Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 285 Want to Recreate Dunkirk?
"Such a fast reaction speed?!"

"Look, in the lead convoy, a Hummer quickly located our direction and immediately fled in the correct direction?"

"Even if they really are SEAL Team Six, or some other T1 special forces unit, this reaction speed should still be beyond human limits, right?"

boom! boom! boom!
Even with noise-canceling headphones, Milton still subconsciously raised his voice slightly amidst the frantic roar of the M119 mountain howitzer.

To be honest, this surprise attack was also very rushed for Milton's side.

Whether this unit is strong or not is another matter, but its speed is really fast. It set off to leave as soon as it was told, even earlier than expected.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly simple matter of "fast action." For an army with normal military strength and discipline, fast action is just a basic requirement.

In many countries, regular armies may even find themselves in comical situations where troops are about to depart but haven't even prepared fuel, or artillery is about to go to the battlefield but haven't even prepared shells.

And there are quite a few of them.

For a mere local warlord's private army to maintain basic combat effectiveness while also being fast is already quite remarkable.

Based on the Hummer's incredibly fast reaction just now, Milton was quite certain that there was something shady going on in the enemy ranks.

Fortunately, the overall situation was not too bad. As expected, the most important units were placed in the "safest" position by the enemy, and then they were confronted head-on and suffered the most severe attacks.

The only slight disappointment was that the first wave of attacks did not seem to instantly destroy the enemy's core.

Flora nodded as she observed, saying, "Yes, and their mid-level officers seem quite reliable. Even after the high-ranking commanders were severely injured, they were still able to maintain their formation and even launch a counterattack."

At the start of the raid, several infantry fighting vehicles charged forward fearlessly, firing their cannons as they advanced toward Milton's position!

Of course, this reckless behavior immediately drew the ire of various guns and other anti-tank weapons, and the entire force was wiped out before they could get very far.

Milton's soldiers and officers were already adept at assessing the war situation, and they didn't need Milton to give any instructions. Someone noticed that the hastily charging armored vehicles had created a huge gap in the enemy's already chaotic formation.

"First Infantry Company..."

"Requesting artillery support, coordinates... We need the firepower of two artillery batteries!"

"We can try to create a large opening."

Milton immediately gave instructions to the artillery.

"The conditions for attack are met. Approval granted."

After speaking, Milton took one last look at the location that was about to be bombarded.

Many soldiers huddled together in a panic, looking around frantically, trying to find cover—the armored vehicles that seemed to offer a good sense of security were already crowded with soldiers of slightly higher rank.

At the command, the thunderous roar of artillery filled Milton's ears. With the help of the PDA, the howitzers landed with great precision, and the explosive blasts were almost evenly distributed across every part of the target area. The shockwaves whipped up smoke and dust, and the target location was quickly enveloped in a cloud of dust.

At the same time, several machine gun positions also began firing in the same direction.

These machine gun positions don't use general-purpose machine guns, but heavy machine guns that fire 12.7mm caliber bullets!

The short-duration, intense barrage completely masked the problem of insufficient cannon caliber. One shell after another whistled as they fell from the sky, forming a continuous network of fire.

The one-minute high-intensity shelling ended, and the smoke gradually dissipated.

The fragile armor of the infantry fighting vehicle is not only unable to stop artillery shells, but it would be difficult to even stop 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets, let alone protect the crew under such high-intensity artillery fire.

There was no longer a complete human figure to be seen... The armored vehicle that seemed to provide a sense of security had now become a giant demolition machine. Everyone who had taken refuge inside was shattered and scattered evenly throughout the vehicle by various shockwaves and fragments.

The ground was littered with severed limbs and torsos, and inside the smoking armored vehicle was a meat sauce that had been roasted to a delicious aroma.

Being ambushed en route with no cover whatsoever and no conscious efforts to disperse, the large number of people crammed together resulted in predictable casualties.

Milton said calmly, "Assess the effectiveness of the strike."

"Target has been completely destroyed... Activate, wait!"

Based on past experience, when the enemy faces such a bombardment, their morale will immediately collapse, and they will begin to scatter and flee. This situation may even spread to positions that have not yet been attacked, causing the army to suffer a snowballing defeat.

At this point, Milton's fast troops would rush through the gap, tearing a large hole in the defensive line, and then the main force would follow up, quickly devouring the rest of the defensive line.

But this time, things seem different.

Three seconds later, Milton indeed heard a different report.

"Correction: The enemy is... the enemy is pushing forward with their remaining armored forces, and they are still attempting to attack! The gaps in the defensive line have been filled by infantry, who appear to possess a small amount of anti-armor equipment, posing a significant threat to our rapid deployment forces!"

"The drone reconnaissance team reports... All enemy artillery fire is retreating!"

"..."

Milton frowned: "All the artillery positions are retreating? All the armored units and infantry are pushing up?"

Flora went even further, saying, "The intention is quite obvious."

"The artillery should retreat to the safest area as much as possible, and use armored units and line-filling babies to forcibly hold us back. We should try to deploy a fighting formation."

"The mortar positions will be deployed first, followed by the howitzer positions..."

"Anyway, they are on the defensive now, so armored vehicles are not that important. It's better to buy time for the artillery positions... As long as their cannons start firing, it will at least boost morale."

"The artillery has begun shelling us, which is also detrimental to the offensive."

Milton frowned: "The reaction speed is indeed fast, and they probably even came up with a way to temporarily stabilize morale... If the artillery positions are set up and the formation is adjusted, it will definitely be able to delay for a long time."

"Hmm... I suspect they've already notified friendly forces to come to our aid, or to take advantage of the situation to attack Solora. Right now, this unit's goal is to keep us tied up here and buy time for our allies."

"There are indeed some skilled commanders in the enemy camp, and we did not eliminate them in our first round of attacks."

"We cannot allow their artillery positions to be set up properly, and we cannot let them hold us back."

"The attack aircraft squadron is on its way. Inform the squadron that the target has been changed to the enemy's artillery positions behind enemy lines."

"Adjust deployment and wait for the airstrikes to end before launching an attack."

"The transport planes continue to take off and continue to send ammunition to the front lines, regardless of the cost."

Because of the hasty nature of the attack, it will take some time for the attack aircraft squadron to arrive.

Flora nodded: "Understood... The attack aircraft squadron will arrive in 3 minutes. Continue to suppress enemy fire and wait for the air strike."

"..."

boom! boom! boom!
The massive artillery barrage was so loud that the pilots could discern the direction of the battlefield simply by looking at it, and they could even see the enemy troops being blown up on the ground through the portholes!

However, these individuals were not their primary target.

They flew over the frontline defenders who were desperately enduring artillery fire and heavy machine gun attacks, heading straight for the rear positions!

The enemy had intentionally concealed the location of their artillery positions, but in this kind of skirmish, the quality of a local warlord's private army was simply not up to the task of achieving such high efficiency.

"Target identified."

"Prepare to drop the bombs..."

"Rockets ready... Cannons ready..."

"freed!"

After a brief exchange, the Su-25 at the forefront fired a 140mm rocket at the ground, and a newly deployed heavy mortar position was immediately engulfed in flames!
They have retreated very quickly, almost to a safe distance where they can begin shelling, but no matter how fast they go, they can't outrun the planes in the sky!
boom!
Their only fate was to perish in flames or be torn apart by machine gun fire.

Several rounds of air and ground attacks eliminated the elite troops who moved the fastest and deployed their positions the fastest.

"Target destroyed, currently circling, regaining attack angle, over."

"We can reserve a small amount of ammunition to attack the enemy's defenses and demoralize them."

"receive."

Led by the Su-25, the attack aircraft squadron completed a turn over the battlefield. The roar of the turbojet engines continued to reach the ground at low altitudes, making every coalition soldier tremble with fear. They wished they could bury their whole bodies and heads in the ground, for fear of being seen by the pilots in the sky and becoming the primary target of attack.

Boom boom boom...

The air raids lasted for three rounds, and the mortar positions suffered extremely heavy losses.

Because of the dense formation and the inability to disperse in time, the first wave of attacks was extremely successful, with at least 400 people permanently incapacitated—either dead or seriously injured.

On the battlefield, the blow to the enemy from seriously wounded soldiers can even exceed that from those killed in action!
With nearly 10% of their troops lost in one fell swoop, the entire battlefield quickly showed signs of collapse.

If it weren't for the enemy commander's orders to start the formation from breaking apart, such casualties would likely have immediately led to a collapse in morale.

Having completed their strike mission, the pilots, preparing to return to base, first gave their teammates a thumbs-up from the porthole, and then flew towards Quetzaltenango military airport.

As they were about to take off from the battlefield, the pilots habitually glanced at the ground through the porthole to see if they could gather any useful information from the sky.

They glanced down.

Then, they witnessed something quite unexpected.

The scenario they had imagined, and the one their past combat experience had taught them, did not occur. The enemy, who had just been on the verge of collapse, had their morale stabilized once again. The soldiers who had survived the first round of artillery fire and strafing retreated from the battlefield in a disorderly but very rapid manner.

Behind them, a large number of infantrymen, seemingly fearless, charged forward to fill the gaps in the defensive line. Even at the cost of heavy casualties, they did not retreat!

"Is this the morale the enemy should have...?" One of the pilots was a little puzzled, but still conveyed the information he had seen to Milton completely and accurately.

"This is the 1st Squadron of the 1st Air Force Battalion... Enemy forces are rapidly filling gaps in the defensive line. Over."

Milton, who had been nervously receiving various messages in the command center, frowned slightly, but still said, "'Tax collector' received."

Two flight squadrons flew overhead, gradually moving away from the battlefield.

Milton frowned.

He didn't need the pilots' detailed reports; this simple intelligence was enough for him to analyze a lot of things.

The enemy forces did not collapse completely during the air raids; on the contrary, their morale seemed to be even higher than before. They were even eager to be cannon fodder—cannon fodder in the truest sense.
Flora, standing beside her, voiced the same question: "Why are their morale still so high? Did the Monte family provide them with housing?"

If it were the previous government forces, they would have collapsed into the sea long ago.

Are we going to be cannon fodder again?

Milton tapped the table: "We don't have enough information to make a judgment right now... All we can say is that the enemy's command is indeed very capable, managing to maintain the morale of their troops even after being ambushed, bombarded, and attacked by air, and suffering heavy casualties in a short period of time."

"This is not something that can be achieved simply by giving money."

Reggie had previously tried to maintain the morale of his soldiers by giving them money, which had some effect, but the effect was very limited. If the casualties continued to increase, even the quartermasters who were giving money at the front line would waver.

Even if you have money, you still need to be alive to enjoy it.

This defensive line, bombarded continuously and thoroughly stripped of its structure, wouldn't attract any more troops no matter how much money you offered.

But they all rushed to get on...

So why?
No matter how capable the enemy commander is, it is impossible to make any profound ideological transformation of an old warlord in such a short period of time, turning a bunch of opportunistic soldiers who would not fire without money or even defect and surrender into elite troops with extremely high ideals and beliefs and who are fearless of death.

There must be some reason.

Tactics? Lies? The enemy commander's personal charisma?
It's highly unlikely...

Milton's mind raced, putting himself in the enemy commander's shoes and eliminating one wrong option after another... What kind of promise could have been made to suddenly transform a cowardly soldier into someone fearless and undaunted?

Clinging to life and fearing death...

A coward who fears death?!
Just then, Milton suddenly realized that he had fallen into a cognitive trap.

"A wine bottle, a map!"

"Here you are... Do you have any ideas?"

Milton's eyes were fixed on the map, and he pointed further south.

The ocean!

And the village of La Gomera, which is nearby!

To prevent the fighting from reaching the city, the Escuintla defense line was quite far from the city. Milton had cut off their route back to the city from the defense line. The enemy was currently quite far from the sea, but if they retreated at full speed, with someone covering their rear and artillery blocking their retreat, it would not be a problem to retreat to the sea within two days.

Flora paused for half a second, then suddenly realized: "You mean... the enemy's current resistance isn't entirely to delay us and buy time for the Solora battlefield, but rather to buy time and space for a continued retreat?"

Milton nodded affirmatively and said, "Perhaps the enemy has already made contact with Guatemala City. Arsu is doing everything it can to gather all available small boats to pick up this army."

"At first, I thought that the infantrymen filling in the lines were cannon fodder, cannon fodder to cover the artillery positions... But in reality, they even regarded the artillerymen as cannon fodder, cannon fodder to block us from chasing them to the sea!"

"The enemy commanders had a simpler way of boosting morale—first, they gave out money, and second, whoever held the line first had the right to retreat first."

"It's not that the enemy has suddenly stopped being afraid of death; it's precisely because they are afraid of death that they are charging forward!"

Flora finally understood: "So that's how it is... Damn, the Americans are actually quite capable. Even in such a desperate situation, they can still think of this trick to maintain morale."

Milton did not hesitate and immediately gave the order: "Have some units of the drone reconnaissance squadron fly further away to see the enemy's troop movements."

"receive."

After giving the order, Milton fell silent, waiting for the intelligence reports from the scouts while pondering how to handle the situation.

During this waiting period, battle reports from the front lines continued to arrive one after another.

No matter how much shelling they received, or even if attack aircraft formations carried napalm bombs to burn them, the enemy's will to resist was extremely strong—usually, such burning would have caused the enemy to either collapse or surrender long ago.

If ground troops launch an attack, with their overwhelming superiority in air power and artillery support, they will certainly be able to take it, but the cost could be extremely high.

Finally, the intelligence from the drone reconnaissance squadron also reached Milton.

"Report: Unconventional enemy troop movements detected."

"After a large number of enemy troops were out of our artillery range, they continued to retreat at an accelerated pace without any sign of stopping. In the direction of La Gomera... they may be retreating towards the sea."

"..."

With the intelligence backing him up, Milton no longer hesitated.

"Give the navy the order to take all their warships and do everything in their power to block the enemy ships from advancing!"

"Roger that!"

Flora frowned: "That's not enough... We have a very limited number of warships. Even if we bring the 'museum' along, it will only delay them for a while. The most important thing is that we must prevent them from reaching the port, otherwise we may have to fight a final battle with the enemy on the beach."

"Moreover, the main officers and elite troops must be able to evacuate by ship."

After saying this, Flora paused for a moment, then said:
"Of course, we can also avoid a decisive battle and simply surround them... The enemy's retreat direction has no major ports, and it will be difficult to transport their equipment by small boats. If we let them go, we can capture a large amount of spoils with minimal losses."

Finally, she humorously remarked, "The Battle of Lagomera or the Lagomera Evacuation, choose, 'Hell Tax Collector'."

A decisive battle on the beach, or letting the people go, to minimize losses as much as possible.

This option seems vaguely familiar...

Both are victories, but one involves a battle where an army that has marched a long distance, is exhausted, and faces severe logistical difficulties suffers huge losses; the other involves a less-than-glorious victory at a very low cost.

Milton first rejected the option of letting the enemy retreat and only capturing supplies: "This is not the battlefield of World War II. Even if the British and French forces are allowed to leave, they will not be able to pose much of a threat to the German army in a short period of time... Once they are allowed to retreat successfully, the enemy, with the help of the United States and other neighboring countries, can immediately rearm themselves."

"Most importantly, this army is not the main force of the enemy. After driving them into the sea, they will immediately come ashore, rearm, and join the battle on Solora. Our logistics, which are maintained by airlift, cannot last long. In the end, we will have to withdraw and defend our position, and continue to fight the enemy in Solora. This means that my strategy of dividing and conquering them has completely failed."

"Therefore, this enemy force must be completely annihilated."

Flora nodded in agreement: "Then let's fight."

“No.” Milton shook his head. “The enemy commander has given me a choice now, trying to move me around… I admit he has some skills, but I won’t be moved so easily.”

“I also want to give him a choice—don’t forget, we still have a border garrison that is confronting the enemy’s border garrison. It’s time to let these new recruits see a real battlefield.”

"Order the garrison stationed in Rio Bravo, which is facing off against the enemy's remaining forces, to abandon their lines, take all vehicles, and head south as fast as possible. Their target is the seaside village of La Gomera—capture it at all costs!"

"I will give them full support from the paratroopers and marines, and assign them drone reconnaissance teams so that they can find a way to slip through the gaps in the enemy's defenses."

"Starting with the next wave of attacks, all ground attack aircraft will be equipped with napalm and high-yield aerial bombs to destroy all roads along the way, delay the enemy's retreat to the sea, and buy time for our friendly forces."

"We must capture La Gomera as quickly as possible and hold it at all costs!"

"Let the enemy commander choose: whether to occupy that empty defensive line and reclaim some lost territory, or to turn around and race against me to seize La Gomera."

"Let him experience what it feels like to be mobilized by the enemy."

……

Escuintla defense line.

The lieutenant colonel commander stationed here, facing off against the Pan-Madrid Group forces, was trembling with fear.

He already knew that Milton's main force had appeared behind him as if by magic, and now he was facing the enemy's defenders in front of him and Milton's main force behind him!

The lieutenant colonel could only pray desperately to God, hoping that the Monte family's private army could hold off Milton's main force. If they couldn't, the defensive line would melt instantly if they were attacked from both sides.

Perhaps his sacrifice could buy time for the main battlefield, allowing the overall battlefield situation to move in a direction favorable to his side... but who wants to be the "price"?
Just then, a scout rushed over.

"Report sir!"

The lieutenant colonel was startled: "Milton attacked?!"

“No, no…” The scout shook his head. “Milton’s garrison seems to have withdrawn. They abandoned a lot of heavy equipment and left in vehicles. What should we do? Should we try to attack?”

The lieutenant colonel was stunned—the other side had voluntarily abandoned their defensive line?
What is Milton up to now?
To be honest, if the other side were anyone else, the lieutenant colonel would not have hesitated at all and would have immediately ordered an advance to capture the enemy's position and get the military merit first.

However, the other party was Milton.

Everyone knows how powerful and terrifying Milton is; even the Americans can't beat him... Going up there yourself would be suicide, wouldn't it?
Who knows what kind of trap the "Hell Tax Collector" has set? If he falls in, he might be driven into the "Wall of Flesh and Blood" by Milton as a stake!
He would rather do nothing than make a mistake.

Moreover, the enemy forces are heading south, and it doesn't seem like they intend to encircle the main battlefield.

The lieutenant colonel considered the terrifying consequences and immediately shook his head: "No... don't fall for it easily. Don't attack his defenses. Tell everyone to bring all their heavy equipment and prepare for the strongest defense with the utmost caution. If you can hold them off, do so. If you can't, focus on preserving your own strength. Absolutely do not launch a rash attack. Understand?!"

"Hmm... I'll let the Americans know about what's going on here."

"This is really troublesome. I'm part of the government army, and to notify the Monte private army, I first need to notify the joint command so they can relay the message."

(End of this chapter)