Chapter 585 Attack and rescue
6 hours later, in the temporary combat command room.
All the core members of the Dongfeng Corps in Syria have arrived in Damascus, and after a short rest, they quickly gathered together to discuss the next stage of combat missions.
Most of them did not know what this operation against Raqqa meant to the Dongfeng Corps, but no one showed any dissatisfaction.
Obviously, after experiencing high-intensity combat, obedience to orders has been strengthened again and deeply engraved in their bones.
This also made Chen Chen's command easier---he did not need to do complicated pre-war mobilization, but only needed to explain the situation and indicate the target, and the team would rush to the front line as if directed by an arm.
Standing in front of the map, Chen Chen pointed to the location of Raqqa with a laser pen, and then said:
"The French Legion has begun to withdraw. According to front-line intelligence, at least 20 vehicles of various types left Raqqa within one day, including 4 tanks for escort and two helicopters."
"Coupled with the loss of support capabilities of the 181st Tactical Aviation Squadron after the destruction of Gillis Airport, Raqqa's defense has been weakened and the combat window has been completely exposed."
"Of course, the weakening I mentioned is also relative."
"At present, Turkey still has an entire armored battalion deployed in Raqqa, and the Second Army Aviation Regiment is still providing fire support for ground forces."
"If you want to confront them head-on, the Syrian government forces are still not qualified."
"So, we must think of other ways for them."
"Note that the way I said must be limited to the permission of our own rules."
"Although they said We can take risks and pressure, but we can't afford to play with them."
"We should avoid overly extreme tactics as much as possible. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I understand."
Yang Shu, who was sitting in the front, nodded first and said with a hint of sarcasm:
"So the plan of burning the whole city with white phosphorus bombs or driving all residents out of the city with poison gas bombs has been ruled out in advance, right?"
"It can't be said to be completely ruled out."
Chen Chen waved his hand and replied:
"If there is a way to control the burning range of white phosphorus bombs and the spread range of poison gas, small-scale use is still possible."
"However, the biggest problem with such a strategy is that the executor is not us, but the Syrian government forces."
"Therefore, it is difficult for us to finely control their execution process-we must reserve room for error tolerance."
"I understand, it's not easy to do."
Yang Shu sighed, and his eyes looking at Chen Chen revealed a kind of helplessness that could not be expressed clearly.
He was one of the few people in the Dongfeng Corps who had heard the term "territorial division", and after seeing the near future, his emotions were complicated.
Extreme excitement, expectation, almost crazy desire, and the high self-identity of "getting what he wanted" even made him feel uneasy.
——
However, such emotions quickly cooled down after Chen Chen finished his briefing on the situation in Raqqa. He soon realized that the bright future was not something that everyone could see.
Perhaps many people would die in this last battle.
Perhaps their names could only be buried in the sand and dust of Syria, and no matter how long it would be from now on, they would never be remembered again.
This cold fact forced him to be more cautious, because at this time, he was no longer an ordinary mercenary.
He was the leader, the brother of many team members, and even in many cases, the spiritual pillar of these team members.
His relationship with those team members had long exceeded the boundaries of "colleagues" and was not just as simple as "comrades-in-arms".
He must be responsible for his brothers, or to put it more directly, he must keep his brothers alive as much as possible.
Thinking of this, Yang Shu frowned, and after a slight hesitation, he continued:
"I think this idea is not necessarily correct."
"Whether in terms of equipment, number or tactical level, the Syrian government forces have no advantage over the Turkish army."
"If we want to rely on them to play a major role, there are too many uncontrollable factors."
"In the final analysis, we are fighting this battle for ourselves, and we should maximize our role on the battlefield."
"If the situation permits, we should even try to achieve this battle without the support of the Syrian government forces. victory."
"That sounds difficult."
"It's not easy at all."
Li Bang, who was sitting next to him, interrupted. Yang Shu spread his hands and continued:
"None of the battles we fought before were easy, but we always won, right?"
"Objectively speaking, we have already lost a battle in Raqqa."
"So we have to win it back."
Yang Shu's tone was still firm. After a brief pause, he continued:
"My thinking is still consistent - what we are best at is not special operations, but distributed operations on a limited scale."
"This method of warfare can maximize our advantages in equipment and technology, and avoid the problem of insufficient enemy annihilation capability that is most likely to occur in special operations."
"So, my suggestion is that just because we want to win the battle in Raqqa, it doesn't mean that we have to enter Raqqa."
"Let me ask a question first - if Turkey wants to hold Raqqa, what are the elements they must control?"
"Note that I am not talking about 'geographical' elements, but in a broader sense."
"Logistics supplies, public opinion, decision-making support, diplomatic elements...etc."
Before Yang Shu could finish speaking, Chen Chen answered directly.
He already understood the meaning of the poplar tree - attack it and save it, sometimes it may not necessarily happen on the physical level.
If one's own combat operations can destroy one of the elements of the Turkish army's existence, then this battle will be considered a victory.
"That's right!"
Yang Shu’s eyes lit up and he continued:
"In terms of logistical supplies, the Syrian government forces have proven through actual actions that this is not feasible."
"The transmission speed of public opinion is too slow, and we have no way to leverage it diplomatically."
"That means that the only ones we can undermine are the Turkish decision-makers."
"Perhaps, we still have to find a way to conduct a beheading operation, or..."
"There's another direction."
Chen Chen interrupted Yang Shu again, but this time, he already had a complete plan in his mind.
"Yang Shu is right. We don't necessarily need to fight on the front line. All we have to do is destroy the other party's elements of maintaining military presence."
"Beheading is not feasible. Beheading Turkish decision-makers is not that simple. The political risks behind it are too great and may even trigger more serious retaliation."
"However, there is one point that they must maintain and stick to."
"The bottom line of maintaining stability."
"It is impossible for the Turks to accept a war on their own soil, but the Syrians actually don't care that they have driven their nails into Raqqa."
"After all, the matter has come to this, there is no point in trying to pull out this nail."
"So, why do we have to fight them in Raqqa?"
"Mobilize all forces, unite with the Kurds, and attack them from the long border!"
"We don't need to cut off their supply lines. As long as fighting exists, the Turks will face heavy pressure to maintain stability."
"That's the result we want."
"Once the decision-making at the top begins to waver due to such harassment, then the recovery of Raqqa will be just around the corner."
"Yes, the reason why the attack on Gillis achieved such good results is based on this 'principle'."
"What we have to do next is to continue in this right direction and continue to fight using mobile warfare."