Seven Seas Beacon Fire

"Even the most advanced tactics are not without weaknesses. Commando tactics are not a panacea. Although they seem to have achieved many results, they certainly have weaknesses."

He waved for the people around him to step back, and then accompanied Li Che as they walked, saying, "Our assault team tactics and the Lai Army's Storm Assault Team tactics have some differences in details, but in essence, both of these assault team tactics are about lengthening the attack column in space and increasing the duration and frequency of attacks within a certain range."

"Attack duration and attack frequency?"

"Think about who our main adversaries were on land before the adversary tactics were developed. And think about the characteristics of our main adversaries at that time."

"Old Russians?" Li Che could answer the first part of his grandfather's question without hesitation, but what about summarizing the characteristics of the Ursus army? What characteristics could they possibly have?

Does being particularly skilled at leading troops to Luoyang count?

"Although the Ursus army previously held a series of honorary titles such as the 'European Steamroller' and the 'European Gendarmerie,' in reality, the quality of its soldiers was not very good, and their equipment was relatively outdated, even today. During this world war, their rank-and-file infantry generally lacked medium-range heavy firepower..."

At this moment, Li Zongdi acted like a teacher, even though Li Che might not actually need this knowledge—because he would never use it in the future. No one would think that the Crown Prince would be able to command army troops in battle. You could say that he would only be able to fight naval battles in the future, but the possibility of him commanding army troops was too small. However, it was clear that Li Zongdi was talking very enthusiastically.

As Li Che listened, he discovered that the assault team tactics had too many similarities with the three-three system tactics unique to the People's Army in another timeline.

While the three-three tactic can indeed be traced back to the Storm Commando, the People's Army in the East can be considered the last spiritual inheritor of the Storm Commando tactic. The three-three tactic and the five-man commando tactic currently used by the Tang Army have many similarities.

The opponents targeted by both sides, whether it was the Ursus army in this timeline or the Japanese and Nationalist armies in another timeline, all shared a common characteristic in their rank-and-file infantry: compared to the front-line armies of Europe, they were severely lacking in medium-range heavy firepower. Here, heavy firepower refers to the direct front-line support firepower equipped by infantry, such as heavy machine guns, autocannons, and mortars, with an effective kill range of several hundred to over a thousand meters. Therefore, in order to reduce casualties while attacking, they needed to find a way.

Whether it's the Ursus Army in this timeline or the Little Days and Bald Army in another world, another characteristic is that "the scale of elite forces is limited." The Ursus Army and the Bald Army are self-explanatory; the former is nicknamed "Gray Beasts," while the latter is even less than Gray Beasts. As for the old Japanese soldiers in Little Days, they are indeed elite, but their numbers were quickly diluted during the expansion of the army.

Against such an enemy, the greatest advantage of the 3/3 formation and assault tactics is that by lengthening the attack column, the phase of medium-range skirmishes is prolonged, which can exhaust the enemy's elite defensive forces (and the sparse numbers of the 3/3 formation can reduce casualties during this phase) and expose limited heavy firepower points. These firepower points can then be eliminated one by one through precise coordination between infantry and rear-support artillery. (With the 3/3 formation, this is often achieved by relying on one's own grenade launchers or by having mortar teams accompany the attack.)

With the enemy's heavy firepower depleted, the system can freely switch between mid-range skirmishes and short, rapid assaults. Once the enemy's elite defensive forces are weakened and their heavy firepower is eliminated, a rapid, concentrated assault can be launched, breaking through the first line of defense and quickly advancing to the second and third lines.

"...Although our commando tactics have shown good results in the previous battles against the Colombian army, those results were achieved on the premise that most of the Colombian troops were not familiar with our commando tactics."

"Like a kill at first sight?"

Li Zongdi was silent for a moment: "You always manage to come up with some strange but surprisingly apt words. That's the gist of it. But lately, the Colombians have figured out some ways to deal with our commando tactics."

"Have you found a way to counter our commando tactics?"

Li Che didn't distrust his grandfather; rather, he was somewhat skeptical of the Colombian army. In his stereotype, the Colombian army was a rather conservative and rigid force. How could they have found a way to counter them so quickly?

Li Zongdi nodded: "That General Pan Xing is quite capable. He actually just came up with the simplest method—using automatic weapons and bayonets to deal with it."

Li Che, who didn't know much about the army, was a little confused. Could they really deal with them with automatic weapons and bayonets? But he remembered that in the Korean War in another world, the Colombian army in the first and second battles was not lacking in automatic weapons or bayonets, and they were still defeated.

Everyone has their own ingrained thought patterns. As someone who grew up in another world for a long time, Li Che does indeed have a special filter and excessively high expectations for assault team tactics and the three-three system tactics.

To put it bluntly, both the Storm Commando and the 33 system are just infantry tactics.

"The biggest drawback of the assault tactics and the three-three system actually comes from the advantages of these tactics themselves—that is, in order to avoid reducing casualties during the fire reconnaissance and skirmish phases, the attack width and depth are consciously increased, thereby dispersing the forces."

This means that once a breach is created, it is difficult to flood in the largest number of troops in the shortest amount of time. Although we have armed our five-man combat teams to the teeth in an effort to address this problem, with a much higher proportion of automatic weapons than other regular troops and a large number of hand grenades, it is still not enough in absolute terms.

Pershing discovered our problem, and of course, he may have also drawn on some experience from the European battlefield. Therefore, he deployed his most elite, capable, and daring troops at the forefront of the defensive line and increased the proportion of automatic weapons in these troops. Moreover, there were some redneck troops who dared to fight to the death.

Once our commandos break through the defenses, the Colombian army concentrates its forces for a counter-offensive. Reports from the front lines indicate that our recent offensives have frequently been repelled in this manner. Sometimes, they even proactively deploy second and third-line troops to join these counter-offensives, which has proven remarkably effective.

Li Che also thought of someone's comments about the Bald Head Army on a certain Zhihu platform in another world—the reason why the Bald Head Army likes the positional meat grinder so much is actually very simple: they can't fight in open field battles, they are blind to intelligence, their soldiers are not very enthusiastic about fighting, and they lack tactical flexibility, but at least there are some troops whose quality and morale are basically up to standard.

Therefore, under limited conditions, using pre-established positions to inflict significant casualties through trade-offs is a viable strategy. After all, with a larger overall force, as long as the casualty ratio is acceptable, trading lives for lives in this manner is not a loss.

Whether it was the commando tactics or the three-three system, this weakness was not exposed enough when fighting the originally anticipated hypothetical enemy, but the situation changed when facing the Colombian army.

Although the Colombian army is clumsy in battle, and you can mock them as a plus version of the Bald Army, their firepower is truly impressive, and their troop strength is truly formidable!

"The Colombian army's medium-range firepower far exceeds that of any opponent we have encountered before. Although many of the automatic weapons currently used by the Colombian army are not very high-performance firearms, such as the Chauja light machine gun of Gaul, automatic weapons are still automatic weapons. The proportion of automatic weapons that the Colombian army can deploy is very large. When attacking the defenses set up by the Colombian army, our commando team has found that we can no longer gain an advantage in medium-range skirmishes, and sometimes we are even completely at a disadvantage."

Perhaps thinking of the price his troops, whom he had personally led, had paid during the offensive, a hint of reluctance appeared on Li Zongdi's face.

"So, the Colombian army has now found a way to counter our commando tactics to some extent..." Li Che frowned. "That means they won't face much more pressure on land in the short term, so we don't have any solutions?"

I mean, aside from waiting for more artillery to arrive, other methods should ideally be implemented within the next few days. We may need the army to put more pressure on the Colombian forces on the ground, making it easier for the federal navy to fall into our trap.

Chapter 191 Human Sea Tactics

When Li Che asked Li Zongdi a question, the old man did not answer on the spot. He just smiled and patted Li Zongdi on the shoulder, telling him to look into it again in a couple of days.

Two days later, the day before the fleet was to set sail, Li Che saw the news in the newspaper that the troops led by the Type 38 had successfully broken through the defenses of the Colombian 7th Infantry Division, forcing the US 7th Infantry Division to retreat to the defenses of the 15th Division behind them before they could stabilize their position, creating a significant salient on the entire Colombian front.

This time, however, the key tactic for breaking through the Colombian army's defenses was quite unexpected for Li Che, because the 38th Infantry Division adopted a rather "retro" and seemingly foolish tactic.

Human wave tactics.

The term sounds derogatory, especially during the World War, in the battles of Verdun and the Somme, where the commanders of the British, French and German sides disregarded the lives of their soldiers and forcibly organized large-scale infantry charges, which suffered heavy losses in the face of dense machine gun fire. The term "human wave tactics" was almost associated with sending people to their deaths.

Indeed, in another world, in many films and television shows about the Korean War, you can see many netizens commenting in the comments section that many directors filmed the war scenes terribly. What happened to the three-thirds system of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army? Why did you film them all as human waves charging? Is this really the Chinese People's Volunteer Army?

The Chinese People's Volunteer Army never used human wave attacks!

These netizens' criticisms are only half right. First of all, most of the directors who make films on these topics are indeed very bad, and their films, especially on many military details, have many problems. But one thing is certain—the Chinese People's Volunteer Army did engage in human wave attacks.

In some situations, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army would also choose to use human wave tactics for their charges. For example, the 38th Infantry Division, originally an elite unit of the Ming Dynasty's garrison, abandoned its previous assault team tactics and chose to use human wave charges to solve the problem.

Of course, there are big differences between human wave attacks. Just like a Porsche carrying an 88mm cannon with a 60-ton electric drive, a Porsche also carries a two-ton carbon fiber shell.

In another world, the volunteer army gradually discovered the characteristics of the Colombian army through their confrontation with the Colombian army. Due to the tradition of small army, the Colombian army basically did not seriously summarize the infantry tactics experience of World War II. After disbanding a large number of the army, it did not retain many veterans, nor did it retain the high density of fully automatic firearms on the European battlefield.

This means that if our army can effectively concentrate automatic weapons such as submachine guns, along with bayonets and courage, it can gain a firepower advantage in close infantry combat.

Although they can't beat the Colombian army in long-range firefights and are suppressed by the Garand in medium-range firefights, they have a chance in close-range firefights and hand-to-hand combat. This is because the Colombian army's organization is rigid, and even if the 8-round burst is widely issued, it can't withstand a large number of specially reinforced submachine gunners within 50 meters.

Therefore, many of our army's corps quickly adopted new tactics after making contact with the Colombian army. The entire army secretly infiltrated close to the enemy's defensive line, getting as close as possible, even close enough to hear the enemy's voices.

Once the battle begins, launch an overwhelming assault in the shortest possible time. Use close-range, concentrated fire to destroy Colombian close-range firing positions before the enemy's medium and long-range firepower can react, then engage the Colombian forces in close combat, forcing their medium and long-range firepower to be unable to exert their advantages.

Another advantage of this is that once a breach is created, a large number of troops can be quickly deployed to the enemy's second and third-line positions, annihilating them before the enemy's medium-range support weapons can be launched or transferred.

Therefore, a human wave attack, if used properly under specific circumstances, can be effective. When used in the right place and at the right location, even tactics that seem outdated and antiquated can often achieve excellent results.

The 38th Division, which was in charge of the attack this time, adopted a similar tactic under the cover of night.

Li Che could even imagine the attacks the Colombian army was facing based on the text in the battle reports; he felt as if he were an ordinary Colombian soldier. Meanwhile, the Tang army, under the cover of darkness, crept up to within a hundred meters, or even less, of the enemy's position.

The quiet night was supposed to pass by like this, but at dawn a signal flare suddenly soared into the sky, followed by a soul-stirring bugle call. A massive, Eastern-style "Storm Assault Team" with light machine guns, submachine guns, and grenades began their attack.

The distance of a few dozen meters was less than 20 seconds. They could accelerate and swarm into the Colombian army's position in less than 20 seconds. Within 20 seconds, the 81mm mortars that had already moved to the front line would use the maximum rate of fire to sweep away all the heavy machine gun bunkers exposed during the reconnaissance operation.

Amidst the relentless barrage of mortar shells, you feel utterly helpless, huddled in the trenches, thousands of grenades raining down on you. At this point, all of the Colombian army's frontline firepower is suppressed by enemy heavy machine guns and mortars. Facing the Tang troops about to enter the trenches for hand-to-hand combat, at this moment, an ordinary Colombian soldier can only use his semi-automatic rifle to fight against hundreds or even thousands of submachine guns and light machine guns in close-quarters melee.

The gunners and artillerymen of the gunnery company behind you, who are controlling the Lao Gan Ma and the mountain gun, don't even have time to load the shells within 20 seconds. The artillerymen who are controlling the heavier artillery further away don't even have time to move the shells, which weigh tens of kilograms, out of the ammunition boxes.

At this moment, if a soldier's morale has not collapsed, or even dares to launch a counterattack, then he is already worthy of a medal. However, at this moment, how many Colombian soldiers are able and dare to go against the surging tide of people that seems to be flooding up?

It is conceivable that in the previous series of attacks, the Tang army had already figured out the specific situation of the Colombian army's front-line fire support points. Those heavy machine gun firing positions would be the focus of attention, and the mortar and large-caliber heavy machine gun positions in the rear would also be suppressed by artillery.

Therefore, at the very beginning of the battle, some Colombian lines had all their machine guns, mortars, and other firepower points destroyed by the Tang army. Then, they were overwhelmed by the Tang army's overwhelming charge with submachine guns and light machine guns. Before the artillery in the rear could even react, they found that the lines had collapsed.

Although it all seemed simple, and the initial attack was indeed a straightforward mass assault, Li Che could see just how thorough the preparations were behind it all.

The initial reconnaissance needs to identify most of the enemy's firing positions on the front line, while the artillery needs to complete rangefinding and mapping in advance, striving to eliminate the enemy and the vast majority of their support firepower from the very beginning.

The troops participating in the attack needed to quietly infiltrate to within a hundred meters of the enemy's position right under the enemy's nose. For so many people to carry out such a covert operation at night, the requirements for the quality of the participating troops were extremely high. Without iron discipline, it would be impossible to complete such a task.

In addition, after the attack begins, the infantry and artillery need to constantly change their coordination methods, and the requirements for artillery deployment and coordination can be said to be top-notch for this era.

Ultimately, the sheer number of players is actually the least important part of the entire offensive strategy, even though it appears to be the most eye-catching.

This offensive not only gained a salient but also forced the Colombian army to abandon their front-line positions earlier. Along the entire front, the Colombian army began to gradually retreat to the second-line positions. The Colombians had drawn four or five pre-planned defensive lines on this small peninsula at the northernmost tip of Borneo, and even as the front lines were breached, they were able to continue building defensive lines behind them.

Opening this first line of defense doesn't necessarily mean that the entire Federation Expeditionary Force's defenses will collapse and disintegrate, but it will undoubtedly greatly reduce their survival pressure.

People tend to become more irritable in cramped spaces, and the more people live on a piece of land, the stronger the atmosphere becomes.

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This was indeed the pressure that Li Che needed to exert on the Colombian army. Sure enough, on the afternoon of the same day he saw the battle report, Pershing, who was already lying in bed, forced himself to get up despite his discomfort. On the one hand, he organized the troops to stabilize the situation and put up a resistance. On the other hand, he sent another strongly worded telegram, demanding that Magifene organize a new batch of transport ships to set sail as soon as possible.

After the war, some of the documents were declassified, and it is said that McGiffin couldn't help but swear after receiving the telegram.

It's no wonder that this veteran of the Federal Navy lost his composure, because the transport team would have already been organized and was ready to set sail at this time. Even without this damned telegram, the transport team would definitely have departed by tomorrow at the earliest, or the day after at the latest.

But this damned telegram directly asked if the transport team had set off. At this point in the war, any commander with a brain should not completely trust the code of his wireless telegram. Under normal circumstances (meaning without obtaining a codebook or the like), the probability of absolute secrecy between the two sides in wireless telegrams is very, very small.

While it's unlikely that both sides could easily decipher the detailed contents of each other's telegrams under normal circumstances, some commonly used words in the telegrams can still be deciphered because they are mentioned frequently.

In McGiffin's view, the enemy might use Pershing's telegram to deduce that a fleet of transport ships was about to depart. Because of this telegram, enemy commerce raiding fleets operating throughout the Western Pacific might try to get a share of the spoils.

Just thinking about such a situation gives McGiffin a headache.

Do some people think that if the navy sends battleships to escort the convoy, then the escort convoy is definitely safe?

While the escorting battle fleet is undoubtedly the cornerstone of Colombia's maritime transport security, it doesn't mean these battleships can guarantee the absolute safety of the entire convoy at all times, especially for the slower civilian transport ships that need to spend two days and two nights at sea to reach Borneo from southern Italy.

During the daytime, things were alright. Under the threat of the Colombian battleships' 14-inch and 12-inch guns, let alone the last armored cruisers of the Tang army that came to carry out commerce raiding missions, even if battlecruisers were sent to raid commerce, they would not be able to do anything to these heavily armored Colombian battleships.

But the sun always sets, doesn't it?

Night will always come, won't it?

As night falls, those inconspicuous submarines will even surface to fight. In the limited visibility at night, the small conning towers on the submarines are hard to spot. The destroyers sent out to catch the submarines are like water dripping into a sponge. You can see them running around all night and they have indeed achieved some results, but the number of submarines launching attacks does not decrease.

But now everything is already set in stone, and all McGiffin can do now is try to improve the escort fleet. Vice Admiral Zangwell's requests from a few days ago have not only been met, but he has even received additional cruisers and destroyers.

However, this time, McGiffin did not choose those ships that had been upgraded with anti-submarine firepower when he added the last batch of cruisers and destroyers. Instead, he chose those ships that were more suitable for torpedo attacks and artillery battles.

The day before the Colombian naval transport convoy departed, two Longyuan-class battleships also sailed out of the port that morning, claiming that they were going to conduct sea trials. In reality, after setting sail, the two battleships quickly chose to sail south along the coastline to rendezvous with the naval fleet that would actually carry out this mission in the East China Sea.

Currently, the Tang Dynasty Royal Navy still has seven main battleships that are still capable of fighting and have not suffered too much damage. However, among these seven ships, only one Dingyuan-class battleship and one Haiqi-class battlecruiser are super-dreadnoughts. All the other super-dreadnoughts are now damaged to varying degrees and need to return to the shipyard for repairs. Among the remaining five dreadnoughts, there is one of the two oldest dreadnoughts, the "older sister" of the Ninghai, which has already fallen silent.

This old battleship could only barely reach a top speed of 20 knots. Because of this, the old ship did not even participate in the Battle of the Bashi Channel. So now the old ship is in very good condition and is eager to use its somewhat outdated 280mm 45-caliber naval guns to wreak havoc on the Colombian transport convoy.

It's fair to say that if such a fleet were to clash head-on with the Colombian escort fleet, the outcome would be quite uncertain.

Fortunately, this time these old, weak, sick, and disabled tigers have gained two real dragons to support them.

Chapter 192 "Milk Dragon" and Those Past Stories

"Commander, come to the bridge!"

As the watch officer on the bridge announced in a loud voice, Yang Yuchen, wrapped in a coat and carrying a cup of hot tea he had brewed, leisurely walked onto the bridge of the Longyuan battleship.

Upon hearing the watch officer's words, Ling Xiao, the acting captain of the Longyuan battleship, quickly put down his binoculars, turned around, and strode to Yang Yuchen's side. After standing at attention and saluting, he asked with some concern, "Marshal, why don't you rest a little longer in the cabin?"

After the Battle of the Bashi Channel, Yang Yuchen was promoted to the rank of Marshal. Generally speaking, according to the long-standing tradition of the navy, a Marshal would not personally lead ships into battle. After all, during the Ming Dynasty's Royal Navy, the Imperial Navy had many high-ranking officers, and there were countless talented people in the navy. After being promoted to Marshal, he had already achieved great success. Whether it was for the protection of the Marshal himself or to provide opportunities for successors, Marshals usually commanded from the rear.

It's that feeling that's most longed for in traditional Eastern thinking: strategizing within a command tent, winning battles a thousand miles away, and annihilating enemy ships with a mere laugh.

However, right now... First of all, the current situation of both Dragon Abysses is quite special. These two capital ships, which have gathered the hopes of countless people in the Navy and were finally completed after many twists and turns, if they were to engage in a grand naval battle with the enemy in perfect condition, then no matter what the outcome, at least everyone would be able to accept it calmly.

However, if something were to happen to these two precious capital ships in their current, less-than-perfect state, then Sa Dingming would probably be so frustrated he'd want to bang his head against a wall.

To ensure that these two valuable main warships could complete this special combat mission safely and smoothly, Yang Yuchen became one of the few senior officers in the Chinese Navy to go on a mission with the rank of Admiral of the Navy in many years.

As for why Yang Yuchen was chosen, it was naturally because the navy needed to select the most skilled assassin for these two cutting-edge swords.

Against this backdrop, at the beginning of the war, he was in charge of the Second Fast Fleet of the Navy, leading the Navy's oldest and least protected early battlecruisers on expeditions to the east and north. Since the start of the war, he has fought almost the entire war, participating in almost all of the Navy's large-scale naval battles, achieving considerable gains while suffering no losses himself.

Yang Yuchen's command ability is unanimously recognized by the entire navy. He has always achieved almost the best results with almost the worst equipment. It is like wielding a fragile but sharp longsword. As his enemy, you know that you only need to strike his blade with your heavy sword to break the longsword. However, with his superb swordsmanship and agile movements, you either cannot touch him or can only be carried away by his sword moves.

No one could be more capable than Yang Yuchen of ensuring that these two ships could be taken out and brought back successfully.

For a big shot like Yang Yuchen, who has almost reached the top in terms of seniority, rank, honor, etc., Ling Xiao, although he is one of the most popular "grandson party" members in the Navy, did not dare to put on any airs when facing Yang Yuchen.

Just kidding! Even if Li Che or Li Zongdi were here, they would still have to give Yang Yuchen face. After all, he has almost reached the point where there is nothing left to reward him. As a naval commander, he has no chance to rebel. People in the system know the saying: as long as you don't seek promotion, you are just a deputy director!

Yang Yuchen shook his head at Ling Xiao's concern: "You specially had my room renovated before we set off? I saw that some officers' accommodations were practically unfinished, with no cabinets even built in them except for the beds. My room, on the other hand, was made to perfection."

Ling Xiao immediately assumed that Yang Yuchen was displeased with this preferential treatment, so he quickly said, "Marshal's noble character is admirable, but I am only concerned about your advanced age. We simply hope that you can get some rest, as your continued energy is very important to us..."

"Don't try to flatter me." Yang Yuchen took a sip of hot tea and then casually spat out two tea leaves. "What high moral character? The paint in that room wasn't even dry yet. The smell of paint almost made me fly out when I went in. What kind of business are you doing? That cabin is yours. You can leave your kid's cabin to me later."

And what do you mean by "getting old"? I'm only sixty-five this year. The fortune teller told me I have at least another 30 years to live. I can swim 10 kilometers without a problem. Do I need you to pity this old man?

Ling Xiao was a little dumbfounded, but after he came to his senses, he immediately nodded in agreement. There were hardly any people in the whole country who could control this old man, and now he was even more of an ancestor on the ship.

Yang Yuchen did not continue the topic. He took his cup and walked to the observation window facing forward on the bridge of the naval ship. From this angle, what came into view were two majestic 420mm 45-caliber main gun turrets. The turret surfaces, the sides of the hull, and the superstructure had been painted with the latest blue-gray camouflage pattern used in naval wartime when the ship was launched.

During the World Wars, navies around the world adopted all sorts of bizarre camouflage patterns. Some patterns were designed to interfere with coincidence rangefinders, while others were designed to blend in with the environment. The new split camouflage pattern used on the Longyuan is the latter.

Compared to the sides of the hull and the superstructure, the wood on the deck appears to be a slightly vermilion color, giving it a somewhat Cold War-era feel reminiscent of the Soviet Red Navy.

The ship's bow, sharp as a blade, cleaved the sea like silk, and the sea breeze, carrying waves, rolled up as if Mazu were gently wiping a child's cheek with a light veil.

"Before boarding the ship, I heard the designers at the shipyard's design bureau tell me that anyone who feels the nearly 4-ton steel behemoth cutting through the waves at sea would find it hard to contain their excitement. It is the most powerful battleship in the world right now, without exception."

Ling Xiao came to Yang Yuchen's side, placed his hands on the window, and looked at the scenery in front of him. He seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps chatting casually with the marshal beside him, like a junior and an elder.

The old marshal took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled: "Yes, we now indeed possess the most powerful battleships in the world..."