangang's spirits collapsed instantly, and he slumped onto a stool like a deflated ball.

Staring blankly at the large screen in front of him with eyes that had completely lost their luster.

Zhu Rongsheng and Ding Kai stood there listlessly, like wilted eggplants, their eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions.

There was resentment at the defeat, and regret at underestimating the opponent.

No matter how turbulent and complex their emotions were at that moment, the facts were already laid out before them, and even if they wanted to regret it, they no longer had the chance.

because……

One step wrong, step by step wrong.

Despite the fact that the main ground forces of the Red Army have not suffered significant losses, their armored and infantry forces still retain more than 80 percent of their original strength.

Unfortunately, Chu Zhangang made a mistake by sending ground troops ahead of schedule for the second phase.

This meant that even if the troops urgently sent to Dongpingshan changed direction and traveled at top speed, they could not stop the Blue Army from attacking Chenghai City.

Because if the Red Army wanted to return to Chenghai City, they needed to cross the Dongping Mountain position to get back.

Dongping Mountain is now under the control of the Blue Army, which means that the Red Army's main ground forces and command post have been cut off by the Blue Army.

For the Red Army's support troops to return, they had to defeat the Steel Seventh Brigade blocking their way.

Is this realistic?

That's unrealistic!
With long-range fire support from the air force and navy, the 7th Steel Brigade, even with the same troop strength as the Red Army support forces, could easily defeat the Red Army support forces by leveraging its three-dimensional firepower advantage.

Not to mention that as a fully-equipped heavy combined arms brigade, its troop strength and equipment far surpass those of the Red Army's 909th Brigade.

Its hard power completely overwhelmed the Red Army's 909th Brigade.

They were not even in the same league. So even though all the high-ranking officers on the Red Army side, including Chu Zhangang, did not want to accept defeat, and the Red Army support troops were eager to return to the city to establish a defensive line, they were so anxious that their eyes were almost bloodshot.

It's useless!

The 7th Steel Brigade, like a colossal steel beast, easily tore apart the Red Army's Dongpingshan defense line, and the Chenghai City defense line could not stop them in the slightest.

The same 7th Steel Brigade bombed them to pieces in no time, and they couldn't even withstand it for half a day.

With just over ten hours left before the end of the exercise, the 7th Steel Brigade completed its final battle, capturing the Red Army's headquarters in one fell swoop.

When Chen Jun, the commander-in-chief of the Blue Army, appeared before Chu Zhangang with Wang Qingrui, Gao Cheng, and others, the exercise came to an end.

The 7th Steel Brigade easily defeated the 909th Brigade, which was the defending force, with its overwhelming strength.

Before this, he had always looked down on the Steel Seventh Brigade and had always been full of confidence in himself. He did not believe that the Steel Seventh Brigade had a chance to win against Chu Zhangang in this battle.

Looking at the tall figure standing in front of him, he had no choice but to lower his proud head.

The general command then announced the results of the exercise—

The Blue Army attacking force, led by the 7th Steel Brigade, completely defeated the Red Army defending force, led by the 909th Brigade.

With the conclusion of the first phase of the exercise, there was no time for Chu Zhangang to commemorate the loss, nor for Chen Jun to celebrate; the second phase of the exercise quickly commenced.

In the first phase, the 7th Steel Brigade, which was the attacking force, underwent a complete transformation.

From the offensive side to the defensive side.

The 708th Brigade, which had been prepared long ago, took over the role of the previous Steel 7th Brigade and became the new offensive force, replacing the 909th Brigade as the new Red Army.

Like the previous Steel 7th Brigade, the 708th Brigade only had three days to launch an attack; otherwise, they were basically the same.

The biggest difference is that one attacks by sea, while the other launches its attack from land. In terms of the difficulty of the attack, the land attack is less difficult.

If it were the Red Army led by Chu Zhangang, and the roles were reversed, a new round of attacks would be launched.

Chen Jun felt no pressure at all.

It's not that they think they're so great that they look down on the 909th Brigade, but rather that the 909th Brigade, led by Chu Zhangang, is still stuck in outdated, traditional thinking and can't come up with any sophisticated tactics or pose much of a threat.

However, the situation was completely different when the 708th Brigade launched the attack.

Chen Jun knew very well what amazing changes had taken place in the 708th Brigade under the leadership of Brigade Commander Wang Kezheng over the past year, after the brigade commander personally visited to learn from them and fully realized his own shortcomings.

The 708th Brigade, led by Wang Kezheng, has seen a rapid improvement in its combat effectiveness.

After all, the master knows the apprentice best.

Therefore, Chen Jun attached great importance to the upcoming second phase of the offensive launched by the 708th Brigade and its affiliated units.

When formulating defensive tactics, try to consider all aspects as comprehensively as possible.

Gao Cheng, Hong Yi, and other brigade officers also heard that the 708th Brigade had been "working hard behind closed doors" for the past year, and the improvement in its combat effectiveness was beyond their imagination.

They were also on high alert, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

Even though the 708th Brigade was a defeated opponent, and a very crushing one at that, even humiliating, they should not be underestimated.

The changes in the 708th Brigade are indeed significant. They have not only acquired a complete set of new training templates, but have also raised the overall combat effectiveness of the entire brigade to a new level.

The tactical thinking has been elevated to several levels.

Wang Kezheng completely abandoned his old-fashioned, conservative style of play, learned the essence of Chen Jun's tactics, and adopted the rogue style of play that he used to "despise the most".

As early as when the 7th Steel Brigade launched its attack, it had already secretly carried out a stunt.

They smuggled an entire armored brigade in.

Upon learning that the second phase would be against the Steel Seventh Brigade, Wang Kezheng was both excited and nervous; his adrenaline surged like that of a 20-year-old despite his 50 years.

The excitement stems from the fact that the 708th Brigade lost to the Steel 7th Brigade last time, and only to the Steel 7th Brigade. The 708th Brigade needs to avenge this defeat, and defeating the Steel 7th Brigade is the best way to do so.

Wang Kezheng was thrilled that they had actually run into each other.

The tension lies in the fact that Wang Kezheng had been to the Steel Seventh Brigade. As his apprentice, he knows best how formidable his master is and how difficult it is to defeat the Steel Seventh Brigade.

Not to mention that the 7th Steel Brigade, as the defending side, has a natural advantage over the attacking side.

Winning will be extremely difficult.

With such a tough nut to crack in front of him, how could Wang Kezheng not feel immense pressure?

In order to maximize the probability of winning this exercise, Wang Kezheng was extremely cautious in his entire operational deployment, reaching an unprecedented level.

The second phase of the exercise also requires a preparation process before it officially begins.

This period lasts for five days.

Over the past five days, under the command of Commander-in-Chief Chen Jun, the 7th Steel Brigade coordinated its various units to carry out a tight defensive deployment.

Meanwhile, the Red Army, including the 708th Brigade, which was on the offensive, was responsible for advancing towards Chenghai City.

Finally, they assembled at a designated exercise assembly point 300 kilometers away from Chenghai City, and launched their attack from there.

The 708th Brigade was stationed more than 1,000 kilometers away from Chenghai City, and the planned time for the attack was only three days.

If we hadn't used those five days to get the 708th Brigade to move over in advance, those three days wouldn't have been enough time to even travel, let alone attack the city.

With the five days of preparation time given by the directing department, both the attacking and defending sides can proceed smoothly.

The 708th Brigade arrived at the designated assembly point, and the 7th Steel Brigade, acting as the defender, completed all defensive deployments. All forces were in position.

Without any hesitation, the directing staff immediately issued the order to officially begin the second phase of the exercise.

The second battle...

This marks the beginning of the story. (End of Chapter)