Chapter 435 The First Battle
Three days later, Qingshui River.
All logistics supply lines have been connected, and the coalition vanguard troops have arrived along the Qingshui River a day ago and have been in a stalemate with the Kachin vanguard forces on the other side of the river for a day.
The continuous sound of artillery rumbled, and the heavy machine gun fire points deployed by Kachin on the other side of the river were almost completely destroyed. However, what surprised Chen Chen, the commander-in-chief of the counterattack, was that facing the coalition forces with more than 5,000 people, the opponent had no choice. Back off immediately!
It has to be said that the Kachin Army has also been pushed into a corner.
According to intelligence, the Burmese army near Jiesha has organized the first round of attacks. Although it did not achieve much results due to inferior equipment, it is obvious that the sudden fire in the rear caught the Kachin army by surprise.
They had to mobilize the teams that had originally planned to continue supporting the Qingshuihe front line to deploy defenses on the Myitkyina-Jiesha front line. This move restricted their strength to 3 combat regiments and more than 4,000 troops.
At this time, there were less than 4,000 Kachin troops left along the Qingshui River, and the total number of troops arriving for support was only 3,000.
This is almost all the troops that Kachin can mobilize in a short period of time. Once Qingshuihe is lost, the territory they originally won will be lost immediately.
This is not just a problem that can be solved by "defeat and defense". In fact, once the coalition army crosses the Qingshui River, the entire road from northern Shan State to Kokang and then to Kachin will be undefeated. There are only relatively independent towns that rely on it.
However, how long can these towns hold back the Dongfeng Corps? Can our troops withdrawing from Qingshui River outrun the highly mobile motorized troops of the Dongfeng Corps?
The answer to the problem is clear and the solution is unique.
Only by allowing the frontline troops to block the Dongfeng Corps at the Qingshui River and allowing the rear support troops to quickly establish defensive strongholds can they respond to the retreating frontline troops and retain the most effective forces!
Therefore, in this case, the Kachin Army's persistence is understandable.
If you keep guarding, you still have a chance to survive. If you give up directly, you will definitely be chased to death! ——
This was the Kachin commander's idea, and Chen Chen had naturally predicted his strategy.
In the temporary headquarters, Chen Chen stood in front of the sand table and said to several major commanders including Bao Junfeng, He Bangxiong, He Bupa, and Peng Deren:
"We have no time to waste."
"The opponent's support troops have arrived near Munsi. They are moving very fast and their purpose is very clear."
"Even with our constant aerial harassment, they advanced 30 kilometers in one day and approached Nankan."
"In other words, it only takes two days at most for them to join up with the small number of defenders left there and complete the defense in Nankan."
"Immediately afterwards, they will continue to move forward, using a simplified version of the 'Leapfrog Tactics' to control the towns along the route one by one to form a fire support point."
"At that time, the Kachin army in Qingshuihe can complete a smooth and easy evacuation with their support, and our pursuit will be severely hindered."
"If we choose to bypass these towns, then our logistics supply lines will be at risk of being hit again."
"To expand territory, you must attack big cities."
"We cannot let their plan take effect, so we must complete the crossing as soon as possible and launch the attack as soon as possible."
"Within today, I want to see all 5,000 of our soldiers standing across the Qingshui River. Is there any problem?"
"No!"
Everyone answered in unison, but then Bao Junfeng asked:
"How do we fight? How do we cross the river?"
After his words fell, everyone's eyes turned to him.
Chen Chen did not answer directly, but asked:
"What? Didn't you see those forklifts and excavators behind the position?"
"How to cross the river?"
"We don't have to think about how to cross the river."
"We will directly divert the river water and fill in the river bed!"
An hour later, the battle officially started.
It's not that Chen Chen has never commanded thousands of people in battle. After all, as early as the Tachilei attack, the coalition's strength had already exceeded a thousand.
However, he has indeed never commanded a large-scale force operation with complete equipment, diverse arms, and air-ground coordination.
——
But, so what?
As a weathered veteran in his previous life, he had participated in countless exercises. Even if he had never eaten pork, he had seen enough pigs running away!
Standing in the rear headquarters where the position had been re-planned and the radio set up, Chen Chen did not need visual command at all. He only relied on the simplest feedback to have a good idea of all the troops.
The flags representing each of our own combat units on the combat map were constantly moving, and when all the flags moved to the positions Chen Chen needed, he finally issued his first order in this battle.
"Prepare the rocket position and conduct a covering attack on the enemy's river bank position."
"Artillery position No. 1 is prepared, the artillery fire is extended backward, and according to the artillery reconnaissance guidance, precise strikes are carried out against the enemy artillery group."
"Artillery Position 2, destroy the enemy's key firepower points and suppress the enemy's heavy machine gun firepower."
"Firebird 2 continued to conduct forward reconnaissance and lured enemy air defense positions into firing."
"Firebird 3, be prepared for airborne launch."
"Kite 1, keep conducting reconnaissance over the battlefield."
"Kite 2, continue to conduct forward reconnaissance to find the location of the enemy's headquarters."
"Kite No. 3 and No. 4 are on standby and will enter after confirming that the anti-aircraft firepower has been disabled!"
"Prepare your anti-tank guns, be wary of enemy armored units, and hit them when they show up!"
"The 1st and 2nd regiments maintain fire suppression, cover the 3rd and 4th regiments, occupy the beachhead, and build beachhead fortifications."
"Regiment 5, prepare to break the embankment and release water to fill the river!"
"clear!"
In an instant, all combat units moved.
The rocket position fired first. Within a distance of less than 500 meters, even the 107 fire, which was naturally insufficient in accuracy, could be said to hit wherever it was pointed.
The entire area of several hundred meters on the north bank of the Qingshui River immediately turned into a sea of fire. The Kachin defenders who were originally hidden on the slopes and bushes on the river bank were unable to hide and fled in all directions amidst the violent explosions.
But then, Artillery Positions 1 and 2 also opened fire. The dense artillery fire extended along the direction of the Kachin army's escape, while the larger-caliber artillery fired the shells directly over the low hills and ten kilometers away. Kachin artillery positions outside!
In just an instant, all Kachin's artillery was silenced, and even the most basic deterrence was no longer possible.
After the artillery threat was resolved, the infantry battalion was finally able to move forward.
Elites wearing heavy body armor from the north jumped out and landed directly on the river beach.
Relying on a simple offensive, their intensive firepower covered all corners that heavy artillery could not take care of.
The Kachin Army finally shut down all fire, and the third and fourth regiments, which temporarily acted as engineering regiments, immediately ordered the excavators to enter the site.
The excavator that had been modified to be bulletproof ignored sporadic small arms fire, and those enemies who tried to use anti-tank weapons to counterattack were all strangled in their hiding places!
The Kachin Army, which was almost at the end of its rope, took the risk and sent out the last M2, but as Chen Chen said, as long as it is an armored unit, it will be shot in seconds!
Only 10 minutes into the war, the situation was still heading toward crushing.
But at this moment, a cluster of fire flashed across the hilltop in the distance.
Immediately afterwards, a shell bounced off the ground, causing a huge cloud of smoke.
"Enemy tank found!"
A report from the frontline troops came through Chen Chen's earphones.
At this time, he no longer cared about understanding the model of the tank.
There was only one order he gave.
"Knock it off!"