hotmtlnovel Chapter 269 Assault, Preparing for the Final Offensive
Chapter 269 Assault, Preparing for the Final Offensive
Upon receiving the order, the logistics troops waiting on the perimeter immediately began to move, and the equipment needed by Platinum was loaded into an airdrop crate resembling a glider bomb.
This airdrop container is equipped with two foldable straight wings on top and a retractable propeller at the rear. Driven by an internal power source, it can maintain a flight speed of 300 kilometers per hour for an extended period of time, and can also reduce its flight speed by reversing before landing.
The upper part of the airdrop container is equipped with a composite navigation module that uses an inertial/satellite navigation + terminal laser/TV guidance system.
The entire enclosure is made of carbon fiber composite material, which is lightweight enough while also having extremely strong impact and cut resistance, and can be recycled and reused multiple times.
Soon, the first batch of 4 boxes, totaling 800 kilograms, was packed. The 4 packed airdrop boxes were transported to the rear of the launch vehicle via a conveyor belt. The robotic arm at the end of the conveyor belt clamped the airdrop boxes and transferred them to the launch vehicle.
"Buzz—"
A low electromagnetic hum sounded, and four airdrop containers were launched one after another at one-second intervals. After ascending to an altitude of 1 kilometer, the two straight wings on the top of the containers popped open, and the tail rudders were activated, starting to adjust the pitch angle of the containers.
Subsequently, the propeller at the tail of the box unfolds, and the power generated by its rotation can just offset the air resistance generated during the flight of the projectile.
While waiting for the explosives to arrive, Bai Jin instructed Xu Ling to lower the altitude and activate the focusing mode of the sensor array to continue probing the underground tunnels.
Meanwhile, the artillery fire that had been raging all night at the second permanent fortress had just begun to subside. With the coordination of the two artillery groups, both east and west, all silicon-based organisms within a 100-kilometer radius of the fortress were completely eliminated.
Meanwhile, the main forces of the two silicon-based creatures, forced to flee north, were driven into the ambush area by the artillery, and the main force of the 6000 silicon-based creatures was captured at the cost of minor damage to a few super-heavy tanks.
Currently, only two main forces of silicon-based organisms are trapped near the first permanent fortress on the eastern side of the entire battlefield, while the remaining conventional forces are still launching an assault on the Stonehenge base.
However, there are still more than 4 silicon-based organisms active on the eastern side of the battlefield. The two medium-sized combined arms brigades, which are the main combat forces, have already suffered casualties of 53.4% and 49.2%, respectively, barely enough to form a complete combat force.
Lorraine glanced at the battlefield, then at the many exhausted officers on the flagship. This high-intensity war had lasted for 23 hours, and the sheer volume of information had pushed all the officers to their limits.
"Cleveland, how's the data collection going?"
"Learning progress is 65.4%, which means we can take over unmanned forces, but we cannot achieve a low casualty ratio."
"That's enough."
Lorraine glanced at the report from the logistics unit. Currently, only a small number of garrison troops remained around the cities that had been cleared, while the rest of the unmanned forces were being transported to the forward bases without stopping.
Without further hesitation, Lorraine entered the command channel reserved for the three senior officers.
"Gentlemen, the general offensive is about to begin. Support troops have arrived at the forward base. You will have four hours of rest. During this time, Cleveland and I will take full command of the troops."
"clear."
Immediately afterwards, officers Liu Huajian and Zhou Wei got up from their seats, took off their jackets, put on blindfolds, lay down on the low bed next to them, and quickly fell asleep.
The officers in the combat information center did the same, lying down on the low beds near their battle stations and quickly falling asleep.
The old knight Cromwell did the same, falling asleep in the lounge next to the command room.
At this point, only Lorraine, Cleveland, Platinum, and a command-type robot named Major remained on the entire communication channel.
"The two large electromagnetic catapults have been assembled, pre-powered, and the system has completed its self-test and is ready for use."
「第1批完成生产的12辆常规型超重坦已经抵达要塞，第2批8辆猎手型超重型坦克与16辆常规型超重坦克预计17分钟后抵达战场。」
"Two mixed divisions composed of unmanned combat units of various types have been formed. The first new medium-sized combined arms brigade has arrived at the forward base. The second medium-sized combined arms brigade is expected to complete its reorganization at the forward base in 11 minutes. The third medium-sized combined arms brigade is expected to arrive at the forward base in 3 hours."
"The First and Second Air Assault Brigades have arrived at the forward air base and are undergoing maintenance. They are expected to be back on combat readiness in 23 minutes."
"The four armed helicopter battalions under the First and Second Air Regiments are transferring and are expected to arrive at the forward base in 1 hour and 45 minutes. The maintenance and preparation time is expected to be 34 minutes."
"In addition, the forward air base is expected to be completed in one hour and 43 minutes, and two heavy fighter squadrons and two drone squadrons will soon arrive, totaling 56 aircraft of various types."
"The logistics base has abundant supplies, and there are also 30 Scorpion I drones and 15 Scorpion II drones responsible for transporting supplies inside and outside the battlefield."
Seeing the troops arriving from the rear, Lorraine decisively deployed a mixed division and a medium combined arms brigade to the battlefield.
"Notify the 7th Infantry Division and the 2nd Medium Combined Arms Brigade to enter the battlefield. 12 conventional super-heavy tanks will depart from Fortress No. 1 and rendezvous with them to the southeast of the fortress."
"The heavy combined arms brigade withdrawn from the eastern battlefield will take over the super-heavy tank units in Fortress No. 1 and continue to carry out the encirclement and suppression operations."
"Order: The logistics unit shall load stand-off attack weapons, activate television guidance, and autonomously attack enemy targets to provide fire support for the remaining troops."
"The first assault team will detour through the southern half of the battlefield and proceed to a location 223°72.3 km southwest of the Stonehenge base to await orders."
"The 2nd Assault Team will detour through the northern half of the battlefield and intercept enemy forces at a location 324°62.3 km southwest of Stonehenge base."
While sending out Lorraine's orders, Cleveland also made contact with the two remnants of combined arms brigades that were merging together.
After the two remnants of the unit were merged, the unit was renumbered as the 4th Medium Combined Arms Brigade, and Cleveland then personally took control of the entire unit.
After regrouping, the 4th Combined Arms Brigade took a brief rest on the spot and used the supplies that had just been airdropped to repair the armored vehicles.
Faced with the surging enemy forces ahead, Cleveland selected five of its best-performing infantry fighting vehicles and two wheeled assault guns, fitted them with additional armor plates, and assigned them as the vanguard to withstand the first wave of enemy fire and break through the enemy's defenses.
All infantry units dismounted and followed, while heavy-armored robots carried grenade launchers and machine guns from airdropped weapon crates, working alongside fire support robots to act as an interceptor network and supplementary firepower for the convoy.
After all the robots secured themselves to the outside of the armored vehicle, the 4th Medium Combined Arms Brigade began its assault towards the southwest. (This is where dreams begin, and where dreams come true.)
The launch vehicles that had completed their airdrop mission turned around and all pointed to the northwest.
Meanwhile, 60 Leishi glide bombs appeared on the transport belt behind the launch vehicle.
These 500-kilogram Lei Shi glide bombs were provided by the Hongfeng Island base and modified in a smart factory. The original satellite guidance function was removed, and radio and inertial guidance equipment was installed. A laser/television composite terminal guidance system was also installed in the nose.
After quickly completing 15 salvos, the four launch vehicles retracted their supports and awaited the next round of instructions.
Before the glide bombs arrived, the 4th Combined Arms Brigade was the first to make contact with the enemy's main force.
Four CH light reconnaissance aircraft had just crossed the low mountain when one of them crashed. The electro-optical turrets of the remaining three reconnaissance aircraft quickly spun, and they successfully discovered a 4-level silicon-based biological cluster in the shadow of the mountain.
The entire convoy then quickly deployed, with the three accompanying 120mm mortars moving to the left side of the convoy.
The moment the brakes were applied, the gun barrel rose, and one 120mm high-explosive shell after another was fired from the barrel.
As the shells flew over the low hill, the only remaining CH light reconnaissance aircraft in the sky was able to survive only because the enemy's air defense fire was diverted.
Guided by an aerial reconnaissance aircraft, the four-wheel salvo from three mortars quickly cleared the medium-sized silicon-based organisms from the enemy's vanguard, clearing the way for the advance of the 4th Combined Arms Brigade.
As the vanguard was about to cross the low hill, the three 120mm mortars behind switched their ammunition to smoke grenades and fired two salvos at the enemy's main force.
These smoke bombs are also specially designed to effectively interfere with the transmission of electromagnetic waves and have a certain degree of adhesion.
After completing two salvos, the three mortars quickly converted to marching mode and left the area under the escort of four infantry fighting vehicles.
After the vanguard crossed the low hill, the infantry accompanying the vehicles quickly disengaged from the sides of the vehicles and rushed toward the advantageous terrain on the left and right sides. Among them, the heavy robots were also dragging a four-wheeled weapon box behind them.
Once the accompanying robots had secured advantageous terrain, the troops resumed their advance in an orderly fashion.
The 105mm assault guns, guided by reconnaissance aircraft, also struck enemy targets behind the mission lines.
Armor-piercing discarding sabot rounds, armor-piercing high-explosive rounds, and high-explosive rounds were fired in turn, accurately targeting enemy units that posed a significant threat to the convoy.
As the mortars returned to the rear of the convoy, the infantry units providing cover on both sides of the convoy began their advance under the cover of smoke.
As the smoke cleared, the robots that had advanced to the vicinity had used their entrenching tools to dig out makeshift positions, with only a few faint "gun barrels" visible to the enemy.
Under the cover of smoke, the fully deployed armored forces began a head-on attack on the exposed silicon-based creatures.
Cleveland only launched the attack after confirming that the enemy's attention was entirely focused on the armored forces. The accompanying robots hidden on both sides of the mountain were then deployed.
After adjusting the machine gun parameters using its own computer, the fire support robot pulled the trigger.
"Thump thump thump~"
Dense armor-piercing grenades flew out from the left and right sides of the armored position, tracing graceful arcs before exploding in the center of the enemy's position.
Taking advantage of the slight chaos caused by the grenade explosion, the heavy robot pulled a rocket launcher from the weapon box next to it, then quickly stood up and fired 120mm armor-piercing rockets at the enemy.
When the vanguard's external armor was almost completely destroyed, the 60 glide bombs finally crossed a distance of nearly 100 kilometers and arrived at the target airspace.
When the IFF signal of these 60 glide bombs appeared over the 4th Combined Arms Brigade, the vehicle-mounted drones in the convoy quickly took off, activated the laser designation equipment mounted under the fuselage, and began to guide the glide bombs to their strike positions.
Upon receiving the pulse laser signal, the gliding guided bombs began to change direction. In order to maximize the lethality of this air strike, some fire support robots replaced the ammunition belts of their grenade machine guns with airburst rounds and also set up their own heavy machine guns to suppress the enemy forces with firepower.
The intense firepower was very effective; only 3 of the 60 Leishi glide bombs were intercepted, while the remaining 57 hit high-value targets in the enemy camp.
Facing the final hurdle before leaving the battlefield, Cleveland no longer conserved ammunition, controlling the heavy armored robot to unleash a barrage of 120mm armor-piercing rockets.
Using drones in the air, these robots can lock onto enemy units in advance and launch an attack the moment their bodies are exposed from cover.
This means that the attacked silicon-based creatures often cannot detect the source of the attack. When they use firepower to force the infantry on the left and right flanks to expose themselves, the armored vehicle cluster in front will simultaneously stop briefly and fire, accurately delivering shells into the vital points of the silicon-based creatures.
After two rounds, the robots on both sides did not suffer much damage, but the silicon-based organisms lost a lot of units.
At this moment, the first assault team, which had already reached its designated position, had completed its deployment. The two super-heavy tanks and six wheeled assault guns advanced together, completing a pincer attack with the fourth combined arms brigade.
After a round of air strikes, all the silicon-based creatures in the valley were killed. The 4th Medium Combined Arms Brigade left the valley after losing 14 robots and 8 infantry fighting vehicles, and joined the 1st Assault Team, which was fully loaded with supplies.
Meanwhile, the 7th Infantry Division and the 2nd Combined Arms Brigade, launched from the front lines, successfully passed between the main forces of the two silicon-based creatures under artillery cover and launched an attack on the silicon-based creature positions in a pass.
In the center of this position was a considerable quantity of artillery shells that had just arrived, as well as a large amount of ore to be used as rations.
Twelve super-heavy tanks took the lead, directly blasting through the outer steel defenses of the position and charging into the enemy's territory.
The entire position was instantly thrown into chaos. Before the two small war behemoths guarding the position could even exert their strength, they were "washed on the back" by the suddenly appearing Wasp attack helicopter battalion. A large number of 210mm armor-piercing rockets successfully affected their weapon systems.
Then, 12 super-heavy tanks fired two salvos, killing the two war behemoths.
The remaining silicon-based organisms within the position were handed over to the 7th Infantry Division and the 2nd Combined Arms Brigade. Twelve super-heavy tanks were divided into two waves, blocking the two passes in the east and west directions respectively.
These unmanned combat units, having completed basic modifications, advanced alongside robots. Under the cover of armored vehicles, they successfully made their way to the scene and, using the corpses of the two war behemoths, began standard operational procedures.