Chapter 554: Preparation for War
At this time, Chen Chen did not know that the strategy of the United States and France to send special forces to re-enter Syria would bring a major crisis to the Dongfeng Corps. In fact, no matter from which angle, he could not make an accurate prediction of such an action.
The reason is very simple. Even in the perception of the intelligence department in the north, the Dongfeng Corps, a mercenary group, is still just a "small role" in the Middle East.
The Americans can send special forces to decapitation operations against the Dongfeng Corps when conditions are ripe. Of course, they can also support agents of various countries to confront the Dongfeng Corps through the IMET plan. They can even mobilize a large number of personnel and equipment to organize a resolute siege, but it is almost impossible for them to allocate some resources to deal with the Dongfeng Corps, which is not so important, when the main battlefield has already involved a lot of energy.
If there are really so many resources, why should they waste them in such a place?
A decapitation operation against Damascus is enough to shake the foundation of the entire Syrian government, and it may even end the war directly.
Therefore, Chen Chen did not make special arrangements for potential threats from NATO.
He must first finish the "main task" at hand.
In the temporary command post of Raqqa City, after confirming that the situation in the city had completely gone in the direction he wanted, Chen Chen finally withdrew the Tiger Corps troops in the city, ending the search operation that some people called "Bloody Night".
The casualties have been summarized. Bai Gou, who was responsible for reporting, did not show any abnormal expression on his face. However, Laplani, who was standing aside, was more and more shocked as he listened, and could not help but sigh at the sharpness and wisdom behind the cold-blooded decisiveness of the commander in front of him.
". This search resulted in the death of a total of 118 suspected JD members, 4 of us died and 16 were injured."
"This number of casualties exceeded our expectations, but fortunately we have used heavy weapons to clear all high-risk buildings in the early stage, otherwise the loss may be greater."
"In addition, the small-scale protests caused by the search and the closure of the mosque also caused certain casualties-there were indeed civilian casualties, but the number was not large."
"There are currently 4 civilian casualties that can be confirmed with clear evidence, one death and three injuries."
"What is the specific situation?"
Chen Chen frowned and asked.
"Nothing special. The Tiger Corps handled it too radically. One opponent's skull was smashed. There was no way to save him. He died two hours later."
"It's okay, as long as no shots were fired."
Listening to Chen Chen's slightly understated tone, Laplani on the side couldn't help but sigh.
Yes, it's okay if no shots were fired.
As long as no shots were fired, the situation would not deteriorate further, and the residents' resistance would disappear quickly in a short time. This is already the best result.
If I were to handle it myself, with delays, compromises, and indecision, the number of civilian casualties would inevitably far exceed this number.
This man is indeed a tyrant, but what is the definition of a tyrant?
Is it the cruelty of the means or the cruelty of the results?
Laplani even felt that he was in a brief confusion, and after getting rid of all the distractions in his heart, he suddenly realized that all his doubts were actually the result of being kidnapped by some Western media.
In their logic, means that conform to universal values will definitely bring results that conform to universal values.
Democratic means bring democracy, free means bring freedom, and peaceful means bring peace.
But many times, this is just wishful thinking, or it is putting the cart before the horse.
In their development path, they reached the peak because of some randomness and some irresistible trend. When they looked back, they thought that it was those "concepts" that were "artificially selected" that made them successful.
But in fact, this is completely inconsistent with the actual situation, and even more inconsistent with the logic of world development.
"The chaos can only be solved by authority."
Laplani remembered this sentence that Chen Chen had emphasized many times. At this moment, he suddenly had some new insights.
And in the few minutes when he was silent and thinking, Chen Chen had communicated with Bai Gou about all the arrangements in the city, and the focus of their communication also turned to the next plan.
"Suhail has definitely contacted the defenders near Tal Tamir and secretly formed a militia of about 500 people."
"He has obtained enough weapons through his own channels, but now, the team is seriously undertrained."
"Moreover, they no longer have time to organize large-scale training. Tal Tamir is too close to Hasakah. Once Suhail's whereabouts are exposed, he is likely to be surrounded by enemies."
"So, he must find a way to break out with these hundreds of people, bypass Hasakah, and continue north to the vicinity of Malikiya."
"This is a rather risky breakout - if successful, his force can be expanded to more than 1,000 people."
"If it fails, he will probably die directly in Hasakah Province, and we won't even have time to rescue him."
"So, he also asked us for cover."
"We may have to take the initiative to launch a clearing operation against JD elements scattered in various key towns in Raqqa in advance to create a more relaxed environment for Suhail."
"I plan to put this clearing operation in two days."
Having said this, Chen Chen paused for a moment, turned to Li Bang and said:
"You will still lead this operation."
"Unlike last time, this is no longer a standard combat mission in a restricted battlefield environment."
"Its battlefield range is wider, more random, and the environment is more complex."
"You have to put everything you've learned into play and produce the best results, do you understand?"
"clear!"
Li Bang answered solemnly, and then asked:
"Can I understand this mission as a large-scale, continuous point-based combat operation?"
"That's understandable."
Chen Chen nodded slightly and then said:
"But it's not just as simple as picking a point and fighting."
"After capturing key objectives, you must divide your forces to defend the corresponding objectives. This means that every time you capture a point, the available combat power at hand will be weakened by one point."
"In the end, you will only have a team and dozens of people left in your hands, and the risk factor will also increase exponentially."
"This is an iron law that is difficult to break. It's up to you how to implement it."
Hearing this, everyone in the command room looked serious.
Especially Laplani, after hearing the details of this mission through the interpreter, his expression could not even be said to be "shocked", but should be said to be "confused."
Is it really possible to complete such a task?
No abstract judgment is needed, only a simple and direct deduction is needed to realize the difficulty of this task.
Putting aside all other factors, simplify the balance of power between the enemy and ourselves into the most intuitive "number of people."
Assume that at the beginning, there were a thousand people on each side of the enemy and we, and these thousand people clashed while fighting for the first town, and each of them lost their numbers, but our side won.
At this time, the enemy may still have 800 people. According to optimistic estimates, we may have 900 people left.
However, these 900 people cannot all be devoted to the next battle. We must leave 100 people to defend the position we just won.
As a result, our combat strength was reduced to 800 men, once again equal to the enemy.
Then, if we want to maintain the balance of power, our side must achieve greater results than the enemy in every subsequent battle. Even if we lose a battle in the middle, the advantage we have finally accumulated will be lost immediately.
Because those defensive personnel cannot be mobilized. In a sense, they are already "dead"!
From this point alone, the difficulty of this mission is already frighteningly high.
The commander needs to lead his team to win more than ten games in a row - even for a gambler, it is impossible to win more than ten games in a row, right?
What's more, the situation on the real battlefield is far more complicated than this simplified deduction, with losses of equipment, difficulties in supply, and the decline in combat effectiveness of personnel after wheel battles.
Every little detail affects the final result, and as the commander of this battle, you must grasp all the details.
Laplani didn't know if the man who took over this task had such ability, but he knew very well that he definitely didn't.
He raised his head and looked at the other party, as if he wanted to find some "reluctance" in Li Bang's eyes, but unfortunately, all he saw was determination and a kind of...
Unreasonable confidence.
Does he really believe he can do it?
Laplani couldn't help but want to ask more questions, but the conversation among other people in the command room had already continued.
"I will discuss the specific tactics and strategies with you further later, but basically, I roughly understand how to fight."
As soon as Li Bang's words came out, Chen Chen immediately guessed his intention.
"Do you want to recreate the battle we fought against the four major families in Pubei?"
"Yes."
Li Bang nodded slightly and replied:
"If the time scale is shortened, the situation we face this time is actually similar to that time."
"What's more, at that time, we didn't have an absolute advantage in numbers or equipment."
"If we could fight then, we can fight now."
After hearing his words, Chen Chen thought for a moment and then replied:
"The overall direction is fine. You can consider the specific tactical details yourself and then discuss it with me - OK, next question."
"How is the equipment preparation going?"
The logistics work of the Eastern Corps has been handed over to Xia Xing, but in terms of specific equipment management, Baigou still needs to intervene.
Therefore, after hearing his question, Bai Gou immediately replied:
"All armored units have completed repairs and preparations, and ammunition has been replenished."
"In addition, Peng Xucheng sent us guns, including the HK416 we used before, as well as SCAR-H, M107, XM109, etc."
"very good!"
Chen Chen nodded with satisfaction - of course he did not dislike Russian-made weapons. In fact, in the high temperature desert environment of Syria, Russian-made weapons were more stable.
But the problem is that the scalability of Russian-made weapons is really unsatisfactory. Coupled with the differences in proficiency of his team with different firearms, he still feels that it is best for them to be able to use the original weapons. Good choice.
"What about the others? Shells, projectiles, rockets?"
"It's the same. Peng Xucheng arranged a ship to land on Bubiyan Island in Kuwait, cross Iraq to Damascus, and deliver a large number of weapons."
"According to him, this ship of weapons, not including the ones we use for ourselves, can bring at least 40 million US dollars in revenue. What we need is just a bonus."
"Perfect!"
Chen Chen couldn't help but applaud Peng Xucheng-in such a tense situation, he can still take care of the business of Dongfeng Group. This kind of business thinking is really rare.
He really wanted to praise Peng Xucheng behind his back, but before he could speak, Bai Gou said a better news.
This time, he used the Yunnan dialect directly.
Obviously, he didn't want Laplani, who was present, to understand.
"We have reached a preliminary agreement with Iran on the FATEH-110 issue."
"They agreed to sell 12 FATEH road mobile systems to Syria, including 36 missiles, and agreed to deliver them in the shortest possible time."
"Next, the Russian side needs to intervene as soon as possible and urge Syria to reach an agreement with Iran."
"As long as they reach an agreement, we can pay immediately."
"Peng Xucheng means that we should not wait for the Syrian government, we should pay all the money from Russia and Iran at the same time and get the goods as soon as possible!"
"We have so much money?!"
Chen Chen asked in shock.
". Bankruptcy."
"Iran offered a sky-high price of 360 million US dollars, 10 million per missile."
"And they asked for a lump sum payment."
"To be honest, I also think this price is unreasonable, but this is indeed the limit of what Peng Xucheng can do - according to him, the salesmen he sent to Iran have exhausted all dirty and not-so-dirty means."
"If Syria can intervene in advance, the price may be lower."
"But we can't wait - we can't really rely on Bashar, right?"
"Damn, the emperor is not anxious, but the eunuch is."
Chen Chen couldn't help cursing.
He remembered very clearly that in the last life, Syria purchased 200 Conqueror missiles, including the production line, for only more than 2 billion US dollars, and the average cost of a missile might be less than 2 million.
And now, Iran's price is five times higher.
It was really a big rip-off.
If I can't use them all this time, I must find a way to consume these missiles for others to throw.
——
Perhaps, selling them to Hamas or the Houthi armed forces would be a good choice?
By the way, they are not called Houthis yet, they are still called AA
Thinking of this, Chen Chen sighed softly, and then said:
"Pay it."
"In essence, these missiles are not owned by the Syrian government, but by us."
"Since they are ours, no matter how much money we pay, it is at best an investment."
"Since it is an investment, we have to take risks."
"Tell Peng Xucheng that if the money is not enough, withdraw all the money in my account and pay it!"
"The two weeks he mentioned before have passed for several days now."
"In the next 10 days, I want to see the missile launcher!"