Empire Conquest-Chapter 821 - 81: Capture the Chief to Catch the Thieves (Part 2)
But, dealing with a moving train isn’t that easy.
After the outbreak of war, thousands of trains are running at any time on the plains to the west of the battle line.
Even more critical is the inability to distinguish command trains from freight trains through conventional reconnaissance methods.
No matter how powerful the Empire Air Force is, it can’t attack thousands of trains simultaneously.
It’s evident that just finding a command train is a huge hassle.
However, it’s not entirely impossible.
Compared to ordinary trains, the most notable feature of command trains is the need for frequent station stops to make use of communication nodes along the route.
Even though the command train certainly has many radios, and can obtain assistance from other platforms to ensure orders can be directly delivered to combat units, any radio signals can be intercepted by the enemy, pinpointing the signal source’s exact location, followed by an attack.
Moreover, radio signal encryption is an issue.
Theoretically, there is no unbreakable code; thus encrypted telegrams could be deciphered, leaking military secrets.
In summary, the command train of the Eastern Group primarily relies on communication access points set along the railway to send combat orders via ground communication lines.
In fact, all train stations in the area have similar communication access points.
Also, along the railway, there are backup access points every few dozen kilometers.
However, during wartime, command trains often go to small stations because many military trains are transporting troops and supplies to the front.
If suitable places aren’t found, backup access points on branch railways will be used.
During peace, the primary task of the Military Intelligence Bureau is to clear up the temporary access points set by the Eastern Group in the frontier areas.
Of course, the duties of the Military Intelligence Bureau are far beyond that.
Despite fully utilizing wired communication lines via these access points, the command train can’t entirely eliminate its own electromagnetic signals.
To be precise, the command train must send signals outward.
Among them, the key ones are microwave signals used for identification.
Every command train has a set of automated microwave communication equipment whose sole task is to send identification signals every few minutes or seconds, informing nearby units that this is the command train, avoiding friendly fire and obtaining cover from friendly forces.
The crucial part is that the identification signal contains the command level.
Of course, if operating in a dangerous area, other command trains will be dispatched for decoy operations, further necessitating identification signals to confirm the commander’s position.
The Military Intelligence Bureau has strived for decades but still hasn’t cracked the identification signal codes of the Eastern Group’s command trains.
However, the bureau has mastered the working frequency bands of the identification signals.
In Wang Qing’en’s words, what is genuinely needed now is figuring out which train is the true command train.
The battle has erupted, and the Eastern Group isn’t doing too badly. If the command train of the Eastern Group is operating close to the front, it definitely has cover.
Information from the Military Intelligence Bureau indicates that at least 5 to 10 military trains of the same type are responsible for tactical deception.
More importantly, these military trains usually operate outside the strike range of the Empire Air Force Tactical Air Force, and they will always run on the railway.
Evidently, attacking 5 to 10 military trains simultaneously is almost impossible.
Even deploying enough bombers is impractical, given these military trains are scattered across hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, making it impossible to ensure all attacks begin simultaneously.
Then, after the first attack, other command trains will rush to the nearby station at full speed.
In addition to emergency evacuation of officers and soldiers on the train, they will receive cover from air defense forces.
Moreover, the Eastern Group Air Force will dispatch fighters to provide cover.
Theoretically, the probability of destroying the Eastern Group’s frontline headquarters is at most 20%.
It’s clear that the first task is to find the command train carrying the frontline headquarters.
In Wang Qing’en’s words, if it’s found, it can surely be destroyed.
"According to what you said, how can we find that train?"
"Joint operation."
Li Tianling furrowed his brows but didn’t speak, waiting for Wang Qing’en to continue.
"As arranged above, the Northwest War Zone will launch a reprisal across the entire front line from Samara to Novorossiysk on the night of the 14th, beginning simultaneously. Each unit initiates the reprisal, while the time difference in the start of fighting will not exceed 5 minutes, to ensure uniformity as much as possible."
"By then, the combat units of the Eastern Group across the entire front line will contact the rear, report combat situations, and request higher-ups’ arrangements," Li Tianling added.
Wang Qing’en nodded slightly and said: "Dozens of operational units are simultaneously connecting with the command, issuing instructions to so many units; even if the command train is stationed at a train stop, the wired communication line may not be sufficient. At that time, radio will surely be used to share the communication load."
"Do the decoy command trains not have radios?"
"Of course they do, but they certainly can’t be activated simultaneously. According to the bureau’s predictions, even if the enemy thinks to activate radios on other command trains, there will be a timing gap of approximately 5 to 10 minutes, sufficient to confirm which train carries the headquarters."
"Realizing the danger, won’t the command train stay still at the station?"
"Don’t worry, the Military Intelligence Bureau has arranged for reconnaissance satellites to perform orbital maneuvers, ensuring at least one reconnaissance satellite is above the battlefield after the reprisal begins."
"There will only be 10 to 15 minutes."
"With prior deployment in place, we can surely locate that command train within 10 minutes and fire air-to-ground missiles."
"Only 10 minutes required?"
Wang Qing’en smiled and replied: "Actually, you don’t need to worry. Before coming here, we conducted several drills, each of which took less than 10 minutes."
"Are 4 bombers enough?"
"Destroying a command train requires only 1 bomber." After saying this, Wang Qing’en realized Li Tianling’s implication. "Theoretically, a ’Hong-12A’ can cover approximately 200,000 square kilometers in 10 minutes, so 4 aircraft can attend to 4 directions."
Li Tianling actually understood.
Sending 4 "Hong-11A" bombers was definitely not a snap decision by the Air Force.
In the Northwest Battlefield, there are only 4 main battlefields from north to south, namely Ufa, Samara, Astrakhan, and Novorossiysk.
These 4 battlefields are only of campaign level, and the area of each battlefield is less than 200,000 square kilometers.
Strictly speaking, only Astrakhan and Novorossiysk have relatively large ranges, while the other two are not even at campaign level.
It’s not at all surprising.
Ufa and Samara are secondary directions, with neither side deploying much force, making little impact on the overall battle situation.
According to Li Tianling’s understanding, not even if the Eastern Group’s forces capture Orenburg, can they expect to reach Leaf Castle.
If spoken of, the Eastern Group always considered Orenburg as a secondary direction to drain the enemy’s strength, with every deployment meant to draw the opponent’s focus there.
Unfortunately, the enemy is not dim-witted.
At least for now, the Eastern Group has not concentrated on the northern two battlefields but still focuses on attacking Astrakhan and Novorossiysk.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the command train carrying the frontline headquarters isn’t on the northern battlefield.
Depending on the complete and strong communication systems, a command train might be at any frontline location or possibly far from the frontline.
But, being at the front is more likely.
The reason is the officers of the Eastern Group prefer to command battles from the frontline, seemingly considering huddling at the rear an act of cowardice.
Thankfully, these 4 battlefields aren’t large, and the conflict regions are rather concentrated.
Deploying one "Hong-12A" in one battlefield is sufficient.
As Wang Qing’en mentioned, once the command train is discovered, one "Hong-12A" can utterly destroy it; there’s no doubt about failure.
Even with short-range missiles, "Hong-12A" can carry 24 missiles.
To deal with one command train, at most, 4 to 8 missiles are needed.
Even for assurance, letting a nearby additional "Hong-12A" supplement the bombing still means 2 "Hong-12A" with remaining munitions after the main task.
Evidently, those are prepared for secondary tasks.
