I work as a mercenary in northern Myanmar.

Chapter 589 The entire northwest of Syria is in chaos

After less than half an hour of fighting, Azaz, which the Syrian government forces had recaptured at a heavy price, fell into a precarious situation again.

Turkish armored forces were at the gates of the city, shells were falling like raindrops, the flames of burning white phosphorus bombs turned the sky of Azaz red, and the toxic gases in the air were so thick that it was hard to breathe.

At the same time, round after round of electromagnetic suppression offensives are still underway.

That’s right, it’s not electronic confrontation, but purely one-sided electromagnetic suppression.

In the temporary command center, Chen Chen had almost lost contact with all front-line troops. The only one he could rely on was the Dongfeng Corps reconnaissance company, which used the American-made AN/PRC-148D radio previously seized from DEVGRU.

The ultra-wide frequency range and sensitive intelligent frequency hopping anti-interference mode of this radio allow users to be largely immune to electromagnetic interference, which is almost the only hope for the defense forces of Azaz City.

Battlefield command regressed to the era of messengers, and Chen Chen had to order the reconnaissance company to disperse into various combat teams and command through indirect messaging.

This method of command is inefficient and slow to respond, but it is the only choice Chen Chen can make.

At this time, all the armed forces of the Syrian side had retreated into the city. Relying on the complex ground buildings in the city, more than 100 vehicles of various types finally managed to piece together a front line that could barely block the advance of the enemy infantry.

Those light infantry were suppressed by dense firepower behind bunkers and vehicles, and relied on a series of light weapons in their hands, including RPGs, man-portable missiles, mortars, rifle grenades, squad machine guns, etc. to launch attacks on the city. In theory, the effect of these attacks should be minimal, but in fact, the casualties they caused were even greater than the long-range support firepower of the Turkish side!
Many times, some people cite the example of the Vietnam War where hundreds of thousands of bullets were needed to kill one enemy to prove the low killing efficiency of infantry in modern warfare. These people obviously ignore the most important factor in this algorithm, that is, the "loss" of the US military.

Or to put it bluntly, it is corruption.

On a real battlefield, they would not be as incompetent as the Pentagon's report to Congress said.

The bullets and shells they fired, even if they did not hit the target, definitely had their meaning and played their due role.

For a time, the situation in Azaz became even more critical.

Chen Chen even had to send out the reserve team in advance to fill the firepower points in order to ensure uninterrupted suppression.

The consequence of doing so was that the loss of manpower was further accelerated under the power of white phosphorus bombs, and the critical point of overall collapse arrived more than a minute earlier.

Looking at the red positions everywhere on the map, Chen Chen breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"This routine is so familiar."

"White phosphorus bombs clear the way, heavy artillery and armored forces in the early morning, infantry provide precise fire suppression support at medium and short distances, and quickly sweep after consuming a large number of manpower."

"They have no intention of engaging us in urban street fighting. I even suspect that they have no intention of entering the city at all."

"Their goal is to fight until there is no more gunfire in this city."

"This is not what the Turkish military does, they have never done this before."

"These must be ground troops sent by the United States, and they have also gained battlefield command to a great extent."

"It's not going to be easy. If the current situation continues, we can only hold out for an hour at most."

"How much ammunition do you have left?"

As soon as Chen Chen finished speaking, Li Bang beside him immediately replied:
"The team we brought here still has two bases of ammunition left. The situation of the Azaz defenders is slightly better. After those Azaz, they have already carried out a resupply."

"But the problem is that they are quite limited in what they can do."

"Although this group of defenders can be considered the main force, they are still far inferior to the elite troops we brought with us."

"The fighting spirit is not strong, the tactics are backward, and the technical level is not high."

"At position 1042 on the north side, three T-62 tanks failed to destroy a Leopard 2. In the end, it was the infantry suicide attack that broke the enemy's tracks."

"too difficult."

"The enemy's shelling is about to end, and the heavy armored forces are beginning to enter the city."

"We either have to retreat now, or we have to engage in hand-to-hand combat with them."

"Captain, what do you say?"

“I can’t withdraw.”

Chen Chen shook his head. At this moment, he deeply felt the embarrassment that Bai Gou had felt when he was trapped in the city of Laka.

You can’t fight them, and you can’t leave either.

The only thing we can do is to delay time as much as possible and try to launch a counterattack beyond the normal level within the scope of our own capabilities.

"Direct confrontation is absolutely not an option."

Chen Chen pondered for a moment, and then said:
"We are behind in intelligence, equipment, and manpower. If we try to play it safe at this time, we will end up in trouble."

"We have to push forward."

"Orders: The Second and First Armored Battalions will withdraw from their frontline positions and hand over the defense mission to the Azaz garrison."

"The reserve forces will be added to the armored assault battalion to re-establish the basic combat organization."

"Afterwards, the first and second battalions used the city as cover to withdraw southward from Azaz, maneuvered northward along the western road, and attacked the enemy's flank."

"Don't worry about the casualties. Our goal is to destroy the enemy's attacking spearhead."

"Find a way to destroy a few Leopard 2s first, then break through along the road, fire as we go, and dive into the enemy infantry positions!"

"North?"

Li Bang repeated it with some surprise, and then asked:

"To get through the enemy armored group's defenses?"

"Even if we can really defeat them, how many of these people will be left?"

"Not even one is left."

Chen Chen replied calmly:

"This is the fate of inferior horses. We are bound to lose."

"But before we lose, we have to find a way to hold back the opponent's superior horses and drain their energy."

"Conventional tactics cannot achieve an exchange ratio. We must go all in at once and risk our lives!"

"Notify the Azaz defenders and have them concentrate all their rockets and extend them northward along the road to clear the way for the armored assault battalion!"

"understand!"

Li Bang nodded decisively, and then the order was quickly passed down.

A few minutes later, amid the roar of artillery fire, this even shocking order finally reached the lowest-level executors.

At this time, the 30 multiple rocket launchers available on Chen Chen's "books" had been reduced to 24.

A few of these rocket launchers were the "Hail" BM-21 rocket launchers purchased from Russia in the early years, and the rest were basically 122mm caliber rocket launchers that had no name at the time and were later called "Golan-122" and were directly mounted on pickup trucks.

To be honest, these things are not even as powerful as the 107 fire, especially the Golan-122, which has a range of only 1500 meters, which is purely at the level of big fireworks. But, it is better to have it than not.

All remaining rocket launchers were quickly mobilized and aimed at the road on the north side of Azaz city.

They completely gave up suppressing the enemy infantry group, which suddenly increased the pressure on the front line.

The time window is very short. If the armored assault battalion commanded by Chen Chen cannot break through the blockade of the enemy armored cluster within 5 minutes, then under the mature infantry-tank coordination tactics, the enemy is likely to break through the northern defense line first, open a passage for the armored forces, and completely destroy the balance of this battle.

"Be quick."

Chen Chen spoke again, and at this moment, the detour armored assault battalion had already started the first round of artillery fire.

The relatively slow-moving self-propelled artillery fell behind. Their mission was to provide long-range cover support for the high-speed assault armed pickup trucks and infantry fighting vehicles and to attract the firepower of the enemy's heavy armored groups.

“Boom—Boom—”

After a sudden round of shelling, two Leopard 2 tanks on the Turkish side caught fire and exploded on the spot.

But their achievements are limited to this!

the reason is simple.

Poor information!
With the support of high-altitude drones, all Syrian movements cannot escape the eyes of Turkey.

The heavy armored group retreated in advance, sought cover, and avoided the first wave of direct fire.

Judging from the process, Chen Chen's plan seemed to have failed.

But judging from the results, this is not the case.

The passage was finally opened, and it was the earthworks who took the initiative to make way for it!
More than 30 light vehicles were speeding on the road at an incredibly high speed, and the nearest pickup trucks were only a few meters away from the enemy's Leopard 2 tanks.

The coaxial machine gun followed the movement of the Leopard 2's gun barrel, but in the end, it failed to knock down the pickup truck that was advancing at full speed.

Because at the moment the light vehicle passed by, a large amount of fire had already shot up into the sky from the rocket launcher position.

After a short flight, rockets of various sizes and models extended towards the north like a rainstorm blown by strong winds.

At a distance of 600 meters, both sides of the entire road turned into a sea of ​​fire.

In one minute, all the rockets were used up, and then, after quick reloading, there was another round of interception bombardment.

The enemy's heavy armored, light armored, and infantry groups were briefly cut into three sections, and this was the opportunity Chen Chen wanted.

The self-propelled artillery echelons in the rear did not keep up. They maneuvered laterally in front of the enemy's heavy armored group, and through constant harassment, shelling and self-sacrifice, they bought precious time for the advance of light armored vehicles.

30% of the 50 infantry fighting vehicles and pickup trucks were lost, but the remaining 50% finally rushed into the rear of the enemy's front line.

"boom!"

A loud explosion was heard. It was the explosion of a supply vehicle that was fully loaded with ammunition and supplies but had not yet been unloaded.

With this explosion as the starting point, the light armored assault group launched their short but heroic charge.

Machine guns, rockets, mortars, anti-aircraft guns.
These Syrian soldiers, who have already put their lives at risk, don't need to think about anything else.

All they have to do is pull the trigger and empty the weapon's ammunition.
"20 minutes."

In the command post, Chen Chen whispered:

"We won the extra 20 minutes."

"Now, it's up to Suhail and Isham."

At the same time, in the direction of Tal Abyad, or Akcakale, the third attack group led by Suhail himself was ready.

As planned, this attack group has been reinforced by the 3rd Corps Armored Division, which now has more than 100 tanks of various types and more than 200 armored vehicles of various types.

The operation was not carried out silently. Half an hour ago, the team was stationed in a camp 20 kilometers northwest of Raqqa, preparing for a decisive battle with the Turkish army in Raqqa.

After receiving the message from Azaz, he immediately changed direction, abandoned all baggage and unnecessary equipment, and rushed to Akçakale on the north side of Raqqa at lightning speed.

He did not even bother with the Turkish armored forces stationed in Tell Abyad on the south side of the border, but crossed the Turkish-Syrian border directly from the west, advancing 10 kilometers at a lightning speed before turning east and attacking Akcakale.

The operation went very smoothly. Just as Chen Chen expected, Turkey's defense on the border was actually as weak as that of the Syrian government forces.

The Turkish army, which was on high alert, acted a little slower by 10 minutes, and it was these 10 minutes that allowed Suhail to gain a safe distance of nearly 5 kilometers.

Bombard, capture points, and keep moving forward.

Akçakale was right in front of him, however, Suhail's target was not this key town where heavy troops were deployed.

His target was the highway behind the town.

"Go north on E99."

"Don't worry about the enemy troops chasing us from behind. We are going to die here today."

"Target, Harlan."

"Distance 15 kilometers."

"Capture this city, then continue north and divide our forces to attack Şanlıurfa."

"The first person to enter the city will receive supreme honor."

"Those who block the pursuers from behind will be buried with state honors."

"attack!"

Suhail's firm voice reached the ears of every commander through the radio. All drivers had stepped on the accelerator to the bottom, and the speed of the troops soared directly to the upper limit.

Artillery fire closely pursued this indomitable team, and along the long border, similar battles broke out one after another in a very short period of time.

In the direction of Jarabulus, a light infantry unit crossed the Euphrates River using a large number of civilian ships and headed north, heading straight for Birecik, the first city in Turkey.
In the direction of Ain Arab, the 2nd Armored Division of the 20nd Corps, commanded by Issam himself, took minutes to break through the weak direction of the Turkish defenses, destroyed the enemy's military base in Suruc, and started street fighting in the city to seize key defensive points.

In the direction of Ceylanpinar, the militia led by the Jackal set out from Tell Tamir and broke into Muratli with great momentum. They spread rapidly like a flood and cleared out the surrounding Turkish villages one by one.

In the direction of Reyhanli, the Third Army, which had been in a standoff with the Free Army for a long time, began a frantic counterattack, and with the last air force from Latakia, headed straight for Antakya.
The war ignited the entire border, which was a desperate struggle by the Syrian government forces.

Perhaps, no one should feel sorry for such a fight between trapped beasts, because the hungry beast with blood all over its body and head will not necessarily die here.

As long as Azaz can hold on.

Even for two hours.

The cleansed civil service system in Damascus has begun to operate at full capacity. Those things that cannot be decided on the battlefield must be decided by them.
(End of this chapter)