Munitions Empire-Chapter 1140 - 1060 Battle Discipline
"Is there anyone from the Second Battalion? Second Battalion!" On the grassland controlled by the Imperial Paratroopers of the Great Tang Empire, an officer wearing a steel helmet and holding a flashlight trudged forward.
With such a large-scale airborne operation, all paratroopers were scattered upon landing. They didn’t know their location; their only option was to gather together, forming one chaotic cluster after another.
Troops from the First Battalion might have mixed with the commanders of the Second Battalion, and it was entirely possible that all troops from the Third Company of the First Battalion had ended up finding their way to the neighboring Second Battalion. freēwēbnovel.com
Therefore, when Xiang Ziyu was gathering his company’s troops, among them were soldiers who had strayed from the Second and Third Battalions.
Needless to say, one wouldn’t have to think too hard to realize that the Second Battalion would surely have people from the First Battalion who got lost, and even soldiers or officers from neighboring battalions...
"Dammit, I feel like all our previous drills and training were bloody useless." Watching the Second Battalion officer swinging his flashlight around on the battlefield, the signalman from the company, unable to restrain his laughter, asked Xiang Ziyu who was standing to the side.
In the previous paratrooper training, not once were officers allowed to stand in the middle of the battlefield, holding flashlights and shouting loudly... This isn’t searching for soldiers; this is like seeking death.
Keep in mind this is still a battlefield where the enemy hasn’t been cleared out yet. Waving a flashlight around in the middle of the night, do you not think you are conspicuous enough? Moving with it while shouting, no less.
What’s more, why are you standing there? Do you wish for the enemy to have better aim? What? You ask why I am also standing here? Isn’t it to watch over your silly ass?
In previous training, nearly all soldiers were required to crawl on the ground, rally together after confirming passwords, find weapons upon landing, and recognize directions immediately.
Then they must organize an attack where two or three people must cooperate to take out enemy anti-aircraft gun positions, searchlight positions, or even destroy tanks on the battlefield.
Regrettably, now they had not only not encountered the enemy, nor seen any dense anti-aircraft gun positions, but they also hadn’t spotted any of the enemy’s trucks, armored cars, and tanks.
"Isn’t he afraid of getting shot?" Another soldier also asked his company commander curiously. Xiang Ziyu didn’t answer because he felt like his previous combat experience was nothing but a joke.
After parachuting and landing previously, he encountered an enemy defensive position right away. He fought desperately against the enemy, and it was this that shaped him into who he was today.
But what about now? The enemy’s nearest position is located at the other end of the mountain, and it’s likely that the surrounding villages for miles around are all paratroopers from the Great Tang Empire...
This made Xiang Ziyu feel that his recent act of covering his flashlight with a raincoat to look at the map seemed rather foolish... He was mindful of light discipline, but seemingly no one else around here cared about it.
"Quit bothering about that lunatic. Gather all the mortars, gun grenades, and anti-tank rocket launchers we can find in the company! Count them!" Xiang Ziyu knew they couldn’t do much until the First Platoon got back.
They didn’t know their position, nor the targets of their attack, nor did they know which direction Leping and Dongshan villages were, as well as the place known as Bridge Number One.
"Company Commander! Company Commander!" At that moment, a veteran named Old Chen returned with his men, pointing in a pitch-dark direction, they reported, "There’s a road over there! Though it’s not very smooth, it is indeed a road! I saw tire tracks on it; it looks frequently used."
Suddenly energized, Xiang Ziyu pulled out a map from his map bag behind him, unfolded it, and handed it to Old Chen to hold for him. Then he turned on his flashlight, shining it directly on the map, and began searching intently.
"Company Commander... light discipline!" Old Chen looked around nervously, truly worried that a burst of bullets from the darkness might come sweeping through and turn both him and his damn beloved company commander into sieves.
Unfortunately, just as he was scanning his surroundings in horror, wary of any sneak attacks, he heard the haunting call from afar once again: "Second Battalion! Is anyone from the Second Battalion? If you are, give a shout and come back with me!"
Following the direction of the voice, Old Chen caught sight of a circling flashlight beam. He felt awkward, then subconsciously straightened his back.
"Company Commander... this..." Old Chen wanted to remind him about the discipline of the battlefield. Yet, looking at the flashlight in the company commander’s hand, he realized all the inhuman hardships they’d endured in training over the past year might have been for nothing.
"We are probably here... If we follow this road, we should reach Leping Village! Old Chen, since we can’t find the platoon leader of the Third Platoon, you temporarily take command of the Third Platoon! I’m moving the company command post to Leping Village!" Xiang Ziyu lifted his head, looking in the direction of the darkened Leping Village.
"Should we do reconnaissance first? If Leping has enemies..." Old Chen was worried about the unexpected.
"First, let’s move over there! If we encounter enemies, we’ll take them out under the cover of darkness... It’ll be troublesome once it gets light tomorrow." Xiang Ziyu put away the map: "We’ll set out once the people from the First Platoon return."
"Are we not waiting for the rest of the soldiers to regroup?" Old Chen felt that Xiang Ziyu was a bit too hasty and reminded him, noting that a third of the men were still missing.
"No waiting!" Xiang Ziyu knew that the paratroopers’ victory came from taking the initiative. If they did not seek opportunities for battle, then the paratroopers’ advantage would be lost.
Last time, it was by actively seeking out the opportunity that they unexpectedly captured the Prince of Qi, ultimately achieving a glorious victory.
With such experience, Xiang Ziyu couldn’t possibly stop. He keenly seized an opportunity, which was to attack Leping Village under the cover of darkness.
Thinking of this, Xiang Ziyu even felt that waiting for the first squad to return was a waste of time. He picked up the heavy luggage at his feet and directly instructed the signalman, "Forget it! We’re not waiting for the first squad. Second squad, provide cover; the unit will move out first."
After speaking, he looked at Old Chen and instructed, "I’ll take the second squad and the unit and move out first. You and the third squad wait here for the first squad. Once they return, march quickly to catch up with us. We will be heading east along the highway, which should lead us to Leping Village if there are no mistakes."
"Isn’t that too dangerous, Commander?" Old Chen felt it was inappropriate; he was quite worried about the safety of the unit.
"No worries, speed is of the essence in warfare," Xiang Ziyu said. "We leave in two minutes! Check your ammunition, heavy machine gun squad, lead the way! Signalman, have you made contact with the battalion? No? Then pack up your gear and we’ll head out. We’ll make contact with the battalion once we reach Leping."
The machine gun squad that had just set up its position turned pale upon hearing the command. They had just dug a shallow hole, set up the machine gun, and loaded the chain of bullets from a special canvas bag onto the machine gun.
But now, at the commander’s order, their recent setup proved to be all for naught. The strong machine gunner picked up the machine gun while the assistant gunner hurriedly packed up the unpacked luggage bags.
Next to them, the two shooters responsible for covering the machine gun also hurried to help, and the recently quiet position became busy again.
The signalman’s job was also not minor. He packed up the microphone cables connected to the field telephone, picked up his rifle and slung it in front of him again, and shouldered the backpack filled with signal flares, spare batteries, and other items, allowing Xiang Ziyu to help secure the field telephone equipment to the side of the backpack.
Since there had been almost no engagement, the ammunition hadn’t been depleted: these were life-saving items that they were reluctant to discard, so when departing, every paratrooper was slightly overburdened.
In this situation, the scene was somewhat like a roadside night market lacking city planning that erupts into chaos when someone screams "City inspectors are coming!"... Yes, indeed a night market, with the haste and cursing of packing up in the dark of night.
The troops wished they could just place everything on their parachutes, bundle it up, and carry it all away, similar to how the small stall owners wouldn’t want to leave behind any of their inexpensive goods.
Of course, afterwards, a mess would still be left behind, with the night market leaving stains from oil spills, bamboo skewers, and various wrappers and plastic bags.
The spot where the paratroopers landed would also be littered with a pile of rubbish: spare parachutes, main parachutes that couldn’t be collected in time, bright orange life vests, and packing bags for various equipment.
Right when the second squad was packing up to retreat, the platoon leader of the first squad returned with two captured Goblin officers, seized maps and various documents.
They had just launched an impromptu attack on the anti-aircraft gun position, destroyed a strange 25mm caliber Anti-Aircraft Gun, and captured a platoon commander from there.
"Commander! That was an Anti-Aircraft Gun unlike any we’ve seen before, presumably made by the Goblins themselves, it looked peculiar. There were about 40 people stationed there; we captured two for interrogation, the rest dispersed," the first squad leader briefly reported the situation: "Are we leaving now?"
"Yes! Rest for five minutes, then head south for about 400 meters! When you see the highway, head east... and catch up with us," Xiang Ziyu pointed in the general direction.
"Shouldn’t we interrogate them first?" Pointing at the two Goblin officers on the ground, the platoon leader asked.
Xiang Ziyu walked over and saw the two prisoners tied up, and asked, "Is Leping to the southeast?"
"Yes, that way is Leping. Our battalion is there," one of the captured Goblin officers confessed rather easily. Having chosen to surrender, he was no tough nut.
"No need to rest anymore, let’s go together, Commander," the platoon leader perked up immediately upon hearing that the enemy’s battalion was in that direction.
"Alright! Pack up, the entire company will move out together," Xiang Ziyu nodded, then shouted toward the flickering flashlights, "Second Battalion, do you want these two captives?"
