Chapter 555 Preliminary Reconnaissance
Half an hour later, at the shooting range of the Raqqa defenders.
Putting the HK416 on his back again, Chen Chen was even a little uncomfortable with this gun for a while.
The trigger is too light, the stock feels too heavy against the shoulder, the foregrip is too cumbersome, and the rear grip is too slippery.
He tried a few rounds, and there was no problem with his accuracy, but something felt wrong anyway.
Seeing his performance, Li Gang couldn't help but feel a little funny.
Now he is no longer a novice. Even without looking at the target paper, just by looking at Chen Chen's action of holding the gun, he can tell that Chen Chen is not used to this "new gun".
"What should I say? Do you want to change it back to the AK-74M?"
After hearing what Li Bang said, Chen Chen shook his head and replied:
"There is always time to adapt - but to be honest, the feeling of holding the guns of these two gun families is completely different. Switching from the AK series to the AR series should be the most difficult thing for a shooter. Converted."
"On the contrary, it is not that difficult to switch from AK to AR. Why do you think this is?"
"You don't even know, and it's even less possible for me to know."
Li Bang spread his hands helplessly, then raised the muzzle of his gun and quickly fired a long burst. After roughly looking at the bullet's impact point with the sight glass, he said with some confusion:
"I also have a bad hand, but it's about the same as you. My accuracy doesn't seem to be affected."
“That’s what muscle memory is.”
In the end, Chen Chen could only give an unreasonable explanation. After emptying the bullets in the magazine, he continued:
"Continue talking about your plan, what are you going to do?"
After hearing Chen Chen's words, Li Bang also put down his gun and then replied:
"I plan to lead the team to conduct a round of reconnaissance first."
"A round of all-round, three-dimensional reconnaissance."
"I summed it up. In fact, from the time we arrived in Syria, our battle was not going very smoothly."
"It's true that we won almost every battle, but it's also true that we suffered a lot of losses that we shouldn't have suffered."
"The root cause of this loss lies in the lack of human intelligence."
"We can actually discover many things in advance - such as the tendency of enemies to merge, such as their equipment updates."
"But we didn't find it."
"There are two main reasons for this. First, the rhythm of the battle is too tight, almost one after another, without any breathing time."
"This forces us to compress the reconnaissance time to a few hours or even dozens of minutes before the battle begins."
"Second, we rely too much on aerial reconnaissance. When there is no CH-3A, we use individual drones; when there is CH-3A, we rely on CH-3A."
"It is undeniable that reconnaissance with the help of drones is efficient, but at the same time, it also has huge loopholes."
“Without tangible perception, we cannot see many things.”
"If you can't see it, you can't imagine it--this is what you taught me."
"Do you remember that lesson you took in Chaisili? Don't try to find the enemy, but try to find evidence of the enemy's existence, such as a burning cigarette, a car that has started."
"That's the point of human intelligence, and I'm afraid it will never be truly replaced by aerial reconnaissance."
After Li Bang finished speaking, Chen looked at him silently for a few seconds. Then, he solemnly patted Li Bang on the shoulder and said:
"Congratulations, you have officially entered the real command sequence of the Dongfeng Corps."
Chen Chen's eyes were full of admiration. He really didn't expect that Li Gang could grow to this extent in just three years.
You know, even if they are officers who have been in the military camp for 10 years, or even if they are veterans who have been on the battlefield for 10 years, many of them are still superstitious about the advantages brought by the equipment.
But now, the Li Gang has jumped out of the shackles and begun to consider truly "effective" combat methods.
He is absolutely right. Manual reconnaissance cannot be replaced by aerial reconnaissance. This is also the meaning of the existence of the "scout" branch.
Looking at Chen Chen's eyes, Li Bang smiled a little shyly and replied:
"I've been studying hard."
"It may be far worse than Shi Dakai and Bao Qidu, but it should still be qualified, right?"
“Excellent!”
Chen Chen gave a thumbs up and then asked:
"When are you going to start?"
"Right now."
Li Bang replied without hesitation:
"The earlier the manual reconnaissance operation is carried out, the better. If the clearing campaign is going to start in two days, then I'd better start now."
"I have calculated that the total length of the series of key points in the entire area is 840 kilometers. In other words, to complete the reconnaissance of these villages, I need to cover a total distance of 840 kilometers."
"Considering the actions of rushing, hiding, reconnaissance, and evacuation, it should be reasonable to reserve 40 hours."
"Personnel, I have made arrangements in advance."
"Linhe, Pingchuan, and Yangshu are following me. White Dog will stay here to help you."
"this is not good."
Chen Chen immediately shook his head, thought for a moment and corrected:
"Yang Shu stays, I'll go with you."
"You are the commander-in-chief, how can you go?"
Li Bang frowned and asked.
After hearing his words, Chen Chen shook his head again and explained:
"In fact, our team has never had a real commander-in-chief. Our command sequence is constructed according to the complexity of the task."
"Now, I have arranged everything needed for Raqqa. Next, they will just continue to carry out the orders I left behind."
"This is not difficult at all - besides, even if it is difficult, it only takes two days."
"And using these two days, like you, I can get first-hand and most intuitive information. Isn't this more cost-effective?"
".Actually, you just can't stay away from the battlefield, right?"
Li Bang did not answer Chen Chen's words, but asked slightly teasingly.
Chen Chen helplessly spread his hands and replied:
"Indeed it is."
The two looked at each other and smiled, saying nothing.
But they all packed up their equipment tacitly and walked towards the camp.
Half an hour later, Chen Chen had put on his body armor, inserted the magazine, put on his SCAR-H, and carried the HK416 that had been transformed into a Christmas tree.
"You don't need shock bombs, you don't need too many grenades, just leave the hardpoints for smoke bombs."
"You must bring enough bullets. In this round of reconnaissance, we will not have any chance of resupply."
While counting the equipment, Chen Chen asked:
"Staffing?"
"Twelve people, including you and three precision shooters, are not worthy of observers considering there is no need for sniper operations."
"Two medical soldiers, Hirakawa also serves as a single drone pilot; three drivers serve as support and blasters, and four machine gunners."
Upon receiving Gang Li's return, Chen Chen nodded and continued to ask:
"No problem. Is the vehicle ready? What configuration is it?"
"Taking into account the concealment requirements of the reconnaissance mission, there are no special vehicles. Three ordinary pickup trucks are used, equipped with heavy machine guns and MK19s, all of which have been covered with camouflage cloth."
"Okay. In the air?"
"Four CH-3As take turns to accompany and monitor, and two SU-27s and two helicopters are on alert and can provide support at any time."
"Perfect. Map?"
"I just got it, it's the latest, very accurate."
"communication?"
Chen Chen spoke again.
"In addition to basic communication tools, we carry a military radio that can contact the command in an emergency."
"In addition, the locations of towns with smooth wired communications have been marked on the map and can be used as contact points."
"camouflage?"
"We do not conduct disguised reconnaissance, but I have prepared a batch of robes. If necessary, we can also temporarily impersonate local residents."
"Very thorough--is there anything I missed in my question?"
"Sparse vehicles. I have communicated with Xia Xing in advance and prepared three vehicles in Ain Issa Town."
"Ain Issa is located at the intersection of several roads and can be used as an evacuation point."
"Perfect."
Chen Chen nodded slowly and turned his mind around to make sure there was nothing missing. Then he waved his hand and immediately ordered:
"Set off!"
"clear!"
The order was given, and the team members who had long been unable to hold themselves back quickly boarded the car. Then, under the "reluctant" gaze of the white dog, Chen Chen rolled down the window and said:
"While I'm away for the next two days, Raqqa will be left to you."
"Keep an eye on me. Don't wait until I come back. I'll have no fun with Chengdu!"
"rest assured."
Bai Gou made a bitter face and said with a slight complaint:
"Why don't you always take care of this kind of thing? In fact, you can leave Lin He here. He has grown up and can take responsibility."
"Or let Li Bang stay. Isn't he the No. 2 commander? He should exercise more."
"Stop talking nonsense."
Chen Chen interrupted Bai Gou's complaint and then said:
"We charge forward and you are responsible for the stability of the rear. You are all contributing to the revolution."
"Why, are you still worried that I will take away your credit?"
"It's because it's too dangerous to come close for reconnaissance. I can't wait to risk my life instead."
The aggrieved look on Bai Gou's face made Chen Chen's skin crawl. He waved his hand quickly and rolled up the car window without waiting for Bai Gou to continue.
Lin He stepped on the accelerator, and the pickup truck sped out with smoke and dust.
It was evening at this time, and the setting sun continued to fall toward the horizon.
In front of them was a seemingly peaceful desert, but it became extremely dangerous because of the broken ISIS troops.
In the next 48 hours, their team will blow through this desert like a gust of wind, taking away all the information that can change the future of the war.
The sky was getting darker and darker, so Chen Chen ordered to turn on the car lights.
He held the gun to his side and gave one final check on the working of the sights.
Li Bang was in the co-pilot, briefing everyone on the mission.
"Our first stop, Abojedi."
"The population is 4,000. The town is on the north bank of the Euphrates River and is distributed in a long and narrow shape along the river."
"There are two main roads running through the town along the north-south and east-west directions respectively, and the main buildings in the town are distributed at the intersection of the roads."
"Our goal is to observe the activities of people and vehicles in the city and determine whether there are JD elements gathering inside the town. If so, how many people there are and what weapons they hold."
"In addition, we must mark high-risk locations in advance to provide coordinate guidance for possible subsequent air strikes."
"Attention, this reconnaissance mission should be carried out in a non-contact manner as much as possible, that is, we cannot be exposed unless necessary."
"Now, we are still 18 kilometers away from the destination."
"After 15 minutes, all vehicles will turn off the lights, wait in place, start on time at 8 o'clock, and slowly enter the target area."
"Do you understand?"
"Understood!"
The radio came with the answers of all the team members, and Chen Chen was no exception.
Li Bang subconsciously turned his head to look at Chen Chen, but soon, he accepted his identity and re-entered the map analysis work.
The convoy continued to move forward, and CH-3A sent the first aerial photo, but Chen Chen could not see any useful information from this photo alone.
There were no unusual vehicles, no armed personnel, no barricades, and no positions.
This seemed to be just an ordinary town.
And this is the significance of close reconnaissance.
15 minutes later, the convoy arrived at the predetermined location.
The single-soldier ultra-short-range drone was released, and Pingchuan controlled the drone to fly over the slowly moving convoy.
Ten minutes later, the convoy approached the reverse slope of the high ground less than 800 meters away from Abogadi. The reconnaissance team immediately deployed the formation and began to observe for an hour.
And this time, they really got what they wanted.
Several militants appeared on the streets of the town, waving their weapons unscrupulously in their hands.
A residential house has been transformed into a fortress, and there are obvious traces of bunkers on the windows.
An armed pickup truck is hidden under the awning of the alley, and the pickup truck is equipped with a heavy machine gun of unknown model.
"It is confirmed that there are militants, but not many people."
"This should be a small foothold of ISIS's defeated soldiers, and the danger level is relatively low."
Li Bang made his own judgment on the situation in Abogadi, and then ordered:
"Group 1 will detour to the southeast, circle around, and observe and shoot from multiple angles."
"The rest of the team will continue to go north, and the next target, Duramaha, will wait at the marked position."
"Understood."
As soon as the voice fell, the team took action immediately.
Groups 2 and 3, where Chen Chen and Li Bang were, bypassed Abogidi and continued to run northward, while Group 1 stayed behind to complete the final intelligence supplement.
Abogidi is 25 kilometers away from Duramaha. After 40 minutes, the slow-moving convoy arrived at the scheduled assembly point.
After another 15 minutes, a team member arrived to meet up.
The three vehicles started again and headed towards Duramaha.
Li Bang briefed the situation of the target town and confirmed the division of tasks, and everyone was ready.
However, when they really arrived at the observation point guided by the drone, they suddenly found that the situation here was a little wrong.
Completely different from Abogidi, Duramaha was dead silent.
Although in terms of scale, this small town with a population of only a few hundred people could not be compared with Abogidi, even so, the city was still a little too quiet.
There were no lights, no voices, and even no trace of "living".
This city is dead.
After half an hour of continuous observation, the reconnaissance team found nothing.
Then, Li Bang gave the order:
"Group 1, on alert."
"Rainbow, prepare for the attack."
"Groups 2 and 3, walk into the city and conduct close reconnaissance!"