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This sudden change was like flipping a switch; Dmitri shuddered, instantly snapping back to reality, and turned to look in the direction the sound had come from. He would likely never forget the distinctive sound of a jet engine.
Sure enough, a small dot on the horizon was expanding with the increasingly loud engine roar—undoubtedly an Amelia fighter jet. "Shooting us all down wasn't enough, you want to wipe us out too?" Dimitri clenched his fists.
"Turn around and head back to the airport." Even though they were some distance from the airport, the roar of the exploding bombs still reached the three men's ears clearly. Dmitry said to the private driving the car, "We can't abandon our comrades."
"Sir, are you crazy? The Amelia people are still dropping bombs from the sky! Going back will only be suicide!" For the sake of his own life, the private was naturally unwilling to turn back, and he didn't care that the person in the back seat was seven ranks higher than him.
“I am the commander of the ‘Deep Blue’ flight squadron. I order you to turn around.” There are some differences between the uniforms of soldiers and officers in the Belken Army, so Dimitri could easily tell that the driver was just a soldier. He even put his hand on the pistol at his waist for self-defense.
"Hehehe, calm down." The lieutenant had to step in. "The squadron leader can't control us ground troops. Also, I have to remind you, as the only pilot who survived this battle against the Amelia Air Force, if you really die, how many more do you think will die if our air force faces them again? A whole squadron, or even a whole wing?"
"I was just lucky. I can't teach anyone else how to survive." Dimitri moved his right hand away from his pistol. Just getting close to Amelia's fighter jets would have their wings torn apart by the airflow. Could such a huge difference in airframe performance really be made up for by technology or tactics? Don't forget, in this aspect, Amelia's air force is probably superior.
"But at least you now know some of the capabilities of the Amelia fighter. We saw it from the ground; you almost completely suppressed that plane with its propeller overhead. If two more planes hadn't come from behind, you could have shot it down." Although it would have inevitably come at a heavy casualty cost. The lieutenant comforted him.
"Those are just planes used by the Amelia for transporting goods or for reconnaissance; they're not meant for combat." But the lieutenant's words didn't make Dmitri any better; instead, they made him even more frustrated. Their 7th Squadron was equipped with fighter planes specifically designed to shoot down enemy aircraft, yet at least six of them had been shot down by a single reconnaissance plane.
"Yes, so what if it's a reconnaissance plane? If no one explains the characteristics of this kind of reconnaissance plane to the other pilots, we'll pay a heavy price the next time we encounter one." The lieutenant was furious. Damn it, he hated these stubborn, unyielding recruits on their first combat mission the most—they were always causing trouble. "Listen up, it's not that I want to abandon everyone at the airfield, but right now your life is more valuable than all the Belken soldiers here. Only you can let the aircraft designers know what kind of planes we need, and make those guys at headquarters understand how to use them!"
Volume 1: Chapter 68 (Sixty-Five Chapters) A Great Responsibility Delivered by Heaven
The lieutenant's words struck Dmitri like a hammer blow to the head. He gritted his teeth and had to admit that the lieutenant was right.
“There’s nothing we can do right now, but if this happens again in the future, if you want to do something, you’ll have to do everything you can to survive.” Seeing Dimitri’s expression, the lieutenant knew that he had calmed down a bit and was no longer so tense.
But soon, just as the three of them breathed a sigh of relief, they were again gripped by the approaching shrill roar of jet engines.
"Damn it, these Amelia people are so persistent!" the lieutenant cursed, glancing out of the car window. He then realized that if his vehicle continued driving so brazenly on the highway, it would become yet another moving target for Amelia's planes. But there were no trees to hide in on either side of the road; instead, there was a stinking ditch running alongside it.
"Stop the car immediately! We need to get into the ditch!" the lieutenant decided immediately.
"Ditch? What ditch?" Dmitry followed the lieutenant's gaze to the roadside and was immediately horrified. The private driving the jeep, hearing the lieutenant's words, slammed on the brakes. A sharp screech echoed across the road as the wheels were caught in the brake pads, the intense friction between the tires and the road sending up a thick cloud of black smoke mixed with dust. However, the powerful inertia from the high speed prevented the jeep from stopping; instead, it went out of control: it fishtailed and skidded a distance, flipping 90 degrees to the right, throwing the two people in the back seat onto the road.
The private driving the vehicle was not so lucky; his leg was firmly pinned under the jeep, and a pool of blood was spreading from it.
The lieutenant gagged a few times, then staggered to his feet and immediately went to help Dmitry, who was also lying on the ground, ignoring the private groaning under the vehicle. Dmitry, who had scored twice, continued to display his incredible luck; aside from being dazed from the fall, he only had some bruises.
"Come on! Hurry up and go in!" After helping Dmitri up from the ground, the lieutenant quickly pushed him toward the ditch. However, the ditch, which had not been maintained for a long time, had accumulated a large amount of excrement and urine, emitting a suffocating smell, which made Dmitri instinctively feel extremely resistant.
"If you want to live, then get down here!" Sensing Dimitri's struggle, the lieutenant didn't waste any words. The shrill sound of engines in the air was already extremely close. He directly released his arms and kicked Dimitri's round buttocks, kicking this prodigy into the ditch. Then, without any hesitation, he also jumped into the stinking ditch.
His body was immediately splashed with a large amount of dark brown, viscous semi-liquid. The pungent odor even made him dizzy. Dimitri, standing beside him, had even rolled his eyes back, his face covered in the stench, and his body was sinking towards the surface of the liquid. The lieutenant was so frightened that he quickly supported him, otherwise Dimitri might have become the first pilot in the world to drown in excrement. Fortunately, the ditch was less than two meters deep, and the excrement inside was only shoulder-deep. As long as they stood upright, there was no possibility of drowning. To be on the safe side, the lieutenant, enduring the discomfort, scooped up the semi-liquid with his hands and poured it over the two men's heads. He then slapped Dimitri to bring him back to his senses and instructed him, "Take a breath, dive down there. Whether you survive or not depends on whether you can hold on."
After saying that, he ignored what Dimitri did, took a deep breath and began to dive, only his eyes remaining above the surface of the water as he observed the sky.
The fuselage projection of the Amelia aircraft was already quite large. After glancing at the lieutenant, Dimitri desperately followed the lieutenant as they began to descend. But just as his lips touched the surface of the liquid, his throat tightened, and the contents of his stomach flowed back up uncontrollably, gushing out completely.
What Dimitri and the lieutenant didn't know was that Lilia's attack plane wasn't passing by because it had discovered their escape and wanted to eliminate them completely. She was simply disengaging along the bombing route after completing her attack mission, planning to return to base after a quick turn, but she didn't expect to see an overturned jeep on the road.
The Su-7 attack aircraft continued to descend, then rolled 180 degrees and flew over the overturned jeep, where she saw the driver trapped under the vehicle, bleeding profusely.
"Poor child." Si Lilia shook her head, wondering if the driver, Liu, was still alive. If Ling was still conscious, she could only watch her life slowly slip away with her blood, with no one to help her. This kind of death was too despairing.
Today I'll be a good guy and ease your pain a bit. After leveling off, the attack aircraft pulled up an angle of attack, turned, and fired a burst at the overturned jeep. The high-explosive fragmentation incendiary bombs fired from the NR-30 cannon ignited the gasoline in the jeep's fuel tank, instantly creating a fireball.
“Eagle’s Nest, this is Witch 1. Belken Airport has been destroyed, but a small number of people may have escaped.” Lilia did not forget to report the mission’s progress to the control tower. “If possible, I suggest sending a team to search outwards from the airport.”
"Eagle Nest received. I will record your comments and pass them on to the higher-ups." The tower's reply was as swift as ever.
"Received." Lilia glanced back at the firelight on the ground, pushed the throttle valve to 100%, and began the return journey.
After the Amelia plane disappeared into the horizon, two heads emerged from the ditch next to the burning jeep.
"Has he left?" Dmitri asked in a low voice. He dared not underestimate this "peasant" who was one rank lower than him now. If it weren't for him, Dmitri would be in the same state as the private in the bonfire.
"Let's go." After a long pause, the lieutenant slowly replied.
As the Amelia's plane flew away, the only sound in the air soon was the crackling of the flames, a reminder that not everyone was as lucky as they were. Even the stench of excrement seemed less unbearable at that moment—only the living consider comfort.
However, their joy at surviving the ordeal quickly faded as they discovered that getting back onto the road wouldn't be so easy. Their slippery hands made it difficult to exert force, and their clothes, soaked with moisture, not only hampered their movements but also added weight, further depleting their strength.
Volume 1: Chapter 69 (Chapter Sixty-Six) As long as the mobile forces launch an attack...
As darkness fell, before they had completely exhausted their strength, the two finally climbed out of the stinking ditch.
The flames on the jeep had almost died out, leaving only a faint flame, and the charred body of the private made Dmitry realize what the impermanence of life and death truly meant.
"Let's go back to the airport first." The two of them lay on the road to recover their strength without even taking off their smelly clothes. About half an hour later, the lieutenant stood up.
"Why do we have to go back to the airport?" Dimitri clearly didn't understand the lieutenant's intentions, but he still stood up with him.
Qi: "Do you have a map with you?"
“Of course we do. We definitely need to bring a map with us before boarding the plane,” Dmitri replied, but as he reached for the map, his voice grew softer and his expression stiffened. When he finally pulled out the map, which was almost covered in brown substance, he heard the lieutenant snort, clearly expecting this.
“Unless you happen to remember every single deployment on the map, without missing a single one, a vague memory is enough to lead us into a dead end,” the lieutenant explained, even having the mind to joke. “Also, if you have any particular quirks, such as liking to run around in clothes that stink for miles, please allow me to act alone.”
After going through so much hardship and danger, the two had grown a little closer. Dimitri was not angry about it, and he quickly followed the lieutenant toward the airport.
The return to the airport went smoothly, but the entire field airfield had been bombed beyond recognition by Amelia's planes, and the air was thick with the acrid smell of burning protein. The two remained silent, quickly abandoning their search for survivors, and quietly rummaged through the tents for any supplies they might need. Once it was completely dark, they reunited and shared their findings.
Besides having changed into relatively complete Belken uniforms, the two also found a map, two pistols, and over sixty rounds of ammunition. The replenishment of ammunition gave them a little more confidence. After determining their direction, the two set off overnight, wanting to reach the nearest frontline command post as soon as possible to report the battle situation there.
However, what the lieutenant did not expect was that although Dmitri was a Belken soldier, as a pilot, he did not receive much physical training. Therefore, this guy slowed down their marching speed to an extreme. What should have been a half-day march took them a full day and a half.
When they finally arrived at the front-line command post, they had no idea what Belken's troops had suffered in the short span of a day and a half.
In short, the main force of Elwin's battle group experienced a replica of the 73rd Infantry Division's activities. Once his troops were exposed to the reconnaissance forces of Amelia or Elgia, they would be subjected to a barrage of fire within an hour—whether they drew an air raid or an artillery barrage depended on their location and the state of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's long-range strike forces at the time, much like encountering a master player who loved to roll the dice in a role-playing game. Although Elwin had his troops camouflage, unfortunately, this camouflage might fool the Elgia, but it was a long shot to deceive the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's reconnaissance forces. Even though the reconnaissance company's experience was far inferior to that of the air assault company, these tricks were still too crude for the reconnaissance company. Anyone who got close enough to these Belken soldiers would detect the camouflage.
Compared to the first Battle of Swobella, the Belken's offensive intensity was indeed greater this time, but the Volunteer Army's firepower was also stronger. The mixed artillery battalions were almost constantly firing at targets, either firing at them or on their way to fire at them. On the first day alone, the artillery groups inflicted more than 4,000 casualties on the Irwin battle group. Compared to the artillery units, the air force's performance in ground attack was not as impressive as during the first Battle of Swobella. After all, this time, the air force had focused a lot of energy on securing air superiority, and only one newly formed Il-2 squadron participated in ground attack. To be honest, the bomb load of these 1943 model Il-2s was only so-so, and the pilots were still relatively inexperienced. Therefore, Lu Wu did not criticize the Il-2 squadron for this.
Of course, if the Belkens knew that Lu Wu was not entirely satisfied with the performance of the four air force ground attacks, they would probably be so frustrated they'd vomit blood. While the air force's damage was certainly not as great as that of the artillery, its impact on morale was far more severe: when under artillery fire, at least the soldiers knew that as long as they located the Allied artillery positions, their heavy artillery divisions could quickly launch a counterattack and destroy the enemy's artillery. They also knew some methods of defending against artillery fire to reduce casualties. Therefore, when facing artillery fire, the Belken army was still able to maintain a certain level of morale.
But the situation was completely different when facing the air force. They had no effective way to mitigate casualties; once the aircraft appeared, they could only scatter their ground troops to withstand the enemy's attack. They also lacked any countermeasures: this time, they tried concentrating the machine guns of their frontline troops, abandoning the limited-angle landing gear, and welding four machine guns together to the back of some trucks for air defense. But despairingly, even when these 10mm machine gun rounds hit the aircraft, they only left inconspicuous bullet holes. Every time the Amelia's attack aircraft appeared above the ground troops, the ground troops would request air support, but no matter how many telegrams they sent, they never received a reply from the air force, let alone any actual support. In short, the appearance of the Amelia's aircraft meant that the Elvin battle group had lost an entire combat unit. Recalling the air force's confident assurances before departure that they would provide a safe haven for the ground troops, Elvin was furious.
If this trend continues, by the time Elwin's battle group reaches the outskirts of Svorbella, they will likely be on the verge of a morale collapse, and defeating the well-prepared defenders there will be nothing but a pipe dream.
So Erwin made his own adjustments. He abandoned his original plan of a simultaneous two-pronged attack to form a pincer movement. Since the Allied forces had already discovered his main force, he decided to let them believe that he was launching an attack from the south, drawing their attention there and allowing the northward mobile force to launch a surprise attack on Swobella. As long as the northern mobile force could deceive the Allied forces and launch an attack on Swobella, everything would be fine.
Volume 1: Chapter 70, Chapter Sixty-Seven: A Slight Difference in Skill
In order to deceive the Allied forces, Irwin adjusted the composition of his two combat groups.
4. He transferred two infantry divisions from the main force to reinforce the mobile forces in the north, enhancing their assault capabilities. However, it's common knowledge that foot infantry divisions can't outrun wheels and tracks. Reinforcing these two divisions would actually deprive the mobile forces of their mobility advantage, increasing not only the time needed for flanking maneuvers but also the likelihood of their operational intentions being exposed and the main force suffering greater casualties. Therefore, Irwin directly concentrated the vehicles of the other three infantry divisions into these two divisions. This way, the two divisions could catch up with the mobile forces in the north without slowing them down. There was no need for the main force in the south to be equipped with vehicles. Could a vehicle on the ground outrun an airplane in the sky? Once discovered by Allied scouts, they would be doomed. Even with vehicles, they would only be providing easy targets for Allied aircraft; it was better to utilize them effectively in the mobile forces.
The decision to redeploy vehicles quickly sparked widespread discussion among these infantry divisions, with rumors even circulating that the 104th and 105th Divisions, sensing trouble, were trying to use them as bait against the Amelia and escape themselves. Although these baseless and unfounded rumors were quickly put to rest—the soldiers who fabricated them were hanged at the division headquarters—they still had a very negative impact, further demoralizing the already low morale of the troops.
However, what Erwin did not expect was that although the Amelian scouts failed to infiltrate around his main force, only three days later, the Amelian volunteers discovered that the Belken were carrying out some kind of "small operation".
"It seems we've destroyed more Belken vehicles than we did recently?" Yelena noticed this as she compiled and tallied the casualty reports from the air force and artillery. She then began reviewing reconnaissance intelligence from the reconnaissance company and Algerian allies, focusing particularly on the descriptions of vehicles within the ranks.
"The truck beds are mostly empty?" She quickly noticed something amiss in the reconnaissance company's report. Logically, mobilizing trucks means transporting people or goods to a specific location. Running around empty—do the Belken people have too much fuel? The Belken will surely launch a surprise attack if they see this.
Whether in the West or the East, after fuel oil proved its industrial value, this black liquid originating from underground has become a precious strategic resource. No country or organization would complain about having too much fuel oil. The unusual mobilization of the Belken people must have some purpose behind it.
Yelena immediately took out a map and marked the locations where the abnormal trucks had been detected, while also indicating the direction of the convoy with red arrows. As more and more red arrows appeared on the map, the movement path of these abnormal trucks began to become clear: a large number of empty trucks from various grassroots units in Belken were gathering in the southeast.
What are they trying to do by gathering so many trucks there?
After learning of the Belken's movements from Yelena, Lu Wu adjusted the reconnaissance company's mission to clarify the situation. He ordered Valerio to personally lead a small detachment to conduct reconnaissance deep into the southeastern rear of the Belken army. To prevent the Belken from knowing that he had detected their movements, Lu Wu instructed the 588th Air Regiment to selectively let most of the exposed truck convoys pass, only attacking smaller convoys in relatively obvious locations.
Valerio's operational plan was simple: ambush a small truck convoy, extract their rendezvous point, don Belken uniforms, and drive the transport trucks into their rendezvous point to thoroughly understand the Belken's objectives. The reconnaissance company was instructed to be particularly vigilant for convoys of 2-6 trucks with minimal escort and no cargo.
Valyria waited a day before the reconnaissance company finally found a convoy of four trucks that met their requirements.
After obtaining the convoy's location, speed, and direction, Valyria determined that the convoy would pass through a section of road suitable for an ambush in forty minutes. Although there were no reconnaissance detachments near this ambush section, fortunately, there were some reconnaissance soldiers on rotation at the base. He temporarily gathered a squad of reconnaissance soldiers, boarded a Mi-4 helicopter, and quickly rushed to the designated ambush section, attempting to complete the ambush before the convoy.
In order to avoid alerting the Belken people with the sound of the helicopter's rotor blades, Vaqirelia deliberately had the helicopters avoid the convoy's route, taking a detour before arriving at the designated ambush location.
This is a mountain road. The section that Valyria chose narrows abruptly on the side of the cliff, turning the road from one that could accommodate five or six vehicles into a narrow path that can only accommodate two vehicles. Not only is the terrain on the side closer to the mountain steep, but there are also trees, making it impossible for vehicles to pass through here.
"Quick! Blow these two trees up and put them on the road!" Valyria picked out a few small trees near the road, with a diameter of nearly one meter and small branches, and waved to the scouts carrying explosives, giving them the order.
With a loud explosion, the two unfortunate trees were snapped at the roots and crashed towards the road. Their branches and leaves provided good support, preventing them from sliding directly onto the road, so the reconnaissance soldiers had to exert all their strength to lift the trees onto the road.
"Let's go upstairs."
The roadblocks had barely been set up, and the scouts hadn't even had a few minutes to rest, when Valyria issued new orders. It had already taken them half an hour to get here and set up the roadblocks, meaning that Belken's convoy would be passing through in ten minutes.
“We won’t open fire right away. We’ll wait until they think the road is safe and start clearing the roadblocks before we attack.” Valyria knelt on one knee, collecting fallen leaves to make camouflage while outlining their tactics. Just as they finished camouflaging themselves, Valyria and his men faintly heard the noise of an engine running below.
"Here we are! Take your positions, stay concealed, and no one is to fire without orders!" Valyria dropped to the ground, instantly becoming one with it, with only his eyes showing.
……
First update
Volume 1: Chapter 71 (Sixty-Eight) - Hidden Dragon Spy Shadow (1)
Valerio could clearly hear a commotion below; clearly, the Belken had discovered two trees blocking their path.
The two trees had fallen in such a convenient location, and the obvious signs of an explosion at their base immediately convinced the Belken people that someone was plotting against them. However, the Belken were unsure whether it was the Elgia or the Amelia who were behind it.
However, based on their experience fighting the Amelia, if the Amelia discovered them, they would more likely be met with artillery fire from planes or artillery, not something as unsportsmanlike as roadblocks. Only the Elgiians would attempt to hinder their advance using such a demoralizing method. The Belken deduced a completely incorrect answer, but this erroneous conclusion somewhat relaxed the frightened Belken soldiers. Under the officers' orders, these soldiers began searching the steep slope.
However, this search was clearly just to comply with the officers' orders; they only went up less than twenty meters before stopping. "It's so steep that even we can't climb up, let alone the Elgins."
Seeing the four soldiers blatantly lying, the officer didn't insist on his second order, but instead sent them to find a way to move the trees blocking the road. Only after the reporting soldier left did the officer take out a small notebook and begin scribbling in it.
Hearing the shouts starting below, Valerio knew it was time for them to begin their operation.
The Belken soldiers not only failed to search the woods on the steep slope, but also left no soldiers on guard, brazenly beginning their obstacle removal work. This allowed Valerio and his men to approach with great ease—they didn't even notice the 15 figures emerging from the grove of trees right beside them.
The scouts carefully controlled their movements, keeping the noise they made to a minimum, and crept up behind the four trucks. Valerio gave a signal, and the 15 scouts split into two groups, continuing to advance along both sides of the convoy. Few Belken men remained in the trucks, and before they could make a sound, the scouts used daggers to deprive them of the right to warn anyone.
Soon, the scouts stealthily crept up behind the Belken soldiers who were working, began to assign targets, and then launched an attack.
As the gunfire erupted, the Belken soldiers were thrown into chaos. They instinctively reached for their guns to retaliate, only to realize that their rifles had been set aside for ease of operation. The officer, however, still carried a pistol. But it was this pistol that made him the primary target of the scouts. He was immediately knocked unconscious by the nearest scout, his hands were bound with nylon cable ties, and the pistol at his waist was thrown away.
Upon seeing that the clothes worn by these people were not the classic green uniforms of the Kingdom of Elgia, the quick-thinking soldiers realized that these people were probably the elusive Amelia people. Considering the various rumors about Amelia people circulating in the army, some soldiers wisely raised their hands in salute to these scouts to show that they had no hostility.
After the first person surrendered, the second and third followed in quick succession. Except for the officers who were immediately subdued, everyone else chose to lay down their weapons and surrender.
The rest was much easier: control the movement, seize weapons, and cross-examine. The prisoners were surprisingly cooperative, and the intelligence they provided seemed reliable after multiple verifications. Regardless of whether this cooperation was part of the Belken's prior planning, Valerio decided to go to the assembly point the prisoners had mentioned.
After stripping the dozen or so prisoners of war of their outer garments and boots, Valerio kindly called two Mi-4 helicopters to retrieve them, preventing these soldiers, left only in their underwear, from becoming prey for wild animals. Of the 15 reconnaissance soldiers, only 6 were able to continue the mission due to clothing compatibility issues. The rest were tasked with evacuating the prisoners, boarding the Mi-4 helicopters. The helicopters, after helping Valerio remove two trees from the road, returned directly to base.
After adjusting their filthy Belken uniforms, the six scouts boarded three trucks, started driving again, and continued southeast along the route provided by the Belken prisoners.
"Remember, we are the supply company of the 5th Battalion, 73rd Regiment, 102nd Infantry Division. We were ordered to be transferred to the 103rd Division. On the way, we were hit by artillery fire and suffered heavy losses. Only three of our vehicles escaped." Valerio, sitting in the passenger seat of the middle truck, didn't forget to remind the scouts of the pre-set plot.
Speechless all the way.
Soon, the convoy arrived at the outskirts of the "assembly point" mentioned by the prisoners of war. The scouts became tense, carefully and cautiously observing their surroundings.
Perhaps because they had never experienced being infiltrated in disguise, the Belken Army was not very good at preventing infiltration. The sentries didn't even check the various documents on the scouts. They just saw a driver in a Belken uniform driving a Belken vehicle, and with a wave of their hand, the team passed the first checkpoint without any trouble.
As the convoy entered a clearing in the woods, the assembly point began to reveal itself to the scouts. Hundreds of trucks were parked densely together, with camouflage nets covered with weeds and branches stretched out above them. Large numbers of infantrymen were also assembled under the camouflage nets, forming columns, and boarding the truck beds at the officers' orders. One by one, trucks loaded with soldiers emerged from under the camouflage nets and headed north.
The Belken are secretly assembling their troops, attempting a surprise attack by taking a roundabout route.
Valerio made this judgment. After reporting the results of the reconnaissance mission and the general situation of the assembly point to command, Valerio also received orders to return. However, Valerio did not immediately carry out this order. He had a feeling that the Belkens were doing more than just assembling troops for a flanking maneuver. What surfaced was often only a small part of the iceberg. In order to uncover the Belkens' intentions, Valerio decided to stay at the assembly point to gather intelligence.
……
Second update
Volume 1: Chapter 72 (Sixty-Nine Chapters) (2)
To truly understand what these Belken 7 are up to, the best method would be to capture and interrogate their high-ranking commander. The question is, are there any high-ranking officers at this assembly point who possess this level of intelligence?
Valerio believes it is.
With such a large convoy gathered here, drawn from various military units, there must be several people on-site to coordinate and manage it, otherwise everything would fall into chaos.
However, the problem lies in finding the commander here.
As he pondered this question, a sentry with an "MP" armband on his right upper arm and a folder tucked under his arm stopped the convoy.
"Which unit are you from?" The sentry walked up to the driver of the Valerio vehicle, knocked on the window, and asked after the window was rolled down.
"The 5th Battalion of the 73rd Regiment."
The scout driving the car handed over an identification card. Except for the fake photo, everything else on the soldier's ID was genuine, according to the nylon guy.
The sentry carefully compared the person and the photo on the ID card repeatedly, and only returned the ID card after confirming that there were no differences. He then casually asked, "Doesn't your company have six vehicles? How come you're only halfway there?"
The scout glanced at the sentry, a complex mix of grief and relief appearing on his face: "Sir, when we set off, we only had four vehicles left. They were bombed by the Amelia's artillery on the way. Of the remaining vehicle, only a few of us survived."
"Alright, let's go." The sentry wrote something on the spread-out documents, closed the folder, and waved for them to pass. "Just drive along this road all the way to the end; the 104th Division's assembly point is there."
"Private?" Valerio suddenly had an idea. Could the command of the 104th Division also be at this assembly point?
"Listen up, everyone. Once the bus stops, find an excuse to get off and walk around the area. Make a note of any officers of the rank of colonel or above, or any places like command posts or antennas, and report back to me. Understand?"
"Don't forget the general distribution of the enemy; we'll eventually have to figure out how to get out of here," Valerio added over the radio.
He wasn't worried about their identities being discovered by the 73rd Regiment. The reason was simple: this wasn't the first time the 5th Battalion of the 73rd Regiment had had its vehicles requisitioned. Two days prior, most of the 5th Battalion's vehicles had been transferred to the 103rd Division, leaving only a few to transport valuable supplies like radios. Unexpectedly, within two days, those remaining four vehicles were transferred to the 104th Division. This significantly reduced the probability of Valerio and his group encountering someone who recognized the original owner of their vehicle.