Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 227 Arrival at Qinglong Gorge, Planning the Night Raid
时间，1999年8月8日晚20:45分。

Starting from Huanglongwangou in Jincheng, the Blue Army battalion, which was moving by land, finally arrived at the No. 7 combat zone in Qinglongxia.

It must have rained heavily here during the day; the muddy roads caused the truck convoy's wheels to slip repeatedly as it moved forward.

The maneuverability was severely hampered.

The wind howled all around, and the car body was almost shaken violently.

"It's fortunate that it rained during the day; otherwise, in this kind of weather, the sandstorm at night would probably make it impossible to see the road."

Looking out of the command carriage at the endless gray landscape, Chen Mo was quite good at comforting himself.

The trucks often slipped, requiring soldiers to get out and use shovels to shovel sand and soil from elsewhere to level the road and advance little by little.

The logistics department of the military region came early to set up the oil depot. Their land detachment was met by the logistics personnel at the national highway entrance, who led the way so that they could successfully reach the designated area.

After arriving at the destination and meeting up with the logistics personnel.

As soon as Chen Mo got out of the car, he looked up and saw four or five logistics soldiers in the distance, wearing only shorts, chasing after the tents.

Countless soldiers sat on the ground, clinging tightly to the four corners of the tent to prevent it from being blown away by the strong wind.

The environment was so bad it was unbearable to look at.

Chen Mo had been lucky in the past and had rarely participated in field training, so this was the first time he had ever seen such an environment.

But at least his physical condition was good enough to withstand it. Feng Guoqing, who served as the combat intelligence staff officer, was blown sideways by the wind as soon as he got out of the car and couldn't stop running.

Wang Jianyong ran a few steps quickly and pulled the person back.

"Battalion Commander Chen, this won't work. There's no way to set up a tent in this environment."

Wang Jianbin frowned and made the suggestion.

Chen Mo nodded. Before coming to Qinglong Gorge, he had heard rumors about the place, such as how tough the soldiers' training was, how they only got two ounces of soil a day, and how they could get more in the afternoon if they didn't get enough in the morning.

He used to think it was just a common sight in the Gobi Desert, like sandstorms, and that the rumors might be exaggerated.

Only when you experience it yourself do you realize just how heartbreaking this rumor truly is.

"Old Feng, go and tell each squad to park all vehicles together. We won't set up tents tonight; everyone will sleep in the truck beds. Comrades, please bear with us."

"Take stock of the rations and fresh water situation for each class, and replenish what needs to be replenished as soon as possible."

"Invite Company Commander Cheng over and tell him I need to speak with him."

"By the way, regarding the 61st Division's garrison, don't mention it to any of the comrades in the battalion. We've just arrived here, so don't put too much pressure on them."

"Yes!"

Feng Guoqing responded and turned to walk towards the convoy in the distance to relay the battalion commander's order.

Lao Feng is a graduate of Shicheng Staff College, majoring in data science and big data technology. He currently serves as the combat situation staff officer of the Blue Army battalion.

The reason Chen Mo didn't let the people in the battalion know about the 61st Division's garrison so quickly was because he was worried it would cause panic.

It's not that he's overthinking things.

They can just brag in private. After the 19th Army was disbanded in 85, among the units under the 21st Army of the entire Jincheng Military Region, only the 61st Division was considered the leader.

The organization of the Northern Class A motorized infantry division was much stronger than that of the Class B divisions such as the 62nd, 63rd, and 55th Divisions. Not to mention the artillery brigade converted from the 57th Division, as well as the 12th Tank Division and the anti-aircraft artillery brigade.

Since we don't know who else is stationed in Zone 7, or which unit is our strategic partner, it's best not to disclose information about the enemy.

After explaining the arrangements, Chen Mo returned to the command vehicle, took out compressed biscuits from his bag, and was about to eat a couple of bites when...

Outside the carriage, Cheng Dong's loud voice could be heard.

"Scholar?"

"Where are you? Come out quickly, someone is looking for you."

"Hey, they're here!!"

Hearing the sound, Chen Mo put down the biscuits and came out of the carriage. He looked up and saw a burly lieutenant colonel standing in front of Cheng Dong. The man looked to be about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, similar to Cheng Dong.

But his physique was not as short and stocky as Company Commander Cheng's; he was nearly 1.8 meters tall and tanned like a piece of charcoal.

It exudes a sharp and aggressive nature.

However, this lieutenant colonel had an intimidating appearance but a rather easygoing personality.

When he saw Chen Mo get out of the car, he was taken aback for a moment, seemingly not expecting that the battalion commander he was going to meet was such a young man.

Then he took the initiative to salute and said, "Hello, Battalion Commander Chen, my name is Zhou Xiao, the battalion commander of the reconnaissance battalion of the 139th Division."

"Battalion Commander Zhou, welcome, welcome."

After returning the greeting, Chen Mo quickly reached out and shook hands with the other person.

Upon seeing Zhou Xiao, Chen Mo understood everything.

No wonder.

No wonder the 61st Division mobilized so many troops to completely surround the Seventh War Zone.

If he wasn't mistaken, the unit stationed in this No. 7 war zone should be the 139th Infantry Division, a Class A unit under the 47th Army of the Jincheng Military Region.

As long as you're a soldier in the Jincheng Military Region, you're probably familiar with 139.

This is another heavyweight Class A engineer.

Fuck!
After guessing what had happened...

The black lines on Chen Mo's forehead bulged slightly. Let's just say that the information technology experiment is indeed a bit important.

But surely it's not that bad to throw the Blue Army battalion into the battlefield of two Class A divisions?
Other units can easily send tens of thousands of people into battle, so what makes the Blue Army battalion think they can mess with such a unit?

Seeing the change in Chen Mo's expression, Battalion Commander Zhou knew that the battalion commander of the information technology battalion in front of him already understood the purpose of his visit.

Chen Mo didn't mince words and went straight to the point: "Battalion Commander Zhou, have the main forces of the 139th unit arrived?"

"No."

Zhou Xiao shook his head: "Currently, only the engineering regiment, engineering support units, and some members of the reconnaissance battalion have arrived. The rest of the units will arrive at least tomorrow afternoon."

Chen Mo was not surprised by this.

After all, the 139th Division belonged to the 47th Army.

Most of its subordinate units were stationed in Chang'an. The 139th Division also had a six-regiment system. The 415th, 416th, 417th, and 422nd were all infantry regiments. In addition, there were anti-aircraft artillery and artillery regiments.

With such a large force and long-distance maneuver, it would indeed be impossible to arrive in less than a few days.

We invited Company Commander Cheng and Battalion Commander Zhou into the command vehicle. In this kind of environment, there's no need to be so formal when you're out and about.

Each person was given a packet of compressed biscuits, and while listening to the howling wind outside, everyone filled their stomachs first.

While Zhou Xiao was eating, he also explained his purpose. Chen Mo had already guessed that the Seventh Theater was the main battlefield for the exercises of the two Class A divisions of the Jincheng Military Region.

The reason the other side came was because, after the war game simulation, the executive director of the staff temporarily notified the 139th Division headquarters, requesting that the division appropriately cooperate with the information battalion's operations.

As the 139th Division was a Red Army unit, it was no surprise that the Blue Army battalion led by Chen Mo was also assigned to the Red Army.

As the Red Army, in the Red-Blue confrontation, they usually play the offensive role, while the Blue Army is the defensive side.

Of course, this is just a scenario in wargames where the Red Army first proposes tactics and strategic directions, and the Blue Army follows up with countermeasures, creating a back-and-forth evolution.

It's not that the Blue Army can only defend its camp and cannot take the initiative to attack. In small-scale conflicts, the other side is also allowed to send troops to attack the Red Army.

Since both sides were Red Army units, Chen Mo didn't hold back and took out all the information and intelligence he had received along the way, spreading them out on the table.

Pointing to the deployment of the 61st Division above, he said, "Battalion Commander Zhou, take a look first."

"According to the intelligence we have obtained, the armored groups, anti-aircraft artillery groups and artillery groups of the 61st Division have formed a core combat group and are dispersed and stationed in a linear battlefield with a width of nearly 100 kilometers on the eastern, northwestern and southern fronts of our No. 7 combat zone."

"On the southern front, the 181st Regiment of Tianshui constructed tunnels and trenches to form blocking positions."

"Therefore, I believe that the main battlefield of the Seventh Theater will definitely break out near the southern front."

Chen Mo's analysis was delivered with great certainty.

After all, the Blue Army's main battle group had surrounded the area, with heavy armor on the eastern and northwest fronts, and only the southern front featuring large numbers of infantry positions.

The 61st Division adopted a linear encirclement strategy against the Seventh War Zone, with its firepower concentrated on the eastern and northwestern fronts. If the Red Army wanted to take down the main force of the Blue Army, it certainly wouldn't go straight to the place with the strongest firepower.

At least not in the early stages.

In fact, compared to the overall combat strength of the 61st Division, the 139th Division was at a disadvantage in terms of equipment.

Zhou Xiao was completely bewildered by Chen Mo's analysis.

His level is too low to participate in wargaming simulations, so apart from knowing who the enemy is, he knows nothing else.

Even if they knew who the enemy was, it was only because both units were Class A divisions and were old rivals, and it wasn't because the division had notified them in advance.

Damn it, the battle hasn't even started yet, where did the information battalion get its map?

No wonder Battalion Commander Zhou was so strange.

In terms of the current level of reconnaissance in warfare, in most cases, after the start of the war, the commander judges the possible location of the enemy based on the terrain map, and then sends out a large number of reconnaissance detachments.

Once reconnaissance is completed, the reconnaissance information, along with the team's firepower composition, will be sent to the command headquarters, which will then assess the enemy's casualties.

No one is so arrogant; the enemy's location and strategic intentions were exposed before the battle even started.

Zhou Xiao was stunned for a moment, and it took her a while to catch up with Chen Mo's train of thought. With a hint of inquiry in her voice, she asked, "Battalion Commander Chen, so what if the main battlefield is on the southern front?"

"Our main force hasn't arrived yet, so there's no point in making these judgments."

"No, no, no, it's not useless."

Chen Mo waved his hand, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and offered one to everyone: "Battalion Commander Zhou, according to intelligence, the Blue Army has completed 80% of its firepower deployment, and they are the hosts."

"We are waiting for you in comfort. As a motorized infantry corps, the 61st Division is a high-speed mobile force. It is best at dividing the enemy's deep deployment and dividing the battlefield, and then concentrating superior forces to encircle and annihilate small enemy units."

"To put it bluntly, once our main force arrives, if intelligence is insufficient and the battle line is forced to the south, with heavy artillery and heavy armored assaults from the rear, and high-speed mobile firepower flanking from both the front and rear, how long can you hold out?"

"This"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiao scratched his head, somewhat at a loss for words.

Cheng Dong, sitting next to Chen Mo, glanced at him sideways, pursed his lips, and remained silent.

Based on his understanding of scholars, he could guess it even with his toes.

That scoundrel is definitely up to something again, and he's going to drag the 139th Division's reconnaissance battalion into it.

Otherwise, Cheng Dong had never seen a scholar so proactively offer information before.

To know.

The intelligence obtained by the Blue Army battalion seemed detailed, but upon closer examination, it wasn't very useful for fighting.

Knowing only the opposing team's formation and general strategic objectives is useless.

To achieve results, we still need to conduct close reconnaissance and obtain detailed information on the distribution of firepower.

No one would blindly deploy an entire regiment to such a location during a war.

Without detailed information, saying anything more is superfluous.

Cheng Dong couldn't understand what the scholar was trying to achieve by setting up so much, from offering cigarettes to sharing intelligence.

Company Commander Cheng was confused, and Battalion Commander Zhou was naturally at a loss as well.

He took a deep breath: "Um, Battalion Commander Chen, I came here today to ask if there's anything we can help with."

"What I'm talking about now is helping out."

Chen Mo smiled. On his way here, he was still considering the decapitation plan, but the weather was too bad and he was unfamiliar with the terrain, so he couldn't carry it out.

Unexpectedly, just like a godsend, the battalion commander of the 139th Division's reconnaissance battalion actually came over.

"Look, the main battle groups of the Blue Army are on the eastern and northwestern fronts. It's not hard to see from the map that these two areas have the most main roads."

"With convenient transportation and easy access in all directions, and with heavy troops stationed nearby, I am certain that the Blue Army Division's fuel supply base must be in this area."

Upon hearing Chen Mo's analysis, Cheng Dong, Feng Guoqing, Zhou Xiao, and Wang Jianbin were all taken aback.

If we were to talk about the strategic plans of the Blue Army Division, few people present would be truly interested, because matters at that level are simply not something that grassroots cadres should be considering.

Any issue that the grassroots level can consider, the higher-ups will know in more detail than they do.

After all, no Class A division commander is given away for nothing.

But when it comes to fuel, it's a different story; this is the kind of intelligence the reconnaissance battalion is most interested in.

"Battalion Commander Chen, please continue."

Zhou Xiao rubbed his hands together, his expression becoming noticeably more varied.

Chen Mo nodded, picked up a pencil, and circled several places outside the Seventh War Zone.

"Comrades, as I just mentioned, the Blue Army's strategic intentions are that the final battle will most likely take place on the southern front."

"Based on this line of thinking, since the eastern and northwestern fronts are where heavy equipment is concentrated and also where oil supplies are protected, once the war begins, they will inevitably have to adjust their southward routes based on factors such as distance, terrain, and firepower deployment."

"Whether it's pursuing or assembling, speed is the key to this route. After all, the Blue Army Division is a motorized infantry division, and Commander Wang is most skilled at concealing troops and rapid maneuvering."

"So, the place I just marked, marked 1, let's call it Line 1 for now. This is very likely the assembly point for the armored regiment. Therefore, there must be the main force battalion of the armored regiment stationed around the marked area."

"Mark 2, 60 kilometers northwest of the armored regiment's garrison, is the territory of the anti-aircraft artillery regiment. Judging from the terrain, the marked area is most likely the anti-aircraft artillery regiment's assembly point, and the enemy's main battalion and company must be nearby."

"Look at mark 3 again."

Based on the deployment of the 61st Division, Chen Mo drew a total of eight markers simply by using a map.

These markers are either the heavy assembly points of the Blue Army division or the only places they can pass through when moving south.

Such important terrain may not necessarily have fuel depots, but it will certainly have a main force garrison stationed there.

After his analysis, even more detailed information than before appeared clearly in everyone's minds through the map and the marked points.

Eight markers are used to comprehensively predict the main force movements of the Blue Army division based on the situation; of course, the results may not be 100% accurate.

However, in war, there are no 100% accurate events; unpredictable changes are an integral part of strategy, as are analysis and prediction.

With eight markers, a 50% accuracy rate is considered a win.

Don't think that a 50% prediction rate is low.

It should be noted that this assessment of the enemy's tactical actions was made by Chen Mo immediately upon arriving at the battlefield, without having done any work, relying solely on a map and some intelligence.

"Battalion Commander Chen, what you say makes sense, but the exercise hasn't even started yet. Even if we knew, what should we do?"

Zhou Xiao swallowed hard; he already had a faint urge to verify it.

The enemy's fuel depots, assembly points, and main force battalions are all located within these marked points.

This intelligence was too tempting for the division's reconnaissance battalion.

Chen Mo did not respond to Zhou Xiao's question, but instead looked up at Cheng Dong: "Company Commander, how many men in our reconnaissance company are going by land this time?"

“28.” Cheng Dong turned to look at Wang Jianyong: “If we include him, then it will be 30.”

Well, it turns out the company commander knew there was going to be an operation, and in the blink of an eye, he included himself in the plan.

"Battalion Commander Zhou, what about you?"

"I can send over a hundred people; six platoons have arrived so far," Zhou Xiao said truthfully.

"It won't take that much."

Chen Mo shook his head, then looked out of the car. The wind was still howling in Qinglong Gorge, and the area was muddy everywhere.

Due to the weather, there was almost no light at night, and it was pitch black everywhere.

"Company Commander, Battalion Commander Zhou, select a few comrades who are familiar with the terrain of Qinglong Gorge, form a group of six, and send a total of forty-eight people to scout these eight marked points."

"Remember, reconnaissance doesn't need to get too close. Just see the garrison, roughly estimate the troop strength, and if you really can't, check how big the dry toilets are. As long as you don't expose yourself, just make sure there are people at these marked points."

"We must get back before dawn."

The group exchanged glances and looked at each other. Finally, Cheng Dong spoke up: "Scholar, the reconnaissance is fine. What do you plan to do next?"

"Reconnaissance tonight, raid tomorrow night."

"A surprise attack? How can we launch a surprise attack?" Zhou Xiao asked, his face full of confusion.

“It’s very simple.” Chen Mo smiled and rolled up the map: “These eight marked points are the only way for the Blue Army Division to assemble and maneuver. It’s no exaggeration to say that they are the lifeline of the enemy.”

"Tonight we'll get a clear picture of the situation. If war breaks out tomorrow night, we'll use helicopters to deploy a large number of reconnaissance troops, place booby traps, anti-tank mines, and communication jammers in the marked areas, and lay in wait to launch attacks on the enemy's communication equipment and reconnaissance radar."

"The first half of the night will be dedicated to beheadings."

"It's late at night, and our information battalion is on its first day on the battlefield, so it's time for us to get some exercise."

Chen Mo spoke with considerable confidence, but he didn't reveal the detailed plan for beheading the junior officer because he didn't yet know the specifics of the marker.

Tactics need to be constantly adjusted based on intelligence.

"I'll go get ready." Cheng Dong didn't hesitate for a second, took off his hat, rubbed his head, and left with a face full of excitement.

“I’ll go gather the people too, give me an hour.”

Zhou Xiao hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to participate in the operation.

Looking inside the command center, in the blink of an eye, half the people had dispersed.

Chen Mo got out of the car with a smile on his lips, his gaze fixed on the southern front. He guessed that Wang Songhe, the commander of the 61st Division, should be there.

Because that was the main battlefield designed by the Blue Team.

Chen Mo had never led troops or fought in a war, but he had participated in so many debriefing meetings and witnessed too many tactics used in exercises.

Even if you haven't eaten pork, have you ever seen a pig run?
Since we've run into an old acquaintance again, we should definitely greet Commander Wang first and consider wiping out a few of his main battalions as a big gift.

To disrupt the opponent's strategic plans.

Just don't know.

Will Commander Wang hide troops this time?

Chen Mo stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance with a smug expression and a face full of anticipation.

The strategic maneuvering between different tactics can sometimes be truly addictive.

(End of this chapter)