I work as a mercenary in northern Myanmar.

Chapter 559: Meaningless Death
While Bai Gou was leading his team in a fierce battle with the enemy who had invaded Raqqa, Chen Chen was also advancing towards Tal Abyad desperately.

Of course, arriving early does not mean that he can start fighting in advance, nor does it mean that he can rely on this 12-man team alone to hold back the enemy's subsequent reinforcements, which will inevitably include a large number of infantry, armored vehicles, and even tanks and helicopters.

However, even if he could arrive a minute faster, he could gain more intelligence for Suhail and the Syrian government forces who arrived later.

Only with sufficient intelligence and the government forces that are at a complete disadvantage in equipment and numbers can they stop NATO's advance.

40分钟后，12人小队的3辆车狂飙过60公里的距离，在夜晚10点到达了泰勒艾卜耶德附近。

When Chen Chen climbed to a relatively high point as planned and raised the telescope to look at Tal Abyad in the distance, or the Turkish city of Akcakale, he instantly realized the seriousness of the problem.

The good news is that the enemy hasn't set out yet.

The bad news is that the reason they didn't set out was not because they didn't want to go, but simply because the troops mobilized for this operation were a bit slow!

That’s right, the support troops did not come from NATO, but from Türkiye!

On the border, the Turkish Army has completed its assembly. The tank cluster that Chen Chen could see alone was at least at the level of a standard armored battalion!

超过30辆各型号坦克，其中大部分是主力坦克豹1A3，中间混杂着几辆豹1A1，和一两台已经接近淘汰的M60。

Such a configuration undoubtedly proves the opponent's determination to fight.

You know, the entire Turkish Army claims to have 4000 tanks, but most of them are old products. There are only more than 1 Leopard 3A15s, but here alone, Chen Chen can count at least !
In addition to tanks, Chen Chen also saw various types of armored vehicles and a large number of towed artillery.

This is the configuration of a mechanized brigade. Relying on this team, Turkey may be too arrogant to say that it will take over the entire northeastern Syria, but there will be absolutely no problem in taking Raqqa!

The situation has far exceeded Chen Chen's prediction. After he learned that Raqqa was attacked, he judged that the other side would definitely have follow-up reinforcements, but the equipment composition of the reinforcements should be mainly infantry and light armored units.

In terms of personnel composition, it should be mainly composed of the Free Army and the Extraterritorial Legion, with a small number of professional mercenaries and special forces at most, and no new "fifth party" should be introduced!
However, the emergence of the Turkish armored battalion has overturned this judgment.

The opponent's strategic intentions have become more unclear.

What do they want to do?
If they were only fighting for control of Raqqa and exerting pressure on the Syrian government forces from the side battlefield, there would be no need for them to do it in such a "massive" way.

Wouldn't it be more profitable to send a few special operations teams, fighter jets, and helicopters to carry out continuous bombing and harassment? Why was it necessary to do it myself?
And if the goal is to fight a decisive battle of annihilation, wouldn’t it be better to place the main battlefield in Aleppo?
There are more government troops gathered there, and the effect will be better after one round of attack.

Chen Chen frowned, he felt like his brain was about to explode with all this complicated and confusing information.

Before he could sort it out carefully, Li Bang at the side asked:
"Should we harass them first? They are about to leave and Suhail hasn't arrived yet."

At this time, there was still nearly an hour and a half before Suhail's scheduled arrival time, but the enemy's troops had obviously completed their preparations, and even the helicopter's propellers had begun to rotate.

It seemed that the other party would set off in the next second.
-
However, after seeing this scene, Chen Chen relaxed instead.

Because he knew there was still time.

So he opened his mouth and replied:

"Need not."

“They’re not that fast.”

"Not so fast? Aren't they all ready?"

Hearing Li Bang's words, Chen Chen shook his head slightly and replied:
"How can it be that simple? This is a real large-scale mobilization. It is completely different from the battles we fought in Myitkyina and Tachileik in Pubei."

"At that time, our supply lines were basically connected, and the number of heavy equipment and heavy weapons was not large."

"The biggest challenge is how to transport people there by car and how to set up the rocket positions."

"But they are different. They have heavy armored battalions and helicopter units, plus a light weapons system that is completely different from the Syrian side. Supply is a major problem."

"They need to go deep into Syria, which means they have to bring everything with them at once."

"Fuel, shells, spare parts, food, water, camping supplies, bedding, even toilet paper, razors, toothpaste. Their munitions department will be under tremendous pressure, so they will definitely delay the departure as much as possible."

"When can we leave? You can tell by looking at the helicopter."

"In cross-border operations under this kind of environment, the Army Aviation will usually cooperate with the reconnaissance troops to set out first and advance to a distance where artillery support can be achieved."

"The helicopter's propellers are just starting to turn. It will take at least another hour for them to warm up and for the reconnaissance team to set off."

"By then, Suhail will be almost there."

"We don't need to worry about them. We should first find a way to track the enemy's reconnaissance troops. After destroying the reconnaissance troops, we can ambush them according to the predetermined plan!"

"understand!"

Li Bang nodded immediately and silently kept Chen Chen's words in mind.

It must be said that this was indeed the first time he had seen such a large-scale military mobilization, so everything was unfamiliar to him.

Chen Chen's explanation gave him a new understanding of real modern large-scale troop operations.

Maybe one day, I will be able to command such an army?
Perhaps that day is very near.
Everyone was still lying on the sand dunes observing the situation on the border. The defenders of the Syrian city of Tal Abyad seemed to be blind and turned a blind eye to the movement of the Turkish army.

Of course, there is another possibility.

That is, the city had already "betrayed" or been controlled by the Tufang.

Thinking of this, Li Bang asked again:
"Why are they fighting like this? Since they organized such a large-scale assembly, why don't they just push forward all at once, instead of taking the risk with a small vanguard force?"

"I do not know."

Chen Chen answered frankly, and then said:
"But I'm going to ask someone else."

"Can you still contact Rainbow?"

"could not be reached."

On the radio, Pingchuan replied calmly:
"The enemy's electronic warfare aircraft has completely controlled this area. Tabka Base has lost contact with Rainbow. We don't have a mobile terminal here, so we can't contact the drone."

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Chen Chen frowned, then took out the satellite phone hanging on his waist, started searching for stars directly, and dialed Camel's number.

This was the only person he could think of who might be able to answer his questions.

If we can get more information from him, perhaps this battle will become easier to fight.

The call was quickly connected. Before the camel on the other end could speak, Chen Chen spoke the code first, and then said in a hurried tone:
"The situation is urgent. The Turkish Army is gathering on a large scale at the Akçakale border."

"Raqqa has been attacked by the vanguard and our situation is very dangerous."

"I need to know what is going on. Their troop composition, combat intentions, political background, I need to know everything!"

As soon as the voice fell, the camel on the other end of the phone almost did not pause at all and immediately replied:

"We are investigating."

"The Turkish military has never revealed a clear intention to cross the border before. The armored battalion currently being mobilized has been deployed on the border for two months."

"They have never shown any aggressiveness, and Syria and Russia did not take it seriously after protesting once." "And according to reliable intelligence, this force was indeed a defensive force used to deal with possible border conflicts."

"As for why the other side suddenly launched an offensive move, there is no reliable intelligence at the moment."

“There are two theories.”

"First, the informant said that a US Department of Defense official had a secret call with the Turkish president, and perhaps the two sides reached some kind of agreement."

"Second, France has been actively in contact with Turkey recently. The deployment of the French Extraterritorial Army to Syria was previously achieved through Turkey."

"What is certain is that the other side's actions must be related to NATO, but what exactly they are going to do remains to be seen."

At this point, Luotuo took a breath and continued to answer Chen Chen's question:
"Regarding the composition of the Turkish operation, it can be confirmed that the participating forces include two armored battalions of the 172nd Sinop Armored Brigade, as well as the 8st Squadron of the 181th Wing of the nd Army Aviation Regiment and the nd Tactical Aviation Command."

"Their fighter jets took off from Diyarbakir and should have entered Syrian territory by now."

"The first air strikes on Raqqa came from 181 Squadron, and theoretically they had already withdrawn."

"What about America? I care about America!"

Chen Chen interrupted Luotuo and continued:

"The biggest problem now is that the large area where the Tabka Air Force Base is located has been subjected to strong electromagnetic interference, and the enemy's electronic warfare aircraft are still overhead!"

"I need to know where these planes are coming from, and I need to know when they're going to fly away!"

"Red Sea, USS Eisenhower."

Camel's answer was extremely brief, but it was this brief answer that made Chen Chen feel relieved.

The distance from the Red Sea to Syria is nearly 1200 kilometers.

Based on the EA-18G's range, its hovering interference time can only last for 40 minutes at most.

Obviously, in such a complex battlefield environment, it is unlikely that they will use aerial refueling aircraft.

Most likely, they will adopt a strategy of rotating attacks by several EA-18Gs.

Eisenhower usually only carries 5 Growlers. Taking into account factors such as fuel supply, maintenance, pilot rotation, etc., the EA-18's continuous combat rounds usually do not exceed 3 rounds, and those are tactics that only appear in extremely large-scale combat operations.

Most likely, they will only fly once.

This means that within 5 hours at most, their air superiority will be broken.

Countdown 4 hours.

The timings match perfectly.

Two hours later, the other party set out from the border.

In an hour and a half, they would reach Raqqa.

Then, under the cover of a large amount of heavy equipment, it took half an hour to occupy the main points in the city.

That’s their strategy.

Everything is explained. The reason why a team of a hundred people was sent to attack first was not really to capture Raqqa, but to open up a passage for the large force behind and establish a forward position!
Because they must ensure that there are no unexpected events in the large-scale attack, and must ensure that the mobilization is completed before the Syrian government forces react!

Chen Chen's scalp felt numb. He knew that the Turks would not be the ones who could use such a tactic that required a very high time window.

The people in charge of the command must be the Americans. Only they know the characteristics of their equipment and tactics so well!
This is definitely not good news.

Because the problems faced by the white dog have become more serious.

There can't be just one round of airstrikes.

The first round of air strikes destroyed the Tabuka base and slowed down the enemy's counterattack.

Then in the second round, they will definitely go to Laka to provide support to the team with a small number of people and equipment that is not "too strong"!

Chen Chen had a bad feeling in his heart, but he couldn't care less about being pessimistic. He could only continue to ask:
"What is the Syrian government's response? We need to stop the Turkish offensive!"

"If they don't react, I'll just have my men withdraw!"

"We can't fight this kind of battle on our own. They must intervene as soon as possible!"

“It’s already being mobilized.”

Camel's tone remained calm, which was probably a unique trait brought about by his years of intelligence work.

"In an hour, the first batch of support from the Syrian government forces will arrive, a border defense battalion with light weapons."

".Come and deliver it?"

“It’s a good thing to be able to send it.”

After Luotuo finished speaking, Chen Chen had nothing more to say.

So he could only leave a sentence "Let them do it as soon as possible" and hung up the phone.

At this point, he was ready to order an evacuation.

If support from the Syrian Bojina Border Guard Battalion had not arrived after Suhail arrived, he would abandon this operation without hesitation and then abandon the entire Syria.

The prospect of winning is certainly tempting, but the prerequisite is that you have to stay alive!

Mercenaries are not afraid of death, but they cannot die meaninglessly.

Raising the telescope again, Chen Chen looked at the border in the distance once again.

There, in the city of Tal Abyad, small-scale clashes have begun to occur, with some determined resistance fighters appearing to be making a last-ditch effort.

Unfortunately, their struggle is not even as good as a mantis trying to stop a chariot in the face of the military power of the great powers.

The armored forces crossed the border and began final preparations before combat.

Just as the enemy's reconnaissance troops began to move out and Chen Chen was preparing to lead the team to track them, the team's radio once again received information from Raqqa.

"I'm Yang Shu. I'll take over the command now."

"We are holding on and can hold out for another two hours."

"The white dog is dead."

“We suffered a decapitation.”

"It's DEVGRU."

(End of this chapter)