Chapter 22 Night Raid
In fact, the method of indicating the attack direction for one's own soldiers during a night attack is very simple, that is, on one's own position, light two bonfires in front and behind the direction of the attack. During the attack, the commander in charge of directing the attack needs to look back at the bonfires. If the two bonfires are in a straight line, it means that the attack direction is correct. On the contrary, if the two bonfires are not in a straight line, that is, the commander can see two groups of bonfires appear at the same time, it means that the direction of the attack has deviated.
This method is simple and easy to use. In Yuri's previous life, during the Battle of Moscow in the Soviet-German War, the Soviet army used this method to frequently launch night attacks without having to worry about the soldiers getting lost in the dark.
A simple combat strategy is an effective means. Even without actual combat, it can be determined to be a feasible method. This is the so-called wisdom of war. This little wisdom may not mean much at first glance, but fundamentally speaking, this is already fighting with the brain, which is much smarter than those commanders who only know how to use hormones to command operations.
Naturally, this little strategy was quickly accepted by August and Bielik, and then the first phase of the battle plan was handed in. The judging panel composed of instructors had to make arrangements for the battle plan for each phase, display it on the display board, and determine the battle results and losses of both sides in this phase.
The review panel consists of a total of six instructors, four of whom calculate the casualties and results of each stage according to the tactical arrangements of the competing teams and the regulations of the exercise, while the other two are responsible for strategy review, recording and troop deployment adjustments on the display board.
The first to be reviewed were of course the fifth group of students. The review process was not long and it could be seen that there was nothing outstanding about the tactical arrangements of this group of students. At least they were generally within the instructors' estimates. Otherwise, the calculation of combat losses would not have been so fast.
After the review team finished their review, an instructor made adjustments to the deployment on the first display board. The results showed that the tactical arrangements of this group of students were indeed very conservative, not much different from the previous group of students. If there was anything outstanding, it was that both the red and blue sides were very cautious in their combat thinking, so cautious that in the first stage of the tactical arrangements, the two sides did not engage in large-scale combat.
After the first group of students finished adjusting their presentation boards, it was Yuri's turn. Yuri sat in his seat and was sensitive to the fact that the instructors on the review panel looked at their positions after seeing the first-stage tactical arrangements they submitted. Then, there was a quiet discussion. Finally, an instructor took their tactical arrangement plan and walked straight to Colonel Petrovsky and handed it to him, probably for him to review.
Since the first group of students' exercise officially began, Colonel Petrovsky sat in a corner of the classroom with his eyes closed, and he seemed to be indifferent to the exercise. When the instructor handed him the tactical plan, Colonel Petrovsky opened his eyes, frowned and read the plan, then pinched his chin and thought for a while, and whispered a few words to the instructor.
After receiving the instructions, the instructor took the plan back and discussed it with several other instructors before making adjustments to the troop deployment on the display board.
The situation map on the display board changed. The troops in the 904 area of the Blue Army were attacked by the Red Army at night. The casualties of the first line of defense exceeded 17%, and the defense of the line of defense was loose. The result given by the review team was: If the Blue Army did not have subsequent reinforcements, the first line of defense in the 904 area was in danger of being lost.
According to the exercise procedure, the Blue Army had to make an assessment of the situation, and based on the calculation method of the exercise combat effectiveness, they made a reasonable judgment that the Red Army's night attack force should be more than one battalion - this was not a result of assumption, nor was it that the Blue Army could see how many troops the Red Army's main offensive force had, but it was calculated entirely according to the calculation method of combat effectiveness increase and decrease in night attacks. Because the troops defending the first line of defense in the 904 area were deployed as a company, in the night attack, the Red Army, whose combat effectiveness was reduced, could still cause such a great loss to the Blue Army, which itself could not be a company of troops.
Next is the tactical arrangement of the second phase. The Blue Army faces two choices: First, in the case of unclear enemy situation, give up the first line of defense and strengthen the defense of the second line of defense. At the same time, strengthen the deployment of troops on the flanks and be ready for counterattacks at any time. Second, hold the first line of defense and increase the input of troops.
In summary, the first option is more conservative and follows the rules. Although losses are inevitable, they will not be too great and are within the acceptable range. The disadvantage is that the loss of the first line of defense will directly affect the subsequent development of the war. It is difficult to assess how big the impact is.
The second tactical arrangement is in line with the mainstream thinking. Since it is a regimental-level exercise, the strength of a battalion is quite large. If the Red Army is not feinting, then the 904 area is their main attack direction. At this time, strengthening the defense of the area and waiting for an opportunity to launch a counterattack is very beneficial to the Blue Army.
However, the group of students in charge of commanding the Blue Army did not realize that the basis for their next combat plan, that is, their judgment of the strength of the Red Army's attacking forces, was wrong. On this basis, any tactical arrangements they made could not be correct.
According to the results of the first phase, Yuri and his team made tactical arrangements for the next phase. Belik judged that since the first phase of the night attack caused more than 13% of the Red Army's casualties, and at the same time, its first line of defense had been loosened, the Blue Army would definitely provide reinforcements to that line of defense, and the reinforcements were unlikely to be from the reserve, but more likely from Area B near Area 904.
In order to maximize the deployment of the Blue Army, Belik decided to adopt a plan to attack the reinforcements, setting up a defense line on Hill 835 between Area 904 and Area B to block the reinforcements of the Blue Army. At the same time, he commanded the Red Army troops in the encirclement to launch an assault on the Blue Army's defense line in Area 904, reinforcing the illusion that the Red Army would break out of the encirclement in this area.
The tactical arrangements for the second phase were soon displayed on the display board. The battle results showed that the Blue Army indeed mobilized troops from Area B to reinforce Area 904. As a result, a fierce battle broke out with the Red Army's blocking troops on Hill 835. Because the Blue Army was attacking at night, its combat effectiveness was reduced, with a casualty rate of more than 7%, far higher than the Red Army's 3%, and it failed to break through the Red Army's defense line.
As a result, the Blue Army suffered losses in both stages of the battle, and the casualty rate was higher than that of the Red Army, which was undoubtedly very disadvantageous to the Blue Army. Most importantly, as the Red Army forces in the encirclement broke out in large numbers, the Blue Army in the 904 area was fighting on two fronts, and the situation was not optimistic .
The Red Army also had a disadvantage. According to the review team's announcement, the day was about to dawn. Once the night was over, a large part of the Red Army's troop deployment in the 904 area would be exposed, that is, it would be announced on the display board. Once that time came, the Red Army's plan to lure the enemy would be aborted.
However, both Bielik and August were optimistic about the current situation, because according to their judgment, the group of students in charge of commanding the Blue Army must have lost their patience. In order to prevent the besieged Red Army from escaping, they could no longer withdraw troops from the flank to reinforce, and could only use the reserve, which was a battalion they had not yet deployed.
Taking this into consideration, Belik planned to deploy his reserve troops in the third phase of the tactical arrangement, setting up an ambush in the direction where the Blue Army might reinforce. At the same time, he commanded the Red Army troops in the encirclement to break out from area B.
Bielik's plan was obviously a bit greedy. He took advantage of the weakness of the Blue Army in area B and planned to create conditions for the Red Army to break out by fighting in area 835, trapping the Blue Army's troops from area B. At the same time, he also wanted to seize the opportunity to annihilate the Blue Army's reserve troops, thereby increasing the Blue Army's casualty rate. If these two goals were achieved in advance, then the Red Army would have achieved two victory conditions, and such a victory is called a complete victory.
After discussion, August and Yuri both approved Belik's plan, and the tactical arrangements for the third phase were also submitted.
The three trainees of the Blue Army might not be too bad, but they received the wrong information from the very beginning, which put them in a passive position. They were basically led by the Red Army throughout the entire battle.
When the results of the third phase of the battle were displayed on the display board, the evaluation team gave the results of the battle that were completely in line with Belik's plan: the Red Army's encircled troops successfully broke out in area B. Although the casualty rate was as high as 40%, they finally managed to break out. Not only that, a battalion of the reserve troops mobilized by the Blue Army was also surrounded by the Red Army. In this battle, the Red Army mobilized all its attached artillery and armored forces. Although the Blue Army still had the opportunity to provide reinforcements , because the Red Army successfully broke out, the exercise ended. The evaluation team sentenced the Blue Army's reinforcement battalion to be completely wiped out and withdrawn from the battle sequence.
It was not until the final results came out that the group of students commanding the Blue Army's battle realized that the Red Army troops that attacked the 904 area at night had only two companies of troops, far from the battalion they had guessed.
Naturally, this result was unsatisfactory. The Blue Team student group protested, believing that the judging panel's judgment was unfair.
